Where am I?
April 1 - 30: Placencia, Belize
Estimated Expenses & Goals I expected to spend between $3,000 to $3,500 in April, knowing my accommodations would be a large budget item, and then entertainment and my food categories being other high categories. Well, surprise! COVID-19 and the lockdown that follows has been a budget saver for me. I am deeply sad that I cannot explore my area of Belize however, I'm more than happy that I am healthy and safe.
On Thursday April 23, 2020, the Prime Minister of Belize announced a 2-month extension on the State of Emergency orders, which means the country will not be opening up until July 2020 at the earliest. He did say the branches of the government are meeting early next week to discuss how the country can start reopening internally over time. With this information, I was able to update and change my monthly budgets for May and June. I had originally thought I'd be spending around $3,000 to $3,500 during those months, and now I believe May should be around $2,500 and June could be closer to $2,000. We shall see.
So here's the nitty-gritty for April:
April 1 - 30, 2020 Expenses: $2,073.19
Cigna Global Health Insurance $240.00
Eating Out $ 62.31 Groceries $195.57
Data & Streaming $ 10.50
Cell Phone $ 99.78
Transportation $ 17.00
Alcoholic Drinks ---
Coffee ---
Entertainment ---
Shopping ---
Gifts & Donations $100.49
Lodging $1,347.54
Miscellaneous $ 25.00 (tourist visa extension)
Daily Average: $2,073.19 / 30 days = $69.11 / day
Weekly Average: $69.11 x 7 days = $483.74 / week
Savings Rate
This month I was able to save 85% of my income. This exceeds my 75% savings rate goal, and I'm more than pleased.
What have I learned?
I am proud to be a new saver and to talk about personal finance. I am glad I found groups that appreciate the valuable education that comes from talking about this topic.
Recently, I have learned how to blanch vegetables and fruits for freezing, and this allowed me to stay home for several weeks in a row, instead of going to pick up provisions weekly. I did a large grocery haul on March 21, and then picked up a few items on April 1 and then not again until April 21. On April 16, I was able to take advantage of a delivery service by a butcher so I enjoyed stocking up on more meat products.
I love my little slice of heaven off the peninsula of Placencia, Belize and I'm thankful to be in a safe place with ample supplies.
May Goals
'No spend April' was pretty simple since the country was on lockdown and even the restaurants had to close for a few weeks. For June, I am setting a goal of $2,500 for expenses and I expect a savings rate around 80%. Since restaurants will be allowed to reopen for take out purposes only, I do plan to begin enjoying more of the local cuisine. Also, it was just announced by Immigration, the visa extension fees are quadrupling. I was planning on paying $25/month for each extension moving forward however, now it's going to be $100/month. I'm glad I have that wiggle room in my budget.
Questions? Suggestions?
Use the comment sections below, or send me a message.
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