Importance Of A Documented Monthly Debt Review (Free Budget Binder Printable) : June 2020 Budget Update
Celebrate Milestones By Documenting Your Debt Success
Not everyone thrives on the success of paying their bills however for those of you who do a monthly debt review will keep you inspired.
Knowing your debt numbers is more about understanding how well you are managing your money.
- Are you paying your debt off in a fashionable manner?
- How much is your debt costing you?
Costs Of Paying Minimum Payments
Focus not only on what you can afford or think you can afford but the long-term costs of money you could be investing.
That invested money can mean the difference between a basic retirement and one with funds to do whatever you want.
Becoming financially fit is not something nice to have it’s something we all should strive for.
Owning debt means that you will do anything and everything to pay it off promptly at the least cost to you.
Go online to see your last credit card statement and read the tiny print that shares with you how long and how much the debt will cost if you only make minimum payments.
If that number does NOT shock you then you’re not taking your debt seriously.
Not.One.Bit.
What Is A Debt Review?
Don’t confuse a debt settlement or consolidation with a monthly debt review as they are similar yet different.
Like a debt consolidator who works to find a debt solution by rolling debt into one payment, you’re simply reviewing debt without a counsellor.
The idea behind a personal debt review is that you continue to realize how much debt you owe and to who.
For many people seeing documented figures showing how much debt they owe allows them to stay on course.
You don’t want to get to the point where the debt trap takes control and you’re forced into a consolidation or counselling program.
Dealing with a debt collector you can’t pay means that when they come knocking you’ll need a concrete repayment plan to satisfy them.
Is a debt tracker the same thing as a debt review?
Yes and no because the debt tracker shows you what your debts are whereas the monthly debt review current situation.
- Type of Debt you own
- How much debt you owe
- How much debt you’ve paid
- What amount of debt that you have left
Advantages Of A Monthly Debt Review
The reason I like the monthly debt review is that it allows you to be in control of your financial situation.
I often find that people who owe money and see what they owe along with the progress that it encourages them.
Debt becomes a problem when you hide it or pretend that it’s not there.
It will always come for you whether it’s today or tomorrow but you’ll be on the hook to pay for it.
- You get to see your debt
- Progress is recognized
- Motivation to keep paying off debt
- Celebrate milestones or goals
I can’t possibly think of any disadvantages of using a debt review report other than the time it takes to fill it out.
In my opinion, that time is well worth it.
Importance Of A Debt Review
To manage your debt problems successfully, you need to focus on debt repayment.
You might wonder why I call debt a problem well, it’s always a problem when you owe someone money.
That doesn’t mean debt should cause you financial stress however you should show urgency towards money you owe.
That’s how we paid our mortgage off in 5 years which further assisted us to become debt-free in 2014.
Although we didn’t use a debt review progress report such as this we would have benefited to celebrate milestones.
By this, I mean setting monthly finance goals may include paying off certain debts.
Documenting your debt payoffs each month allows you to pat yourself on the back for your dedication.
How To Complete A Monthly Debt Review
The monthly debt review will assist you by way of motivation when you see your debts are decreasing.
After you pay all of your debts each month take a few minutes to jot them down on your debt review chart.
Information you will need to complete a monthly debt review is straight-forward.
- Name Of The Debt- Example: PC Financial MasterCard
- The date you last sent a payment towards this debt
- Last amount you paid on this debt
- How much debt you currently have left to pay after that last payment
Although we no longer carry debt when we did this debt review budget binder printable would have been awesome to have.
That’s the great thing about being through the debt process as I can offer you suggestions based on experience.
For those of you who want to successfully manage your money that means putting some homework into the process.
Filling out budget binder printable sheets every month and throughout the year may seem boring.
However, I’d take boring any day over owing money to someone for a debt.
Keep in mind the more that you complete your budget binder printables the easier the process becomes.
Final Word
When it comes to your debt it doesn’t matter if you have good debt or bad debt it’s all money you must pay.
