I stayed well under budget in the normal expenses of December, but I ate out four times and mailed two packages for Christmas that took a ridiculously long time to get to the U.S. I also tried to shop ahead for snacks for my holiday vacation, but did not buy too much ahead of time. But then we were paid for January just before my departure and I realized I was out of deodorant, so I made a trip to Gables to withdraw 3000 in rand (rand is legal tender in Namibia and could be used in Botswana and Zambia, too) and buy my last minute items.