February 2026 Expenses
I review our finances at the end of every month. This post is focused on the expenses. I am curious to see how our February 2026 expenses compare to our February 2025 expenses and if we are sticking to our 2026 goals. Categories and differences are explained below the table.
Category
2026
2025
Change
Mortgage
$2,029.35
$2,252.90
-$223.55
Insurance
$557.61
$476.59
+$81.02
Household and House Maintenance
$607.72
$394.26
+$213.46
Property Taxes
$986.84
$951.49
+35.35$
Utilities
$410.18
$450.20
-$40.02
Cell Phones
$90.40
$90.40
-
Internet
$101.69
$63.26
+$38.43
Car Payment
$425.06
$425.06
-
Car Maintenance
$0
$173.10
-$173.10
Streaming
$27.11
$49.70
-$22.59
Food
$528.15
$555.27
-$27.12
Fuel
$228.24
$382.73
-$154.49
Kids
$960.24
$948.51
+$11.73
Restaurants
$566.24
$759.61
-$193.37
Banking Fees
$13.15
$5.88
+$7.27
Fun Money
$367.36
$237.57
+$129.79
Clothing
$57.37
$206.37
-$149.00
Personal Care
$40.60
$114.55
-$73.95
Alcohol
$181.86
$211.40
-$29.54
Gifts
$47.34
$170.35
-$123.01
TOTAL
$8,226.51
$8,919.20
-$692.69
Let's explore what each category includes and some reasons for changes:
- Mortgage - we are on a variable rate and the interest rates went down in the past year.
- Insurance - insurance rates went up and we added a third vehicle.
- Households and home maintenance - we bought new Muskoka chairs.
- Property taxes - small increase in property taxes.
- Utilities - gas, water and electricity.
- Cell phones - no changes
- Internet - our promotional rate expired. I called the provided and was able to get a small reduction. This is the lowest fiber cost in the area.
- Car payment - no changes
- Car maintenance - very little driving this month due to the record low temperatures so little maintenance. I also stocked up on windshield fluid in January.
- Streaming - just Netflix. Others are paid annually and Apple TV is free for the next year or so thanks to a bunch of Apple gift cards I got 2 years ago.
- Food - expenses are roughly about the same.
- Fuel - very cold so limited driving.
- Kids - our second kid is now old enough for extra curriculars. Although we are no longer paying for daycare, he started a junior coding class which costs nearly as much.
- Restaurants - we had family stay over with us for a week so we got takeout a few times.
- Banking fees - a mix of interest rate payments on credit line transactions for a few days, fees for e-transfers and certified cheque fees.
- Fun money - coffee, books, games, etc. Small daily purchases and fun expenses. I bought a bunch of Steam games during the Lunar sale.
- Clothing - this is only for adult clothes. Kids' clothing is covered under the "kids" category.
- Personal care - self-explanatory.
- Alcohol - self-explanatory
- Gifts - self-explanatory. Because of the cold weather, we didn't attend many events.
Overall, a reduction of $692.69 in expenses. This is what happens when you are tracking your spending - numbers make you want to take action even if you don't follow a budget.
