2013 round up, what I spent my money on

So, because I am a big planner, below is the breakdown of where our money went throughout the year.

Overall we went over budget just slightly. Having had a look at our break down we spent a lot more than expected on our health fund. I had a few trips to some specialists, I also fell down a flight of stairs (I am aware of my clumsiness) and my husband injured himself at the gym a couple of times so unfortunately the physio was a regular trip. Along with that the protein powder and supplements were pretty expensive. We have since changed where we get them from and the costs have reduced by about half.

Our overall house budget was slightly over, and due to the water issue ( I have written about here), the body corporate costs were higher than anticipated in order to get that fixed. We also spent a little bit extra on house repairs than we budgeted for. Last year we painted the house, and bought a new couch. That would be the main reasons for this cost, and given they are essentially one off expenses, this should come back into line next year.

The spending money is the money that we each get weekly to spend on whatever we want. For me, this sometimes includes clothes, makeup and jewelry so I know that I actually do spend more on clothes than is outlined above. Other than this, the main expense I have is going out for meals or a coffee here and there.

My husband definitely buys fewer clothes with his spending money. During the year he saved some of his up to buy new snowboarding gear for our upcoming Japan trip and brewing equipment. As well as that, he too enjoys going out to a meal most weekends.

Our holidays take up a large percentage of our take home pay but I am more than happy for that to be the case. During the year we went to Bali, Stradbroke Island, Noosa, Melbourne, Sydney and we are going to Japan in January 2014, so most of that was paid for with this money.

And…..we killed it on the home loan, which always makes me happy. Essentially we put 1 person’s income completely into the loan and investments, and live off the other person’s income.

So based on this, what will I do differently in 2014 with my money?

I have re-jigged the budget and reduced the overall spend by about $1,000 only. Whatever was over budgeted was revised down slightly, and whatever was under budgeted was revised up. Overall though, I think we managed to create a very realistic and manageable budget. Based on what we actually forecast, we came in at 103% of budget. Not too bad at all. Slightly over, but hey, I can’t complain. The 3% over just had to come out of the home loan money, but because we pay over and above anyway, this didn’t affect us too much.

Throughout the year we took a fair few weekends away, which was fun, but we intend on cutting those back slightly next year and focusing on day trips and surfing instead.

We recently increased our weekly spending money so that has been accounted for too. We had not revised our spending money for about 2 years so figured it was time to give ourselves a pay rise.

The proof!

Here is my living breathing example of a working budget. You may gawk at some of the figures and wonder why I spend so much money on protein powder, but that is what is important to me. If some of you decide you need to spend 10% of your income on paperclips, then hey, if you have the money to do that, I am not one to judge.

It’s just about making the room for what is important in your budget.

I can now go into 2014 with my new budget and know that I have every expense catered for. I am happy with my overall position and also know what areas to keep an eye on.

Take aways from today

–       The overflow fund is necessary. I have spoken about that here and here. We use it every year. Without this, our budget would have blown out.

–       Generally health care is expensive but necessary. If you don’t have your health, I think everything else lacks. Spending the money in this area is never a problem for me, it is worth every penny.

–       Give yourself fun money. This guilt free money makes sticking to our budget super easy (ok maybe not super easy, but definitely easier).

So what about you? Have you looked at your budget or created a new one for the coming year? Maybe this post will inspire you to get your money in order.

Happy holidays to everyone xx

– This post is from our resident senior financial planner, Cara Brett. Check out her details in our about us page.

Posted in: Financial Planning and Cara Brett