A New Budget

So yesterday I spent some time looking at what we have actually spent this year compared to what I predicted in June. Then I altered the budget categories and checked that we can still manage on the monthly amount I have allocated.

I put up the Petrol, Transport, Insurance, Utilities and Clothes categories and down went the Medical and Car Repair categories. Dental and Food stayed the same.

By checking so regularly I can have advance warning whether we need to earn more money or cut expenses and it also means that I can save for the big annual bills, like home and car insurance. It is much cheaper if you pay these all at once rather than using the company's 'budget' plan as they charge you interest on these. The only exception I have  is paying for the Gas and Electricity as we already get a discount for taking dual fuel from the same company and for paying by direct debit, so paying gusing the budget plan is actually cheaper than getting a quarterly bill based on consumption. However, I shall be re-examining this at the end of Winter 2019. If we end up with a surplus with the energy company then I might switch back to quarterly bills as I'd rather keep my surplus cash then have it kept by the utility company and have to claim it back.

The good news is that in spite of lots of prices going up, the increases have been balanced out by savings in other areas so we are still doing fine !