Q – Why did you create this calculator?
A – I think it's easy to spend on small, cheap things without realizing how much those pennies are adding up. It's even easier to do just by tapping rather than using 'real' money, because you don't ever see the 47p change out of a ten-pound note. This calculator is for non-essential items—things that you could make yourself (your lunch, for example) and spontaneous purchases—to show where you could save some big numbers over the course of a year to spend on more important things. (Like your financial goals)
Q – What calculations are used for the calculator?
A – I've used × 260 for the daily amounts to reflect 5 working days per week × 52 weeks. Factoring in some weekend spending and the fact most UK workers get 5 weeks holiday, this number reflects a highly realistic average daily spend over the course of a year.
For weekly figures, this is calculated × 52.
For monthly figures, it is × 12.
For yearly figures, it is × 1.
Q – Why haven't you included supermarket / weekly food shopping in the calculator?
A – Firstly, we all have to eat, wash, and clean, so this really is an essential spend. Also, supermarkets are generally cheaper than emergency corner shop or convenience store prices, so you're already being sensible with your spending there. Lastly, I'm assuming if you are budgeting, you are already buying the smartest buys in the supermarket. There are hundreds of websites dedicated to getting more for your money in the supermarket, so I assume that's not an area where major cutting back can be achieved.
Q - How do you calculate the Total Annual Spend?
A - This is calculated adding up all the Total item spends per year and dividing by 365
Q - Where did you get the list of items from?
A - This is just a simple list of things I could think of. Since we're all unique there is a button after the list to add any specific spends you have that you'd like to add. The hope is that if you plug in as much as you can, you will get the most useful information from it. There's no point only adding 10 different items when you buy 30, the information would be useless to you from an awareness and budget planning perspective
Q - If I give you my email address so I get a copy of my numbers, is it recorded anywhere or used for marketing purposes?
A - Your data minus your email address will be stored in a back end database, purely for my analysis. I am hoping to get some really useful information about spending habits in the future for an article on the site. Your email address will never be shared.
Any other questions, please feel free to email
Q - I live with my partner and we share all our monies, both income and outgoings. Can we use the calculator?
A - yes of course, just bear in mind, if you add a combined salary, our system will treat that as one salary and so you will lose the 2nd tax free amount from the deduction made for tax so the final figures will not be realistic. It would be far better to use your individual salary amounts, and half your bill costs if you split the bills 50/50. (or split them as you divide the costs between yourselves). You will be able to see an annual total of your costs, just the % figure against those costs would not be accurate, the total spends would be based on the amounts you enter.
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