This week: “I’m a 32-year-old, single press officer living and working in London. I’ve lived in a lovely house for two and a half years with two housemates and my cat, who joined us halfway through the pandemic. Before this I was working in London but commuting in from my parents’ house. I moved to the city after a promotion at work meant I could finally afford to comfortably pay London rent.
It’s really important to me to make the most of my free time and being young and single in the city (30s is still young, right?). But of course this costs money. I tend to spend most of my cash on dinners out, activities with friends and trips away. I do try to save a bit each month as well. I’d like to be able to afford my own property in the next five years but I’m conscious that this will be very difficult, if not impossible, as a single first-time buyer. For now, my priority is to enjoy this phase of my life while putting some savings aside for the future, whether that’s for a house deposit or simply my next holiday!”
Occupation: Press officer
Industry: Charity sector
Age: 32
Location: London
Salary: £36,000
Paycheque amount: £2,155
Pronouns: She/her
Number of housemates: Two, plus a cat
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £610 for my share of the rent.
Savings? I have about £13,000 in an ISA. (I built this up to about £19k by spending less in general throughout the pandemic but then splurged on three holidays in three months at the end of 2021, which severely depleted it. No regrets though.) I also have about £550 in a Nutmeg investment account. I don’t own any property.
Loan payments: £110 student loans.
Pension: I pay about £240 into my pension every month.
Utilities: Council tax £43, internet £9.99, gas and electric varies but is usually around £35 a month for my share.
All other monthly payments: Phone bill £31, vet plan £13, pet insurance £16. Subscriptions: Spotify 9.99, charity donation £24, magazine subscription £12.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I took out a loan to pay for university which I’m still paying back now. This was before the fees increased. I have no idea how much I’ve paid off. I’ve been paying it off for so long now that I usually forget it’s there.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My parents impressed the importance of saving on me from a young age. I remember going along to the (now defunct) Woolwich Building Society with my mum as a kid to open my first savings account and getting a little blue savings book. I’ve been lucky in that my family have always been comfortable financially but we aren’t big spenders or flashy. My mum still buys most of her clothes from charity shops!
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started working at 16 as a waitress in a restaurant in my hometown. Even though my parents supported me financially as a teenager and I wasn’t particularly in need of extra cash, I’ve always had a strong desire to earn my own money and pay my way. The job was great for socialising, too – and the tips were amazing.
Did you worry about money growing up?
I didn’t worry about money growing up as I was lucky to have parents who, as far as I know, were comfortable financially. They also never discussed money worries with me and my siblings growing up.
Do you worry about money now?
I don’t worry about money day to day but as a long-term single person I am conscious that buying a property in the area that I would like to (London/the southeast) in the next five years is pretty unattainable for me. Many of my partnered friends who work in the private sector now own their own homes (and not small homes either) and it can be difficult not to compare our circumstances when we’re together. I try to keep in mind that I’m renting a really lovely house (bigger than anything I could afford to buy), I get to live with two friends and we have a south-facing garden in London, which is amazing in the summer.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially responsible for myself when I moved out at 22. I had a career change in my mid 20s and moved back with my parents during that time. I was doing unpaid internships to break into a new industry, working part-time in a pub and teaching piano on the weekends to fund my career change. I paid my parents a small amount of rent during this time (about £125 a month) and they covered the bills.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No. My parents have saved about £20,000 to help me with my first home deposit but I don’t currently have access to these funds (they’re not in an account that I can dip into, which is probably for the best). I know I am incredibly lucky to be in this position but even with this help, buying my first home in the area I would like, on my income alone, is currently out of reach for me.
7.30am: My alarm goes off. I was intending to get up early and go into the office today but I press snooze and swiftly go back to sleep.
9am: I decide to work from home today – it’s hair wash day and I’ve left it too late to do that and get to the office at a reasonable time. As a press officer I have to do a company-wide email every morning with the relevant headlines from the day. I try to get this out by 10.30am so I make a cup of tea, grab a biscuit and sit down to read the papers online.
11am: With the news email sent out I jump in the shower. Then I make my second breakfast of Greek yoghurt, granola, sliced apple and honey.
11.30am: We have a meeting with our social media team to talk through the news email and see which articles, if any, might be good to share on Twitter.
12.30pm: Lunch is leftover homemade sweet potato soup from last week and toasted pitta bread. I’m trying to make a big soup at least once a week, which usually sees me through lunch at home for a few days. And it’s an easy way to get lots of veg in my diet.
2pm: We have a big meeting about a campaign peak that’s coming up. I update everyone on the media plan and we talk through what we need from each other. I’m supposed to have a 1-2-1 with my manager afterwards but she has a poorly child at home so we cancel it and I get half an hour back in my diary.
