June's Over - How Did Your Budget Hold Up?

Let's audit our money together.

Author

Michela Allocca
July 01, 2025

🚨 Get started on your personal finance journey with one of my budgeting tools! Check out the Personal Finance Dashboard and the Basic Budgeting Template! 

What to expect in today’s newsletter (5 min read)

  • My monthly money review process that you need to copy

  • Quick breakdown of my June spend (wins + challenges)

MONEY
The Budgeting Habit That Keeps Me In Control

I was a little nervous to run through my monthly money review this month because I skipped my review in May (shocking, I know).

May and June were big travel months for me, and even though I plan for this kind of stuff.. sometimes it still makes me nervous to see in my PFD and acknowledge it as real. (If you can relate to this let me know).

Anyways as I was going through my total expenses for the month, I was actually pretty surprised at where I landed in total. Even though I exceeded my travel budget, I still came in under budget in other areas which led to me perfectly aligning my budget for June.

And this really emphasizes the benefit of keeping an agile budget, and focusing more on total spend rather than just category spend.

A mistake I often see people make with their budgets is they are focused on the nitty gritty details rather than the big picture, so if they are over in one area they planned for, rather than making adjustments - they throw caution to the wind and scrap the entire thing.

Keeping an agile budget is a result of consistent financial routines. A weekly routine most importantly, but also a monthly review which I am going to dig into today.

Let’s get into it!

The 3-Step Process 💸

I’ve been following the same money review process for 5 years. And transparently I think May 2025 was the first month since 2020 where I didn’t do it (and not having my net worth numbers that month is bugging me lol).

The consistent routine is what keeps me financially grounded and helps me feel more confident in my daily financial decisions. Here’s the breakdown of exactly what I do - you can easily copy it and work through this review today!

  1. I update all of my numbers using the Personal Finance Dashboard

I track my income and expenses weekly, but at the end of the month I also like to update my savings transfers, investment contributions, debt payments, and net worth.

This helps me gather a snapshot of my financial picture for the month, and get clarity around where my money went, and how I used it.

Time Commitment: 15 minutes (if you track your expenses weekly - 30 if you don’t)

  1. I self-reflect on how I spent and saved during the month

Once I have all my numbers organized, I will take 5 minutes and look at my budget in total. Where did my money go? Where there spending categories that were a challenge? Did I hit my savings targets? How do I feel about numbers?

The answers to these questions can help you find clarity around your spending values, but also influence your financial behavior for months ahead.

  1. I update and create my budget for next month

I actually have a baseline budget that I use to forecast my annual spending plan, but every month I will make small adjustments to it based on whatever plans I have going on.

This gives me a starting point for my budget for a new month and helps me align on where I am planning to spend.

My June Budget Breakdown (wins + challenges)

My monthly spend target is $5,000 or less. This is a realistic target based on my monthly essential expenses, lifestyle expenses, and annual spend target (my goal is to spend ~$60k per year). With this in mind - here’s a breakdown of my spend in June:

Essentials: $3,202

Top Categories:

  • Rent

  • Grocery

  • Utilities (hello AC season)

Non-Essentials: $1,727

Top Categories:

  • Travel - this was a factor my Japan trip

  • Activities - this includes tennis lessons and a golf lesson!

In general, my biggest win this month was that I didn’t do any clothes shopping. I did a lot of shopping in Japan, and I am trying to both even out my shopping spend this summer, but also continue to be extra intentional about shopping and clothing shopping.

In total, I came in on my spending targets and I also hit my savings targets! If you are interested in seeing a full breakdown of my spending, and want some extra guidance on working through your own monthly review, check out this youtube video where I share my June Monthly Money Review!

WEEKLY RECOMMENDATION

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RESOURCES
What’s Happening This Week at Break Your Budget

  • This week on Don’t Depend on Daddy: I am sharing the top 5 financial moves I made in my 20s that helped me build my net worth to 7 figures.

  • Budget With Me For July: Let’s work through our monthly money routine together! In this video, I break down my June spending and take you step by step as I audit my finances and plan for July.

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xoxo,

Michela