Thursday, February 24, 2011

Budget Wrap-Up Post Part 1, From Atlanta Airport

Would you believe me if I said life had been a bit busy the last few days? I've managed (somehow) to offload the majority of my belongings (selling what I could), including the left over food.

Left over food? What's that?

Easy, I bought a bottle of apple juice that I never drank. That actually got tossed after spending some quality time fermenting in my car. I also had flour, spices, baking soda and powder, half a (small) vat of yeast, most of a bag of sugar, a pound and a half of lentils (the half actually started @ Moms, and she was less than thrilled to get it back...), Um...I'm sure there was other stuff. I *know* there was, actually, but I didn't sleep last night, so I'm a bit fuzzy...

So far as money totals go, I am not the best keeper of actual really for-reals budgets. Really not. But I grabbed up all the receipts I could find (and guessed on some of the others...) and came up right around $400 for most food including non-chip cheating. Um, and excluding the month I just kinda took off. I think I spent about $150 that month...

For cheating, really it was probably about another $500. I don't see how it could really have been more. I know how much money I had last year, and how much was left after paying for everything else that I couldn't play with. I probably averaged about a bag of chips a week, if you spread it all out and included the couple (several?) times I ate the chips but didn't admit to it.

I ate over at moms, I don't know, maybe once a month? Once every other month? I got a meal out of dad around my birthday. Mom also probably supplied me with around $50-100 worth of veg and random other stuff. I'm not totally sure of that number, actually. I'll check with her when I get where I'm going.

Those numbers really don't sound right, though. That puts me at a total food cost of close to $100 a month, and I'm pretty sure I *never* had that much. Maybe including the soda, but I doubt even then. Bookkeeping FAIL, I suspect.

Or else I wasted a heck of a lot more money than I thought I did.

Now, off to grab some food from this here sky club before I have to leave and catch my forking flight. You know a day is going well when your only really clear thought is "what in the name of santa claus am I forking doing!!!???"

Bear will be very sad.

2 comments:

  1. Read your blog for practically the entire journey of yours. I just want to wish you luck on your adventures. My only bit of advice for Mexico: when eating street food, eat at the booth where the locals are flocking.

    Also, I stayed in a place by the bus terminal and was happy there. There were some very inexpensive hostels there (I think Lonely Planet had many listed). Got around pretty great via bus. I did venture to the tourist area (aka the beach), but only at the local spots. You should hang at Tulum if that is your thing. Lots of buses go there.

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  2. I learned the "eat at the busy street food stand" the first time I wandered into NYC by myself.

    Yep, found a great (pretty cheap) place right by the bus stop and some cheap tacarias. Just have to call the 'rents and let them know that my cold (warm?) dead body isn't rotting in a ditch somewhere.

    Actually, I think I might head up to Holbox next week. Quieter, lazier, etc. I can always hit Tulum later. It's not going anywhere (yet).

    By Monday I'll try to have all the recipes and whatnot worked out. I think I might just have time to get some stuff done here. Now, I gotta go hunt down a bottle (or two) of water and a bottle (or two) of beer, and maybe even some food before it gets dark.

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