This month’s spend profile is pretty much where I expected it to be – which is not exactly frugal!

43% of my spend goes on household costs, travel, food and groceries and entertainment each take approximately the same amount. Around 50% is being actively thrown at reducing debt ASAP and the balance is a little bit unattributed at the moment!

I’m lucky enough to be mortgage free so the utilities/insurance are pretty much that plus critical things like Council Tax. Also included are the running costs for the cottage in Wales. Travel covers my monthly oyster fare (commute to work) and some additional out of London travel. Food and groceries keeps me and the moggies fed and comfortable. Entertainment covers eating out, cinema and other visits, gym membership and my lovely PT and finally, the holiday fund.

50% of my spend is dedicated to paying off three small loans (due to finish Aug 2017, Aug 2017 and Aug 2018). These are respectivly covering the shortfall in the final mortgage account (perils of an endowment mortgage), work done on this flat in London and finally emergency treatment for a sudden an unexpected case of wet/dry rot for the cottage in Wales! It also covers clearing the balance on my three credit cards (all low balance) and fees for a few things.

The remaining – cash and miscellaneous – are charity donations, kickstarter payments and cash I took out but can’t remember where I spent it (whoops – need to work harder on tracking that)!

There’s going to be a big chunk of spend this month (Feb) and possibly next month to refund the pal who paid for flights and accommodation for the August holiday – but this means then there’s only spending money to find.

On the plus side – I’ve reviewed potential areas for savings this year.  There’s not a great deal of wiggle room with respect to utilities/insurances and travel but I’m doing what I can.

Food and groceries can be reduced a bit by slightly smarter shopping and I’m hoping to cut the bidget a lot over summer as the back garden and allotment go into production.

Entertainment can be cut by getting back into the habit of taking lunch into work and resisting the lure of Starbucks, Itsu and Abokado! Giving up the gym or the PT are non-negotiable as both help me stay fit, healthy and deal with work-life stress.

Finally my plan is to restructure the loans in the not too distant future which means I should be able to save on the interest and clear them faster.

What I’m hoping to do over the next couple of weeks is run some comparisons against last year and see where my spending differs.