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It’s the end of a month again, so we’re here to take a look at the state of our finances. I like to go through a list of end of the month budget questions at the end of every month to see if there is anything I need to—or want to—change as we move into a new month.
For us, May was an expensive month. There were some costs for summer activities that I hadn’t planned for; we had a death in our family and had to spend money on travel and food; we had some car trouble that cost more than what we had in our car maintenance sinking fund. But it was still a better month than it could have been if I didn’t regularly check in on our budget!
If you don’t have a budget, then you probably will want to start there. See my post on how to start a budget!
If you do have a budget, then here are some things to think about as May comes to a close. Consider this post your sign to do a May budget recap and help you get some perspective so you can stay on track for the rest of the year.
End of the Month Budget Questions | May Budget Recap
Did you actually track your spending?
If you did, great job! If not, what kept you from doing it? If you’ve been tracking digitally, maybe you need to switch to a good old notebook and pen.
How much did you spend last month?
Look at any categories where you spent more than you expected, and see if that was just a one-off or if you need to overhaul something more substantial in your budget.
Will you be planning to spend more or less on a certain category in the coming month?
Two of our children just got phones. While they will be paying for the majority of the monthly cost, we are paying for a portion of it, so I need to adjust that in my budget.
Are there any holidays or events coming up that will cause you to spend more?
Father’s Day is in June, and then soon after is Fourth of July. Consider how much you might spend on these situations.
Are there any recurring expenses that won’t happen this month?
We will be pausing some music lessons for the summer, which will save us some money.
Are there new sinking funds that have come to your attention?
As I said, we had some unexpected travel for a funeral and it made me realize that I might want to make an “unexpected travel” category in our budget.
Do an inventory check—how are you on groceries, personal care items, household items?
Is there anything you need to stock up on? If so, make a note in your phone so that when you see them on sale, you can get more than one.
Are there any new categories you need to add to your budget?
Budgets have to be flexible. Sometimes there may be items we’re spending on every month that are all pushed into one category. Separating a category out can be helpful, for example, if you have a lot of streaming subscriptions.
How are you doing on your financial goals?
Are you trying to pay off debt? Build up an emergency fund? Examine how far you’ve come and how far you have to go. If you’re new to budgeting, check out how to set yearly goals.
Is there any financial win you can celebrate?
It’s always important to celebrate wins, even if it feels like progress is slow going! I love celebrating wins by not spending money. Although we did have to move some money around for our car expenses this month, I considered it a huge win that we had almost enough in our car maintenance fund to pay for a new alternator for our van. In the past, we’ve found ourselves scrambling for an expense like that.
How has your spending averaged over the first five months of the year?
If you track your spending digitally, this is usually a pretty easy number to find. It can help you compare your income to your spending and give you data on what you might want to change.
