I don’t even want to spell it out. I went way over what I made, even spending less than $300 for the entire time I was in Nepal. Biggest problem is that all of my normal bills left me with about $700 leftover for everything else. And everything else was WAY more than that.
The places I saved was about $80 in gas, since I didn’t drive the last 10 days, and snacks and drinks, on which I spent less than $9. Kids activities spending was down by $115. Licensing was down by $300 (but it’s still an extra expense I won’t have next month).
Places I blew it: Fast food was $20 more thanks to eating at work a few times. Groceries were $100 more thanks to buying snacks and shit for the trip. Shopping was up by more than $200 thanks to buying some things for my niece and family in Nepal. Suprise expenses were up by $400 (?!) due to vet bills and a sewer bill that went up by 3x thanks to issues our township is having.
This month is one I simply can never repeat. In spite of cheap living in Nepal, all of the pre-shopping (for people there, for M, for snacks on the way) tipped the scale. Next time I’m not buying M so much for the trip (I’ll let her pick 5 things at the dollar store) nor am I bringing so much for people in Nepal (unless they want to pay me for it).
Where I’ll improve for sure: Good news, no more nursing licensing fees. In fact, the companies will be reimbursing me for a lot of it from now on. Also, no more vet fees since my cat died. No travel fees for November or December. I’ll be working hard to save on gas, groceries, snacks/eating out, shopping, and kids activities, as always. I had to buy extra groceries for Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas is coming up of course so it’s going to be a one or two present deal this year. I am working Thanksgiving though, so that should bump up my income a bit. I need some overtime though.
2017: I have a strict budget set up for my new job and new life, and the great news is that I’m going to come out with much more wiggle room than before! I’ll actually be able to save and then pay down debt. That’s the whole point (besides the adventure), right?
Mother of All Things 
I’m sorry to hear about your cat 😦