This week: “Since January I have been working two jobs to help with bills and to pay down debt. I was made redundant from my full-time job in February completely out of the blue, which really disrupted our financial plans. Thankfully, I was able to pull myself out of this dark place to find another job quickly so I didn’t have a loss in income. I even got my redundancy pay and my bonus, which was due to be paid later in the year. I am now on a higher salary, although I do have a longer commute so the increase is negligible. We moved out of the city last year as I had lived in flats for 10 years and wanted to be on the ground!”
Occupation: Fundraising officer (full-time) and online tutor (part-time)
Industry: Charity sector and education
Age: 28
Location: Nottinghamshire
Salary: £29,500 + £2,352 (before tax)
Paycheque amount: £1,850 + £200-£300 (depends on my shifts)
Number of housemates: My husband, H, and our cat
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £575 for my share of the rent (the total is £895 and we pay proportionally to our salaries).
Loan payments: £80 student loans.
Savings? Everything goes to paying off debt now, although I do have £500 in a Help to Buy ISA. I have also started a small pot in Moneybox, which has £161.17 so far in a Stocks & Shares ISA.
Pension? I contribute 10% of my salary to a work pension which they match. I have collected many pensions from various jobs as well.
Utilities: Council tax £157, water £28, gas £40, electricity £40.
All other monthly payments: Phone and Apple watch £80, charity donations £10, £200 to my husband to pay his commuter club card each month as it was part of the negotiations when moving out of the city. £176.99 direct debit to pay down my credit card, which I then top up as much as I can during the month. £180 for my commutes to London (I decided to go into the office once a fortnight instead of once a week to keep costs down and my work is very flexible). Subscriptions: Spotify Duo £9.99.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes. I received a grant from my late father’s company (long story) and I got a £1k scholarship for my high grades. Sadly, I dropped out after a few years due to mental health problems and decided to work in a different sector. Since the pandemic I was able to start a part-time course at the Open University alongside my full-time job as quitting uni is one of my biggest regrets. This new course is still covered by student loans so I will be repaying that some day.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
We were comfortable. My mum stayed at home with me after I was born and my father worked as an engineer earning a good salary. He died suddenly when I was 9 years old. His work paid out, which covered the mortgage on the house so my mum, older sister and I never had to worry about money. We didn’t talk about money too much; Mum would get us whatever we needed and wanted. We went on nice holidays abroad and tried to create happy experiences for ourselves.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out for uni then moved back in for my mental health crisis. I moved out again six months later once I got a full-time job in another city.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I wouldn’t say I am completely financially responsible. For example, we couldn’t afford a new car once ours failed the MOT so my mum helped us to get one. For the most part we do our best to keep things going but for big expenses like that we need help.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was at 14 (I don’t think that is legal now!) as a Saturday girl at a local pharmacy. As an avid feminist, I sincerely hope that is no longer a job title. I earned £3.75 an hour, which was great at the time.
Do you worry about money now?
Constantly. This doesn’t mean I am good at managing money. I am in £8k credit card debt and live in my overdraft. I took out the credit card to pay for things for our very low-key wedding four years ago. I actually paid it off at the end of 2019 and then started spending on it again at the start of the pandemic. I still don’t know how it got to this level. It’s stressful and I am doing everything I can to get out of this vicious cycle. It’s a source of constant anxiety for me.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
Yes. My grandparents have given us £6k in premium bonds for a house deposit in the future. We are apprehensive to take that step as our credit scores aren’t that good. My husband’s family did not have a good relationship with money or each other, which resulted in a lot of debt that they are still trying to deal with.
6.30am: It’s a bank holiday, which means I am only working one job today! I sleepwalk downstairs to make H and me a coffee and chat with him before he leaves for his first day at a new job. After he leaves, the cat and I go back to bed for a lie-in.
10am: Wake up still tired, remember I may need another B12 injection soon as I have iron deficiency anaemia and need regular top-ups. Book this on the NHS app and make a tea. I drink this and eat chocolate for breakfast while watching Netflix in bed.
2pm: Decide to get up and get ready for my tutoring sessions starting at 4.30pm. Listen to podcasts as I shower and do chores. The cat helps me put away laundry by sitting in the drawers every time I open one.
