September Expenses... not bad!

We had a budget of $1,800 CAD ($1,290 USD) for the month of September, but I knew that was an ambitious target. Sure enough, we exceeded it by quite a bit. 

We ended up spending $2,289 CAD ($1,641 USD) which at first glance seems really good right? But considering we were house sitting for the entire month it's actually higher than we expected.

So, where did the money go...? (All figures are in $CAD)

Fuel: Compared to Nova Scotia, fuel in Ontario is quite a bit cheaper. Plus, we're driving a 2014 Mazda 3 that seems to get good mileage. Anyhow, we spent $96 on gasoline for the month.

Groceries: About as expected. We spent $601 on groceries. And that's on top of the stocking up we did when we arrived here at the end of August. It will be interesting to do the math when we finish up here next week and see what the monthly cost of the entire stay was. It will probably work out to over $700.

Meals out: Total of $132.

Alcohol: Total of $178. But $70 of that was a special bottle of tequila I bought in Mexico and brought back for the guys at my weekend away. I haven't had any alcohol since September 19th.

Miscellaneous: This is the category where we overspent. We bought some clothing, I paid for a subscription to watch some Blue Jays games, our cell phone bill, Ruth bought a good quality swimsuit, and we paid for grandson Cameron's return flight to Halifax after his visit earlier in the month. Oh, and I bought a travel sized blood pressure monitor. Total came to $614.

Entertainment: When grandson Cameron was here, we took him and a friend and my nephew to play mini golf and then we did some go-karting another day. The go-karting was great fun, but pretty pricey for a half hour! Anyhow, the total for the month was $239. 

Overnight: $287 total for my guys weekend away. 

Motorhome: Our monthly registration, insurance, and storage expenses for Igor. Total of $141.

Of course we had no travel expenses for the month of September.

So, a total of $2,289 CAD ($1,641 USD) for the month.

October will be more though. Mostly because we are flying to Mexico City this month, and we are renting a house. Still, we have a budget of $3,200 CAD ($2,300 USD) for the month, which all things considered is still quite low. Having said that, it doesn't include the expenses that we know we are going to have getting the house set up the way we want it. For example, we know that we are going to have to buy a washing machine, and there will be other items as well. We have no idea how much we are going to spend, so haven't included those items in the budget.

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