What happened in December in the CBB House?
Christmas and New Years have come and gone and now the bills are going to come piling in. Like many others December is a busy month for our budget although we do somewhat prepare for these expenses. We did go over in some categories like clothing for example where Mrs.CBB needed a new winter jacket and pair of winter boots. Both of which we were able to score for %50 off and they are a great quality product. Sometimes it’s worth waiting for those great boxing day sales in Canada. You can actually take that expense of $247.97 and double it and $495.94 would have been what we would have spent if not for the sales.
Our gas was up slightly this month, not over budget but we spent more because we had to travel for the holidays. We also paid a bit more on the mortgage this month to make it an even $154,000 that is left to pay. Yes we have had the cash to pay that in full since last month. I’ll be talking more about this in the next little while. If you live in Ontario you know that the prices for your vehicle sticker have gone up. We had to pick up a plate sticker so we thought why make 2 trips so while we were there we picked up a sticker for our other vehicle for next year. I also picked up some items for work which is fine as I’ve hardly spent anything this year on work materials.
Our grocery expense for December was lower for a couple of reasons
1-We went away for the holidays
2-We spent too much in November so we had to cut back in December
Changes to the Budget This Month:
You won’t see many changes to the budget in December however I just posted adjustments we made to our Canadian Budget Binder 2013 Family Budget. While you are reading our 2013 family budget update don’t forget to enter to WIN $100 cash! You will see how we did in 2012 and what our new figures will be going into 2013. You will also read about why we made the changes to our budget.
December Monthly Overview:
We have 3 Canadian Bank Accounts with our Chequing account being with President’s Choice Financial. We chose PC Financial as one of our banks because we didn’t want to pay any bank fees. We also have never felt the need to see anyone personally inside of a bank but if we do Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) will gladly help us out as PC is affiliated with CIBC.
- Chequing- This is where all the bills get paid from.
- Emergency Savings- This is where our Emergency money sits.
- Savings- This account holds money for projected expenses.
The CBB Family December Budget Breakdown
- Monthly Budget Total: $5797.85
- Monthly Net Income Total: $8370.79
- Total Coupons Used (this includes everything such as points redeemed, big box store coupons, not just grocery coupons: $279.06 up from $202.21 in November
- Projected Expenses: These are expenses we know we will pay for throughout year and save monthly for = $1257.39
- Total Expenses Actually Paid Out: $4997.27
Total Expenses Actually Paid Out Calculated is $8370.79 (total monthly income) –$2116.13 total monthly savings)–Projected expenses $1257.39 = $4997.27
Actual Cash Savings Going Into Emergency Savings Funds: $2116.13
Calculated is $8370.79 (total monthly net income) – $4997.27 (actual expenses paid out for the month)–$1257.39 (projected expenses) = $2116.13 (Total Savings for December)
The Outcome: December
PE=Projected Expense is money which is automatically saved each month ready for when the bill comes in or for when you need it as in the example below. We go over our projected expenses at the beginning of the year to set up our yearly budget and adjust as we go along if a new projected expense arises and needs to be added to the budget. This has happened on many occasions but it’s bound to happen as we can’t predict everything we have to pay for over the course of the year. The important part for us is that we are saving for the expense and we no longer have to stress about taking money from our savings to pay for them.
Example: Clothing we budget $10 per month. If we don’t spend it we move it to the projected expenses account. This means we should have $120 per year for clothing to spend. We have to track that expense as we spend it.
- A/C Service /Maintenance- PE $12.50 Spent $0
- Allowance $15.00 Spent $41.75
- Birthday PE $10.00 Spent $0
- Car Repair/Maintenance PE $23.50 Spent $160.03
- Christmas PE $25.00 Spent $332.91 (300 yr budgeted)
- Clothing PE $10.00 Spent $247.97 (wow!)
- Dentist/Prescriptions PE $5.00 Spent $47.61 (will get most reimbursed)
- Electricity/Water PE $153.05 Spent $344.82 (This bill comes every 2 months)
- Entertainment-$7.00 Spent $15.80 Over $8.80 (party animals that we are)
- E-test PE $4-Spent $39.55
- Extra Mortgage Payment 5 week- PE- $101.26 Spent $0
- Furnace/Hot Water Rental PE$112.38 Spent $112.38 (This bill is every 3 months)
- Union Gas (domestic)-$59.19 Spent $58.21
- Gasoline/Diesel (vehicle)-$192.00 Spent $185.66
- Grocery- $190.00 Spent $71.02 Play The Grocery Game With us to Save!
- Home Maintenance PE $329.00 Spent $83.92
- Car/Home Insurance-$205.17 Spent $205.17
- Income Tax Filing PE$2.50 Spent $0 (this may change in 2013)
- Investment-$767.00 Spent $767.00
- Licence Renewal Fees PE $11.84 Spent $0
- Life Insurance-$135.05 Spent $135.05
- Lottery-$12 -Spent-$14.50 Over $2.50 (2 free plays added encore)
- Membership/Club/Sports PE $6.00 Spent $0
- Miscellaneous-$125.00 Spent $113.56
- Mortgage-$1389.12 Spent $1712.39
- Parking-$5 -Spent $0
- Pet PE $83.33 -Spent $0
- Property Tax PE $287.45 Spent $0
- Emergency Savings-Saved $3373.52 (this includes PE)
- Vehicle Sticker PE $16.00 Spent $179.00
- Cable/Internet/Cell/Home Phone-$146.19 Spent $146.19
- Work Tools PE $50 Spent $105.16
Overall: We are happy with our December numbers. We are hoping with the budget changes for 2013 that we will make an even bigger difference come January 2014.
Check in at the beginning of February 2013 to see how we made out in January 2013!
Question: Did you make any changes to your budget for January 2013?
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- November 2012 Canadian Budget Binder Budget Update (canadianbudgetbinder.com)
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