Monthly Spending – January 2026

On March 11, 2026March 11, 2026 By A Way to LessIn Finances, FIRE, Monthly SpendingLeave a comment

Summary

Welcome to our January spending post! This month, we spent a total of £4,717.

The total spending for January is high! However, it includes payments for two holidays which helps explain the peak. Hopefully some lower-spend months to come!

We’ve sorted our spending into the essentials—housing, food, and transport—plus a catch-all entertainment and miscellaneous category. As always, we’ll break down each area and give you the story behind any standout expenses.

Category	Amount
Housing	£409
Food	£1,057
Transport	£295
Entertainment/misc	£2,956
Total	£4,717

We’ll take a closer look at each of these categories in the next sections and point out any major spending.

Housing

Our January spending on housing is fairly standard, with just the usual bills to pay.

Category	Amount
Gas & Electric	£121
Water	£65
Council Tax	£197
Internet	£26
Total	£409

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Food

Our January spending on food was £1,057. This includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.

Transport

Our January spending on transport is fairly normal. There’s a slight increase in train costs, as we bought tickets for the next few months in a rail sale!

Category	Amount
Fuel	£118
Train	£177
Total	£295

Entertainment/Misc

Our January spending on misc items includes a balance payment for our Holiday in Easter, as well as a trip to Center Parcs! Otherwise it was quite a good month.

Category	Amount
Phone Bills	£16
Eating Out	£96
Presents	£130
Activities	£151
Clothes & Shoes	£117
Dental	£43
Postage	£4
Center Parcs Holiday	£449
Tennis Equipment	£17
Hotel	£56
Fitness App	£108
Holiday	£1,766
Photos	£3
Total	£2,956

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That’s All for Now, Folks!

Considering the average UK household spend is £2,700, our aim is to get down below that level. We initially thought we would be able to go much lower but have been surprised by the increase in just about everything since we came back in 2023!

See you next month!

Monthly Spending – December 2025

Monthly Spending – November 2025

All Previous Spending Posts

2025 Financial Review

On January 14, 2026January 14, 2026 By A Way to LessIn Finances, FIRELeave a comment

Welcome to our financial review for 2025! Below, we’ll detail how we each got on this year, including progress towards our FIRE goals.

For more detail on the spending side of things, see our Annual Spending post.

Mr Way

Despite our spending being quite high this year, it’s really reassuring to see the FIRE fund numbers ticking upwards. We’ve managed to max my Stocks & Shares ISA this year, as we continue to try to replenish it after it took a hit from our house purchase.

2026 should see that process complete, at which point we’ll return to splitting ISA contributions 50/50 between the two of us.

The Numbers

Here’s an overview of how my personal numbers look, in comparison to previous updates.

Account	March 20	December 20	December 21	December 22	December 23	December 24	December 25
Stocks & Shares ISA	£70,400	£108,069	£141,578	£133,721	£94,904	£136,105	£180,106
Workplace Pension	£17,200	£25,630	£34,357	£32,425	£37,029	£47,351	£58,946
SIPP	£3,800	£5,802	£7,269	£6,914	£7,638	£9,033	£10,529
Total	£91,400	£139,501	£183,204	£173,060	£139,571	£192,489	£249,581

This means I am now 66.6% FI!

This is much better than I was expecting and I’m now two thirds FI! This feels really strange as it seemed like a distant dream not so long ago. It’s now starting to feel within reach, even with our costs being higher than we would like!

Hopefully this can continue and accelerate towards 100%.

I always had a vague hope to achieve FIRE status around my 4oth birthday, which would be incredible if I could manage it. That gives me 5 years to achieve my target. With reasonable stock market performance and if I’m able to max my ISA each year, it could be possible!

My FIRE goal is based on the 4% rule and annual spending of £15,000. If you keep up to date with our Monthly Spending posts, you’ll know this is quite a comfortable level of spending for me. This combination gives me a rough goal of £375,000.

Exclusions

As mentioned before, the above doesn’t take into account my emergency fund or our property value.

My emergency fund is currently around £10k.

At the minute most of this is in cash ready to use, but should really be utilised better!

Bring on 2026!

That’s it for my 2025 financial review!

I started a new job in January and it’s going really well. Hopefully progression will follow, which always brings a welcome financial boost! Either way, if we continue to progress as we have been, I’ll be content.

Mrs Way

The 2025 financial review for Mrs Way is a picture of steady progress.

The table below gives a summary of Mrs Way’s current ‘FI Fund’ balance. Again, this is compared to previous financial reviews.

Account	March 20	December 20	December 21	December 22	December 23	December 24	December 25
Stocks & Shares ISA	£47,400	£68,309	£80,748	£77,325	£82,437	£93,262	£112,259
Total	£47,400	£68,309	£80,748	£77,325	£82,437	£93,262	£112,259

This means Mrs Way is now 29.9% FI!

We haven’t added anything to Mrs Way’s accounts this year, but it’s nice to see a small amount of growth.

Because we raided Mr Way’s FIRE Fund for our house purchase, we have been focussed on re-stocking that pot. Once the process is complete (in 2026), we’ll be able to split more evenly again and push Mrs Way’s FIRE fund on to the next level.

As in Mr Way’s financial review above, this ignores Mrs Way’s emergency fund and property. Our property was purchased 50/50.

The above FIRE fund figure also ignores Mrs Way’s pension. The Teacher’s Pension is a defined benefit system. It is available from age 60. Unfortunately we don’t currently know how much Mrs Way is eligible for so far, because their system is useless!

Mrs Way is always likely to maintain some form of work, even post-FI. She finds the structure this provides benefits her mental health and general productivity levels. As such, she doesn’t technically need a full FI Fund in the same way. Considering this, she’s in a very strong position already!

Overview

Looking back at 2025 from a financial perspective, we would have to say it has been a positive year overall.

With our spending higher than we would like, that will be our main focus in 2026. But we’re also conscious we want to enjoy life, and sometimes things are worth spending money on! There’s always a fine balance to be made, and hopefully we can continue to make progress with our FIRE funds while also focussing on what’s important to us.

We can’t wait to see what 2026 brings! All the best to you all! Keep in touch, and have a fantastic 2026!

Annual Spending – 2025

On January 9, 2026January 9, 2026 By A Way to LessIn Finances, FIRE, Monthly SpendingLeave a comment

Summary

Welcome to our 2025 spending post! Our total spend for the year of 2025 was £33,977. For context, this is for 2 adults plus a five year old and a one year old, living in the UK!

Welcome to our June spending post! Our total spend for the month was £1,618.

It’s another low spend this month, with no abnormal expenses. Long may it continue!

Continue reading →

Summary

Housing

Food

Transport

Entertainment/Misc

That’s All for Now, Folks!

Previous Posts

Mr Way

The Numbers

Overview

Summary

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