... Was a line given to me as a teenager by my late father, which has taken about 25 years to sink in. Sink in it has though, and my current income verses outgoings probably as good as it's been since I was renting a room in a house with 4 mates for 80 quid a month back in 2001.
It's fair to say I've not looked at money as something to collect, and the amount of travel, holidays, big weekends, and greenery consumed has severely impacted my savings over the years, not to mention funding a child (now teenager), I don't live with - as is required by law in the UK.
At present though, with lockdown, and other factors discussed via the chart below, I'm doing alright and hoping to keep this gig rolling for most of 2021.
Planned Expenditure for February 2021
The total expenditure for February is looking like just under 1000 Euros. 975 Euros is currently 887 pounds, or just a smidge over 1200 USD.
As a non-house owner with a child to cover, I think that is pretty cheap. I am in the fortunate position of squatting (with permission) at my mothers apartment in Mallorca, Spain. A small apartment she bought 5 years ago and has yet to live in. Not only that, my work recently agreed (and just in time too!) to give me the opportunity to trial working fully remote, in a country where they have no business presence.
I see this as a golden opportunity to collect some fiat before either the trial ends (should be OK if I can make it legal), I can't get residency, my mum kicks me out, or something else I've not thought of, whilst I earn GBP and get an hour in the sun at clocking off time.
As you can see from the chart above, the main outgoing is Child Maintenance. I will occasionally bitch about this cost, but understand it is mostly fair, even if the person I pay lives in a 4 bedroom house and drives a BMW. In a few years the legal obligation ends, but no doubt I'll be coughing up cash to fund clothes, wine, etc. - at least it will be paid direct.
Without rent, a car, any loans, additional taxes (until April), fuel, and bought ladies, next on the list is the essential item, Food! 40 euros a week is ample if on a tight budget, but this allows for the odd salmon steak and bar of chocolate.
Bills are next, and with 100 euros I can cover gas (almost nothing), electricity and water. Working out each day means a second shower - more electricity and water, but I'm willing to pay not to smell my pits all afternoon. There is the shower by the pool, but screw that at this time of year (although could be an option from June to September) if being a total tight-arse.
Other expenditure covers wine, beer, bog-roll, lightbulbs, Amazon Prime, and more items not worth categorising. I'm not drinking for much of the week, although by Thursday the brew is calling, mostly in the form of a bottle of 3.89 red at present - not really blowing the saving plan at that price. The same bottle is close to 9 euros in the UK!
Internet, and only 4g at that is a bit of a pisser at present. These apartments are old and were somehow dodged when the cable van visited the area last year. I'm hoping to half this cost and 10x my connection speed in the next month or two.
Next up, protein powder! Two packs last me a month and Amazon deliver for free - minus the monthly bill. Powder is cheaper than eggs, egg-whites, tuna, and pretty much any other core protein source, plus they taste alright and are the main constituent of my breakfast - I would pay double.
My fairly new phone, the Samsung M31, has a kickass battery and two sim card slots. I pay 10 quid a month for a UK card, and 10/15 (based on previous months usage) for the Spanish sim. for a total of 24 GB of data and free calls in Europe, I am ok with this total.
So there it is, my monthly costs - which I consider to be pretty good going for the western world. I think I'm currently in quite a fortunate position, and hoping to make up for many years of not looking after the pennies.
Enjoy the weekend,
Asher
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That's looking pretty good to me.
No rent, what's not to like there!
It is a real winner. 660 quid + 125 council tax in the UK was my bill prior to moving, a huge amount extra to be stacking each month :)
Looking good Asher! Great to see your shiney self blogging along. All the best to you!! Enjoy that beach 💕
Thank you Jill, nice to see you :D
You're welcome! Thanks so much ✌
Sounds pretty good to me! Have a fab weekend. It's going to feel like -4 here on Sunday apparently. If we had a bit of snow to go with it I wouldn't mind but that aint on the cards. 😢
I'm beginning to climb the walls with this lockdown.
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-4 😨 It was 20 here at 2pm, shining right through my balcony door whilst I had lunch. I wouldn't come back for 100k pay-rise!
Hopefully by April things will be better, both weather-wise and covid. Keep well :)
It was gorgeous here today too, although not 20 obviously. Very springlike though. But the freeze returns tomorrow. The weather's not a problem for me. In fact the swells on the beach have been mesmerising but the lockdown is starting to get to me.
