I had really good intentions last week to spend as little money as possible in preparation for a very high spending couple of months. I thought I had done okay, but now having just completed my spending diary spreadsheet I haven’t.
July and August are always high spending months. And this year even more so. The summer holidays start earlier this year, Friday 16th July for us in Hertfordshire. And with the world now open it will be a high spending summer with days out and keeping the children amused.
I have a wedding early July, plus a weeks holiday to Cornwall late July with the boys. For both I am staying with my sister but I still have to pay for travel, food and everything else during those times. The first expense paid this week was a train ticket to Penzance for the wedding. It was £135, I’ve never paid so much for a train ticket. Sad times. Driving would have been much less, but I just couldn’t face yet another long car journey by myself.
So back to my spending, a week where I intended to spend as little as possible but the world worked against me.
Dishwasher disaster – Flooded Kitchen
My dishwasher fitting and delivery has been an ongoing disaster and it got a whole lot worse on Wednesday. I decided to follow the instructions given to me by the delivery guys, on how to turn off the water supply and plumb in the dishwasher. Turns out the stopcock, wasn’t the stopcock for the water supply and I suddenly had water gushing everywhere. And I couldn’t stop it.
I panicked and called everyone I knew to come help, eventually and after my kitchen had flooded someone had the idea of switching off the water outside of the house. A plumber came later in the day to fix the broken (as I found out) stopcock and also to fit the dishwasher. £50, which I know is really good, a friend, but still £50. And I also had to shell out £50 for a dehumidifier to clear the water that now sits festering under my kitchen units.
I am in discussion with AO about compensation for the mis-information given to me when they delivered the said dishwasher. Hopefully they will give me £100 to cover my expenses.
2 Years After Paying Off £16k of Credit Card Debt – What has Happened
I celebrated my two years of being debt free last week, and wrote a post sharing what ha happened since I paid off that £16k of debt and if I have managed to stay debt free. Its actually much better than that, as I have achieved a lot as well as staying debt free.
A Horrible Anniversary That Impacted my Emotional Spending
This week it was the anniversary of my mums birthday and death day. She was born on 24th June 1935 and died on 26th June 1993, just 58 when she died far too early. I was 16. I re-shared this post last week, the day my life changed forever.
Looking back at my spending last week I can see a few things that relate to those few days of feeling emotional. There is a new official merchandise George Michael shop and I bought a few things, spending £89. A friend dame over for dinner on Saturday and I spent a small fortune on wine and aperol spritz. It’s always a very hard time.
More Spending Diary Detail
I have already mentioned train tickets, flooding costs and George Michael merch purchases. Just those three account for £300 of spending.
I also spent £141 on food, mostly groceries as I did no eating out last week except for a coffee meeting my friend Heather for a long over due catch up. I spent £43 on petrol, that seems to have shot right back up again in cost, I’m sure a year ago fuel was costing me £35 to fill up my tank.
Personal care took a bit of a bashing this week with a trip to dentist, where I was told I need three fillings, total bill of £110 which I know is not much for that much work, I have a great NHS dentist. I paid £26 towards it this week. I also needed some cream from the chemist, hair dye and shampoo, spending another £28.
£41 winged its way into my auto-savings with Plum. I am going to withdraw some of that money this month, I have £1200 saved up there from a years worth of auto-savings, to cover our Norfolk mini-break and Manchester weekend away. It was always intended to cover holiday costs.
Total Spend for Last week
So that means my total spend for last week was £610. I was shocked when I saw it was that high, and feel a bit depressed about it. June has been a really high spending month – £4,300 so far has been spent by today 28th June (plus another £1,500 went into my Pension) . My budget is £3,000.
I have had an unexpected emergency expenses this month, £500 dishwasher cost and flood expenses. And holidays have cost £700. Dishwasher costs covered by my emergency fund, always grateful to have that safely there. And my holidays are covered by my Plum auto-savings.
But the great thing is that I am aware and have the money set aside to cover the extra expenses.
Buy Now Pay Later – In The Media
I did an interview with the new news channel GB News last week and talked about Buy Now Pay Later firms including Klarna and ClearPay. These companies make me angry and I cannot stand these companies and their marketing tactics praying on the vulnerable. I wrote this article last year about what they are, how they work and how they are sadly becoming an option that many are turning to to finance little purchases.
Free Food
I had a second Earth & Wheat Delivery last week and my freezer is now packed with bread products that otherwise would have gone to waste. I love this company, a great way to save money and save the environment. Sign up here and save £3.50 on your first order. This referral amount has gone up since the last time I shared!! (I also get £3.50 credit applied to my account)
New Podcast – Busy Women
Last week on the pod Bec and I talked about Busy Women. How we must prioritise rest and sleep. And how I have made the four hour day possible.
And finally Trev returned
Trev, the adventurer returned home after a 6 day trip. To where I do not know. He does this often, goes off and then comes home, always very hungry and clingy, although never thinner. I guess the mouse population nearby has taken a hit.
