May 2023 Budget Update CBB Family
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Welcome to the CBB 2023 May Monthly Budget Update, where I share where our money was spent and saved, plus any changes to our financial situation.
Discussion May 2023 Budget
Below I will discuss a few things that happened in May to our monthly budget.
I no longer share our income and net worth, but you will see percentages, expenses, and our budget numbers.
Percentages For May 2023 Budget
Year To Date Household Budget Percentages 2023
Our savings of 29.37% includes investments and savings based on our net income.
Equally important is saving money for our projected expenses due throughout the year.
All categories took 100% of our income, showing we accounted for all the revenue in May 2023.
Our Life Ratio category is more than the projected 25% or less, at 39.36%, which needs reducing.
Life contains everything from groceries, entertainment, miscellaneous, health/beauty, clothing, etc.
I will explain our 98.32% housing ratio and why it’s so high below.
Now I’m wondering if the suggested 25% or less is still reasonable given the rise in inflation.
I’d love your feedback about household percentages in the comments below.
Our Canadian Banks
- 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 high-interest savings account (HISA)
- Regular Savings Account– This savings account holds our projected expenses.
Grocery Discounts May 2023 Budget
Soon, I will be writing a detailed blog post about why we will track our grocery discounts.
Update: Tracking Our Grocery Discounts For One Year + Free Printable
I will tally it at the end of the year to see how much we saved buying reduced food products.
For May 2023, we saved $229.21 by purchasing food that was reduced in price.
So far, in 2023, purchasing discounted food has saved us $448.37.
May 2023 Budget and Actual Budget
Below are two tables: Our May 2023 Budget and our Actual Budget.
Our May 2023 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 home improvement projects.
Spending less than we earn and budgeting has been the easiest way to pay off our debt and save money.
Estimated May 2023 Budget
This type of budget is a zero-based budget where all the money has a home.
Actual May 2023 Budget
Happenings For Our May 2023 Budget
Below are some of our variable expenses from May, apart from our investments.
I do the best I can to explain where our money is going.
If there is a budget category you’d like me to talk about or explain in more detail, please comment below.
Pet Expenses
Again, our pet expenses are high, although we have made changes since our last budget post.
We had already ordered 4 cases of wet cat food but began splitting the can for them.
Half the bowl gets wet and the other dry, like a mixed meal. They seem to like it.
One reader suggested I make food for them, but these cats want nothing to do with human food.
Our first cat was never given any human food and turned his nose up at it.
While speaking to the original owner of our new cat, she suggested a new food to help cats that shed.
Mrs. CBB and I are allergic to cats but not severely, just occasional sneezing and runny nose.
Purina Pro Plan makes dry cat food, which takes two weeks to see results in reducing allergens in pet hair.
- The first and only cat food with the power to reduce cat allergens.
- Significantly reduces allergens in cat hair and dander.
- Simply and safely neutralizes Fel D 1, a common allergen in cat saliva, using a key protein from eggs.
- It comes with a money-back satisfaction guarantee.
- Reduces allergens in cat hair and dander by an average of 47% starting in the third week of feeding.
Cat Stuff
We purchased an AMAZING new double-sided cat brush that removes so much hair.
Our original brush is useless because we bought it at the Dollar store, and it’s not working.
Sometimes it’s worth spending money on items that require quality.
She also suggested we buy a cat toy/ post that helps the cats scratch so they aren’t rubbing everything.
The cats LOVE and use the toy as intended and enjoy playing with the cat track with wooden balls.
Lastly, our scratching post was sad looking as it was donated to us by our neighbour, so we replaced it.
We bought a colourful 2 ft cactus scratching post which both cats use,
The great news is that it has stopped them from scratching where they shouldn’t be.
Hopefully, that’s all we have to buy, although I might invest in a new harness for the older cat as he likes to go out back.
The new cat is scared of the outdoors so he won’t go outside any time soon.
Clothing Expenses May 2023 Budget
Mrs. CBB and I ordered shorts, capris, and t-shirts from Mountain Warehouse online.
We used Rakuten, PC MasterCard (for PC Optimum Points), and a $15 off coupon code paired with clearance-only purchases.
There was one pit stop at Value Village so Mrs. CBB could look through the summer clothes for kids.
She also picked up some summer clothing and a purse for her mother that we gifted her.
