February Budget Actuals — The Vacation That Ate the Month
One week in Mexico, three more trips pre-paid, and a household budget that came in $8 over. Yes, eight dollars.
I knew exactly what February’s numbers were going to look like before I ran the report. When you spend a week at an all-inclusive in Mexico, pay for a luau in Kauai, book flights and a tour for Utah, and lock in next February’s trip all in the same month — the vacation line is not going to be subtle. It wasn’t. But there’s a difference between “over budget” and “over budget and surprised about it,” and February was firmly in the first camp. Everything that hit in February was planned, booked, and entirely my own doing.
Let’s get into it.
budget: $3,333
out of $3,000
budget: $1,300
budget: $475
The Vacation Line (Let’s Just Address It)
February vacation spending: $15,179. Monthly budget: $3,333. Overage: $11,846.
I know. But here’s what that number actually was — because it’s not just one trip:
So…one trip we actually took, experiences pre-paid for our April spring break, flights and a tour for the June summer trip, and — yes — next February’s midwinter break is already booked and deposited. When the deal is right, you move fast. Future me will appreciate it.
As for the trip itself…Dreams Playa Mujeres was a great time. We went with my sister and her family — her husband, their 9-year-old, and their 7-year-old boy twins. Five kids, two couples, one excellent pool setup. The resort does a great job catering to different ages, which when you’re traveling with a mix of kids from 7 to 11 matters a lot. Was it cold and windy? Yes — not exactly the beach week we’d pictured. Did it still beat February in the Midwest by an enormous margin? Also yes. The kids had a blast with their cousins, which is ultimately the whole point. And I knew every dollar of that resort cost going in. No surprises, no sticker shock — just the credit card statement confirming what I’d already planned for.
“The vacation budget is the one category where I don’t try to hit the monthly number. We have an annual budget and we manage it across the year. February was always going to be heavy.”
We budget $40,000 for vacation this year. February burned through roughly $15,000 of that. The remaining months will be lighter — or at least, that’s the plan. (April is Kauai. June is Utah. So. We’ll see.)
Household: Over by $8
Our household budget is $3,000/month. We spent $3,008.
I want to sit with this for a second. We’re in the middle of a house refresh — new floors installed last fall, the fireplace stone redone, new living room furniture (the balance of which got paid off this month), new rugs. The kind of spending that hits in waves over multiple months. And after all of that, we landed eight dollars over budget. The decor sub-category was $2,484 — that’s the furniture balance and the rugs. The rest of the household spend was normal odds and ends. Eight dollars. I’ll take it.
Utilities: The Internet Bill Situation
Utilities came in at $825 against a budget of $752 — $73 over. Two things drove that. First, the water bill: it’s billed quarterly and hits in February, May, August, and November. So the $236 water charge showing up this month was completely expected — it just makes the monthly total look heavier.
Second: our internet bill went up about $20 because our promotional rate expired. We’re now paying $84/month instead of $64. I know $20 is not a lot of money. It still bothers me. We’ll probably start shopping around for a new provider soon, mostly on principle.
Personal Care: The Weights Cost Money
Personal care ran $135 against a budget of $85 — $50 over. The overage is entirely weights for the home workout room. Technically not what most people think of when they see “personal care” as a category, but that’s where home gym equipment lives in our tracking. The investment in not having to drive to a gym continues.
The February Wins
February actually had a pretty strong list of under-budget categories once you set aside the vacation line.
The Full February Numbers
February Budget vs. Actual by Category
Vacation excluded to keep the scale readable — it would make everything else invisible
| Category | Budget | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday Spending | |||
| Groceries | $1,300 | $710 | −$590 |
| Meals & Dining Out | $600 | $397 | −$203 |
| Snacks | $100 | $6 | −$94 |
| Home | |||
| Household | $3,000 | $3,008 | +$8 |
| Mortgage | $2,267 | $2,267 | — |
| Utilities | $752 | $825 | +$73 |
| Family | |||
| Kids | $450 | $275 | −$175 |
| Medical | $475 | $22 | −$453 |
| Personal Care | $85 | $135 | +$50 |
| Hair Cut | $65 | $10 | −$55 |
| Clothing & Lifestyle | |||
| Clothing | $300 | $281 | −$19 |
| Gifts Given | $700 | $310 | −$390 |
| Subscriptions | $75 | $42 | −$33 |
| Entertainment | $130 | $0 | −$130 |
| Recreation | $350 | $91 | −$259 |
| Hobbies | $100 | $0 | −$100 |
| Auto | |||
| Auto (fuel, service, insurance) | $720 | $137 | −$583 |
| Insurance (life/disability) | $340 | $0 | −$340 |
| The Line Item We Need to Talk About | |||
| Vacation | $3,333 | $15,179 | +$11,846 |
The Bottom Line
Strip away the vacation planning blitz and February was actually a pretty tame month. We came in under budget on groceries, dining, medical, auto, kids, and most lifestyle categories. The only real over-budget items were utilities (quarterly water bill + a $20 internet increase that I’m still annoyed about), personal care (weights), and household — by exactly eight dollars.
The vacation budget will sort itself out over the full year. Or it won’t, and I’ll write about that too. Either way, next February is already paid for, which feels responsible and slightly unhinged in equal measure.
That’s February. On to March.
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