Hmmm, January spending wasn't as disciplined as I would like. But I have kept a very detailed record of every single penny spent. I'd like to be as disciplined as Frugal Queen one day but I'm still a long way off that! I have set a supermarket budget but I need to work out things like how much the dogs cost each month. I genuinely don't know 😳 So I'm noting when I open a 15kg bag of dog food or Emma starts a new pack of medications and noting how long they last. If I do this over a period of time I'll work out their average monthly costs and budget accordingly.
Any way, here's what I've spent this month:
Supermarket £181.29 (includes a top up for February)
Dogs £362.23 (includes a puppy pass and 2 x 15kg bags of food)
Energy £272.24 (my half of the monthly bill)
Car £7.99 (screen wash and de icer)
Other £132.59 (hen party gift, birthday gift, dentist, coffee date)
When I add this up it comes to a shocking £956.34. And this doesn't include my direct debits!!
As my pension income is £596.30 a month, there's a bit of a discrepancy!!!! This is where I'm relying on my savings to keep me going until I downsize and pay off my car. I am still financially supporting my son and DIL who live with me so these figures are temporary.
It's a sharp reminder that I'm so lucky to have built up my savings while I was still working full time!
I have done the supporting son and DiL while they moved to my village and refurbished their house. I find the trivial expenses the ones that come out of the blue that can be the difference from living on a budget and NOT. Needed to put it in capital letters.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's the out of the blue ones that can sink a budget. It's a work in progress so I'm trying to give myself grace :-) xxx
DeleteI don't know how much prescribed medication you are on, but you could look at taking out a pre-payment certificate, a 3 month one cost £32.15 and a 12 month £111.60 but you are covered for every prescribed medicine. Fortunately we are now retired and ours are free. Good luck with the budgeting, its hard work as costs keep going up. Xx
ReplyDeleteI'm not on any medication, it's my elderly Lab Emma! I've edited it for clarity. All prescriptions here in Scotland (and Wales) are free. Sadly vet medications are not! But she's worth it :-) xxx
DeleteIt's always good to keep a check on where the money goes. Always think it weird that some people haven't a clue. My January was really low spend but the heating oil I'll need to buy in February will be as much as all Januarys things added together - frightening
ReplyDeleteI've always kept a track but never pre budgeted some individual areas before. Breaking down what goes on my credit card into categories has been eye opening!! I'm hoping February will be less spendy as I've already got dog food and some of Emma's medication for the month. The rising cost of everything is frightening but it makes it even more important to be prepared :-) xxx
DeleteI always seem to be over in the grocery line. Sales are terrible right now. Luckily our home heating and electric usage was actually down a bit.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
My energy is high as all the rooms are in use by someone so all the radiators are on. Plus I burn wood in the woodburner. But then it balances out in Summer when everything is off :-) xxx
DeleteHaving pets is really expensive these days. Big puppy is on the same food the breeder fed him, a mid-range one, it's roughly £40 for a 14kg bag. Throw chicken thighs in with this and it mounts up. We've also recently inherited my late mother in law's 13yr old Jack russell, still on a trial, and he's on a similar food. Add in our elderly cat's stuff plus 2 rabbits and I can see where most of our money goes!!!
ReplyDeleteI just continued with what the breeder used , a decent mid range dried food. It costs £52 for 15kg. I can order it on a save and subscribe deal for £47 but I still need to work out how long the bag lasts! Emma's meds are pricey but I can't have her in pain (osteoarthritis) and she's still got plenty of life in her :-) xxx
DeleteIt's quite scary how quickly it goes, isn't it? I'm tracking things more carefully and have started to flag up 'unnecessary' spending on my spread sheet, just to increase awareness. xx
ReplyDeleteYes, it's the wee amounts that add up quickly so I'm tracking everything. I thought I was already quite good at that but clearly there's still work to be done! :-) xxx
DeleteIt's good to keep a track on all the expenditure isn't it. Yours is scarily high for the dogs, ours is around £120 for all three pets at the moment, but only Suky is on permanent medication and of course we don't have any doggy day-care. Having a blog is good for noticing when you get things, what they cost and how long they last isn't it ... if you remember to blog about it, I don't always!
ReplyDeleteHow I agree with Mrs LH reference the pet food - it's very costly now to keep pets but I'd rather not be without them, they give us so much don't they
ReplyDeleteWell done on your keeping tabs on the spending
Alison in Wales x