Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: dog ownership

Monthly Expenses – September 2019

October 9, 2019 / / 45 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. Since June 2019 - we adopted Maya on June 4th - we have a dog section as well. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

For the month of September, Mark, Maya, and I lived and traveled in our camper van, Zesty. This was interspersed with multiple-day visits to destinations in Quebec and Maine and nights at an Airbnb, a friend's house, a motel, and a hotel, courtesy of my parents, who joined us on September 19th. The generosity of ma and pa kept our expenses lower than they would have been, as they chipped in for groceries, fuel, and a national park pass and treated us to restaurant meals.

Our battery problem started in Halifax and continued on Cape Breton
Our friends Alex and Dave jump started us for the last time in Cavendish, PEI.
They had our size battery in Summerside, PEI.
Swapping our old, defunct car battery for a new one

Despite that, September was still an "average" month, due to camper projects, an expensive bridge toll, and personal splurges. We purchased a new car battery on Prince Edward Island, several parts and tools to fix the van this month, and a few drinks and meals out.

Splurge with food and drinks at the Evermoore Brewery in summerside
Lobster roll! Our first and only one this year.
Confederation Bridge ranks as the most expensive bridge we ever crossed.

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Monthly Expenses – August 2019

September 11, 2019 / / 8 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

Mark, Maya, and I are living  and traveling full-time in our van again, recently in the Maritimes (East Coast) of Canada. That - and a "surprise" hurricane - explains the delays with my blog posts, as we don't have a cost-prohibitive data plan in this country. Ironically, we still pay for the one in the US without using it. Luckily, it is quite easy to find free WiFi here in libraries, visitor centers, Tim Horton's, McDonalds, Walmart, and Canadian Tire, among other businesses. Usually, we briefly stop to grab emails and send the next batch, prepared offline.  Once in a while - ideally on a rainy day - we do more effort to find long-term internet.

Boondocking in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia

August was an average spending month, I'd say, except for the extras, like my dentist visit in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, a haircut before we left on our adventure, and new shoes and flip flops for Mark. But, every month has something special in store! I was tempted to put that $8 for parking under "camping" as we spent the night on the same lot in Halifax, but, parking there is free between 6pm and 8am, so - once again - we boondocked (or "urban camped" in this case) for free and had a nice evening out on top of it.

This is a great brewery in Halifax. Dogs are allowed inside and outside and you can bring in your own (or take-out) food!
Maya enjoys going out with us, whenever possible.

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Monthly Expenses – July 2019

August 5, 2019 / / 23 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂 Since July 2018, Mark and I have been combining van life in our Zesty and house and pet sitting, which we did full-time before that. The best of both worlds! 

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

The first week of July was spent in our camper van (Ontario, Quebec, and Vermont). The rest of the month, Mark, Maya, and I have been living with my in-laws in Massachusetts. We are hitting the road again this weekend.

Using our friend Ryan's driveway (and tools) to replace Zesty's brakes this past weekend.

As usual, the biggest expense category was Zesty, as we had to drive all the way to Newburyport, MA and planned more projects.

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Monthly Expenses – June 2019

July 9, 2019 / / 16 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂 Since July 2018, Mark and I have been combining van life in our Zesty and house and pet sitting, which we did full-time before that. The best of both worlds! 

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

I'm a bit late with my expense report for June. The excuse: a long and challenging ride east with soaring heat and humidity, mediocre camping spots, no internet the last week, an anxious dog, and little time for anything other than driving, searching for shade, and outdoor activities. More about that later. The entire month of June was spent in our camper van Zesty and we have no more house sits lined up.

Driving into Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Scenes on the road
Mark drove the entire way, usually no more than four hours a day.

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