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 September 2020.
Monthly Budget Update: September 2020
In September, we…
- Made a huge payment on the student loan
The interest-free payment freeze for Canada Student Loans ended September 30. We kept saving money for the loan over the last six months with the idea that we would make a lump sum payment before the freeze ended.
On September 18, we sent a whopping $6,361 to the loan — and every single cent went to the principal! That took the balance from $28,390.03 to $22,029.03.
I am genuinely thrilled with this.
- Spent some of my fun money…on actual fun things
In my opinion, the personal spending allowance lines are the most important lines in our budget. Every pay period, Jeff and I get $100 to spend on whatever we want.
For me, I divide this money up between three things every pay period: my Starbucks card, either my robo-advisor TFSA or a charity, and my savings account. Sometimes I spend right away, but more often than not, I save it.
Recently, my savings account crossed $1K! I wasn’t trying to save up that much, but it sure came in handy when I went on my little “treat yoself” online shopping spree.
I’ll share more about what I bought in a later post, but for now, I’ll say this: it was nice to use my fun money for, you know, something fun.
- Ramped up gift savings
Believe it or not, Christmas is just around the corner. We usually send $40/pay period to the gift fund, but we’ve increased that amount now. This is typical practice for us.
- Went out for dinner (twice)
We went out for dinner once to celebrate (more on that in a second) and once to get a little break from renovations at our apartment. Both outings came to about $70 after tip. Expensive, but worth it!
- Jeff got a raise (and retro pay!)
The reason for celebrating! Along with going to dinner, we used some of the extra cash on a couple purchases and tossed a little extra into our emergency fund. Gotta love bonus pay!
October 2020 Goals
Looking ahead, in October, we will…
- Book a freaking dentist appointment!
I included this on my list of things I’ve been putting off. I did fill out the online form, but I have not heard anything from the office yet. Probably going to have to call in. Either way, this absolutely needs to happen so I can get back on track with my appointments.
- Actually start Christmas shopping
I can’t remember the last time I waited so long to start my Christmas shopping. It’s weird to me. Things have just been so busy. That needs to change in October (if for no other reason than because I suspect there will be shipping delays).
- Celebrate our anniversary!
On October 15, 2020, we will celebrate four years married! Because I’m me, I try to stick with the traditional gift theme every year. You would think year four — fruit and flowers — would be simple but boy, did I struggle to come up with something! That said, I think what I landed on is pretty clever. Excited to celebrate!
Your turn! How did September turn out for you? What are your goals for October?
Photo by Shopify Partners from Burst
Super fun that you stick with the traditional anniversary gifts! I love that, and you almost never hear of anyone doing it anymore. Happy anniversary to you two!
Haha, what can I say? I like a good challenge 🙂 I really thought this year would be easy peasy, but it was actually a lot more challenging than I expected it to be — although honestly, that’s just been the story of gifting for this year. Usually I’m pretty good at it, but 2020 has been a struggle, man. I have barely made a dent on Christmas and that is SO unlike me!