2015 Budget


And now for the nitty gritty of budgeting on a small pension.  Happily my retirement financial planning went as planned. I have NO personal debt, no mortgage, no car loan. I don't owe anyone a cent. The key to my success was living on one paycheque per month and saving the other one. So I have a healthy savings account. I was going to add my monthly interest to my "income" but decided I can live without it and will let the interest sit in the savings accounts. Interest would have added $210.00 to my monthly budget, it's not huge but it will only go up!! Unless I decide to go travel the world :)
As you can see my monthly expenses are very low and yet I don't feel I'm suffering at all. I have lots of extras on my cell phone plan (no home phone) and lots of internet gigs for all of my Netflix and Shomi watching. (no cable TV) I borrow all the books I want from the library on my iPad plus I have a large stack of "real books" to read. I based my gas and food costs by tracking my spending in those areas for the past 4 months. The cost of gas was based on when it was WAY more expensive than it is currently so I'll likely not use the full $180 allotted!!

Some things will change a little: I don't know if my property taxes will increase or not as city council is still working on their budget. Car insurance is going DOWN!! so some alterations to that amount and the amount Kazi gives me towards it will change in February.  London Hydro and Union Gas will vary depending on the weather and how cold this winter is. For December the amounts were around $60 each - yes my utility costs are nice and low for a 3 story condo!! (Though Kazi complains about how cold it is in here - go put on a sweater!! I feel just fine thanks to my internal furnace lol!!)

The rest of the bills don't change. $350.00 automatically gets transferred to savings on the 2nd of every month and due to the fact that I don't have to pay property taxes this month I've transferred an extra $110.00 to savings so far pushing my total this month to $460 plus interest. My challenge to myself each month will be to end the month without using up all of my gas, food and misc budgets with whatever is remaining also being transferred to savings. I'm pretty good at these kinds of challenges!!

$600 might seem pretty hefty for a misc account but that covers entertainment, clothing and household needs like paint and so on. I'm sure there will be months I don't use it all up. I want to get my savings to a certain amount and then the savings will be redirected towards other things - the purchase of a trailer perhaps, and lots more travel!! I am hopeful of a large refund this year :) And in a year and a half I'll start receiving Canada Pension which will bump up my income nicely!!

All in all I'm satisfied with my financial picture. I'm not rich, I'm not wealthy, I'm probably lower middle class and I fit in really well there :) I don't want for anything (except for the redecorating to be done). I hope my truck lasts a couple more years. So far I've had next to NO repairs (touch wood), insurance is low and gas is cheap at the moment.

As for my budget I print off a paper copy each month and I track my expenses daily. I pay for everything I purchase with my mastercard as I receive good points. I didn't spend much money for food in December as I used my points. I write down my PCMC purchases and go online daily to see what has gone through and pay it - that's the PCMC part of my budget form. I haven't paid anything in interest on this card for the 10+ years I've had it.

And there you have it! Input is appreciated.

Jane's Budget:                          , 2015   
Pension     2261

PCMC



Property tax              155
UnionGas                    
65




Condo                       256
London Hydro           60




Bell                              83
Netflix                       8




Kazi                         +200
Savings                      350




Insurance                  312
Gas
180




Reliance                      33
Food
280                            




Rogers
79                       
Misc                           600






Misc. Spending
600               Misc

 280            Food
 180                  Gas
                     



                     




















































Savings Total: _________________________________




4 comments:

  1. I just did our budget up. We are not retired but like you no longer have mortgage, car payments or any other monthly payment than just regular day to day living - even no more child support yihaw! Our biggest expenses are Medical (self employed, we self insure for vision, dental and prescriptions due to preexisting conditions which are excluded on most plans anyway), food and hydro. I do have a category separated for travel though as it is such a big thing in our life. We save for it even if we have no plans. I do see living in a condo later in life though, so much cheaper!! My Mom's electricity bill is $60 per month in a 2 bed condo, ours in a 3 bed house that is only 700 sq feet larger is $150 per month.

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  2. Looks like you've set yourself up well and have a well thought out livable budget, especially since you have no debt obligations whatsoever. Good for you!!!! Whats the $200+ for Kazi? I thought she was working?

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  3. It looks good Jane, Our electricity bill has gone down so much since moving to our small apartment, and best of all we never feel cold!

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  4. Kudos for maintaining a frugal life! It’s pretty hard to cut expenses, especially if you were used to spending on food, clothing, and other luxuries. I really commend you for keeping your savings in check, and for finding ways to enjoy things on a low budget. I do hope you’ll be able to maintain that low budget for the rest of the year, so that you could use your savings to buy more important stuff. All the best!

    Daryl Cross @ Nahi Gazal

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