May was a very good month income wise, it was also a good month for our sinking funds as the extra income meant that we could cashflow more of the garden work!
These are all fairly self-explanatory costs but I’m going to explain some of the higher ones as.
Here is our Budget Report for May 2019
Income
Charlotte/Dean – This is the amount we both pay into the joint account each month from our wages.
Sidehustles – Any money made during the month that isn’t our usual income.
Everyday Rewards – This is a monthly bonus our bank pays if we hit certain criteria.
Sidehustles
BebeMakes – May was an amazing month for our Etsy shop, we had a rush on orders of our personalized water bottles and marble makeup bags which meant a lot of work for us but also a lot of reward!
Blog – You might have noticed it’s been a bit sparse post wise here on the blog the past month! This is mainly because I’ve been very busy with side hustle work so not much earned from the blog this month.
eBay – Dean sold a big guitar amp on eBay this month which put a nice chunk of money into the budget (and subsequently straight to the next phase of the Extreme Garden Makeover)
Rent/Utilities
Nothing really fluctuates here month to month, I think Bulb might be going up a tiny bit next month as we’ve had to keep the heating on a lot longer into the year than we usually would – hopefully the summer is a long one and we can keep it off for as long a possible!
EE – We seem to get a little bit lower on this each month but I think we’ve plateaued out now. I know it seems extortionately high to some people but that’s for both our phones and a LOT of data as I use my phone to tether the computers too at our warehouse/workshop.
Envelopes
I think I’ve finally got a handle on things again! It would always be nice to reduce the numbers a bit more but this is a comfortable and easy to maintain level for us. The only thing that sometimes catches us out is the Misc category but I made sure to keep a bit better track on it this month.
Misc – The main bulk of Misc spending this month was on Amazon but it was for bits I needed for the garden. I bought one of those magic extending hoses (which is actually really good!) and some fertilizers and feeds for plants which I used to pot on some of the new plants I got and I’ll be using a lot of it when the planters are done in the garden. We also spent £20 with the Kennel Club to renew our Kennel name and £17.95 on getting some keys cut for the house. I also used the Misc envelope to stock up on some medicines for the medical box and bought a new mop.
Lifestyle
Train – Used the train once this month, it rained as I walked from the station, don’t like getting the train.
Insurance & Tax
Dog Insurance – Back to normal this month with dog insurance.
Subscriptions
No change here.
Sinking Funds
I think this is the biggest chunk of money we’ve put towards the garden in one month so far! After chatting to Dean about our sinking funds hes suggested that maybe we don’t need so many going forward (I might have been a bit OTT with them!) I think I’ll be taking out House Maintenance and white goods replacement next month as they are both categories we could cash flow if needed.
