This week: “I’m a 28-year old marketing manager living in northwest England with my partner (A) and cat (C). I’m originally from Germany and went to university there, then moved to the UK right after finishing my degree. Since moving over, I’ve been slowly progressing in my career and getting my life together and I’m now at a point where I’m pretty happy with where I’m at in life. I do sometimes wonder whether moving to the UK was the right decision, especially post-Brexit, with the recent cost of living crisis and the struggles within the NHS. However, I think I would have ended up regretting it if I’d not at least tried. I plan on staying in the UK for the long term but it’s good to know I could always move back to Germany if things got worse.
I have a monthly budget and a long-term savings plan, and I definitely need to feel secure about my finances. Because my partner is working a minimum wage role, I feel more responsible for ensuring we have a buffer in case of things like the fridge breaking (which has happened to us way more times than you’d think). I sometimes stress about spending on fun things but ultimately think I’ve struck a good balance between responsible saving and not getting too hung up on every little expense.”
Occupation: Marketing manager
Industry: B2B electronics
Age: 28
Location: Merseyside
Salary: £35k
Paycheque amount: £2,153 after taxes, NI and pension contribution.
Number of housemates: One: my partner, A. We also live with our cat, C.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £600 rent for a two-bedroom, semi-detached house with a garden. A pays half of this but doesn’t contribute to the utilities as he is on minimum wage.
Loan payments: None.
Savings? I have £7k saved in premium bonds as an emergency fund. I also have £15k in a LISA to hopefully buy a house this year, plus another £5k ready to contribute the maximum amount to my LISA for the next tax year in April and for unexpected purchases.
Pension? I’m auto-enrolled in my work pension scheme where work pays 5% and I pay 10%. I upped this contribution a few years ago when I got a pay rise so I never missed the extra money. There’s currently £14.7k in this pot. I also have two pots from old jobs.
Utilities: £153 council tax paid over 10 months, £134 gas and electricity, £27.65 water, £30.50 internet.
All other monthly payments: £8 phone contract, £5.01 Patreon, £11 C’s vet health plan, £81 train flexi season ticket. Subscriptions: £12.50 contact lenses, £8 my half of C’s cat food subscription, £0.79 iCloud storage, £3.99 Audible.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I went to university in Germany and got a BA. I received a local student loan (only 50% of it is repayable) for the first three years of my degree, which fully funded my living expenses and tuition. German student loans start being repayable five years after you graduate, at which point you get the opportunity to pay them off in a lump sum for a slight discount. I saved up to pay off my student loan in full at this point and don’t owe anything on it anymore.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I don’t remember having any discussions about money with my parents. We were comfortable when I was growing up and went on a beach holiday on a German island every year. I had an allowance (I think it was about €20 a month) and always knew I could ask my parents for a little extra if I wanted to do something like go to the cinema with my friends, though I generally didn’t need to.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out when I started university at 17 and moved into student housing in my uni city, where I continued to live for the duration of my degree. I stayed at my parents’ during one semester break as I was doing an internship in my hometown but haven’t moved back since.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I was financially responsible for myself as soon as I moved out for university but I have had periods of support from my parents since then. When I moved to the UK to live with my ex-girlfriend after university, my parents continued to support me while I was looking for a job for a few months.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I did some tutoring through a school-run programme on and off from around 15 to 17. I had a job one summer around the same time, planting trees in our local forest. I got those jobs to get some experience working and pay for any extra luxuries I wanted.
Do you worry about money now?
Not really. I feel pretty secure since I have built up a decent emergency fund and know I would be able to deal with most things with this money. It was really important to me to build this up after my breakup with my ex caught me off guard and I had almost no savings. I do worry a bit about wanting to buy a house as the mortgage rates have risen so significantly recently. If they don’t come down a little, buying a house is out of the question this year.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No.
7am: My alarm goes off. Get up and hop in the shower, do a quick skincare routine and get dressed.
7.15am: Log into work in our spare room/office.
