A Peek at My Monthly Budget for 2025

My non-registered portfolio closed today’s session at $151,487.68, my US portfolio at $5,853.47 USD, my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $83,258.29, and my TFSA portfolio at $137,662.08. Overall, my stock portfolio gained $2,500 today—a nice little jump in the right direction while waiting for Donald Trump’s inauguration this coming Monday. However, I can’t say I’m very optimistic about how things might turn out. In a way, this uncertainty is why I’m primarily focusing on building up my savings. It’s my way of unplugging from the chaos. Thankfully, I can do so freely because I no longer have a margin debt in play.

On a personal note, my father has been feeling unwell lately, though not excessively ill. He has no fever at the moment. I still have some COVID tests at home, and he took one—it came back negative for now. I have no idea where he caught this bug. I haven’t been sick in a while, so he certainly didn’t catch it from me. He had COVID a few months ago, so this is probably just a sore throat. Winters here can be rough and tough. That said, winters aren’t what they used to be; we used to get a lot more snow. I’d be curious to see the statistics for New Brunswick. Climate change is affecting the world in many different ways.

With the New Year comes new resolutions. Last year, I paid off my margin debt—a feat I still can’t quite believe! This year, I’m aiming to build up savings, ideally $20,000. Once I hit $10,000, I’ll be thrilled. I should be able to save $5,000 by the end of February, which is a great start. In my spending spreadsheet, I’ve marked March as the month I return to Montreal. Because of this, I’ll likely only save $500 that month.

I have an Excel sheet—nothing fancy, very simple—where I track my expenses, upcoming bills, rent, and any anticipated costs for the next few months. I’ve created a couple of versions with different scenarios but decided to stick with a realistic plan I can follow. That’s what budgets are supposed to be. The good news is that if I stick to my plan, I should easily reach my $20,000 savings goal this year.

Here’s my budget for when I’m in Montreal:

Groceries: $400
Extra: $400
Internet and Cable: $101.68
Rent: $750
Cell: $40.24
Netflix: $6.89
Banking Fees: $12
Crave: $19.54
Laundry Tickets: $40

Total: $1,770.35

This is the most realistic budget I’ve come up with so far. I’m considering canceling my Crave subscription and keeping only Netflix. Once I maintain a balance in my chequing account, my banking fees will be waived. I have a basic cable subscription but would like to suspend it, if possible, and keep it only when my parents visit. At some point, my rent will likely increase—maybe by $10 or $15 per month. With $100 a week for groceries, I should manage, but steak and salmon won’t be frequent items on the menu, that’s for sure!

My "Extra" category includes fun money and my daily espresso. 

Actually, it’s more of an expresso with a bit of steamed milk, but I’ve forgotten its name. When I’m in Montreal, I usually go out for one almost every day. It’s probably one of my favorite things in the world, followed by swimming and going to the movies. Montreal is blessed with various free festivals and activities, so I often enjoy myself without spending much. My daily espresso costs about $5.50 after a 20% tip. Some might think that’s excessive, especially since I go nearly every day, but I view tipping 20% on an espresso as a small but meaningful gesture.

After accounting for my daily espresso, I’ll have about $61.50 left each week for fun activities. That should cover a few enjoyable things over the weekend, but I’ll see how it goes—money can disappear quickly!

I honestly don’t remember the last time I worked so tightly within a budget to save money. Usually, I’m not very restrictive and still manage to save, but never with a strict plan. This new approach could be beneficial for me, especially since inflation is reshaping financial priorities. Having little to no savings, as I’ve done in the past, isn’t sustainable anymore.