!ENGAGE 10
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Are you allowed out for walks though? We are locked down here too apparently but shops are open (not pubs) and people are out and about socialising in the street. I think the police have given up on managing it, more onside with the fact we need to socialise relatively safely and just get on with it.
!ENGAGE 25
We're allowed out for one walk per day. But I get really bored walking along the seafront, unless the sea is doing something interesting. I've done that walk thousands of times. Best thing is when I bump into someone I know and can have a chat with a different person.
A bit of snow is forecast for tomorrow and I'm hoping against hope that it happens. Anything for a change.
It's really rare to get any here though and it rarely lasts more than a couple of hours. But the forecast is for small amounts all day so fingers crossed!
!ENGAGE 20
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ENGAGEtokens.ENGAGEtokens.ENGAGEtokens.You seem to have everything under control! Loved the last item on that checklist :))) You know what they say... "No money no honey!!!" 🤣🤣🤣
😁😁
And in the toilets of the clubs - no spray no lay 😬
Alas, no clubs are open and it's all going in the bank!
hello dear friend @ abh12345 good afternoon
Excellent post, You are right in saying that it takes more than twenty years to assimilate the advice of our parents to manage money, something similar happened to me, now they are my children who see me surprised when I talk to them about how to handle money, they also It will take another twenty years to assimilate them.
I see that now you are a good manager of your money and your expenses, your plan sounds very good. Success dear friend
I take this opportunity to wish you a splendid weekend, that you enjoy it a lot
Yep, I agree - I hope my daughter is smarter than I.
Thank you for the kind words, have a lovely weekend.
Nicely done. I'm getting the white picket fence experience, and paying through the nose for it.
It's only fiat though, so who cares, right?
They look nice though eh? And stop passing dogs from dirtying the lawn I guess.
Fiat still has its uses, how long will that last though? :)
I remember when my mortgage was scary. Now with the printers going brrrr; and interest rates almost zero, not owning would be much scarier.
Yeah, it is :) Hoping to rectify that in the next year or two.
Can’t take money to the grave.... Spend it while you can and make those memories that are so important.
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I spent some of it loosing my memory :) But yes, you are right, I've done my fair share of memory creating so a year or two with a tight purse is what's needed now.
No rent and no taxes. That is truly a spectacular option, those are my biggest budget eaters.
I'm also thinking on how to move away from my current work city. Last year since covid started in march I have worked fully remote from my single studio in the city. It is horrible, because my home studio was only selected because of location, in the end my time in there was only for sleeping, no need for space, nor good view, only to reduce commute time and now I never go to the office.
I'm taxed on payday I guess, but don't have others to pay, yet.
Sounds like a great reason to move! Quality of life is worth so much as it is, but if you can earn and be somewhere more relaxing then that'll be so much better. As your employer and crack on :)
Buenos días
This looks like a heaven, (except the first expense), but we have to take into account that you (learning from this post)
So you are lucky, as you can cut back as much as you can.
Now, living in a family of 3 and not having where to live without paying the rent changes a bit the situation.. We just pay for the rent of the apartment + electricity + water + internet the whole amount you will spend in February. No way to find a cheaper one in my town.
Teenage son + husband + me leads to the next inevitable expenditure: food for three, medication, gas, son's music education, my autónomo fee and we are exceeding already 2k 🤦🏻♀️ not to mention some unexpected things, that always happen.
🤣🤣
Buenos días :D
Ouch, things do seem quite tight for you financially. I hope you can find some ways to earn a little extra and receive less of those unexpected things.
I was using the pool shower a lot a few years ago, why not?! :D
Not bad idea the pool shower, I know. I just don't feel comfortable myself 🤣 all the balconies looking to the garden with the pool.
My parents in law, when visiting us, always want to do that, hahah, we usually don't let them, but they don't listen to us 😜🤣
Yes, not pretty good, and my earnings halved when this corona stuff started..so we use now some savings we had from before, earned when we had opportunities to work more.. but life is good🧘, sun is here ☀️, and this crypto thing has some better future ( hopefully 😉 )
You can do a quick shower then swim in the pool and then have a longer shower, then it looks normal? :)
Corona has been so bad for economies, yet could well have been a key driver to send Crypto flying - hopefully we are in the right place to benefit :)
I do hope as well :-)
What is the weather today in Mallorca? We woke up to see everything covered with a thin layer of red sand (Sahara
sand)
Is the Sahara sand a good omen?
