November 2012 Canadian Budget Binder Budget Update
Yep, that’s another month to cross off the list for 2012 as we head into the final month of the year. We certainly will have some data to look back on and evaluate since we document all of our expenses. It’s funny how the year progresses and we see more and more areas that we can improve in when at the time it all sounded like a solid plan. Do you find you make changes to your budget throughout the year?
What happened in November in the CBB House?
Not a lot happened this month to be honest with you. I did some renovations on the home and prepared the house for the winter months. I’ll be bringing out the tank for winter soon and parking my love machine for about 4 months. I do go in the garage sometimes just to hang out and start the engine just to get a feel for what I’m missing. December might even be a write off as so much will be happening I’m doubting I will get anything done. On a good note our love ferns are surviving well in the kitchen no less, and are getting much-needed sunlight. Here’s hoping they hang on over the winter season.
Changes to the Budget This Month
This month we decided we will be needing more money in the budget for Christmas next year so that’s one small look into a 2013 change. Other than that in The Grocery Game Challenge last week we went over some changes that we need to make. One of them being the pet food that is just not feasible at this time in our grocery budget so this will change our pet category for December from $83.33 to $115.83. The Pet category includes potential Vet and Drug fees as well as Bird Seed for the winter feathery friends in the back garden which we also forgot to factor in. This is why projected expenses are so important although we realize we can’t possibly think of everything, hence the ever favourable miscellaneous category.
We could pull off the $190 a month Grocery Budget, heck we did it most of the year but only if we didn’t stockpile any items but even that we are thinking of separating from our grocery budget. It’s been recently we ran out of dog food that was free through a nutritional study and free bags from another company that we realized the impact. Pets can get costly and part of the reasoning why it’s important to think about pets and budgets before getting an animal. Next year we will start a stockpiling category as a projected expense and use it Only if necessary.
In January we will see a rise in our grocery budget a new category called bulk buying at $50 a month which will be a projected expense. Also our TFSA will go up since the increase from $5000 a year to $5500 a year. Finally Reliance Home Comfort will be putting their price up in January 2013 as well.
That’s all for now, but who knows what’s in store for us next!
November 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 November Budget Breakdown
- Monthly Budget Total: $5797.85
- Monthly Net Income Total: $7676.18
- Total Coupons Used (this includes everything such as points redeemed, big box store coupons, not just grocery coupons: $202.21 up from $121.16 in October
- Projected Expenses: These are expenses we know we will pay for throughout year and save monthly for = $1224.89
- Total Expenses Actually Paid Out: $4032.72
Total Expenses Actually Paid Out Calculated is $7676.18 (total monthly income) –$2418.57(total monthly savings)–Projected expenses $1224.89 = $4032.72
Actual Cash Savings Going Into Emergency Savings Funds: $2418.57
Calculated is $ 7676.18 (total monthly net income) – $4032.72 (actual expenses paid out for the month)–$1224.89 (projected expenses) = $2418.57 (Total Savings for October)
The Outcome: November
PE=Projected Expense is money which is automatically saved so if we go over in a category the money will come from the PE Account where it accumulates all year. The key is to make sure that you are not spending more than you are saving each month over the course of the year.
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. If we see we need to adjust the budget because the number is far too low or high we will do that. I may add a Year to Date starting in January 2013 to this update so I can track it along with all of you.
- A/C Service /Maintenance- PE $12.50 Spent $0
- Allowance $15.00 Spent $31.45
- Birthday PE $10.00 Spent $0
- Car Repair/Maintenance PE $23.50 Spent $0
- Christmas PE $25.00 Spent $10.15
- Clothing PE $10.00 Spent $0
- Dentist/Prescriptions PE $5.00 Spent $14.36 (will get reimbursed)
- Electricity/Water PE $153.05 Spent $0 (This bill comes every 2 months)
- Entertainment-$7.00 Spent $7.90 Over $0.90
- E-test PE $4-Spent $0
- 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 $46.49
- Gasoline/Diesel (vehicle)-$192.00 Spent $158.57
- Grocery- $190.00 Spent $295.77 Play The Grocery Game With us to Save! Over $105.77 Ouch! $84.23 to spend in Dec.
