This week: “I’m a 31-year-old assistant artist manager living in London. When the first lockdown was announced in 2020 my company lost most of its income overnight. The entire company (bar the directors) was put on furlough and asked to take a 10% pay cut (they would top up the furlough 80% to 90% of our contracted salaries). Once flexi-furlough was introduced, my hours changed monthly right up until the end of the scheme. I am still on 90% of my salary as the company is worried about more lockdowns and our income being slashed again.
I live with my boyfriend in a flat we rent from a friend who moved abroad. We had a mortgage approved on a property at the start of 2020 but pulled out as the pandemic started to become more serious. I’ve only just started saving in the last two years as I spent a large portion of my 20s helping my mum pay off her mortgage. My dad died suddenly when I was 20 and in my second year of university, leaving my mum in a situation where she couldn’t pay the remainder of her mortgage (Dad didn’t have life insurance due to his age and previous illnesses). With the savings I have, I wouldn’t be able to get on the London property ladder on my own. My boyfriend inherited some money and with our joint savings we have enough for a deposit. I’m currently looking for a new job and we are starting to look at property again with the hope of buying something in 2022.”
Occupation: Assistant artist manager
Industry: Visual arts and events
Age: 31
Location: London
Salary: £30,500 (currently £27,450 due to pandemic).
Paycheque amount: £1,855 (currently £1,734 due to pandemic).
Number of housemates: One: my boyfriend, T.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £450 for my half of the rent.
Loan payments: £200 for a 0% interest credit card that should be paid off in February 2022. My student loan is deducted from my payslip each month.
Savings? £5,200. I pay around £300 into my savings every month (this was more before the pandemic and will increase once my credit card is paid off).
Pension? I pay 5% and my employer pays 3%, totalling 8% a month.
Utilities: £200 towards water, electricity and council tax (split proportionally between me and T as he earns more). I also pay £175 a month into a joint account which covers joint purchases for the flat and car costs (MOT, tax, parking permit) for the year.
All other monthly costs: £30 phone bill. Subscriptions: £5.50 weekly veg box (split with T), £5 Spotify (my share of family plan), £7.99 Netflix.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Although I wasn’t pushed by my parents to attend university, at school it was the only option discussed. I studied history of art and paid using student loans.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I can’t remember having many conversations about money growing up. I was given the impression that we were comfortable and only found out in my 20s that it had been very up and down throughout my teens. My dad came from a low-income family and had a successful career. However, neither of my parents grew up in households that discussed money or was taught to invest.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out when I was 18. I took a year out before going to uni to work to save money for university and to travel for a few months.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
18. I took out a student loan to cover fees and maintenance. I was given a grant in my third year after my dad died.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
14, working in a B&B in the morning before school and sometimes at weekends.
Do you worry about money now?
All the time. I was constantly comparing myself to others and wondering why they appeared to be doing better or more financially stable. I could have been better with money in my late teens and early 20s – especially when I moved to London at 21. I spent the majority of my paycheque (mostly on going out) and didn’t save. That really hurt when I found myself in a position in my 20s when I was suddenly financially responsible for someone else (my mum). Spreadsheets have helped me massively in having control of my finances. I have a yearly plan and every month calculate how my paycheque is going to be split. I don’t always stick to the plan but being able to see where everything is going has really helped me understand my finances and is something I’d recommend to anyone feeling completely lost – I’ve been there!
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No.
7am: Alarm goes off. Lie in bed listening to the radio for 20 minutes until I finally get up and into the kitchen to make a coffee. It’s pouring outside so decide not to cycle to work and take the Tube instead, £3. I know the office is quiet today so I can be a little late to my desk. We are still working partly remote, partly in office, and can choose which days to be in.
12pm: Busy morning. No event cancellations at work this week, which is still rare. With events all over the world, we are feeling the effects of rising COVID cases and lockdowns, even if they are not happening in the UK. I brought leftovers for lunch so I eat at my desk before heading out for a walk.
5pm: Finish work for the day and it’s Friday. I’m meant to be babysitting for a friend but they had to cancel as their daughter is ill. I decide to get the bus and meet T on the way home, £1.55. We plan to head to the pub for a drink and maybe dinner.
9pm: Bump into a few friends in the pub so we decide to stay for dinner, £23.
11pm: They suggest heading back to theirs for a few more drinks. T buys some beer and wine as I paid for the late-night supermarket shop last time.
Total: £27.55
4am: That escalated. T and I decide to walk the 30 minutes home to try and sober up a bit.
7.30am: Lie in bed for an hour trying to get back to sleep. Decide to get up and go for a run. Running is something I forced myself to do while on furlough. I still have terrible runs but I really love it and it has massively helped my mental health.
9.30am: T and I make breakfast. We do a big food shop online every three months. All our veg comes from the veg box delivery, which includes eggs. Make an omelette with veg and eggs from the box.
11am: We’re meant to be meeting friends at the pub at 2pm but I have three job applications to do within two weeks so I decide to stay home and finish them. I’ll try and meet them later.
4pm: Still going on the job applications. It always surprises me how long they take. I’m feeling frustrated but want to power through for another hour.
5pm: Close my laptop and decide to walk to the pub to clear my head.
8pm: Everyone else has been in the pub for seven hours. One friend didn’t go to bed last night. Another friend is six months pregnant and stone-cold sober. I chat to her for the first hour as the only remotely sober people at our table. It feels good to be out the house and seeing people.
11pm: Stay for a few drinks (£22 for a round) but I’m feeling a bit shit so I decide not to head out with everyone else. Jump on bus home, £1.55.
