Financial Friday 40

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 40….

Transportation

All transportation costs were metro trips ($0.19 a piece). It’s a bit high on Tuesday because I used my card to get an extra person in on our way to a restaurant. What, I have friends?!

Accommodation

The cost for October comes out to $5.48 per day while November is $5.67 per day. That extra day changes the cost slightly. Other than that, nothing really happened here.

Food

On Tuesday, I went with some new friends to a Yemeni restaurant. One of the people I was with was from there, and wanted to showcase his culinary culture. Unfortunately (according to him), the food wasn’t that good. I still thought it was fantastic, but…. That just makes me want to go to Yemen to see how awesome this food really is. Will it live up to the hype?

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Friday, I bought some jello: $0.50. I thought I could make fake blood out of the strawberry flavor, but I ended up not using it. One of my roommates had make-up that worked much better.

Also on Friday, I bought a pad of sticky notes: $3.34. I’ve been writing the Georgian names of objects on them, and attaching them to the appropriate surfaces. It’s been somewhat effective having to look at the words every time I want to use something.

Summary

Week 40
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0	0	0	0.19	0.56	0	0.37	1.12
Lodging	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.67	38.55
Food	1.21	2.24	4.68	8.58	9.33	14.29	7.09	47.42
Other	12.94	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	67.54
Total	19.63	16.82	19.26	23.35	24.47	28.87	22.23	154.63

So this has been a pretty good week. And for the month….

Oct 18
	Week 36	Week 37	Week 38	Week 39	Week 40	Total
Travel	1.36	5.79	1.79	3.59	0.75	13.28
Lodging	21.92	47.42	44.12	38.36	32.88	184.7
Food	26.98	51.5	34.19	44.2	40.33	197.2
Other	94.23	89.62	115.93	80.79	58.44	439.01
Total	144.49	194.33	196.03	166.94	132.4	834.19

This is fantastic! It’s not the least expensive month, but it’s certainly one of the better ones. See you all next week….

Financial Friday 39

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 39….

Travel

There’s the normal metro trips: $0.19 each.

On Thursday, I took a couple taxi rides: $2.26. We went out to a couple bars, and came back to the house.

Accommodation

The rent for this month is $5.48 per day.

Food

Nothing’s too out of the ordinary here. These levels look about average.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Thursday, I bought a robe as part of my Halloween costume: $15.09. It’s actually really nice. I’m convinced I couldn’t have gotten the same quality for that price in the US. Halloween’s going to be epic…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Summary

Week 39
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0.38	0.19	0	0.19	0.19	0.38	2.26	3.59
Lodging	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	38.36
Food	11.21	0	5.08	7.55	11.21	6.68	2.47	44.2
Other	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	26.19	80.79
Total	26.17	14.77	19.66	22.32	25.98	21.64	36.4	166.94

So this was a good week…although somewhat boring as far as finances are concerned. See you all next week.

Financial Friday 38

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 38 here we go.

Transportation

On every day except Saturday and Thursday, I took the metro once: $0.19. Or at least it counted as once. On Wednesday, I hopped on and off 3 times, but they were all close enough to each other that it only counted as once. I love the metro here.

On Sunday, some friends an I took a cab to a friend’s barbecue: $0.84.

Accommodation

The rent for this month comes out to $5.48 per day.

On Tuesday, I paid the combined utility bill (electricity, water, and pipe cleaning): $5.76 was my portion for last month. It’s gotten much lower now that we don’t have to run the air conditioner.

Food

Other than going a little overboard on Friday, this was pretty simple. I mostly bought groceries, and cooked myself. Lately, I’ve been trying to limit the amount of carbs I eat which is rather challenging in a country that lives off bread and cheese. I’ve been mostly successful.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Friday, I topped up my data on my travel carrier: $15.00.

On Saturday, a book I pre-ordered came out: $10.69. It’s called Where is She: Travel to Trauma. Though it’s written by a traveler and that’s how it came to my attention, it’s about something that can and does happen globally.

On Monday, I topped up my data with my local carrier: $5.83.

On Wednesday, I got my teeth cleaned: $30.71. While this is significantly more expensive than last time, it’s still so much cheaper than what I would pay in the US. And I love the feeling of clean teeth.

Summary

Week 38
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0.19	0	1.03	0.19	0.19	0.19	0	1.79
Lodging	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	11.24	5.48	5.48	44.12
Food	15.25	2.38	5.18	3.07	4.86	3.45	0	34.19
Other	14.1	19.79	9.1	14.93	9.1	39.81	9.1	115.93
Total	35.02	27.65	20.79	23.67	25.39	48.93	14.58	196.03

So yeah…still under $200 this week. So…winning! See you all next week.

Financial Friday 37

Locations: Lagodekhi, Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 37 is over. Let’s see what my wallet’s been up to.

