It's May! As you may know, this is my favorite month! Bring on the spring time! I thought I would do a quick recap of the last "month" of travel, including some fun facts about ice cream consumption. I started my biking journey at the end of March, so this month will have a few non-April days in it, but here is what we have so far (through and including 05/01/24).
Mileage Stats:
Total Days on Road: 40
Total Days Ridden: 29
Total Miles: 1,440
Average Miles Per Day Ridden: 49.6
Total Hours (moving only): 164
Average (moving) Hours Per Day: 5.7 (5:40)
*my guess would be that average time on the road per day (moving + non-moving) would be around 8 hours. I take a lot of photos, potty breaks and food breaks!
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| Sunshine Coast Highway |
Accommodation stats:
Established Camp: 4
Friend: 13
Motel: 13
Warm Showers: 2
Wild Camp: 8
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| Home for the night |
Budget stats:
*I will probably do this each month going forward, but this time, it will include all 40 days so far.
Accommodation: $1,084
Dining Out: $275
Groceries: $310
Health: $234 (insurance premium)
Transportation: $79 (bus/ferry)
Phone: $81 (this is a family plan, but since I pay for it, I will account for the total)
Entertainment: $292 (bike repairs/satellite messenger)
Misc.: $17 (VPN, credit card fees, gifts)
Total spent for 40 days: $2,357
Monthly (30 day) cost: $1,767
This is good, as my thought was that I would shoot for about $2,000 per month, but I knew I may have to tweak it a little as I got more knowledge about what I was actually spending. I am happy with this, but know that some weeks I may be spending more on accommodation, which is my highest cost.
Also, in the question form (it's not too late! You can still ask questions here), my friend Dr. G asked, "How has your spending changed? Do you spend 10% of what you did before?" Well, I do not spend 10% of what I spent before, maybe more like a third, but I think I will have a lot more clarity on this answer at the end of the year. It is hard right now, as I am still actually paying a lot for home things (repairs, inspections, upgrades) and so this cost above is really only my travel cost, and in all actuality, I probably spent more in the month of April than I have in a very long time (or ever).
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| Peanut butter milkshake at Bend Burger! |
Also, because I know you care, here are my specific ice cream stats:
*I have put these in liters so that they will be consistent. FYI, a normal "half gallon" in the US is about 1.5 L (which is not actually half of a gallon anymore).
Times I have been to the grocery store: 15
Times I have bought ice cream: 7
Total L of ice cream bought: 7.2 L (~5 half gallons)
Total cost: $22.56 (7.2% of grocery spend)
Average $ per L: $3.13 (~ $4.69 per half gallon)
Cheapest: Bremerton, WA / $2.10 per L (~ $3.15 per half gallon)
Most Expensive: Victoria BC / $5.83 per L (~ $8.75 per half gallon) (celebratory pint after good news! Totally worth every bite!)
Favorite Brand so Far: Trader Joes
Least Favorite Brand so Far: Crystal
Okay it's your turn!! How much did you spend on ice cream last month? How many times per month do you go to the grocery store? How much does a "half gallon" or 1.5 L cost in your neck of the woods? What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
I love a good set of numbers! It's interesting to look at spending, but really it's not the total amount, it's what you got for it==>and you got an epic month!
ReplyDeleteI go to the grocery store a couple of times a week. I think half gallon ice cream is somewhere in the 5-7 dollar range, so higher than what you're seeing. My last ice cream purchase was just for me, and it was a pint of dulce de leche from TJs. My favorite ice cream flavor is my go-to from childhood, which is Baskin Robbins pralines n'cream.
Pralines and cream! Good stuff. I used to love one of the nut ones, but now I mostly just get vanilla, chocolate chip, or mint chip. I am avoiding gluten, so cannot have any of the cookie based ones, and I don't really love chunks in my ice cream that much anyway (nuts and good choc chips excepted).
DeleteI agree that the bang for the buck factor is high right now, but I do love seeing how much the bang actually costs in the long run.
This was fun to read! I submitted one question about when you will be in Minnesota. :) I'll think of more questions as they come to me. I could not tell you what ice cream costs since Phil does all of our grocery shopping! I was trying not to eat ice cream but have been leaning on it as a treat lately because life has been kind of extra exhausting with all of my travel, the pace of work, potty training, etc. Phil could make a half gallon last a month because he eats the smallest amount everytime he has ice cream. We go through it MUCH FASTER when I am eating it, too.... My favorite ice cream flavor is moose tracks! Phil goes to the grocery store every Saturday and then we sometimes grab things during the week at Target since my office is only a block from Target.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad loves Moose Tracks too! I don't know why, but I tend to not buy flavors with chunks, although the TJs chocolate chip has really good chocolate! When I have ice cream with K and her family they serve the tiniest servings! They could make a pint last for a few days with the entire family; I don't know how they do it, as I consider a pint a personal (one-time) size myself!
