Financial Friday 29

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 29 is done. Let’s see where I spent my money….

Transportation

On Saturday, I used my metro card for 4 of us. Why did I do that you ask? Well, 2 of them were only in town for 3 days so they didn’t have cards. The other one…he really should have one by now. He’s been here longer than I have! Anyway….

On Monday, I went out with the two previously mentioned non-metro card holders, and covered their rides: $0.61 for 3 of us. We also took a taxi across town because we were really tired of walking: $0.82 for just my portion. Little did we know we’d do far more walking, but at least we cut some of it out.

Accommodation

There’s the standard rent for the month: $5.48 per day.

On Sunday, I paid the utility bill: $28.71 for my portion. This included electricity, water, and cleaning the water pipes. The really expensive part was the electricity since it’s been ridiculously hot, and we’re trying to use a window unit to cool the house. Seriously Georgia, you’re like a modern country in so many ways, but when it comes to temperature control….

On Thursday, we had a cleaning person give everything a good scrubbing: $7.34 for my portion. It took her about 4 hours. Multiply what I payed times 5, and that’s what she got. So…really cheap.

Food

Nothing much to report here. On Sunday, I made a large grocery purchase.

On Thursday, I had to go out and find some food to be out of the cleaning lady’s way. I would have preferred to sleep during that time, but she did a really nice job on my room. I’m a little proud to say my room was not the worst place in the house. that honor goes to the kitchen. Such messy, messy people…myself included.

Other

Obligatory travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

On Sunday, I purchased The Handmaid’s Tale in Kindle format: $10.69. It was on sale, and I’ve heard a lot about it so I had to purchase it. It’ll be a while before I get to it, but….

Also on Sunday, I purchased a year’s subscription to a VPN service: $0.13 per day. Because internet security is a good thing. All those ‘free’ WiFi places I’ve been using…yeah, I really should encrypt that data. Not to mention, when we finally get WiFi at the house, I can stream TV over the internet!

On Thursday, I topped up my ‘travel’ carrier’s data plan: $25.00. We’ll see how long I want to maintain this before the price gets to me….

Summary

So as you can see, it’s been a little more expensive than last week. A few bills hit that likely won’t be there next week. In any case, it’s still a good deal under budget so…win!

Catch you all next week.