The Reckoning 

So the final reckoning this month sees us able to put around a third of our income into savings which is a great result ! The grocery challenge was very successful with spending of £93, including MasterShoestring's school lunches. This was helped by the fact that for over half of the month the schools were on holiday, so he ate cheap leftovers for lunch rather than school dinners. With school back and GCSE examinations next month I think the grocery budget will go back up to normal, which is around £170 a month. If I can keep it lower I will as there are still plenty of courgettes, apples and berries in the freezers and rhubarb to come !

The school holidays also meant that we underspent on the PETROL and TRANSPORT categories of the budget, but that just means that we have something saved towards those months when it is a bit more expensive. The high savings rate was also helped by the fact that there was no Council Tax this month. That will start back up again in May and will be £14 a month more expensive so I shall have to re-jig the budget at some point.

Medical expenses were quite high this month as I bought eye drops and vitamins at a bulk rate, so that meant a large outgoing in one month to save in the ones to come. We also spent quite a bit on getting the vegetable garden ready, but this is budgeted for and will save us money on food costs later on in the year. (Fingers crossed that the wet snow predicted for today does not harm the seedlings already in the ground! We have covered them with fleece but cannot remember a year when it was this cold so far on in the spring.)

Next month we have 4 family birthdays and a new broadband and telephone deal to find, fingers crossed we can still make it a thrifty month !