4.45pm: First child doesn’t show up, has probably forgotten as it is a bank holiday. I run to Aldi to grab food and spend £14 on veggies, hummus, fruit, feta and a cheap bottle of red wine (although it is organic therefore posh).
5.30pm: I eat cucumber and hummus before I start the next two sessions. Both children attend these sessions and we make some good progress with maths and punctuation.
7.45pm: H is home and we eat leftover homemade chocolate cake while the dinner cooks as he tells me about his first day. Unfortunately his bike was stolen while he was working and my heart sinks thinking of how we will replace the £450 bike. Try not to think about this too much and he decides to take the bus for a while until we can figure out what to do.
8pm: My baked feta pasta is ready, and it is delicious. The red wine goes down well and we watch Married at First Sight Australia until we go to bed at 11pm.
Total: £14
6.30am: We are both at work today so we get up early and have cereal and tea together while playing with the cat before H leaves for work.
7am: After H leaves I do a load of washing, empty the dishwasher, feed the cat, have a shower and put on some Dove summer glow mousse before I start my working day at 9am.
10.30am: Make a quick cup of tea and buy a nice floral top I have had my eye on for a few days on Vinted. £4
12.45pm: Finish a long Teams meeting and heat up leftover pasta, there isn’t much so I also have a bread roll with hummus. Watch more Netflix and hang some washing out.
1.50pm: Back to work. Spend more time writing, organising and planning for meetings.
4pm: Have a tea break and put on my tutoring T-shirt ready for more sessions. Even though it is work, the kids are so nice and genuinely funny that it feels more energising than tiring most of the time. I am a nerd and love maths so it doesn’t take too much brain power.
7.30pm: Finish tutoring just as H gets home, he has already started dinner by the time I come down. We enjoy a pie from Lidl with frozen veg from the freezer.
9.30pm: I shower and wash my hair so I don’t have to do it in the morning as it is my day in the office and I have to travel to London. I prepare veggies, fruit and overnight oats for the morning.
11pm: Bedtime!
Total: £4
5am: Wake up and give the cat lots of fuss. It’s way too early but I feel good knowing I have prepared.
6.15am: After making a tea in a travel cup, H and I walk to the local station. We are getting trains going in opposite directions so we kiss goodbye and will hopefully meet back here at the same time.
7.20am: I eat my pre-prepared porridge with berries and a dollop of Biscoff spread on the train, feeling smug about my breakfast. I then change trains and have to buy some water as I couldn’t find my bottle this morning. A costly error for my bank balance and the planet. £1.50
9am: Arrive at the office and say hello to my colleagues. I make a round of tea and set to work on emails and planning for meetings. I see there is a parcel which has come for me. I open it and it’s a charity branded water bottle! My manager says it’s a gift for me and I am very happy to have a replacement bottle.
12.30pm: I walk to the Tube and travel to Tottenham Court Road to meet someone I worked with on a previous fundraising project. He has a membership at the House of St Barnabas, which is a members’ club that donates its profits to supporting homelessness charities. It feels very posh and there is a guard at the door but they wave me in. I enjoy freshly made iced tea (on the house) while we chat about fundraising careers and their latest projects. We agree to email after about the new campaign I’m starting and he offers to make some introductions to people he knows who can help with my career.
1.30pm: I leave the meeting feeling very encouraged and look forward to talking to his contacts in the future. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know! I grab a Sainsbury’s meal deal on the way back to the office. £3.50
3pm: I check and the day of travel costs £10.20. I don’t usually use the Tube so this day is an exception. I hired an electric scooter once (which I loved) but know that it is a d*ck move for other pedestrians so I haven’t done it since.
5pm: The afternoon goes by very quickly but I manage to get a lot done. I make tea in my travel cup and walk quickly to the station. Thankfully my train is delayed so I catch my breath before getting on. I think about reading or doing more work but decide to nap instead.
7.20pm: H meets me off the train, which is lovely, and we walk hand in hand to the nearby McDonald’s. We are both too tired to cook now. I get us both burger meals and a brownie and we get table service, £11.50. H is still sad about his bike getting stolen and I offer as much support as I can, knowing that we can’t afford to buy a new one.
9pm: After greeting the cat who is very angry at us for being out all day, we collapse on the sofa and watch Moon Knight on Disney+.
10.30pm: Sleep.
