March Debrief 2021

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days :19 (61%)
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 5
• # activities with loved ones: 19; these included video calls, good news calls and walks outside
• % over or under budget: 2% over budget – we extended on the eating out

CELEBRATE:

• First month of pretending ML isn’t working went well
• I got into Grad School! As I’m able to keep putting money into that savings line, I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to keep going no matter what happens with the other bits.

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Not this month

KEEP IN MIND

—-

OVERALL

I realized I hadn’t done this at the end of March. We’re halfway through April so I can’t recall most of March. I think it was a good month. I recall feeling good about the spending and having conversations with ML about his plans.

He’s been reviewing job postings and collecting resume tips so that he’s prepared for this next step.

Monthly Debrief: February 2021

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days :18 (64%)
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 4
• # activities with loved ones: 19; these included video calls, good news calls and walks outside
• % over or under budget: 2% over budget – I also cheated a smidge and moved some of those over to the March line. This was because they hadn’t appeared on my credit card statement in February or came out after my last paycheque in February which is earmarked for March spending

CELEBRATE:

• We got ML’s news on February 18 and behaved well, we did order out that night to eat our feelings but chose an option that meant we also didn’t have to cook for a few days
• We were able to have a good conversation and play with budgets immediately to offset concner and determine how long we could be alright in a worse case scenario

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Not this month

KEEP IN MIND

This was the first year since 2015 that I haven’t attended a work conference in February. That definitely helped keep the spending in check!

OVERALL

This month was good. I didn’t move as much as I wanted to, however, the relationship front is strong. We were pleased to discover that we are now better equipped to handle job loss and budget conversations than we have been in the past.

I also took the final steps in my grad school application. I’m hopeful that it shall go well and I’ll be part of the 2021 cohort.

Monthly Debrief: January 2021

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days :20 (65%)
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 2
• # activities with loved ones: 10; these included video calls, good news calls and walks outside
• $ saved at Costco: No Costco visit this month; we’ve decided to not renew our membership as Costco is more expensive online and we’re not comfortable going to the store
• % over or under budget: 3% under budget (I’d abandoned the fun fund over the past couple years so it’s nice to be able to put money in there again)

CELEBRATE:

• I have avoided the allure of online shopping and leaned into my stay at home life at the moment
• We supported a local restaurant we love and did a good job of eating the food we’ve purchased

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• I paid my school fees, books and applied to an MA program through my savings line

KEEP IN MIND

Not only are we in the midst of a pandemic but there’s an emergency order in place keeping us pretty close to home and removing the usual temptations. While this is a grand January , budget-wise, I hope it’s an outlier.

OVERALL

This month was fantastic. I’ve been trying to embrace the “Little Goes a Long Way” philosophy to encourage myself in moving but not pushing so hard I cause flare ups of pain.

Monthly Debrief: February 2019

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days :14 (50%)
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 6
• # activities with loved ones: 2 really meaningful activities
• $ saved at Costco: No Costco visit this month
• % over or under budget:1% under budget (This is the first time in about a year that I can put it into my Fun Fund)

CELEBRATE:

• Usually February is a bit of a mess as I go to a conference and end up overspending
• We’ve been eating healthier, going to a local zero-waste store and sticking pretty close to the budget
• I have been kinder to myself

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Medical cost – I’m exploring a therapy that isn’t too expensive but isn’t covered by my insurance. It may be a placebo effect but as it’s helping with my mental illness I’m using it.

KEEP IN MIND

March is Costco renewal month and I just got a crazy cell phone bill as I haven’t been making frugal phone choices. If I keep my budget and goals at the forefront I can keep the momentum going in March.

OVERALL

This month was pretty good. I’m beginning to feel as though we’re missing out on experiences (dances, movies, theatre) as I’m being pretty strict with myself. It does help to look back at 2018 and realize that we for a $30,000 anniversary gift to ourselves without going into debt. Missing out on a few experiences is totally fine compared to the stress I would feel if I was $30,000 in debt.

 

SPENDING CATEGORIES (according to my credit card company)

As I mentioned, this feature doesn’t totally align with my own tracking. However, it’s a great way to see where most of my money goes. Household and Services both hold a lot of money for car repairs.

If you change household to Car Repairs and made Services everything else in those 2 categories my list would be:

1. Car repairs
2. Groceries
3. Restaurants
4. Services – Medical appointments; Netflix
5. Transportation – gas
6. Shopping
7. Other

This does not include all the things I pay from my bank account but it does give a pretty good snapshot of my spending.

 

 

Monthly Debrief: June 20118

 

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days :13
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 6
• # activities with loved ones: 10 (I’ve gotten bad at tracking this)
• $ saved at Costco: ?
• % over or under budget:7% over budget (best  since February!)

CELEBRATE:

• This  is the closest I’ve come to sticking to my budget in the year
• I haven’t felt pressed or as though I’ve been missing out

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Our 10th anniversary  party is getting expensive! I’ve been able to use savings so far to cover the costs
• Final kitchen purchases of a curtain rod and bumpers to protect cabinet corners

KEEP IN MIND

June is usually my crazy month of overspending. I’m pleased that the overspending isn’t crazy. The places I went overboard were groceries and entertainment. The entertainment was for Father’s Day.

OVERALL

This month was fantastic! I’m aiming to make July a frugal month, while ML & I make some healthier choices. Our goal is to drop a couple pounds each this month and tone up.

Trying to not re-start the Cycle

I’ve taken a break from posting because I did the bad thing…I took a break from properly budgeting. I had started doing weekly checks with myself when I discovered early on that this system works best for me. Then we started the kitchen renovation last month and boy did the spending get overwhelming fast. This seems like a great time to reinstate monthly debriefing!

