Where Does All My Money Go

[undercoverbrother]

We are into the 3rd (now 4th) page and nobody has lamented the lack of Hookers and Blow in the budgeting process.

What has become of CP

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Tiger

For the Pandemic, it has definitely affected certain areas

Groceries: home more and trying new recipes and likely leading to increases
Fast food: probably a little more just to get out.
Resturants: Felt like there was a duty to order in from restaurants more because we were more fortunate
Gas/Car payments: Did have a vehicle allowance and gas allowance... now I don't
Online shopping: definitely up with all this, hand sanitizers and masks way up year over year
Books: way up because of libraries being closed
Jogging pants: slightly up
Travel: is way down, plus some of that budget is prepaying a hotel for an upincoming trip (that is fully cancellable)

The data is definitely changed because of 2020, it would be interesting to look at 2019 and see how it changed but that would be a lot of work.

As for the mortgage already accelerated biweekly, but unfortunately recently renewed last summer for 5 years which is too bad... should have stayed open

My kids have been signing out e-books and audio books from the library (i.e. online). Not sure if that's an option but it might be worth checking out.

As for the mortgage, we renewed at the end of December. I try not to beat myself up for not predicting there would be a global pandemic resulting in interest rates plummeting...

[troutman]

Originally Posted by you&me

I know that's tried and true, but in the case of the OP, did you even look at the numbers? Alcohol is his smallest expense - he barely drinks?

General advice. Sometimes people besides the OP have the same questions.

https://sprudge.com/how-much-do-you-...ar-136082.html

Millennials spend more on coffee than other age groups. According to the study, people ages 25-34 spend on average $2,008 a year.

https://www.thebalanceeveryday.com/w...-costs-4142309

Americans spend about 1 percent of their gross annual income on alcohol. For the average household, that’s $565 a year, $5,650 in 10 years, or a whopping $22,600 over a 40-year period.

Here's How Much Canadians Are Spending on Alcohol

https://www.insauga.com/heres-how-mu...ing-on-alcohol

[CroFlames]

I'm always on the lookout for a better personal budget spreadsheet. What do you guys use?

I use this one, https://www.mymoneycoach.ca/resource...eet-calculator and while I don't love it, it does the trick. I fill it in every month manually. I think those auto-money tracking softwares make it "too easy" and you don't get a good handle on things vs if you are manually inputting data.

I used a sheet a long time ago that I loved, but I can't find the template anymore.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I'm always on the lookout for a better personal budget spreadsheet. What do you guys use?

I use this one, https://www.mymoneycoach.ca/resource...eet-calculator and while I don't love it, it does the trick. I fill it in every month manually. I think those auto-money tracking softwares make it "too easy" and you don't get a good handle on things vs if you are manually inputting data.

I used a sheet a long time ago that I loved, but I can't find the template anymore.

I started Aspire Budget awhile back. Took a bit of work to set up but it's basically You Need a Budget in Google Sheets. It was pretty slick if you like manual entry but I have gotten away from tracking everything.
https://www.reddit.com/r/aspirebudgeting/

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Tiger

does anyone here use coupons?

no need to if you have the Flipp app.
not that they're very common anymore, anyway.

Not sure about the Calgary Libraries, but here in Edmonton they're all open again.
I don't go in, though. just order online and then go pick my stuff up.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Tiger

does anyone here use coupons?

most definitely... most frequent usage is the A&W ones!! BTW you can also get the AWCOUPON website on your phone and you just click and show what you want... and get an auto refresh of coupons monthly.
Also use the Entertainment book / app for a number of things. Saved a few $100 last summer during family trip to Vanc/Victoria.

Kids have realized that for the same budget we can eat out twice as often if we use discounts/coupons.
Hey, I ain't too proud to use coupons instead of just giving away my stash. I'm also the guy that always finds bargains. Being (usually) single-income family one has to do whatcha can. At present my employer (CERB) hasn't been funding our lifestyle very well so coupons at least allow for a bit of a lower cost treat once in a while.