2008 Budget Overview

The first year and a half that I lived in the UK, I went into debt.  Big debt.  Good debt.  I was doing my MA and then starting a PhD, so I had overseas tuition as well as living expenses.  I had saved up, but it wasn't nearly enough.  The Bank of Mom and Dad has been generous, but starting in 2008 I knew I had to start making some income to off-set my living expenses.  Luckily, my tuition is covered by a scholarship but I still needed money for rent, utilities, groceries, and a little bit of fun.  So, I got some jobs and started tracking my expenses (somewhat).

So here's the breakdown:

Rent: £2751.68

Bills: £398.30

Phone: £50 (£40 pay-as-you-go, £10 Skype credit)

Groceries: £703.25

Other (Cash payments): £380.16

Clothes: £284.75

Entertainment: £59.48

Gym: £69

Gifts: £48.41

Visa Renewal: £295

Travel: £498.55

Total Expenses: £5538.58

Notes: The travel includes some compensated travel and the compensation has been included in the income.  The cash includes some groceries, some travel, some entertainment like drinks, movies, bus fare, cabs, etc.  

Income: £5095.67

This income includes all scholarship money, incidental payments, but doesn't include payment for teaching I did in 2008 that won't be paid until the end of January totaling ~£600.

This means that I have successfully covered my costs!  I am very pleased and inordinately proud of myself.

The place where I could most benefit from improvement is tracking the "Other" category.  As I compiled my expenses from my online debit account, I only have records for cash withdrawals, not how they were spent.  This year, I would like to try to track these expenses more carefully so I can see how my spending breaks down in more detail.

I also want to get a credit card in only my name in order to build up personal credit.

Well, I'm sure I will update this as things go, but as it stands, I'm pretty pleased.