2 min read Expenses

March 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 March 2026 expenses compare to our March 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
$2,195.65
-$166.30
Insurance
$575.18
$500.41
+$74.77
Household and House Maintenance
$260.24
$328.57
-$68.33
Property Taxes
-
-
-
Utilities
$358.72
$445.48
-$86.76
Cell Phones
$90.40
$90.40
-
Internet
-
-
-
Car Payment
$425.06
$425.06
-
Car Maintenance
$19.20
$278.67
-$259.47
Streaming
$53.09
$53.09
-
Food
$552.51
$727.91
-$175.40
Fuel
$700.58
$500.77
+$199.81
Kids
$645.49
$1,336.77
-$691.28
Restaurants
$511.28
$846.31
-$335.03
Banking Fees
$12.72
$10.25
+$2.47
Fun Money
$582.91
$623.21
-$40.30
Clothing
$162.83
$200.97
-$38.14
Personal Care
$198.17
$283.81
-$85.64
Alcohol
$144.70
$151.57
-$6.87
Parking
$25.95
$3
+$22.95
Gifts
$1,367.37
$302.96
+$1,064.41
TOTAL
$8,715.75
$9,304.86
-$589.11

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 - nothing major this month, just reloading on laundry detergent, various papers (tissues, paper towels, toilet paper) and cleaning suppliers.
  • Property taxes - no taxes due this month.
  • 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 - bluetooth receiver for our 2004 RAV4. Excellent upgrade!
  • Streaming - Netflix and YouTube. 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 - March break trip and high gas prices.
  • Kids - a little lower this month due to our kids' extracurriculars not sending an invoice on time. Kids expenses will be a little higher next month so this will be offset.
  • Restaurants - had guests a couple of times and saw friends during March break.
  • 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
  • Parking - decided to split parking out of "fun money".
  • Gifts - had to get my father-in-law a last minute plane ticket to see family.

Overall, a reduction of $589.11 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.

Things were trending in an even better direction but life always find a way to screw you over. If I didn't have to buy a last minute plane ticket, we would have saved an extra ~$500. Fortunately, our monthly cash-flow allows to absorb small emergencies without emptying our accounts.

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