Please check my budget (£2,823pm) or share yours so I can get some ideas where I'm going wrong.

Voyager2002

On the electricity: you really do need to check what your current consumption would cost with different providers. There are various comparison tools on-line: the one I prefer is on the Citizens Advice Bureau website and is easy to find with your favourite search engine.

I am puzzled that you spend £25 per month on books, particularly since you have so many entertainment services. Have you explored your local public library?

The platform fee for your investments also seems ridiculously high, unless you trade frequently and that includes lots of trades (in which case that could be another discussion about investing strategies).

Retired_Minky

greyteam1959 said:

Re the grocery budget.
Stop buying brand names.
Shop at Aldi or Lidl.
You could save over 30% easily.

Not really shopped at these stores. Do they do online shopping? We pretty much buy online for delivery. Makes it easier to budget as you can see what the shop costs before checking out.
When we buy in store it all goes to pot. We try to keep tab as we go along but end up with a different amount at the till.

Retired_Minky

Voyager2002 said:

On the electricity: you really do need to check what your current consumption would cost with different providers. There are various comparison tools on-line: the one I prefer is on the Citizens Advice Bureau website and is easy to find with your favourite search engine.

I am puzzled that you spend £25 per month on books, particularly since you have so many entertainment services. Have you explored your local public library?

The platform fee for your investments also seems ridiculously high, unless you trade frequently and that includes lots of trades (in which case that could be another discussion about investing strategies).

Thanks I'll check them out for my energy usage and switch if I can get a better rate. The current bill is high as it's based on my old usage where I'd drive 100 miles a day in an electric car. As I'm driving less now I should look at current usage and look at the best deal. Will look at CAB website as I didn't realise they had a comparison engine.

Re the books. This sounds bad but I don't like physical books. I buy digital on Kindle. I like to read two to three books a month which tend to be about £8 - £10 each hence the spend. I mainly read at night so love the nightlight on the kindle. Can read without upsetting the SO. Also love that it just opens to the last page you were at so no faffing about with bookmarks. Definatley a first world problem. I know Prime do free books every month but they're not normally something I'd want to read. If the library could lend me titles on the Kindle I'd be in.

The platform fee covers ISA and pension. I've not looked at this for a while so thanks for raising this. I'll have a look at alternatives that might be cheaper. 

jonnygee2

I'd thought it was for one person.  I spent £522 last year just for myself - but I suppose I had to buy new things (eg first winter coat in 20 years and because I'd gone down at least two dress sizes).  Marks & Spencer or Debenhams in the sales were probably the most frequent destinations and I found Sainsbury's clothing worth looking at. 

I think there are a lot of dependencies, like where you shop and whether you can (/are willing to) sew. But £522 is more than I've spent on clothes in the last four years put together! Asda is pretty good for clothes too, I find. 

I've excluded work clothes though. I spend a fortune on those - about £500 / year. But unfortunately it just wouldn't do where I work to turn up in an Asda Smartprice suit, much as I'd love to! I am taking a punt from the username that this isn't an issue for the OP though.

Edit: I have checked and last year I spent £1100 on work clothes 😨 Feeling a little less frugal now, although it really is necessary.

Retired_Minky

Thanks for all the feedback. Just working on a revised budget. Will post here once I've finalised it.

Petriix

100 miles per day is around 30kWh in most EVs. With that kind of usage you should have been on Octopus Go and charging overnight at 5p/kWh so £45 per month. £100 per month on top of that is pretty high, but not beyond reason. I'd definitely suggest switching to Go and shifting as much of your usage as possible to the cheap overnight rate: washing, dryer, dishwasher etc. Also try turning the default heating temperature down by a degree and wear a jumper in the winter.

With the groceries: just start by working out the things that you actually need and try to limit the spending on luxuries and convenience food. Fresh vegetables cost next to nothing and, with rice, pasta, potatoes etc. should form the bulk of your meals. Meat and fish can be expensive so consider reducing how much you eat, looking for deals and alernating with other protein sources like lentils, nuts, beans etc.. Things that go in the oven or microwave from a packet cost vastly more than a home cooked equivalent. Think jacket potato with tuna mayo and home made coleslaw rather than microwave lasagne. Try to avoid snacks from a packet etc.

Retired_Minky

Version 2 below with v1 as a comparision:
Notes.
Reduced energy is based on what I've requested the energy company change my DD to.
Lottery. SO won't cancel this. It's their only hope of getting out of the marriage.
I've left Britbox, Netflix and Stadia in but cut the other annual subs e.g. prime, Disney plus, etc.
Groceries halved to £400.
Home and garden reduced. New sofa will have to wait a bit longer.
Holiday fund reduced. Might have to look at something cheaper this year.
Car insurance and home insurance reduced based on quick online quotes. Will change to lower policy when it's next due.
Removed new car deposit saving. Decided to keep current car longer or when renewing go for a low or zero deposit.
Cloths reduced to £26. Didn't go £25 as that's half. Sounds a little better at £26.
New total is £2,120 which is still a lot compared to some on this forum. Don't know how they spend so little. 
I might have a crack at version 3 to get below the £2,000 barrier as that would be good.

Regular Monthly	v1	v2
Mortgage	800	800
Energy	150	60
TV license	14	14
Water	46	46
Life insurance 1	68	68
Life insurance 2	12	12
Car finance	59	59
Council tax	230	230
Share dealing platform	20	20
Broadband	9	9
Britbox	6	6
Lottery	23	23
Netflix	9	9
Stadia	9	9
Books	25	20
Misc	75	54
Groceries	800	400
Irregular Spend (x 12 to get annual figure)
Annual subs	31	22
Birthday presents	35	35
Christmas presents	34	34
Home and garden	80	20
Home insurance	30	13
Holiday fund	100	55
Car Insurance	24	19
Car maintenance	30	30
New Car deposit saving	28	0
Window cleaner	12	12
Clothes	50	26
Medical, dental, optical	15	15
Total Monthly Spend	2824	2120

LittleVoice

Regarding books for Kindle.  Have you checked with your local library service?  They are likely to give access to eBooks but perhaps these wouldn't be compatible with your Kindle.

Voyager2002

Re the books. This sounds bad but I don't like physical books. I buy digital on Kindle. I like to read two to three books a month which tend to be about £8 - £10 each hence the spend. I mainly read at night so love the nightlight on the kindle. Can read without upsetting the SO. Also love that it just opens to the last page you were at so no faffing about with bookmarks. Definatley a first world problem. I know Prime do free books every month but they're not normally something I'd want to read. If the library could lend me titles on the Kindle I'd be in.

The platform fee covers ISA and pension. I've not looked at this for a while so thanks for raising this. I'll have a look at alternatives that might be cheaper. 

Not bad at all about the books: you are obviously making good use of them. A couple of thoughts:
1. Most/all public libraries allow you to borrow e-books. Unfortunately they do not come in Kindle format. One solution would be to buy a different e-reader such as a Kobo (I use a Nook, but they are no longer supported in the UK). It is also possible to convert e-books from one format to another: there is some free software called Calibre that is rather complicated but can be very good if you are willing to faff about with it;
2. Thousands of older books are available free as e-books from Project Gutenberg. I have made some really good discoveries in this way. Again, you probably need something like Calibre to read them on a Kindle.

With the platform fee, did you perhaps open the ISA and SIPP at different times? The amount looks to me like two fees, and most platforms would give you both for one fee.

bigadaj

currently downloading books from library onto a kindle fire which is working well for me.
I'd say the lottery spend is a waste too, if you fancy a flutter why not put this amount into premium bonds, that way at least you keep your stake and you have a chance of a win.