October Saving Update

Well, it's one month into my 25K challenge and I exceeded my goal with a savings rate of 53%. Hopefully this will continue into the future.

Here's my monthly variance report:
This month I made a trip to Costco and purchased a lot of food and toiletries which put me over on my food category. I'm hoping my bulk purchases will result in some savings in future months.

I realized I have a major flaw in my budget by not allowing a provision for toiletries and cosmetics. I estimate that these expenses will run about $30/month and will incorporate into my next month budget.

My income is up due to CPP and EI deductions having reached the maximum deductions earlier in the summer. This will continue until the New Year when deductions will resume.

While I was able to save more than I was anticipating, October was a bad month on my investments. My portfolio lost approximately $1000 largely due to my heavy exposure to the banks, oil and real estate. So far into November, these stocks have started to rebound and I'm not worried about the long term effect on my portfolio.