October 2020 – What I spent in a month
Since starting this blog about six months ago I’ve avoided sharing actual figures. I realised though that it’s the one of the things I find most interesting and helpful when reading other people’s blogs so here they are.
This is the budget for a family of four in the UK but only my spending. My partner gives me a contribution towards bills and then covers most of the groceries and petrol. Almost everything else comes from my account, including all our savings and investments.
October was a lovely month as it was my daughter’s birthday and I also felt the kids startled to settle nicely back into nursery. There were some extra childcare costs this month as I pay an annual subscription to a payroll company for our childminder. Also, birthday presents for my 4-year old including this fantastic Toniebox…
We managed not to go over budget as I have a contingency amount which I put towards extra investments if I can or spend on unbudgetted costs if not. I also had a little bit of side hustle income from selling some baby things on Gumtree and some online surveys (Prolific and I-Say).
As a result, we didn’t manage to put any extra aside other than our regular investments and mortgage overpayments. I’m really happy with that though as I realise this isn’t a time in our life where we can make rapid progress towards FIRE, as we have high childcare costs until my youngest qualifies for pre-school funding.
Here’s the run down…
Income
| Income type | Budget (£) | Actual (£) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net salary | 4429 | 4229 | £350 pension deducted from payslip (which employer matches) as well as tax for our rental income |
| OH contribution to bills | 1700 | 1700 | |
| Rental income | 1373 | 1373 | This is after agency fees |
| Child benefit | 140 | 140 | |
| Banking rewards | 8 | 8 | |
| Side hustle income | 0 | 53.8 | Always treat this as a bonus |
| Total | 7450 | 7503.8 |
Outgoings
| Cost | Budget (£) | Actual (£) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rental mortgage | 403.9 | 403.9 | Interest only |
| Rental service charge | 278 | 278 | |
| Main property mortgage | 2225 | 2225 | Includes overpayment of £250 |
| Council tax | 281 | 281 | This is for Edinburgh, UK |
| Gas and electricity | 160 | 160 | |
| TV licence | 13 | 13 | |
| Mobile phone | 10 | 10 | |
| Car insurance | 40.69 | 40.69 | |
| Annual car tax | 10 | 120 | Budgetted £10 is for the sinking fund |
| Window cleaners | 20 | 40 | Didn’t pay last month |
| Factor fees | 82 | 82 | Sinking fund |
| Childcare | 1787 | 2231.65 | For 5 mornings nursery and 5 afternoons with childminder a week. Extra costs this month. |
| Apple icloud subscription | 2.5 | 2.5 | |
| Historic Scotland membership | 7.25 | 7.25 | |
| Internet | 62.5 | 62.5 | |
| Household costs (nappies, wipes, milk, cleaning products) | 50 | 31 | |
| Grocery contribution | 100 | 100 | My OH pays for most of the groceries but this is my contribution. We spend around £500 a month. |
| Other food (e.g. take aways, cafes | 50 | 53.55 | 2 x fish and chips and other treats |
| Presents | 50 | 124.95 | |
| Regular Stocks and Shares ISA payment | 1210 | 1210 | |
| Extra ISA payment | 588 | 7.50 | £588 is the max I could make in my lockdown budget – normally this goes towards commuting cost and other “old normal” costs |
| Donations | 20 | 20 | Unicef and Trees for Life |
| Total cost | 7450 | 7503 | |
| Income and outgoings difference | 0 | 0 | The side hustle income kept our budget balanced |
What I learned from this month is:
- To start a new sinking fund for the annual payroll subscription I forgot about (£37 a month). I have one separate account for these quarterly and annual expenses – like car tax – but I had forgotten about this one so will start from next month.
- The difference that even small side hustle money, like surveys, can make.
