How To Make A Budget Revision: September 2022 Budget Update

The budget revision process is vital because you’re spending too much money or have excess that is unused.

You might be amazed at how the simple task of revising your budget can motivate you.

There hasn’t been a year where we’ve perfectly managed every budget category; it’s impossible. Why? Because shit happens, there’s no other more straightforward way to say it.

We are not PERFECT with our money and understand budgeting is an ongoing process.

However, the last thing you want after creating a budget is to start over, but it happens.

A budget revision is perfectly normal especially if you’re new to budgeting, overspending, or creating a new budget category.

Every year our miscellaneous budget category can be high some months. You might ask us why if everything has a place in the budget.

The reality is that it’s near impossible to find a budget category that’s a one-size fit.

We found having the miscellaneous budget category vital because it allowed us to see spending patterns and whether we needed a budget revision.

Today, I want to briefly discuss why a budget revision is critical, the budget revision process, and how it will help you manage your money better.

Budget Revision Simplified

What is a budget revision?

You want to know why and who is spending too much money and whether the expense will occur consistently.

It’s a simple process and one that everyone who uses a budget should complete throughout the year or as needed.

A spending log is a great tool to help the user figure out where the money is going.

Next, I want to discuss when you should make a budget revision and the process.

Process Involved To Make A Budget Revision

When it comes to making a budget revision, you need a few months of budget numbers.

Comparables are one way to decide whether you need to create a new budget category, spend less or move money around.

For example, you might budget $100 for clothing each month but find you’re not using the total amount.

After completing an average of costs for clothing over the last 3-6 months of budgeting, you learn that you’ve only spent 50% of the amount. Fantastic.

Take that extra money you’re not using and create a budget revision.

Look at the grocery category where you’ve been spending more lately due to increased prices.

Instead of spending $550 each month, you’ve been overspending by $50, bringing your monthly grocery expenses to $600.

Add the extra $25 a month to your grocery budget by completing a budget revision.

Although the $25 won’t bring you to $600, you’ll now have a grocery budget of $575.

I like to go into our budget excel spreadsheet and fix the numbers, easy peasy.

You can do the same quite easily if you use a paper budget or mobile budget app.

When you create your budget for 2023, for example, now you have the tools to understand whether a budget category is working or not.

Base the numbers on current or potential upcoming price increases. You are aware of an average of your category expenses from the previous year.

What you don’t want to do is continue to overspend in a particular category each month without making a quick fix.

Don’t wait until the end of the year if you notice a problem immediately.

Nip it in the bud so you don’t become into debt because of an unbalanced budget.

Times You May Need A Budget Revision

Inheritance

If you’re one of the lucky ones who receive an inheritance, put that money to good use. Pay off your debts such as education, credit cards, lines of credit, loans etc.

Invest in your future, whether it be purchasing a home or other housing and set money aside for retirement.

Whatever you choose to do with an inheritance you receive is personal and may help your financial situation.

In such a case a budget revision may be necessary.

Empty Emergency Fund

If your emergency savings are empty, you need a budget revision in hopes of finding even a few dollars to save.

Life Event

A life event can range from a new baby, wedding, divorce, job loss, career change, disability, death or caring for your aging parents.

Perhaps you find out your child is disabled or has a disability and requires services that are not covered under benefits.

Life events are a massive category as it covers so many situations that could happen in our lives.

Return To Education

You’re an adult and decide that returning to school is something that you want to do. You might quit your current job and get OSAP or work part-time for extra money. Situations such as continued education will affect your monthly budget.

New or Used Vehicle

Anytime you purchase something new or used, whether a vehicle, trailer, or motorcycle, it may increase insurance, petrol, and payment costs.

New House

You will need to either start using a budget or revise the budget when you buy a new house.

Many expenses would come with home ownership if you were previously budgeting while renting an apartment.

A Budget Revision Is Not For Everyone

Yesterday I watched Global news, where a woman in Windsor, Ontario, who is disabled and living in poverty, has given up on life.

She can no longer afford to live, and the pain is unbearable and also has a disabled daughter and two dogs that she cares for.

More alarming is that she earns $1228 each month from Ontario Disability. No one asks to be disabled, which is beyond their control. ,

At this point, she is opting for assisted death in Canada, which is sad and unfair.

What stuck out to me in the video was when she got upset about budgeting.

It’s not the pain that is driving Canadians toward assisted death; it’s poverty.

She says that people tell her to “budget better,” and she wants to tell them all to go to hell.

It made me realize that not everyone can revise their budget if there is no money to move around.

I wish I had answers for Canadians who aren’t able to meet their basic needs besides community freebies, but I don’t.

Canada needs to do better to value human life and help seniors, adults, caregivers, children, or anyone dealing with a disability, mental or physical.

I’ll link the video below so you can watch it. I want you to know that I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt that way because of me.

