We started the year in Mexico, and we ended the year in Mexico. But in between we were in Spain, Scotland, England, Italy, Albania, Ireland, Greenland, Iceland, and Canada.
It was actually one of our lesser travelled years. Only 10 countries visited in 2025, and only one new country... Greenland. We have now been to 73 countries in total.
Our flight map for 2025.
We were on a total of 12 different airplanes.
And, in 2025 we did our very first cruise! The highlight was a few stops in Greenland.
Ruth, on the Emerald Princess cruising in Greenland.
While we enjoyed the cruise, it's not something we will do on a regular basis. There would have to be a special destination or attraction along the way, and at the right price. But we did have a good time.
Healthwise, we both realize that we're getting older. But we're still in good shape, and other than my covid induced "dysautonomia" episode in September, we don't have any serious issues. I continue to improve and am probably back to 95%, with a few minor symptoms that re-occur occasionally. We do enjoy keeping moving though, and both have regular exercise routines along with all the hiking we continue to enjoy.
Financially, 2025 was our best year ever. I've been a big believer in gold and silver for a long time, and most people know what kind of a year gold and silver had. My belief finally paid off.
Regarding living expenses, we spent a total of $39,776 CAD ($29,000 USD) for 2025. That includes the rent on our house, but does not include the furniture or improvements we made at a cost of $6,200 CAD ($4,500 USD).
So, considering how much inflation has caused rising prices around the world, we think that we lived a pretty good life for $3,300 CAD ($2,416 USD) per month!
Here's what our average month looked like in 2025... (in $CAD)
Fuel: $221
Toll roads and ferries: $14
Propane: $3
Groceries: $430
Meals out: $280
Alcohol: $110
Misc: $561
Entertainment: $170
Overnight: $727
Motorhome: $136
Travel: $661
But while $3,300 CAD was the average month, there was a wide variance. We had three different months over $5,000. Our most expensive month was August at $5,846 and the cheapest month was April at $1,961.
Looking forward to a great 2026!
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Women's Wool Socks at Amazon.com.
And in Canada...
I don't invest in gold and silver, but it was a very good year in the US stock market as well! Very thankful that I started investing way back in my 20s when the company I worked for for most of my career offered a 401K plan. Buy and hold has been my philosophy, and it has worked out nicely. Glad you've had a good year as well. Looking forward to following all your future adventures!
ReplyDeleteWe are glad that you had a good year on the stock market as well. I wish that we had learned to start investing back when we were young but we are trying to teach this to our grandchildren so that they will be prepared when they start working. It is definitely an important lesson by putting aside a little money when you are young and to see it grow as you get older. Not enough younger people are taught this and they really should be.
DeleteI think we are going to have a very interesting year ahead of us with our plans for travel this year, even though we still don't have the whole year planned out.
I also have post-Covid dysautonomia. A most uncomfortable feeling when it hits, but for me the hardest time was pre-diagnosis and feeling dismissed by my gp. Always better to know what you’re dealing with! Looks like you enjoyed a great year! Thanks for letting us travel along 😎
ReplyDeleteThis was exactly how Kevin felt, he was almost incapacitated by it but now he is feeling so much better but he is really watching things and trying to do his best to drink more water throughout the day.
DeleteKevin was very lucky to find a doctor at the hospital in Kemptville, Ontario that took the time to listen to his issues and it was him that came up with the diagnosis and once we got back he immediately started researching more about dysautonomia and agreed that the diagnosis the doctor gave him seemed to be correct. That certainly made a huge difference in his recovery. We hope that you are now doing better as well, Kevin certainly symptomizes with you.
Overall we had a fantastic year and we are glad that we could take you along on our adventures through our blog.