Avoiding a debt crisis means fast-forwarding the process of paying back your debt.
Spending a few minutes each month completing a debt review may just be the success you’re looking for.
Get a FREE copy of the Debt Review Report for your budget binder by Subscribing to CBB and visiting the Free Budget Binder Printable Page.
Discussion: Do you complete a documented monthly debt review?
Leave me your comments below and with tips for our readers.
Home Budget Income Report June 2020
Where did the money go?
Hi CBB readers,
I know you’re going to say we blew our budget and you’re right we did especially on clothing again.
With Mrs. CBB losing weight on the keto diet she’s had to buy new clothes which she’s done from online clearance only.
We’ve also ordered school clothes and summer clothes for our son including running shoes and sandals.
For myself, I bought two pairs of jeans from Mark’s Work Warehouse, two pairs of running shoes, steel toe boots for work, and new shorts.
Again, I shopped the clearance section only for these items which is almost shocking given how much we spent on clothing in May and June.
Imagine the costs for people who shop retail regular prices how much money it costs?
Typically we will go to Value Village for used clothing however some of the clearance items beat their prices hands down.
Renovations Driving Up Budget Expenses
Other high expenses went to renovations for the basement which I’ve been working on the past two weeks.
I have the city inspector coming for a final inspection in August so I had to get it done.
It’s a long story but when we bought this house some mice infested the basement with the previous owner.
I took that opportunity to negotiate the price lower because I knew I could fix the basement insulation myself.
There have been zero mice in our house since however I have traps set up in the attic and actively catch them every month.
Try it, I bet you’ll be surprised how many tiny little mice get in and out of your house without you knowing it.
Our grocery budget also went up as we continue to stockpile which means less time spent in the grocery store.
Our goal for July is to save something in our emergency savings account since June was a bust apart from investments.
Chat to you all in August with our July Budget Update.
Mr.CBB
Home Budget Percentages
Our savings of 31.89 % include investments as well as any savings for this month based on the net income of $7899.29.
We save money in our projected expenses for things that need to be paid for in the coming months.
All of the categories took 100% of our income which shows that we accounted for all of the income in June 2020.
This type of budget is a zero-based budget where all of the money has a home.
Monthly Home Budget Expenses
Below is a breakdown of our expenses which helps us to understand where all of our money goes.
- Chequing– This is the bank account where all of our debt gets paid from. We use Simplii Financial.
- Emergency Savings Account– This is a high-interest savings account.
- Regular Savings Account– This is a savings account that holds our projected expenses.
- Monthly Budgeted Total: $6,392.68
- Monthly Net Income Total: $7899.29
- (Check out our Ultimate Grocery Guide to see where our grocery money goes)
- Projected Expenses: These are expenses we know we will pay for throughout the year = $852.91
- Total Expenses Paid Out: $8074.71
- Total Expenses Paid Out: Calculated is $7899.29 (total net monthly income) – $852.91 (projected expenses) –$0 (savings to emergency fund) = $0 spent too much.
- Actual Cash Savings going into Emergency Savings: Calculated is $7899.29 (total monthly net income) – $8074.71 (actual expenses paid out for the month) – $852.91 (projected expenses) = –$1028.33
Monthly Budget and Actual Budget
Below you will see two tables, one is our monthly budget and the other is our actual budget.
This budget represents 2 adults and a pre-schooler, plus retirement investments.
Budget colour chart: If highlighted in blue that means it is a projected expense.
Since May 2014 we’ve been mortgage-free so much of our money will be directed at savings, investments, and renovations.
I appreciate that you enjoy this budget update each month but I do hope you view this as an educational tool rather than comparing your financial numbers as our situations are all unique.
Spending less than we earn and budgeting has been the easiest way for us to pay down debt and save money.
Monthly Home Budget Actual Expenses
CBB Home Budget Updates Month By Month
Just in case you missed our budget updates from 2012- present I’ve compiled them all on one handy page: monthly budgets.
