Budget Update: July 2019

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 July 2019.

Monthly Budget Update: July 2019

In July, we…

• Put $1,450 toward the student loan

As usual, this amount includes a $450 minimum payment and $1K extra on top of that. The loan currently collects interest at a rate that amounts to $6.50 per day, which means each month, about $200 of that minimum payment just covers interest.

Balance remaining: $35,897.21

• Spent $338 on the car

July is inspection month for us. This covered the inspection cost, an oil and filter change, repairs to our heat shields (expected) and a new axel boot (not so expected).

This could have been a lot worse, considering the current condition of our bumper cover. We’ll be looking into quotes so we can get that repaired in the fall.

• Bought a new MacBook

Remember how I mentioned I was saving for a new computer? It was a good thing I started when I did because July was the month my 10 year old MacBook Pro kicked it.

I’m going to write more about this, but essentially we reached a point where every restart was a gamble. Sometimes it worked, most of the time it did not.

It was time.

My new MacBook Air cost $1,069 (after tax) and I also picked up an external hard-drive for about $90. I covered most of this with my savings and used our emergency fund to cover the rest.

• Got a raise…and retro pay!

The one thing in this update that isn’t an expense! My raise came through in July and I got some retro-pay for it, too! I ended up putting almost all that retro-pay toward savings for my new computer. I felt conflicted at first…now I’m pretty grateful for it, honestly!

• Spent some money on this blog!

The new look is live and I am in love! I wrote more details about the redesign here; all the money for this came from the savings I set aside for blog-related activities! I hope you all love it as much as I do.

August 2019 Goals

August is going to be a strange month for me.

I’m going to be heading off on vacation half-way through the month, coming home, and then going on vacation again! I’m very much looking forward to this, even though it will definitely mean a change to my routine.

Looking ahead, in August, we will…

• Finish booking our Newfoundland trip

The hotel is booked for Newfoundland. The next step will be booking our vehicle and sorting out accommodation in Halifax for the couple days before!

• Spend responsibly while on vacation in Ontario

I’ve already started putting away money for my trip to visit my best friend, but the goal is to not go wild and spend a bunch of money on stuff I don’t need. We have some super fun things planned this year and I am really looking forward to it!

• Book vet appointments for the cats

It’s that time of year again. Getting the girls to the vet is always a traumatizing experience, but it’s worth it to keep them healthy. The goal will be to do this before my vacation. Our cat medical expense sinking fund will certainly help with this!

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

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