5pm: Log off for the day. I have an early dinner as I’m volunteering with the Girl Guides tonight. It’s something I’ve only started doing recently but I really enjoy it – it gets me out of the house after working from home all day and we usually do something creative and play lots of games, which I enjoy just as much as the girls seem to!
6pm: Dinner is pumpkin ravioli with broccoli and parmesan which I bought over the weekend.
6.30pm: I leave the house to walk with my friend to Guides. The walk takes about half an hour and we catch each other up on our weekends. Tonight we’re doing some ‘craftivism’ with badge-making and we play some games to get the girls running around as well.
9pm: My friend and I walk back from the Guides hall. It’s been a good session and I feel like I’m getting to know the girls better every week.
11pm: Head to bed and read for a bit. My sister bought me a book for Christmas which has short stories in Italian on one side of the page and the English translation on the other side. I’m trying to improve my Italian after living in Rome for a year in my 20s. Reading in another language is hard though! Especially at this time of night.
11.20pm: I get through a few pages and then turn the lights out.
Total: £0
7.30am: My alarm goes off. Today is our team day in the office so I can’t get away with a lie-in again. I snooze for about 20 minutes and then get out of bed.
9.30am: I arrive in the office and even though I’m early by my standards, everyone else is already in. I pay as you go for the train on my card. £4.80
10.30am: I crack open my breakfast as soon as I get in and then get the news email out. I have a meeting-heavy morning coming up. Halfway through we get a request for an interview with a national newspaper. I put some time in to have a briefing with my colleague who will be doing the interview. We end up having a general catch-up while we’re there, which is nice. It’s these everyday chats that I’ve really missed during the pandemic.
1pm: Head for lunch after briefing my colleague. Buying lunch is my treat to myself when I’m in the office. I’m a creature of habit and I head to my go-to, Pret. I pick up my favourite option, the falafel and halloumi hot wrap. Then I head to Sainsbury’s next door to pick up some apple juice. £5.55 for everything.
5.30pm: As it’s our first day back in the office together, we decide to go for some team drinks after work. I have a date later tonight and I can’t handle more than two alcoholic drinks in the evening during the week so I stay sensible and just have a soda water and lime, which my colleague buys for me. I’m already hungry though so I grab a bag of crisps. £1
7.30pm: I head to a bar nearby for my date. It’s someone that I was speaking to a lot in the first lockdown of 2021 but he ended up getting stuck in another country. We’re finally meeting tonight as he got in touch recently to say that he’d love to take me for a drink now that he’s back in London. We have two cocktails each and share a pizza. The chat is good and I’m glad that we’ve finally met – although I can’t say for sure whether it will go anywhere romantically.
10.30pm: We get the bill and I offer to split it. He insists on paying so after a few feeble protestations I give in.
11.15pm: I hop on the Tube home, £2.80. I’ve had a great day but I’m definitely ready for bed.
11.45pm: I’m hungry again when I get in so I have some Marmite on toast and a few slices of apple to see me through.
12am: I finally hit the hay.
Total: £14.15
8am: After being sensible with the drinks last night I decide to head into the office again today. I’ve been having some therapy recently and my therapist has helped me realise that I’m in a much better headspace when I’m around people and not shut up in my bedroom five days a week, which, like many of us, I have been for the last two years.
8.30am: After my usual cup of tea and biscuit I head in. I swipe my card for the train again. £4.80
11am: I have an hour and a half meeting this morning, which is too long in my opinion, but I’m just sitting at my desk with a cuppa so it’s not too bad.
1pm: I decide to mix it up and go to Itsu for lunch. I get coconut chicken soup and pick up my usual apple juice from Sainsbury’s. I also grab a Creme Egg as I really fancy it. The total for everything comes to £6.69. I have lunch with some girls from the office in our breakout area.
2pm: Reply to some emails that I’ve been putting off (it takes literally 10 minutes – why is that always the way?) and crack on with some work.
3pm: Have a tea break with my colleague. Someone has left a pack of rooibos tea in the communal kitchen, my favourite decaf option. Grab one of those and have a few bites of a chocolate bar that I’ve been keeping in my bag for these office afternoon energy slumps. It was part of a birthday gift and I’m still getting through it.
5pm: Head home for the day, £4.80. No plans tonight after my busy day yesterday. Chat to my housemates, M and H, for a bit and then have a bath and put a podcast on. I’ve recently binged Sweet Bobby; Wolf and Owl is my go-to for a giggle this evening.
8pm: Dinner is more ravioli from the weekend. I have some leftover tomatoes as well so I blitz these up into a sauce with some garlic and onion. It tastes pretty good! Decide to make my own sauce more often.
9pm: Watch a bit of telly and then scroll on TikTok for a bit. It’s so entertaining but it’s completely addictive – two hours feels like five minutes – so I have to really keep an eye on how much I use it.
