I moved a *lot* this month and my expenses reflect that.  I also spent a long weekend in Seville with a friend which included a lot of food and wine.  Had I not done that weekend, My expenses would probably be about $250-300 less this month.  I also had my international fight to SEA this month which added $237.

This summary covers travel related expenses for 1-31 January 2016.

Location(s) Visited This Month

  • Dusseldorf, Germany
  • Seville, Spain
  • Tarifa, Spain
  • Malaga, Spain
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Chiang Mai, Thailand

Transportation – $364.11

  • This includes all transportation between cities as well as public transport within cities.
  • I had several flights, notably Barcelona to Bangkok, but I also used Blablacar several times in Spain in lieu of buses and trains. I liked it a lot.

Lodging – $357.54

  • This is a bit lower than it normally would be for a month with limited house sitting, but I had several free nights on hotels.com that I was able to use.  I also had several nights in Seville that my friend paid for which I paid back by covering her food expenses, so about $75 worth of food should be moved to lodging.

Food & Entertainment – $528.09

  • My food was expensive for a few reasons. 1) it includes some added expense for a friend when I was paying her back for lodging. 2) I had no access to a kitchen for most of the month. 3) I spent quite a bit of time in touristy areas where restaurants were expensive. 4) In Thailand, to avoid the ATM fees I would frequently cover the bill for everyone and keep the cash so this artificially inflated the food costs.

Miscellaneous – $75.62

  • This includes expenses for a mobile phone plan and random money from the ATM.  Most transactions in Thailand are in cash and I’m not into tracking cash. 🙂

Monthly Total:  $1325.36

Average monthly spend: $1293.27 ($293.27)*

Given the international flights and an expensive weekend in Seville with a friend, I’m not surprised that I’m over budget this month.

* My average monthly spending target is $1k/mo. This number is the average for the months I’ve been working remotely so far.  The amount in parentheses is the amount I’m over or under my goal.