Budget Update: October 2020

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 October 2020.

Monthly Budget Update: October 2020

In October, we…

• Paid $1,420 to the student loan

October marked the end of the six-month freeze on student loans in Canada. This total includes a minimum payment of $450 and $970 in additional payments.

The principal balance on the loan is now $20,648.85.

• Added $300 to the house fund

Not a huge amount, but every bit counts, right? In November and December, the plan is to shift to minimum payments for the student loan and put more into this account. It’s unlikely to hit $8K by end of year, but we should reach $6K at least.

Total in this account: $4,744.45

• Added $855 to the emergency fund

I’ve shared many times before about how we keep a $5K emergency fund. This is the minimum amount we like to have in the bank at any time. However, recently, we decided we want to beef this account up a little more. In October, we added $855. Right now, it’s sitting at $6,014.

• Added to (and subtracted from) our gift sinking fund

In October, we made progress both of saving and spending for Christmas. For the next couple months, we’ll be paying a bit more attention to our gift sinking fund…and using it regularly. As it stands, we have most non-gift card gifts purchased — not bad!

• Finally crossing some nagging tasks off the to-do list

These include going to the dentist, renewing our Costco membership and making a long overdue appointment for a massage. None of these were difficult tasks…which I think is what made them so easy to put off. Feels good to have them done!

November 2020 Goals

Looking ahead, in November, we will…

• Finish most of our Christmas shopping

We made big progress in October — the goal is to be mostly finished in November. I don’t know about you but I love not having to deal with Christmas shopping at all in December.

• Change our tires

Winter is coming — and living in Atlantic Canada, that means it’s time to switch from all-season tires to winter tires. Jeff is planning to do this himself this year, which will save us a bit of money. Still…ugh. Not ready!

• Lean into routines

Around the end of October, I started to develop what I guess you could call an evening routine. In November, I want to continue to refine this and keep it up.

Your turn! How did October turn out for you? What are your goals for November?

Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst