This week: “I’m 28 and living in London. I have worked in various roles in the charity sector throughout my 20s and I do feel like I’m pretty institutionalised by NGOs. I have been thinking recently that I should have just sold my soul and gone into sales or recruitment so I wouldn’t be so worried about money. London is expensive but I love living here and being close to my friends and the action. I sometimes get anxious when I think about my lack of financial stability or not having a partner as 30 looms around the corner but I’m having fun and I think things will work out in the end. I usually budget £150 a week after I have put some money away for holidays, rainy days and anything else I’m saving for. I really love saving and I like finding a bargain as much as the next person. I am always a few hundred pounds in my overdraft by the end of the month, which I am trying to change but life is fun and expensive!”
Occupation: Digital media officer
Industry: Charity sector
Age: 28
Location: London
Salary: £33,500
Paycheque amount: £2,000
Number of housemates: Two
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £633 rent (excellent for zone 2 London).
Loan payments: £120 student loan.
Savings? £5,000 in a LISA for a house I’ll never buy, some small rainy day pots of £100 or so for holidays/emergencies. £80ish in stocks and shares.
Pension? I think it’s 5% auto-enrolment with my company matching it.
Utilities: £120
All other monthly payments: £37.60 phone, £44 gym, £19.97 audio editing software (I edit a little podcast on the side for some extra money), £8.50 laptop insurance. Subscriptions: £9.99 Spotify.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I did an undergraduate and master’s degree in humanities and media type studies (not very practical!). I had a high maintenance loan at university because my parents didn’t earn a lot of money. I worked 20 hours a week during my master’s and really ran myself into the ground. I have consistently worked alongside my studies since I was 17.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My parents didn’t discuss finance but I did recognise they were good with money and we didn’t have loads of it. On the whole though, there was no conversation on how to manage money, what a credit card was, how to save etc. We weren’t super well off but I had more than enough and a relatively ‘normal’ childhood.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
At the age of 19 I was out of the door!
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
When I went to university at 19 I pretty much became financially responsible for myself. My parents have helped me out but I’m talking the odd £100 between house moves and in tight spots. Since I moved out 10 years ago, I have never lived at home and always relied on my student loan and part-time jobs while studying and my salary when working.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I got a job as a school cleaner where I studied when I was 17. I was earning £6.30 an hour when I started my A-levels. Of course, my peers found this a bit of a joke but the money made a huge difference and gave me a taste of financial freedom in my small town.
Do you worry about money now?
In the here and now, I’m fine. I have enough to pay rent and enjoy myself a bit on the side. I know I will progress in my job and earn a bit more in the coming years. But as I reach the end of my 20s, I worry a lot about money. Will my 30s and 40s be comfortable? Will I be able to buy a house or at least rent on my own without flatmates? I can’t keep living for the weekend and my next holiday forever.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No.
7am: Monday! To lessen the heartbreak of having to do a job, I swing by the local chain coffee shop to grab a flat white. I have a sad little affiliation with this particular chain as I worked there 20 hours a week during my master’s degree. My coffee costs £2.80.
9am: I head to the office and put on my professional face. I have brought a salad in today, trying to be ‘good’ instead of buying lunch out.
12pm: I slope off to Covent Garden on my lunch break to eat and watch the street performers. I send my mum a picture of my miserable salad against the pretty backdrop – isn’t London great?
3pm: As I was so ‘good’ bringing in that caesar salad, I treat myself to another coffee to get me through the afternoon. £3.30
6pm: On my way home I pop to the corner shop to purchase a Diet Coke and a banana. I am e the epitome of good health today, ha! The total comes to £2.80.
7pm: Go to the gym and get an early night.
Total: £8.90
7am: Hello sweet payday! I go through my bank account as soon as I wake up and divvy up my pay into pots so I can keep track of things a bit better. I put aside a little bit for a holiday as I’m doing a solo trip to Morocco, alongside a pot of £118 as I know I have some Klarna payments that are due this week.
