One Week In...

One of the rules for this healthy hotel living plan is to stay within my allotted per diem.  While it's pretty easy to grocery shop on a budget (the closest Whole Foods is over an hour away, so I'm not sucked in by their pricey goodness), going out to eat adds up.  On previous trips, I normally toss my credit card receipts and don't pay much attention to what I spend on meals, and then when the per diem check comes in, it feels like "free" money - how quickly I forget those discarded receipts!  This trip I've been keeping those receipts and noting how much I left as a tip so that I can accurately tally my food and activity expenses.

The activities so far have been free - the first class at the local yoga studio is complimentary, I have 24 hour access to the hotel gym, and obviously walking doesn't require my wallet.

Therefore, my only expense has been food.  One week in and I've spent $346.43.  Total per diem for the week is $411.75, so I am a net positive!  My friends did pay for my meal in Annapolis, so the numbers don't cover all that I consumed, but I haven't done too bad.  (They insisted that I paid when they were in LA.  I don't remember that, but either way, I appreciate them treating me.)

Keeping track highlights just how expensive it is to eat out often.  I still have a well stocked supply from my first grocery visit, and the total cost of that trip was only $64.  The remainder has been spent in restaurants.  Even small meals out are significantly more expensive than a similar sized meal in my hotel room.

I am not trying to make money off of per diem - I am already saving money versus what I would have spent on meals at home.  But I set a goal up front to stay within per diem, so today was a good check of my progress.  For this upcoming week, I'd like to see the restaurant trips go down a bit and spend more of the money on exercise classes.

I'm looking forward to week two!