July 2019 Spending

My July 2019 Spending was $4,128. It was a hard month to keep track of spending. I had so many little expenses associated with the purchase of the condo in Spain. I’ll have to go back and tabulate those at a later time.

Business Spending – $2,189

The biggest expense in this category was my lawyer fees fighting the Oregon Medical Board. It’s been 27 months, going strong.

I’m writing this off against my income in the sole proprietorship, so it’s really not a loss for me, it’s a business expense. Thank you Uncle Sam.

I also paid my $500 fine to the California Medical Board for intentionally trying to deceive the public that I’m a board certified physician. Damn criminal doctors, man!

Housing – $1,423

I had to spring for another Airbnb in Spain because I was having a hell of a hard time finding a long-term rental. I just needed a place to live until I could finalize the purchase of the condo.

Another $690 went to my HOA dues for my Portland condo. $384 is my new monthly ongoing HOA dues. And $314 is a special assessment for the next 6 months.

Groceries – $245

Food is cheap here. Just Friday I came home with a 10 lb bag of groceries and spent no more than €10. This was all stuff from the local farmer’s market. It meets in the center of the city every day from 9am-2pm, except Sundays.

I still make all of my food at home. I tried adding in some meat, dairy, and eggs to my diet just to see how I feel. I definitely feel better without animal products but I have to graze a lot more.

Miscellaneous…

The other categories include my utilities back in the US since I’m not renting out the condo. I also spend about €45/month on my rock climbing gym membership.

My health insurance here is €55/month. And I spent $130 on entertainment. Went on a date to watch a movie and had drinks and dinner with friends.

Core Spending

I’m curious what my core spending will be once I rent out the condo in Portland and live full-time in Spain. Perhaps somewhere in the €700/month range.

I won’t know until I live here for a few months. But the reality is that spending will always fluctuate. I could be a lot more strict about it, but I don’t see any reason for that. I’ve worked hard to get my finances to this point, I can now enjoy my savings and income and investments responsibly.

My core July 2019 spending was probably in the $1,500 range. That’s still manageable – the kind of money I can easily make with a few gigs here and there.