8am: £31.35 goes out for Klarna before I’ve even had a coffee. I was definitely having a bit of an identity crisis last month and bought some new clothes. I have never used Klarna until this year but it’s quite addictive, isn’t it?
6pm: After work I grab a hard seltzer from the corner shop to spruce up my shower before going to the pub for the football. Of course, in my excitement at being surrounded by young, attractive men at the pub (and my friends), I spill the first pint all over myself.
7pm: The group does rounds for the rest of the night, I have maybe five drinks. Six at a push? I spend £34.10 on my rounds.
8pm: A small group of us stay at the pub to commiserate our loss and everything is a bit of a blur from there.
Total: £152.10
8am: So other than leftover caesar salad, I didn’t eat much yesterday, which may explain my drunken state and waking up on my bedroom floor, fully clothed. That’s a bit extreme, even for me. Today is going to be painful. It’s also going to be expensive as I lost my glasses, headphones, Oyster card and gym card.
9am: I log into my work laptop and get into bed. Of course a Klarna payment comes out of my account to rub salt in the wound. I use the money set aside in my pot from yesterday.
11am: On a more exciting note, I buy a ticket for an event at Printworks. We missed the first round of ticket sales but get the second round. I classify this as £40 well spent as it’ll be fun and something to look forward to in the cold winter months.
12pm: After a nap and a bit of time with my head over the toilet bowl my appetite is back and I’m craving a cheesy noodle recipe I saw on Instagram. I order a Deliveroo shop for £11.98. I get lots of noodles and cheese and also some milk and vegetables so I feel more like an adult doing a shop rather than hungover trash.
4pm: Yes, I’ve lost my glasses but losing my headphones is a real killer. I find it hard to go to the gym and move about the world without shutting it out with my specific genre of miserable music. I’m very unlucky with headphones (this may be the third pair I’ve bought). I decide to purchase some refurbished Skullcandy headphones from eBay (savings for my wallet and the planet), £20.
7pm: Another Klarna payment comes out. Last month’s identity crisis is coming back for revenge.
Total: £71.98
8am: We have a work party this evening so I slope over to the office. I still have a headache from lying in bed all day yesterday but hopefully I can put in a really good day at work today.
9am: I accidentally fall into a coffee shop on my way in and buy a coffee and almond croissant, oops. I thought I had forgotten breakfast but actually I brought breakfast from home and needed to buy lunch. Guess I’m buying both today. £5
10am: Another Klarna payment comes through. Lord help me. I put the money aside from my salary but they do sting a bit when I see them leave my account.
12pm: Grab Itsu for lunch, £7. It’s close by and makes me feel metropolitan, lol.
6pm: There are no frivolous parties in the charity sector, let me tell you! We paid £10 a few weeks ago to stand at the back of the pub and have some nibbles and party games. We have to purchase our own drinks of course but it’s still a nice evening.
10pm: I have four pints and an espresso martini for £23.75 and I’m ready to leave before 11pm. I head home and grab a £1.75 piece of chicken from my favourite chicken shop on the corner. The best way to end an evening.
Total: £37.50
8am: My TfL bill for yesterday hits, £7.70. You can’t leave your front door in London without a TfL notification on your Monzo.
9am: I’m working hard to wrap up projects at work today as I have a date this evening. I also order some carpet cleaner online, £5.
2pm: It’s time to cough up for the loss of my glasses. I head to Specsavers and the eye test shows I need a stronger prescription anyway (I am constantly squinting when looking at signs on the Tube). Since I am an adult with a salary and I have to wear my glasses a lot, I want to buy a nice pair. I’m horrified to find everything designer has sparkles on! Hideous. My chosen pair comes to £114 but luckily I will be able to claim £85 of my prescription back as I’ve just signed up to a healthcare plan that will come out of my salary.
6pm: Grab a scratch card, Diet Coke, hard seltzer and some spicy crisps to kick off Friday evening, £9. I can smell you, freedom!
