This week: “I’ve lived in London for five years and started my current job six months ago, which is a bit of a career change. I have an excellent life here, filled with wonderful people, and I’m proud of the network I’ve built as I didn’t know anyone in the UK when I moved. My upbringing gave me a financial head start in life and I currently make good money but I blew through all my savings to do a master’s. I am not the most financially responsible, but not the worst. I’m bad at saying no to stuff but I don’t ever have credit card debt. My new job has also put me in the ridiculous position of rarely having to buy groceries as they provide three meals a day for free. I have the great privilege of knowing my parents will help out if I get in a big pickle, and the naive optimism of someone for whom life has broadly worked out well so far. For the moment, I’m enjoying having a higher income and I’m not saving for anything in particular.”
Occupation: Public affairs
Industry: Tech
Age: 28
Location: London
Salary: £70,000
Paycheque amount: £4,205
Number of housemates: Two
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £865 rent. This is an absolute steal considering the area and how big the house is for three people.
Loan payments: I owe approximately £11,000 on my postgrad student loan and my parents about £10,000. The postgrad loan hasn’t come out of my paycheque yet and I haven’t started paying my parents back as they’ve told me to build up my own savings a bit more.
Savings? I have £5,000 saved currently as I totally emptied my savings while I did my master’s. I have USD20,000 in RSUs.
Pension? I contribute 6% and my employer matches.
Utilities: £150 per month for energy, council tax, internet, water and a fortnightly cleaner.
All other monthly payments: £15 phone, £15 insurance for laptop. Subscriptions: £170 gym, £8 Disney+, £5 Hayu, £6 Spotify, £8 iCloud storage, £7.30 New York Times, £4.50 Morning Person newsletter. £18 Google Drive, £29 Luminary podcasts, £120 Financial Times (all annual).
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I went to a small, private university in the US for my BA. My parents paid for it fully, including books and accommodation, and gave me about $500 in spending money per month. I then worked for five years and then did my master’s in London. I used a UK government loan for most of the fees and funded the remainder plus 13 months of living expenses with my savings and borrowed money from my parents. It was extremely indulgent to just not work for a year and I loved it. I didn’t live very frugally but I basically got to spend a year reading and writing about things I found interesting and then had a carefree summer with lots of holidays. Maybe not the world’s best use of money but I don’t regret it.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
Not much honestly. I grew up moving around due to my dad’s job and going to international schools, and my parents’ income increased steadily as I got older. A lot of the lifestyle perks came from my dad’s company paying for lots of stuff and I’ve realised despite how much lifestyle wealth I had growing up, my parents don’t have lots of actual cash/assets. This means they won’t be able to give me a deposit for a house like a lot of my friends have received (cue tiny violin).
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
After university I moved back in with my parents for a year while I interned, and then for another six months they paid my rent while I lived in another country. I properly moved out around 23 when I moved to London.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
At 23 I got a proper job in London and started paying my own rent. My parents continued to pay for flights home and occasional treats (e.g. a pack of spin classes) during my first couple of years here. A year ago they lent me a sizeable amount of money for my master’s as I stayed in this stupid expensive city to study. Now they’ll shout me an occasional flight to go see them. If it wasn’t clear, my parents are my safety net.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
During my second year of university I worked a couple of afternoons a week, calling alumni to ask for donations as I wanted more spending money.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes. I’m single and that makes life more expensive. I would love to live on my own but I don’t see how I could ever afford a place in London without someone helping with the deposit or rent. Because buying feels so out of reach, I don’t save as well as I should and then spend a bit frivolously and get anxious about it after. I find it reassuring that my only debt is the government postgraduate loan and money I owe my parents, who are very chill about it.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
Nope. Other than my allowance in college.
8am: Wake and scroll mindlessly. A morning habit I absolutely loathe but do not know how to break. Make coffee, eat some granola and log on from home. I require approximately one and a half hours of faff and reading the news before I can start the working day. This is the secret to my success.
12pm: Book a drop-in Pilates class for this evening, £12. I then call my mother and chat about our upcoming family trip to Scotland and discuss a date I have coming up that I’m a bit on the fence about. He’s a genuinely lovely guy and I think I’m unreasonably picky so I’m trying to give people a few more dates before I call it quits.
1pm: I go to the fancy grocery next door and get a coconut noodle soup, potato gözleme and rice cakes, £10. I have half the soup and half the gözleme for lunch. I’ll have the rest for dinner.
2pm: I’ve not done much actual work this morning because at my core I am a deeply lazy person so I need to hop to it now. Watch The Bachelor in the background.
6pm: Walk 10 minutes to the Pilates studio. It’s quite a low-key class but still good to move.
7.15pm: When I get home I do a little more work and read some of the 1 million tabs I have open with various things I thought seemed interesting. Currently I am obsessed with Bing AI and the children of Jacob.
8pm: Eat the other half of soup and gözleme and watch First Dates with my housemate.
9pm: Pack my bag for tomorrow, do my skincare, read in bed (The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu) and have the lights out by 9.30pm.
Total: £22
6am: To the gym! Luckily it’s less than a 10-minute walk from my house. I am far and away the weakest person at this gym but everyone is nice about it so I don’t feel like a total lemon.
7.30am: I shower and change and head to the office, £3.30. On the train I read my daily newsletters (NY Times, Financial Times, Politico and Morning Brew).
10am: Today’s speciality breakfast at the office is a pancake bar but I’m feeling blobby at the moment so I have avocado on rye, some fruit, a ginger lemon shot and coffee.
