Budget Update: August 2018

Our monthly budget does not change much. 

It is primarily fixed expenses, like rent, phone bills and car insurance, which remain the same month after month.  Even the amount budgeted to our miscellaneous line (more on that here) stays the same most months. 

So instead of giving a line-by-line breakdown for our monthly budget update, I do something a little different.  Each month, I share five highlights from our budget, along with three goals for the month to come.

Here is the update for August 2018.

Monthly Budget Update: August 2018

In August, we…

• Made a massive payment on our credit line 

We sent a total of $1,798 to our credit line in August – the biggest payment we have ever made on this debt! Thank you, five-pay August! We are currently on track to have this account paid off by November.

Total remaining: $3,693

• Renewed my driver’s license

$90 later, I am good to drive for another four years. Hopefully this is the end of our vehicle-related expenses, at least for a little while.

• Used some of our fun money

This money was originally earmarked for a trip to Iceland, but since we changed up our vacation plans (you can read about that here), this has become more of a fun money account. In August, we used money from this account to pay for a bachelor/bachelorette party and some meals out with friends.

• Researched options for where to keep our emergency fund

We keep a $5K emergency fund. It’s currently in a TFSA with Royal Bank, but we are thinking about moving it. I’m fairly certain I know where it’s going, but I still have some research to do. I’ll share more when we make a decision on this!

• Created budgets for September-March 

In August, we learned Jeff will be staying on at his current job until at least the end of March! This very welcome news meant we were able to start creating the bones of our budget for the next seven months.

September 2018 Goals

Looking ahead, in September we will…

• Add money to our Christmas fund 

We started this sinking fund in August, but now is the time to kick this into high gear. I like to do my shopping early, so the goal is to have this fairly well stocked by November.

For more on how we incorporate sinking funds into our budget, check out this post!

• Make a decision on our emergency fund

As I mentioned in the highlights, we’re thinking about moving this to a new location. By the end of September, I want to act on whatever choice we end up making.

• Investigate cash-back credit card options 

Likely a controversial item to include, but here it is. We still use credit cards occasionally – the difference, of course, being that we don’t carry balances. Instead, we pay them as we use them. I know there are some in the #debtfreecommunity who are very anti-credit card, but I’m not in that camp. I’ve had the same credit card for years and while I like the points program, I think it might be nice to have an option that does a little more for us. So I’m going to look into it and see what options are out there.

Your turn! How did August turn out for you? What are your goals for September?

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