I was going over my expenses recently, lamenting at the high cost of having to pay for a hotel apartment, when a thunderbolt struck.
Perhaps I have been looking at the numbers too objectively and not factoring other things into the mix.
Let’s begin.
Cost of my hotel is $1950/month
But when you break it down, it’s really $1170/month for the business side of things.
Within those amounts, I’d normally have to tack on another $90 on the personal half of the $780, but as it’s included in the hotel, I am removing it from the final amount so that I can figure out what the real cost of the rent is:
- Internet = $50
- Apartment Insurance = $25
- Utilities = $15
In my apartment hotel, I am also receiving these services that I would normally do without:
- Land line = $10 (It’s been so long I have no idea if that’s right)
- Television = $50 (Full cable package, even though I don’t watch TV)
- Weekly Housekeeping = $200 (Also no idea if this is true; never had a housekeeper)
- Furniture & Tools = $$$ (We have our own stuff, but it’s all included in the apartment)
I won’t add those to any of my following totals, but they are items to keep in mind.
I was also driving back and forth between my two cities at $50/week or $200/month.
I do have to pay parking at $55/month, so we have to add that.
So what do we get?
$400 a month in personal apartment expenses, and $970 for the hotel (although some hotels make you pay $12/day to park there, but I didn’t go into that much detail).
Granted, I am still paying the $1950/month for the hotel, but if we think of it as it not being my primary residence, and my living in another city (as I did for most of the year), the numbers look much better.
If you compare it to what I was paying for a hotel on average when I was driving back and forth:
It’s still painful to fork over $1950/month for an apartment (it’s basically an apartment), but looking at it in this perspective makes me feel a tad better.
FB what city do you live in? I live in Vancouver, so I am just curious. Thanks.
I don\’t live in any city at the moment, as it depends on projects. Currently, I\’m in Montreal.
Have you thought about looking into short term residential rentals? Or sub a room/apt for the time needed. There has to be a less costly alternative.
That is short term š
In Canada, we are at a loss for choice in short-term rentals, and 30 days is the cheapest we can get at $1950/month with underground parking (for the winter). I\’m not even joking you, I spent 4 hours checking and calling everywhere.
Still cheaper than our apartment in Arlington, VA and no one cleaned it for us š
*laugh* Thanks. I still think it\’s outrageous for the city we\’re in right now, but we\’re sucking it up.
Sorry how do you get that 1170 biz figure? Is that what they reinburse you?
Oh no. I pay for everything in total, but I can only claim $1170 on my taxes, not $1950, because the Friday and weekends are days I don\’t work.
Wouldn't that be only $1114? 4/7 of the total? Or is there an actual numerical tax limit?