Roadrunner Travels Along the Gulf Coast in December 2016

Today, I describe some of the last few campgrounds we have visited during our short Nov-Dec trip to Florida.  We want to be in Virginia Beach for the holidays and for Brooks' second birthday.  And Harrison's arrival on or about February 5, 2017.

The main goal of our trip was to get away to Florida, get to Red Bay for repairs and then get back to VB by mid December. If you have followed us in the last couple of months, you may know we've also stayed in campgrounds in the Carolinas and Georgia.
Here are some of the places we've stayed in the last few weeks:

We spent a week at Key West and the last few days there at Sigsbee RV Campground (not too far from the Sigsbee Marina on the map).  Our campsite was one row back from the water.  It was nice.

I really love Key West and the military campground makes it completely affordable.  This was our fourth trip there.

From Key West, we traveled north to Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades and stayed at the Midway Campground.

It was a nice overnight stop but we had no cell phone or internet at that location.  This was our third stay there over the years.

From there we moved on to Fort Myers and stayed at the Gulf Waters RV Resort to see friends, Tom, Carol, Bonar and Christa.

This was a very nice place and a 'resort' to be sure.  Our site cost was $64/night.  It gets more pricey in January during peak snowbird times.  It was worth every penny to get to say hi to them and spend some time there.

After two short days, we moved on to Manatee Springs State Park.  This was a bit of a surprise to us but I felt we camp about as close to camping camping as we've been in a while.

We had zero cell phone and internet coverage.  We were in leaves and tall pines and it was an enjoyable reprieve.  It cost us $25.15 per night to camp there.

Next was the best kept secret of our travels in a while.  This campground, Ho-Hum Campground, is 30 miles south of Apalachicola and right on the water.

 A few things were noteworthy:  the entire campground and sites were level and freshly groomed and graded.  I like that.  The view was spectacular. We had a spot on the water.

This is a shot looking back at the RVs facing the water.

Or we thought we did.  They were not expecting us for two more days so we took another site.  It was still pretty great.  Another great thing about this was the $34/night price.

The days are getting colder as we continuing our travels north.  We thought it important to have full hookups so we opted for the Hurlburt Field FamCamp.

It is only a couple of years old and has great level concrete slabs with full hookups.  At $20/night it works out well.

Next we are headed over to Pensacola Naval Air Station (home of the Blue Angels) and two days at Oak Grove RV Campground for a couple of days.

We prefer to stay at places a little longer that two days, but the other side of that is that we get to see more campgrounds and more of Florida.  We are making our way to Red Bay, AL next week for repairs and hope to add another State Capitol to our list.  We'll be stopping in Montgomery to do that before we get to RB.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - March 2016

Roadrunner Recap
In March, we visited the following locations in Georgia and Florida:

• A - Macon Area Habitat for Humanity Care-A-Vanner Campground, Macon GA
• B - Starke/Gainesville KOA Campground, Stark FL
• C- Word of Life RV Park, Hudson FL 
• D - Savannas Recreation Area Campground, Fort Pierce FL
• E - Phipps County Campground, Stuart FL
• F - North Fort Myers Care-A-Vanner Campground, North Fort Myers FL

One main goal we had for the winter was to see more of Florida.  We were not too familiar with the interior (central) part of the state.  We also had not spent much time on the east coast north of Miami.  We were able to do that this winter and enjoyed county RV campgrounds which are among Florida's best kept secrets.

We started the month at a Habitat build in Macon GA and finished up with another build in North Fort Myers.  Each provided us opportunity to meet and work with some fabulous people.   

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
One thing during the month we didn't spent a lot of money on was diesel fuel.  We began the month with a full tank and only had to fill it up once so we were a couple of hundred dollars better than our goal.
Once again, we did even better in the area of spending for campgrounds.  We also were well under budget in spending for groceries as well.

