All change for 2025

Justcrackingonwithit

You have done so well, really inspirational.  Here's to this time next year looking back at our diaries and our plans and thinking how well we've done.  Happy to share the journey with you x

jwil

I've just renewed our house insurance for another year.  Our renewal quote went down which is a positive!  The same happened with my car insurance too.

Happy New Year's eve to everyone.  I doubt I shall see midnight!

jwil

Justcrackingonwithit said:

You have done so well, really inspirational.  Here's to this time next year looking back at our diaries and our plans and thinking how well we've done.  Happy to share the journey with you x

Thank you   Let's hope this time next year we are all celebrating what a good year we've had

Justcrackingonwithit

I'm sure we will be @jwil
Hope you had a lovely new years eve, mine was a quiet one.  Not much planned for today, hopefully a NSD. Have a good day x

jwil

Justcrackingonwithit said:

I'm sure we will be @jwil
Hope you had a lovely new years eve, mine was a quiet one.  Not much planned for today, hopefully a NSD. Have a good day x

Thank you, quiet one here too.  Have a good day x

jwil

A nice PAD to start the new year

Jan - £13

jwil

Happy New Year!

I didn't stay up but woke up around 10 to midnight so saw all the fireworks.

It's absolutely chucking it down outside so I don't think we'll be making our annual New Year trip to the seaside today.  Hopefully it will be better at the weekend so we can go then.

A quiet day lies ahead.

jwil

Declutter update:

1115 - 1129. Clothing
1130. Lego set
1131. Socks
1132-1133. Toy cars
1134. T shirt
1135-1138. Baubles
1139-1144. Pans
1145. Christmas cards
1146-1163. Diecast
1164. Pen
1165. Underwear
1166. Ipad case
1177. Wallet
1178-1184. Pens
1185. Scales
1186. Hardcore
1187. Mattress
1188-1191. Toy cars
1192. Train

Declutter totals: 

Magazines/papers: 103
Other: 1192

Total: 1295

Ebay listings: 123
Ebay parcels: 159

Survey/other earnings:
Amazon: £30
Paypal/cash: £388.92
Other vouchers:£0

jwil

Spending in 2024.

This is the first year I've tracked all my spending.  I didn't make any particular effort to reduce spending so this is a true reflection.  These are the results.  Let me know any thoughts on where I can cut down.  I want to be more frugal this year.

This is everything I spend and that which comes from our joint account so all joint bills.  It doesn't include anything that DH spends from his accounts, including any groceries he buys.

Monthly spends:

Groceries: £522 (includes delivery saver payment, and anything I buy from supermarkets/food stores including toiletries, cleaning, non food).  I'd like this closer to £400

Entertainment: £148.88 (includes NT membership, 2 weekends in Cornwall, all days out, meals out etc)

Mortgage: £600 (includes c.£35 overpayment)

Council Tax: £176.08 (actually pay £214 over 10 months)

Water: £84 (Rated value, actually £102.22 over 10 months - I still haven't done anything about moving to a water meter)

Electric/Gas: £137.08

School: £125.59 (This was an eye opener!  Includes lunches, clubs, after school club, trips, all the random requests for money)

Clubs: £45.09 (Swimming, brownies etc.  Should be less this year as both have given up swimming)

Mobile phone: £12.17  (mine and little jwil's phone credit)

Telephone and internet - £82.39 (Out of contract at end Feb so will haggle. Also includes Prime membership and various streaming sites)

TV Licence: £13.25

Clothing and shoes: £70.61 (Me and the kids including school uniforms.  More than I'd like it to be)

Health: £39.85 (Includes dentist for me and the kids, opticians, new glasses this year and any other prescription/medical costs)

Gifts: £147.28 - (birthdays/xmas for DH and the kids, plus 16 family/friends, also any kids parties etc)

Car: £137.12 - (Insurance, fuel, MOT, Service, repairs, also new windscreen this year)

Insurances: £36.91 - (Home, life, dog's trust membership)

Pets - £81.29 (This stopped after April when we lost the cat, mostly the costs of the vets bills when she was ill (£917).  DH covers the dog costs)

Miscellaneous - £913.44 (This is my general spending, pocket money for little jwil, but also includes all the work we had done on the house - electrics, new taps in kitchen, replacement bathroom, plastering.  Also replacement TV, sofas etc.)  Without those big spends it is around £206 per month - still too much! 

