Following my January spend analysis last month I’ve done a bit of restructuring so I can track areas which need addressing. I’m still concentrating on clearing a couple of loans this year if possible so much of my surplus is directed towards debt reduction.
Household running costs are modest for a one bed flat and there’s very little opportunity for reducing that (insurances, taxes, utilities).
Travel costs for February were negligable because I front-loaded a lot of February’s costs into the end of January.
Food and household shopping for me and my moggies is holding steady around 10% of budget. I could cut this back (there’s a weekly organic veg delivery in there) and indeed once we hit the growing season and the allotment and back garden start producing I hope to see this decrease.
The lunches out has crept up – I’ve had too many days running late and times when it’s easier to grab breakfast on the way or lunch between meetings. A dangerously slippery slope for me as I can easilt end up spending £10 a day – which over a week and a month adds up and would be better spent elsewhere!
Bit of an increase in home and garden spend this month – wholly accounted for by costs of manure for the allotment, compost and some additional plants to brighten the garden. Then there was the RHS Show and the seed potatoes, yakon, mashua etc! But hopefully that will all pay off once the garden is in production.
The health and fitness spend looks less for February only because I’ve not paid my PT yet! And mastering the intricacies of budgeting means there’s money to continue with the PT sessions – essential for both fitness and stress relief.
And the entertainment budget had a bit of a spike because I bought a lot of tickets to the BFI Flare Festival which kicks off next week (10 films in 12 days!) and there was car hire costs for moving plants and compost.
On the plus side it’s relatively consitent and heading in the right direction and just needs a bit of fine tuning!
South London Living 