The cost of May 2013

OK, it is becoming clear to me that when I sit still in a city, I spend more on things I should not; dining out for instance. Where I should be saving money by buying groceries and preparing my own meals, I have been pretty frivolous with my dining spending. I still blame it on my son, who talks me into Jimmy John’s way too often as he knows I lack almost all will-power. I spent nearly $200 on dining out and another $126 on groceries (half of which is in my fridge right now) for a total of $348 spent on food this month. This is the most I have spent on food in a single month since starting full-timing in the van.

$142 was spent on gasoline. The Datsun has gone through one and a half tanks this month and the van has moved only 80 miles all month (30 of which happened just yesterday). So, while I have spent $142 on gas, Ive actually used much less than that. It helps when I have a toad to use for my daily driving… I’m considering getting a tow-bar for the Datsun so it can come with me when I drive out of Colorado in another month or two.

I have only paid for camping these last two nights of the month for $38 total camping cost. I probably should not have bothered paying for these two nights either, since the weather (windy and cold) has still kept me hunkered inside the van (which I can do anywhere).  The thought of paying for a place to park and NOT get outside to enjoy the wild really bothers me… so much so that I actually lost sleep over it last night.

Beyond the big-ticket items, I did well on everything else. Not much waste in the rest of my spending as I tried to achieve a less-than-$30-per-day living expense… which I did, but only just ($29.71 in spending per day for the month).

I made a few out of the ordinary purchases made this month; $120 in bullets for the guns (right now you have to buy them when you see them or be left without any ammo), and $25 to join the National Rifle Association (I need to support the organization that fights for my rights). I did not include the costs of the mini-van rescue into my monthly expenses ($89 in airfare and $180 in gas/food on the drive back) nor did I include the money I won playing poker at the Moose lodge as it directly paid for the mini-van rescue.

Year-to-date figures:
Gasoline total:  $1226 in 2013
Food total: $1435 in 2013
Camping total: $245 (21 nights total)

Daily averages:
Gasoline: $8.14 per day
Food: $9.50 per day
Camping: $1.61 per day
Avg daily spending: $33.38