The cost of August 2013

The first half of August was still spent parked in Colorado. I left there on the 18th, meaning I had half a month of camping expenses and half with traveling expenses. They do not differ all that much other than my gasoline money ends up going into more dining out when I am sitting still.

Surprisingly, August turned out to be a very light month spending-wise. Gasoline was the top item once again as I did have 1000 miles of driving to do in those final two weeks of the month. Groceries, as usual, took the second spot on my list.

It still bothers me that I am spending so much on groceries each month. It is not like I am throwing food away or stockpiling a bunch of extra food in the van. I am eating what I buy and try to eat through all of it before another round of shopping. I know I could spend less by buying cheaper food products, but I do not want to eat shit-food. Sure, Top Ramen is cheap, but there is no nutritional value there. Personally I value my high protein, high fiber, and low-fat diet. This month I am trying to buy, and eat, more fruits and veggies, which is not a cheap thing to do; Apples are worth their weight in gold it seems!

For those keeping track (I am), I made it through yet another month living on less than $30 per day ($28.32 to be exact). That is not my lowest per-day number, but it is my second lowest. I am still hunting for that less than $25 per day month. If I did not have the large lump sum of cash going to auto insurance in August, I’d have gotten it.

To summarize my year-to-date figures:
Gasoline total:  $1,819 in 2013
Food total: $2,213 in 2013
Camping total: $367 (160 nights total)

Or to put it into daily-averages:
Gasoline: $7.50 per day
Food: $9.11 per day
Camping: $1.50 per day