Tag: household spending

It’s a Hard Life…Financial Review of Week 16

Hey guys, it’s that time of the week again.

Things are getting pretty tight and I have overspent on the food budget and need to reign in all spending.

Just a few days to go till payday on Thursday.

FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD SHOPPING

Chocolates, Easter Goodies, Biscuits, Cereal Bars, Hot Cross Buns, Pizzas £11.64

Rolls, Pattie, Lettuce, Cucumber, Carrots £2.79 (but the boy paid for these)

Milk, Potatoes, Bread, Sweet Potatoes, Mozzarella, Cottage Cheese, Bolognese, Bananas £7.46

Poppadoms, Naan Bread, Mango Chutney, Coconut Milk, Toothpaste £4.85

Frozen Peppers, Scampi £3.29

Butter, Pitta Bread, Eggs, Chocolate for the boy £3.70

Pepsi, Chickpeas x 3, Chopped Tomatoes x 3, Turkey Steaks £7.25

Cleansing Wipes, Caster Sugar, Demerara Sugar £3.28

TOTAL HOUSEHOLD SPENDS = £44.26

DISCRETIONARY SPENDING

GIFTS

Chocolates for the Nieces and Nephews £3

Donations to various marathon runners charities £28.90

Easter Egg for Friend £1.25

TRAVEL (DAY TO DAY)

Bus Ticket x 2 = £4.60

SOCIAL

Coffee £2.60

Cocktails £10

Burger, Chips and Diet Coke £14.60

Coke £2.70

Beer £4.50

Bus to see friend £3

Coffee £1.20

Soup and Crisps with friend £4.80

HOMEWARE

2 X Mason Jars £1

Mixing Bowl, Measuring Jug and Glass £5.80

TOTAL DISCRETIONARY SPENDING = £87.95 (YIKES!)

TOTAL SPENDING THIS WEEK = £132.21 (DOUBLE YIKES!!)

My goal till Thursday is to rock up as many No Spend Days as possible and just basically NOT SPEND ANY MONEY.

Especially because my FAVOURITE-BAND-IN-THE-WHOLE-WORLD-SINCE-I-WAS-12 which is QUEEN (and Adam Lambert) are touring and I want to see them live as who knows if there will be any more tours after this one? And the tickets are £80 each and since they aren’t playing in Wales our options are Birmingham or London as the easiest to get to cities that they are playing and I don’t think either would be cheap, we would need overnight accommodation at either place, so it will all be very expensive.

The Boy has said as the tour is in November/December it could be my Christmas present, but I would like to pay my own way where I can.

I would sell an awful lot of my stuff to see them live, so I will look into it.

I have been thinking about doing a MILITANT NO SPEND WEEK or something where I don’t buy anything, not even food where I can help it. Or maybe I allow myself to buy food but do a month instead. So no social life (unless I am creative with it), no travelling, no homeware, no gifts, nothing, nadda, zilch.

I could have mostly bought both tickets for me and the boy this week if I had done that, so it would be worth it.

I shall investigate.

 

 

 

 

Financial Review of Week 14

Yep, it is Sunday again.

This week was a bit less spend-y. I hope.

Let’s have a looksy.

FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD SHOPPING

Milk and Bread Rolls £2.74

Pasta Sauce, Pasta, Garlic Bread £4

7 Up, Milk, Squash, Orange Juice, Eggs, Cheese, Potatoes, Bread and Bananas £13.01

TOTAL = £19.75

DISCRETIONARY/DISPOSABLE SPENDING

SOCIAL

Breakfast with the leftover Wrestlemania Crew £8.70

TRAVEL (DAY TO DAY)

4 lots of bus tickets (£1.60 each) = £6.40

WORK EXPENSE

Milk x 2 = £1.65

GIFTS

Treats for Work £10.70

Easter Egg for The Boy (after voucher deduction) £0.89

TOTAL DISPOSABLE SPENDING = £28.34

TOTAL WEEKLY SPENDING = £48.09

So the spending has reduced, which is good on account of the whole I’M UNEMPLOYED situation.

I may have to become even more restrictive with my spending. I may give up my social life, or just become more creative with it.

 

Now bare with me, this might not be the most interesting post…

…but to me it is one of the most important ones when showing my development over the last two years.

As mentioned I have kept a spending diary since April 1st 2015. Every little penny I spent, whether it was hundreds of pounds on clothes or a 60p overdue book fine at the library I noted it down.

In the 2015/16 tax year (April – March) I spent £4766.30 during the whole year on everything that wasn’t a bill or food spend.

In the just ended 2016/17 tax year I spent £4471.25 on the same sort of things. Which means I have managed to reduce my spending by £295.05 which looks small but isn’t insignificant to me.

I also do 6 month spreadsheets, and in the first half of the 2016/17 tax year (April-September) I spent £253.91 less than I did in the same period of the 2015/16 tax year (or on average £42.32 less per month on my disposable spends).

In the last half of this tax year, October to March, I spent £307.32 less than I did in the same period of the 2015/16 tax year (or £51.22 less per month on average) so I have been spending less as time goes on.

The crucial difference, the obvious difference, is in 2015 I used credit cards to pay for things. In 2016 I didn’t, until I became unemployed briefly, and in 2017 I haven’t been buying any unessential purchases, so yes my spending would have gone down for those reasons.

But still, I will take small victories where I can.

I will aim to reduce my spending further over this new tax year compared to the year zero that was 2015/16, as it is all extra money I can throw at my debt!

The boy gave me a bonus birthday gift yesterday of some money in an envelope with the strictest instructions it is only to be used for UN-Essential purchases, like makeup and clothes.

I think he means feminine things rather than new football boots.

The old me, it seems so long ago but it wasn’t really, would have run off with the money to the shops and just bought the first thing I had seen just to feel the hit of a shopping high.

I have no plans to spend this money, at least not yet. I am going to keep it in a safe place until I have a burning, uncontrollable desire to absolutely have to buy something that is a forbidden item.

Or some garish football boots.