Terrible August Income Expected
and my plan to deal with it!
Dearest Members!
I’m swiftly approaching August, which has always been my worst month income-wise.
This year, as most of you know, has been going much better for me.
There are so many positives, both financial and in terms of my creative fulfilment. My latest boost has come from calculating my retirement income and realising I will retire very comfortably (more on that in a future post and Youtube video).
The feeling of relief and joy I got and am still getting from having this settled is exquisite. I’ll be sharing more about it because I want to show people they can feel it too, just by putting some simple things in place.
But, but, BUT back to August.
I usually make next to nothing in August.
Everything grinds to a halt and I usually don’t have anything left from previous months to carry over. This year isn’t as bad as that, but I still have some legwork to complete to get me over the line - or more plainly, pay my bills.
In this post I’m going to:
Outline my current expenses
Show you how much of a deficit there is to make up
List my planned spending for August
Explain the actions I’m taking to bring in some extra income
I’ll be keeping you updated with regular posts and threads about my progress throughout August!
Before I start it’s important, as always, to give some brief context and reassurances. I often say this in my Youtube videos when I talk about budgeting and my low income because I don’t want people worrying about me (some of my kindest viewers care a lot!), nor do I want to give the impression of poverty when that isn’t even close to my reality.
If I don’t make enough money this month to cover everything I outline below, it’s okay.
I have money in the bank, I have savings and investments, I am in absolutely no danger of losing the roof over my head or my utilities being cut off.
Not everyone is that privileged.
It is true, though, that I am currently on a below-average income.
In data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this month (July, 2024) the average annual pre-tax salary in the UK is:
£35,828
($46,020USD/ $70,710AUS/ $63,635CAD/ €42,469)
I might make it to half the average salary this year, which I’m actually really happy about because, as you’ll see from my expenses, I can live fairly well on that.
I went on a salary calculator website and worked out that I only need to get myself to an average salary to be able to live a lifestyle where I can do and have everything I currently need and want in life. Another very cool discovery!
In previous years the whole of the summer was my financial nemesis, now it’s just the month of August. This marks progress and the need for some tweaks and adjustments ready for 2025, when hopefully I’ll have ALL 12 months sorted and my lumpy and irregular self-employment income smoothed out over the entire year.
So with all this in mind, let’s take a look at the numbers.
These are my expenses for the month, well, for every month as things currently stand.
There is going to be a small increase to the grocery budget from September onwards, but for this month we’ll still be trying to keep it as close to £200 as possible. In the future it will be £250 a month of which I will pay half.
You can see that I have managed to carry forward some money from previous months. I had hoped I’d have enough to cover the whole of August, but, alas, I have been a wee bit spendy. I’ve indulged myself in buying plants and seeds for the garden and some day trips and have paid most of my share of a holiday that’s booked for Autumn. So as you can see I have to make £332 as a bare minimum in August to cover what’s outstanding for my expenses.
Next up we have my monthly savings and investments.