- Home Maintenance PE $329.00 Spent $231.12
- Car/Home Insurance-$205.17 Spent $205.17
- Income Tax Filing PE$2.50 Spent $0
- Investment-$767.00 Spent $767.00
- Licence Renewal Fees PE $11.84 Spent $0
- Life Insurance–$135.05 Spent $135.05
- Lottery-$12 -Spent-$14.00 Over $2.00 (2 free plays added encore)
- Membership/Club/Sports PE $6.00 Spent $0
- Miscellaneous-$125.00 Spent $381.65
- Mortgage–$1389.12 Spent $1389.12
- Parking-$5 -Spent $0
- Pet PE $83.33 -Spent $65.64
- Property Tax PE $287.45 Spent $0
- Emergency Savings-Saved $3643.48 (this includes PE)
- Vehicle Sticker PE $16.00 Spent $o
- Cable/Internet/Cell/Home Phone–$146.19 Spent $146.19
- Work Tools PE $50 Spent $0
Overall: This month has been an eye opener for us but that’s expected. I don’t think that any budget is perfect and that continual work on them to improve your finances is imperative.
Check in at the beginning of January 2013 to see what the New Year Brings Us!
What changes do you need to make to your budget?
Are you NEW to Canadian Budget Binder?
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Oh my! You are so detailed…I love it! You do a very good job of pinpointing expenses, I know it’s hard to get everything but it looks like you come pretty close. It’s always inspiring to me when I see someone who makes such a great budget and actually sticks to it.
Hi Alexa,
This budget was our saviour the past couple years although I’ve modified it now so it’s pretty much givng us the numbers we need and want. The one thing that people tend to forget are those projected expenses and I strongly encourage people to look at their budget and all those expenses they haven’t factored in because when they come due you can’t pull money out of thin air and most of those expenses are not considered an emergency expense. Cheers Mr.CBB
You’re so proactive! I wouldn’t worry about these new categories…they’re a great idea. I think I will have to increase my clothing budget this year. I think it’s $50/month right now but I wonder if that’s enough for 3 people? I will try decreasing my grocery budget and I will have to look at all other categories when I’m infront of my spreadsheet. Great work Mr CBB!
I’m betting you can lower that grocery budget… I’m actually going to challenge you to that Jen for 2013~ Yes look at your numbers closely and make your decisions from there. It’s a new year and if you start it off on the right foot you can make miracles happen my dear. You have the tools and gained new knowledge put it to work for you. 🙂 Mr.CBB
Nice, you’re saving quite a bit of money. Right now I’m happy to put away $300 every paycheck which is terrible … but circumstances call for it. How do you survive on such a small grocery budget?
Hey Veronica,
We are pro shoppers lol. We tend to stay away from convenience foods and cook from scratch when we can. We use coupons in which I don’t care what anyone says has saved us tonnes of money and yes there are LOADS of coupons for all sorts even vegetbles, eggs, bread, yogurt,cheese, cottage cheese, cereal, oats etc which most people have in their homes. There is actually a family of 7 who post their shops in our grocery game challenge that have a $300 budget.. kicks our arse! Cheers MR.CBB
My husband and I sat down last night and went over projected expenses and budget for this month. Amazing. We’ve never really done that. I have, but he’s never gotten involved. I think this next year is going to be great and we are going to kill some debt. I like the stockpile category. I might have to add that. I still have quite a bit of laundry detergent, but if I ever have to buy that, dog food, and toilet paper in the same month, I’m screwed. Can’t wait to see your site redesign. Did you know Andrea and I are both from small towns in Kentucky. KY girls rock.
