{"id":50,"date":"2023-01-30T15:50:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T15:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aimingforfire.com\/?p=50"},"modified":"2024-03-10T17:46:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-10T17:46:40","slug":"getting-to-grips-with-my-outgoings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimingforfire.com\/getting-to-grips-with-my-outgoings\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to grips with our outgoings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So my first step in sorting my finances out is getting to grips with what we spend per month and working out if I can make some savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m married and our finances are fairly intertwined, we have a joint account which all the bills get paid from and then our own separate bank accounts for personal expenditure. So the costs you see below are for both of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a not-so-exciting few hours with a spreadsheet and my bank statements, I came up with the table below which shows everything we currently spend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expenditure 2023<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t
<\/th>Monthly Cost \u00a3<\/th>Monthly Cost $<\/th>Annual Cost \u00a3<\/th>Annual Cost $<\/th>Payment Date<\/th>Category<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Council Tax<\/td>\u00a3166.67<\/td>$206.25<\/td>\u00a32,000.00<\/td>$2,474.97<\/td>5th<\/td>Utilities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Now TV<\/td>\u00a311.99<\/td>$14.84<\/td>\u00a3143.88<\/td>$178.05<\/td>28th<\/td>TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amazon Prime<\/td>\u00a36.58<\/td>$8.15<\/td>\u00a379.00<\/td>$97.76<\/td>August<\/td>TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple TV<\/td>\u00a36.99<\/td>$8.65<\/td>\u00a383.88<\/td>$103.80<\/td>4th<\/td>TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Disney+<\/td>\u00a36.66<\/td>$8.24<\/td>\u00a379.90<\/td>$98.88<\/td><\/td>TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TV Licence<\/td>\u00a313.25<\/td>$16.40<\/td>\u00a3159.00<\/td>$196.76<\/td>3rd<\/td>TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple iCloud<\/td>\u00a32.49<\/td>$3.08<\/td>\u00a329.88<\/td>$36.98<\/td>7th<\/td>Subscriptions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Microsoft 365<\/td>\u00a35.83<\/td>$7.22<\/td>\u00a370.00<\/td>$86.62<\/td>21st Feb<\/td>Subscriptions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Food Shopping<\/td>\u00a3600.00<\/td>$742.49<\/td>\u00a37,200.00<\/td>$8,909.89<\/td><\/td>Food<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mobile Phone (SIM only)<\/td>\u00a315.00<\/td>$18.56<\/td>\u00a3180.00<\/td>$222.75<\/td>5th<\/td>Internet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ISP (Broadband+TV+Phone)<\/td>\u00a350.00<\/td>$61.87<\/td>\u00a3600.00<\/td>$742.49<\/td>15th<\/td>Internet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
House & Car Insurance<\/td>\u00a343.11<\/td>$53.35<\/td>\u00a3517.30<\/td>$640.15<\/td>September<\/td>House<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Car Road Tax<\/td>\u00a324.17<\/td>$29.91<\/td>\u00a3290.00<\/td>$358.87<\/td>September<\/td>Car<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Parking Permit<\/td>\u00a312.30<\/td>$15.22<\/td>\u00a3147.60<\/td>$182.65<\/td>June<\/td>Car<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Car MOT<\/td>\u00a33.33<\/td>$4.12<\/td>\u00a340.00<\/td>$49.50<\/td>September<\/td>Car<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Car Running Costs<\/td>\u00a350.00<\/td>$61.87<\/td>\u00a3600.00<\/td>$742.49<\/td><\/td>Car<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Annual House Maintenance<\/td>\u00a330.00<\/td>$37.12<\/td>\u00a3360.00<\/td>$445.49<\/td><\/td>House<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gas & Electricity<\/td>\u00a3133.62<\/td>$165.35<\/td>\u00a31,603.44<\/td>$1,984.23<\/td>4th<\/td>Utilities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Water<\/td>\u00a30.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td>\u00a30.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td><\/td>Utilities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pet Food<\/td>\u00a325.00<\/td>$30.94<\/td>\u00a3300.00<\/td>$371.25<\/td><\/td>Pets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pet Insurance - Dog 1<\/td>\u00a322.81<\/td>$28.23<\/td>\u00a3273.72<\/td>$338.72<\/td>June<\/td>Pets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pet Insurance - Dog 2<\/td>\u00a317.60<\/td>$21.78<\/td>\u00a3211.20<\/td>$261.36<\/td>May<\/td>Pets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vet Bills<\/td>\u00a330.00<\/td>$37.12<\/td>\u00a3360.00<\/td>$445.49<\/td><\/td>Pets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dog Walker<\/td>\u00a348.00<\/td>$59.40<\/td>\u00a3576.00<\/td>$712.79<\/td><\/td>Pets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dentistry<\/td><\/td>$0.00<\/td>\u00a30.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td><\/td>Health<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Discretionary - MAFF<\/td>\u00a3400.00<\/td>$494.99<\/td>\u00a34,800.00<\/td>$5,939.93<\/td><\/td>Discretionary Spending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Discretionary - Jon<\/td>\u00a3300.00<\/td>$371.25<\/td>\u00a33,600.00<\/td>$4,454.95<\/td><\/td>Discretionary Spending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
