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Welcome to the first January 2012 budget update on Canadian Budget Binder, which reflects the life of two adults living in Ontario, Canada.
Our First January 2012 Budget Update
I know I like to see numbers when learning about how others budget.
Since we are not financial gurus, nor do we make substantial incomes, I hope to attract others like us and experts along the way.
*You can read “How we designed our Budget Step 2” for a detailed explanation of each category.
Keep in mind, we may tweak it to fit current circumstances. I will do a monthly overview at the end of each month.
January 2012 Monthly Budget Update
Mortgage-$1389 Monthly Actual-$1632.15
Utilities-$450 Monthly Actual-$549.72
Smokes-$121 Monthly Actual-$68.00
Car/House Insurance-$189.46 Monthly Actual-$189.46
Transportation-$150.00 Monthly Actual-$176.70
Misc/Renovation-$125.00 Monthly Actual-$193.79
Dog-$2.00 Monthly Actual-$2.00
Dentist-$5.00 Monthly Actual-$5.00
Vehicle Sticker/E-Test-$15.72 Monthly Actual-$15.72
Krown-$11.25 Monthly Actual-$11.25
Yearly Income Tax-$9.00 Monthly Actual-$9.00
Work Expenses-$219.50 Monthly Actual-$169.50
Christmas-$25.00 Monthly Actual-$25.00
Groceries- $192.78 Monthly Actual-$231.81
Entertainment-$7 Monthly Actual-$0
RRSP-$250.00 Monthly Actual-$250.00
TFSA-$517.00 Monthly Actual-$834.00
Life Ins.-$135.05 Monthly Actual-$135.05
Emergency Fund- $888.00 Monthly Actual-$888.00
Allowance-$15 Monthly Actual-$0
Lottery-$12 Monthly Actual-$12
House Taxes-$283.50 Monthly Actual-$283.50
Clothing-$10 Monthly Actual-$0
Total $5022.00 Total Spent:$5681.36
Over Budget: $659.36
Overview January 2012 Monthly Budget
We did pretty well this month compared to this time last year.
Together, we reviewed our groceries and transportation; however, $100 will be reimbursed for gas (car).
Our Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) overshot by $317.00 this month due to an error, but we left it and corrected it for next month.
We used a total of $240.89 in coupons.
We gained 43,810 Shoppers Optimum points worth over $60.00 in reg redemption.
- Reimbursed $141.32 for transportation costs.
- Received a cheque for $110.00 from Kitchen-aid for a mail-in rebate.
- Made $47.00 selling items on Kijiji.
- Received a $15.00 Gift Card from Casey’s Restaurant in the mail.
Total Made: $373.32 in January, above our net wages
There was a total of $58.16 made in overtime at work, bringing our monthly net to $ 5022.00+ $58.16=$5080.16 plus what we made above $373.32=$5453.48
- We spent $659.36 more than we made this month, with that being an extra mortgage payment and $317.00 going to TFSA.
- In February, we will work on our grocery expenses to bring them down to the goal.
- We used $100.00 in Gift Cards on groceries from Christmas, putting us over our target if we had not used them.
Although we watch this, we also paid for Hydro/Water this month, which went up a bit with the Smart Meter.
I will talk more about this later.
- 2010 Hydro-$284.61
- 2011 Hydro-$312.84
- 2012 Hydro-$313.70
- Rogers Communications monthly costs $159.68 for Home Phone, Cell Phone, Internet, VIP Digital Cable, all four boxes free, 2x free PVR for a year.
- Union Gas went down this month compared to the previous two years.
- 2010 Gas-$80.06
- 2011 Gas-$93.82
- 2012 Gas-$76.34
Monthly Budget Prize
UPDATE*** Starting in February, we will challenge all our readers to post their budget updates.
At the end of the year, I will draw a name from every entry in the monthly comment section with a budget update for a prize!
Join the budget train with us and see how far you can get.
Working as a team is more inspirational towards attaining the end goal. If you know, you must post it for us to read!
**Happy Saving!
See you next month for our February 2012 Budget Update.
Read the CBB Monthly Budget Archive to see our budgets from 2012-present.
Mr. CBB