The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

March Expenses and other news...

Not a bad month of March in the money department. We spent $1,874 CAD ($1,455 USD) which is about what we expected. This amount includes our flights from Las Vegas to Ottawa, and today's flight from Ottawa to Halifax.

Yes, today we get to see our grandkids. Yay!

In a couple of hours we'll be on a plane to Halifax...

820 kms (515 miles) from Ottawa to Halifax. Less than an hour and a half flight.

And, to make things even more special, today is grandson Cameron's 4th birthday! The last time we were with him on his birthday was the day he was born.

Okay, so back to our expense report. 

Gasoline: During the month, we drove the motorhome quite a bit, and ended up in Las Vegas Nevada, where Sherman sits awaiting our return on April 14th. He's sitting there with pretty much a full tank of gas, so our gasoline expense for the month was fairly high at $285 CAD ($228 USD) . But this also includes some gas money spent over the last two weeks as we borrowed Ruth's father's vehicles and put some gas in them.

Propane: As with gas, we topped up the propane just before we got to Vegas because we left the fridge running. We spent $62 CAD ($50 USD) on propane for the month.

Groceries: A little lower than normal because we used up a lot of items in preparation for being away from the motorhome, and we also lived off Ruth's father's well stocked deep freeze (he could survive for months if there was a disaster of any sort!) while we were visiting for the last two weeks. So grocery expenses ended up at a very reasonable $289 CAD ($231 USD) for March.

Alcohol: Not bad, at $162 CAD ($132 USD). Most of that is from the stuff we bought right at the beginning of the month, and some of it is still sitting in the motorhome.

Miscellaneous: This category is almost always higher than we expect it to be! Not sure why we haven't quite got used to the fact that stuff just comes up, and that stuff gets lumped into this category. So, $282 CAD ($225 USD) last month. This includes $104 CAD ($80 USD) for our motorhome storage in Las Vegas, as well as the items we bought from Amazon and my nephews birthday gift.

Entertainment: Higher than normal, at $202 CAD ($162 USD). This includes meals out, and a couple of nights out with our friends while visiting in Ottawa. 

Motorhome: Not much in the way of maintenance expenses last month. I bought a new filter for the air conditioner that we never use, and a replacement brake switch. Total of $36 CAD ($29 USD).

Travel: A total of $513 CAD ($410 USD) for flights for the both of us from Las Vegas to Ottawa and Ottawa to Halifax. Not bad.

So, at total of $1,874 CAD ($1,455 USD) for the month, which is pretty darn good considering it included the flights.

Oh, and we had a record month with our Amazon sales at $190 USD ($247 CAD). This is money that goes directly to our travel expenses so the more you shop at Amazon, the more exotic locales we will visit for you!

And yesterday we recorded our first two sales from our new Canadian affiliation with Amazon.ca, so that's going to help as well.

For our Canadian readers, anything you buy gives us credit...here's where you can shop...


And for our American friends, a great deal on a super lightweight travel medical kit. I'm buying one myself because for $10 it just makes sense...




12 comments:

  1. Safe flight and have fun with your grands! Happy 4th birthday, Cameron! Can't believe he's four already - time goes so fast. Enjoy!!!

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    1. Thank you Connie and Barry! We had a great flight and a wonderful evening with the grandchildren. Cameron had a fun birthday.

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  2. Sounds like a pretty good month for expenses consider all you got done.

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    1. If it wasn't for those flights we were pretty much on target for the month.

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  3. Have a fantastic time with your grandkids in NS. Happy birthday to Cameron. Hope he and his sister find lots of easter eggs, too!

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    1. Thank you Dianne! We are looking forward to our time with Cameron and Sadie. Cameron had a great birthday and now he is excited about Easter.

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  4. What airline did you use? That is a really low fare.We have great grandchildren in St.John New Brunswick we would love to see. Thanks

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    1. Our flight from Las Vegas to Ottawa was on US Airways and was just a one way flight for $175 CAN ($142 US) and the one from Ottawa to Halifax was with Air Canada but we used our AIR MILES points and booked it through them so it cost us the price of the taxes which was $77 CAN each and again this was a one way flight.

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  5. The kids are going to be happy to see you and what a treat for Cameroncito on his 4th birthday. Have fun and stay warm.

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    1. They both had great big smiles on their faces when they came to pick us up at the airport. We had a wonderful evening with them and Cameroncito really had a fun birthday.

      If we stay inside we will stay warm but not so much outside, I think Spring forgot to come to this part of the country!

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  6. I will be flying out Of Las Vegas soon. Where did you store Sherman? Enjoy reading your blog.

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    1. Hi Frank. Sherman is stored at a private property located near the airport. I found the guy through Craigslist at http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/prk/4914039802.html

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