Summary
There was a lot going on this month – we even got engaged!!! Excluding the engagement ring and the £500 spend on US dollars for our Africa trip this month’s underlying spending was very much in line with our monthly averages. An annual insurance premium increased our usual housing spend slightly but we were broadly in line with our expected totals.
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 | £1163 | See below |
| Food | £255 | See below |
| Transport | £84 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £1142 | See below |
| Total | £2,644 |
We break each of these categories down in the following sections.
Housing
The housing category consists of our mortgage payment, overpayments, bills, insurance, DIY costs etc. The only abnormal expense this month was our annual building and contents insurance premium.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | £467 | |
| Overpayment | £283 | |
| Bills | £111 | Gas, electricity, water |
| Council Tax | £101 | |
| Internet | £11 | |
| Building&Contents Insurance | £190 | Annual premium |
| Total | £1163 |
Food
We spent £255 on food this month. As explained previously, this includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month. We would hope to be slightly lower than this usually, but our supermarket shops recently have included stocking up on some items for our Africa trip! This is mainly toiletries and first aid kit items!
Transport
A slightly misleading total due to a refund on Miss Way’s AA membership fees. Otherwise, it was another typical month for transport costs.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | £130 | Mainly Miss Way’s work |
| Train Fares | £33 | Part of Miss Way’s bike + train + bike commute |
| Bike Repairs | £23 | |
| AA Membership Renewal | £-102 | Last month we included an AA membership fee which had crept up on us. It was a very high amount of £237. Having rang AA we managed to get a refund taking the annual cost back down to £135. Ripping off existing customers like this shouldn’t be allowed! |
| Total | £84 |
Entertainment/Misc
As we stated above, there was a lot going on this month!! We bought our final batch of US dollars which was a large outlay. Did we mention we also got engaged?!?! We also spent more than usual on meals/drinks out, as we tried to catch up with people before going away.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Bills | £18 | |
| TV License | £13 | |
| Lottery | £8 | |
| Professional Fees | £23 | |
| Clothes, shoes, socks! | £32 | |
| Engagement! | £283 | Ring + afternoon tea, see separate post! |
| Sports Team Costs | £25 | Match fees, floodlights, equipment etc |
| Meals/Drinks Out | £179 | Socialising with friends/family |
| Dollars for Africa | £503 | |
| Visa Applications for Africa | £40 | |
| Mr Way Haircut | £8 | |
| Presents etc | £10 | |
| Total | £1,142 |
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