Total: £26.70
7.30am: Wake up to the cat staring at me and realise that H has already left for work and let me sleep a bit longer. I make a tea and still feel exhausted so I eat breakfast in bed.
8.45am: I quickly shower and get ready for work. I remember that I am tutoring tonight so I can’t make my B12 injection. I cancel and try to rearrange on the app. I can’t find any appointments in the next 16 weeks. I may regret this but it’s too late now.
9am: Start my working day with meetings and writing up notes.
10am: Someone bought my shoes on Vinted for £3.50! I excitedly wrap them up with the last parcel bag and print the label using the last piece of white paper. Must buy more paper after payday.
12.30pm: Hop in the car and head to Tesco to drop off the parcel in the locker, then head inside to get a filling for a sandwich. I get Dairylea and some prawn cocktail crisps. £1.44
1pm: I need to get my prescription for my antidepressants, which are ready to collect. The price is very steep at £9.35. It costs money to be unwell. I consider delaying getting my medicine until tomorrow even though I need to take one today as my bank balance is £6.45. I didn’t realise it was this low. If I don’t get the prescription I will feel progressively anxious throughout the day. The only way I can get it is using my mum’s credit card, which she gave me for emergencies. I notice that I am starting to shake due to hunger/tiredness/lack of serotonin so I decide I must buy them.
1.20pm: I arrive home and shakily gulp down the tablet followed by a sandwich and crisps. I start work again and have a three-hour training session.
5.05pm: I finish work and treat myself to lying in bed staring at my phone before my tutoring sessions.
5.30pm: I tutor the first child and get a message from my manager telling me off for not wearing my branded shirt. I forgot to wear the uniform and feel tears starting to form as I can’t go and change now. I think I have worked too much this week. I power through the next two hours, focusing on the children who are really sweet.
7.30pm: H is home and making dinner. I hug him tightly and try to breathe through the exhaustion and anxiety that has crept up on me.
8.30pm: I feel much better after dinner (bacon and egg sandwich with beans) and lie on the sofa with my head on H’s chest while we watch TV. The cat joins us and I finally relax. I will be paid tomorrow and will not have to worry about buying medicine again for another two weeks.
10pm: Sleep.
Total: £10.79
7.30am: Wake up, check my bank balance and I’ve been paid! I go downstairs to feed the cat and make us a cup of tea. Decide to shower with H to save on hot water (and for other, nicer reasons).
8.45am: After a breakfast of cereal we both go to our laptops in separate rooms and the cat chooses to sit with me so I feel very smug. I start by opening my life admin folder and seeing what I need to sort out. I pay off the council bill which didn’t go through recently as my bank balance was too low. I then set up the DD for next month, starting after my payday which should help. I pay Mum back for the prescription.
9.30am: I call a taxi company to book one to take us home from a night out tonight, £22. We have free tickets to our local cinema as part of an annual membership I bought H for Christmas. We will get the train there so I can have a drink as I am always the designated driver (H is yet to pass his driving test and we can’t afford lessons right now).
11am: Finish some meetings and realise I forgot to send an email, which has affected other people in the team. Feel very guilty but then remember it is only my second month on the job so hopefully they won’t be too angry with me. I breathe through the anxiety and look at my Trello to double-check the tasks which need doing.
12.30pm: I listen to the I Weigh podcast by Jameela Jamil, which I love, while I sort out lunch. After raiding the cupboard, I make tacos using leftover taco shells, a can of spicy mixed beans, some cheese and some chopped cucumber. It does the job!
1.30pm: Back to work.
3pm: H makes me a cup of tea and we play with and admire the cat (which takes up most of our waking hours tbh). This is followed by a heated discussion on how cute she is.
4.50pm: So close to finishing! This afternoon has been very stressful, trying to rectify the mistake I made earlier. I start to feel anxious about my probation and whether I will pass. I read through my job role and objectives and make sure I am doing the right thing.
5.05pm: Finally finish work. I go downstairs and lie on the sofa watching This Is Us for half an hour before we have to get ready to go out. I’m excited about going out for date night now that I have been paid but need to summon some energy first.
