Monthly Budget Scenario From a “Saver” money personality perspective.

How would you decide which bank is the one for you? I already have a debit card with CIBC that my parents made for me when I was little. I wouldn’t want to switch to a different banking institution because CIBC doesn’t have any interest on debit cards and only does a $10 service charge every few months that they refund right away. There would be no reason for me to apply for a credit card right now, or even for the month of this budget because I don’t yet have a steady income and I don’t make any big purchases that require credit loans.

Monthly expenses by category : Suppose for the 31 days in May 2017, I have $500 to spend on amenities and I cannot take on any more employment or have any more income. All the prices have been taken from the corresponding websites. This is how I plan to spend it:

Transportation: I am a student, so I buy a concession compass card that costs $52. It is good for the entire month and I can bus anywhere in Metro-Vancouver unlimitedly. I now have $448 left to spend.

Food I create an account with Save-On foods, and there, I can shop online and get the groceries delivered to my house. The grocery truck can come daily by 8pm upon order and I have all 3 meals ready on the first day because I buy them April 30th (from the $500 budget). Breakfast: I eat cereal every morning (Like I normally do) - 4L of milk ($4.79) is enough for 500ml per day for 7 days. After 28 days, there are still 3 days left in May so on the 28th I order 2L of milk ($3.69) that arrives at 8pm and I have around 500ml left over which I can just drink. $4.79 x 4 = $19.16 + $3.69 = $22.85 for just the milk.

Food (Continued) - A jumbo pack of Rice Krispies cereal (1.12kg) can last me about 2 weeks so I buy 2. ($11.99 each so $23.98 for both) My breakfast total for the month is $46.83 (Milk and cereal). I now have $401.17 remaining Lunch: At school, I microwave my lunch everyday, so for the month, I'll buy frozen dinners for each lunch. - There are a few variants and they all cost $2.00. So I eat one every day - $62 I now have $339.17

Food (Continued) Dinner: My dinner will be on a schedule: Monday, Wednesday and Friday will be frozen meals -$2.00 x3 = $6 Tuesday and Thursday I will buy a foot-long sandwich at Subway for $5.50 x2 = $11 On Saturday and Sunday, I'll buy a "$5 Fill-up" from KFC for $5.00. 5 x2 = $10 So my dinner total for 1 week will be $27. Since the month starts on a Monday, I will have 3 days left over in the end: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: $2.00, $5.50, $2.00. $9.50 for the 3 extra days. So $27 x4 = $108+ $9.50 = $117.50 is the grand total for dinner for the month. I am now left over with $221.67

Phone Plan I chose to go with the company Freedom Mobile (previously Wind). They offer month-to-month plans so I only have to pay once. I chose LTE ready plan which costs $40. I get unlimited Canada-wide talk, unlimited global text, and 4gb of full speed LTE data and unlimited 3g data. The catch is that they have their own cell towers so the service range is very limited, but this works for me because I am mostly just at home and at school. (Both these areas are covered) I am now left over with $181.67

Clothing: Considering I still have all my clothes that I have right now, I only go clothes shopping maybe once a year, so this month I'll buy just the minimum wardrobe that needs refreshing. - H&M Hooded top on sale for $10  - H&M Skinny low jeans on sale for $17.99 I now have $153.68 left

Entertainment : I still have $153.68 left over and normally I would just put it in a savings account to save up for other purchases. This month I’ll go the movie theatre each Sunday: An UltraAvx ticket costs $13.99 at Cineplex in Pitt Meadows. X4 + = $55.96

Taxes and remaining money: Currently I have $97.72 (Have spent $402.28)I still would have had to pay taxes on each of the purchases separately: 5% GST of $402.28: $20.11 7% PST of $402.28: $28.16 20.11 + 28.16 = $48.27 So in reality, I only have $49.45 left of the initial $500 sum so, I’ll put it onto my debit card so that I can make an investment for future purchases and needs. My plan for the next months when I get a steady job, is to leave at least $20 aside for purchases and just to invest in general. I could potentially spend the rest of the money, but my “money personality” is a Saver, so I only buy what I need and the no-name brand to avoid high spending costs and to have more money for more important things.