So I’ve been telling you all about how you should set a budget and track every penny. But, do WE actually do it?
Well, ya, we do.
That’s not to say that we’re always under budget. How much of a challenge would that be? But we do live on a budget and track our spending regularly.
Many people avoid budgets because they don’t want to feel restricted or because they haven’t been able to stick to their budget in the past.
Our budget is our roadmap to meet our financial goals. If we follow our budget, I can stay home with our Little Miss, we will have money set aside for emergencies, and we’ll be completely debt free in our mid thirties. For us that means mortgage free too. The budget has evolved over time to reflect our goals and priorities and it will keep evolving as we do.
That might sound a little too theoretical for you. So we decided to over-share and post our monthly expenses compared to our budget.
We’re hoping the real life example will help those who have struggled with budgeting in the past.
Everyone has their own priorities and this budget is tailored to us. So, you can’t compare your own numbers to ours. But realistically that’s why we look at budgets online, isn’t it? Some will think we’re cheap. Some will think we’re spendthrifts. That’s just how it goes. The important thing is to focus on your own numbers and decide what would work best for you.
February Expenses
| Expense | Budget | Actual | Description |
Housing: | |||
| Upkeep | 300 | 0 | We were lazy I guess. |
| Property Taxes | 250 | 250 | We pay twice a year, but budget monthly. |
| Mortgage Interest | 175 | 175 | The principal portion is below (only expenses go up here). Our total payment is about $1,500, and we’re on track to be mortgage free in our mid thirties. Here are 5 reasons to considering paying off your mortgage early. |
| Home Insurance | 65 | 60 | – |
| Natural Gas | 65 | 112 | We’re on a monthly billing plan. This month we double paid, oops! It gets very cold in Ottawa. We wear slippers and sweaters inside. |
| Electricity | 60 | 62 | We’ve made some huge improvements with our usage. We’re still billed $140 per month, so we’ve got a big credit. |
| Water / Sewer | 50 | 0 | Billed every 2 months. |
| 965 | 659 | No repairs and maintenance. | |
Transportation: | |||
| Gas | 125 | 93 | Gas prices still lower than expected. |
| Repairs and Maintenance | 100 | -197 | Finally got reimbursed for a part, thanks for your tenacity Simple Cheap Dad! |
| Auto Insurance | 75 | 64 | – |
| Bus Passes | 50 | 101 | Actual cost is $101, but there’s a tax credit and he get reimbursed a portion through work. |
| Licensing | 15 | 0 | – |
| Bikes | 10 | 0 | – |
| 375 | 61 | Reimbursed for car part. | |
Living Expenses: | |||
| Groceries / Diapers / Toiletries / Beauty/ Cleaning Supplies | 303 | 176 | We were over in January, so we challenged ourselves to get back on budget. Success! |
| Gifts | 100 | 12 | We had a blast at a toddler birthday! |
| Entertainment | 87 | 62 | This is a bit funny. We spend $62 to skate on a free rink for 10 minutes…. We paid for parking, snacks afterwards, and a pink hockey helmet that will grow with the Little Miss. It was the first time she put her foot down for pink and we had to drive to different stores to find it. It’s begun. |
| Entertainment with Friends/Family | 87 | 27 | A work event and curling. We want to make the people we care about a priority, so we put them in our budget. |
| Travel | 83 | 0 | – |
| Spending on Stuff | 83 | 0 | – |
| Hockey | 75 | 56 | Monthly portion of winter hockey. |
| Clothing | 67 | 17 | I bought some new jeans on sale from $48. You know, the mom kind without a zipper. |
| Internet | 55 | 55 | – |
| Cell Phones | 50 | 0 | The bill came in March. (my pay as you go challenge is working so far) |
| Cat Supplies | 40 | 61 | We didn’t buy anything special, so this should work itself out through the year. |
| Little Miss Activities | 25 | 0 | – |
| Medical Expenses | 25 | 0 | – |
| 1,080 | 466 | Winter’s not usually a particularly spendy time for us. | |
Total | 2,420 | 1,186 | What?!!! |
Where Does the Rest of our Money Go? | |||
| Retirement | – | – | 10%+ of salary goes to defined benefit pension contributions and is matched by the employer. |
| Health/Life Insurance/Union | – | – | Simple Cheap Dad gets full benefits at work. |
| Education Savings | 208 | 2,500 | Plus, the government chips in 20% of what we pay, up to $500 each year. |
| Next Car | 100 | 1,200 | We don’t have a car loan, so we set aside money to buy our next car in cash. Oh and our current car was a family gift. |
| Mortgage Principal Payments | – | – | Any extra money and side hustle income is going here. We hope to be mortgage free by 35. Our regular payment has over $1,300/month going to principal. |
Conclusion
This month’s results were a combination of a short month, some weird billing getting pushed forward and a refund on a car part. We ended up under budget by $1,234 (what a fun number!). Our savings rate for the month was a ridiculously high for us 78% (we aim to hit 50%).
We’re not expecting to repeat this level of spending next month. But it was a fun month for our budget check-in!
What About You?
Was short February a normal or a weird month for your budget?
Did anyone tweak their budget this month?
Have you ever spent $60 for a free event?
If you like reading Simple Cheap Mom, tell a friend about the awesome site you found!
