Thursday, June 1, 2017

BUDGET UPDATE - May, 2017

Another year (2016) bites the dust!! A fantastic one for sure!

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.

March was spent with family & friends who visited; meaning a few extra shows/excursions/meals out than normal for us. We also addressed some nagging aches & pains that come along with walking daily on cobblestone streets in Old Town. Our refrigerator ice maker was repaired & we purchased a new all-in-one scanner/copier/printer. This was also the month that the pesos gained on the US dollar, so we lost a bit of purchasing power. All in all, a very good month!

April was a month of saying goodbyes to those headed back north for the summer. Our weather continued to stay absolutely beautiful but warmed up enough to get back into our pool.  3 units in our building have sold & are due to close in May/June. This only leaves our unit unsold. Our lease continues for another year. We'll see how this goes.

May brought Restaurants Weeks & Pride Week to PV. We again took advantage of a few dinners out with friends. Mike & I both have been having a few growing older pain issues that we addressed causing a rise in our medical expenses. The $218 covered orthodics for Mike's shoes for planter faciatus, 2 doctor appointments, 3 chiropractor appointments & 2 appointments with an acupuncturist. Try that in the US! And, we couldn't be more pleased with the excellent modern care!!


Living Expenses:    January  February     March       April        May
Rent w/util  $800   $800   $800   $800   $800 
Electric  $10   $8   $12   $19   $11 
Cell Phone  $22   $22   $22   $22   $22 
Groceries  $187   $182   $128   $341   $209 
Meals Out  $288   $490   $521   $358   $234 
Drinks Only  $112   $243   $217   $113   $95 
Entertainment  $178   $167 
Massages  $37   $25   $49   $35 
Bus/Taxi  $47   $45   $16   $5   $24 
Dental Cleaning  $43 
Incidentals  $48   $100   $50   $111   $89 
Medical Insurance  $328   $328   $328   $328   $328 
TOTAL  $1,879   $2,396   $2,286   $2,146   $1,890 
TOTAL W/O RENT  $1,079   $1,596   $1,486   $1,346   $1,090 
Discr Spending:
Clothes/Shoes/Gifts  $24   $12   $51   $65 
Tours  $210 
Home Improve  $104   $39   $255 
Medical  $100   $139   $176   $25   $218 
Dental
Trips/Vacations  $80   $429 
TOTAL Discr.  $438   $190   $431   $156   $712 
TOTAL ALL  $2,317   $2,586   $2,717   $2,302   $2,602 



* Meals Out: Jan 13x; Feb 19x; Mar 25x; April 16x; May6x
* Drinks Only: Jan 10x; Feb 16x; Mar 14x; April 10x; May 6x
* Trips/Tours:
    January: We took a whale watching/Mariettas Hidden Beach boat trip with friends on the Bruna, owned by Ada Sailing.
    April: We took a photography outing with 12 other friends up to San Sebastian del Oeste in the Sierra mountains and had a fabulous day!
    May: This month we house/pet sat for a friend up in Ajijic, MX in the mountains. We enjoyed a week with a car at our disposal. We definitely took advantage of it. The amount spent includes our bus fare, gas, meals & drinks out, etc.