Total: £23.55
8am: Slow start to the day. T and I head out and pick up coffees and breakfast from local café, £7.55 for my share. I need to buy a birthday present for a friend as we are heading to theirs for lunch.
9am: I decide on a face cream and lip balm for my friend while trying on all the testers. I head next door to the wine shop to pick up a bottle of wine for lunch. T and I split the cost of the present and the wine, £35.
12.30pm: Walk slowly to our friend’s house. It feels good to be out of the house after spending most of the day there yesterday (and knowing I will be working from home tomorrow). My friend has been trying for a baby for the last year and we talk a lot about what her options are now. I can tell she is feeling very anxious about it but I’m glad she is open to talking.
4pm: Walk home through the park and can feel Sunday doom creeping in. I clean the kitchen and change the sheets. Now I’m feeling really blue and have an unnecessary argument with T about something I can’t even remember.
10pm: Have a bath and head to bed. Apologise to T for argument. Read book until I fall asleep.
Total: £42.55
1am: Wake up. Lie in bed and try to fall asleep again. I don’t look at my phone but I’m still lying there an hour later. I get up and head to sofa with blanket and read my book for a few hours before heading back to bed at 6am.
7am: Alarm goes off. Feel as shit as I look. Head to the kitchen and make a coffee the size of my head. Do 30 minutes of yoga while trying not to fall asleep on mat before jumping in shower for my first work call at 8.30am.
12pm: Leave the house and walk to the GP practice for my cervical smear test. I buy a coffee on my walk home to try and stay awake this afternoon, £2.40.
4pm: Horrible afternoon. My new manager at work is awful and has absolutely no management skills. I’m feeling so frustrated and ready to leave my current position. I need to use this as motivation to keep hunting for a new job. It feels so difficult in the current climate, especially as I’ve missed out on two years of promotions and pay rises.
6.30pm: Finish work for the day. Start making noodles for dinner with leftover veg from weekend. Manage to stay awake long enough to eat and watch TV with T.
9pm: Take a melatonin and head to bed.
Total: £2.40
7am: Alarm goes off and I feel so much better, having slept all night. I get up and put my cycling stuff on straightaway to avoid caving and getting the bus.
7.30am: Cycle to the office. The sun is shining and it feels so good to be outside. Remember how down I get when winter properly arrives and that I need to make more of an effort to get outside. Add vitamin D pills to shopping list.
9am: Have a breakfast meeting with my director, they pay. I’m still feeling very frustrated and lost at work and I don’t know how to articulate this. I think I just need to move on and find a new job. I can’t afford to quit without something else lined up.
2pm: I brought leftover noodles for lunch so I decide to walk to meet a friend and we sit outside and eat together. She’s currently going through a bad breakup. We plan to meet up this weekend and I try and convince her to come with me to visit a mutual friend at the end of the month.
6.20pm: Leave the office and cycle home.
10pm: Bed.
Total: £0
6.30am: Wake up before my alarm so get up and do 30 minutes of yoga. Cycle into the office.
8am: Shower at work. Turns out I have forgotten my pants, bra and hairbrush. I decide I can survive the day without any of them and avoid spending money. This also means I can’t take my jumper off all day.
9.30am: We have an entire company meeting, which means nice coffee and pastries paid for by them. It would be great if they prioritised our salaries over things like breakfast at weekly meetings…
12.30pm: Head to a local café for lunch, £4.20. I then walk to Covent Garden and have a quick look in some shops. I can’t buy anything as I don’t have any spending money left for the month.
6pm: Leave the office and cycle to the pub for friend’s birthday. Buy us both a pint, £10.70. Cycle rest of the way home.
8pm: Home alone tonight as T is out with friends. I have beans on toast for dinner and call my friend who got engaged at the weekend. We make plans to meet up next month when she is in London.
11.30pm: Finally head to bed after two hours of scrolling for jobs. I’m internally spiralling and stressing myself out about finding a new job and finding a house and paying off my credit card. I don’t fall asleep until 1am.
Total: £14.90
7am: Alarm goes off and I snooze it for an hour. Finally get up and have a quick shower before first call at 8.30am.
12pm: Stop for early lunch so I have time for a walk. I make pasta for T and me from leftovers in fridge and then we head out for a walk in the park. We talk about what we need to do ahead of online meeting with our mortgage broker tomorrow. We know the drill as did all of it at the start of 2020 before pulling out of house purchase due to the pandemic.
1pm: Have my therapy session, £70. I’ve been doing it for eight months now. I started with weekly sessions but I’ve gone down to every other week. We discuss work and the paralysis I feel in finding a new job. Therapy has helped my mental health massively since I started. It felt like a big decision at the time to commit to spending savings on it but I only wish I’d made the decision sooner.
6pm: Close my laptop and make a sandwich. I’m heading to an exhibition opening and I know I won’t eat after. Head there on the bus, £1.55.
9pm: Bump into a few friends that I haven’t seen in years. We all head to the pub after to celebrate successful opening, £25.
12am: A few more rounds and some chips, £15.50. I text T to say I’m going to get the bus home, £1.55.
12.30am: Make a herbal tea and get into bed. T and I discuss plans for the weekend.
Total: £113.60
Food & Drink: £110.35
Entertainment: £0
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £70
Travel: £9.20
Other: £35
Total: £224.55
Conclusion
“This is a pretty standard week for me in terms of what I choose to spend my money on – apart from two birthdays in one week! I try not to spend money on travel or lunch when I’m in the office as I’d rather spend it on meeting friends. Looking at the breakdown, eating and drinking out makes up a large proportion of my weekly spending. I could probably do with cutting back a bit on that. The weeks I have therapy are always more expensive but I budgeted for this with my savings.”
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