As a budgeter, I thought I share the first budget of the year in review and share what I budgeted for January and how much I spent. Over the last few weeks I have shared several posts on how I save a £1000 a month, ways to save money and even the 3 financial mistakes I made as a younger adult. Not everyone loves talking about their financial situation but everyone loves being a little nosy and learning how other people manage their money. I know personally that I love nothing more than learning how people budget and how I can learn from them.
This year, I am hoping to share more openly about money starting with the first budget of the year in review and if I am honest January is often one of my most expensive months. This is all because I am always rushing to pick up the latest bargains but this year I turned over a new leaf and found other things that I am investing in other than the January sales. I didn’t turn over a new leaf in one day, it took a lot of planning, budgeting and educating myself on money and how I am influenced to spend my hard earned cash. If you are interested in knowing what books I have been reading then let me know I shall share.
*Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, what I am sharing is from my personal experience.
The First Budget Of The Year In Review
How often do you budget? I personally budget every month but review my budget trackers on a weekly basis. This allows me to stay on top of my money and catch ‘surprising’ bills early on and allocate money accordingly. When I was young, money wasn’t often spoken about unless its to remind us that we don’t have any but one thing that was often mentioned was budgeting. Every single month, my mother did our family budget and often quarterly we bought things in bulk because mum would have budgeted for it.
Ever since I left home over 10+ years ago, I have been budgeting for myself (although at times I wasn’t so successful at it) and for my home. I now confidently know how much money is coming in, where it’s going and any surplus that I have. Once I paid off my debt using the snowball method, I was able to get a handle on my finances and now I am happier for it. When you know how much you are earning, what you are spending it on and how much you are adding to your savings/investment accounts you often are happier for it.
So, how that I have shared the sub-story, below is my budget for January, all my outgoings, savings and investments. For personal reasons I am not sharing my actual pay from my day job but I am including the passive income from this blog.
| Expense | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| Mortgage | £700 |
| Utilities (gas, electric, water, TV license) | £120 |
| Council Tax | £132 |
| Insurances (contents, life etc) | £215 |
| Food | £200 |
| Car + Petrol | £300 |
| Clothing | £200 |
| Donations | £50 |
| Miscellaneous | £150 |
| Savings + Investing | £2000 |
For the month of January, I spent more on food and clothing than I normally do, usually I spend £150 and £100 respectively but this month I spent more than usual. Miscellaneous costs have also increased because of my phone bills and blogging costs which is not unusual but something that I need to monitor for the new month. For the January passive income from the blog, I was able to make £350 which is low for me but then again I am just getting back into the swing of things and still grateful for extra income. For the January budget I had an expected tax bill (£5k) which I paid from my emergency fund. If I didn’t have this I would be owning the government money which I don’t like.
If you are new to monthly budgeting you can start by setting up your own one from your income to the expenses, paying off debt to saving money. It is so important for people to build up their savings fund for emergencies and sinking funds for things you want to save and buy in the near future. If you need more tips on sinking funds, paying off debt and saving, check out the budget mom, I love watching her YT videos for inspiration on managing my finances and also setting up sinking funds for various goals.
Setting up your own monthly budget
Setting up a monthly budget is so easy, all you need to do is track your incomings and outgoings plus set-up savings as well. Below is an example
| Income Source | Amount (£) |
| Main Salary | £2000 |
| Side Hustle/Pass Income | £800 |
| Rollover from last month | £10 |
Knowing how much you are making is so important to take control of your finances. If you don’t know how much is coming its difficult to plan for your everyday bills and even the unexpected bills. Speaking on bills, you need to know what your fixed expenses are and which are one-off. Below is an example
| Fixed Expense | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| Rent/Mortgage | £750 |
| Car Loan + Insurance | £300 |
| Utilities | £350 |
| Food | £150 |
| Mobile Phone | £50 |
| Streaming Services | £20 |
| Miscellaneous | £150 |
| Savings | £800 |
| Debt repayment | £200 |
| Total | £2770 |
Your bills might not exactly look like my example above but they are a rough idea of what most people (without kids) often pay for on a monthly basis. It’s never too late to start putting together a budget all you need to do is start. Start by looking at what you are taking home and what you are paying for, even the £2.49 for apple storage, you need to account for every expenditure.
Top Tips for budgeting
- Automate your fixed payments – either make they direct debits or standing orders.
- Pay yourself first – very important for self employed people but works for everyone in general, this just means put money in your savings
- Cancel non-essential subscriptions – you don’t beauty boxes, food boxes every single month
- Know how much you owe and how much you can pay back for each debt – use the snowball method.
- Set-up sinking fund for the things you want to buy – save for it slowly and the pay full price
- Stay away from credit cards – many people are bad with credit card utilisation and often spent 75-90% of the credit card limit – this is bad for your credit score.