III<\/td>\u00a338.00<\/td>$47.02<\/td>\u00a3456.00<\/td>$564.29<\/td>14th<\/td>Pension Fee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Holidays<\/td><\/td>$0.00<\/td>\u00a30.00<\/td>$0.00<\/td><\/td>Discretionary Spending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n
TOTALS<\/th>\u00a32,063.40<\/th>$2,553.43<\/th>\u00a324,760.80<\/th>$30,641.12<\/th><\/th><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Expenditure Pie Chart 2023<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Aiming<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Some Explanations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’re not from the UK then some of the expenditure items might not be familiar to you so let me explain some of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council Tax<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a mandatory fee charged by the local council to anyone who owns or rents a home (unless you’re on benefits). It varies depending on the value of your home and by council region. It pays for things like; refuse collection, street lighting, infrastructure, education, parks, libraries etc. etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TV Licence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is also a mandatory fee if you watch live TV or record BBC programmes. Basically, the money goes toward paying for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) which is an ad-free national\/quasi-state TV\/Radio company.
Its existence is somewhat controversial and it has been debated quite often by different governments to scrap it. In today’s age of streaming TV services from the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, Sky etc. then it is somewhat of an anachronism but unfortunately, at the time of writing, it is still a thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s just call it something eccentrically British. To add to that eccentricity, the fee is significantly cheaper if you have a black and white TV (can you even buy a black and white TV in 2023?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Road Tax<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you own a car in the UK you have to pay road tax (as well as insurance & have an MOT). Its original intention was to pay for the building and maintenance of roads. In practice, these days, it goes into government coffers and is used to pay for whatever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Every year, for cars older than 3 years, your car needs an inspection to make sure it is safe and roadworthy. This check is called an MOT (Ministry of Transport Test) and there is a fixed cost for it (you obviously have to pay extra for any work that is required on your car to make it pass the test).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parking Permit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This isn’t a common expenditure in the UK, but I live in a city centre flat with on-street parking and the council charges you for a residents parking permit. The price is based on the CO\u2082 emission level of your car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observations & Actions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There’s obviously a lot of work required here. I’m surprised by how much we spend per year. Given the average earnings in the UK is approx \u00a328k per year, which is \u00a322,871 after tax, we are spending more than the average person earns. I know there are two of us, but given we don’t have a mortgage or rent to pay and we don’t exactly live a lavish lifestyle, it seems a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m going to go through all of this in detail over the next few weeks and work out where money can be saved. Below are my initial thoughts and I’ll update the post as I come to more conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change Our Joint Bank Account<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that became apparent when working out all my outgoings was how time-consuming it was to calculate them all. Our joint current account, where most of the bills come out of, is with First Direct and their app is rubbish. It doesn’t easily allow you to categorise things, you can’t set spending alerts, budgets, instant spend notifications or anything like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the first job is to move the joint account to a bank that has better functionality. Luckily both MAFF (Mrs Aiming For FIRE) and I have personal accounts with Starling Bank which does have all this kind of functionality. Opening a new joint account with them was easy (literally took 2 mins). Now I’m just waiting for the debit cards to arrive and then I’ll use their switching service to transfer all the Direct Debits etc. from our old First Direct account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the new bank account has been running for a few months, I’ll be able to categorise all my regular outgoings e.g. the various supermarkets we use can all be categorised under ‘food’. This will make things much easier to keep an eye on going forwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bulk of Our Spending<\/h3>\n\n\n\n