A descriptive look at traveling and full-timing with our second RV, a fifth wheel toyhauler.
Laura and Sasha started this adventure in April of 2005
for a two week vacation in a truck camper.
Expenses of June 2011:
So the plan has changed a little bit: Volunteering in the winter (happened!) during January, February, and a little of March; working in Canyonlands National Park (sort of!) during a little bit of March, almost all of April; working in Grand Canyon National Park (unexpected!) during last bit of April, May, June, July, August and September. After that, we are thinking of heading back to Lake Mead for the late fall through next winter. We shall see!
June 2011 - Where are we - We are in Grand Canyon National Park, Desert View in Arizona.
Expenses: For the Month of June: Not as good as May, because we were buying things for the motorcycle.
| Categories | Things Bought | Amount |
| Food | Food&Household | $280.49 |
| Farmer's Market | $44.65 | |
| Meals to Go | $30.52 | |
| Clothing | Sasha | $24.00 |
| Laura | $18.50 | |
| Household | Laundry | $16.75 |
| Electricity | $127.27 | |
| Rent | $150 | |
| Tools | $88.19 | |
| 5th Wheel | Maintenance | $82.45 |
| Upgrades | $191.60 | |
| Transportation | ||
| Motorcycle | Gas | $10.72 |
| Maintenance | $2,120.00 | |
| Motorcycles | Insurance | $27.75 |
| Upgrades | $204.99 | |
| Truck/RV | Insurance | $390.50 |
| Communication | Postage | $14.54 |
| Internet | $63.10 | |
| Recreation | Gardening | $17.25 |
| Gifts | $50.00 | |
| Losses | Mistakes | $20.35 |
| Total Spent | $3,973.62 |
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OK, June is gone, but I hope we are done buying things as it is turning into an expensive month!
Food: Food was about the same as last month, maybe with a slight uptick. Since there is now a small grocery in our area (with its expensive milk prices) we are paying a bit more for groceries. While we could freeze the milk like we did before, we would just be putting it in our freezer, not the visitor center's freezer as they do not have one. Sasha works at the visitor center in Desert View, and there is no break area really for him and his co-workers. But it is also close to home, so he comes home for lunch. The little office we share with them, has a small (college size) refrigerator, but not a freezer. So I guess you could say, we will have less frozen milk, and more expensive milk.
Sometimes when we go into the village, we get veggies. And while they are a bit more expensive, still, having tomatoes now is quite nice. Being in a state that has an almost all year round growning time is quite a nice extra feature. While the growing season here in the Grand Canyon might be short (like four months I think), the rest of Arizona enjoys a pretty long one. Maybe on one of our longer weekends, we might get down to an area where we can pick our own.
Both in buying food at the grocery as well as going out to eat. If you only go to the grocery store once a month, well, this is what happens. But as Sasha likes having milk in his coffee, it more likely will be a still a pretty small amount for the grocery store. And going out to eat also reflects the less time spent in a town.
I truly think the less time near a bunch of stores (like at a town) means that you spend less. Just look at how we spent lots of money when we were close to town - like at Lake Mead...Of course, part of the expenses were to upgrade our truck and RV but I still think that we were buying more because it was available more. Maybe, hmmm, I might have to think about this some more later.
We did go out to eat a couple of times but mostly in the village, mainly to get a snack or a drink.
Clothing: I had gotten a shirt from Canyonlands, but it did not come in on time, and we had to go. So the shirt was shipped to me. It is nice and I love the design, but it cost $18.50 for a t-shirt. I guess I have gotten used to the thrift store prices. Sasha got a shirt from Sam's and some flip-flops to remake his Crocs. We like Crocs as they are nice and easy to slip on, but the soles go WAY too fast.
Household: Laundry, we are paying for it again. It is $0.75 for the drier and $1.25 for the wash. For an extra quarter in the drier means an extra 10 minutes of drying time. So usually it is $2.25 for a load. My uniform pants and shirts are hung to dry, gets the wrinkles out better that way.
As you can see, our electric bill was quite high, ouch says we. But as it starts to get warmer, we will not need the heaters. Considering that if we were to pay for propane, it might just be the same price.
Canyonlands also caught up to us, and we had to pay them rent, so that was $150 for a month and a half. Oh well, not a bad price. I do not know too many people that pay so low a rent.
We had a few tools for the camper and in general.
5th Wheel: We were having some mouse problems, and so we bought a few mouse traps. Thankfully Sasha - the great man that he is, took care of this problem. But I got something for outside of the RV - called Critter Repellent - Bobcat Urine! Does not smell, and once we put it down, we had a visit from a REAL bobcat, who made a hole in our yard, but has not come back. Hopefully he won't but the mice are now gone!
We also got a few things for the maintenance of the rig as well as the upgrades of the rig - slide out supports, vent replacement lids, and we had to pay for shipping.
Transportation: We did not have to fill up this month! But instead we paid for quite a bit of cycle maintenance, repair, and upgrades. Sasha ordered new wheels/tires/new seat for his motorcycle, and new tires for me. Plus a bunch of extras to keep everything in working order.
Sasha also got gas for his motorcycle when he went out riding on June 10th. He was able to get it at Desert View.
We also paid for Insurance for the truck, motorcycles, and rig. Not too bad considering all. We just do not travel that far with the truck. Each year it seems like we travel less and less. Of course, if we go on road trips, then the mileage could add up. And going into town is far, but if we do not go in too often (once every three weeks) well, then it still could be low.
Communication: Thankfully, this month the internet was just the Verizon card. It seems a little higher now, not sure why, probably more taxes, but it is not a deal breaker. We also had some postage, to send the motorcycle seat back to get it fixed.
Health: Another thankful, now we do not have to pay health insurance for six months.
Recreation: Gardening - I do love to do it, but I do not really understand desert planting. It just is not the same, and doing it in containers is tougher. Maybe something good will happen, but I am pretty sure I will not get the tomatoes I want. :(
Also, our oldest nephew graduated from high school, so we gave him (via mail) cold hard cash. Sure hope he gets it, as we did not insure it.
Losses: I made a costly mistake by not transferring some money from our savings to our checking. We got dinged twice, once for insufficent funds, and for the interest. Just to transfer money to a higher interest rate with another bank. It will take at least two months to recoup those losses. Live and learn.
Check out July Expenses and July Pictures. I had thought June would be the busy season, but it does not seem to be the case. My bet is on July and August, the two hotter months where people will do crazy things. We shall see.