Join us for our July 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 June 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.
July 2025 Home Budget Household Percentages
Savings of 28.88% include investments and savings based on our net income.
Our life ratio is 30.64% and contains everything from groceries, entertainment, miscellaneous items, health/beauty, clothing, etc., all variable expenses.
Unfortunately, the LIFE category skyrocketed because of the remainder of the Amazon Prime Day purchases, pet expenses (you’ll read below), tools for summer renovations, and gifts purchased.
We also went over budget for groceries in July, but not by much; however, we are still in the red.
Transportation is 2.05%, which covers our vehicle’s gas, insurance, and maintenance, and holds no debt. I’ve purchased products to do an oil change on my truck and our car, and house insurance has increased. (of course!)
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 11.75% for July.
The projected expenses of 10.06% can change based on what we encounter monthly, such as a new item we need to save for.
July 2025 Home Budget Estimation and Actual Budget
Below are two tables: the July 2025 Home Budget and our Actual Home Budget.
Our July 2025 home budget represents two adults, a 10-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 July 2025 Home Budget
The estimated home budget for July was $8,390.29; we used $10,100.08, spending under budget by $1,709.79.
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 July 2025 Home Budget
Current Canadian Banks We Use
July 2025 Home Budget Year-To-Date
Although our net worth increased by $ in July, we improved our emergency fund compared to June with $.
Let’s find out why.
Month-to-Month Home Budget July 2025
Our emergency savings decreased by 1064.07%, meaning we saved more in July, slightly increasing our emergency savings.
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 June and July, we had a 23% increase in actual expenses, meaning we spent more than the month before. Actually, we doubled our expenses in July in comparison to June 2025.
Also, our net income in July increased by 27.62% compared to June due to back pay from my employer, as the union finally sorted out our increase from last year.
Breakdown- July 2025 Home Budget Categories
Below are some of our variable expenses from July 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 July
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 $1166.08 in July, less than the overspend from $1550.07 in June.
We exceeded budget by $600.07 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.
I don’t know if we’ll be able to catch up as the hole keeps getting bigger, but we won’t give up being frugal.
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 July 2025 is $9721.08 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.
Food Price Changes Over The Years
Currently, we are spending over budget as prices have risen, we stockpile sales and splurge on items we want to try.
Also, I purchase food to create blog recipes, which I don’t get any tax breaks on.
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.
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.
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.
July 2025 Grocery Food Savings Jar
We have officially saved $1604.60 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 2024
For 2024, using the Flashfood App saved our family $992.60!
The total amount saved in 2025 is $2226 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 July 2025
Below is our only July 2025 Flashfood order, which was milk.
Health and Beauty
In July we overspent by $628.78 in the health and beauty category, mainly purchasing vitamins, protein powder, and bars from Amazon.
There were also some overstock items we picked up for cheap that we would have purchased in the future, but were discounted better than the shop.
However, Mrs. CBB and I are going to try and make homemade protein bars (sugar-free) to save ourselves some cash.
I plan on sharing our recipes on the blog but would love some flavour ideas from all of you.
Comment below.
Clothing Expenses
The clothing expenses were back-to-school items for our son, and Mrs. CBB bought some new bras from Amazon.
Amazingly, we are doing very well in the clothing department and sticking to our plan to not buy anything unless it is a must.
Mrs. CBB says that her bras were a must. Haha!!
Ring Doorbell
Our annual fee for the Ring Doorbell $67, was debited from our account; however, we save that money as a projected expense monthly.
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 July 2025 came to $1949.69. Yes, you’ve read that correctly.
If you remember, there was a photo of our ginger cat’s face in the last newsletter I emailed you.
For the last year, we have been taking him to the vet, and they gave us a cream to put on his face, but it did not work.
We decided to change veterinarians in July because we felt our cats needed more attention to care.
Their new vet is fantastic, and they weren’t even afraid of our overactive black cat, who dislikes anything to do with the doctor’s office.
Vet Bill Skyrocketed
After looking at our cat’s face and cleaning out his ears, we decided to go ahead with blood tests.
She also needed to take a biopsy of each part of his face that was affected.
We left the cat with her for the afternoon so he could be put under to get the samples.
When we picked him up, the poor cat had the cone of shame on and was doing remarkably well.
About three days before we heard back from the vet that our cat had an infection.
He needed steroids, antibiotics, and a change of cat food to the most expensive brand on the planet.
Well, not really, but vet-prescribed pet food is costly.
The wet cat food only came as a pate, which we knew he’d hate, and we were right.
I believe the four cans cost nearly $30, which they refunded us.
As for dry cat food, they will eat it, but they are not big fans of it.
On top of the food change, we also purchased Boxie Pro, a dust-free clay cat litter to replace the Costco brand.
It was best to rule out any allergies by eliminating chicken and dust-free.
We used our pet emergency savings for the entire vet bill to pay the massive expense.
Our cats do not have pet insurance, as we opted to save monthly for emergencies and regular visits.
So far, the problem has cleared up, but he’s still getting black crusty stuff around his eyes and nose.
We are monitoring the situation and will report to the vet next week to see if the issue has been resolved.
PC Optimum Rewards Points July 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 8,405,491, and are working towards $9000 in 2025.
Do you think it would be worth us using the points in 2026 exclusively for groceries to see how far it would take us?
Let me know below.
Perhaps using the points to buy stuff from Shoppers Drug Mart might be a better option.
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 $369.00, an increase of about $30 since June.
Moi App Rewards
For every 500 points earned, buying products with Moi points equals $4.
I’m in the process of writing a review of the Moi app, but I wanted to experience the program for a few months.
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 July 2025
Our TD Visa has a cash-back balance as of July 2025 of $101.79
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.
Dream Air Miles Update
Most of the 4332 points are from our house and vehicle insurance, which offers Air Miles.
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.
We don’t invest much in this program, but plan to do more in the coming year.
July 2025 CBB Net Worth Update
Overall CBB July 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 July 2025, our net worth increased by $52,981.49, primarily due to investment increases.
I received a letter from the CRA, and they said I can invest $19,000 in my RRSPs this year.
When speaking with our advisor again in July, I told him I still wanted to hold off investing that money.
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 July, we saved $12.08 using flyer 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