The video tugs on my heart, and you’ll see from both participants how difficult it is to live.

Currently, I’m working towards my Canadian citizenship so I can vote and voice my opinion.

My overall take from this is that budgeting is strict, and once you’ve exhausted everything to reduce costs, where do you turn? Emergency savings? Sure, but that won’t last forever.

Something to consider is that big things will happen with the inflation rate driving prices through the roof.

A recession is never a good thing for anyone, no matter which side of the coin you are on.

I hope I’ve given you some examples of how to create a budget revision and how certain events can trigger the task.

Discussion: When you make a budget revision, why did you choose to do so?

Please leave your comments below, and I’ll respond to any questions.

Let’s get to the September 2022 Budget Update below.

CBB Family Budget Report For September 2022

September 2022 Budget Summary

We had a somewhat busy September with back-to-school and household breakdowns costing us big bucks.

Luckily we have the money to pay for these items, which is good that we have emergency savings.

Here are a few of our most significant expenses for September:

• New Central Vac $711
• Dyson Vacuum $511
• Laptop $1000
• Mobile Phone $1200
• Birthday Gifts (unexpected and something to consider for the 2023 budget)
• Parking Work $546

Our central vac died on us, so we bought another, but only the hose and head part, as the base was delicate.

I decided to get a Dyson for the upper level of the house, so Mrs. CBB doesn’t have to lug the hose upstairs or into the basement. She’s fallen in love with how easy a Dyson is to use.

Mrs. CBB smashed my mobile phone,e so I paid cash to buy a brand new one and paid $67 for an Otter box case.

The phone’s touch screen no longer works due to a crack at the bottom right-hand corner of the phone. If possible, I’m getting the phone fixed, but it will take a few weeks to get that done.

We went to an adult birthday party in September, which garnered unexpected expenses. Mrs. CBB bought our friend a bottle of her favourite wine, two bath sheets, two chocolate bars and a candle.

Our son has an upcoming birthday party, so we spent about $50 on the gift. Our petrol was lower in September as we didn’t go anywhere but to work and general running around town.

We picked some beautiful Swiss chard from our garden as the remaining vegetable, and it’s still growing. I was hoping to plant garlic before the snow, so we have it ready for next season.

Other than that, we had a busy month and some budget categories to revamp.

You might think I’m ignoring the fI’m that I paid $546 to park at work, but I’m not. I choose to ignore it because there’s nothing I can do, which increased by $46 this year.

Thanks for reading,

MR. CBB

Year To Date Percentages 2022

Our savings of include investments as well as any savings for this month based on the net income of $15,430.44.

Equally important is that we save money on our projected expenses due in the coming months.

An example of projected expenses would be buying Christmas gifts in December or throughout the year.

All categories took 100% of our income, showing that we accounted for all the revenue in September 2022.

This type of budget is a zero-based budget where all the money has a home.

Budget Expenses Percentages For September 2022

Monthly Home Budget Breakdown

Below is a breakdown of our expenses which helps us understand where our money goes.

• Chequing– This is the bank account from which we pay our household bills. We use Simplii Financial, TD Canada Trust, and Tangerine Bank. Join Simplii Financial today! Read more about the best Canadian online virtual banks.
• Emergency Savings Account– This money is in a laughable high-interest savings account.
• Regular Savings Account– This savings account holds our projected expenses.
• Monthly Budgeted Total: $6564.18
• Monthly Net Income Total: $15,430.44
• (Check out the  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: $9820.99
• Total Expenses Paid Out: Calculated is $15,430.44 (total net monthly income) – $852.91 (projected expenses) – $4,756.54 (Savings to emergency fund) = $9820.99
• Actual Cash Savings going into Emergency Savings: Calculated is $15430.44 (total monthly net income) – $9820.99 (actual expenses paid out for the month) – $905.00 projected expenses) = $4756.54

Estimated Budget and Actual Budget

Below, you will see two tables: Our monthly and actual budgets.

Our monthly budget represents two adults and an 8-year-old boy.

Budget Colour Key: It is a projected expense when highlighted in blue.   

Since May 2014, we’ve been mortgage-free, redirecting our money into investments and renovations.

Spending less than we earn and budgeting has been the easiest way to pay off our debt and save money.

Monthly Budget Amounts September 2022

Actual Monthly Budget September 2022

I’ll be back in November to share our October Budget Update.

Keep reading below to see how our 2022 Budget Challengers are doing with their monthly budget report.

Thanks for stopping by to read our budget update.

Mr.CBB

2022 Budget Challenge Canadian Budget Binder

Welcome to the 2022 Budget Challenge Reports.

Over the past two years, this challenge started with many positive CBB readers who wanted to join.

For 2022 we began with six people ready to change their lives by challenging how they manage a budget.

