This Month's Money Lessons You Can Steal

Another month in the books! Let's unpack it.

Author

Michela Allocca
September 02, 2025

👉🏻 The TL;DR (5 minute read):

Another month is in the books - here are the takeaways:

  • where I over/underspent in August

  • a few key lessons I learned this month

  • my goals for September

  • tools & resources to do your own review!

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

MONEY
August Budget Review + September Money Goals

Can you believe it’s already SEPTEMBER? I’m not gonna lie.. I am not mad about it!!

September and October are my favorite months of the year; it always seems like they are full of plot twists and exciting plans and of course, crisp weather.

But before the fun of the fall, we need to close out our budgets for the summer 💔 

Every month, I spend about 30 minutes reviewing my budget. I follow the same 3 steps every single month:

  1. Updating all my numbers (income, expenses, savings, investment, debt payments, net worth)

  2. Self-reflecting on what happened, if there are areas I could improve, and changes I need to make

  3. Planning for the month ahead, in this case, September!

Between over spending on my groceries, unexpected travel costs, and a couple of money wins, I learned a lot about my habits this month.

Here’s the breakdown — and how I’m planning for September!

My August Stats

My goal in August was to have a low spend month, because September is going to be a pretty expensive month for me overall!

I want to highlight how normal it is for your spending to fluctuate, and when you have a plan in place where you map it out month-to-month, it becomes a lot easier to take control.

My total spend this month was $4,361! This is definitely on the low end for me.

OVERSPENDS:

  • Utilities: We have had a HOT summer here in Chicago and I am not afraid to run the AC! My bill reflected that 🫠

  • Grocery: I did not do a great job this month with grocery planning and I was about $100 over budget as a result. Oops!

  • Travel (home): I had some flight troubles and had to spend some money to change my plans which was annoying but not the end of the world!

UNDERSPENDS:

  • Shopping: woo! Very minimal shopping this month and I am hoping to keep it that way for a bit! I don’t need anything right now.

  • Beauty: Another win - I am project panning and focusing on using up everything I already own.

  • Restaurants: I went out a few times this month but many of them were happy hours so I was able to keep this spend under budget! Woo!

Some Reflections

August was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of spending. It felt like I was alllll over the place this month, but when I took a look in totality, I actually was surprised at where my spend landed. I thought it would be higher!

A few quick lessons from the month:

👉🏻 Unexpected travel happens → I always keep money in a travel sinking fund and it came in handy when I needed to absorb the costs of rebooking!

👉🏻 AC costs a lot → My utilities in LA were always so low, I had no idea what it would cost here. It definitely has been more than I expected so I need to plan for that!

👉🏻 Overspending evens out → Especially if you are intentional in other areas. Since I track my expenses weekly, I caught some overages early and was able to rectify them in other places!

September Goals

In September I have two trips planned; one to LA, and one back to the east coast for a wedding in Maine. I need to plan accordingly for these!

Here are a few goals:

  • Enjoy my time in LA and not stress about spending money to see my friends

  • Draw down from my travel fund to cover hotel costs for wedding (already planned for but payment is due at the hotel)

  • Stick to $300 grocery spend

  • No shopping!! This month my money is going towards experiences not items <3

Do you have a September spending goal? Hit REPLY to this email and let me know!

Tools & Resources

The beginning of a new month is the best time to review and audit your money, so if you’ve been putting it off here is your sign!

Here are some resources to help you get started:

👉🏻 August in Review on Youtube: Work through your money routine with me, step by step!

👉🏻 Free Monthly Audit Checklist: Download this free PDF to guide you through the reset process!

👉🏻 Open a High Yield Savings Account: If you don’t have a HYSA here is your sign to open one! I use SoFi.

👉🏻 Get the Personal Finance Dashboard: This is my signature money management tool - it’s also the tool I use to manage my money!

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WEEKLY RECOMMENDATION

I recently splurged to join a coworking club so that I have a third space to access for working - and it reminded me of this article I read about a month ago about how we can use money to buy access to premium spaces. A really interesting read if you’ve been debating (or searching for) a third space!

RESOURCES
What’s Happening This Week at Break Your Budget

  • This week on Don’t Depend on Daddy: I’m focusing on how I am upleveling my life now that I’ve turned 30. We need to stop acting like turning 30 is the finish line - it really is just the beginning. And I feel like this is something you understand when you reach 30!

  • August Money Review: If you enjoyed this newsletter and need some accountability to work through your own review for August, check out my youtube video this week and work through your routine along with me!

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

xoxo,

Michela