It was a high-spend month, but starting a new job and heading out of town meant it was all pre-planned. However, it did get a little out of hand in places. With that being said, here’s a closer look at my October 2025 spending diaries.
CLOTHING
Budget = £200.00, actual = £187.30
I knew I wanted to get myself some autumn/winter clothes, and with a Manchester trip planned for later in the month, I gave myself a healthy clothing budget. However, I did spend half of that at the start of the month with a haul from Peacocks and Uniqlo. I did return the entire Peacocks order and a pair of trousers from Uniqlo. My net spend ended up being £123.75 for nine items (as well as three pairs of new knickers!), which I think is a good deal!
COFFEE SHOPS
Budget = £100.00, actual = £60.50
I’ve been trying to purchase gift cards for coffee shops, as you get cashback when you buy them through the Jam Doughnut app. £30 was spent on Costa gift cards, with the rest just paying as I purchased. It seems high. With my new job, I buy a hot chocolate twice a week before a shift. However, I use a gift card and take a reusable travel mug. That means I get two beans per visit, and it only takes me five visits to get a free drink.
EATING OUT
Budget = £150.00, actual = £35.52
The only times I’ve eaten out in October were on my Manchester trip, where I went to Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, as well as ordered a Chinese takeaway on Deliveroo. An average of £11.84 per meal is a pretty good deal, I’d say! I’ve been taking a packed lunch to work with me, as I only get a 20-minute break, so not a lot of time to grab anything nearby.
LOCAL TRANSPORT
Budget = £105.00, actual = £86.20
Because I take the train to my new job, I’ve decided to include those tickets in the local transport category, rather than the trains category. £17.80 went on buses or trams and £71.40 on train returns, an average of £3 a ticket, which is the same price as a bus ticket in Hull anyway!
GROCERIES
Budget = £15.00, actual = £13.14
This small amount was on snacks after my work shifts, as well as buying a bottle of water one day at work when I’d run out. I really try not to spend anything on my work shifts, other than a hot drink, but sometimes, you just need a snack for the train home! I also forgot to pack snacks for my train to Manchester and spent nearly a fiver on a packet of crisps and a bar of chocolate! Train stations are a nightmare for your bank balance!
BOOKS
Budget = £10.00, actual = £30.89
I started the month by purchasing 11 books on my Kindle before buying four new releases from The Works throughout the month. I’ve tried to spend less on books, but I do love a Kindle deal and a new release! However, I’m trying to put myself on a book-buying ban for November and read what I already own.
BEAUTY APPOINTMENTS
Budget = £32.00, actual = £32.00
Spot on for this one, as it was just one appointment to get my nails done. I try to go every three weeks, and it’s one of the few beauty treatments that I treat myself to! Some months, I’ll have two appointments in the month, though, which I will do in November.
HEALTH + BEAUTY
Budget = £25.00, actual = £54.14
I needed a couple of make-up products and managed to get them on a three-for-two offer, which is always great, along with some hyaluronic acid from Boots. Then I caught out with Boots’ Tenner Tuesdays for the first time ever. However, they had two products that I’ve wanted to try for a while on offer, as well as Sanex shower gels being on a great offer!
STATIONERY
Budget = £25.00, actual = £16.35
This was a purchase of some stickers from two different shops, Dook Plook Designs and Happy Cutie Studio. I want to get back into planning as a hobby, as it’s a great way to switch off and is fairly inexpensive to do. Whilst you can buy cheap stickers, I tend to buy them from specific shops as I love their designs and quality.
THEATRE TICKETS
Budget = £75.00, actual = £207.15
This is my biggest category spend for my October 2025 spending diaries. For nine tickets, I don’t think just over £200 is that bad (£23 on average). I treat myself for my birthday in January and a trip next year to Manchester, alongside four Bradford trips and one to Sheffield. I thought I’d spend even more for Sheffield, but I was working when the general sales went live, and all the cheaper tickets had sold out. Oh well, I’ll just keep looking to see if any more get released.
TRAINS
Budget = £75.00, actual = £62.80
This is me all booked up for the year now. I booked my tickets for this week’s trips from Birmingham to Leeds and then Leeds to Hull, as well as my Bradford trip the week after. Hooray for them being cheaper than I expected them to be!
HOTELS
Budget = £82.00, actual = £55.00
I was meant to be going away at the start of the month for a two-show day in Manchester. However, I ended up having the worst cold that I’ve had in years, and had to cancel it. Instead, the £55 is for a hotel next year in Sheffield for a concert.
CONCERT TICKETS
Budget = £0.00, actual = £40.15
The above concert is Beverley Knight, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to see her live. She has one of the best voices in the industry, so it’ll be an amazing showcase for her! I’m excited for her to perform her solo music stuff and her favourite theatre songs.
AMAZON
Budget = £17.06, actual = £17.06
I was due for a stock up of two of my supplements this month, and was very strict about that. Whilst I don’t like Amazon as a company, it’s the cheapest and best for what I wanted to buy on Subscribe and Save. However, I’ve definitely tried to spend less and less on the website over the years.
MISCELLANEOUS
Budget = £50.00, actual = £15.69
This was four random spends: £4.25 for the postage for the Peacocks refund, £5.45 in Flying Tiger on three random items, £2 in The Works for a calendar for my nanna, and £3.99 on a cinema ticket to see Wicked next month. It’s a low spend for this category, but I like to have it covered just in case.
TOTAL BUDGET = £961.06, TOTAL SPENT = £913.89
£47.17 UNDER BUDGET
That’s all for my October 2025 spending diaries. I’m actually surprised that I’m under budget; in fact, it’s a miracle! However, it wasn’t hugely under budget, so there’s always something to work on. I overspent in a couple of categories, so November is all about reducing my spending as a whole.
If you enjoyed this post about my October 2025 spending diaries, you can check out my other money posts here. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, too.