As of September, we have four budget challengers for the rest of 2022.

Each budget summary will always fall under the same Budget Challenger number below.

If you leave comments about any of the budgets, always use the budget challenger number, so they know it’s for them.

Budget Challenger # 1

Net Income

• Sept 2, $1140.67 dollars
• Sept 16, $1092.32 dollars
• Sept 30, $1140.67 dollars 
• Spousal support  $700
• Sarcan 0
• Victoria cell $95
• Essentially gift card is $50
• Yard sale $30

Net income total, $4248.66. 

Expenses

• Income tax $100
• Car insurance is $90
• Car repair $325
• Cells $266.26
• Elec/water/power $163
• TFSA $50
• RRSP $250
• Crave $16.70
• Wifi $80
• Gas $110
• Groceries $270
• Home Insurance $110
• Alarm $54.33
• S.p.p. $50
• Water softener  $30
• Water heater/ac/furnace  $188
• Life insurance  $75
• Lotto $7.50
• Mortgage  $560
• Parking $45

Total expenses – $3290.79

$4248.66 – $3290.79 = +957.87

August budget was = -935.97

So now I’m +22 dollars.

September was my birthday and my dad’s too. I didn’t save my present money as I spent it.

Also, some friends and family took me out for lunch.

In September, like most people, I got paid three times, so that’s great.

I hosted a yard sale to earn extra income, although I only made 30 dollars.

During the same garage sale, I made my dad 100 dollars.

Then I mainly donated everything leftover as I was tired of having it collecting dust. 

Lucky me, I won a 50-dollar Esso gift card from a contest. 

I had 325 dollars for expenses from my passenger car door electrical problem.

I had a credit from my power bill, so I didn’t have to pay.

Ups and downs for the month, but still up.

Thanks.

Budget Challenger #3 K

Hi Mr. CBB, Biggest expenses this month were on Dental, some roof repair, and kid’s dance fees.

I’m doing better at keeping the pet expenses in the right column as I had put the food in the grocery expense. (ah, yes, we have a separate cat budget category).

We are working on finishing the garden and some yard cleanup for the year.

Work is busy as we are rolling out a new provincial electronic charting program, so extra classes to get us going.

We are also very short-staffed at work, so there have been lots of overtime shifts offered.

You can read her full September monthly budget update here.

Budget Challenger #4

Greetings from the Yukon, CBB!

I don’t have much to talk about for September.

There was one last $50 Inflation Rebate on my electrical bill so that I could stash a previous deposit in the Electrical PE account. I made an extra TFSA deposit to keep my Tangerine account active.

You will see at the end of my report that Miscellaneous spending was a bit high – I’ve identified new categories for the budget for next year. (that’s fantastic. That’s what we do as well.)

I have some health stuff impacting my health and food spending – hoping to know more mid-October.

The one big spending event in September was unplanned. Every year, the United Way puts on a Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction, and I got swept up in bidding on a printer.

I haven’t had one for years, and this one has many more capabilities than my last one.

October will be all about meal planning/preparation and finding a balance between work and external activities.

See you after Halloween!

Budget Challenger #5

Well, September was a more expensive month than I had hoped, but they are all starting to feel that way, and I’m starting to feI’mthe effect of my boyfriend not working right now.

I did a lot of travel this month for work, we are super short-staffed, and because of my position, it’s easier for me to jump between offices when we are short-staffed.

This adds to the cost of my gas bill, but I will see some of that money back later in October.

Some of my expenses came from my mini vacation due to a long weekend.

I’ve shifted some costs to a ‘vacation category’ within my monthly budget.

I have a vacation that has already happened, and my real vacation is planned for November.

• Vacation planned: $73.76
• Vacation past: $300
• Clothing $81.64
• Groceries $252.08
• Pet $56.33
• Entertainment $26.47
• Fast food $100
• Gas $246.80
• Internet $110
• Short-term savings of $200
• Power $166.95
• Insurance $165.66
• Cell $72.94

I got back $84.43 on my money-back credit card, which helped a little bit.

Thankfully I also have a good amount of Air Miles left, which I plan to use for my vacation in November,

With the points, I hope to cover at least half of the costs I need other than the airfare.

I’m glad we are in a financial position, but I’m worried about others I know.

We are lucky we own our home, as I know so many people getting kicked out of apartments and having to find something new.

They have little choice but to take available apartments, which cost 70% of their income.

Plus, jobs in our area are reasonably good where we live.

I don’t know where it will lead in the future and how the potential of a recession will impact us.

I often feel guilty about planning a vacation, but I know you must find a balance between living in the moment and planning for the future.

The next few months, I have land fees, VMI, tire change, undercoat, oil change, vacation, Christmas presents and a retirement gift for my mom – which I’m still considering.

I guess we’ll have to see what the future holds!

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