2020 Home Budget Challenge
June Update: We are still 2 players in for the Budget Challenge 2020.
We are almost half-way through the year with two challengers hanging on successfully.
Let’s have a look at what happened with their budgets in June.
Budget Challenger #1
This month I tackled the second part of the annual whisking away of our various savings balances into GICs.
Concern over the economy gave rise to a roller coaster ride of emotions while I was trying to decide how long to invest our funds.
I finally decided on a redeemable GIC.
Hubby was on board with my decision.
By the way, hubby has postponed his vehicle purchase until the fall.
He’s looking for a really good deal and expects to have no trouble negotiating one when the new models are coming in and they still have the previous year’s stock sitting on the lot.
Back in March I took $500 cash out of the bank just in case we needed cash and the banks were closed.
A few of our local branches have temporarily closed due to the pandemic but since many places won’t accept cash right now I put most of the funds back in the bank.
I kept out $100 so that when hubby needs $20, I have it to give him and he doesn’t have to go near a bank.
Staying out of the stores is proving to be a VERY good thing as Martha Stewart would say.
This month I focused our grocery shop around fresh items tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow onions, bananas and we splurged on a quarter of a seedless watermelon for $1.79!
Our protein purchases were devilled egg platters and lots of “on-sale” cans of refried beans with green chilies. Yum!
Once again, our property taxes are paid for another year. Woo hoo!
It feels good to have a hurdle in the rearview mirror.
Now it’s time to save our little hearts out towards the house & travel insurance renewals in November and the BCAA membership renewal & timeshare condo fees and taxes in December.
There’s always some huge bill to save for
Budget Challenger #2
Hi Mr. CBB and all, Happy Belated Canada Day!
June spending:
- Transportation 15.81%
- Life 33.60%
- Short term savings 10.64%
- Household 2.24%
- Debt – 0%
Transportation is higher than it has been over the last few months, but where I am still working from home it’s still not bad.
I got a discount of 10% a month from my insurance company, but the real savings is coming from not driving often – fewer gas fillups and fewer maintenance costs!
There was an issue with my car that I got a ‘bandaid repair’ for, but I will have to have it fixed for the inspection which is in November.
The life category was also higher than usual. I didn’t spend as much on groceries, but bought take out for myself and some friends twice which ate into my budget – but it was so good (my favourite restaurant has been closed down since the start of COVID so I did have to splurge when it reopened!).
We also had our yearly checkup for the cats at the vet.
Taking them at the same time save 10% – but they are healthy (yet too fat) so I can’t complain too much.
I also bought a game to go with my birthday gift my boyfriend bought me (Nintendo switch) so that was a fun overspend
There was also an unexpected health issue that added to my bills.
The other night I woke and my neck was completely locked and I had to go to the hospital.
Thank god for free medical care, and my medical plan at work. Most of my meds and the physio have been covered, about $40 out of pocket so far.
But seriously, if any nurses are reading this, kudos to you.
While in emerg I heard someone talking about his suicide attempt, the police explaining a ‘police protection’ situation and then they had me, the blubbering mess who was scared her neck was going to break when they tried to turn it for the exam.
I can’t imagine the emotion-filled stories/cases you experience.
I’m pretty sure my neck injury is from a bad ergonomic setup at home, I’ve tried a few different ways but without having a real office, it’s just not doable.
I’m looking forward to being back at work soon, we’re predicting mid-July.
Due to COVID, I’ve seen my bills drop drastically, and a lot of my stress is gone, though the stress of trying to do a job better suited for in-person, through phone and email, presents its stresses!
The remaining percentage of money not spent will be shifted into savings as well when I get into the bank.
I will probably half it – half to our long-term savings and half put aside for the car expenses I’m estimating for November.
Hope everyone had a good Canada Day and is taking care of their mental health through all the craziness!
