Well, I just checked my student loan account and at my current rate of payment I will have them paid off in November, 2033. And that sent me into a spiral.

I have another DECADE.

Doing that right after logging all my vacation month spends was not the best idea. But we did it. Which, like it can’t be avoided forever, but like damn.

I’m not going to go super in detail about my spending in July, but put it this way, I was on vacation. I also paid for some things that I am waiting for reimbursement on, and still have an outstanding reimbursement from March, so I am looking forward to receiving those.

However, I do want to make a really concrete plan for August, I do have one wedding this month so I will be in Toronto, but compared to July, September, and October, it should be much less than those months. So, that said, let’s budget. This will also kind of expose what my basic monthly expenses are:

Fixed expenses:

• Rent: $950
• Electric: Probably around $100, I think the pet sitter left every light in my apartment on the whole time I was gone.
• Water: Usually about $90, my usage is typically like $3 water and $4 septic, and the rest is fees.
• Internet: $107.35
• Cell Phone: THIS IS ABNORMAL, I’m paying for all the days I used my phone in the USA: $166
• Car Insurance: $113.25

Subscriptions:

• CAA: $18.79
• Spotify: $11.29
• iCloud: $1.46
• Canva: $16.99

I have cancelled Netflix and Prime and pay for Disney+ annually in October.

Debt:

• Student Loan Payment: $300
• Car Payment: $309

Expenses:

• Groceries: $500 (I would love to see less, but it’s usually more, so baby steps)
• Gas: $150 (this is more than usual, but I’ll be driving to Thunder Bay to fly to Toronto)
• Montana (my cat): $200 (this is also more than usual, but I’m taking him to the vet and I think they will want to do blood and urine testing, so it could be much more than this or much less, I have a hard time predicting vet expenses up here because they are so much less than I am used to).

Discretionary Spending:

• Travel for my friend’s wedding: Hotel (500), Airport Car Parking (70), Meals (150ish, I need two breakfasts, two lunches, and one dinner), and I would love to do a spin or Pilates class (45?)
• Night out: the biggest social event of the year in this town (lol) is in August (50)
• Personal Care and Grooming: I had initially budgeted a lot for this in case my physio didn’t take my insurance and I had a bang trim yesterday, but they did take my insurance and they didn’t charge me for my bang trim this time (no clue why, but grateful!) so I think all I will need is toilet paper and soap so (20)
• Coffee: I probably could, and maybe should cut my coffee spending, but it is a really important part of my stress management routine so I don’t see that happening (75).

So, there will not be much saving happening this month, but I knew that going in. Maybe later on I will talk about the plan I have brewing in my brain about the moves I want to make after this spendy season of my life is over. We’ll see. I’m trying to balance the “I wish somebody talked about this!” side, with the “move in silence” side.

Have a great month!

Laura