Budget Update: December 2020

Our monthly budget update 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 December 2020.

Monthly Budget Update: December 2020

In December, we…

• Paid $450 to the student loan

This is the minimum payment on the student loan. We are finally in a place where most of this money applies to the principal as opposed to interest! Hooray!

Outstanding principal balance: $19,823.68.

• Added $673.17 to our emergency fund

At a minimum, we keep at least $5K in this fund at any given time. We have been working on beefing up our emergency fund over the last couple months. This will continue into 2021; more on that to come.

Current EF balance is: $6,262.14

• Added $518 to the house fund

We continued adding money to our house fund in December. We finished out 2020 with $6,006.78 in this account!

• Stayed on budget for Christmas!

I’ve come a long way when it comes to how we plan for Christmas. It’s fair to say our 2020 Christmas budget was the most successful one I’ve ever created.

When I shared this post about how we were spending the holiday season, we were about $60 under budget; that changed, but we still ended the season with money in the account — $9.87 to be exact. I’m taking that as a win.

• Stepped up RRSP contributions

I contribute a small amount to an RRSP throughout the year. From December through February, I increase our contributions in advance of the deadline. In December, we added $250 to the RRSP, as opposed to the regular $100. Because we are paying back debt, I’m nowhere near maxing it out — one day!

January 2021 Goals

Looking ahead, in January, we will…

• Finish cleaning out our closets

While bigger than our previous apartment, our current place has less storage space. In December, I tackled the closet in the office, sorting through everything on the top shelf and replacing the mix of boxes with clear bins through the dollar store. It looks SO much better — and encouraged me to assess our other closets.

I’ve started the one in our bedroom and, once complete, I will also sort through the hall closet and the coat closet in the living room. The goal: more functional storage and less junk.

• Get a massage

For how much I pay into my benefits, it’s stupid to me that I rarely use them. In November, I got a massage for the first time in years. I went again in December and have another in the books for January. In 2021, I want to try to go at least once a month.

• Start preparing for income tax

This will involve creating a folder for my documents and gathering the ones I already have — primarily charity receipts. Will be an interesting year for taxes, I think, especially with the recent announcement re: claiming work from home expenses. I enjoy doing our taxes so I’m looking forward to this.

Your turn! How did December turn out for you? What are your goals for January?

Photo by Farah from Burst