Budget homework

[vaneramos]

Did it, yeah!

Tonight on the way home I stopped at the bank and opened a new savings account with $50 someone sent me for my birthday (thank you).

I reviewed my budget and pared down my living expenses by about $125 per month. Groceries, recreation and dining out took a hit, and books and CDs were eliminated. I added $20 a month to the medical category to save up for inevitable dental work, though that's hardly sufficient.

I tallied up allowances for occasional expenses—clothing, auto maintenance and insurance, licenses, dental, mailbox rental, gifts, and income tax (which I pay once a year). The total of these categories I will deposit into the savings account every month. I can make online transfers, free of charge, back to my chequing account for making payments.

Eventually I hope to set up a separate savings account for an emergency fund. I'm considering the new Tax Free Savings Account. Unlike RRSPs, there is no tax deduction for contributions, but withdrawals are tax exempt. This is hypothetical, depending on whether I can find a better way to manage my debt, otherwise I don't see how I'll be saving anything.

I also set up three envelopes into which I'll place my weekly allowance for groceries, laundry, and a catch-all category including travel, recreation, dining out and alcohol. These envelopes cover the areas in which I'm tempted to overspend (I prefer using the laundromat a block away, but it's more expensive than the cruddy machines in my building).

All this scheming will be subject to revision, but I wanted to get a baseline before my meetings next week.

Comments

supportively

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on your progress! I know tax laws and health care issues are quite different in Canada (stop laughing, Canadians!) but putting in place a method for setting aside monies for known periodic expenses (health/car/home insurance, property taxes, car repair, whatever) for same was one of the best things I ever did for my own finances.