11pm: Head to bed.
Total: £16.29
9am: Plan to work from home today as I’ve booked a therapy session over lunch but my housemate is ill at home so decide to rearrange.
10.30am: Take a quick break after doing the news headlines to go for a run. I’m trying to incorporate more running and walking into my days, which is hard during the winter.
1pm: Break for lunch. I need to go to the shop as I’m running out of cat food. A friend messages to ask for money for another friend’s hen do later this year. It’s three days in Nice and I realise it’s probably going to cost me a fortune but I find it impossible to turn down a girls’ holiday. Plus, I want to be there for my friend as a few people have dropped out already because of new babies and saving for house deposits. I transfer her the money for the flights and the Airbnb deposit, £173.48, then head out to the shop.
1.15pm: I decide to pick up a few extra groceries for next week. I head to a local deli and pick up two boxes of ravioli, a bar of butterscotch chocolate and a couple of tins of fancy tuna for the cat. Then I head to Tesco and pick up regular cat food and a few other essentials. I also pick up some tulips for my bedroom. I have my Clubcard with me but I still spend more than I intended to. The total from both shops comes to £42.15.
5pm: I want to log off on time but at the last minute I get a message from my team leader asking me to finish something to send to our CEO. Rush through the edits and send to our CEO in record time. This leaves me about 10 minutes to get ready from scratch (why did I not at least put a bit of makeup on earlier?). Luckily my hair is already washed and dried, and I know what I want to wear. I quickly do my usual makeup and throw on a dress and some jewellery before running downstairs to feed the cat. I make it out of the house in 15 minutes. Phew.
6pm: I’ve got plans to meet my ex for dinner tonight but a few days ago my auntie messaged to say that she was in town with my sisters so I’m squeezing in a quick drink with them first. After rushing to get out of the house I get on the Tube, £2.80. Once I arrive I realise it is happy hour and I buy a cocktail each for me and my auntie. £10
7.30pm: Meet my ex outside the restaurant, in a beautiful square in central London. We dated on and off for about a year and a half throughout the pandemic but it’s been six months since we last saw each other. I’ve been clear that we’re just meeting as friends to make sure there’s no mixed messages. It’s good to see him – the familiarity is a nice change from the recent first dates I’ve been going on.
10pm: I head to the loo before we leave and when I come back he’s already paid the bill. I have to be honest, I am pleasantly surprised as I wasn’t sure what the etiquette was – we’re meeting as friends but it was him who asked me for dinner. Either way we’ve had a good catch-up and I’ve enjoyed the evening. We walk back to the Tube and I head home. £2.80
12am: Sleep.
Total: £231.23
8.30am: I had planned to go into the office again today but I have a bit of a headache from the cocktails and red wine from last night. Decide to work from home instead.
12pm: Make another soup for lunch with some leftover sweet potato from a previous shop, to have with the pitta bread I bought yesterday. I’ve run out of onion so I add a bit more garlic than usual and some rosemary from the garden to give it a bit of extra flavour. Get that bubbling away and put all my laundry in the washing machine while it’s cooking.
2pm: It’s a quiet work day and the sun is shining so I head out for a quick stroll to stretch my legs. I walk to a nearby bakery and pick up a pastel de nata each for me and my housemate. £4
3pm: I’ve booked in a virtual cup of tea with a colleague, T. She’s been away on training this week. It’s hostile environment training where you basically get simulated-ly shot at for three days so we chat about that. We’ve been meaning to get a brunch in for ages and realise we’re both free tomorrow so make plans to meet.
4pm: Allowed to finish early for the weekend. My housemate, H, has popped into her office for the afternoon but I’m meeting her later for a soap-making class which we booked and paid for last week. I decide to play a bit of piano because I’ve been neglecting it recently. I play a couple of tunes and then chill out on the sofa before I have to start getting ready.
6pm: After another early dinner of ravioli, olive oil and parmesan (I promise I do eat other meals occasionally) I head to the Tube station. £2.80
7pm: I arrive at the venue feeling stressed. Despite having a quiet work day and an early dinner I’m running 10 minutes late and the event information made a point of saying please arrive promptly…
9pm: I head home, six handmade soaps heavier! H has her own batch too so our house is now sorted for soap for months. I’m pretty pleased with how mine turned out. I went with orange and pink grapefruit essential oils and a pale yellow and cornflower blue colour palette. I swipe my card for the Tube again. £2.80
10pm: Once we’re home I sit on the sofa with a cup of hot blackcurrant squash and unwind watching Silver Linings Playbook. After, I head to the kitchen to make a hot water bottle and realise that I fancy a late night Weetabix with honey on top.
11pm: Head to bed. The headache is still vaguely lurking so I hope I can sleep it off tonight.