Hey Kim,
It’s the projected expenses that are what kill a budget. I can send you our budget if you want to check it out. We have the projected expenses built in, coupons etc… if you know excel you might like it. If you don’t know excel well it might not be a great choice. Did you save for projected expenses before? We are so happy we did. Now we don’t have to worry because we know the money is waiting. Mr.CBB
Have you considered doing a Christmas game challenge? It might be pretty interesting. If it’s too late this year, perhaps next year?
Mr. CBB I wish you the best of luck with your budget. December can be a make it or break it month with so many random expenses, gifts and such.
Interesting idea, thanks! Our Christmas budget is budgeted every month of the year and kept in our Projected Expenses account so it won’t be too bad this year. We likely won’t buy anything for ourselves, maybe next year when we factor in that money for us. We also just found out we have to get gag gifts now that we didn’t budget so at any time something can pop up. So we will add a bit more in for extras at Christmas. Knowing the money is waiting is better than putting it on credit. Cheers Mr.CBB
I really need to work more on a budget for here, I think I’ll try to get the one off your site printed off if hubby goes for a walk. He’s done budgets before but it never lasted long.I’m getting a better idea of what will be coming in so I can work from there… I hope……wish me luck…..
Christine, if you fill that one out but want the one Mrs.CBB and I use let me know and I can email it to you. Mr.CBB
Love the detail, Mr CBB. We don’t have *quite* that level of detail on our income statements (November’s went up on the blog today), but pretty close =)
I’ll go check it out now! Thanks for dropping in. Mr.CBB
I look forward to what Andrea does with the site, Mr. CBB, that is exciting! Also I was going to talk about progress on my own budget but I’ve been distracted by a snowball cookie recipe that popped on the screen…err…be right back. 🙂
Yes I look forward to what she has to do. I’m sure I’ve made the right decision and she will make CBB an amazing place. The snowballs are distraction #1 more to come! Cheers Mr.CBB
I think you did wonderfully this month. We blew our budget on gasoline for the cars this month. Having ageing parents who depend on us, accounts for much of the unnecessary driving. Also my eldest daughter getting married. I have under budgeted for this. I like your approach to this being a learning experience. It is. Over my 30 years of marriage situations keep changing, and so does the budget.Having one is the key and trying your very best to make it work. You can’t do any better then that…………..or starve!
I agree, having a budget is better than having nothing at all. Our budget can change at any given time as we need to be prepared. It’s not a set it and forget it type application… it’s our life. If we just forget it.. then we can’t complain when nothing goes our ways. We have to take charge. Cheers Mr.CBB
We have a planned spending account for harvest season grocery purchases Mr CBB and it works very well for m. I put aside $50/month, or more if I can afford it. This year I had just over $800 in the canning budget and used every penny of it but the pantry is now full to bursting. If you are planning on doing home preserving, you’ll want to budget some money toward jars and lids, freezer containers, and adequate storage too.
That’s just it Beth and why we have the projected expenses so we can budget each month for what we KNOW we will have to pay or spend at some point in the year. Some people fail to see that a budget just won’t cover all these expenses and why they fall short. Good for you. Mr.CBB
Looking forward to what changes you have in store Mr. CBB. I assume you’re going to going down the self-hosting route? In regards to what changes need to be made to our budget, we really don’t have a whole lot that needs to be changed. Really a just few minor tweaks here and there. We’ve been budgeting for over ten years now, so it gets pretty cut and dry after a while.
Hey John,
Yes we look forward to what Andrea has in store! As for the budget yes cut and dry what does change is the projected expenses for us. That is what demands our attention as things keep popping up that we KNOW we will have to pay for each year so instead of trying to make the budget work around an expense that pops up one month that we already know is coming we budget it in.. that way the money is ALWAYS there. Cheers Mr>CBB
Great detailed budget. I need to start budgeting for clothes. Right now I just use by spending money on clothes.
Clothes can eat a big chunk of the budget if one isn’t careful. I hope you make the decision to start budgeting… you will look back and thank yourself, we do!