Monthly Budget - August 2025

It's been an interesting month financially for me. I really didn't anticipate at the beginning of the month, that by it's end I would have left my job and lose the income from that, but sometimes life does throw you the odd curved ball and you just have to run with it. I made a conscious decision that I am responsible for, so I just need to get on with it.

I took LB on a promised trip to IKEA in the first week of August and treated us to a very inexpensive lunch out. I resisted the urge to buy much instore, but did buy a couple of glasses for £2. I did, however, spend a bit of money in a nearby Home Bargains, mostly on food and household stuff. I also paid a visit to a favourite charity shop and spent £13 there.

It was after this that things shifted at work. To be honest, this made me a bit more careful with regard to spending, although I did visit a local charity shop and spend £30 in the couple of weeks that followed. It was a last splurge for me, as I knew that if I left work my spending habits would be changing drastically.

Once I'd made the decision to leave work and handed in my notice, my spending became a lot more careful. I did buy a few Xmas gifts using my staff discount before I lost it and I went to a car boot sale after leaving work and spent a small amount of money, but other than buying a few small things for craft projects and a set of new sofa covers for £35 on eBay, all of my spending was on food or household items.

As a consequence, my monthly spending came in at the lowest it had been all year to date, which just goes to show that I can rein it in when absolutely necessary. I could have spent less really, so I could bring it in even lower, if I resist all urges, but realistically having a few small treats here and there does make life more enjoyable.

I don't live an extravagant lifestyle, so there isn't much to cut from the budget, but I will need to find areas where I can cut expenditure going forward and the obvious place will be spending on clothing and any non-essentials. Whilst I've been earning money, I've not thought twice about spending money on things, if I saw them and liked them.  I mainly buy second hand, so I'm not talking large sums at all, but that will have to cease or be reduced dramatically going forward. I'm okay with that though. Besides, I have plenty of clothes, I don't really need more, I just enjoy fashion and buying new things. If I can't afford them, I can't buy them. Simple as.

I can't lie and say that I don't have any anxieties about my finances going forward, it is always nice to have spare money that you can save and put aside for future plans, but for now that isn't going to be possible, so I just have to get on with life as it is. Xmas is covered, thanks to my putting money aside each month for the past 8 months, so that's one less thing to be anxious about, but I will be very careful with regard to Xmas spending this year and intend to be a lot less frivolous than usual.

I did manage to put some savings away for the month of August, for the last time in who knows how long, so it was a good month in that respect and there was some money left over to spread over the next month or so to take the pressure off needing to find a job immediately. I also won £50 on the Premium bonds which got reinvested, which was lovely.

Going forward, next month shouldn't be too expensive. I don't have any major birthday gifts or expenses on the horizon. I do have my credit card bills to pay from August spending online, but I will be making sure I don't run up my credit cards, as much as I have done in the past, to keep bills to a minimum. There will be some things that I put on there, i.e. gym classes, eBay purchases (usually only for craft), other occasional online purchases if needed, but these will be greatly reduced from now on. 

The vast majority of my money will be spent on food and household purchases only and maybe the odd small treat if the budget allows.  We'll just see how it goes. I am going to put aside £35 per month towards a couple of bigger gifts I need to give next year for a family wedding and a 21st birthday. Spreading the cost will make it more managable, just in case I don't find another job.

I may round up some savings balances by very small amounts, just to put something into savings, but that will be as much as I can manage. I will be receiving some dividends from some shares I own in September, but that will really be the only substantial thing that will get added to my savings this month. I'm grateful for this though, as at least it will be something.

It's going to be a challenge, but I've got plenty of time on my hands to shop around for the best deals where I do need to buy anything and I can spend time making things instead of buying them, which should be fun and also take time to look after the things that I already own, which should keep me occupied. Some activities and pleasures in life don't cost money, and peace and balance are the most important things in life, so I'll keep you posted with how I get on.