Summary
Welcome to our November spending post! Our total spend for the month was £2,730.
We had another payment for repairs on our roof this month, significantly increasing the total. Otherwise it was a fairly normal 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 | £1,308 | See below |
| Food | £674 | See below |
| Transport | £206 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £542 | See below |
| Total | £2,730 |
We break each of these categories down in the following sections, giving detail for any large expenses.
Housing
Our November spending on housing is increased by a large repair bill for our roof! This is the second (and hopefully last) payment, with the majority coming in October.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gas & Electric | £187 | See below |
| Water | £54 | |
| Council Tax | £188 | |
| Internet | £29 | |
| Roof | £700 | |
| House Insurance | £150 | |
| Total | £1,308 |
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 November spending on food was £674. This includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
Transport
Our November spending on transport is standard for us. Hopefully the fuel cost will reduce in 2025 with Mr Way starting a new job – the plan is to commute via bike & train rather than drive. Obviously train prices being so high will probably increase our overall transport spend, but will make for a much more pleasant/energetic commute!
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | £143 | |
| Bus | £14 | |
| Train | £49 | |
| Total | £206 |
Entertainment/Misc
Our November spending on misc items is quite low. We started buying Chritsmas presents which accounts for a large chunk. We also signed up for a black Friday deal on music lessons.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Bills | £13 | |
| Eating Out | £37 | |
| Presents | £120 | |
| Activities | £154 | |
| Clothes & Shoes | £61 | |
| Dental | £42 | |
| Music Lesson Subscription | £115 | |
| Total | £542 |
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 – October 2024