Final Expenses for six weeks in Minnesota…Tomorrow, we’re off to Las Vegas!…Busy day!…

Tom, Tammy, and Vincent last night when we all said goodbye.

Here we are, posting late again today. This morning we had our hands full packing, running out to Goodwill, and making a stop at Target for a few last-minute items. 

While preparing today’s post and our final expenses, we decided to include our living costs during these six weeks and how much we spent on replacing our wardrobes in their entirety.

Vincent’s teeth were hurting a little after the morning’s visit to the orthodontist. But, he enjoyed his meal (I forgot to take a photo), his chocolate milk, and time afternoon and evening with us.

Over these past years of world travel, we’ve found it impossible to find proper sizes and clothing suitable for us when we felt a need to replace certain items along the way. I’m not an easy fit with my above-average height, long legs and arms, and clothes for Tom are equally challenging to find for various reasons.

We’ve found clothing purchased in many countries to be less durable at the prices we’re prepared to pay. Even in Australia, with their modern stores, the cost of many items was two to three times higher than a similar product in the US.

Tammy and Vincent at Avenida with us last night for dinner.

As a result of this visit, we’ve decided we’ll stick to buying clothes in the US, especially when we’re hoping to return for a visit every two years. With our recent purchases, we have no doubt our items will last until 2019.

When considering that we’ve spent $2,062.79 for both of us for all of our new clothing and shoes, replacing almost every single item, that translates to only $1031.40 for each of the two years at a total of $515.70 for each of us per year. That’s very reasonable.

Of course, everything we purchased was a bargain when Macy’s was practically “giving away” quality, name-brand items during several sales. Add a trip to the Albertville Factory Outlet Mall, and we replaced everything. 

Another expense listed on today’s final costs as shown here as “pharmacy, luggage, toiletries, misc.” included hundreds of dollars I’d spent for expensive probiotics that I will continue to take over the next six months and the replacement of expired and dwindling supplies of toiletries, cosmetics, and over-the-counter emergency medications. It all added up quickly.

These types of expenses will continue to be necessary when we return to the US. With the high cost of shipping items to us, we’ve decided to wait to make purchases if at all possible. Although, at times, we’ll have no choice but to continue to ship items we may urgently need, such as a replacement laptop and other digital equipment we unable to find outside the US that suits our needs.

Tammy’s tacos looked terrific with the blue corn taco shells in the metal holders, rice, and beans on the side.  We’ve noticed how significant portions are in the US as compared to other countries.

As an example, a few days ago, our portable Doxie scanner died while I was scanning all the receipts we’d accumulated here in Minnesota. Today, I’ll order a new scanner and have it shipped to our mailing service in Nevada for pick-up while we’re there, along with several other items included in today’s total expenses (in an attempt to keep our baggage weight under control from MSP to LAS).

This morning we completed our packing, weighed our bags, and headed out to a nearby Goodwill store to drop off our old clothes and shoes. In the afternoon, we’ll take off to say goodbye to more family members.

With all but the third checked bag already packed and weighed, tomorrow morning won’t be stressful, especially when we’ll leave the hotel two hours before our flight. Tom, the proverbial early bird, prefers to arrive long before necessary, and I go along willingly (without complaint) to avoid adding to his usual “travel day” stress.

Tom ordered his usual sweet and sour chicken without peppers.

In almost every case, once we settle at a restaurant in the airport to wait for our flight, I’m usually happy we arrived early, allowing me additional time to complete the day’s post in the event I wasn’t able to upload it before we left our accommodations.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon with grandson Vincent. We met up with Tammy for dinner at our favorite Avenida, an Asian/Mexican fusion restaurant not far from the hotel where we dined on many occasions. The four of us had a pleasant dinner while I took today’s included photos.

I ordered my usual chopped salad minus corn, minus beans, and minus tortilla strips with a side of shredded beef and sour cream. As always, it was delicious.

We’ll be back tomorrow with our final Minnesota post, and then, on Saturday, we’ll be checking in from Henderson, Nevada. I received a weather warning on my phone in the past hour stating, “Excessive Heat Warning” for tomorrow in Las Vegas, Nevada, with highs expected at 114F, 46C, 4 degrees lower than the recent all-time high of 118F, 48C. Oh, boy! 

Photo from one year ago today, July 6, 2016:

This, dear readers, so much bespoke Vietnam in today’s world. For more Vietnam photos, please click here.