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Dave and Helen Damouth www.damouth.com

19 June, 2001

Notes: (Email us if you have questions about any of this)

• Medical expenses and gifts are not included in the above list. These are so unique to individual situations that our numbers are not useful to anyone else. We have inexpensive medical and dental insurance as part of our retirement benefits.
• Taxes are also unique to individual situations, and are not included here. Some income is taxed and some isn't, and many people can choose whether to put their assets in taxable or non-taxable investments. Taxes are related to total income, which has little to do with expenses, and thus don't belong in an expense listing.
• RV Park expenses for the first year are lower than the second year partially because we had no RV Park expenses at all for one month in March 1988, while the RV was in a repair shop being repaired after an accident. Motel expenses were reimbursed by the insurance company, so the total annual expenses are somewhat lower than they would have been otherwise. We estimate that had the accident not occurred, our RV Park expense for the year would have been $280 higher, our grocery bill would have been $210 higher, and our restaurant bill, $150 higher.
• RV Upgrade expense in the first year included 6 oversize tires (two spares), new bedroom and living room carpet, six high-efficiency halogen light fixtures, and many small items.
• RV Repair: First year major items: two tires (one blowout, one damaged on a curb), replaced tongue jack. Second year: complete brake rebuild on all 4 wheels, including new magnets, two drums, all new bearings, all new shoes; replaced ignitor board for refrigerator; replaced kitchen and lavatory faucets. Third year: new TV antenna, replace brake shoes, two new tires, new propane regulator.  Fourth year: new roof air conditioner, new Radio/CD Player, repair two damaged areas in front fiberglass.
• Miscellaneous Payments includes a wide variety of minor items, including: haircuts, office supplies, postcards, some parking (parking directly associated with an activity included in another category is in that category), gadgets, flashlight batteries, document copies, and mysterious unrecorded cash expenses.
• Entertainment & Hobby includes: museum & park admission, movies, whitewater rafting, concerts, tours, supplies and equipment for crafts and recreational activities.  Year four is unusually high - we did three flightseeing trips and three day-long boat trips in Alaska.  Also, we did an overnight plane trip to the Arctic ocean, and Helen flew cross country to visit our daughter.
• Groceries includes almost everything normally purchased in a supermarket – soap, non-prescription medications, kitchen and bathroom supplies, etc.
• Storage is annual rental on a 150 square foot heated locker containing the remains of our worldly possessions.  There is also a small subitem labeled "storage" under "RV". This is the cost of an RV site which we paid for but didn't actually occupy.  On one occasion, we left the RV on a site in an RV Park while we did an overnight trip with just the truck.  On other occasions, we had a monthly rate on a site in an RV Park, but left it empty for a couple of days while we took the RV to another campsite and then returned.
• Computer Hardware for the first year includes a new laptop computer.