Can we build a great family life for £2,500 a month? July spending: £5,518 £3,018 over our £2,500 target Well... July certainly didn't help us get there. We spent £5,518 this month - more than double our £2,500 target. And unlike some months where the overspending creeps up through lots of little purchases, July had …
Category: Monthly Spending
Monthly Spending – June 2026
Can we build a great family life for £2,500 a month? June spending: £2,333 £167 under our £2,500 target We did it! For the first time in this 'rebranded' series, we've managed to get our monthly spending below £2,500. We spent £2,333 in June, putting us £167 below our target. The biggest reason is a …
Monthly Spending – May 2026
Can we build a great family life for £2,500 a month? May spending: £3,125 £625 over our £2,500 target Another month, another experiment in trying to build a great family life without spending a fortune. May wasn't quite the month we'd hoped for. We spent £3,125, putting us £625 above our £2,500 challenge target. But …
Monthly Spending – April 2026
Summary Welcome to our April spending post! This month, we spent a total of £2,509. It was a bit of a strange month as we were on holiday for 2 weeks, most of which was already paid for. But a few large expenses meant we ended up at a similar total to the previous couple of months. We’ve sorted our spending into the essentials—housing, food, …
Monthly Spending – March 2026
Summary Welcome to our March spending post! This month, we spent a total of £2,342. Another steady month with no major expenses. We are aiming to reduce our spending on food, but this seems to be about our ‘normal’ spending level at the moment. 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 …
Monthly Spending – February 2026
Summary Welcome to our February spending post! This month, we spent a total of £2,484. This was a good month for us. With costs of everything increasing, it seems difficult to get our spending much below this level now. 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 …
Monthly Spending – January 2026
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 …
Monthly Spending – December 2025
Summary Welcome to our December spending post! This month, we spent a total of £2,632. December always includes some excess spending with the Christmas splurge, followed by post-Christmas sales. All in all, it’s not too bad of a total. Our annual spending and review posts will follow, as we reflect on 2025 and look forward to 2026! We’ve sorted our spending into the essentials—housing, food, and transport—plus a catch-all entertainment and …
Monthly Spending – November 2025
Summary Welcome to our November spending post! This month, we spent a total of £3,333. November was a more expensive month, with a few big items. We started buying Christmas presents, and also added some high-end outdoor gear to help us better enjoy the winter. We also paid the deposit for a holiday next April. Otherwise a fairly normal month. We’ve sorted our spending into the essentials—housing, food, and transport—plus …
Monthly Spending – October 2025
Summary Welcome to our October spending post! This month, we spent a total of £2,284. October was a fairly boring month for spending, which makes for a lower total than the last 3 months. We had a higher total than usual on food, plus a couple of big items in entertainment/misc, but generally we’re quite pleased with how it went. We’ve sorted our spending into the essentials—housing, …