As the new month begins, its time to share the second budget of the year in review highlighting what my budget for February looked like and whether I stuck with it. When I shared the January Budget in review, I talked about how I got an unexpected £5000 bill from HMRC and thankfully I was able to use my emergency fund to pay for that. Budgeting is important because it ensures you know how much you can spend, save and invest or pay off your debt, this is why I am sharing how I manage my budget with readers of this blog.
The second budget of the year in review will cover the expenditures of last month and works as a tracker which highlights areas where I need to cut back. I know talking about money is not an easy topic for many because most us grew up in homes were it was rude to talk about money or even ask about how much one makes. Whilst I am not saying you should share your payslip with people, I think it is important to share with folks how you manage your money, you never know whom you might be helping with your money tips.
*Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, what I am sharing is from my personal experience.
The Second Budget Of The Year In Review
The second budget of the year in review aims to share how I managed my money last month. I have often talked about how I manage and track my expenses every single month. Whilst I love using apps and excel trackers, I am a big proponent for paper and pen and my favourite highlighters. There is something about writing it all down that gives me a perspective that sometimes apps miss. But don’t get me wrong, I love using apps for saving money and I shared the ones that I am currently using and recommend.
Like most budgets, I allocate money for the fixed expenses (mortgage, utilities etc), debt expenses (e.g credit card, Klarna), personal expenses (e.g. shopping, eating out, blogging) and savings (e.g. emergency funds, holiday fund etc). For all these expenditures, I allocate about £4300 a month with highest allocations to fixed expenses, savings and then debt and finally personal expenses. Unlike January, February did not bring any unexpectedly large bills except I spent a lot of money on ‘miscellaneous – £700‘ which most months I allocate £100. Which means I spent £600 more than any given month.
I am fortunate that outside of my day job, I also have side hustles that make a money and support my current lifestyle. The biggest joy last month was being able to contribute more money to repaying my mortgage and adding more to my savings this includes my investment portfolio. Budgeting doesn’t mean you need to watch every single dollar but rather that you allocate various amounts to different areas of your life. Saving money is a big part of my life, I know I am a walking conundrum because even though I love saving, I equally love spending my money on things that make me happy.
Money Topics I Shared in February
Whilst the second budget of the year in review is the main reason for this post, I think it is also important to share other money topics I shared last month that can guide you on your personal finance journey. I do not claim to be an expert, I am still experimenting and figuring it all out but also slowly sharing the knowledge that I picking up from the books that I am reading, the financial news I am absorbing from all sources and breaking it down into digestible bites for my readers.
- Black Girl Finance – I shared my thoughts on this book which I highly recommend everyone reads. This book covers changing your money mindset to investing your money with real life examples.
- All Your Worth – this is another people written many moons ago but still applicable too. It has a lot of knowledge and insight, it’s written for the middle class who are still struggling to manage their money whether as a single person or a family.
- Consolidating your debt – I shared my thoughts on why I think consolidation of debt is a bad idea and I received some great feedback on this and I encourage you to take a look.
- How to repair you credit report/score – as I go through the process of apply for my second mortgage, I thought I share some tips on how you can repair your credit report and improve your credit score.
- Bad habits keeping you poor – I got really real with everyone and talked about the habits that are constantly keeping you poor and what you can do about it.
- Books on saving/investing – I also shared a few books that I love and I am reading on saving money and investing. Whilst I have been investing for over 7 years, I am still learning every single day.
If you are interested in reading more money posts then don’t hesitate to check out my money library on this blog. At the beginning of the month I shared a realistic budget that actually works based off the ‘All your worth‘ book which breaks the budget down into 50% (needs – rent/bills), 30% (wants – Netflix, shopping) and 20% (save/debt repayment).
I had people who said, oh this split wouldn’t work for me but I also think if you truly understood the concept you will notice that it actually works, sure you can (as I have) change up the wants and saving, I save more but still allocate money to enjoy my life even if its £10. If you are still paying off debt it might not look possible to have money for fun but people often misunderstand ‘fun money’, it doesn’t take away from you responsibilities but rather allocate a small amount for your favourite treats (Netflix is a treat, so is a manicure) so you can enjoy life.
How do you manage your budget? Do you use trackers or apps? Do you allocate time to go over your spending for the previous month to learn your money habits?
Prajakta says
Very informative and relatable post. Very good tips, I always believe in budgeting so you do not fall into financial trouble.
Jenny Kearney says
I’m lucky that my finances haven’t changed for the last few years so my income and expenditure are manageable.