We had a very good month budget-wise.  Our biggest item was in the area of cell phones.  We converted all our phones, iPads and hotspot (Jet Pack) to Verizon.  At this point it might have been a mistake.  We'll just have to see if we end up getting more service and better coverage at the same or less on a monthly basis.

Biggest Expenses
Paying off our AT&T contract and then not getting our iPad data plan cancelled has proven to be a challenge.  We tried to get the old account paid off and submit it to Verizon for reimbursement. But our account was cancelled in the store so we had no way to access it.  Instead we had to wait until it was posted, go to a AT&T service center then take it back over to a Verizon Center for their payment.  It was a mess.  But we are working through it.  To be continued.

Large One Time Cost Item
see above.

Monthly Average
At $4500 for the month, we continue to spend well over our goal of $4100.  In fact, most of our months since the "Fiscal Year" began for us in May 2015, we have spent more than our monthly objective.

We continue to be on an 'overspending' trend so we will have to readjust our monthly income.  I have long resisted putting down what our income is and also will not reveal our charitable giving.  But our main sources of income continue to be:  Air Force retirement, EDS retirement, online work-for-pay with my former company: MITRE.  The online work has had a steady decline in the number of hours per month and is about 10% of what it has been.

Because of the increasing costs we are incurring, Pam and I looked into our Social Security benefit and what we would be getting if we decided to get that on a monthly basis.  We are 63.  My main goal at the moment is to avoid dipping into our 401k and savings.  We'll see what we need to do in the coming months.

As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - Aug 2014

Roadrunner Recap
We spent the month of August in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

We started out the month in the Washington DC area at Fort Meade, MD.  We stayed at the Army Travel Camp there while visiting Adam and Melissa, then left toward the middle of the month to see friends Mike and Sue in Lancaster County, PA.  We stayed at the Beacon Hill Camping campground. Next, we made our way back down the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, first spending a few days at Assateague State Park - MD, then on to Kiptopeke State Park - VA where we finished up the month.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
We were under budget in most areas and got our averages down to where we like them.  Our year fiscal year starts in June, so for June - August, we are averaging a little over $300 Under Budget.

For August, we are under for:

• Diesel
• RV and Car Maintenance (thank goodness...)
• Groceries (which means we didn't do a lot of entertaining)
• Misc spending
• and 1 Time Costs

We like months where we are $1,241 under budget!

Biggest Expenses
Our biggest expenses this month were for campgrounds.  I upped our budget from under $25 to a little over $28 and we actually spent on average $31.54/day.  This is to be expected since it is high season for campers and we stayed in some State Parks (which are normally a little higher than what we pay at commercial or military parks if we have the choice.)

Large One Time Cost Item
None this month.

Monthly Average

We pay our car insurance quarterly so that will change next month.  Most of our other monthly expenses look pretty good.

That's a snapshot of how we're feeling about the cost of things on this Full-Time Journey.  We are in month 63 of doing it.

Hopefully, some of the thoughts and figures are of some interest/value/curiosity.  If you'd like a blank spreadsheet of what I use I'd be glad to send you it at no charge to do with what you wish.  

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - April 2014

Roadrunner Recap
In April, we spent time near Marty and Elena up near Oracle, AZ and then we moved on over to Sedona to see that spectacular setting.  From there we continued with some beautiful and magnificent views of the Grand Canyon which we saw while staying near Flagstaff.  Then it was time to head back to the home country and see Reid and Amy in Albuquerque.

• Catalina State Park - Tucson, AZ
• Dead Horse State Park - Cottonwood, AZ
• Camp Tuthill (Military Campground) - Flagstaff, AZ
• USA RV Park - Gallup, NM
• Kirkland AFB FamCamp - Albuquerque, NM

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

Biggest Expenses
Campgrounds and medical were two areas that accounted for the majority of our biggest expenses.

Large One Time Cost Item
I got new glasses while in Arizona and that accounted for our biggest expense.

Monthly Average

We are under budget for the month but about $105 over budget on average for the past 11 months.  All in all, I am not unhappy with that result.

As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.


Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - February 2014

In February - we spent the entire month in Tucson at one of our favorite campgrounds:  Agave Gulch FamCamp at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

Some of the highlights of the month were seeing lots of friends. We spent time in Benson AZ, Casa Grande as well as meeting up with folks there in Tucson.  Plus we had friends and family come visit and stay with us at the campground.  And we got together with a couple of RV blogger friends which is always fun!

We took a number of day trips and did a lot of hiking and sight-seeing in Tucson

Roadrunner Recap

• Agave Gulch FamCamp (Tucson, AZ)

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
We had a pretty good month because we camped in one place for the whole month and didn't have any large expenses.

We were under budget in almost all categories which was a nice change.

Biggest Expenses
We were over on food and household items. 

Large One Time Cost Item
We had a couple of big purchases:  a Smokey Joe charcoal grill which I am hoping I can also use as a small wood burning campfire.  We will see on that one.

Also we bought a small sewing machine for some projects we have around the house and Pam did some hems on some clothes.

Monthly Average

After a big couple of months, we were glad to see our expenses go down quite a bit to bring our nine-month average for the year to $27.64 over our $4000 budget.

But that will not last I'm sure.

Thanks for joining us today on this month's look at where our money went.
As always --- if you'd like a free sample copy of my spreadsheet I'd be glad to send it to you just in case you might find it helpful.

Roadrunner Financials - April 2013

Roadrunner Recap
April was a month that began in Georgia for us and ended with our time in Virginia Beach, VA.  Along the way, we spent time in St. Simon's Island and Jekyll Island before going to Augusta, GA and The Master's Golf Tournament.  From their we drove up to Virginia Beach where we finished out the month.

Overall, it was a month where our budget basically flew out the window while we enjoyed the Master's, ate out a lot seeing family and friends and got some new tires for the car.

During the month of April we stayed in the following campgrounds:

• Kings Bay, GA (Eagle's Nest Military Campground)
• Petersburg COE Park, Evans GA
• RVacation Campground, Selma, NC
• Little Creek MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation) Military Park, Norfolk, VA

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

It was a tough month on the budget - the only areas we were under budget were:

• Campgrounds stays (almost $150.00)Groceries (Woot - almost $25.00!)
• 1 Time Costs - (This is a place holder based on what I did last year so that was $200 under)

Biggest Expenses
Our biggest expenses over budget were:

• Car insurance - 6 month premium was due this month.  I could prorate it, but choose to note it when we pay it and have $0 the other 10 months. 
• Diesel fuel ( -$119.88) - (it is only going to get worse I think as we travel more during the summer)
• RV & Car Maintenance - bought new Michelin tires for the Honda.  We could have found cheaper ones but we like Michelin's and you pay for the best….
• Computer accessories - camera tripods, 2 x 32GB cards and an HDMI adapter to hook up the TV to my laptop
• Eating Out - one of our biggest over budget expenses at $356 over…
• Misc (Entertainment/Clothes/Gifts) - $401 over largely because of the gift shop at the Master's Golf Tournament.  I admit it - I went a little nuts there. 

Large One Time Cost Items
Our tires cost us a whooping $766 so this is biggest single expense for us this month.

Monthly Average
At $1650 over budget I realize it is a lot.  However, we spent a lot of time with family and friends, got to see the Master's golf tournament in person and we had to get our tires replaced.  So I take the long (Year to Date) view:

Even though April was a big month, our monthly average for the last 11 months has us $603 under budget.

There you have it for our financials last month - hope some of you find it useful and/or interesting.  Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Until next time...

