So, as we begin the New Year of 2017, a brief explanation for any new folks that might be reading this blog. Mike & I decided to call Puerto Vallarta, MX our home after living in 5 other Latin American countries and 11 towns/villages. (You can read all about our journey by going to the Archives listed on the bottom right of the blog page.) It's now been 3 full years, as of December 15, 2016.
The posted budget/expenditures are for 2 people and are reflected in US Dollars, since that's the method we get paid in. I did change some of the line items around this year such as, I moved our health insurance coverage up into the Living Expenses. If you won't need this line item in your budget, just deduct it.
Our rent is actually a reduced amount from the original $1,000/month we initially began paying. Over time, we have been doing some of the property management and coordination with our mozo (property caretaker), so our landlord's were gracious enough to reduce our rent to $800/month to show their appreciation for our efforts.
Our condo is in a small 5 unit building at the end of a dead end street across from the Tropicana Hotel only one short block from the beach in Old Town on the south side. We have 1,200sf (including our small front terrace & back patio/workshop/laundry area), 1br/1ba, fully furnished, modern, with a terrace peak a boo view of the bay. There is no elevator, 50 steps to our front door, and a rooftop dipping pool, entertainment, sunning area with beautiful views of the bay. All utilities except electric are included in our rent (water, gas, TV, & internet)
January was a busy month with theater openings (I was asked to continue doing some marketing for both Act II & The Palm), so I receive free tickets in return. We continue to meet with people who want to consider PV as a place to retire. Linda Ellerbee (yes, the well renown journalist) and I organized a Women's Gathering (no march) here in PV in only 4 days. We had 500+ people in attendance and we were thrilled!
February saw high season hit with a vengeance! Several friends in from out of town, which of course means, we get to be on vacation with them. So more times out for meals & drinks, entertainment, & visits all over the Bay to show off our beautiful piece of heaven.
| Living Expenses: | January | February |
| Rent w/util | $ 800 | $ 800 |
| Electric | $ 10 | $ 8 |
| Cell Phone | $ 22 | $ 22 |
| Groceries | $ 187 | $ 182 |
| Meals Out | $ 288 | $ 490 |
| Drinks Only | $ 112 | $ 243 |
| Entertainment | $ 178 | |
| Massages | $ 37 | |
| Bus/Taxi | $ 47 | $ 45 |
| Dental Cleaning | ||
| Incidentals | $ 48 | $ 100 |
| Medical Insurance | $ 328 | $ 328 |
| TOTAL | $ 1,879 | $ 2,396 |
| TOTAL W/O RENT | $ 1,079 | $ 1,596 |
| Discr Spending: | ||
| Clothes/Shoes/Gifts | $ 24 | $ 12 |
| Tours | $ 210 | |
| Home Improve | $ 104 | $ 39 |
| Medical | $ 100 | $ 139 |
| Dental | ||
| Trips/Vacations | ||
| TOTAL Discr. | $ 438 | $ 190 |
| TOTAL ALL | $ 2,317 | $ 2,586 |
* Meals Out: Jan 13x; Feb 19x
* Drinks Only: Jan 10x; Feb 16x
* Trips/Tours:
January: We took a whale watching/Mariettas Hidden Beach boat trip with friends on the Bruna, owned by Ada Sailing.