Monthly Budget Update - January 2013

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I've decided to just track my spending for 3 months before coming up with a budget. That way I would have a better idea of what I have been spending and not just pulling numbers from the sky as Gail would say.

The numbers at the bottom are there because I didn't budget to zero, I apparently had $1.84 extra that I can't account for, probably pocket change from the beginning of the month. The "Other" line in income is the carryforward balance from last month in my chequing account. As part of my issues with budgeting that I stated in my blog post What's the Best Way to Budget? I found it hard to balance my budget because I usually had at least something left over from my last budget that gets carried over. If I didn't account for it, it might look like I was overspending when in fact I wasn't. This is going to be especially important for February as I got paid today so even though the income was made in January, the majority of the spending will be made in February, so I have to keep track of the overage so that my February budget won't look completely out of whack.

January was a 3 pay month so my income is abnormally high, so are my savings numbers. I didn't put as much on my debt as I probably should have, but I was just trying to get to a good place to go forward on the year with. Having money in my Planned Spending and Curveball accounts were a good start and should help me with not overspending in the future.

Fast food/restaurants was ridiculously high! I definitely want to get that number down next month. It shouldn't be too hard if we meal plan a bit better. Other anomalies - bought my bunny so pet is high, went to the dentist and chiropractor, and doctor which means prescriptions also had to be filled. I also purchased a year subscription to lumosity.com which cost $72 or the bulk of my entertainment budget (although its more of an educational thing, I didn't feel like adding another line to the budget).

I may have purchased a few things that may not have been on my needs list (read Did I Cheat?) but I didn't purchase any clothing! When was the last month that happened?

How did you do this month?

TTFN,
Morgaine

Shopping Trigger - Boredom

I went to see Gail Vaz-Oxlade speak at Chapters the other night to promote her new book "Money Rules" (its awesome, by the way!)

Rule #125 - Busy People Spend Less Money

I believe this to be very true! In the past, whenever T had a ballhockey game or went home up north and left me to my own devices, those devices usually led me to shopping. I could browse a mall for hours, it was a great time killer.


Now that T and I are going to the gym more I've been finding less time to go shopping than before. It also means I plan my future purchases so that I can buy multiple items on my list at the same time because I'm only going to have limited time to shop. I did this on Monday Did I cheat? and I didn't buy any impulsive items, only those I had planned on buying.

What about you? Do you shop when you're bored, do you find you spend more while browsing (impulsive purchases)?

TTFN,
Morgaine

Did I cheat?

Monday night I did the most dangerous thing that a person on a shopping ban can do, I went to a mall. Ok, I was dropped off at a mall while T went to ballhockey, but I was at a mall. Dufferin Mall in Toronto for anyone who's curious, its close to the gym where he plays.


So, here's a breakdown of what I bought, tell me if you think I broke my Shopping Ban:

Dollarama: plastic container for bunny food (instead of keeping it in the bags they come in which has a seal but I find it doesn't do a good job), mini sweeper set for bunny cage (last one broke), shampoo bottle for the gym, funnels to add shampoo to the bottle at home (instead of buying those mini bottles of shampoo, which I think is a huge rip-off), kleenex.

Walmart: those foam mats for the floor (they look like giant puzzle pieces, picture below) to put down in the bunny's room to give her more room to run around, deodorant (I have maybe a week left in the one I have) + $20 cashback.

And to clarify, these purchases were actually planned, I was just waiting until I went to a mall to pick up these items and the fact that I didn't know when I would get a new bunny meant that I knew I wanted to get those items but I didn't know when. Even though I browsed through the entire Dollarstore and Walmart I didn't purchase anything other than what I had gone in to purchase. Also, the shampoo bottle and funnels will actually save me money in the long run since I won't be purchasing those small bottles already filled.

So, what do you think PF community? Did I cheat?

TTFN,
Morgaine

Weekly Spending: Jan 21-27

1/21 - $19.42 (debit - dinner for me and T)
1/22 - No Spend!
1/23 - $2.02 (debit - breakfast) + $18.93 (debit - dinner for me and T) = $20.95
1/24 - No Spend!
1/25 - $30.00 (credit - my portion of dinner at Red Lobster) + $8.00 parking = $38.00
1/26 - $14.00 (debit - parking) + $55.20 (cash - new bunny at the animal shelter) + $22.00 (debit - bunny supplies) = $91.20
1/27 - No Spend!