7pm: I’m heading to Soho with a guy I went on a date with over a year ago but we never really followed up and just kept in touch on Instagram. I recently ended a relationship and I’m actually excited about dating again. We meet at a pub and I get the first few drinks, £19.50.
8pm: He’s a lawyer and last time we went out he paid on his American Express so I know I won’t be paying for dinner. We head to an amazing Italian place which is very ’70s. We get starters followed by wine, pasta and espresso. I don’t look at the bill but it’s somewhere around £80+. He’s hilarious and maybe the most interesting conversation I’ve had in a long time.
10pm: We head for one more beer after dinner. I go to buy us drinks but an extremely charming (and maybe slightly drunk) man at the bar insists on paying for me. This has been a cheap evening!
Total: £155.20
9am: Good morning. I feel a bit hazy. I head back to my corner of London, heroically avoiding coffee shops by reminding myself I have an espresso machine at home. I do some life admin during the morning to reconcile my behaviour during the week. I consult my friend about going home soon and we book a super cheap, one-way train ticket with our railcards, £13.44. My TfL charge for yesterday also hits, £5.86, boo.
12pm: I pop into the gym with my tail between my legs. I wail to the man at the desk, explaining my drunken antics and losing my gym card, which gains me access to the building. A card usually costs £10 to replace but my silly jokes and pout somehow win him over and I’m allowed a free replacement card (just this once).
2pm: My wonderful best friend’s boyfriend has suggested we hit up the Tate Modern today as I’ve been in a bit of a mental funk the last few weeks. I grab a little hot chocolate and sausage roll for £4 and head into central. (I need my treats! It’s the weekend!)
3pm: I love modern art so much and the gallery is free. My friend kindly grabs us coffees and we drink them on the balcony overlooking the Thames. They also brought brownies, what a perfect afternoon.
6pm: I head home as I’m wiped. I was going to go to a friend’s house party but I really just want to crawl into bed after this week. I’m also supposed to attend an X-rated party next week. It’s not a full-blown sex party, more of a meet-and-greet event. What do you wear for these kinds of parties? Latex costs a bomb. I go online and buy a lime green pleather mini skirt and boob tube, £30.99. This is still very much a daytime outfit if you ask me. Even if I chicken out of attending the party, I think everyone needs a pleather, lime-coloured two-piece for their wardrobe.
Total: £54.29
9am: I wake up early and go to the gym, waving at my newly acquired friend on the desk. My TfL charge for Saturday also comes through, £7.70.
11am: I start getting ready for drag brunch in east London.
1pm: Now, I said I would only have one Bloody Mary as I have a hot yoga class in the evening but I love catching up with this group of friends so much. One drink leads to another, and another, and another, and oh – I am not going to hot yoga! We have vegan Brazilian food and gossip about everything and everyone we know, £46.50.
8pm: We head to one more pub and catch a football game. I can only just about stomach a football match after Tuesday and I leave at half time. I plan on getting a chicken shop-related treat before catching the bus but a man with a dozen Pret sandwiches on the bonnet of his car is preaching to passersby. “Are these sandwiches free?” I ask. “Maybe,” he retorts and proceeds to preach the gospel to me. I take a bacon and chicken baguette and bite into it as he tells me to repent of my sins. I say thank you and grab the bus. That saves £3 at the chicken shop!
Total: £54.20
Food & Drink: £171.48
Entertainment: £40
Clothes & Beauty: £148.99
Home & Health: £5
Transportation: £34.70
Other: £134
Total: £534.17
Conclusion
“This was a silly week, I know. I think the Klarna payments, Printworks ticket and losing my glasses and headphones added £250ish, which skews my outgoings. Thankfully, I was prepared for Klarna and I can reimburse the glasses. On the whole, I can’t berate myself. I could definitely have less takeout coffees and beer but they are the things that bring me joy in this sad little life. I do enjoy saving my money so I will motivate myself with some little Monzo locked savings pots this new year.”
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