Summary
As lockdown continues, our May spending has been significantly impacted. We love seeing those zeros in the Transport category!
Our total spend for the month was £1,700. This is well within our £2,000 target again.
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 | £979 | See below |
| Food | £357 | See below |
| Transport | £0 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £364 | See below |
| Total | £1,700 |
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.
A typical month with just the usual bills to pay!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | £467 | |
| Overpayment | £283 | |
| Bills | £113 | Gas, electricity & water. |
| Council Tax | £105 | |
| Internet | £11 | Correction of overpayments |
| Total | £979 |
We continue to be very happy with our energy supplier, Octopus Energy. This month we received a refreshing email from them saying they would again be reducing the cost of our energy, following cuts in wholesale prices.
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 May spending on food was £357. As explained previously, this includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
We bought a few extras from the supermarkets this month with other shops being closed. We also think supermarket prices have gone up so quite a successful total considering!
Transport
We can’t go anywhere! Simples!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total | £0 |
Entertainment/Misc
A bit higher than last month due to some new shoes for ourselves and also a few presents. It’s Mr Way’s 30th in August and part of this spending was his first present!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Bills | £14 | |
| TV License | £13 | |
| Lottery | £10 | |
| Presents | £179 | |
| Shower Rack | £18 | Tidy up the shower |
| CD Case | £12 | Tidy up old CDs |
| Shoes | £54 | We each bought a pair of cheap barefoot shoes for everyday use |
| Compost/Fence Paint etc | £34 | |
| Breastfeeding Cream | £8 | See below |
| Breastfeeding Bras | £3 | See below |
| Perineal Ice Packs | £19 | See below |
| Total | £364 |
Running Totals
There are a few big things going on in our lives at the minute. We wanted to this section to the end of our Monthly Spending posts to keep track of our total spending on both the wedding and Baby Way.
To be honest this is as much for our own interest/records as it is for our readers!
While these aren’t all spending items from this month, we think it’s useful to keep ‘running totals’ for these longer term categories.
Wedding
No extra wedding costs this month! We’re making progress behind the scenes but we’re a bit nervous about booking anything else when things are so uncertain.
Total to date:
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 'Save the Date' Cards | £26 | |
| Postage | £22 | |
| Registrar | £100 | Deposit paid. £525 more due before wedding. |
| Total | £148 |
Baby Costs
Baby Way is now only a month away! Scary times, but we think we’re close to being ready.
All of our baby-related spending will appear in Entertainment/Misc for now, but we’ll also track it separately here. We’re convinced we can spend significantly less than our peers so it’ll be interesting to see how we get on!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy Vitamin Tablets | £8 | |
| Antenatal Class | £80 | |
| Cot | £80 | |
| Nappies | £100 | Second hand reusable nappies |
| Pram | £0 | Free!! |
| Baby Book | £9 | |
| Baby Scan Photo | £5 | |
| Baby Bath | £5 | |
| Yoga | £21 | |
| Reusable Post-partum Pads | £25 | |
| Baby Bed Sheets | £30 | |
| Second Hand Baby Sleeping Bags | £20 | |
| Yoga/Birthing Ball | £13 | |
| Second Hand Baby Clothes | £18 | |
| Breastfeeding Cream | £8 | See below |
| Breastfeeding Bras | £3 | See below |
| Perineal Ice Packs | £19 | See below |
| Total | £444 |
Breastfeeding Cream
Exactly what the title says really! Miss Way intends to breastfeed and things can get a little sore, by all accounts!
Breastfeeding Bras
Bought mostly with an M&S voucher hence the price!
Perineal Ice Packs
For post-birth pain relief!
See you next month.
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