July 2016 Spending Report

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I got my spending report together a little earlier this month. I’ll be glad when my debt is repaid in a few months and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

7-1-16 My phone auto-payment went through today. Total spent: $34.99

7-2 through 7-4-16 Three days on the mountain with nothing spent

7-5-16 Today was my weekly trip off the mountain. Total spent: (a whopping) $254.88

$15 for laundry

$2.17 to Taco Bell for Breakfast

$5.43 to Dollar Tree for batteries for my fan

$81.53 for gas (my gas tank was nearly empty when I rolled into Babylon, so I needed a lot of gas)

$100 for debt repayment

$.70 to Wal-Mart for money order charge

$16.72 to Wal-Mart for supplies

$25.42 for groceries

$1.89 for coffee and internet use at Panera

$6.02 to Little Caesar’s for a pizza

7-6-16 Today all I did was buy some stamps at the post office. Total spent: $15.38

7-7 through 7-10-16 Four days on the mountain with nothing spent.

7-11-16 I made my reservation on the shuttle for my August trip to a National Park. Total spent: $25

$15 to shuttle service

$10 for lunch and internet use (I lost the receipt, so this is an estimate)

Total spent: $15

7-12-16 Today I went to Babylon again. Total spent: $98.48

$6.75 for laundry

$23.15 for groceries

$43.25 for gas

$5.43 to Dollar Tree for supplies

$17.71 to Wal-Mart for supplies

$2.19 to Panera for a drink and internet use

7-13-16 nothing spent

7-14-16 I had to drive to buy ice today. Total spent: $2.69

7-15 through 7-18-16 Four days on the mountain with nothing spent

7-19-16 Today I spent most of the day using the internet. I bought fries and a drink at the restaurant where I posted up all day. Total spent: $5.08

7-20 through 7-21-16 Two days on the mountain with nothing spent

7-22-16 I had to drive to buy ice today. Total spent: $2.99

7-23 through 7-24-16 Two days on the mountain with nothing spent

7-25-16 Today was the last town run of the month. Total spent: $96.85

$7.75 for laundry

$1.95 to Taco Bell for breakfast (I got the senior discount again)

$1.61 for ice

$1.89 to Panera for coffee and internet use

$30.38 for groceries

$55 for gas

$6.02 to Little Caesar’s for a pizza

7-26-16 Today I mailed a book and a collage to a friend.  Total spent: $3.97

7-27 through 7-28-16 Two days on the mountain with nothing spent

7-28-16 I drove to get ice today. Total spent: $2.69

7-2916 Nothing spent

7-30-16 It’s been so hot, and I needed ice again today. Total spent: $2.69

7-31-16 I ended the month with nothing spent.

Total spent for the month: $545.69

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

2 Responses »

  1. Yes, getting your debt paid off is like getting rid of a ball and chain.

    Do you get bagged ice cubes or block ice? I don’t see as much block ice around as there used to be.

    • I used to get block ice when I could, but now I get ice cubes (they’re usually actually flat rectangle-type shapes). I put the ice in plastic containers with lids. I know the ice melts faster this way, but it keeps me from having two inches of water at the bottom of the ice chest. When there’s water in the ice chest, I tend to lose food when containers slip into the water and become waterlogged. Also, as the ice melts, I have cold water to drink. I figure the money I save not losing food and the pleasure I get from cold water offsets the extra cost of using more ice.

I'd love to know what you think. Please leave a comment.