7.45am: Go through my emails and see nothing urgent has cropped up over the weekend – yay! Make a cup of tea in celebration.
8.20am: Say goodbye to A, who’s leaving for work. Decide I’m a bit peckish now so have a cinnamon swirl for breakfast.
12.05pm: Nip out to Tesco as we’re out of laundry liquid. I listen to The Hunger Games on audiobook on my walk there and embarrassingly shed a tear during that scene (don’t think anyone saw though). Pick up a small size of Tesco’s own laundry gel as the bigger bottle is out of stock, a sourdough bloomer, a large avocado and a Quorn lasagne from the reduced section, £8.54.
12.30pm: Back home and pop on a wash and mash half the avocado to have it on a couple of slices of sourdough.
3.20pm: All done with work! The washing is done so I hang it up to dry while listening to my audiobook.
3.50pm: It’s bin day tomorrow so I take out the bins on my way out of the house as I head off for a bit of a walk. I try to stay at least somewhat active during the week but I have been battling a cold for most of the month and have slipped out of the habit. This is me trying to get back into my groove. I walk through the park and back for about an hour while listening to my audiobook.
5pm: Get back home and settle on the couch for a little bit, scrolling my phone while C purrs on my lap.
5.15pm: I heave myself off the sofa to cook some pasta and warm up a sauce I made at the weekend for lunch tomorrow and for A to eat tonight.
6.15pm: Finish an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? It really is an old programme and I get a kick out of references to John Major as the current prime minister.
6.30pm: Decide I’d like a bath so run it while putting on Olaplex No.3 hair treatment. I swear by this as it always leaves my hair feeling super healthy.
7pm: A gets home and comes into the bathroom to say hi. We have a little chat and he tells me about his day before leaving to have dinner.
7.55pm: I start to get a little chilly but want to shave my legs so do that quickly before washing my hair and getting out of the bath.
8.35pm: Sit in the living room with A, who has snubbed my pasta efforts and ordered himself a Chinese takeaway (I’m definitely not jealous). We watch a philosophy YouTube video essay he has on the TV but I came in halfway through and don’t quite follow. Eventually leave to finish up getting ready for bed.
9.15pm: Get into bed to read but immediately get interrupted by A throwing C’s toy mouse all around the house for him. He absolutely loves it and zooms up and down the stairs.
9.45pm: Time for lights out.
Total: £8.54
6.07am: Get woken up by C burrowing his way under the covers. It’s just a few minutes before my alarm so I decide to get up.
6.46am: Finish my morning routine, feed C and remember to pack my pasta. Say goodbye to A, who’s still in bed, and head off on the 10 minute walk to the station.
7.25am: My train gets into Manchester only six minutes late. Walk to the office.
7.40am: I get into the office and make a cup of tea. It is meant to be Earl Grey but someone has put a random teabag in the packet and it ends up being lemon green tea instead. I don’t want to waste it so drink it while getting on with emails.
8.40am: The green tea really did not hit the spot so I pop out to Caffè Nero. I go for an oat milk chai latte. I have a £4 voucher so I just pay £0.10.
9.50am: Make instant porridge in the work microwave and take it back to my desk.
12.15pm: On my lunch break I head out to Superdrug as I used up the last of my conditioner yesterday and I also need more deodorant. The deodorant’s on offer for £1.99 so I buy it but the conditioner is full price so I find it online for cheaper and order it for delivery, £4.40.
12.30pm: Eat my pasta and a packet of crisps in the break room when I get back to the office.
2.30pm: Have a Cadbury salted caramel egg I chucked in my bag at some point. It doesn’t taste any different from a regular caramel egg but hits the spot.
3.35pm: Leave work for the day and buy some garlic bread in Sainsbury’s on my way to the station, £1.50.