Roadrunner Financials - March 2013

Roadrunner Recap
During March, stayed at campgrounds in:

• Lake Griffin State Park 
• Falling Waters State Park  
• Pensacola Naval Air Station 
• Hurlburt Field FL FamCamp (Fort Walton Beach)
• Destin FL Army Recreation Area Campground 
• Tyndall AFB FL FamCamp (Panama City)
• Tallahassee (Tallahassee RV Park)
• Kings Bay Submarine Base GA

We were able to see a lot of Florida and check out some great historical places.  It has been a fun month.  The bonus is that we were able to see friends in a number of places including DeBary, Pensacola, Destin and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Nothing real big in this area as we ended up $262.62 under.  We did best in three areas:

• RV and Car Maintenance. I keep a placeholder here and used $342 to pay for a battery solenoid.
• Campgrounds. We were still under our budget though we didn't stay anywhere for very long.
• Groceries.  For just the two of us for the month, we were please with this number.
• Household Items.  We saw a good deal on a sturdy beach umbrella and bought a new coffee pot that was leaking.  

Biggest Expenses
Our biggest expenses continue to be eating out.  But we saw a lot of friends and decided it was worth it and were glad we did.

• Diesel.  We obviously moved around a lot during the month.  I didn't keep track of mileage but we hovered around 7 mpg.
• Eating Out.  Need to add this to the budget for year 5.
• Misc (Entertainment).  Biggest drivers here were 5 rounds of golf, a boat tour and we bought some hats and a new pair of shoes.
• 1 Time Costs - Got our income taxes done and owed a little.  That plus preparation fees accounted for that number.

Large One Time Cost Items
Income taxes and fees were the biggest item, followed by the solenoid.

Monthly Average
We are happy to be under budget this month.  That makes the tenth month in a row for Year 3 (two more months left) that we have been under budget.  Our cumulative monthly average shows us $840 under budget.

That is a recap of where our money went last month.  Thanks for taking a look at the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

45 Month Average of Roadrunner Expenses

We have been at this now for 45 months.  We are bonafide full-timers.  By now, we have a feel for this lifestyle and many of its associated financial costs.  We also know there are many, many ways to do this. But I wanted to be able to answer the question, "How much does it cost to do that".

One answer is, "It depends".  If we have no major repairs or don't eat out too often or no trips or events in the month our costs are low.  But that is not realistic.  I want to know the 'usual' monthly costs.  I have attempted to track our costs every month and put together a compilation.

Below I show the Monthly Budget and our average over 45 months.  The red numbers show where we are over budget.  The two largest areas where we are over is in RV & Car Maintenance and in Miscellaneous Expenses.

RV and Car Maintenance included things like new tires, a new residential refrigerator, new AGM batteries, new inverter, manifold engine and gasket repairs as well as yearly generator maintenance.  Overall, at under $4,400 per month, I am satisfied.

The item that we will have to increase is our budget for diesel fuel. We intend to leave Virginia Beach in May and spend next winter in Arizona by way of Wisconsin and Oregon.

The other comparison I wanted to see was our most recent monthly expenses.  Last month we were well under budget.  That probably will not continue long but I wanted to show that every month is not full of  bad news.

It may seem I am fixated on Finances.  On one hand I am.  On the other, I find great freedom in knowing where things are for us financially.  One great concern of getting older and retiring is wondering if we are spending our future.  At this point - we have been 'treading water' so to speak.  All in all we have not touched our savings and retirement accounts.  As long as we continue to monitor things and don't go crazy at some point, I think we will be fine.

I know life has a way of providing some challenges so we intend to take those in stride and figure it out when we need to.

For know - I feel much better being able to answer the question, "How much does it cost to live like you do?

As always, Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Roadrunner Financials - February 2013

Roadrunner Recap
February was one of our more active months in terms of moving around to different campsites.  We stayed in the following Florida campgrounds:

• Ortona South COE Park (near La Belle, FL)
• Sun-N-Shade RV Resort (Punta Gorda, FL) 
• The Resort - Escapees SKP Campground (Zolfo Springs, FL)
• Cloverleaf 4H Campground (near Lake Placid, FL)
• Lake Louise State Park (near Clermont, FL)
• Lake Griffin State Park (near Chipley, FL)

It has been a great time of seeing lots of friends and some family here in Florida, plus checking out some great Florida State Parks.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
With a month budget at $4,110, we were almost $900 under.  We were almost $500 under in RV maintenance, $400 under in groceries and over $200 under in campground fees.  We were pleased with the nightly campground fee average of $18.82.

