Summary
Welcome to our February spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,370.
We want to start with an apology. While writing this it’s late April and we’ve actually already been living in our new home for over a month. There has been so much to deal with in the last few weeks in the UK and the first month here, that the blog has had to take a back seat. Who knew selling your house, most of your belongings and moving half way across the world with a toddler would be so challenging!! We’re looking forward to writing updates on all of our recent adventures in the near future. We’re very keen to make the blog a priority again once we get into a routine here. Anyway, back to February’s spending post!
Our last full month in the UK wasn’t a bad one for spending. We spent quite a bit on items to take with us to our new home, so overall we aren’t too disappointed with this month’s total.
In the country we’re moving to, it’s really hard and expensive to buy anything. We wanted to make sure we’re stocked up before leaving to avoid any painful purchases!
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 | £1,146 | See below |
| Food | £411 | See below |
| Transport | £67 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £746 | See below |
| Total | £2,370 |
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.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | £415 | |
| Overpayment | £335 | |
| Bills | £98 | Gas, electricity & water. |
| Council Tax | £222 | |
| Internet | £76 | |
| Total | £1,146 |
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 February spending on food was £411. As explained previously, this includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
Transport
We’ll be selling our fantastic Honda Jazz in March, so we paid for a repair to the small chip in the windscreen. Otherwise, a very normal month here.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | £47 | |
| Parking | £5 | |
| Autoglass | £15 | |
| Total | £67 |
Entertainment/Misc
Our February spending in this category was bumped up by those last minute ‘essential’ purchases. We wanted to make sure we have enough with us to avoid making any purchases in the first year living abroad. We should have enough clothes, shoes etc to avoid any expensive shopping trips while in a high cost of living area.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Bills | £10 | |
| TV License | £13 | |
| Lottery | £8 | |
| Eating Out | £11 | |
| Presents | £49 | |
| Clothes | £225 | |
| Sunglasses | £74 | |
| Life Insurance | £72 | |
| Packing Cubes, Wash Bag, Nappies | £77 | |
| Postage | £11 | |
| Toothbrush Heads and Travel Adaptor | £24 | |
| Wedding Dress Listing | £17 | |
| Baby Classes | £13 | |
| Shoes | £114 | |
| Potty | £9 | |
| Baby Knives | £19 | |
| Total | £746 |
That’s All for Now, Folks!
See you next month!
Previous Posts
Monthly Spending – January 2022