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.

March was a decent month, apart from some one-off expenses, which appear every month in different forms. This time, it was our yearly credit card fee, which is high, but comes with loads of perks and airline miles. And, we bought a battery charger for our camper, to retain and create more electricity.  More parts are needed to become self-sufficient for longer times, but Mark and I are trying to spread the purchases for Zesty, to not go overboard too much each month.  🙂

In March we also splurged on tickets for the fascinating Leonardo da Vinci "The Genius" exhibition in Albuquerque. By going in the evening on the first Friday of the month, we saved $10. Finally an expense in the "entertainment" category!

This poster used to hang in my bedroom for a decade.

As a teenager, I loved writing “backwards” (mirror script) like Leonardo did

Artists built life-size models based on the drawings of da Vinci’s inventions

The ideas and plans da Vinci had in the 1400s were mind-blowing

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.

February was pretty much an average month, with extra expenses going to gifts for Mark's birthday, and to the camper for a bike rack and fuel for our five-day road trip between house sits.  Those were the categories putting us over $1K. We have a serious repair planned for Zesty, but don't know yet when this will happen, since our mechanic of choice lives in San Diego.  The positive? Living costs in New Mexico are lower than in California!

Birthday drinks and dinner at a wine bar & restaurant in Albuquerque, NM