Summary
Welcome to our September spending post! Our total spend for the month was £9,697.
Ouch!!
It’s a huge month, as we continue to get set back up in England. We’ve paid 6 months’ rent up front, while we wait for our house purchase to go through. We also purchased various things for the flat/house, including a good quality, non-toxic mattress for Baby Way.
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 | £5,639 | See below |
| Food | £632 | See below |
| Transport | £871 | See below |
| Entertainment/misc | £2,555 | See below |
| Total | £9,697 |
We break each of these categories down in the following sections, giving detail for any large expenses.
Housing
Our September spending includes 6 months’ rent for our flat. We didn’t have jobs when signing up, so we had to pay fully up front in cash! We’ll be living here until our house purchase completes (who knows how long that will take?!). The actual rent is £850 per month.
We also spent money on a survey and solicitor’s searches for the house purchase this month.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | £4,904 | Plus £980 deposit not included |
| Survey | £375 | |
| Solicitor | £360 | |
| Total | £5,639 |
Food
Our September spending on food was £632. This includes everything on our supermarket shop receipts for the month.
Transport
Our September spending on transport includes our annual insurance premium for our new car. We also spent a lot on fuel due to some long trips.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | £190 | |
| UK Car Insurance | £668 | |
| Parking | £9 | |
| Bus | £4 | |
| Total | £871 |
Entertainment/Misc
Our September spending on misc items includes a few extras.
The student loan payments will now stop, as they’ll come off Mr Way’s pay before tax.
We spent a lot on eating out, because we were busy catching up with friends & family as well as 2 trips away. This explains the camping and hotel costs!
Mr Way joined the local tennis club and is hoping the wrist injury is manageable! Mrs Way bought a new piano for work use as well as joining the Musician’s Union and getting a CRB check.
We also spent a lot of money on things for the flat/future house including bedding, towels, kitchen stuff and a new mattress for Baby Way. We’re really pleased with the quality of the mattress – it’s a non-toxic mattress made from natural materials and it’s really comfy.
| Category | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UK Phone Bills | £19 | |
| Student Loan | £246 | |
| Eating Out | £311 | |
| Presents | £5 | |
| Clothes | £134 | |
| Choir | £10 | |
| Haircut | £32 | |
| Sports | £125 | Tennis Membership |
| Piano | £190 | |
| House Stuff | £337 | Bedding, towels, pans etc |
| Bike Helmet | £20 | |
| Activities | £13 | |
| Camping | £112 | |
| Camping Gear | £21 | |
| Shoes | £42 | |
| Books | £9 | |
| Mattress | £306 | |
| Plants | £45 | |
| Musician’s Union | £239 | |
| Postage | £13 | |
| Musical Instruments | £5 | |
| CRB Check | £54 | |
| Hotel | £267 | |
| Total | £2,555 |
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’re buying our house mortgage free, so we thankfully won’t have to worry about the astronomical interest rates.
Considering the average UK household spend is £2,700 we’re aiming to get down significantly below that level – probably more like £1,500-1,750.
See you next month!