DeleteRe your question, I need to send you an email, but likely...September? Or August? I am ready for the lake! :)
How fun!! I was thinking about you-the weather in NJ has been delightful! Sunny, warm but not humid.
ReplyDeleteWe only go twice a month since I don't like to have a super stuffed refrigerator or pantry. I honestly don't know how much ice cream is here... Vanilla is what we eat, always, it so happens that the kids like it, too. lol We are boring people.
I love vanilla! That is probably my most bought flavor. Also you can always put PB or banana or chocolate etc. on it if you want a bit of a boost. Although I usually don't do that. Plain vanilla for the win! I am so glad that your weather is shaping up! I am in Vancouver now and it has been really nice, although I think we are in for some rain soon. However, I definitely soak up these nice days when I can!
DeleteI think my comment went *poof* into the interwebs? I won't retype it all but the summary is:
ReplyDeleteFav ice cream: anything with peanut butter.
Price per 1.5L: I only buy it on sale...which is usually $3.99-$4.50. I suspect full price it's close to $8?!
If we have flavoured ice cream, I find it hard to resist. But vanilla ice cream in the freezer? I could walk by that for months without feeling any urge to take a bite!
I usually only buy it on sale, so my at home cost would probably be about $2.50 US for 1.5L. However, when I am on the road, I still try to buy the less expensive ones, but sometimes you don't have a choice! I think a lot of things are like that for me, where I could walk by without taking a bite, but once I DO take a bite, I have trouble not taking a lot more bites! It's an all or none thing for me!
Deleteooh love the update!
ReplyDeleteI love all ice cream. Mint chocolate is my favourite. I usually buy a pint of ice cream at a time, which I guess is .5 of a litre? At Waitrose I get organic vanilla ice cream (to eat with apple crumbles), 1 pint is £3.50. However I got a pint of Ben and Jerrys for £1.77 last week at my local sainsburys!
I love the monthly cost summary too. Are you planning to travel for a set amount of time or a set amount of money?
Yeah, I think a pint is 500 mL! I am a huge mint chip fan! I know you probably don't have TJs, but their mint chip is really good because they use good chocolate for their chips! 1.77 pounds for a pint of B&Js in unheard of! Usually those are around $5-$6 here! You must have hit up a great deal!
DeleteRe your question, I plan to travel indefinitely...unless of course I run out of money, but right now I am hoping it lasts me...indefinitely! I basically consider myself retired, and unless I get bored, I plan to stay this way for a long time.
What a fun update! I love seeing this breakdown. I can't believe you're riding 50 miles a day!
ReplyDeleteIce cream is very expensive around here. I usually do the half-gallon, which is around $7-$8. I try to wait until they are half-price!
I agree; I usually wait until they are on sale and stock up. However, when I am on the road, I don't have that luxury, so I just buy them. I guess I need to devise a freezer add-on for the bike so that I can carry it with me! :)
DeleteI have no idea how much ice cream is because we never buy it! I'll pay attention the next time I'm in the frozen food aisle at the grocery store. My uncle did buy me a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar at a convenience store last week and it reminded me about how delicious ice cream is!
ReplyDeleteStrawberry shortcake bar sounds delicious! Did it have real strawberries? Strawberry shortcake (non-ice cream) is my grandma's specialty and she uses real whipped cream and it is so good! However, I could actually do without the cake and could just eat strawberries with whipped cream all day!
DeleteI love ice cream! Vanilla is my favorite, and then I love to add things to it - fruit, chocolate chips, or crumbled up cookies. So many options! My favorite ice cream is Tillamook, which is $5.13 per liter. The Food Club brand is $2.11 per liter, and it's quite good, especially for the price! And it comes in a big bucket, which is handy to use for other things later.
ReplyDeleteI also like the Tillamook one, and always buy it when it is on sale. Their mint chip is also very good, and the chips are not low quality, like some of the other brands. The only issue with the lower priced ones is that they begin to taste almost like margarine vs butter, if you know what I mean. They are not as creamy as the more high end ones. However, on a hot day, I am not always too picky!
DeleteIce cream is life. And the best way to determine whether a place has GOOD ice cream is to find out if their vanilla is top-notch. Your ice cream-based fueling approach for your ride has my full support. ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree; a good vanilla is a good sign. When I was a kid, I used to always order chocolate chip. That was my barometer! My grandmother lived near a bunch of creameries and we would try them all when I went to visit her in the summer.
DeleteAs a fellow numbers nerd, I love the stats. :) And I love that you included the ice cream stats - ice cream makes me happy. I didn't buy any in April, but will for sure by some before May is over.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely up your ice cream consumption. Life is just better with ice cream!
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