Going Outs – Expenses

Going Outs is what I call Expenses.

^{Anything you spend money on is an EXPENSE. Your Savings Are Savings.}

^{– Praus Life Finance}

What is Included in the Expense Category?

1. Life basics – housing, food, clothing, health, transportation, basic communications – are the essence of any Spending Plan and form the basics of the Expenses category.
2. Insurances
3. Giving
4. Taxes – especially for self-employed and those with side hustles
5. Fun times – events, restaurants, weddings, subscriptions
6. Subscriptions – cable television, mobile, newspaper, netflix, etc
7. Personal Care – hairdressers, foot care, etc
8. Gifts – Birthday, weddings, Christmas etc
9. Personal Developments – courses, therapy, etc

In the U.K. we are blessed to have free healthcare (excluding dentist appointment and minimal payment for prescription medication). That said all other expenses needed to maintain life has to be included in your budget/Spending Plan.

When developing your Spending Plan ensure that the Life Basics as highlighted above form the basics of your plan.

Housing

Let us talk about housing as it forms part of your major out goings. For housing the items to look at are:

1. Mortgage / Rent
2. Council tax
3. Service / Maintenance Charges
4. Utilities – gas, electricity, wi-fi + telephone, water + wastewater
5. Home (Content and Building) Insurance

Transportation

Another major expense for those who travel out or into London for work on a regular basis.

1. Season train ticket cost
2. Season car park ticket cost
3. Bus travel cost
4. MOT & Road Tax
5. Car Insurance
6. Fuel

Tips

1. List out everything (category) you spend money on.
2. For items that are paid on annual basis, we will cover this in Sinking Funds.
3. Find ways to cut out unnecessary expenses BUT you have to list them out first to know what.

Today’s Task

List out all your expenses for the month. For those items that are paid on annual basis, split these into 12 and add that to your monthly expenses.