Jan

3

where did my money go last year?

Filed Under budget | 10 Comments

Whilst I was working out my net worth, it occurred to me that I could consider all the money that I made last year and try to figure out where it got spent. Note that everything below is approximate.

Income

Coming in to my bank accounts, in 2007 I had:

  • Job - £26,000 ($52,000)
  • Stock Option - £14,000 ($48,000)
  • Gifts - £1,000 ($2,000)
  • Employer Pension Contribution - £800 ($1,600)
  • Side Income - £650 ($1300)

A grand total of £41,600 ($83,200). Oh that is an awful lot of money, where on earth did it go?

where did my money go last year

Expenses

Tax

  • Tax & NI on Salary - £7,500 ($15,000)
  • Tax & NI on Stock Option - £5,500 ($11,000)
  • Tax & NI on Side Income - £140 ($280)
  • Council Tax - £500 ($1,000)

Loans

  • Student Loan Payments - £1,000 ($2,000)

Investments

  • Stocks and Shares ISA (like a Roth IRA) - £1,000 ($2,000)
  • Work Pension (DC - like a 401(k)) - £400 ($800)
  • (Useless) Stakeholder Pension - £1200 ($2,400)

Savings

  • Cash ISA - £2600 ($5,200)
  • Other Savings Account - £500 ($1,000)

House

  • Deposit - £10,000 ($20,000)
  • Fees and Moving Costs - £3,500 ($7,000)
  • Furniture - £140 ($280)
  • DIY Tools and Supplies - £350 ($700)
  • Rent - £2,250 ($4,500)
  • Mortgage Payments - £3,000 ($6,000)
  • House Insurance - £560 ($1,120)

Miscellaneous Bills

  • Phone (inc Internet and Mobile) - £550 ($1,100)
  • Gas and Electricity - £700 ($1,400)
  • Disability Insurance - £300 ($600)
  • Charity - £350 ($700)

Holidays

  • Brussels - £300 ($600)
  • Washington DC - £700 ($1,400)

Gifts

  • Total - £450 ($900)

Blogging

  • Total - £100 ($200)

Spending Money - this includes clothes, groceries and random stuff

  • Total - £4,500 ($9,000)

People that are handy with a calculator will note that I spent just under £6k more than I earned last year. The extra money was withdrawn from my savings and is basically the money above my stock options that I invested and spent in buying a house.

I’m not sure what I’ve learnt from this as last year was such an unusual year for my finances. I think that I need to track my random spending to see if I can cut it down (which I’ll be doing by using a cashback debit/credit card). I’m also planning to increase my savings and investment money, assuming that I get any sort of pay rise in April.

Would anyone like to suggest where I might like to spend my money in 2008?

Edited to add approximate US$ conversions 

Oct

18

planning for christmas presents

Filed Under budget | 8 Comments

So, this is a good time to start thinking about buying Christmas gifts for your nearest and dearest. As the purveyor of stories about personal finance, you might think that I had no time for giving away my wealth in the form of expensive Christmas presents. You’d be half right. I set a great deal on getting the right gifts and I have a reasonably large set of siblings to buy for. I don’t spend a lot of money though.

One of the most important things that I learned growing up is that it is important to be fair. To allow me to be fair with Christmas gifts, I give each person in my family gifts of approximately the same monetary amount. I have a total budget for Christmas, and more or less divide it equally between this year’s recipients.

What are your plans for Christmas presents this year?

Oct

16

cash burns a hole in my pocket

Filed Under budget | 9 Comments

I think I’m doing pretty well on the frugality side. I’ve trained myself not to spend money using a card. For my general spending, I have a cash only budget - this is supposed to cover food, entertainment and everything that comes under miscellaneous. For actual purchases, clothes, household items, gadgets and gizmos I use a card. I should really say, I’m loathe to use the card. I hate spending money on it, it feels like I’m moving away from my real goals and so on.

Cash is different though. It burns a hole in my pocket. It calls out to me from the depths of my wallet and says “spend me, spend me”. I go through cash much like I go through water. I don’t know if its the way that I account for it - for tracking spending purposes, I consider it spent the moment it leaves the cashpoint. Maybe its that the categories for which I use cash are just my weak spots, and I would spend more on them regardless of mode. Or perhaps its that using cash for all my small purchases makes them feel trivial, and ignores the fact that a lot of little amounts tend to add up to a big amount.

Regardless of cause, I’m always running out of cash at the end of the month and I’d like your suggestions, ideas and examples on how I could improve things.

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