Where, oh where did it go? Well, it was a year FULL of life's journey's. meeting and making new friends, finding a permanent home, and just enjoying the hell out of our life!!
So, here it is! We met our goal of living within our income and not digging into our savings for extra trips to the states and the Copper Canyon. We lived a life that we feel is very social without breaking the bank.
I'm very encouraged that this next year, our budget will allow us to do a bit more traveling and still stay within our income because we won't have the visa/legal, and home improvement expenses.
| Living Expenses: | Dec - Jan, 2014 | Jan - Feb | Feb - March | March - April | April - May | May - June | June 13-July 29 | August | September | October | November | December |
| Rent w/util | $1,050.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
| Electric | $4.00 | $50.00 | $36.00 | $115.00 | $91.00 | |||||||
| Cell Phone | $16.00 | $16.00 | $16.00 | $15.00 | $16.00 | $31.00 | $125.00 | $23.00 | $0.00 | $30.00 | $0.00 | $14.00 |
| Groceries | $247.00 | $308.00 | $230.00 | $331.00 | $326.00 | $298.00 | $397.00 | $372.00 | $174.00 | $429.00 | $265.00 | $102.00 |
| Meals Out | $274.00 | $283.00 | $167.00 | $382.00 | $255.00 | $224.00 | $897.00 | $273.00 | $284.00 | $175.00 | $263.00 | $63.00 |
| Drinks Only | $211.00 | $193.00 | $164.00 | $130.00 | $160.00 | $136.00 | $0.00 | $170.00 | $110.00 | $196.00 | $224.00 | $34.00 |
| Entertainment | $70.00 | $74.00 | $102.00 | $238.00 | $72.00 | $0.00 | $164.00 | $5.00 | $0.00 | $13.00 | $0.00 | $12.00 |
| Massages | $40.00 | $40.00 | $40.00 | $30.00 | $33.00 | $57.00 | $0.00 | $52.00 | $57.00 | $70.00 | $55.00 | $0.00 |
| Bus/Taxi | $72.00 | $28.00 | $5.00 | $21.00 | $39.00 | $14.00 | $29.00 | $45.00 | $18.00 | $20.00 | $32.00 | $0.00 |
| Dental Cleaning | $24.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $14.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $39.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Incidentals | $22.00 | $4.00 | $23.00 | $20.00 | $31.00 | $25.00 | $844.00 | $25.00 | $82.00 | $26.00 | $22.00 | $60.00 |
| TOTAL | $2,026.00 | $1,950.00 | $1,747.00 | $2,167.00 | $1,946.00 | $1,835.00 | $3,456.00 | $2,001.00 | $1,764.00 | $2,074.00 | $1,861.00 | $1,376.00 |
| TOTAL W/O RENT | $976.00 | $950.00 | $747.00 | $1,167.00 | $946.00 | $835.00 | $2,456.00 | $1,001.00 | $764.00 | $1,074.00 | $861.00 | $376.00 |
| Discr Spending: | ||||||||||||
| Visas/Legal | $72.00 | $600.00 | $402.00 | $223.00 | ||||||||
| Clothes/Shoes/Gifts | $538.00 | $145.00 | $14.00 | $38.00 | ||||||||
| Medical/Life Ins. | $129.00 | $129.00 | $129.00 | $129.00 | $129.00 | $129.00 | $129.00 | $211.00 | $631.00 | $211.00 | $846.00 | $211.00 |
| Tours | $203.00 | $32.00 | $2,152.00 | $78.00 | ||||||||
| Home Improve | $793.00 | $1,110.00 | $678.00 | $120.00 | $605.00 | $232.00 | $48.00 | |||||
| Medical | $60.00 | $15.00 | $184.00 | $91.00 | ||||||||
| Dental | $118.00 | $705.00 | $600.00 | $29.00 | ||||||||
| Air Travel | $1,846.00 | |||||||||||
| Hotels | $38.00 | $90.00 | $90.00 | $0.00 | ||||||||
| Car Rental/Gas | $1,028.00 | |||||||||||
| Spanish Lessons | $117.00 | $124.00 | $36.00 | |||||||||
| TOTAL Discr. | $449.00 | $253.00 | $225.00 | $960.00 | $1,372.00 | $1,512.00 | $3,703.00 | $1,147.00 | $1,178.00 | $3,895.00 | $1,198.00 | $375.00 |
| TOTAL ALL | $2,475.00 | $2,203.00 | $1,972.00 | $3,127.00 | $3,318.00 | $3,347.00 | $7,159.00 | $3,148.00 | $2,942.00 | $5,969.00 | $3,059.00 | $1,751.00 |
TOTAL W/RENT = $24,203
TOTAL W/O RENT = $12,153
TOTAL DISCR = $16,267
TOTAL EVERYTHING = $40,470
We were able to live the way we did without exceeding our annual income nor did we have to dip into savings.
I realize many don't have the same income nor do you have savings. That's an unfortunate fate for many expats.
So, I've decided to put together a budget that is completely doable here in PV. It reflects a rental not with an ocean view but still a very nice, fully furnished apartment with a pool, still on a bus route so no car is needed, eating at local taco stands rather than higher cost restaurants, drinking beer or margaritas at Sea or Cheeky Monkey or some other location where the cost is only $1 for each all day long rather than our beloved micro beers or wine. This is truly a no frills budget but you still get FREE sitting or walking on the beach, FREE glorious sunsets, FREE interaction with friends while having a brew or 2 or 3 or 4.
Rent $ 650
Electric $ 50
Groceries $ 200
Meals Out(10@$10) $ 100
Drinks Only $ 100
Phone $ 15
Bus $ 10
TOTAL LIV EXP $1125 x 12 = $13,500/yr.
This amount could be cut even further if you didn't need a pool. I've seen decent apartments for $500/mo but you could even do a bit more rustic but very clean and livable for $400/mo.
However, if you'd like to live the way we did this last year but not live on the beach with an ocean view, using the monthly rent of $650/mo, your annual expenditure would be $19,953.
What this shows is that depending on your own wants and needs and income, you could live here. How, you live is totally up to you!
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