Join us for our August 2025 home budget breakdown and see how our zero-based budget can lead you to financial stability.
I’ll show you our zero-based budget results from July if you give me some time.
Before we begin, if you’re new to CBB, the Free 2025 51-page Budget Binder is ready for download once you subscribe for free to the blog.
Why I Share Our 2025 Monthly Home Budget
For anyone new to CBB, this briefly explains our monthly budget update and where our money went.
If you want to learn how to create a monthly budget, you’ve come to the right place.
Budgeting puts you in charge of your money, meaning you are the boss.
That’s a significant role if you want to keep your company afloat.
I look forward to putting this monthly post together, as it lets us see where we spend our money.
A budget also acts as a diary for your expenses so that you can see successes and failures.
Our budget update also lets readers know that we are not perfect and must make changes like everyone else.
We use the tools (Free Budget Binder), and I hope you have downloaded your free copy.
Alright, let’s get into this. If you have any questions, please leave them for me in the comment section at the end of this post.
August 2025 Home Budget Household Percentages
Savings of 44.50% include investments and savings based on our net income.
Our life ratio is 30.07% and contains everything from groceries, entertainment, miscellaneous items, health/beauty, clothing, etc., all variable expenses.
Transportation is 2.03%, which covers our vehicle’s gas, insurance, and maintenance, and holds no debt. I keep the two spare gas cans filled with petrol throughout the year, mainly for the snowblower, lawn mower, power washer, and weed wacker.
Our house and vehicle are paid off with zero debt; however, we still pay property taxes and maintenance fees.
For our housing, we came in at 9.28% for August.
The projected expenses of 9.42% can change based on what we encounter monthly, such as a new item we need to save for.
August 2025 Home Budget Estimation and Actual Budget
Below are two tables: the August 2025 Home Budget and our Actual Home Budget.
Our August 2025 home budget represents two adults, a 11-year-old boy, and two hungry cats.
Budget Colour Key: It is a projected expense when highlighted in blue.
Since May 2014, we’ve been mortgage-free, redirecting our money into investments and home improvement projects.
Spending less than we earn and budgeting have been the easiest ways to pay off our debt and save money.
This type of budget is a zero-based budget where all the money has a home.
Estimated August 2025 Home Budget
The estimated home budget for August was $8,390.29; we used $8,687.84, spending over budget by $297.55.
We may not need all the money we budgeted for in each category; however, remember that the number is only an estimate from the previous year.
Don’t forget to budget for projected expenses because your entire month can fail due to not planning.
Actual August 2025 Home Budget
Current Canadian Banks We Use
August 2025 Home Budget Year-To-Date
Although our net worth increased by $24,998.06 in August, we improved our emergency fund by 278.63% just by spending less and saving more.
Let’s find out why.
Month-to-Month Home Budget August 2025
Our emergency savings increased by 278.63%, meaning we saved more in August than we did in July.
In August, my income had increased due to a raise at work, and there’s one more to come in September that I wasn’t expecting.
Always expect to see changes from month to month, as that’s normal since money is being spent and, in some cases, more than anticipated.
Between July and August, we had a -14% decrease in actual expenses, meaning we spent less money than the month before.
Also, our net income in August increased by 7.27% compared to July.
Breakdown- August 2025 Home Budget Categories
Below are some of our variable expenses from August 2025 that I will discuss.
Please let me know if you want me to explain or include information in the next budget update.
Grocery Expenses August
Please find all the online groceries we purchase in the CBB Amazon Storefront.
Our monthly grocery budget is $960 plus a $25 stockpile budget; we spent $756.24 in August.
Miracles do happen.
We spent under budget by $203.76 for the month, which was unsurprising since we went to Costco.
Our current grocery overspend for 2025: $1550.81+$600.07+ $206.08=$2356.96, which is left to catch up with.
During months where you underspend, try to be mindful about why this may have happened or what you did differently.
There are months in the year when we spend less, so we hope we’ll be up to date during these months.
If not, the overage will be considered next year when we create our grocery budget.
With prices rising so much at the grocery store, it’s becoming challenging, as is our desire to find reduced products.
Our running total as of August 2025 is $10,471 for two adults and one child.
In 2024, our grocery budget was $900 monthly, but with price increases, we calculated a further $60 monthly or $720 yearly.
