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.

Financial Friday 35

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

I’ve been traveling for 2/3 of a year. Let’s see where my money went this week.

Transportation

On Saturday, I rode the metro downtown: $0.19. I had a bit of a pub crawl which involved a lot of drinking, and meeting new people.

By the time 5 AM rolled around, taxis were the only method of transportation available: $1.93. It’s a bit expensive for a cab here, but I was the only passenger so….

On Monday, I took the metro twice: $0.39. The first time was to go to the hospital (more on that later). The second was to go to English club after which I walked home.

On Tuesday, I took the metro twice: $0.39. These trips were to and from Georgian club where I got to show everyone just how terrible my Georgian is.

On Wednesday, I took the metro 3 times. To and from a language exchange, and downtown to hit up a bar that I walked home from.

Accommodation

Rent this month is $5.67 per day, and that’s all for this section. Easy peasy….

Food

There isn’t much to report here. Saturday was a bit more expensive as I went out for food twice.

Other

On Friday night, I had a bit of a scare. I wasn’t feeling well, and my head was messing with me a bit. Since one of the symptoms was chest pain and I still felt shitty on Saturday, I decided to go to the hospital. After a bunch of tests that determined I wasn’t in danger of imminent death, they told me to come back on Monday for another test. The bill for this visit was $105.04.

On Monday, I went back to the hospital for a stress test: $21.24. After that didn’t turn up anything troubling, I went home feeling much better. There’s still something not quite right that I want to get checked out, but I know I’m not going to die so….

On Thursday, I topped up my data for my travel carrier: $15.00. Not very exciting….

Summary

Week 35
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0	2.12	0	0.39	0.39	0.58	0	3.48
Lodging	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	39.69
Food	0	12.35	6.33	6.56	0	4.88	0	30.12
Other	9.1	114.14	9.1	30.34	9.1	9.1	24.1	204.98
Total	14.77	134.28	21.1	42.96	15.16	20.23	29.77	278.27

So this week was a little more expensive than last. I attribute it to my little hospital debacle. Considering all those tests would have cost me at least 4 times as much in the US, I’m still pretty happy though. I should post something about my hospital visit….

Anyway, see you all next week for more financial ramblings.

Financial Friday 34

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

You all should know the deal by now. Let’s see where my money went this week.

Transportation

I was in თიბილისი (Tbilisi) all week so this is pretty boring. I took the metro twice on Tuesday; once on Monday and Thursday as I was out too late to take it back. It would be nice if it ran past midnight. Fortunately, I live close enough to downtown that I can walk home.

Accommodation

Rent for this month comes out to $5.67 per day.

On Friday, I paid the water and electricity bill. Split 4 ways my portion came out to $9.62. Far less than in the West.

On Tuesday, the gas bill was due. Also split 4 ways, my portion was $1.73. And we’ve been doing a lot of cooking.

Food

This came out very cheap. Between a guy I’m teaching English to taking me out for dinner, and eating previously bought groceries, I spent almost nothing for the week.

Other

Far too expensive travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime account: $0.33 per day.

On Saturday, I topped up my data on my Georgian phone: $12.36. That’s for 15G of mobile data for reference.

On Tuesday, we finally got internet service at the house: $3.85. The maintenance guy claims the providers haven’t run cables in this area yet thus making unlimited services unavailable. He bought a used box that pulls in a cell signal, and broadcasts is back out. The problem with that is it runs a little over $11.00 per 50G of data. If it was just me, that wouldn’t be so bad, but the whole house is using it, and we’ve been blowing through data like a hurricane. We’re going to have to find another solution here. Strangling the landlord and maintenance guy has come to mind, but society tends to not like it when you do that….

Summary

Week 34
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0	0	0	0.19	0.38	0	0.19	0.76
Lodging	15.29	5.67	5.67	5.67	7.4	5.67	5.67	51.04
Food	0	0	0	0.77	1.69	4.39	0	6.85
Other	9.1	21.46	9.1	12.95	9.1	9.1	9.1	79.91
Total	24.39	27.13	14.77	19.58	18.57	19.16	14.96	138.56

So this has been a pretty cheap week. My wallet is pretty happy about it; especially since I had to buy a new phone last week.