Lastly, we purchased a pair of running shoes for our son and Mrs. CBB and a pair of summer sandals.
FlashFood App Discounts
Lately, we’ve been using our FlashFood rewards points Flashfood App Offers 50% Off Groceries to make purchases at Zehrs.
I don’t count them in my grocery savings because we use affiliate rewards.
If you have not signed up for FlashFoods, use my link, make a purchase, and we both get back $3 in rewards. Free money!
Flashfood app Canada – Save 50% off food products close to expiry from participating Loblaws Stores such as RCSS, Zehrs, Dominion, and Loblaws.
Please use my referral code, MOCD28ZN4, for a $3 credit.
We use another fantastic app to get cheap groceries worth signing up for.
You see what your local stores have reduced and purchase it from the app, pay, and pick it up.
Super easy to do, and the savings are worth it.
We’ve picked up steaks, chicken, ham, cheese, luncheon meats, milk, and vegetable boxes for only FIVE dollars.
Read my full Flashfood Review here.
Window and Lanai Reno Update
We started looking for a window company in 2022 and finally chose a winner.
I won’t disclose the final numbers as I’ll write a blog post, but we put down over $7000.
They are a reputable company in Toronto that custom manufactures their windows and doors at their Ontario facility.
We hope the project will be completed by August 2023, and then I’ll share photos, costs, and processes.
Truck Maintenance Costs
The remainder of the costs for the new brakes cost $775.97 to purchase the brake spider, parking brake, and backing plate unit because they don’t sell individual parts.
I had to replace the unit because the old parking brake was so rusty that it brought the old shoes and destroyed the plate when I pulled the rotor off.
The 75 W140 oil cost me $60 because I had to drain it from the differential to remove the axle.
I also had to reorder an axle seal because I somehow misplaced it.
Knowing me, I’ll find it in the garage in some spot where I’ve sat and forgotten it.
If and when I find it, I’ll hang onto it for the following brake change.
Overall costs came to just over $1775.97, which would have been double if I had gotten it done at a mechanics shop.
Birthday
Our son had a birthday party to attend, but it was cancelled.
We set the amount to $50 for the birthday gift as we didn’t know if there was a standard.
It has been ages since we had to buy toys for kids, and they have gone up in price.
This party was for a girl who wanted LOL dolls, key chains, stuffies, and crafts.
Petrol Costs May 2023 Budget
Gas Buddy $1.47 to $150.9/Litre – I always fill up at Costco gas station, where prices are slightly lower than other petrol stations.
In May, I filled up the truck twice and one large gas tank, and as expected, the costs were high.
Considering Mrs. CBB does not work and I don’t work every day of the week, I can’t imagine how much a dual-car family petrol costs.
I’d love to hear how much you spend a month in your household on petrol.
Leave me your comments below.
Shoppers Drug Mart PC Optimum Points
We haven’t been spending much at SDM lately but earned 10,500 points in May, bringing our total points to 6.4 million, over $6440 to spend.
Points are also earned by using our PC MasterCard for purchases.
Grocery Budget May 2023 Budget
We were slightly over budget in May because we loaded up at Costco buying cat treats, yogurt drinks (for our son), instant coffee, etc.
You’ll also notice that we had significant grocery savings from buying 50% off reduced grocery products from Zehrs.
Mrs. CBB also went out of town to see her mum for a few days and made a trip to the grocery store.
She wanted to avoid eating out, and buying groceries was the smart thing to do.
2023 CBB Net Worth Update
Monthly I will share the difference and percent change in our investment portfolio.
In May 2023, we saw a decline in our net worth due to our investments dropping.
Hopefully we will recover some of the damage in June and July.
Since our house is paid in full and we have zero debt, I didn’t think it was necessary to share our net worth any longer.
However, for those of you interested in seeing our investment fluctuations, I will share them.
If you want to know more about our investments, reply to this email to let me know what you’d like to see next month.
That’s all for our May 2023 Monthly Budget, although I may change things as I go along.
If there’s something you’d like to see in our monthly update, hit reply to this email and let me know.
Thanks for stopping by, and please subscribe if you are new to CBB.
Mr. CBB
Thank you for the informative review of your May 2023 budget. I’ve replied to your email to learn more about the types of investments you made. I’m always interested in learning about investments and how to be resilient as the economic environments shift and affect these investments.