Where am I?
I am still in Cotacahi, Ecuador.
WanderWallet App I continue to use the WanderWallet app on my iPhone to record all expenses. I am able to enter a "trip" and set goals to help me stay on target. For example, my daily goal is to spend $40 or less, which would be a total $1,160 for the month of February ($40 x 29 days = $1,160).
February 1 - 29, 2020 Expenses: $965.72
Cigna Global Health Insurance $232.00
Eating Out $130.60 Groceries $334.24
Data & Streaming $ 40.15
Cell Phone $ 42.51 (AT&T US Plan 3GB)
Transportation $ 0.00
Alcoholic Drinks $ 62.00
Coffee $ 2.00
Entertainment $ 25.00
Shopping $ 95.22 (Included hair cut & color $60)
Gifts & Donations $ 2.00
Lodging $ 0.00 (Staying at my cousin's house & 8-day house sit)
Daily Average: $955.57/ 29 days = $33.30 / day
Weekly Average: $33.30 x 7 days = $233.10 / week
My expenses were below my target budget by $1,160 - $965.72 = $194.28.
Savings Rate
February was a low income month unfortunately. However, my expenses were still only 14% of my income, resulting in an 86% savings rate. This is still astonishing!!
Why was my income low this month?
One of my regular clients was making some transitions in their business in January which then in turn they did not have as much work for me as normal. I record my income by the date in which the funds hit my bank account. With this particular client, they receive invoices from me on the 14th and 29th of each month, and then it takes about 10 days for the payment to process. So work completed in the second half of the month is not recorded in my spreadsheet until a week into the next month.
What have I learned?
Saving is still fun! I'm 8 months of the nomadic lifestyle, I continue to be tickled pink on the lack of purchases I make in general.
I am starting to get a shopping bug. I think that's because after inventorying all of my belongs, I'm ready to part with many of shoes and clothes that are too big now. In particular, my new Merrell walking shoes that I bought specifically for this lifestyle are not has comfortable as I was hoping. The shoe box is too big for my foot. I'd like to get back into a traditional style running shoe, and I'd like to find a pair of sandals like Keen, Columbia or Teva that are are multipurpose for hiking, walking, and water activities. If I can find these two items sooner than later, then I can part with 4 other pairs of shoes that are not as functional as I need at this point.
Life in Ecuador is very affordable and it makes sense why there are so many retired expats here. You can live a tranquil and relaxing life with healthy foods and great people.
March Goals
Ugh! March will be the most expensive month of the year for me. The first week I will still be in Ecuador and then I'm treating myself to a Walt Disney World vacation while I attend a math conference in the area. Then the second half of the month I'm relocating to Belize. Unfortunately, it will be high season when I arrive so I'll be paying a pretty penny for accommodations. Plus, I have friend visiting for the week and I want to plan touristy type excursions with her. Knowing that I'll fork out a pretty penny, I'm hoping expenses for the month of March will be around $5,500 to $6,000; and I'm shooting for a savings rate around 60% however, March could be one of my highest earning months so I might actually get that savings rate close to 70% even after a high spend month. We will see!
Questions? Suggestions?
Use the comment sections below, or send me a message.
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