The cost of Feb 2013

Another month has passed so I get to run the numbers again. I don’t know why I take such joy in budgeting and crunching all the numbers afterward, but it has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. I like to know the statistical facts, but sometimes they do hold me back.

For instance, I know that every mile I drive in this van is equal to dropping 30 cents out the window. Every single mile! Heck, every single minute of interstate driving costs 30 cents. So when something is 20 miles off my plotted path, there is a real cost to getting there and back. Over the years, this has prevented me from taking a few short drives to see an attraction, but this year I am trying to ignore those couple extra dollars spent in gasoline and just enjoy myself more instead.

Feb 2013 path: Grants, NM to Albuquerque to Deming to Douglas, AZ to Tucson to Phoenix to Flagstaff.

I also know that it costs me about $12 dollars per day to drive my 50 mile hops. Which means it costs more for me to sit at an RV park then to just keep on truckin’ each day. This realization, that sitting costs more than moving, is going to alter how I live my daily life…

So, getting to the nitty-gritty… as usual, my largest expense this month was gasoline, although I only spent $304 on gas ($31 less than Jan), but I did drive a little less than last month with 1166 miles logged. A fair portion of these miles were were spent adventuring off the plotted Interstate route to see the attractions.

You’d think that the less driving would mean I spent more in camping and RV parks, but as it turns out I only paid for camping two nights the entire month ($34). I hadn’t even noticed this until the final days of the month. I guess I don’t need these RV parks as much as I thought I might.

Combined, my gas and camping costs were only $338, a full $162 below my budget. Maybe I should consider another tank of fuel each month to explore another 300 miles? Heck, I could do two more tanks (600 more miles) and still be within budget… hmm.

My second largest expense, again, was food at $225 in groceries ($17 more than Jan) and $33 in dining out ($13 less than Jan). I’d love to spend less in groceries, and yes I cut out *some* of the beer, but I’m not happy to starve myself in the process. I an very surprised how much my grocery bill is costing me though. I figured half this would do the trick each month, but $200 seems to be the ballpark for a single guy on the road. I will see what I can do for March in the grocery department.

Again, my normal monthly “utilities” consist of my cell phone, storage back in Colorado, and my gym membership which all together equal less than $100. I did purchase some concert tickets ($83) for April in Denver but that was my only significant out-of-the-ordinary expense for the month.

To summarize my year-to-date figures:
Gasoline total:  $639 in 2013
Food total: $512 in 2013
Camping total: $109 (7 nights total)

Or to put in in daily averages:
Gasoline: $10.83 per day
Food: $8.68 per day
Camping: $1.84 per day