- Save money for an emergency fund if you can – with the pandemic has taught us anything is you need to ensure you have an emergency fund for the unexpected.
I hope you enjoyed the first budget of the year in review because I will be sharing more throughout the year. Do you ever budget? Do you know how much you earn and spend every single week, month?
Leif Price says
Thanks for this great tips! I’ll definitely start planning our budget to save more money this new year.
Nayna Kanabar says
Budgeting and have a spread sheet of incoming and outgoing expenses really is helpful to keep an eye on your finances . This is a very useful post with lots if good advise.
pacioalita9 says
This is really inspiring. I hope to be able to do the same and save money.
Angela Ricardo Bethea says
That looks amazing and it’s easy to understand. I definitely need to start planning our budget soon and those are some great tips to keep in mind.
MDD Doc says
I haven’t really realized the value of money until you really do the math. It’s really a must to track your budget and expenses so that you will not go beyond your earnings.
Michele @ ourredonkulouslife says
I budget every week for what we need and have been hoarding money every payday because we need to buy a new car. We have still ordered takeout, bought some wants and still have been saving a ton of money. I don’t know if I would every be able to go back to not hoarding money. After we get a car, my next goal is to save 3 months worth of bills.
Roshanna21 says
Budgeting has always been something I’ve wanted to do, I know it’s the smarter and more efficient way of doing things. Thanks for these tips
Kathryn C says
These are great tips! It’s so important to have an emergency fund. I love the snowball method too.
Fransic verso says
That’s awesome idea! It’s great to write down things we buy and important stuff. You did great job on saving this much!
Meera says
Great tips on budgeting. Thanks for sharing this informative article.
aisasami says
Nice tips on budgeting. And good on meeting your budgeting goal. I am ok with budget, I do plan on what I need to pay but how much I spend is a general estimate.
Kenneth says
for now this savings are not yet possible for me..loosing my job on the cruise ship really ruin all my income…even though having some sidejobs right now..still not enough for me to put away some for savings…i hope i can be able to work back and start saving once and for all
Lyosha Varezhkina says
Budgeting works very nicely for many people. My husband does it for our family because I am super bad at it
Merveille says
This is such a thorough and insightful post. I have been wanting to do a yearly budgeting plan for a while now but have never gotten to it. Seeing how detailed and straight forward your budget looks is truly amazing. Thanks for giving me the push I needed to start that budgeting spreadsheet!
sumit says
every month i note my expenditure and income but mainly concerned with expenditure but i never budget .. this post inspires me to take the extra step
spruitt8 says
I really need to redo my budget and be better about sticking to it. I want to get my student loans paid off ASAP!
Jenny Kearney says
i love budgeting each month. It gives me peace of mind and helps me save too.
Yeah Lifestyle says
You have done such a clean budgeting and I envy that you are able to safe £800 out of it which is super amazing! I hope to be able to follow your example
Monidipa Dutta says
I make my own budget too. Since budgeting allows you to create a spending plan for your money, it ensures that you will always have enough money for the things you need and the things that are important to you. Following a budget or spending plan will also keep you out of debt or help you work your way out of debt if you are currently in debt.
knycx says
Thanks for sharing your insights and it is a reminder of how important it is to have a budget for your finances. – Knycx journeying
rhianwestbury says
I’m so impressed that you managed to invest so much in January, that’s the one area I want to increase in my budgets x
Renata - byemyself says
Because of the stupid lockdown, it’s very easy to save practically all my money. Although I’m buying really fancy groceries – since I cannot travel, I hardly spend money 🙁
Mary says
It is so important to have a budget and stick to it. Saving up an emergency fund is especially important since you never know what can happen!
renee says
I really need a new budget! So much has changed in the last year financially!
Julie Gay says
I am awful with money. As I have memory issues we’d probably be bankrupt by now if it was left to me. Thankfully my husband has a spreadsheet and knows what’s what.
Rebecca Smith says
I need to sort my budget out! This was a really interesting read – I love seeing how you budget your income
clairelomax2018 says
Budgeting is so important. I never gave it much thought until I moved in with my partner.We are both very good with money but he budgets for EVERYTHING and I kinda jumped on board. I save a lot more now and I am certainly more aware of my spending habits x
Miranda says
Its so good to have a partner who shares the same money values, it makes things so much easier.
Samantha Donnelly says
We are usually very good at budgeting, but this month have spent out a lot as we are redoing our bathroom. That being said my Husband has been doing a great job of sourcing everything we need at bargain prices
Miranda says
Aww that’s amazing because renovations can be pricey so if you bargain hunt and budget you are half way there
Natasha Mairs - Serenity You says
I really need to sort my budget out and get saving. It’s really hard though, when you live with a husband who likes to spend money as soon as he receives it!
Miranda says
My dad was the same 😅 I don’t know how my mother managed it so good luck lovely