Total: £9.80
8.30am: Get up and feed the cat as he’s obviously hungry, then go back to bed for a bit.
9.30am: Didn’t fully drop off but feeling a bit more rested so I get up for the day. I make a cup of tea and grab a couple of biscuits.
10.30am: Look in the mirror and decide my hair can probably go one more day without a wash. Have a quick shower, get dressed and just about squeeze in a bowl of yoghurt and granola.
11.30am: Literally run for the train as I’ve left the minimum amount of time possible to get to the station. £3.50
12.30pm: Change for the Overground, £1.50. I’m meeting T at Hampstead Heath for a walk. I debated whether to wear proper walking boots but in my rush I’ve put on some trainers that I don’t mind getting a bit muddy. We pop into Gail’s before we set off, I buy a peppermint tea and a chocolate slice. £4.70
1pm: We walk past Kenwood House and pop into the shop there. I spot a bowl of key rings and pick one up as I recently got a spare key cut for my neighbour who pops in to feed the cat sometimes when the three of us are away. It’s reduced from £7 to £2.50, which seems like a good deal so I buy it.
2pm: After our walk finishes I continue on and walk all the way home. It’s not short but I fancy the exercise. Halfway along I stop on a bench to eat half of the chocolate finger slice and send a voice note to my friend.
3.30pm: I arrive home having smashed my steps for the day and rustle up a bowl of (you guessed it) ravioli with parmesan and olive oil. My housemate H is baking in the kitchen so we have a chat while I eat. She’s bought me a Maltesers chocolate bunny, which I pop in the cupboard for later.
4pm: I need a bit of a chill after my long walk so I make a cup of tea and go upstairs to warm up in bed with a book, which quickly turns into a nap.
6pm: I’m going out to a friend’s birthday drinks tonight so I tear myself out from under the covers to start getting ready. I decide to give her one of my homemade soaps as a gift, plus some beauty bits from a box I keep in the cupboard for occasions like this. I have a glass of white wine with H before we head out to the Tube. £2.80
8pm: Get myself a gin and tonic in the pub and while I’m there I decide to order a snack as well. Opt for the chorizo and sourdough. £11.70
12am: It’s last orders (my friends have bought me two more G&Ts during the evening). We head back to my friend’s flat for an after party. On the way we stop off at the corner shop. I grab a bottle of wine, £5.50, and some crisps and dip, £3.49.
Total: £35.69
3am: Arrive home via an Ola cab, £23.90. Make myself a slice of honey on toast and have it with some apple slices and blackcurrant squash. Head to bed shortly afterwards.
10.30am: Finally, a lie-in! It took me ages to drop off last night so I haven’t had much sleep at all. I’m glad I don’t need to be up and rushing about for anything this morning.
11am: Head downstairs for my usual tea and biscuits. Rewatch an episode of Easy on Netflix, then hop in the shower.
1.30pm: I’m meeting a friend for a roast dinner today so head out to the Tube, £2.80. He asks if I want to share a bottle of red but I decide not to as I’ve had a pretty indulgent weekend drinking-wise. Opt for a cucumber ‘no gin’ and tonic and the roast beef, we share a sticky toffee pudding. We split the bill and my half comes to £41. Then I head back, £2.80.
5pm: Feel absolutely stuffed after that lunch. Fancy a peppermint tea so pop into the local deli to pick some up. £2.39
6pm: Rewatch another episode of Easy with a cup of peppermint tea. I’ve booked to see a talk with one of my favourite writers this evening so it’s not long before I have to head out again. Luckily the venue is walking distance from my house.
7pm: Arrive and grab myself a lemonade, £2.20. As soon as I buy it I realise I don’t really want it as I still have the taste of the peppermint tea in my mouth. I think the purchase is more about having a drink to take into the show.
9.30pm: Walk home through a windy, cold evening thinking about my warm bed. Chat to my housemates for a bit when I get in before making another cup of peppermint tea and having a slice of the chocolate cake that my housemate baked yesterday, along with a few slices of apple.
10.30pm: Sleep.
Total: £75.09
Food & Drink: £140.57
Entertainment: £0
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £0
Travel: £239.18
Other: £2.50
Total: £382.25
Conclusion
“I really enjoyed the experience as it was a nice way to record what turned out to be a pretty busy week. I wasn’t hugely surprised by my spending, it confirmed what I already suspected: that most of my money goes on food and drink, transport and holidays. I’ve never been a big spender when it comes to ‘stuff’ (fashion, beauty, homeware etc.) as I prefer to spend on experiences instead. I think it has made me more conscious that if I want to save for a house deposit, throwing £200 here and there on hen dos and trips abroad is going to have an impact. But I believe that it’s important to have fun while I’m living in London in my 30s, so that’s what I’m prioritising at the moment.”
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