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 Summer 2020.
MONTHLY BUDGET UPDATE: Summer 2020
This summer, we…
- Saved money to put toward the student loan
As I have mentioned, we stopped making actual payments on our loan due to the interest-free payment suspension, announced by the federal government in spring 2020.
We set aside money with the idea that we will make a lump sum payment when the suspension ends. During that time, we saved $5,381! We’ll be sending that money to the loan at the end of September.
- Made progress on our house saving goal
We continued to make progress on our house savings goal. The account currently sits at $4,432.51. We’ve taken a small pause on savings for this account to focus on the student loan, but we’ll be resuming these savings shortly.
- Spent a silly amount of money on the car
Freaking cars. They are such money pits! In total, we put $889.87 into the car this summer. This included replacing the O2 sensor, fixing holes in two of our tires and finally fixing the air conditioner. Hopefully this will be it for a while!
- Went on a couple staycations
Summer travel looked a little different this year. Instead of heading off to Ontario, we went on a couple staycations. In both cases, we visited places in our home province where we have not been before. It wasn’t the summer we had in mind, but we had fun!
- Spent less money than usual
A byproduct of a quieter than normal time, I saved more of my personal money this summer than I have in the past. Between my TFSA and regular savings, I put away close to $1,500! What am I going to use it for? No clue! But I feel pretty proud of it.
September 2020 Goals
Looking ahead, in September, we will…
- Make a big student loan payment
We’ve been saving for the entire summer — this month, we’ll make the payment. This should bring the total of the loan closer to $22K. So excited!
- Do a little shopping
As we move into fall, I need to pick up a couple clothing items. We’re still not going to the mall often, so I suspect I’ll be doing most of this online.
- Resume more regularly blogging
I ended up taking a little longer than planned away from the blog this summer. In September, I want to work toward getting back to my regular schedule. It may take a little time, but I hope you’ll all bare with me.
Your turn! How did the summer turn out for you? What are your goals for September?
Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst
That’s going to feel so good to put all that money towards your student loan! Waaaay more satisfying than just chipping away slowly with the monthly payments 🙂
We just barely went under contract to buy a house, so a lot of our foreseeable future is tied up with the crazy state of limbo we’re in right now. (Although really, hasn’t all of 2020 felt somewhat like a state of limbo?!)
So glad to see you back blogging. We missed you!
As sad as I am that payments are resuming, I am looking forward to knocking that BIG chunk off the balance in a few days time.
Re: the house — that’s exciting! It is always nice to hear about good things happening in the gong show that is 2020.
I missed you guys, too! As evidenced by the fact that I totally missed Thursday this week, I have a bit of work to do to get back into my regular schedule, but I’m working on it 🙂
So thrilled you are back! You’ve done some amazing saving this summer and it’s all going to really pay off! (Haha, literally.) Congrats!
Awe, thank you! I feel like I have SO much catching up to do (plus I am still trying to get settled back into my regular routine). I’m soooo excited to make that big payment soon!