My Real Spending Breakdown for July (over-budget đź« )

What will be changing for August + My 3-Step Review Process!

Author

Michela Allocca
August 05, 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 (4 min read)

  • What I spent in July + changes for August

  • My 3-step monthly money review process

MONEY
My Shopping Strategy to Buy Less & Buy Better!!!

If July had a theme, it was high spend, high emotion. This was one of my most expensive months of the year so far, but for good reason: travel, tennis, and some emotional shopping all made an appearance.

Instead of feeling guilty, I’ve taken the time to reflect—and reset for a new month!

Here’s how I approached my monthly money review, what I learned, and how I’m adjusting for August.

🛍️ Where the Money Went:
Here are the four main categories I spent the most on:

  1. Shopping
    Bought an Aritzia sweatsuit, Madewell jeans, and some other little dopamine boosts.

  2. Travel + Experiences
    I had to book some flights home for the fall!

  3. Fitness + Wellness
    Pilates! Golf! Tennis! So many fun activities this month!

  4. Restaurants/Going Out 
    I finally had a full social calendar this month and it felt good!

đź’¸ A few key takeaways:

  • It’s okay to spend more some months—especially if it’s aligned with how you want to feel. I find summer tends to be a spendier season for me!

  • Your budget should reflect your values, not restrict your joy. Even though I spent a little more than planned, I didn’t spend on anything out of alignment.

  • There’s plenty of space and time to readjust! August will reflect this with more intentional spend and review on shopping. I also don’t have any new lessons to sign up for.

The Monthly Review Process

If you’ve been around the BYB-block, you know exactly what I do to review my finances. But in the spirit of consistency and holding you (and I) accountable, let’s go over exactly what you need to do!

Step #1: Update Your Numbers

This is your time to track all your numbers - income, expenses, savings, investments, debt payments, and net worth.

This usually takes the longest (15 minutes for me - because I track my expenses weekly!) but it feels soooo good. I genuinely find joy in tracking my numbers and seeing where I land each month!

Step #2: Self-Reflection

This is the part most people skip, but it’s so important for behavior change. Take a look at your budget - where did you over/under spend? And most importantly, how do you feel about it?

How you feel is key - because you’ll remember this feeling next time you swipe you card, and it will influence your spending decisions in real life!!

Step #3: Budget for August

With a new month comes a new budget. I like to take my baseline budget (average monthly spend) and then adjust it depending on any plans I have upcoming.

Outside of a quick trip home, August is a pretty chill month for me. I built in a few areas for lifestyle spending (going out and shopping), but otherwise I plan to keep my expenses on the lower end to even out my high-spend July.

If You’re Looking for More

I take you through my full monthly money review this week on youtube! I love recording these budget videos because they also hold me accountable to my own spending <3

As always, if you are looking for some tools to get started I recommend checking out The Personal Finance Dashboard or the Basic Budgeting Template!

WEEKLY RECOMMENDATION

Are stocks up? No one really knows… loved this article from the WSJ highlighting something that rarely gets discussed: the stock market fluctuations often have no coherent reason for daily fluctuations. Yes, there are key moments that cause volatility - but on the daily, the market has a mind of it’s own!

Your boss will think you’re a genius

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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 everything I am obsessed with lately! This episode was so cute and fun - I cover creators I’ve been loving, content I’ve been consuming, podcasts I listen to, products I’ve been using and more.

  • My Budget in Review: If you enjoyed this newsletter and want more details around how I review my finances each month and what I spent, then check out this video!

LOOKING FOR MORE?
Check out ALL of my Money & Career Resources!

xoxo,

Michela