My December spending diary
As part of my Money Monday series this year, I have kept a finance journal looking at how I spend my monthly money.
This is the last month of my spending diary series. Looking back through the last year has been an interesting exercise. I love using both the spending app together with Monzo. It’s a fantastic way of keeping track of my spending, but also it helps to understand your spending behaviours.
Week 1:
The fact I am not earning is starting to kick in now. Despite my budgeting, money has been slipping out of my hands for various reasons. Just going into London costs me £20 every few days, and it’s so difficult not to buy a coffee when you are in London for hours at a time (let alone a tipple or two!).
Week 2:
My grandmother died this month, so I went home to be with my mother. Travelling without buying advance tickets means that I had to buy full-price tickets, which set me back at £62.40. Going out for Sunday lunch was lovely as we spent time together, which cost us £32.10 for both of us. I also took my mum to the ODEON cinema in Bournemouth, where we watched Last Christmas. A beautiful story, which really resonated with me. I treated us both to reclining seats at the front of the cinema, as we rarely ever go together.
Week 3:
A trip to Croydon Orthodontics set me back £238 this month, which had been committed to a couple of months back. A big expense on my part, but I have been trying to work on myself both mentally, emotionally and physically before the start of the New Year!
Week 4:
I went down to support the Choose Love store in London to take pics and also see how I could help in some small way. I bought a kit from the Shelter range, which means that a wash kit will go to someone in need. I also bought myself a T-Shirt so I can wear it to promote their cause further.
Surviving Christmas
Christmas present wise. I bought my family presents over the last couple of months. My mother and I had bought my nieces and nephew present when we were together, which was fun. I had an amazing Lucky Voice karaoke set which I gave to my brother’s family as a joint gift—anything else I bought off Amazon. My mother keeps losing her glasses, so I bought her the most beautiful glasses holder. I bought myself a blogging content diary which was a present to myself. I love stationery and wanted to give this blog another boost in the New Year!
Looking back at this month
December has been a mixed bag. I have been minimising all costs where possible, but it’s Christmas! I met with a couple of friends but I had no Christmas parties. No spending or hangovers, at least.