6pm: We leave the house dressed up nicely and walk to the station. It’s colder than we thought! I get a ticket for myself as H has a season ticket, £5.40. The train takes 10 minutes and then we walk to the restaurant. We get cocktails and I am very happy that it is finally the weekend. H pays for two rounds of drinks and I get us some tapas. £22.87
8pm: After demolishing several bowls of arancini, loaded fries, squid rings and halloumi we stumble to the cinema (I don’t drink very often so I am already very tipsy). We present our free tickets and buy another set of drinks and ice cream. £15
11pm: The film finishes. Both of us fell asleep at different points but we wake up and run to the waiting taxi outside. I hope there wasn’t an after-credits scene!
11.30pm: We arrive home to a sleepy cat and promptly go to bed.
Total: £65.27
9.30am: Wake up after a long, much-needed sleep. We spend more time in bed (not sleeping) before I offer to make us pancakes while H showers. I make white chocolate and raspberry pancakes topped with syrup and banana, which go down well. We watch Married at First Sight on the sofa together and then do the dishwasher. The very picture of marital bliss!
11.20am: I begrudgingly get ready for the last round of tutoring for the week. H is also working on creative projects so we will see each other during my breaks.
3.20pm: I text H that I will be done soon and he starts making some lunch/dinner (I have lost the concept of time by this point). I finish my last session with the scent of bacon wafting upstairs and we sit down to a bacon and egg sandwich with lots of tomato ketchup.
5pm: After lying on the sofa for a while we decide to go outside for some fresh air as we need milk and food. This turns into an impromptu road trip to The Range where we spend £87.48 on printer paper, an office chair, kitchen knives and various nonsense. We then head to Asda and spend £77.46 on food (which was needed), including enough canned goods to last until next payday. H gets us KFC on the way home.
9pm: Eat our chicken hungrily on the sofa before going to bed.
Total: £164.94
9am: Wake up and we heat up some croissants we bought from Asda in the air fryer. Eat these with butter and jam and a large tea each. We then get ready to walk to the local church for the morning service. We haven’t found a church since we moved so we are looking forward to attending in person.
12pm: The service was lovely, I feel much more at peace after meditating on the bible and singing worship with other Christians. It’s really not the same on Zoom. Also there were lots of cute kids talking on the mic at the front, which was very sweet. Everyone is very welcoming and starts chatting to us and plying us with tea and biscuits after the service.
12.30pm: After meeting lots of lovely people we decide to walk into town to enjoy the sun a bit more and H offers to get us brunch. We go to a nice café and I have smashed avocado with poached eggs on toast.
2pm: We arrive home and tidy up after not doing much all week. We play the radio loudly as we clean the kitchen, lounge, bedroom and even put some curtains up.
4pm: H starts cooking the roast dinner (ingredients bought yesterday at Asda) and I take a long nap on the sofa.
5.30pm: I wake up feeling much better, greeted by the smell of roast beef and gravy. I set the table and help to finish the vegetables. We sit down and eat roast beef, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.
7pm: We watch various trash TV and then H takes a bath while I do some ironing. Then we swap and he has lit some candles for me and made me a tea to enjoy in the bath, which is very relaxing.
10.30pm: We head to bed and feel very content with how we spent the weekend together.
Total: £0
Food & Drink: £147.27
Entertainment: £0
Clothes & Beauty: £4
Home & Health: £96.83
Travel: £37.60
Other: £0
Total: £285.70
Conclusion
“This was an interesting week to document as I started the week being broke and was paid halfway through. It does highlight the feast and famine nature of my finances, which is not great. My husband and I have known each other since we were 18 and basically grew up and became adults together so it is interesting to see how our finances have evolved. My paycheque has continued to go up quite regularly and his has stayed the same since we started out from uni. I think we still have a lot to figure out, namely our credit scores. I worry about finances for when we buy a house and have children (which is something we want to do in the next five years probably). I also feel guilty about having inherited income when H has none and had a worse start in life in terms of finances. In general, we work well as a team but money is always a difficult topic. I think I do make some frivolous purchases sometimes which are emotionally driven and I am trying to work on this. I love Clare Seal and listen to her books on Audible regularly to try to absorb her financial wisdom (Real Life Money and Five Steps to Financial Wellbeing). Things I usually splurge on include books on Kindle, Too Good To Go meal bags, cheap homeware items (candles etc.) and drinks out with friends followed by the mandatory chicken nugget meal. I am definitely a work in progress and I still need to cut myself some slack after coming through a recent redundancy and living in a world where the cost of living is becoming untenable.”
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