June 2022 Money Review
June has simultaneously felt like both the longest and the shortest month ever. I cannot get my head around the fact that we are already half way through 2022, how is that even possible!!
However, it is one of my favourite months of the year as it’s my birthday, the days are longer and brighter and the sun occasionally makes an appearance. But without further ado, lets get into it!
What is a money review?
It is where I share reflections on my finances from the previous month, and detail every penny in and out. I find doing this at least monthly is a good way to stay connected to your finances. Plus I love reading them back in a couple of months!
Why do I share this?
I know it might seem weird to share this on the internet but I truly believe in creating the type of content that I love and I am currently obsessed with seeing what people spend and earn. I also believe that the best way to break the money taboo is to talk openly about it, so here we are! Hopefully you enjoy this type of content too!!
Context
I am a full-time student with a full-time and a part-time job living in the North West. I currently live in student accommodation which we pay for termly and all bills are included in our rent.
SPENDING
Groceries = £32.23
Happy to be under budget again on groceries this month!! People always seemed shocked that I budget such a low amount for this category but in all honesty, it has become almost second nature to me. I only go food shopping when I have run out of options at home, I buy meals that I love so I know food won’t go to waste and I meal plan based on my calendar. This combined with the fact that I often work shifts that span at least two if not all three meal times, means I can stay within such a tight budget.
Eating Out = £58.20
Higher than usual this month because of a few meals out and a lot of snacks on the go. Other than one really disappointing burger, I’m okay with this amount.
Gifts = £97.98
£4.99 of this was spent on a cheer-me up gift (ice-cream <3) for my housemate who fell down our stairs and broke her leg 😫. The rest covered all my birthday related costs – I made a full weekend of it! I usually don’t care about my birthday, but this year was different. I think it was a combination of it being my 21st and not being able to celebrate for the past two years that meant I went a little over the top this year. The most important thing? I don’t regret a single penny I spent on it.
Transportation = £1.64
I needed to buy a train ticket back to my parents’ house to help them move. My dad graciously offered to cover the ticket and sent over £36 to cover it. The ticket came out to £37.64, including the booking fee so I just covered the difference.
Unfortunately, this category is going to be much higher next month because my student bus pass has run out. Now I will have to buy daily bus tickets instead 😫.
Social = £35.15
This was entirely spent on drinks with friends. June was the month that my degree officially finished so I found myself going out a couple of times for celebration drinks.
Personal = £32.66
I have clubbed together both personal and household costs into this one category. This month I bought cleaning bits, toilet roll (our box of 96 finally ran out and we’re not staying at uni long enough to buy another), period supplies (first period in four years – I had forgotten how expensive towels/tampons are!) and some other random toiletries.
Graduation = £95.95
I have put off ordering my gown and trying to find a graduation outfit for about two months. This month I finally got around to ticking this off my to-do list. Well kind of. My gown rental (£39) is sorted and ordered but I still haven’t found an outfit. Towards the end of June, I spent £56.95 on three potential outfits. But these were all horrible so have been returned. Looks like I’m back to the drawing board!
Entertainment = £22.18
As always, this includes my Spotify subscription (£16.99) and book club fees (£1.20). I am considering cancelling my book club as I don’t really participate in the group anymore. The fact that I only pay £14 a year is holding me back from cancelling. When I joined the book club it was free, so when they changed it to a membership group, I was able to lock in grandfather rates. So, if I cancelled it and then decide to re-join in the future, I will have to pay £7.99 per month.
The remaining amount (£3.99) was spent on an eBook that I couldn’t resist buying. Spicy rom-coms will forever be my weakness.
Travel = £159.69
The second I turned 21 I was able to join Trusted Housesitters and start planning my gap year! Honestly, I have been stalking this site since the moment I found out about it about a year ago. So, to be able to actually apply to sits and start getting some booked in was very surreal. Whilst you don’t have to pay the house owners to stay in their house, you do have to pay a yearly membership fee to join the site. There are three different levels, each costing slightly more but with more perks. I went for the middle package which ordinarily is £119 per year but I had a 20% discount code, so I only paid £99. Result!
The remaining £60.69 assigned to this category was spent on a day trip to Windermere. My friends and I are trying to make the most of living so close to the Lake District whilst we still can. Money very well spent!
TOTAL = £535.68
Higher than usual this month but that was to be expected. All the costs relating to my birthday, graduation and travel were cash flowed by various sinking funds. That made up over £350 of the total. So realistically I only spent £180 on day-to-day spending. Over budget but not by a ridiculous amount so I am happy with this!
INCOME
Job #1 = £1146.16
Below average again this month as I’m not getting as many hours as I would like. I picked up a few extra shifts at job #2 across the month so this should even itself out.
Job #2 = £253.75
Decent amount from job #2 this month as nothing out of the ordinary was going on. My pay check will be much higher for the next few months as I have been on a few trips and will be working two stints of night shifts.
Cashback = £3.07
I paid for the Trusted Housesitters membership using my Chase card the make the most of the 1% cashback! This month I also randomly checked my Topcashback account and found I have a balance of £2.08. Immediately withdrew this and added it to my savings.
Bank Interest = £4.67
Very very happy with this amount – all down to moving some of my cash savings to a Chase 1.5% savings account. Think I’ve made more this month than I would have done in a year with my other account.
P2P Loan Interest = £53.66
P2P loaning has been an income stream of mine since January 2021 when I paid for a MacBook for a close family member. She has been paying me back monthly for this ever since. I included the cost of the item on my 2021 spending report so have been classing her entire repayment amount (£45/month) as income.
However, I have recently made another P2P lending deal and I will be recording this one a little differently. I am counting the balance remaining as an asset and classing the interest as income paid. From this deal I will be making £8.66 each month in interest for the next 12 months. This approximately works out to a 13% return on my money – not bad!
Other = £350
I was completely spoilt for my birthday this year and on top of receiving a tonne of thoughtful gifts, I was also gifted £330 in cash from various family members. That made a lovely boost to my gap year fund!
I also made £20 selling show tickets that I bought in 2019 and completely forgot about – not bad really!
TOTAL = £1811.31
Thanks to the birthday cash I made a little more than my average amount this month. As always, all income streams this month went entirely into savings as my living costs are already covered by my student loan – which was paid to me in April.
NET WORTH
Start of month = £30,805.47
End of month = £29,566.83
This is the first month since December 2020 that my net worth has decreased. I have to keep remaining myself that I am in the investing game for the long haul, and it will pay off in time. I just need to be patient and stick to my plan!
So that’s it, another month done and dusted. Hope you all had a lovely June, I would love to hear all about it down below!
Like this post? Why don’t you check out my other money reviews?
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