It is warm but overcast here - the sun is trying to burn through but failing so far!
Not so good..as the air is not clear and everything is dusty ...the cars, streets, pools ( and pool showers ;p )
I would be very happy with that. At present I drop 1100 on the 1st of every month just for the mortgage and car loan. Then the bills come in.
I'll have to have a sit down and see where I can trim it. There is a lot of room to do better like yours.
That is a fair whack, but pretty essential.
I'm living pretty basic at present, and it's fine as the world is closed for business. Let's see how I can keep it going for.
Sounds pretty thrifty to me; I'm just happy for you that you get to continue staying in Spain and working on this "trial" basis!
Housing is usually what eats most people's lunch, and you're fortunate to not have that... we're lucky, too, that we own our house outright so we have no mortgage/rent payment, or we would probably not be making it.
Keep on keepin' on, and enjoy that Mediterranean weather!
=^..^=
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Thank you!
Yeah I'm still calling it a 'trail' to try and reduce the disappointment should things not work out. I will be very pissed off if the party ends!
It is a dream to have no mortgage, well done there :) 10 more years of this (unlikely!) and maybe I could buy a small place.
Cheers!
Gotta have that protein powder!! Your costs are pretty good. Mine are bigger but I spend a fortune on food that my kids don't eat :0D
Which means you get to eat it - I hope they off the baby jars though, they are rancid!
Could never bring myself to buy them, looked like little ampules of barf!
I can confirm they also tasted like barf!
Lol whores.
Someone was paying attention :D
Always mate.
Working fully remote is awesome! Keeping those expenses to a minimum helps to create options with the savings later too.
Yes it does - I'm hoping I find some good options to invest :)
You can take your lovely one hour of Sun and jolly well enjoy it! We're about to get slapped by the ice cold glove of Doris (or some storm beginning with D) the next week. "Feels like minus 8" coming this week!
Hope you get to extend your stay out there and avoid the stench as best you can 😁
I saw reports of brassic temps arriving, and it made me feel more confident in my decision to get stressed the f out for 3 months but finally escape. Wrap up!
That is looking pretty good! Hopefully you can do some stacking for a bit, as well as get out and have some fun. I wish my outgoings were like that at present.
Covid must be screwing whores over.
The oldest trade in the book is suffering I am sure.
Stacking time it is, at current prices I could whale-up at the end of the year, but I'm hopeful there is no need for that.
The headline of this is a favorite maxim of mine, except I prefer to put it as "it's not how much you make, but how much of that you keep."
That works nicely also. And it is really true, just a shame I took so long to figure it out!
It took longer than I would have liked for me too. But here's another maxim that helps me cope with that:
The best time to plant a tree was decades ago. The second best time is right now.
Car loans fuel whores. Hahhahaha I laughed so hard Asher hahaha
😁
Got to try to put some humor in an expenses report!
Good to see you around champ.
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Cheers and ditto :D
You know what's sad? My "phone" is higher than your "food" (In CAD) Canadians have the WORST telcom industry.
Damn!
That's a lot to be paying to stay connected. Why?
Get rid of the kid mate, he's sinking you :D
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LOL!
Naa, she's a star and worth every penny :D
Haha I'm sure she does.
OR you can make her a sports professional, best investment ever ;)
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She's a fine swimmer, but that is one competitive and time-consuming sport. Not sure she has the drive to make it to the top. Could marry a rich bloke though at some point? :)
Ah that's an even better solution hahaha.
Swimming is very very demanding to make it to the top... so much sacrifice.
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Dude! Even as a student in mid-west United States, I have spend more than that! $1200 is insanely cheap.
Adopt me! :)
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Waht topics can be posted using Leo Finance. Finance related topics / materials. 🙏
I think you answered your own question :)
That's one thing. But was that correct. 🙏
Looking good Asher.
No rent to pay... that goes straight to savings... hehehe.
Here in the US the rent accounts for about 1/3 of income (and it is greater than that, then you are in trouble!
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The situation seems to be under control.
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No house (mortgage, rent), no automobile (car, fuel), so no business conduct with whores?
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Busted :D