Summary 

Welcome to our annual spending post! Our total spend for the year of 2024 was £30,740. For context, this is for 2 adults plus a three/four-year-old and a newborn as of July, living in the UK! 

If you’ve been following our monthly spending posts, you’ll know the story. We’ve managed to stick to our frugal instincts in many areas, but are also quite disappointed not to have managed a lower total spend. Especially considering we’re now living mortgage free. 

This is mostly down to the increased living costs in the UK since we moved away, combined with costs of setting up a home from scratch. We’ve also consciously made some decisions to increase spending on buying quality items.  

Continue reading “Annual Spending – 2024” →

 Summary 

Welcome to our December spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,719. 

There were a few additional expenses this month, but generally not too bad considering it was Christmas!

Our spending on food and presents went up due to the festive season. We also had 2 new windows fitted and a number of other DIY jobs. Aside from that, it was a fairly standard month throughout.  

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Summary 

Welcome to our November spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,730. 

We had another payment for repairs on our roof this month, significantly increasing the total. Otherwise it was a fairly normal month throughout. 

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Summary 

Welcome to our October spending post! Our total spend for the month was £3,248. 

The large expenses this month were some repairs to our roof and a holiday to Center Parcs in January. Everything else is quite low, but those large items make it an expensive month! 

Continue reading “Monthly Spending – October 2024” →

Summary 

Welcome to our September spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,822. 

Another expensive month, with several large outlays. Our annual car insurance premium was due, as well as a few other items explaing throughout the post. Unfortunately this seems to be a recurring theme, with different items cropping up every month. Possibly time to admit our target spending was too low and revise upwards?! 

Continue reading “Monthly Spending – September 2024 “ →

Summary 

Welcome to our August spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,415. 

It’s another month above our target! This month we had to pay our vehicle tax for the year. We also had a significant spend on eating out, due to a camping trip.  

As well as the above, we’re starting to spend more on ‘activities’. Our eldest is starting Reception this September, which means he is now old enough for various sports/activities. We try to favour free stuff, but things like swimming always come at a cost.  

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Summary 

Welcome to our July spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,665. 

During July we introduced the newest member of our family! We’re now a 4! 

It was quite an expensive month for various reasons, the baby actually not really being a big factor at all! 

Most of the cost for our MOT & service for the car went out this month, as well as a new freezer. We also both started private dental treatment. We’ve been unable to find an NHS dentist since returning to the UK last year and finally gave in. The up-front cost was pretty high because we had to have check-ups before joining a monthly plan. Unfortunately, dental cover is going to be a recurring cost which we hadn’t previously considered.  

The other major expense was an electronic drum kit!! This was Mr Way’s Birthday present to himself. He hasn’t played for around 15 years and has always wanted to get back into it. Luckily an electronic kit is quiter than an acoustic one! We’re excited about this purchase and hope the little ones can both use it too! 

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Summary 

Welcome to our June spending post! Our total spend for the month was £1,772. 

It was quite a boring month thankfully! We still ideally want to reduce our spending average further, but we’re still getting set up in our new house, preparing for a new baby and generally adjusting to life back in the UK. Hopefully the average spend will continue to fall as life becomes more normal again!  

Continue reading “Monthly Spending – June 2024” →

Summary 

Welcome to our May spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,263. 

This month was a little higher than our target. We had a few large expenses, but nothing too out of the ordinary. We’re still ticking along nicely as we move towards Baby Way No. 2’s arrival.  

Continue reading “Monthly Spending – May 2024” →