My Budget For 2020 With The Increasing Cost Of Life
*This is a collaborative post but all thoughts and opinions are my own
Life is pretty blooming expensive, isn’t it? The saying ‘nothing in life is free’ couldn’t be truer. And when you move life becomes that bit more expensive which is why my budget for 2020 is so important. While we’re spending a lot of our lives saving at the moment it’s going to be huge going into the full expenses of a house. We’ve already planned how we’re going to split out money and I’ve done a whole post on it coming soon.
We’re in the process of changing which accounts direct debits and standing orders come out of. And getting us into the position we’ll be in when we move. This means when the mortgage, council tax and millions of bills start coming out we’re prepped. It should be less of a shock to our system but I know I’ll still gulp looking at our account the first time.
How our budget for 2020 is going to change
Our biggest thing for us is going to be paying not just a mortgage but all of the associated expenses of having a house. Council tax, electricity, gas, insurance, TV license, internet and so much more. This won’t come as a huge shock as I was paying all of these things myself in my old flat. But we’ve been shielded from them from about a year. And what a crazy year it’s been
Another big-budget change for me will be on fuel. For the past 2 years, I have left less than a 15-minute easy drive to work. And before then I walked to work for 2.5 years. So going from this to having to commute to work for 19-24 miles will be a change for me. Especially as fuel is quite pricey and has gone up in price more recently. There are a lot of resources which shows the increasing cost of everyday items and fuel is always a big one in it. My budget for 2020 will have to take this into consideration as I don’t want to use all of my money on getting to and from work.
We’ve evaluated all our fixed monthly expenses to decide what we do and don’t need. I moved to a sim only contract before Christmas which has cut about £50 from our monthly budget. And I’ve cancelled a few things like Now TV which we just weren’t getting the use from. We’re in a position now where we’re happy with the fixed expenses in our budget for 2020.
Ways to reduce spending to save money
To compensate for all of the expenses 2020 will bring we will be making changes to reduce our spending. I have been much better with my spending on clothes and haven’t spent much over the past few months. Once we move I’ll have full access to my wardrobe again (and easy access to see it all) so it should reduce it even more.
As we’ll have full kitchen space (and freezer space which we don’t have) I’ll be able to do more batch cooking. This should save money on lunches as I’ll always have something I can take into work. And it should also mean we’ll always have food in so we’ll be less tempted to grab a takeaway.
Does your budget for 2020 look different from last years?
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21 responses to “My Budget For 2020 With The Increasing Cost Of Life”
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Rhian Westbury
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I wish I could budget! Impulse buying has always been the problem for and some things I can’t just resist. I probably do not need a huge pack of donuts every time I visit the shops but hey, I love donuts!!
hmmmm – this year after a chance convo with a heating engineer we did what he said which was to have the heating lower and constant – rather than wait till you wanted to boost it high – and that has worked to keep costs down as that in the winter – the fuel bills always seems to be more and more expensive – that has been a welcome change and will stay in place for 2020 and beyond!
When my partner first moved in with me in my old flat this is exactly what he did in the flat and it saved quite a bit of money x
I love this post! I hate having to spend money on bills, I am a total Scrooge in that sense and we only ever have lights on in the room we are in and conserve as much as possible. Although heating is the one thing I will never scrimp on, I love being warm! Good luck with 2020! I too will be cutting back a bit on nonsense buys – the glittery special offers that literally fall in my basket – no more! Sim x
Yeah impulse spending is tough isn’t it?! x
I need to set my budget for 2020! I bet the change in commute will be very strange for you but hopefully it doesn’t affect your budget too much!
Yeah it’s going to be tough but I just need to get into some sort of routine with it x
Adjusting a budget can be hard, we are having to do the same currently as we are getting married in December and we are just finishing off some huge renovations.
It is amazing how much you can save when you really need to and how do-able it is.
Well done and a great post x
Yeah we have a wedding to begin saving for as well and you’re right its’ amazing how much you can cut to save realistically x
My biggest issue has always been eating out. On days where I am too busy or tired, I’m usually quick to order take out and that adds up so quickly! This year, I wanted to focus on saving money in that area so I started buying in bulk, making a list of everything I purchased then looking up different recipes and having that ready for the week. Just a little bit of preparation has helped tremendously and I am saving hundreds of dollars every month now! You seem to have a good plan, good luck to you!
I want to do more bulk cooking when we move and I have the fridge/ freezer space as having more food in should help me not want to order take away x
The cost of living is definitely hiking up every time I top up my fuel I always lament at how only a few years ago a full tank was £35 now its £46
The cost of living is increasing and I am always looking for ways to save money, every year I am always on comparison sites looking for cheaper options
There’s always deals to be had and although it can be time consuming it’s worth it if you can save some money x
I hate having to budget all the time but it is a sign of the times. It’s shocking how much things have gone up over the years.
The cost of living has gone up. I have actually filled in the tank of my car for the first time this year, after spending most of January away from home and not using the car, and I was shocked on how much the price of petrol has gone up since December. It’s crazy!
Yeah we’re so tempted to go electric whenever we get a new car as fuel is pricey x
The costs of everyday living keeps going up and up. With everyone having to make savings from other areas of their lives – such a juggling act.
Great post. The costs of everyday living seems growing. I need to try to save more.
This has definitely inspired me to look at what I’m spending . I am terrible with budgeting and impulse buy all the time
Thank you for sharing these tips. 2020 hasn’t started off in the best way financially for us and I’m looking at ways to reduce my spending.