I was reflecting on our grocery budget over the years, and in 2012, we were spending $190 monthly.
You do the math!
Below are photos of our groceries from July, not including anything purchased on Flashfood or Amazon.
CBB Food Budget Challenge Update
In December, I shared a blog post about our upcoming 2025 Food Budget Challenge and was looking for fans who wanted to join us.
One CBB reader is participating in the challenge, and their grocery expenses are at the end of this blog post.
I complete a grocery update monthly so you can follow along to see how she is doing with their food budget challenge.
Food Price Changes Over The Years
Although we spent under budget in August, it’s still important for us to stay on track.
It’s easy to buy those deals that pop up, and yes, they will help us save money in the long-term, but it’s hard to see that on our budget.
Sometimes, we have to remind ourselves that as long as we aren’t building a mountain of food stockpile like we used to, we’re ok.
Years ago, we had far too much food and ended up donating lots of it, which was a good action on our part, but financially, we could have saved money.
Also, I purchase food to create blog recipes, which I don’t get any tax breaks on, and I rely on my readers to like, comment, and share.
Being a blogger is getting expensive, and if we don’t help CBB, then that could mean me closing the doors because I won’t run at a deficit.
I plan to write a blog post about our grocery budget from 2012 to the present to see the changes.
We’ve since changed part of our diet, adding higher-protein foods and a low-carb/keto lifestyle.
Since we started tracking our grocery shopping in 2012, we’ve always carried any overspending to the following month.
Eventually, it evens out, or we ensure by the end of the year that we balance the grocery budget.
Types of Groceries Purchased
The two grocery stores we shop at most are Zehrs and Food Basics. Also, we buy grocery items from Amazon Canada and Flashfood.
Check out my new post, in which I explain how we find reduced-cost groceries on Amazon.
For example, Mrs. CBB bought a case of 12 Crispy Minis for $12 and a case of avocado oil for $122 from Amazon Canada overstock.
Like most families, we tend to buy the same products over and over again, although I do like to experiment with recipes for the blog.
August 2025 Grocery Food Savings Jar
We have officially saved $1727.80 this year from Flashfood and coupons, which is fantastic, especially since we don’t use many coupons.
In 2024, we saved $1,712.87 using coupons and buying reduced products at local grocery stores.
Throughout 2025, we plan to track our grocery food savings, which include the following;
If you’d like a copy of the Grocery Savings Jar, you can find it on the Free Resources page.
Our Flashfood Savings Last Year
For 2024, using the Flashfood App saved our family $992.60!
The total amount saved in 2025 is $2349 using Flashfood.
Combining the Flashfood savings with our grocery savings jar, we saved $2705.47 in 2024
I’ll tally it up again at the end of 2025 to see how much we save on groceries.
We continue to use Flashfood as we save so much money, so please consider signing up using my affiliate code below.
Sign up for Free For FlashFood, earn $5 Credit.
As I do, you get $5 free when you place your first order. It’s a win-win for both of us.
Every person who signs up gets a $5 credit, a freebie Flashfood offers for new app customers.
Also, Flashfood has added a small service fee to every order, which I feel is acceptable.
Use my referral code, MOCD28ZN4, for a $5 credit.
Your first purchase must be over $15.
Flashfood Orders August 2025
Below is our August 2025 Flashfood order.
Birthday Expenses
Our son’s birthday is in September, and we bought him a 2025 VR Headset costing just over $550, two used PlayStation consoles that came with games for $100 each.
We also took him on two mini excursions to farms. Some of the expenses will show up in our September budget.
Clothing Expenses
The clothing expenses were a pair of HOKA Graviota 5 running shoes for Mrs.CBB, which are always $200 plus taxes, and one bra.
Graviota 5 Hoka shoes are for people with overpronation, which she has and struggles with quite a bit in her feet. Gone are the days of high heels, flip flops, and sandals.
The new Hoka shoes are amazing, she says, and now she’s looking for a black pair, but they are still sold out.
I also just found out that Graviota is a Spanish word for seagull. Neat little tidbit.
Pet Expenses
We’ve created a $350 monthly budget for our two cats, which we feed premium dry cat food and a higher-end wet cat food.
Our pet expenses for August 2025 came to $611, mostly due to vet bills, followed by pet food and one bag of cat litter.
