My October spending diary
As part of my Money Monday series, I am going to give a breakdown of my October spending diary. All automated payments leave my account on the first day of the month. Use this opportunity to also save a little bit of money, if you are in a position to.
Week 1:
September marked the end of my full-time employment. It’s more important than ever to budget, knowing that I no longer have a salary coming in.
Reduce credit cards
Two credit card repayments (£250 X 2) leave my account. One final Barclays loan repayment of £236.88 means that my loan is paid off. It’s such a great feeling!. My only debt is now two credit cards, which I need to reduce and not run up again.
Pay off debt
I decided to pay my NHS Pre-payment certificate in full so there would be no more monthly payments leaving my account. One of the perks at work had been a Vitality subscription. I had taken out a loan for an Apple iwatch which linked to their health app, which cost £191.28 to pay in full.
Increase savings
I transferred some money into my Virgin Money Savings account. Not only does it offer higher interest than most banks. It’s an online save account which I hide it from myself, so I can’t access it unless in an emergency.
Invest in yourself
I decided to invest in a desk and chair for my bedroom – both from Amazon. I also bought a Himalayan Crystal Rock Salt Lamp for £13.99 (reduced from Amazon), which helps to idionise the air. It’s supposed to be good for asthmatics.
Week 2:
Stephen Bailey and I had a breakfast date at The Breakfast Club, Croydon (£18.56). It’s been a while since we have had time to catch properly. With the weather changing. I decided to buy some winter shoes from Primark, a cap and skirt (£31.00). Their winter clothes and shoes collections are fantastic this year and so cheap!
I decided to go home to visit my mother and grandmother again. Return tickets to Bournemouth cost £60.90 because I didn’t pay in advance. I managed to catch up with my friend again in Bournemouth. As the weather resembled a day out of an apocalypse, we drank wine indoors catching up, although I spent £76 throughout the day on cocktails and wine. Joys of talking to best friends.
Week 3:
Great week for networking with other bloggers this week. It’s amazing how much just travelling around London, grabbing coffees and eating out adds up. I returned to Primark to buy some red winter boots (£10.00 as I returned the skirt which had a faulty zip).
Week 4:
I bought myself personal business cards to give out at networking events this week. A friend of mine works at Kindred, who were sponsoring the Social Influencer show. He kindly put me on their list to attend. A free Facebook event #shemeansbusiness followed. I met one of my best friends from University in the toilets! We decided to all go for dinner and bubbles afterwards to discuss running our own businesses. An amazing few days, which set me back £29.50 in daily expenses and a £14.95 taxi home with Kapten as I don’t like travelling back home late by myself.
Week 5:
I promised a dear friend of mine that I would celebrate Halloween with her. She happened to be dj’ing that evening in Maidstone. Heading to the Party Superstore in Croydon. I chose a nun’s outfit costing just £19.99, but I spent an additional £12.98 on accessory items. A return ticket to Herne Bay cost £37.70, before spending another £30 at the bar. We had the best Sunday Roast Dinner in a place called Sandwich, which my friend treated me to, before heading home.
Knowing I had no salary now coming in at the end of the month, it was time after the weekend, to look at how I could minimise my monthly outgoings and try not to spend what I left with.
I pulled together a budget planner and set aside money to pay off debt – money on myself – with money set aside for essentials like rent – and an emergency fund.
Allocate Monzo weekly pots
I allocate myself a weekly budget of £100, which I set aside creating weekly pots of money using my Monzo app. However, it’s important to leave credit cards at home so not to start running them up again when you do this! I have found this to be a really effective way of understanding how much I spend and how much I start to borrow off my future self.
Let us know how October was for you in the comments below: