So like I said last month, I hoping that putting my money choices and realities out there (loosely, without super explicit details, that feels weird). And well, November was a disaster. It would have been fine if I hadn’t needed to spend $1000 on winter tires, I would have pushed my budget to the limits, but it wouldn’t been as wild as it was if it hadn’t been for that.
I used Mint Desktop to get this graph, I don’t like the app as much since the latest update. I like this visual overview of what proportion of my money is going where. I spent too much money on food and drink last month, but part of that was that I spent about $400 on the games night I hosted (I hope my friends don’t see this…), which would put that category at a very normal number. The home section is just my rent this month ($950). Then the total for my car category this month was $1,438.58. EEEEEEEeeeeekkk, expected given that my car payment is $310ish and my car insurance is $125ish and then my bill for my tires was $950ish. I really shouldn’t have had the games night, but it was so fun and I don’t regret it at all. Also, my student loan payment comes out on the last day of the month, if that day falls on a weekend then it comes out on the next week day, so in November it happened that both my October payment and my November payment came out in November (because October 31 was on a weekend).
However, even though December will be an expensive month because of the holidays and driving home and being close to a city and wanting to do some shopping and experiences. But it is also one of the magical three-pay cheque month, I had a good pay sitting job last week, and I had a decent expense claim come through. I am hoping that I will be able to have fun this month, but also be able to set myself up for a successful 2022 of paying off debt and building my savings and maybe starting to invest?? (Who is she??
So my December Budget:
Expenses (rent, car payment, car insurance, cell phone, internet, utilities, student loan payment): $2000
Christmas presents: $500 (so far so good here!)
Groceries: $300 (I’m going home for the last two weeks of the month!)
Gas: $250 – it takes two days to drive home, and Sioux Lookout is the most expensive place in Ontario for gas.
Fun Things I want to do while down south: $700 (I’m hoping this will be an overestimation, but we’ll see, I don’t really remember how much stuff costs lol)
Beauty: $105 – I’ve already spent this so I don’t know if it counts as “budget” but I got my eyebrows done for the first time since 2019 and got my eyelashes tinted and lifted for the first time ever. And I look gooood. Also, I feel like this would have been a lot more expensive down south.
Hotel for drive home: $120
Vet: $130, it is time for Montana’s annual vaccines and check up.
Why do I have a sinking feeling that there won’t be as much left as I’m hoping for at the end of the month?? How do people actually budget for everything, every month? How do 0-based budgets actually work?
Anyways, done ranting, for now at least.
Laura
Thoughtful Millennial 