Anyway, I hope someone enjoyed reading this. See you all next week.

Financial Friday 33

Locations: Batumi, Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 33 of travel has come and gone. Let’s see what my wallet’s been up to.

Transportation

On Sunday, my friend and I took a taxi to the ბაგუმი (Batumi) train station: $2.74. This was considerably more expensive than most taxis since neither Yandex nor Taxify had available drivers. We ended up flagging down a taxi on the street. This is not recommended, but it was either that or not make it to the station on time so….

When we got to the ticket desk, we discovered that all the 2nd class seats were booked (on 2 trains). They wanted 99 Lari ($38.72) for 1st class tickets. We decided that was far too expensive, and walked over to the bus station. Tickets for a tiny ass bus were far more affordable: $9.78. Six hours later we arrived back ‘home’ in თბილისი (Tbilisi).

On Monday, I took the metro twice to go to English club and back: $0.39.

On Tuesday, I also took the metro twice to get to ქართული (Georgian) club: $0.39. Have I mentioned I love the metro here?

Wednesday was insane. I ended up taking 3 taxi rides bouncing all over Tbilisi: $4.50 for all of them. Considering it took around an hour for all that travel, I think I did pretty well on this deal.

On Thursday…you guessed it; more metro: $0.39. This time it was to meet someone for a language exchange. I think I made more progress in an hour than all of my previous study in regard to trying to pronounce those crazy Georgian consonants. I’m still not good at it, but I’m definitely improving.

Accommodation

So there’s the house: $5.67 per day for this month.

Friday and Saturday also included the hostel in Batumi: $10.83 per night. Even put together, the housing expense is pretty reasonable.

Food

Friday and Saturday involved a lot of going out in Batumi for meals.

Wednesday was a crazy, bounce-all-over-town day which inevitably involved a lot of going out and drinking.

Thursday involved a trip to the grocery store as well as a meal out so it looks ‘expensive’ as well.

Other

Way too expensive travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day. Always use protection.

Amazon Prime membership: $0.33 per day.

On Sunday, my Georgian phone was stolen. So on Monday, I bought another one: $192.66. I know it seems like a lot, but the price of data plans on it are so much cheaper than with my ‘travel’ phone. I’ll make up for it in a month or two.

On Wednesday, I had to top up my ‘travel’ phone’s data plan: $15.00. It’ll be worth it when I hit the road again; I swear.

Summary

Week 33
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0	0	12.52	0.39	0.39	4.5	0.39	18.19
Lodging	16.5	16.5	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	61.35
Food	7.07	9.16	4.73	0	5.69	9.15	10.5	46.3
Other	9.1	9.1	9.1	201.71	9.1	24.1	9.1	271.31
Total	32.67	34.76	32.02	207.77	20.85	43.42	25.66	397.15

So yeah, I went over budget this week, and spent a lot more than normal for Georgia. I attribute it all to the nearly $200 phone. Could I have gotten a cheaper one? Yes, but I wanted something nice. I think it’s worth it to splurge on something you use all the time.

Anyway, that wraps it up for this week. See you all next week for another Financial Friday…. And I think I’ll write something about the phone stealing incident this week too. I could make a decent story out of that.

Financial Friday 32

Locations: Tbilisi, Batumi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 32 on the road, and I’ve finally done something ‘interesting’. Here we go….

Transportation

On Saturday, I took the metro twice: $0.41. I went to visit some friends in a different part of town. We hung out for a while and took care of some ‘business’.

Also on Saturday, we took a cab: $1.22 for my portion. A friend was trying to get out of his rental contract that was way too high for თბილისი (Tbilisi). Another friend has been here for over a year, and knows a thing or two about Georgian law. He was able to scare them into not demanding an extra month of rent.

