We’re having an awfully hard time living as frugally as we hoped we would. You’ll notice that our shopping budget got a bit bloated. If we would quit losing things (Exhibit A: Dinghy and Exhibit B: Corrosion X), we wouldn’t feel compelled to replace them. We purchased a new (to us) dinghy at a swap meet ($150), as well as a brand new sea anchor, which will hold us into nasty seas in the event of storm ($50). For $200 it was a pretty good deal. We also picked up things here and there that we need for various boat projects (it all adds up).
For most of January we were in the beautiful city of La Paz, which means that we are easily lured by shiny things, tacos, and draught beer…mostly tacos and beer. Hence the entertainment budget. The $4.00 beers in Ensenada de los Muertos didn’t help much (but cold beer tasted soooo good).
We also splurged and decided to stay at a marina so that 1) we would be able to tackle the many boat projects that have weaseled their way onto our list, 2) we’d be closer to the hub of action and maybe be more social as a result (we have full blown introversion these days…well, at least Tack and I do), and 3) I could put in some more hours doing work since we have endless energy and internet.
Finally, I forgot to cancel our Boat US insurance, which unfortunately won’t be following us to Mexico because we can’t promise them that we’ll be safe in San Diego by hurricane season. I’m hoping to recoup a portion of that $200 (otherwise it’s money down the drain).
All of these things added up to another expensive month. Next month we have the engine repair, which is also gonna set us back. Learning to live frugally really is an art that requires practice, patience, a sprinkle of good luck and a new way of living. All in all, this month has been cheaper than the last four…but we still have some belt tightening to do. We’re working on it…
January budget on Mint.
Our January budget. The red means we went over budget…the green and grey means we were under budget. Not too terrible though. Hoping to recoup $200 for boat insurance, which would bring us closer to the budgeted amount.
UPDATE: I contacted Boat US and they’re refunding us the last month and a half of insurance that we paid. They are unable to cover us in Mexico (because hurricanes pose too much of a risk) but even though I knew this, I forgot to cancel our insurance when we crossed the border (and the payments automatically deduct from our account). This is just another reason to LOVE Boat US. They have excellent customer service. Even though this one was clearly my fault, they still were kind enough to pro-rate our insurance and refund us after the fact.