January Money Breakdown – How I Spent £1,789.22

2022 is now way underfoot, one month down, eleven left!! I have decided to start sharing my monthly financial reviews in long format content rather than just on my instagram as I would find this complete breakdown more valuable than a pie chart! So without further ado here is my January money review. A complete breakdown of how I spent £1,789.22 – I do also share my income at the end 😉

Spending

#1 Essential = £1370.84

My essential spending in January can be split two separate categories – groceries and rent. I pay my rent at the start of each term, instead of monthly or weekly. In my case, it works out as three payments of £1330, plus £570 which we had to pay upfront. These payments are inline with my student loan payments, both of which are paid on the same day. So this money is in and then out of my account within the hour.

For groceries, I have a loose budget of £40/month. I spent £40.84 in the month of January so not bad at all. Plus I have been doing weekly Monday shops this month so I have already brought the food for the first week of February 😜

#2 Subscriptions = £18.19

I have used Spotify Premium for about five years now, pretty sure it began with one of those 3 months for 99p deals 😅 It is something that I use every single day without fail and cannot seem to give up! I even got my entire family on the Spotify train! For the first two years, I was paying for family version of Spotify Premium until I moved to uni and my dad took over this charge. In December, I decided it was probably time for me to contribute a bit more and took this £16.99 monthly charge back on.

I also have a monthly subscription to a book club but this is only £1.20 each month. This includes an online yoga class each month so if I only attend this I feel like I’ve got my moneys worth 🤩

#3 Pre-saved = £273.44

At the start of each term, when I get my student loan payment, I plan out what I have going on and budget for these things. I make separate pots (currently using the vaults feature on Revolut) for each event/occasion and add a budgeted amount which I will then use to cover the costs. In January this included a trip to Manchester for a friends wedding and going home for my mums 50th birthday.

Budgeting this way means that I can still spend on things day-to-day without worrying about being able to cover that big thing coming up! It also means that I can plan ahead! £26.50 of the pre-saved spending in January was on a train ticket and hotel room for an event I am going to at the start of February.

#4 Variable = £126.75

This category encompasses all other spending – such as eating out, alcohol, books you name it! In January I spent £43 on shopping – that is more than my 2021 shopping total 🙊 But this did include a costume for my works Christmas party and a dress on sale which either I or my mum will wear to a wedding in April. I also spent over £25 on skincare but I used money that I got from Christmas so does this really count??

The rest of the money was spent on eating out (£23.55), books (£7.47), household bits (£6.50), gifts (£7) and drinks (14.10).

TOTAL = £1,789.22

When I first saw this total I was at a loss to how I spent this much but once broken down it really isn’t that bad! The majority of my spending was either on rent or pre-planned for so not terrible. The extra £129.75 that I spent was mostly down to shopping and some Christmas shopping.

Now its only right that I also share my income with you – to really put my spending into context!

Income

January’s income can be broken down into 5 different “streams” some much bigger than others!

#1 Student Loan = £2,961.09

Student loans are paid out in three instalments over the academic year, mine are paid in October, January and April. In this instalment I got £2961.09. As discussed above 45% of this automatically was “spent” on rent. I sent 20% straight to savings and separated the rest between various sinking funds and an allowance pot.

I find the easiest pay to make a student loan last is to set yourself paydays with a set amount. This way you will not fall into the trap of living like a queen in week one and surviving on tinned soup the week before the next instalment.

Last term I was able to give myself £50 per week to live off – but this was before I started

#2 Job No.1 = £1048.72

I have worked this job full time since May 2021 until the middle of January 2022 when I finally went part time. I have been saying I will go part time since October 2021 but never did! This is my final term of teaching for my undergrad degree so its kinda a big deal 😅

The total amount is made up of both wages and any tips that I have received throughout the month.

#3 Extra = £192.18

The extra category is for those things that don’t warrant their own category so I club them together instead. This month I received £180 from my sister – I lent her £900 about a year ago to buy a laptop that she needed but couldn’t afford at the time. She has been paying me back ever since.

The rest of the total is made up from finally cashing out on Topcashback (£12.18) – whilst not a tonne of money this is money that I would have otherwise spent! Going through a cashback site is my number one tip for shopping online!

#4 Job No.2 = £42.44

My second job is very flexible and seasonal, meaning I can go months without a single shift and then all of a sudden have an influx of opportunities. In January I got paid for a mini shift and compulsory training I did at the start of December. This income stream is always a nice little boost but not something I can rely on for consistent income.

#5 Interest = £0.75

This is so sad! Interest rates are still at an all time low but 75p is better than nothing I guess! Currently, I am investing the majority of my money to avoid shitty interest rates and beat inflation.

TOTAL = £4,245.18

Decent income amounts this month, especially the grand from job no.1 even though I was part time for half the month 🎉 My income for the next few months will be much lower than this!

In January 2022, I spent 42% of my income – the remaining 58% was either saved or invested. So in theory my net worth should have increased by £2455.96 this month but this is not the case! In reality it only increased by £959.71 due to the current stock market conditions 😭. But I am in this for the long haul so I need to stop obsessing about it!

So that’s it! That is how I spent £1,789.22 in the month of January 🤩

Enjoyed my January money review? Why not check out my other breakdowns…

2020 Review

2021 Review