4.15pm: Get home and play with C, then do chores for a bit. I remember I got a letter from the NHS last week to book in for my cervical screening so I ring up my GP to get it sorted. I get an appointment for next week. It’s so easy to put these things off but since my mum got breast cancer a few years ago I take any health check much more seriously and try to stay on top of things.
5.30pm: Eat the last of the pasta with some of the garlic bread. Pretty glad I can now have something else to eat. Pasta leftovers aren’t the one for multiple days.
8pm: A gets in. We hang out and fall down a rabbit hole of Blackpool grime videos and local Facebook group gossip. We find a news article about our neighbour’s new business and it has one comment accusing him of being a drug dealer. Somehow this is hilarious and two and a half hours pass.
10.30pm: Realise it’s gotten late and I should get ready for bed but C is sat on my lap and it seems cruel to kick him off.
11pm: Bedtime!
Total: £7.99
7am: Alarm goes off and I drag myself out of bed. A is off for the next few days and it’s much harder to get up when he’s still cosy in bed.
7.20am: Check my bank app while my work PC boots up and see I have been paid £19.81 interest on my 5% savings account. Decide to up my savings for the month by £50. I had it set to £550 previously; I’ve now set up £600 to be transferred into my reward savings account today instead. (This money isn’t going into the 5% account as it tops out at £5k.)
10.50am: I’m ravenous after a busy morning of meetings. Make avocado toast because I’m nothing if not predictable.
1.05pm: Break for lunch and have some disappointing ramen noodles while A cooks himself a chicken noodle soup as he’s feeling a little under the weather.
2.20pm: Still powering through work. Have a small KitKat Orange to get me through.
3.40pm: Finish work and plop myself down in the living room. Watch A play video games and provide a running commentary.
6.10pm: Have a craving for a takeaway but instead cook dinner of mash, mushy peas and vegetarian battered fish for me and A. It’s actually really nice.
9.30pm: Wash my hair so I don’t look like a mess in the office tomorrow and get ready for bed.
10.30pm: Lights out.
Total: £0
7am: Get up and leisurely get ready for work, including actually doing my makeup.
9.10am: Get to work. Go straight into a meeting but I only need to listen so I eat a chocolate croissant I brought from home.
10.30am: The meeting’s finally finished and I’m gasping for a cup of tea. Make my standard Earl Grey in the work kitchen.
12.10pm: Buy a jacket potato with cheese and beans for lunch, £4.50. The place I get this at can be a bit hit or miss but it’s definitely a hit today as I get a massive portion. Take it back to the work break room and eat with my colleagues.
3.20pm: Snag the last piece of fruit from the work fruit bowl, which is a lonely green apple. Eat it at my desk.
4.30pm: A few of my colleagues and I decide to call it a day and head for the pub as it’s been a bit of a weird work day. I have a pint of cider for £4.80 and we catch up on gossip. I need to leave after one drink to walk to my weekly Dungeons and Dragons session.
5.50pm: Get to DnD. We take turns paying to rent the table. I got it last time so don’t pay anything today. Have a really fun session.
9pm: Finish up with DnD and just have enough time to pop into Greggs before getting my train home. Buy a vegan sausage, bean and cheese melt for £2.30 and only realise after that this is maybe a little too much beans and cheese for one day. Ah well.
9.35pm: Make it home and hang out with A, who’s still struggling with his cold.
11.15pm: Go to sleep.
Total: £11.60
7.15am: Work time.
8.15am: Have breakfast of a cup of tea and a pain au raisin A brought from work (the perks of hospitality).
10am: Remember I have an appointment for an eye test tomorrow and look up train times. Buy an off-peak return ticket, £3.65 with my 26-30 railcard discount.
10.25am: A local deals influencer I follow on Instagram posts about a betting app referral. I download the app and place £161 worth of free bets thanks to the referral. No deposit is required so if I get any money out of this it will be a win. I would never deposit any actual money into an app like this.
12.30pm: Make lunch of vegetarian tomato and basil meatballs I dug out of the freezer along with the leftover mash from the other day, with a bit of grated cheese added. Surprisingly tasty together! Make a cup of tea before going back to work.
