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.
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 | £1,035 | See below |
| Food | £781 | See below |
| Transport | £100 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £803 | See below |
| Total | £2,719 |
We break each of these categories down in the following sections, giving detail for any large expenses.
Housing
Our December spending on housing includes 2 new windows and various smaller DIY jobs around the house. Mr Way used the Christmas break to get on top of some of the jobs which had needed some attention, including fitting a new tap, new toilet seat etc.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gas & Electric | £121 | See below |
| Water | £54 | |
| Council Tax | £188 | |
| Internet | £29 | |
| Windows | £445 | |
| DIY | £198 | |
| Total | £1,035 |
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 £781. This includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
Transport
Our December spending on transport is standard for us.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | £79 | |
| Bus | £8 | |
| Train | £11 | |
| Parking | £2 | |
| Total | £100 |
Entertainment/Misc
Our December spending on misc items is not too bad considering it was Christmas month. We also bought a few items in the sales such as 3 rugs for the house.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Bills | £13 | |
| Eating Out | £112 | |
| Presents | £244 | |
| Activities | £168 | |
| Clothes & Shoes | £27 | |
| Dental | £42 | |
| Haircut | £10 | |
| Pharmacy | £6 | |
| Postage | £20 | |
| House Stuff | £138 | Rugs etc |
| High Chair | £23 | |
| Total | £803 |
That’s All for Now, Folks!
We’re looking to reduce our spending in pretty much every area as we settle down to life back in the UK. It will be interesting to see how low we can get our costs! We bought our house mortgage free, so we thankfully won’t have to worry about mortgage rates etc.
Considering the average UK household spend is £2,700 we’re aiming to get down below that level – probably more like £2,000-2,250. We initially thought we would be able to go even lower, but have been surprised by the increase in just about everything since we came back!
See you next month!
Previous Posts
Monthly Spending – November 2024