WritesandBlogs says
Interesting article, very good tips and experiences shared.We saved money this year from travels.
aisasami says
I always have a limit on how much I can spend each day. I am also trying to save weekly and not monthly.
marjiemare says
This is year I have decided to follow a budget and stop spending. So far, I have been doing good.
Fransic verso says
This is awesome and the fact you have extra income, that would help a lot.
Angela Ricardo Bethea says
This is amazing and quite interesting as well. I would love to give this a try and maybe it can help me with my finances.
knycx says
I like the way you think and how detailed minded you are, thanks for the tips and I will keep them in mind in case I want to review my finance in the future as well! – Knycx journyeing
Karen Legge says
I’ve always been terrible with money. I’m embarrassed to say I rely on my husband these days as he’s in finance and is the sole earner in the house since I became a stay at home mum. You’ve reinforced to me that I do need to pursue other income streams though.
Kimberley says
Thanks for sharing your insight – I need to be more on top of my spending habits though thankfully I’m always in the black each month
Renata - byemyself says
This is really interesting and inspiring. Albeit, since I cannot travel, I’m saving money like crazy – cannot spend it 🙁
Lyosha Varezhkina says
very interesting to me. I really am bad at budgeting, my husband does most of the work
Amita Pandey says
Great post. I especially like informative .Budgeting is very important
busylady2020 says
Great post! I am a book lover and will check out the books you recommended. I look forward to reading your next post about Black Girl Finance book.
Rhian Westbury says
Wow I’m so impressed at how much extra you’ve been able to save and we can only dream of having that much income per month to be able to do those things. It looks like you split out your money really well this month even if you did spend more on your misc area x
Shiela says
I appreciate all of the great details here. I really need to try these since I’ve been struggling to make ends meet. I think I can utilize some of your tips. Thanks for sharing! I’ll also share it with my friends!
Mellissa Williams says
I don’t have huge outgoings but recently financially has been harder due to the pandemic. I am having to support the household more due to a loss in earnings by my husband. I track my outgoings in Notes believe it or not!
Kenneth says
i wish that everyone has their own first,second,third and so on and so forth budget of the year,,,this pandemic really drags me down on financial situation loosing my job as chef as on the cruise ship…but just continue thriving and hoping for the best
Tracy Isidore says
Budgeting is very important, along with financial education. I definitely revisit my budget on a regular basis to make sure it’s still relevant and aligns with my goals. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah M says
I have never read book on budgeting as this never came in my mind. Thanks for enlightening and recommending useful books. Budgeting is fun and important in carefully spending your hard earn money.
Kira says
Budgeting has definitely been my goal for this year and trying to stick to a budget has been a struggle but I’m getting there .
Geordie Grandma says
I have a spreadsheet for my weekly outgoings but I’ve never thought of allocating money for savings or treats! It’s definitely something I’m going to try. I’m like you, I also prefer paper and pens!
Melanie says
Having solid sound financial advice from an advisor and being able to budget is more important than ever.
Rebecca Smith says
I always love reading your budget posts – it is interesting to see how your month is gone. Your content has been extremely helpful this month.
Yeah Lifestyle says
I am going to take some tips from your post to see what I can do without to increase my savings and be wise about my expenses
Lyndsey OHalloran says
I do try to budget quite well but my income isn’t guaranteed unlike my husbands so it’s hard. We also have debt to pay off so we try to pay extra off that if we have it
rbaiano22 says
Im starting to get a budget together and this gave me some great ideas!
Sim @ Sim's Life says
I don’t manage my budget as strictly, simply because I’m a pain. I hate spending money, especially on bills so am naturally quite frugal in that sense. It has been much easier to save the past year as shops haven’t been open. Friends and I have made a pact that shopping trips in future will be frugal, even if we like something, no matter how much of a bargain it is, if we don’t need it, we don’t get it! Sim x
motherhoodtherealdeal says
So interesting to see what other people do with their budgets. Great that you actually saved more that expected!
Bindi says
Budgeting is so important. I’m definitely not the greatest at it and I need to get better at categorizing within my budgets. Thanks for sharing your tips and resources!
Miranda says
You are most welcome and hope you can utilise some of my tips.
clairelomax2018 says
Some great content you’ve created this month, I have certainly found it really helpful.
I am just more mindful of what I spend now, I had my MOT and 2 new tyres this month but still managed to save more than I have in a few months so I was really pleased with that x
Miranda says
I am so glad to hear that and also very impressed, most people MOT and 2 new tyres it would put a big dent in their budget
Natasha Mairs - Serenity You says
Every few months I check what things I am paying for but don’t need or use anymore. We haven’t watched Now TV since Christmas, so getting rid of that will save me a bit of money every month
Miranda says
I made the same decision about my sky TV, I don’t use it so got rid of it