Money Matters

Soooooo it was a BIG 2nd quarter! Honestly, the budget looks busted in several areas at first glance. However, looking at the big picture it's not so bad! I did have to remind myself that we were "banking" money in the first quarter for this exact purpose. And that while we were parked for the winter some of the categories were 0. That helped a lot with my mindset. Even so the numbers were hard to swallow in some categories. Nonetheless, like I said, in the big picture it still looks good and on track with our projections.

RV Travel was amazing in June! We left FL in early May. We were on the move until we landed in NE the very last day of June. It was a whirlwind of mile after mile. Mostly new territory for us once we got out the of DC area and then it was lots and lots of new scenery for us both as we entered the New England states!

Staying on budget proved challenging in many areas. Especially with Food Out since we did so many touristy things. We often took our cold bag to have snacks and drinks readily available but many meals were consumed away from the RV to which put us in over in this area :(

Believe it or not even with the shorter stays our RV Parking line item was lower then last quarter! Of course we did several nights of dry camping (thank you Wal-Mart and Cabela's)! That certainly helped to keep costs down.

Fuel for the CRV and RV was up as was expected, but keep in mind we had no entry in this category for many months where the RV was concerned, so this is the banking I mentioned above for this exact reason! 

Our grocery category continues to be a sore spot with me. Groceries just continue to increase in price, it's unbelievable. Being back in the midwest just a couple weeks has helped. East coast prices were definitely higher! I know this category is going to have to be adjusted AGAIN. And seriously people we rarely buy meat of any kind so I don't know how others are doing it. I am busting it nearly every month and we eat cheap. Lots of beans and rice! I will continue to try to stretch our dollars but it's a challenge and an unavoidable expense that just continues to grow. UGH!

Prayers were answered with RV travel protection. We  have been so thankful for a sound rig with no major repairs needed while on the road. We did have a few fixes/tweaks to do and thankfully, we were able to do most of them ourselves. That was a great money saver. Love that MiRV is willing and able to do this and that I can usually be a good assistant!

A new change for us this quarter is on the medical care front which was scary but necessary. We will just have to see how that works out for us. With our mobile life right now having a PCM in a location we were not just would not work so we are no longer on the Prime plan. This means no more premiums. It also means we will now do everything with a "cost share". This could be a money saver or not. We will continue to work to stay healthy for sure. However, we know that MiRV has some medical issues that will need attention at some point and being on Prime will be the better scenario to deal with them. Perhaps we will/can opt back in to the Prime to deal with them at some point which will be easier all the way around.

The numbers in black and white...

These are a few of our line items that were OVER for this quarter. You can bet I will be monitoring these and hope to still be on track for the yearly budgeted amount!!!

Household $148.39
Entertainment $262.14
Eating Out $646.77
CRV Fuel $770.55
Groceries $956.60
RV Travel $2032.05 (includes $170.10 in TOLLS)

Believe it or not RV Travel and Entertainment are easily still within reach to be on budget for the year.

A few of our on or under budget categories for this quarter.

RV Parking $1300
Laundry $29.75
Vehicle Upkeep $24.66
Clothing $80.28

So there you have it, a little glimpse into our finances this quarter.

Until next quarter keep track of your pennies, you never know when you might need them!

#MoneyMatters
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