Total: $169.57

We didn't do a very good job at meal planning last week and we were busy a few nights with going to the gym and T having early ballhockey games. Friday night was a cheat (from the diet) night, I had Red Lobster's shrimp special (mmmm shrimp) and it was a nice date night for us. We also met up with friends on Saturday night but T paid for that dinner.

And ... we have a new bunny. I have to admit that I really missed having a bunny companion around the house. I had tried all last week contacting people on Kijiji to buy 2 bunnies (preferably babies and a bonded pair) when no one was contacting me back, I decided to look at what was available at the animal shelters around me. And that's when we met Caramel. She is a Holland Lop, she's a big girl so we only got one bunny instead of 2 as planned. She was mis-treated at her original home so its amazing how sweet, gentle, and trusting she is. She's a real sweetheart.

Here she is, meet Caramel:

So, I have to add a pet line to my budget again, but its totally worth it :)

How did your week go?

TTFN,
Morgaine

Cheapest lunch, EVER?!?

Being busy and on a diet isn't easy. Since me and the hubby been trying to lose weight and watch the food budget, we've been trying to think of ways to make healthy meals for cheap. Here's one for lunch:

Chickpea Salad:

1) 1 can of chickpeas
2) half a tomato
3) half a cucumber
4) some salad dressing (I've used both balsamic and Greek and have liked it both times)
5) feta cheese (optional)

Drain chickpeas, chop tomato and cucumber into cubes, drizzle dressing, and add cheese if you'd like, that's it! Easy, healthy, tasty. 

Chickpeas are awesome! They are chock full of protein and fibre which makes them the perfect food for lunch. My friend also chops up peppers and added other beans she had left over. I added some black beans from another meal to my salad this week. Try adding anything you'd like. Also, its good for vegetarians and vegans if you buy vegan friendly dressing (or maybe just oil and vinegar with some spices?) and no cheese.

This recipe probably costs under $5 for 2 meals (you can always double up or add more beans it could last the week for $10).

I'm hoping to add some more of our recipes over the next few weeks. Feel free to share some of yours!

TTFN,
Morgaine

Weekly Spending: Jan 14-20

1/14 - $14.99 (debit - prescription)
1/15 -  $1.00 (cash - milk)
1/16 - $6.50 (cash - lunch) + $3.00 (cash - Gatorade after gym) = $9.50
1/17 - No Spend!
1/18 - No Spend!
1/19 - $10.00 (cash - dinner)
1/20 - No Spend!

Total: $35.49

Well, I think this may be the least amount of money I've ever spent in one week. Well, since I've had a job, anyways. Shopping ban is going strong :)

How did you do this last week?

TTFN,
Morgaine

What's the best way to budget?

Part of the reason I stopped blogging last year is that I was getting frustrated in how to budget. We all know that a budget is a living document, meaning that it won't be the same everymonth. Some months you will spend more on food than others, etc

For me another part of the challenge for me is that my paycheques can also vary. I get paid hourly and I don't get paid if I take a day off (other than a sick day) or if there's a stat holiday. I find it hard to budget based on a fixed income because I don't really have a fixed income. I know Gail suggests to have an A,B,C budget (if you don't know what I mean on this, I'll see if I can find a link). But my income doesn't vary that much from month to month so I know my basics are always covered. So I just vary my payments or variable expenses accordingly. This makes sure my bases are covered but makes it a pain in the *ss to budget.

Another issue, one that I'm hoping my fellow pf bloggers can help me with. What do you do if you have a run over? When I was looking at my last 2 week time period, before I got paid on the 3rd of Jan I had about $200 left over from my last paycheque (shocking, I know). If I was using the jar system, I could just allow the money to accumulate until I might need to do a bigger shop, but what do you do if you're not on the jar system? For me the jar system wouldn't work as the hubby and I don't share finances and there's too much sharing or taking turns of spending money. For example, maybe I'll buy dinner tonight and he'll pay for lunch tomorrow, etc
For me, as long as I'm not spending more than I make, I'm making regular debt repayment (with the goal to be debt-free by the end of the year), I'm making regular savings payments (to RSP, Emergency Fund, and spending plan) shouldn't the rest be mine to do with whatever I want? Does it really matter how much I spend on groceries or entertainment as long as the bottom line balances?

So, I'm going to be posting my budgets monthly rather than bi-weekly like I used to. I will still post my weekly spending for accountability purposes.

How about you? How do you budget? What do you do with overflow?

Have a great weekend! TTFN,
Morgaine