December Financial Summary

December 2008 Results

Campground Fees $406.60 (13.12 per day) - Budget $450.00

We've stayed in the SKP Saguaro Co-Op all month.  Three weeks were at the monthly rate since we arrived before Thanksgiving, and the last week was at the weekly rate.  Also, you pay for electricity separately here and our total electric bill for December was around $75.

RV Clubs $0.00 - Budget $0.00

RV Insurance $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Propane $35.49 - Budget $10.00

We filled up two propane cylinders for December.  Even southern Arizona gets cold at night and the furnace has to be run some.  :)

Cell Phones $85.39 - Budget $85.00

Satellite Internet $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Note:  Satellite internet is not included in our regular expenses.  We now classify it as a business expense.  We paid $798 in December 2007 for all of 2008. 

RV Taxes/Registration $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Satellite TV $79.04 - Budget $75.00

RV Maintenance $0.00 - Budget $50.00

Diesel $0.00 - Budget $150.00

We drove the truck a whopping 3 miles in December.

Gas $44.42 - Budget $170.00

We only drove the Jeep 466 miles in December doing some local exploring.

Truck Maintenance $0.00 - Budget $35.00

Jeep Maintenance $0.00 - Budget $20.00

Truck Insurance $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Jeep Insurance $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Truck Taxes/Registration $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Jeep Taxes/Registration $0.00 - Budget $0.00

Groceries & Dining Out $624.70 ($20.15 per day) - Budget $450.00

Our Groceries & Dining Out budget for 2008 is based on $12 per day per month for groceries PLUS $90 for dining out. 

This month we dined out over a dozen times at about double our budget for dining out.  Had we known we were going to do that, we wouldn't have bought so many groceries early in the month and this category could have looked a little better.  :)

Laundry, Clothing, Hair Care $58.73 - Budget $75.00

Linda stocked up on hair supplies at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Entertainment $433.51 ($13.98 per day) - Budget $200.00

I played over a dozen rounds of golf and some poker.  Between Linda on bingo and me on poker, we won $90 but that doesn't get used to offset the expenses.  :)

Still, we were over $1,000 under budget for the year in this category.

Insurance - Health, Life, Umbrella, Etc. $195.07 - Budget $200.00

Monthly health insurance premium. 

Medical & Dental Expenses $0.00 - Budget $50.00

Miscellaneous $207.23 - Budget $150.00

I bought a new hose, a new electrical adapter, and a new water pressure regulator.  With the holidays, we also had some gift purchases.

Emergencies/Budget Cushion $0.00 - Budget $500.00

Totals $2,170.18 ($70.01 per day) for normal living expenses - Budget $2,170.00

Totals with Emergencies/Budget Cushion $2,170.18 - Budget $2,670.00.

We were a whole 18 cents over budget in normal living expenses.  :)

Even the extra dining out and golf didn't hurt us.

For the year, we were almost $5,000 under budget on normal living expenses - $25,248 actual vs. $30,000 budget.

For a look at the final numbers for 2008, go to Our 2008 Actual Expenses. To see our budget month-by-month click on Our 2008 Budget.

On the business side, we took a loss of ($419) for the month.  December is a big business expense month for us, so we were glad to keep the loss that low.  For the year, we ended up generating just over $10,000 in net income.  Hopefully, we can keep going up a little each year. 

Our business income & expense summary statement is now available at Our 2008 Business Financial Summary page.

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Comments

[Patti and Russ Shelton]

I know you two probably hear this a gazillion times, but I really do appreciate all the information you put out there for us wannabe's. I would like to be a part-timer someday. I lived in AZ for four years during my teens and I know it has changed a lot since the 70's but I do remember those mountains and sunsets. Beautiful! God bless you in your travels.

[Jack Mayer]

Hi H,

It would be interesting to see the Google add income separated out. I think it would help lots of others who would like togo that direction. George (Tioga George) separates his out, and it is very useful to see. You and he would have pretty good comparison data available if yours was separate.....since the two of you have pretty popular RV blogs. JMO.

[Bill]

Howard -

I would like to echo what Jack said - learning more about how your income is generated would be very helpful to those of us that are hoping to change over to full timers.

Thanks

[Judy Schmader]

I just cked out George & Tioga website also and he really does quite well in Google ads as extra income. I was impressed!
southwestjudy