I'm going to carry on with this in 2025, but will replace the 'pets' category with a 'house' category so I can keep any of those jobs separate from general spends.

NeverendingDMP

jwil said:

Spending in 2024.

This is the first year I've tracked all my spending.  I didn't make any particular effort to reduce spending so this is a true reflection.  These are the results.  Let me know any thoughts on where I can cut down.  I want to be more frugal this year.

This is everything I spend and that which comes from our joint account so all joint bills.  It doesn't include anything that DH spends from his accounts, including any groceries he buys.

Monthly spends:

Groceries: £522 (includes delivery saver payment, and anything I buy from supermarkets/food stores including toiletries, cleaning, non food).  I'd like this closer to £400

We definitely spend more than this as a family of five so I think you are doing well, I also want to get our costs down too though. Such a big chunk of the expenses isn't it. 

Entertainment: £148.88 (includes NT membership, 2 weekends in Cornwall, all days out, meals out etc)

I don't track all my categories but tbh you enjoy going out as family time so it's worth it.

Mortgage: £600 (includes c.£35 overpayment)

Council Tax: £176.08 (actually pay £214 over 10 months) 
We are pretty similar. 200 a month for ten months.

Water: £84 (Rated value, actually £102.22 over 10 months - I still haven't done anything about moving to a water meter)

Family of five and we are on a water meter. We are paying £70 a month but we haven't yet hit the kids wanting to shower continuously stage which I'm dreading as it will then go up probably. The house had a meter when we moved in so we had no choice. My parents recently swapped though and they have halved their bill by now being on a meter. I've found the shower to be a bigger culprit than the bath

Electric/Gas: £137.08 -

i need some tips, are you in a well insulated house or are we just very wasteful. Our d debits is currently set at 235 a month and we have no spare credit!

School: £125.59 (This was an eye opener!  Includes lunches, clubs, after school club, trips, all the random requests for money)

Again I haven't tracked but if I had I'm at least that maybe a fair bit more. 3 kids compared to two though. Crackers isn't it. I've reduced ours by not doing the hidden things that school have now moved online. Eg raffle tickets. 

Clubs: £45.09 (Swimming, brownies etc.  Should be less this year as both have given up swimming). 

We used to be 23 each for swimming 10 a month each for brownies type groups so v similar. We have recently quit all of them though they have asked about new stuff instead. I think you are paying an expected price.

Mobile phone: £12.17  (mine and little jwil's phone credit) 
Seems fair
 

Telephone and internet - £82.39 (Out of contract at end Feb so will haggle. Also includes Prime membership and various streaming sites)
I reckon if you haggle you will get this down a bit. Ours is sixty odd for internet, films on now tv and the dreaded amazon 

TV Licence: £13.25

Clothing and shoes: £70.61 (Me and the kids including school uniforms.  More than I'd like it to be)


Health: £39.85 (Includes dentist for me and the kids, opticians, new glasses this year and any other prescription/medical costs)
I budget similar. Paying for glasses is so unfair budget wise isn't it!

Gifts: £147.28 - (birthdays/xmas for DH and the kids, plus 16 family/friends, also any kids parties etc) 
I upped my budget to 160 when I went full.time so pretty similar. Again I also wish it was lower


Car: £137.12 - (Insurance, fuel, MOT, Service, repairs, also new windscreen this year)


Insurances: £36.91 - (Home, life, dog's trust membership)
I'm in awe. 36 a month for home insurance here.  Life insurance 21 each dog insurance about 18. 

Pets - £81.29 (This stopped after April when we lost the cat, mostly the costs of the vets bills when she was ill (£917).  DH covers the dog costs)

Miscellaneous - £913.44 (This is my general spending, pocket money for little jwil, but also includes all the work we had done on the house - electrics, new taps in kitchen, replacement bathroom, plastering.  Also replacement TV, sofas etc.)  Without those big spends it is around £206 per month - still too much! 

I'm going to carry on with this in 2025, but will replace the 'pets' category with a 'house' category so I can keep any of those jobs separate from general spends.

I've commented but overall I think you are doing well. Have u tracked it yourself via spreadsheets or statements. Just being nosey. I'm pretty sure my eyes would be wide open if I did similar. The grocery challenge is a good one to motivate reduced costs as some of the ideas on there and the budgets people keep to are amazing.