SEPTEMBER COST OF LIVING

This update is a couple of days overdue, in case you are still following us. As you might be aware, we made it back to Texas last Friday and celebrated our daughter’s birthday over the weekend. We had record high temperatures which meant we were able to play on the beach with the grandkids. We are currently parked with a view of Lake Grapevine. Life is good!

GAS – $1143

We drove a long way during the month. We left mom and dad in British Columbia at the end of August and made it back to north Texas. We were relieved to see cheaper gas prices the further south we traveled. The lowest price we found for diesel was $2.56 a gallon. From June 1st – October 5th, we completed 15,017 miles round trip.

State line on the bridge above Hoover Dam.

CAMPGROUNDS – $1081

We didn’t experience any significant savings on campsites because we did not stay anywhere for a week or more. A few nights were cheaper here and there with the cheapest being $15.50 for a night. Unfortunately, we were visiting popular national parks and most nearby campgrounds were charging average to above average rates.

Retro car and camper in the campsite beside us on historic Route 66.

DINING – $265

This category was much, much lower because we didn’t eat out much at all. Instead, we bought more groceries and I included the cost of those supermarket visits separately below. I feel like I have dropped about five pounds, but I will know for sure at my next doctor visit. Fingers crossed!

Darin hiking down the mule trail at the Grand Canyon.

GROCERIES – $339

I was so delighted to find familiar supermarkets with good prices. I won’t elaborate further since I’ve already mentioned some feelings about Walmart in the past. Preparing meals for  just two people is easy to do under $100 per week.

Feeding the fish at the boat dock on Lake Mead.

ENTERTAINMENT – $249

Since we purchased our national park pass, many of our exploration days were free. Especially when we packed drinks and snacks to take with us.

Hermits Rest is an old stopping place at the Grand Canyon.

MISCELLANEOUS – $676

We encountered two larger expenses this month. The first was a new tire for the fifth wheel that we replaced in California. Since we drove so many miles, we also had to schedule an oil change and fuel filter replacement on the truck.

Just like previous months, we did not track our fixed costs such as insurance, cell phones, truck or RV purchase prices, or storage of our belongings back home. That being said, the grand total for September was $3,753. This was our cheapest month so far!

Stay tuned for our next adventure! We will be sharing more about that very soon.