Despite moving around the state, we didn't go very far and were under budget in our diesel and gas (for the car) budget.

Biggest Expenses
Between our big day at Spring Training to see the Brave vs Nationals, a new watch and two pairs of new shoes we spent $313 for some of our biggest spending during the month.   

Monthly Average
Anytime we can get almost $900 under budget, we are pleased.  It helps so we can pad the 'unexpected RV maintenance repair' fund.



That's it for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Thanks for joining us! Until next time...

Roadrunner Financials - December 2012

Roadrunner Recap
We spent the entire month at one of my favorite places:  

• Sigsbee Campground in Key West

It was 'Another Day in Paradise' for the whole  month in Key West.

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Biggest Expenses
Not a big mystery on where the money went this month:  eating and gifts in Key West.

Large One Time Cost Item
We did run over run our budget on the internet data plan.

Monthly Average

In December, we had a very good month and came in $700 under budget.   We did not spent any money on diesel fuel or maintenance this month.  Those can be big numbers.

On average for the whole year, 2012 was a good one.  We can't complain, only $300 over budget.  Obviously we need to make some adjustments, but we are very happy.

We had a rough stretch earlier in the year.  Mostly we had RV maintenance issues.  We spent a couple times in the Diesel shop getting our manifold gasket fixed and filters changed and we bought new tires for the Roadrunner.   Our other high prices come from eating out.

 But for the other eight months, we were under budget.  And in the last 12 months we did a round-trip from Key West and back.  We spent time in northern Maine and Canada and put some miles on our vehicles.  We also spent months at time in locations ~ Key West, Virginia Beach and Maynardville TN.  Those longer stays make up for some pricey places we have stayed.  And parking for weeks at a time when we have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity.

So that's a recap of the financials for December 2012 -

I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...  If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - August 2012

Roadrunner Recap
The event of a lifetime was getting to walk our daughter 'down the aisle' in an outdoor ceremony during her wedding to Jonathan (Jon).  It was a beautiful day!

We spent the month over in the military campground before driving west to Tennessee for a few days to see Joan and Mike and our 'Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground'.

• Ocean Pines RV, Oceana NAS Campground, Virginia Beach VA
• Greensboro Campground, Greensboro NC
• Roadrunner Campground and RV Resort, Maynardville TN

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Biggest Expenses
Our biggest spending was in food:  groceries and eating out. It also included some beverages for the wedding.

Large One Time Cost Item
Wedding beverages: $249.11

Monthly Average

The monthly average continues to be under the budget but is on a steady incline beginning in June.  Diesel fuel continues to be above target levels.  All in all, we are very pleased with our spending levels the last few months.
I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...  If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - July 2012

Roadrunner Recap
 This was a pretty fantastic month!  We spent the Fourth of July in Bar Harbor ME watching the parade and then going over to the fairgrounds for the lobster races.

Our specific stops along the way:

• Hadleys Point Campground, Bar Harbor ME
• Pumpkin Patch RV Resort, Herman ME
• Camping la Cle des Champs, Saint-Philippe, Quebec CA
• Camping Alouette, Montreal Quebec
• Lacawanna State Park, Dalton, PA
• Iroquois Campground, Rome NY
• Sea Mist Military RV Campground, Virginia Beach VA

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

We 'saved' a lot of money this money on 'Campgrounds', purchase of 'Household Items', and '1 Time Costs'.

Biggest Expenses
Had a second visit to Portsmouth to repair a leak cause by support that was wearing through the casing.
We also spent a lot on Diesel fuel since we put in a lot of miles on the road.

Large One Time Cost Item
$708 on the RV repair.

