The cost of Sept 2013

September was my first full month back to van-dwelling on the road. Admittedly, 3 weeks of the month was spent camped at the Moose Lodge in Whitefish Montana, but that didn’t stop me from getting out and doing things as if I were on the road.

The added back-n-forth into Glacier National Park and the drive into Washington before the month’s end kept my gasoline cost about where I am for a normal month of driving 50 miles per day. I averaged 13.2 MPG during the 1415 miles driven this month, which doesnt sound like much but is 0.7 MPG better than my average for 2013 as a whole.

I donated $100 to the Moose lodge for allowing me to camp there for the 20 days.

I finally got my food bill below $200, thanks to a couple free meals at the Moose Lodge and at the Shak BBQ. I am also buying less (and cheaper) beer then in previous months… maybe that is the ticket?

The one big-ticket item at the end of the month was the concert ticket ($55), and an extra $29 for the extra gym membership (on top of my regular one) while I was parked in Whitefish. I spent a fair share of the money in the final third of the month; a combination of the travel and concert.

$900 for the month isn’t bad, but I’d have liked it to be a few dollars lower. In total, I have spent $9,015 in nine months, for an average of $1,002 per month. I have driven nearly 7000 miles, seeing numerous sights and meeting a lot of great people.

To summarize my year-to-date figures:
Gasoline total:  $2129 in 2013
Food total: $2,397 in 2013
Camping total: $467 (181 nights total)

Or to put it into daily-averages:
Gasoline: $7.82 per day
Food: $8.78 per day
Camping: $1.70 per day