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As this is my first entry for the new Money Diary series, I don’t have a recap for last month. I included my budget for June below and will also talk about the Fixed Expense categories this month. Since they won’t change much month-after-month after, I will only highlight changes in the future.
Money Diary for the Month
Since I have just started my money diary, I don’t have any entries to share yet. However, as mentioned in my introduction post for the series, I will be sharing the most eventful week of the month here every month in addition to my budget recap.
Budget for June 2020
Expense Categories (Fixed)
🏡 Housing Costs – Principal – all costs related to the condo we live in and this expense is expected to remain steady until our AGM in the summer where they might increase our strata fee; property tax payment for 2020 is also included in this month’s hence the number is higher than usual
🏠 Housing Costs – Investment – all costs related to the condo we rent out; also included property tax payment for 2020 hence the higher amount
🚗 Car Payment – lease payment for our only car plus insurance; the amount is expected to remain steady (insurance is up for renewal in the Summer but it will be a minor change) until we switch to a new car in early 2021 (when my dream car is released)
📺 Netflix – our only recurring entertainment cost other than our phone bill and internet
💡 Utilities – phone bills for Eric’s mom and ourselves and internet (locked into a 2-year contract)
Expense Categories (Variable)
🎤 Entertainment – I resumed playing Pokemon Go a month or so ago and have been going out a couple of evenings per week to play; like many other games, Pokemon Go has in-app purchases so the budget is for both Eric, myself and his alternate toon (Hugo!!)
🥩 Groceries – I expect to grocery shop 3 to 4 times this month (compared to every 2 weeks for the first 2 months since COVID)
🏡 Home & Furniture – I have been wanting a “reading nook” area and decided the office will be the perfect spot; since the office will also function as a guest room when we have guest over, a daybed is what we are looking for
🎓 Learning & Development – I stopped buying books and started relying on the library few years ago but since Eric started reading this year, I thought I will resume buying books occasionally (libraries will still be my go-to when they re-open); first one will be The Ride of a Life Time by Robert Iger (former CEO of Disney)
🥡 Restaurants & Take-Outs – we have been ordering take-outs 2 to 3 times a week and expect this month to be the same
🚌 Transportation – without the work commute, we only have to gas up once a month so this is for one tank of gas