Monthly Average

Even with a big repair bill once we got back to Virginia Beach, we were able to stay well below our target monthly spending.  We were glad about that!  
I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...  If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - June 2012

Roadrunner Recap
June was a particularly fun month because our travels took us to the eastern shores of Maine.  We joined up with fellow Full-timers Tom and Cathy in Boston (Hanscom FamCamp) and journeyed north along the eastern seaboard and to Bar Harbor Maine.  We had a fabulous time together. It was really a 'summer' we will remember fondly!

• Andrews FamCamp, Joint Base Andrews, MD  
• West Point FMWR Round Pond Campground, West Point NY
• Hanscom FamCamp AFB, Bedford MA
• Silver Springs Campground, Saco ME
• Hadley's Point Campground, Bar Harbor ME

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

We didn't spend any money on RV Maintenance so, we did well in that category.
We also saved a lot of money because of the military campgrounds we stayed in at MD and MA.
We had no 'One Time Costs' this month so that gave us another $200 'to the good' in that category.

Biggest Expenses

Large One Time Cost Item
The area that accounted for most of our over spending during the month was in the area of eating.  We spent a lot of money on lobster and eating out.

Monthly Average
This is the first month of our fourth year on the road.  We began in June 2009 and May - June is our 'fiscal year'.  I track the spending in calendar years but it skews it a bit since we started fulltiming in the middle of the calendar year.

We had another good month coming in almost $300 under budget with no RV or car repairs.  We need more of these months!
I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...

If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - May 2012

Roadrunner Recap
Our time in Virginia Beach was primarily spent at the Sea Mist Campground.  After a few weeks there, we moved up to DC and spent time at the Andrews AFB Famcamp.

We spent the month of May in two locations:

• Sea Mist RV Campground, Virginia Beach VA
• Joint Base Andrews FamCamp, MD

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see campgrounds:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Biggest Expenses
We paid our car insurance for the semi-annual bill which accounted for the monthly overage.
Another overage was in the area of groceries and entertainment.  I bought some golf shoes and played golf a couple of times.

Large One Time Cost Item
The RV maintenance area has a $3112 bill to repair a head gasket on the Roadrunner.  The gasket plus the aluminum cover needed to be fixed because there engine was leaking. Yikes!  We had the same engine issue in Fort Walton Beach and spent $1100 two months ago... :(

Monthly Average

The bad news on this snapshot is that I found an error on my May 2012 spreadsheet.  It failed to pick up $3112 on our RV maintenance.  That changes all our numbers!

For the month we are well over 2 x the budget for May.  And that spikes our monthly average to over $6000.

I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...

If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - April 2012

Roadrunner Recap

After our time at Patrick AFB we drove over to the Orlando/Kissimmee area to spend some time with Marg and Bill.  We also flew from there to Houston to attend Nephew Mark and fiancee Dean-na's wedding.

At the church for the wedding

• Patrick AFB Famcamp, Cocoa Beach FL
• Tropical Palms Resort, Kissimmee FL
• Kings Bay Naval Station, GA
• Hunter Army Airfield Campground, Savannah GA
• Fort Bragg Smith Lake Campground, Fayetteville GA 

We also went over to Savannah GA and toured around the city and joined up with friends Road and Lisa who were there from Michigan.  Here we are in downtown Savannah at Tubby's:

I remember a couple of things about that meal:  the margaritas that Lisa had and the cheese grits I had for dinner.  The grits were the about the best I've ever had!

Later at Fort Bragg, I remember the new campground sites that had very big concrete pads with the sewer connections on the PS side.  What?  Sometimes you wonder if people who run or build RV campgrounds have ever seen one....

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
 We were under budget this month for RV Maintenance and Groceries.

Biggest Expenses
Wedding and golf and diesel fuel

Large One Time Cost Item
Car rental in Houston:  $94
Hotel in Houston for wedding:  $185
Golf with Bill at Legends GC and golf shirts etc:  $184

Monthly Average
Oops - tough month on the budget coming in at $1357 over!

 Our numbers were better than previous months but it is pretty clear we are well over for the year (May to June).

I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...

If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!