It's budget fun time!
Andy and I keep a budget in excel. We make a best guess at what life will cost (based on last year) and then we live our life. I think rather than "budget" I track "where our money went".
We track expenses but not income and take a monthly snapshot of our cash position to make sure we are not going bankrupt slowly or quickly.
Here's where our money went in 2025:
Groceries (10%). Online grocery order, butcher, local shop. Occasional alcohol if Andy and I are drinking together or having wine at home. We try to buy sustainable and organic and so probably spend a lot more here than we could. But we also try to buy on sale and don't each much meat. Overall, food costs what it costs.
Andy and Rachel Fun Together (1%) We started this category last year because it was our 10 year anniversary and we both turned 40. We had fun together, we went out to eat, we went mountain biking. We went climbing. It was a good budget item.
Bills (20%) Includes gas, electricity, council tax, car tax... all the bills. about 50% of this is our mortgage, which we are trying to overpay but still have at least 5 years left.
Dining Out (2%) This is mostly cafes for lunch or coffees. Dining out is only applicable if we are eating with other members of the family - if we eat out alone or with friends it's a hobby budget item. And if we eat out together then it's a "fun together" item. We went out to lunch once this year (as a family) but we do go out to a coffee shop with the kids fairly often.
House (4.5%) We thought of the house things we wanted to do and then did a bunch of other things last year. We got a new washer, we replaced our bath panel, we bought a stupidly expensive bin (trash can) because it fits the exact space and has 3 compartments for our new multi-recycling system. We split the cost of trimming trees with our neighbour. We got a new hoover, and we built a ground frame for our outdoor slide. There was a lot of house expense.
Clothes (2%) We just don't buy a lot of clothes. But also... we look like we don't buy a lot of clothes. We sort of want to spend more here because both Andy and I can look a bit un-put-together. I buy all the kids clothes second hand and manage a very complicated clothing rotation system but I don't have good luck second hand clothes shopping for me.
Misc (1%) This is basically photo albums, holiday cards, and stamps.
Transport (2.5%) This is petrol, parking, train or bus tickets, and some bike things for Andy's commuter bike (and his waterproof commuting jacket)
Rachel & Andy Hobbies (7%) Hey, we had a lot of hobbies and a lot of fun this year! We intentionally gave ourselves big allowances this year. I sometimes get apple music, I sometimes get massages, I sometimes go swimming, I go to the gym, I buy new running shoes. It was a bumper hobby year for Year of 40. We expect to spend less in 2026.
Entertainment (1%) We usually get Disney+ or another streaming service in the winter. This also covers entry to museums, our castle membership, and other entertaining things (theatre tickets etc)
Kids (3.75%) This is stuff just for the kids, like swim lessons, tennis lessons, if we go to soft play or something that is mainly for kids.
Child Care (33%) This is insane to me. Here's an article about how childcare costs in the UK are the second most expensive in the world. And here's a BBC article about how childcare in Wales is more expensive than the rest of the UK. I realize we have 4 kids and a nanny and a bunch of childcare, but we also still barely make it work with being in work. I feel so lucky I have a job where I can afford childcare, and I also feel that having a the resources to have a job (as a woman) shouldn't be something I have to be grateful for in 2026.
Gifts (1.5%) This year I decided to be more generous with gifts for people. I don't know if I feel like a better person because of it, but I do feel like I've spent less mental energy on gifts now that I'm not trying to buy to a budget (ie if I see something someone will like I buy it for them). Or if someone at work is leaving or having a baby I'll just give them £5 or £10.
Health & Personal Care (1.75%) We have the NHS and a lot of healthcare is free (as long as you can wait 20 years) but some stuff (dentist) still costs money. Also toothpaste and vitamins etc go here. And my haircuts and hair dyes because if Andy would learn how to cut hair then I wouldn't need to pay someone to do it for me. I cut everyone else's hair (although my hairdresser sometimes cuts my daughters hair for free because she is lovely) (my daughter and my hairdresser are lovely)
Holiday (8.5%) We booked A LOT of travel for 2026! We have already booked France in Feb (me and the big kids), Portugal in March/April, Austria (just Andy and big kids), Camping in July. Also, last year we went to Sweden! Andy took Ezra to Birmingham and I took Lily to Bath overnight. And our Christmas away was also not cheap. But it's all fun, and I'm super excited for holiday times. !
Do you budget? Do you try and stick to certain amounts of spending or do you track what you spend or neither? Do you have budget goals?
Woo hoo another sweet, sweet slice of the money pie!!!
ReplyDeleteI do exactly what you do - I track where the money goes, and I try not to spend it on stupid stuff. As you know, you're in a high spend phase of life right now, and it is what it is. One day 33% of your spending will not be for childcare, but right now that's what it costs.
I don't tend to budget. Like you, it's all about tracking (I actually do track income, too and have a master spreadsheet with "net worth" that includes our chequing, various investments, estimate of our house worth, etc).
ReplyDeleteChildcare is SO expensive. I remember the last time we made a preschool payment and feeling so. much. relief. My daughter is flush with cash from babysitting lately and I was just thinking today how much it costs to have someone watch children (now she is on the flip side and benefitting). It's an exhausting, busy job to watch kids but also... so dang expensive. We now have heavily subsidized childcare in Canada and so it's pretty close to the Scandinavian system (like $15/day I think) which is AMAZING! It didn't happen until after my kids were out of that stage, but I'm so, so glad and think it was overdue in coming!