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days :3
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 15
• # activities with loved ones: 10 (I’ve gotten bad at tracking this)
• $ saved at Costco: ?
• % over or under budget: 24% over budget (this means that I’ve overspent my paycheque as well)

CELEBRATE:

• We’re nearly through the kitchen renovation
• We opted for pretty healthy options for the most part when eating out
• Recommitted to my work out routine

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• The washing machine died and we were able to put it on the same deferred payment plan as the kitchen
• The kitchen and home renovation pieces are all coming out of savings right now which feels pretty good

KEEP IN MIND

We began a major home renovation. Though I tried to fight the urge to buy new, pretty things for the kitchen I did succumb and purchase new mats, a pretty colander, jars to hold dry goods, and a much needed spoon. Our grocery spending seemed excessive but was a good reminder that purchasing ‘convenience’ food is definitely more expensive than purchasing ingredients.

OVERALL

March was a whirlwind of spending. I’ve already begun April  without a lot of clear though but I’m definitely going to attempt to make it a bit of a frugal month.

 

November 2017 Debrief

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days : 17
• # times used S’mores Maker (aiming for 6 uses in 2017): 0
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 12
• # activities with loved ones: 6 (I’ve gotten bad at tracking this)
• $ saved at Costco: $50
• % over or under budget: 18% over budget

CELEBRATE:

• Christmas shopping is complete!

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Paid for Bunny’s vet bills through the Life Happens line
• Went overboard at a special vendor sale and overspent by ~$200

KEEP IN MIND

This month was supposed to be my way to get my spending back under control. I’m slowly. The areas I went overboard were on groceries, fashion (shoes), gas for a conference, and eating out.

My eating out was added to by almost daily trips to a coffee shop. That habit needs to stop!

OVERALL

I was doing quite well until the last week when I seem to have lost all reason and spent everything.

December is always a time of extras: more groceries, last minute dinner invitations, more going out.

June 2017 Debrief

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days : 13
• # times used S’mores Maker (aiming for 6 uses in 2017): 0 – though we did have s’mores over the fire
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 8
• # activities with loved ones: 6 (I’ve gotten bad at tracking this)
• $ saved at Costco: $30
• % over or under budget: 19% over budget

CELEBRATE:

• This June’s spending is an improvement over last year

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Home renovation line for a new shower head, mattress for visitors and room dividers

KEEP IN MIND

June is traditionally one of the months that I just fly over budget.  This year my major culprits were my fashion line and entertainment. I had figured, incorrectly, that I would be too tired to entertain this month. While I was tired this meant that we purchased convenience to entertain people rather than cooking a lot.

I must be more careful with Costco! My entire overage was spent in Costco. While I’m confident that the money was well spent and I did stick to lists all 3 times I went. It’s a lot.

My savings may be greater than the $30 noted but I don’t compare brand to brand I compare grocery brand to costco brand. The reason for this is that generally I select the least expensive option. If I’m in a grocery store looking at canned vegetables I’ll choose the cheapest one so when I’m in Costco if the cheapest  option doesn’t beat the grocery brand I don’t consider it a savings.

An example is the shower head. I paid $40 for it. That’s an awesome deal! Especially as it’s valued at $70, however, when I had gone to the hardware I realized that I would have happily purchased the $40 option they had. Would it have been as nice? Not by a long shot! Would if have done the job? Absolutley! Therefore the ‘savings’ recorded are $0.

OVERALL

I did really well. I knew that keeping to my budget would be impossible this month. July, however, is my chance to re-set.

There’s going to be lots of re-setting as I start back eating properly, exercising and spending frugally.

May 2017 Debrief

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days : 9
• # times used S’mores Maker (aiming for 6 uses in 2017): 0 – I suspect this will be pulled out in the summer
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 11
• # activities with loved ones: 18
• $ saved at Costco: $52
• % over or under budget: 3.5% over budget

CELEBRATE:

• I had budgeted $300 for my gardening (including materials) and it came to $222
• I spent a lot of time with people I care about this month

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• Car line was used to replace the muffler
• Life Happens line was used for the gardening supplies
• Gifts was used for birthday presents

KEEP IN MIND

June is traditionally one of the months that I just fly over budget.  While I have a decent plan I need to be forgiving next month as I realize that I have tightened my purse strings from what it was.

We’re also increasing the amount of hosting we do, though a lot of this will be covered by ML some will come from our grocery line.

OVERALL

This is month 2 of the tighter budget and though I’m still over I’m getting better each month. Our savings really came in handy and helped us

Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Monthly Debrief: March 2017

I’m a bit late reviewing my month and though it spent like I was spending lots I feel I did pretty well.

 

TRACKING

•  # Buy nothing days : 16
• # times used S’mores Maker (aiming for 6 uses in 2017): 0 – I suspect this will be pulled out in the summer
• # times ate out/purchased take out: 8
• # activities with loved ones: 12
• $ saved at Costco: $39.00
• % over or under budget: 5% over budget

CELEBRATE:

• We were very responsible with our first trip to Costco
• We did really well on our pantry challenge

DIP INTO SAVINGS/CREDIT

• No savings were dipped in for this month

KEEP IN MIND

• This was the first month on my new, tighter budget. So while I was over budget, I still spent  less than last month. This challenge is going to be a frugal reset for me and will hopefully result in me putting more money towards the kitchen reno.

OVERALL

Job well done, though I really need to bring that eating out line under control. Part of the cost is that ML and I are going out together more right now so I pay for both of us which inflates the amount spent. Since it’s something I enjoy doing with him, it means that I need to be selective about who I go out with and where we go if I want to have at least one nice meal out a month with him.

Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net