I will keep this post shorter than usual as its my birthday!! Along with Easter holidays so I don’t have lots of time to write content. So here it goes!
Yes 29th March is my birthday. That will be 2 birthdays in lockdown, ah well. But I have had a chance to celebrate it as the second stage of mini lockdown release happens on my birthday. I can travel and see up to 6 friends outside. Oh the joy. And travel I will to the beach for my birthday!
My Weekly Spending Diary
Some one off Events – Pension Contribution
Its the end of the quarter and I have assessed how much extra money I have and am able to move into my pension. I chose to move money when I can afford to, and not have a direct debit each month. It works for me and having a self employed income that can vary each month.
I moved £2,000 into my PensionBee pension, and this money goes straight into my Fossil Fuel Free Pension, read all about this here. This money is a transfer straight from my company which reduces my corporation tax bill. Pension contributions are an allowable business expense.
Another One off Event – Annual Car Insurance
I pay for my car insurance in a different way. I do pay as you go insurance with By Miles. This means I pay for a smaller amount up front, this year it was £189 (this also includes £24.99 for RAC Breakdown cover). And then I pay 3p for every mile driven. If you do around 8k miles or LESS each year then you will likely save money with a policy like this. I did 5k miles last year and paid around £100 less than the regular policy I found last year.
This is the second year I have used By Miles. I have definitely saved money in the past year and am really happy with their customer services. If you want to find out more head over to By Miles using my referral link (where I will receive a small payment if you sign up). Or go to this post to read more about how they work.
Food Spends
£146 was spent on food. Made up of £108 on groceries and the remainder with takeaways. This includes £22 on a Mindful chef box for Easter weekend where I have a friend over for dinner in the garden. A lovely follower signed up and quoted my email address as a referral, meaning I saved £10 on this recipe box. If you quote lynn@mrsmummypenny.co.uk as a referrer you will save 25% off your first four boxes!
Therapy & Yoga
I’m never sure whether to include this as personal care or fun money as a category for spending. This past week was very stressful to start with and I knew that I needed to book in a therapy session to nip any negative feelings before they took over. I had my session on Thursday (£100). Totally worth it as I’ve felt positive, strong and happy afterwards. My therapist uses the Human Givens method, which gives quick results. Yoga was £5 on Friday night, which was bliss.
Other Spends
I paid £25 for my cleaner and £10 pocket money to my eldest son. There was a £26 auto-save into my Plum savings. I also had £37 of car costs, petrol and car insurance up to my renewal date.
Total Spends
This means that my total outgoings for the week were £2,540. I know this sounds a lot, but when you take into account £2000 was pension contributions, £189 was annual car insurance and £100 was spent on therapy. Leaving me with regular spending of around £250.
Award Winning Blog
And finally if you haven’t already heard I won an award this week!! Best family money blog at the UK Money Blogger Awards. I am beyond happy and honoured to be recognised for this website.
