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Wednesday, July 6, 2011

June 2011 Cruising Budget

I knew that June would be ghastly. I am not surprised... we spent as much as we did living in the states for one month. Since this was expected, we're not shocked... just dismayed. I broke out the month of June a little differently this time so you can get a microscopic view of our damage. I want to cry just looking at the numbers.

Here are our unplanned expenses totaling $1,866:
Jim's surgery: $1,520
Computer: $346

Here are our expected expenses, but not spent every month totaling $696:
Meri's Bloodwork: $98
Air Conditioner: $188
Lockbox: $38 (annual)
Insurance: $186
Gift: $151 (2 birthdays + a CD we wanted)
Bowling: $10
Movies: $25

Here are our normal, ever day expenses totaling $2,035:
Groceries: $393
Dining: $196
Transportation: $31
Laundry $15
Beer: $105
Clothing: $9
Home Improvement: $45 (new bed sheets + Home Depot crap)
Extra Tips: $10
Mail: $79
Phone: $15
Marina: $955 (this was from La Cruz - actually spent in April but not on statement until this month)
Boat Fuel: $182 (ditto from line above))

Below are charges that were sort of kind of but not really expected. We get charged a small fee for using the ATM - that's expected and I usually lump it under MISC. The wire transfer fee is also expected, but we use that option very rarely. The blasted foreign transaction fees are new... never had them before on this credit card. Infuriates me!!!! So Dear Wells Fargo, we will not be using your crappy card anymore. I have just applied for and been approved by a travel friendly company - and I not only don't get charged foreign transaction fees, but I get airline miles! (Meri sticks tongue out and blows loud raspberry).

Crappy Bank fees totaling $93:
Bank fees: $60 (foreign transaction)
Bank fees: $13 (ATM)
Bank fees: $20 (wire transfer)

This leaves us with a grand total of $4,690 that we spent in June. Somebody bring me a bucket!

2 comments:

  1. Ouch!

    You know, your figures are really the first accurate figures I've seen though. A lot of cruisers only report the regular monthly expenses, but in reality every expense you have should count. Kudos to you for owning up.

    Deb
    S/V Kintala
    www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com

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  2. Hi Deb...
    yes, I agree with you that anything you spend should show up... how else can anyone get a good idea of what it really costs? Our first year, we really anchored out a lot and we averaged less than $1,500 a month. Now that our kids have grown, we've upgraded to a larger boat, and we need really good internet to work on some websites... well, it ain't so cheap anymore. Still, we're saving more annually than we would in a house back in the US. Of course, we're making less, too. Alas.

    Thanks for the contact! Cheers. Meri

    ReplyDelete