We are still trying to work out what is wrong with our ginger cat. Luckily, the vet allowed us to return the prescription cat food that he wouldn’t eat, as it’s so expensive.
For now, we will stick with the Fancy Feast because that’s all these two princes will eat.
Getting ahead, but a new vet that we saw in September has other ideas, but he’s back on meds again for the time being. I’ll update you in the coming months.
PC Optimum Rewards Points August 2025
Since 2018, we have earned over 9 million PC Optimum Points or $9000.
We started 2024 with under 7 million PC Optimum Points, currently have 8,455,950, and are working towards $9000 to end 2025.
Last month, I asked if you thought it would be a good idea to use our points on groceries in 2026.
However, a new opportunity has dropped in our laps, which I will blog about to let you know how we will use our Shoppers Optimum Points.
It’s exciting.
How We Saved So Many PC Optimum Points
Below are blog posts for anyone wanting to learn how we earn PC Optimum Points.
Canadian Tire Rewards Points
I didn’t spend much on my Canadian Tire credit card, so my CT Money Balance is $378.22, an increase of about $9 since July.
Moi App Rewards
For every 500 points earned, buying products with Moi points equals $4.
My Moi app review is in the works, and I think we’ve had enough experience to offer our feedback on the program.
Currently, we have $46 in Moi Points that we can redeem towards our groceries.
Compared to PC Optimum Points, we are slow to earn rewards, as we don’t often use the offers for which we get points.
TD Rewards Credit Card August 2025
Our TD Visa has a cash-back balance as of August 2025 of $120.34
This TD Visa credit card is not the best for reward points, as it took us years to earn $500.
We only use this account for online purchases from Amazon, PayPal, Shop, and Shopify.
The credit card has a $5000 limit, although we initially started with $500.
What credit card do you use besides PC Mastercard that offers you amazing cashback?
Dream Air Miles Update
Most of the 4332 points are from our house and vehicle insurance, which offers Air Miles.
Since July 2025, we’ve gone up 2 points, which is horrible to say, but we just don’t use the program that much.
Eventually, I’ll get around to writing a review about Air Miles. Do you find enough benefits in the program to use it?
I’d love your feedback either by leaving a comment on this post or by email, @yahoo.ca.
There was a point where we had to choose Cash Miles or Dream Miles.
Since my family lives in the UK, we felt the Dream Miles would have worked best for us.
August 2025 CBB Net Worth Update
Overall CBB August 2025 Budget + Net Worth Update
I’ve had a few people email me about our mortgage and why we don’t have one in the chart.
After purchasing our home in 2009, we paid it off by 2014, which was not easy, but we did it.
Our 2025 market home value is approximately $988,000- $1 million, and we bought the home for $265,000 in 2009.
In August 2025, our net worth increased by $24,998.06, primarily due to investment increases.
I’d have to say that our investments have done very well over the last couple of months.
Mrs. CBB, since she doesn’t work, last put money into her RRSP in 2009, and it was at around $47,000 after losing money in the financial crash.
Today, it’s worth almost $170k. That’s the power of time and why it’s so important to invest when you can, even if it’s something small.
2025 Food Challenger Updates
The 2025 Food Budget Challenge aims to see if they can stick to their grocery budget and how much they can save in 2025.
Below is the last remaining Canadian Budget Binder fan who is participating in sharing their grocery budget and expenses with everyone for the year.
We started with four participants in January, and in less than 4 months, we are at one.
Budgeting takes serious commitment, and what I’ve learned over the years with any challenge I’ve hosted is that almost all participants drop out.
On that note, if participant one finishes the year, she wins the challenge!
Let’s see if she can stick with the challenge and keep up with us.
Food Budget Challenger #1
Hi Mr. CBB, I am feeding a family of 2 adults and live in Ontario.
In 2025, we’d like to accomplish these goals… • Pay down debt• Cut down on unnecessary shopping.
Our monthly grocery budget is $400.00, which we try to keep to a maximum of $100 per week.
Typically, we grocery shop at the following stores: Wholesale Club, No Frills, and Brady’s Meat.
We started shopping at Giant Tiger and Food Basics when sales are good.
In August, we saved $25.728 using 3-year sales and not buying what we don’t need.
We don’t roll over extra, nor do we roll over overages.
Each month is on its own accord.
Signed,
Grumpy Grocery Shopper X 2
