May 2022 Money Review – I spent how much?!?
Well what do we have here? A May money review! It’s about time 😂. It’s only taken me about three weeks to finally sit down and write this up but you know what they say better late than never right!
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 living in the north west of the UK, where the cost of living is lower than the average. I live in student accommodation where I pay rent termly – this includes all bills. I paid my last rent instalment in April so I am paid up until the lease ends in August.
Now let’s get into the numbers….
SPENDING
Groceries = £36.67
Happy that I am under budget again this month!! I am still being very intentional with my food shopping and shopping my cupboards first. I’ve got back into the habit of not going food shopping until I have literally ran out of options, hence I think I only did two actual shops this month plus a few little top ups.
Eating Out = £27.98
This includes a couple of meet ups with friends, snacks on the go and a cheeky maccies 😍
Transportation = £37.94
Had a minor family emergency at home so this was for a last minute train ticket back to Staffordshire. Thanks to my fuck it fund I was able to buy this without thinking twice!
Entertainment = £21.59
As always this includes book club fees (£1.20) and my Spotify membership (£16.99). I pay for a family plan in return for access to Netflix and Sky, plus my dad pays my phone contract (£8/month). I’m definitely winning in this scenario 😂.
Gifts = £29
This includes two birthday gifts and condolence flowers. Straight out of my birthday sinking fund 🎉
Personal = £6.07
I ran out of dry shampoo in April and instead of being an adult and buying more, I borrowed a housemates bottle. Now like the terrible housemate I am, I forgot to return this and ended up using the entire bottle 🙊. Obviously, I replaced this and bought one for myself at the same time!! I also had to buy toothpaste and lip balm – I swear my products conspire to run out at the same time!
Total = £159.25
Very happy with my spending this month! I managed to stay within my £30/week allowance with the help of my fuck it fund to cover the last minute train ticket. The gifts were covered by various sinking funds that I set up last month 🎉. I really feel being frugal has now become a habit and I find myself not thinking about it that much anymore.
INCOME
Job #1 = £1062.80
Average month at job #1. It’s been very quiet recently meaning I am not getting as many hours as I hoped I would so I’m very thankful my living costs are already covered. As always every penny went straight into savings.
Job #2 = £332.72
A nice little savings boost for very little work. As job #2 is paid monthly I sometimes get paid for shifts six weeks later so it always feels like a little bonus. Especially because I get paid weekly for job #1.
Interest = £1.84
This is a lot higher than usual, simply because I moved my savings from an account getting 0.85% interest to one with 1.5% interest (hello Chase!). This means that I effectively got two interest payments, the usual one on the 12th and another one when I closed the account. Hence, the much higher income amount 🤪
Cashback = £3
Another perk of having a Chase account – 1% cashback on everything! My parents were buying something online for £300 so I used that as an opportunity to test out this perk. The £3 cashback was back in my account within a couple of days. This definitely has TopCashback beat I’m afraid!!
Total = £1400.36
Below average month but that was mostly down to reduced hours at job #1. However, it must be noted that this does not include any income made from BST. I am making a conscious effect this year to run BST like a business, and keep its finances separate from my personal ones. I add any income made throughout the month into a Monzo pot and then “pay” myself a fraction of it at the start of the next month. The amount I “pay” myself depends on how much I make and what expenses I need to pay. I didn’t make a lot in April so I didn’t pay myself anything in May. June was a completely different story – but you have to wait and see for more details on that!!
NET WORTH
I calculate my net worth by adding up the current value of all of my assets and taking away any liabilities. The number left is my current net worth. I check this pretty much daily at this point but only record the value on the last day of the month.
Although in theory my net worth should have increased by £1241.11 (the difference between my income and spending), the market was not kind to my net worth this month 😭. But I suppose that’s the risk you take when you invest the majority of your savings. However, it did still increase so I’m taking that as a win!!
Start of the month = £30,532.56
End of the month = £30,805.47
Here’s to hoping next month is nicer but spoiler alert I’m currently 2k down as I’m writing this (21st June) 😳.
Like this post? Why don’t you check out my other money reviews?
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