Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting and relatively adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂 That being said, Mark and I seem to manage one big expense a month for some reason, whether it is camper, plane, travel or computer-related. Luckily, we live totally rent-free, wherever we end up.

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. Health insurance and costs are related to my health care as a permanent resident in the US. Mark is still eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts as of today. If a non-emergency were to happen outside of that state, it will be expensive! For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast. I still pay a small quarterly fee in Belgium for health care (required to retain citizenship), which I mention in my year report.

Mark and I recently bought bikes, which, as an exception, I haven't included in my expense overviews.

April was quite the month. Not only was it extremely busy for us, but also extremely expensive. The culprits this time? Zesty, and planning our trip East for this summer. In light of that, we tried to keep the other categories low. Our camper needed two new batteries, which we installed ourselves. The two rear shocks Mark bought months ago, had to be installed by a mechanic.

Our new toys, with rack, swivel, and bag, installed on Zesty

New batteries for Zesty. They fit! 🙂