3.15pm: Finish work for the week! Set off to Tesco.
3.50pm: Get to Tesco and spend £15.42 on hummus, an avocado, eggs, salted butter, chocolate cornflake bites for A, two chocolate croissants, a bag of Haribo Strawbs, some white chocolate Magnums, kitchen foil and a bag of pepperoni pizza flavour Doritos.
5.30pm: Cook dinner for A and myself of avocado on toast with soft boiled eggs.
6.30pm: Book flights for A and I to go see my family for my grandparents’ wedding anniversary later this year, £509.50. I knew this expense was coming up and I have a sinking fund for travel since I try to go back to see my family at least twice a year, but it’s still a lot of money!
9pm: Put on a face mask for a self-care boost.
10.30pm: Time to head to bed.
Total: £528.57
7am: A’s alarm goes off. Since it’s the weekend I go back to sleep.
8am: A comes back in to say goodbye. Cuddle C for a bit, then get up and slowly get ready.
9am: Have a cup of tea and a chocolate croissant and catch up on some YouTube from the week.
11am: Set off to get the train to Liverpool for my appointment at Specsavers.
12.10pm: Get into Liverpool on delayed train and pop into Boots for some dry shampoo, £2.34. I look around Primark and H&M but don’t see anything I like.
1.50pm: Finally done at Specsavers. End up needing a new prescription in my contact lenses and my glasses need updating to match. I get the lenses cheaper because I’m on Specsavers’ contact lens scheme but the glasses I like still come to £89.50 including thinned lenses, anti-scratch and anti-glare coatings.
2pm: Go to my favourite independent veggie café and spend £8.28 on lunch of cheesy garlic bread and a selection of salads. Pop into M&S after to look at a bag I saw online. Contemplate buying it but don’t think it’s worth the money. Instead spend £5.25 on sweets, oops.
3.35pm: Get back home and sit on the sofa. See a top I’ve had my eye on from Lucy & Yak on sale and order it along with a skirt, £62.
6pm: Make a stir fry with tofu for dinner.
9pm: A agrees to watch Black Swan with me and we make fun of the French ballet instructor while drinking cups of tea.
10.55pm: Finish Black Swan and get ready for bed.
11.15pm: Go to sleep with C sitting on my back.
Total: £167.37
7.30am: A’s alarm briefly wakes me up but I immediately go back to sleep.
8.40am: A leaves for work and comes into the bedroom to say goodbye. I feel super rough this morning and think my cold is returning so sleep for a bit longer.
11am: Get up after having a cup of tea in bed and watching some YouTube videos.
11.40am: Head off for a walk and pop by Tesco. Spend £8.05 stocking up on some essentials.
1pm: I’m back home and spend the day feeling sorry for myself, sitting on the couch with C while watching Netflix.
4pm: Get a burst of energy and take rubbish out to the bins, clean the kitchen and have a general tidy up.
5pm: Cook leek risotto for dinner.
7.10pm: A gets home and we have dinner, then hang out with C on the bed.
8.25pm: We tear ourselves away from C’s cuteness and make it down to the living room where A plays video games while I watch.
10pm: Get into bed.
10.30pm: Sleep.
Total: £8.05
Food & Drink: £58.74
Entertainment: £0
Clothes & Beauty: £70.73
Home & Health: £0
Travel: £513.15
Other: £89.50
Total: £732.12
Conclusion
“This was a pretty ordinary week for me, excluding the flights and glasses. I’m not too happy with the multiple Tesco trips because I think it leads to me overspending on rubbish. We used to get a weekly shop delivered from Asda but stopped because it was taking too much brainpower to figure out all of our meals in advance every week. Ideally I’d love to be super organised in this area but it just ends up creating more stress so for the moment I’m okay with how we shop. Writing this Money Diary made me feel pretty self-conscious about my life being quite boring and the amount of pastries I eat though!”
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