Quick tip: If you’re looking to rent an apartment in Tbilisi, you shouldn’t pay any more than $300 per month. Most likely, it should be around $200 per month. Don’t get ripped off.

On Monday, I took the metro to English Club: $0.20. It’s proven to be a fantastic way to meet people, and help them with their English. Afterwards, some of us went out to a bar, and it was later than the metro runs by the time we were finished. So no return trip (I walked home).

On Thursday, a friend and I decided to go to ბათუმი (Batumi). The train ticket was $9.00 which is a lot for Georgia. It must still be tourist season so it was far more expensive than when I went from Batumi to ქუთაისი (Kutaisi) to Tbilisi in early June. This city is a tourist trap, but a relatively cheap one.

We also took a taxi from the train station to the hostel: $1.17. Normally, I would have walked, but a more than 1 hour walk with bags didn’t sound appealing to my friend. The ride was cheap enough, and we even got some free chacha (Georgian liquor; it’s distilled from wine and is seldom lower than 60% alcohol)! The driver tried to give us his number so we could call him again whenever we needed a ride, but that’s not how we roll.

Travel tip: If you want to take taxis in Georgia, the Yandex app is going to be your best friend. It’s far cheaper than a normal cab fare.

Accommodation

There’s the house rental: $5.48 per day for August and $5.67 per day for September. Hello different number of days in a month.

We’re also staying in a hostel in Batumi: $10.83 per day. That’s why Friday looks so expensive under housing.

Food

On Saturday, I was hanging with friends so we went out to eat. That’s just what you do with friends.

On Tuesday, we (my roommates and I) threw a barbecue and invited a bunch of people over. There were over 20 people crammed into our little yard. We ran out of chairs and tables, but it was still a good time. That’s also why Monday’s and Tuesday’s food bills are higher than ‘normal’.

On Thursday, we were in Batumi so we ‘had’ to visit a few restaurants.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

On Friday, my Amazon Prime service renewed itself: $0.33 per day. If I wanted to be cheap, I could drop it. But I still occasionally order things, and have friends forward them to me. Between that and the TV series, I still think it’s worth it.

Speaking of ordering and having things forwarded…. On Saturday (or was it Friday; it’s listed under Saturday anyway), the dog whistle I ordered off Amazon was dropped in the mail. The cost for shipping a dog whistle from the States to Georgia is $15.00 (if you send it via USPS that is). Now I just get to wait a few weeks for it to show up.

On Tuesday, we had a lady come by to clean the house. My portion came out to $10.00. It was well worth it for the common areas that always manage to get filthy.

Summary

Week 32
	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Total
Travel	0	1.63	0	0.2	0	0	10.17	12
Lodging	5.48	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	5.67	16.5	50.33
Food	4.18	8.97	0.82	7.16	15.88	0.55	9.43	46.99
Other	14.1	14.1	9.1	9.1	19.1	9.1	9.1	83.7
Total	23.76	30.37	15.59	22.13	40.65	15.32	45.2	193.02

So you can see this week was still pretty good despite the barbecue and trip to Batumi. We also hit a new month this week so you know what that means….

Aug 18
	Week 27	Week 28	Week 29	Week 30	Week 31	Week 32	Total
Travel	0	0.41	2.25	0.82	0.2	0	3.68
Lodging	10.96	39.67	74.41	38.36	38.36	5.48	201.76
Food	5.87	25.23	33.74	15.44	10.31	4.18	90.59
Other	36.77	95.87	102.93	79.53	61.39	14.1	376.49
Total	53.6	161.18	213.33	134.15	110.26	23.76	696.28

August has been (by far) the cheapest month so far. If you settle somewhere, and live a ‘normal’ (at least for me) life, it’s really not that expensive to live a traveler life style. This is far less than I was spending at ‘home’ in the States. So if you’re from the West and you think travel is unobtainable, I have news for you: you too can do this.

Until next week….