The cost of 2013 Q1

This month, instead of detailing my expenses for the month of March I have decided to expand that to include the first quarter of 2013, as my monthly numbers really do not change by much.

Anyone that has been reading my ‘cost of’ posts in the past few months pretty much knows what will be my #1 cost of the quarter; Gasoline. Fuel accounts for 25% of all my expenses, and I happily pay it in exchange of not paying a rent or mortgage. I somewhat limit my daily traveling to minimize this cost. If I do not drive hundreds of miles each day, and instead focus on experiencing a new attraction within 50-60 miles of my present location, it keeps me from going overboard with fuel costs. For the whole first-quarter, my gasoline cost has been $983 (avg $328 per month). Considering that I have been towing the little trailer around the entire time, at a cost of nearly 20% to my MPG, this is pretty darn good.

To be fair, I should also include the auto insurance and maintenance costs of driving the van on an almost daily basis, which was another $209 for the quarter.

I have been struggling with the actual cost of groceries over what I thought it would be. I am just a single person, and I really do not eat a lot of food, but a mixture of buying higher quality foods and obviously eating more than I though, my groceries for the quarter have cost me $657 (avg $219 per month). Add my dining out costs of $159 (avg $53 per month), which is also higher than I’d like, and my entire cost to eat in the quarter increases to $817! This number has been very surprising to me and probably the easiest place to save a few bucks if I can better organize my eating.

What I figured to be one of my larger expenses, camping & RV parks, has played little role in my budget. I have paid for only 19 nights, with most of those happening in the month of March while staying at the Hostel in Moab at a cost of $7.50 per night. Prior to Moab, I had paid for only 7 nights in two months. My quarterly cost jumped up to $207 (avg of $69 per month) for camping. Although that is still within my budget for “rent” (the combination of gas and camping being less than $500 per month) it is likely a bit high due to the extended stay in Moab this quarter.

My entire goal is to live on $1000 per month or less. Although my income is higher than that, I like the nice round number and it allows me to save the remaining amount for a later date. Needless to say, I have failed to keep it under $1000 for any of the three months, not because I am being frivolous, but because of some ‘start up costs’ in my full-timing. Prior to October 2012, my full-timing has been more like a few weeks on, a few weeks off. Since October I have been 100% exclusive to living in the van which has prompted a few necessary purchases that I may not have made if I were back-n-forth between an apartment and the van. $319 has been spent on household items, a category I reserve for appliances and other tools of daily living. Half of this figure were one-time purchases so next quarter should show a much smaller figure.

Other abnormal costs include $259 in entrance fees and annual park passes, most of which are one-time costs each year, $165 in clothing (I have to look good now that I’m single… right?), and $102 in gifts I have purchased for whomever I was thinking about that day.

And then, as usual, my normal monthly bills; $40 per month for cell phone, $30 per month for storage (increasing to $45 monthly for a larger space now that the trailer is also in storage), and $20 per month for my gym (and shower) membership. And lastly, I purchased a $400 upgrade to my solar setup (which I will detail in another post) to double my incoming solar power so I can use my fridge and computers without worry.

It all boils down to an average of roughly $1200 per month I have spent this quarter.

To summarize my year-to-date figures:
Gasoline total:  $983 in 2013
Food total: $817 in 2013
Camping total: $207 (19 nights total)

Or to put it into daily-averages:
Gasoline: $10.92 per day
Food: $9.07 per day
Camping: $2.3 per day
All of these increased a dime or two as I over-spent in March