Summary
Welcome to our December spending post! Our total spend for the month was £3,756.
Ouch!
This month was significantly above average, but not without good reason.
First and foremost, we’ve been spending more in preparation for our big move to the Caribbean. We’ve both bought new clothes – out with the winter gear and in with shorts and t-shirts! Both of our laptops were also very old so we decided to get one between both of us. We didn’t scrimp for a change and spent £800 to get a higher spec – fingers crossed it was worthwhile! Other electrical items also needed renewing, such as Mrs Way’s straighteners, Mr Way’s electric razor etc. This is a combination of replacing old items and also the voltage being different in the Caribbean so some things won’t work there.
Once we arrive, buying these things would be much more expensive, so it makes much more sense to sort it all out now, even though it means such a painful total for our last month in 2021!
As well as that, we’ve paid a car insurance renewal this month. As we’re moving very soon, we’ll get a rebate on most of this though.
Anyway, on to the December spending post where you can see more detail on all of this and more.
We break our main expenses down into broad categories starting with the big 3; housing, food and transport. Everything else falls into the entertainment category, with any large inclusions explained in detail.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | £1,174 | See below |
| Food | £290 | See below |
| Transport | £498 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £1,794 | See below |
| Total | £3,756 |
We break each of these categories down in the following sections, giving detail for any large expenses.
Housing
The housing category consists of our mortgage payment, overpayments, bills, insurance, DIY costs etc.
This month we also paid the ‘marketing pack’ for our estate agents, because we’re selling our house!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | £415 | |
| Overpayment | £335 | |
| Bills | £100 | Gas, electricity & water. |
| Council Tax | £111 | |
| Electrician | £180 | |
| Internet | £33 | |
| Total | £1,174 |
We continue to be very happy with our energy supplier, Octopus Energy. Our energy is from 100% renewable sources too which is a great bonus. If you are interested, click through this link and you will get £50 and so will we! It can be hard to find a decent energy company but we really do recommend Octopus.
Food
Our December spending on food was £290. As explained previously, this includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
This is a lower total than normal because we used a couple of vouchers to buy food at M&S and also spent a couple of days at parents’ houses.
Transport
As seems to be the way this month, another high total.
We’ll receive a rebate for the car insurance once we sell the car in February, but for now this is the payment total.
We used a lot of fuel with a couple of long trips/visits. We’re trying to see everyone before the big move so this is an acceptable expense for us.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | £140 | |
| Car Insurance | £358 | |
| Total | £498 |
Entertainment/Misc
Once again, our December spending includes a fairly high total in this category.
We already mentioned the new laptop and other electricals above. Very expensive, but cheaper than buying it after we move! Fingers crossed these items all last us a long time and have a good payback period.
We also got Mrs Way’s wedding dress cleaned. We’re aiming to sell the dress, so this should pay for itself.
With this being our last UK Christmas for an unknown time, we also spent more than usual on gifts for loved ones, as well as for Baby Way!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Bills | £10 | |
| TV License | £13 | |
| Lottery | £8 | |
| Eating Out | £54 | |
| Presents | £305 | |
| Beauty Treatments | £43 | |
| Clothes | £247 | |
| Electric Razor | £80 | |
| Water Bottles | £30 | |
| Hair Cut | £15 | |
| Straighteners | £25 | |
| Wedding Dress Cleaning | £135 | |
| Laptop | £799 | |
| Laptop Case | £17 | |
| Baby Classes | £13 | |
| Total | £1,794 |
That’s All for Now, Folks!
See you next month!
We’ll also post a summary of our 2021 Spending in the coming days so look out for that!
Previous Posts
Monthly Spending – November 2021