Issue 11 · July 2026
Posted Aug. 4, 2026. Covers the calendar month, not our pay periods — see the method for why those are not the same thing.
July is the month the sinking funds justified themselves. All four tires on the Corolla went at once — $402 — and the twelve envelopes never saw it, because tires have been accruing at $110 a month since March.
| Envelope | Planned | Spent | Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 1,485 | 1,485 | 0 |
| Utilities | 210 | 188 | +22 |
| Groceries | 620 | 604 | +16 |
| Household | 75 | 91 | −16 |
| Car | 195 | 213 | −18 |
| Phone and internet | 132 | 132 | 0 |
| Dog | 85 | 74 | +11 |
| Health | 95 | 28 | +67 |
| Sinking funds | 458 | 458 | 0 |
| Eating out and fun | 145 | 119 | +26 |
| Gifts and giving | 110 | 240 | −130 |
| Personal, two at $80 | 160 | 160 | 0 |
| Twelve envelopes | 3,770 | 3,792 | −22 |
Notes on the month
The tires are not on this table. That is the point of them. The $402 came out of the car maintenance sinking fund, which is why the sinking‑funds row shows the flat $458 contribution and nothing else. The fund went from $588 to $186 and will not be comfortable again until about November. The sinking funds page shows the balances.
Gifts and giving, $130 over. A wedding in Coeur d'Alene. We knew the date in February and did not think to put anything aside for it, which is a straightforward planning failure and is now logged on the mistakes page. The gift was $180 and the rest was a card, flowers for the parents and parking.
Car, $18 over. Two tanks at a higher price than June, plus $22 of wiper blades that arguably belong in maintenance. We put them in the envelope because arguing about $22 is worse than paying it.
Health, $67 under. No appointments. This envelope is deliberately over‑set: it covers copays and prescriptions and it averages far below $95, but the months it goes over it goes over badly.
Eating out and fun, $26 under. Too hot to want to sit anywhere.
Net. $22 over across the twelve. Taken from the buffer, leaving $248 at the end of July.