September Expenses

We started the month of September in Nova Scotia, and ended up back in Ontario, but we were also in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Alberta! Five of Canada's provinces in one month!

We had a planned total budget of $2,396 CAD ($1.776 USD). 

And we did not too badly! We always budget low in order to give ourselves something to strive towards, so it's pretty rare that we actually meet or beat our budget. And of course there are a lot of variables. 

We spent a total of $2,707 CAD... about 10% over budget.

Here's how it all broke down... (the following figures are all in $CAD dollars...)

Fuel: This was actually a big portion of where we were over budget. We spent $604 on fuel. This is partly because we filled up Igor again towards the end of our trip back from Nova Scotia so that there would be lots of fuel in him when the mechanical shop was out test driving him, and we knew that we would be driving more in October, so that will somewhat come out in the wash with October's fuel bill being slightly lower than normal. we also filled up the car we borrowed from our son towards the end of the month so it is starting off October pretty much full.

Toll Roads: We spent $99 on the ferry to get across to the north side of the St. Lawrence.

Propane: $29 to fill Igor's propane tank, and it is pretty much still full.

Groceries: We spent $502 on groceries. My sister fed us very well while we were in Calgary (thanks Alison!) and we did have a few meals out. Still, this category was once again cheaper than we expected, although we are starting the month of October with an empty fridge!

Meals out: $230 on meals out.

Alcohol: $300. Yikes! I think that's the second highest amount ever. Once again, booze is expensive in Canada, and that also includes a $60 bottle of scotch that I brough to my guy's weekend away. And yes, it was very tasty!

Miscellaneous: A reasonable $107. Consisting of cellular data, showers, laundry, and a couple of items of clothing.

Entertainment: Just under $20 for our parks pass to do the hike in Gaspesie National Park in Quebec.

Overnight: One night of camping at $35, plus the cost of the fancy cottage I stayed at with my guy friends. There were only eight of us this year instead of ten, so the cost was a little higher. Total came to $316 for the month.

Motorhome: Monthly cost of our insurance and registration for Igor. $45.

Travel: A total of $453 for the two of us to fly from Ottawa to Calgary and return including airport parking. Not bad!

So again, $2,707 CAD ($2,006 USD) for the month of September. However, we again spent a chunk of money on Igor. And again, this will go in as a capital expense. We won't know the loss (or gain) on that until we actually sell Igor at some point in the future. And, we're not done spending money on Igor. We made the decision today to buy a fancy new furnace for him. More on that another day!

I can't even guess at October's expenses. It should actually be a reasonable month, depending on what we end up doing with regards to whatever house sitting ends up coming our way versus how much we might have to spend on other accommodation for the month which hopefully will be minimal. Time will tell!

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