What we spent: November 2017

We spent the first three weeks of November in Oaxaca and the last week in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Since we began our trip September 1 in Mexico City, we have managed to stay under $1,000 USD a month including all costs for two people. This month, what really helped was:

getting big discounts on our apartments in both cities because of long-term stays
purchasing our bus tickets from Oaxaca to San Cristóbal in October (they counted towards October's expenses — and we still were under budget that month!)
cooking a good amount of our meals with fresh ingredients from the markets
the fact that while many consider Mexico mid-range in travel costs, it's seriously cheap compared to any US standards

Total monthly budget (for two people): $1,000 USD

Total daily budget: $32.88 USD

What we spent: $841.40 USD

Average daily cost: $28.05 USD

Days on budget: 3

Days over budget: 7

Days under budget: 20

Accommodation

Total spent: $304.66

Percent of monthly spending: 36.2%

We scored a serious deal with our apartment in Oaxaca (70% off for stays of a month or longer!) and got a pretty killer apartment in San Cristóbal de las Casas for the same price of two dorm beds in a hostel. Even though we ended up paying double accommodation expenses for the four nights we were in Zipolite while maintaining our apartment in Oaxaca, we got a great deal at El Carrizo, a really cheap and laid back hostel on the beach for $2.50 USD per person.

Dining

Total spent: $190.19

Percent of monthly spending: 22.6%

We love good food, and Mexico is one of the best places in the world for culinary delights. Add to that the fact that Oaxaca is a culinary capital of the country, and we definitely ate a good amount while there. We also found some incredible vegetarian and vegan restaurants in San Cristóbal that kept us coming back for more.

Groceries

Total spent: $130.50

Percent of monthly spending: 15.5%

Mexico's markets are full of fresh and local fruits, veggies, meat, seafood, and dairy. In San Cristóbal, we're able to buy about a week's worth of produce for the two of us for under $10 USD.

Alcohol

Total spent: $51.65

Percent of monthly spending: 6.1%

Sweet treats

Total spent: $28.70

Percent of monthly spending: 3.4%

When a yummy pastry will only set you back $0.25-$1, it's even harder to resist.

Health & hygiene

Total spent: $49.28

Percent of monthly spending: 5.9%

This was way more than we spent in this category in September and October, mainly because Rebecca decided to refill prescriptions while it was still convenient, plus we ran out of most of our toiletries at once and needed to restock.