Our February 2026 Budget in Percentages | Family of Four
February was a month of logistical headaches. We dealt with fraudulent charges on our main credit card early in the month. Thankfully it was resolved quickly, but the replacement card got caught in the major winter storm that hit in late January/early February, so it arrived weeks late (with the second replacement card I had to order as a replacement for the replacement 🙃). Having to shift all the payments tied to that card was a hassle. One casualty was our twice-yearly car insurance bill. It tried to charge before I had the new card, which triggered a late fee. I called and got it removed, but it was still quite annoying.
We ended up about $300 over budget in our Flexible Spending (+ Electric) category this month. The main culprit was our car inspection. We needed new windshield wipers to pass, and we didn't realize we could buy/install them ourselves and then have them check the fix. We paid to have it done at the shop which costs a lot more than doing it ourselves. We also paid for two afterschool activities for H, several doctor appointments, and new glasses for E. On top of all that, we were supposed to take a trip with friends, got sick and couldn't go, and ended up eating that cost.
We did end up coming in almost $400 under budget in Food & Dining Out so it balanced out the overage. Mike and I both came down with the flu (or something similar) and barely wanted to eat for a stretch, so we just weren't going through food at our usual pace.
Other Income this month includes an RSU dividend (I think that’s what it’s called) from Mike's work and a cash gift from family. Before I realized we’d be getting the RSU and gift, I pulled January’s interest from our HYSA to help offset some of our extra expenses for the month.
Note on the charts: I adjusted how I'm pulling the percentages. First, I’ve got a chart with the larger budget groups (e.g., monthly bills/utilities, flexible spending (+electric), food & dining out, irregular bills & utilities). Then I’ve got a chart that shows each category as a percentage of our total income for the month, rather than as a percentage of their larger group.
February 2026 Detailed Budget Categories
Highlights
Savings rate: 29% (way higher than normal due to the extra income)
Top spending categories:
Mortgage (20.9%)
Groceries (12.6%)
Medical/Dental (6.3%)
Auto/Jewelry Insurance (5.5%)
Irregular bills that hit (pulled from sinking funds):
Auto/Jewelry Insurance (5.5%)
Google One (0.4%)
Reflections & Looking Ahead
What changed most compared to a “normal” month?
A lot of irregular, infrequent expenses landed at once: afterschool activities, doctor’s appointments, new glasses. And both the winter weather and getting sick had us eating/grocery shopping less than usual, which reduced our food spending.
What felt good this month?
Being able to absorb multiple larger purchases without it derailing the budget.
Is there anything we’d tweak for the future?
Look up the car inspection process before we go next time! We could have saved a couple hundred dollars by buying the wipers ourselves and rescheduling. Lesson learned. Also, having a running list of all the accounts that are connected to our credit cards to make things easier when we get new cards.
