Monthly Budget 2020

A while ago I did a breakdown of what an average month looks like for me and thought it would be interesting to compare how things look today. My life several years ago was pretty extreme. I was sharing a sofa-bed with my ex in someone else's lounge at one point - not something I'd recommend! Things have improved quite a bit since then. But I haven't done a comparison for a while, so this will be interesting for me too...

INCOME

£1943 (Salary after tax and pension contributions)

EXPENSES
 
£600 (Rent, utilities and other household bills - I pay a lump sum for a room in a houseshare)
£10 (Travel - my commuting costs have almost disappeared since getting a job close to home)
£12 (Phone/Internet)
£15 (Clothes/Accessories/Toilettries - I generally either raid charity shops and adjust the items or just make my own from scratch if I need clothes. Slow or non-perishable toilettries I buy in bulk at the start of the year as this gives me a huge discount)
£20 (Work expenses - things like batteries for my keyboard/mouse, a new phone charger)
£0 (Debt / University fees - I paid off everything a few years ago and have paid for any qualifications since then in cash)
£50 (Gifts - Christmas / Birthday presents, socialising and other random expenses - the majority of this goes on presents)

£1943 - £707 = £1236 left for saving / investment

So that's roughly where my money goes each month. I've cut back on a lot of things and have tried to simplify everything else. Being single has helped, as it meant I could easily downsize my living arrangements. And I work within walking distance of my home, so unless it's torrential rain outside then I can walk to and from work (although during lockdown I haven't even needed to do that).

My biggest expense after rent are gifts or social events that I'm expected to attend (birthdays, weddings, etc). I now keep a seperate savings account for these and just siphon away a bit of money each month to cover any random expenses. Anything I don't spend during the year gets reinvested into other assets.

I would still like to increase my salary. I earn an income from investments, but that gets spun back into other assets so I consider that seperate to 'living' money. I have a small hobby company now, but that will take a few years to monetise. So I'm looking into other avenues for extra income in the meantime. If anyone can suggest any (legal) methods then I would love to hear them!