Transportation

On Friday, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, my travel expenses can be explained by metro trips: $0.19 per trip. Most of them were for language exchanges, but Sunday’s was to see see a friend who left Georgia on Monday. You will be missed…until I see you again.

On Tuesday, a friend and I went to ლაგოდეხი (Lagodehki). The travel expense is from catching a mini-bus after we’d made it most of the way out there. We went hiking in the mountains, but more on that in the ‘other’ section.

On Wednesday, we took a mini-bus back to თბილისი (Tbilisi): $2.70. And we took the metro from where the bus dropped us to the house. The mini-buses / large vans called ‘marshutkas’ by the locals are a cheap way to get around, but they can get rather crowded. This one was no exception as it started off all right, but a few people had to stand towards the end.

Accommodation

The rent on the house is $5.48 per day this month.

On Friday, I payed the gas bill. My portion came out to $1.35. Considering how much we use the kitchen, that’s really cheap.

On Tuesday, the hostel / guesthouse came out to $7.71. Two of us rented a 3 person room, and that’s what my half came to.

Food

On Sunday, I splurged a little for the goodbye party. I ordered trout at a restaurant, and was surprised to find they’d grilled a whole fish! It was delicious though. For reference, the aforementioned trout and a salad, and a glass of wine and some fries at a bar all came out to $11.57. I love it here.

Tuesday and Wednesday involved finding food in Lagodekhi so that’s why they’re a little higher. The food out there is even cheaper than Tbilisi! We ate pretty well.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Friday, I bought a book: $5.87. It’s called ‘Any Way You Can’, and I expect it to teach me a lot about how my body processes energy. I also expect a rather large portion of it to be dedicated to talking about ketones. I’ve developed a mild fascination with the ‘keto’ thing so it should be an interesting read.

On Tuesday, a couple friends an I decided to take a ‘day trip’: $19.28. It included a tour of a wine bottling factory (as well as a lot of wine tasting), a trip to სიღნაღი (Sighnaghi) which is called the romance capital of Georgia, and a stop along the road to see how Georgian bread is made.

Right before the trip back to Tbilisi, it was about half way to Lagodekhi so a friend and I hopped off. It wasn’t easy convincing him to let us off at the main road to go hitchhiking. I think he figured it was an unreliable means of transportation. But we flagged down a truck driver who took us part of the way, and a mini-bus that finished it. If you’re willing to deal with unpredictable times, you can wait along bus routes, flag one down, and pay a fraction of the price for the whole ride.

Summary

Week 37
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0.39	0	0.39	0.39	1.54	2.89	0.19	5.79
Lodging	6.83	5.48	5.48	5.48	13.19	5.48	5.48	47.42
Food	6.05	0.46	13.96	5.59	14.45	9.06	1.93	51.5
Other	14.97	9.1	9.1	9.1	29.15	9.1	9.1	89.62
Total	28.24	15.04	28.93	20.56	58.33	26.53	16.7	194.33

So, it was a little more expensive than just staying in Tbilisi, but I had a lot of fun. See you all next week.

Financial Friday 36

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 36 has come and gone. Let’s see where I spent my money….

Transportation

All transportation costs this week were for the metro, and they all involved going to some sort of language event. I’ve got a couple people helping me with language exchanges so there’s a lot of bouncing around town. For reference, each metro ride costs $0.19.

Accommodation

This is pretty straightforward. We changed months this week, and the number of days in the month with them. This change in the number of days is the reason the numbers change slightly.

Food

On Sunday, we (my roommates and I) hosted a barbecue. Food costs for that day are all BBQ related. The rest is a combination of grocery shopping, and going out.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Tuesday, I bought a pair if hiking shoes: $57.83. Next week, I’m going to spend all day hiking. I’ve done a fair amount of walking in my current shoes, but never spent all day hiking in them so I figured I should get specialized shoes.

Summary

Week 36
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0.58	0.39	0	0.19	0.39	0.39	0.39	2.33
Lodging	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.48	5.48	5.48	5.48	38.93
Food	8.95	1.35	11.66	11.37	9.23	0	6.38	48.94
Other	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.1	66.93	9.1	9.1	121.53
Total	24.3	16.51	26.43	26.14	82.03	14.97	21.35	211.73

This was a pretty good week…. Actually, really good if I subtract the shoes. And since a new month arrived this week….

Sep 18
	Week 32	Week 33	Week 34	Week 35	Week 36	Total
Travel	12	18.19	0.76	3.48	0.97	35.4
Lodging	44.85	61.35	51.04	39.69	17.01	213.94
Food	42.81	46.3	6.85	30.12	21.96	148.04
Other	69.6	271.31	79.91	204.98	27.3	653.1
Total	169.26	397.15	138.56	278.27	67.24	1050.48

This is about average. So if you live your life like mine, this is roughly what you can expect to spend in a month. See you all next week.