The final quarter of 2023 was met with more illnesses, as was standard for us through 2023. We were hit with sinus infections, strep throat and regular old colds. Thankfully we enjoyed a healthy Christmas break. We did get out for one road trip to visit family but other than that we stayed close to home and hunkered down for the winter. We were met with two major home expenses as we paid for the final fix of our AC unit ($2,500) and spent $1,700 on a new hot water tank that decided to implode on Xmas eve.

How did we spend our $$…

Mortgage: This amount includes both principal and interest. We are on an accelerated biweekly payment plan.

Rental Condo: We have two mortgages against our rental condo. We took out a second one in 2021 to help us with the down payment on our primary residence. So technically some of this amount is actually related to our home but I still keep it under the rental condo because if we ever sell it we’ll be able to wipe the entire rental condo mortgage out. This also includes the property manager fee and strata. December is much higher as it was a 3 payment month and we also had to pay for our annual insurance.

Daycare – $1,699: We pay for one of the most expensive daycare options in our city because it was the only one we could get into. We are very very fortunate to be able to afford this. The daycare situation in this province is truly a mess.

Vehicle: We have a monthly car payment of $363. We also purchased winter tires for the new vehicle in October ($1,256), and spent $819 on fuel.

Food – $5,683 This consists of $3,565 on groceries, $1,847 on Restaurants and Take-out and $224 on coffee shops. Yes, we are horrified by our take-out spend. It was like we just gave up towards the end of the year.

Office: Yes! Our last month (week) paying for our office space took place in October. Both H and I are now fully working from home.

Kid Stuff- $623 – Winter clothing, toys, Santa photos… I don’t even know what else.

House Stuff – $5,310: This category includes anything house-related aside from mortgage payments and utilities. Don’t let people fool you. Renting is definitely cheaper than home ownership. $2,500 of this was for the final fix of our AC unit. $1,700 was for a new hot water tank that of course decided to implode on Christmas Eve.

Utilities – $871: We pay for Gas (monthly) – $129, Electricity (bi-monthly) – $111, and Water (quarterly) – $630

Gym – $240: H joined a gym just down the road from us for $20 biweekly. I also spent $100 on some spin classes through our recreation centre that start in January.

FREE GROCERIES: We redeemed $150 in free groceries in the last quarter of the year. YTD we’ve redeemed $720

Investments: We invested $5,000 in the last quarter of the year. We also contribute to an RESP for our child but I don’t include that in our Investment balances.

Our Retirement Assets number is calculated as: Cash + Condo Value + Investments – Mortgages – Credit Card Balance. I do not take into consideration the value of, or any equity in our home.