11.30am: I started peeling off my gel nails in meetings this morning so I go to the nail salon across the road to get them taken off properly and put on plain polish. I get overwhelmed by the choices and pick a weird dark purple colour in a moment of brief madness, £31.
12.30pm: Bring lunch up to my desk from the canteen so I can finish emails before afternoon meetings. I have a cauliflower and potato curry with some salads and coconut water.
1pm: We’re having team drinks this afternoon so I go out and get cannolis and champagne for everyone and put it on my corporate card.
5pm: Have drinks with my team after our last meetings and then we all depart promptly at six for our respective dinner plans. I Tube over to meet some pals for dinner at a veggie BBQ restaurant, £3.30.
9pm: Very excellent dinner. Six of us share a bunch of dishes including pistachio cheese, which is exquisite. I also have a glass of orange wine, £31.50.
9.30pm: I am feeling very rejuvenated by seeing everyone. I get a bit of FOMO as this group is going away for the weekend tomorrow and I opted out of the trip. I know it’s the right call but…I hate it.
10pm: Read my book and I’m asleep by 10.30pm.
Total: £69.10
6am: Don’t feel like my morning gym class and don’t want to go into the office. Go back to sleep.
8.30am: Awaken and log on for morning meetings. Move a couple things around so I can make a lunchtime gym class. Make coffee and have some rice crackers with peanut butter between calls.
12.30pm: Scoot to the gym. It’s cardio circuits today, which nearly kill me. Pick up a smoked aubergine burrito from a Mexican restaurant on my walk home. They have a lunchtime deal so it’s pretty reasonably priced, £6.
5.30pm: I am losing steam for the workday so I start getting ready for my date with M this evening. Head out just before 6.30pm and walk up the road to a cocktail bar. We have a nice time and I have a lychee martini and an amazing white negroni using a liquor I’ve never tried called quinquina, £24.50.
8pm: M and I mosey down the road to our dinner reservation. We split polenta fries, a vegan caesar, a vegan pizza and a carafe of white wine. He has a side dish of lamb belly with anchovies. We are having fun but I can’t seem to shake the feeling that it’s more friend vibes, which is annoying as he is clever and good-looking and seems emotionally available, £38.60.
10pm: On to the pub. We get a spot outside so we can actually hear each other talk, which is ideal. This is one of the few pubs in my area that has White Claws and because I am always two years behind a trend, I’m now very into them. I have two black cherry ones and M pays.
Total: £69.10
8am: There is a boy in my bed and, frankly, I would rather there wasn’t. My desperate attempt to create some chemistry via a sleepover has failed. This is perhaps something I should have predicted but you live and you learn.
9am: M hints he wants to spend the day together but that is not what I want. I say I have to go to the gym and end up having to get up, put on my gym kit and walk down the road with him. When he’s out of sight I go home and get back into bed.
11am: Wake up for real this time and decide I should try to work out. I buy a gym credit with my (still active) student discount and book an Abs and Arms barre class, £13.
12pm: Hop on the bus to the studio and eat an old protein bar I found in my gym bag, £1.50.
12.30pm: I’m a bit early so get a cold brew before class and read the news, £4.
1.30pm: I am humbled by my complete lack of core strength. I’m heading to see a friend’s new house this afternoon so I go to a fancy grocery store and buy a card and a bottle of cava, and get myself two CBD drinks and a falafel wrap, £29.40.
2pm: Bus home, £1.50. I think I need to tell M I’m not feeling it. It’s been three dates so I feel like I gave it a solid effort. I send him what I think is a nice text and then feel angst about it. I am quite exhausted by dating. I feel like I try really hard but it never seems to work out. I smoke an emergency stress cigarette once I’m home from a secret stash while I call my mother to discuss.
2.30pm: I speedily wrap the cava and housewarming present (a puzzle) and write the card. I then change and get on another bus to my friend’s place, £1.50.
5.30pm: This is the first time I’m seeing her new house and it is incredible. I’m very happy for her and, deep inside, a bit jealous. They show me around, we have some tea, then take some board games down to a pub next door. We play cards and Boggle and chat. I buy a round, £15.60.
7.30pm: I walk home, stressing that I’m comparatively behind in life as I’m single in a house-share. I get a frozen vegan pizza out of my freezer and eat half for dinner while I watch Stath Lets Flats.
8pm: Drink a CBD drink to see if it makes me less stressed. Jury’s out on the effectiveness but it’s quite good! I then read my book and head to bed by 10pm.
Total: £66.50
9am: The mid-morning bird gets the worm. I feel infinitely less angsty this morning. I have the breakfast of champions: a big thing of iced coffee and a piece of cold pizza.
10am: Shower and get ready in yoga gear, then walk to my gym for a meditation workshop. I buy a protein bar as a snack during class, £3.
12.30pm: Feel really good after a morning of yoga and meditating (funny that). I’m really trying to build some kind of meditation habit but I find it hard to sit still, which I think underscores how much I need it.
1pm: Meet a friend by the weekend food market round the corner from the gym. I get a tofu and potato dosa and we go to the park to eat, £8.
2.30pm: Another date – she perseveres! We’re meeting at a big restaurant/bar and it’s a first date but I’ve no idea what to expect as we didn’t chat loads before.
3.30pm: Turns out he’s really clever and great to talk to. I have an unexpectedly great time and actually think he’s good-looking, which is a plus. I get a kombucha, then a spritz and finally a pint, £21.20.
5.30pm: Walk home. I feel like cooking for once so I go get ingredients to make Sichuan tofu for me and my housemate. I buy tofu, spring onions, rice, bell pepper and sugar snap peas, £7.30. I cook while listening to the BlindBoy podcast.
7pm: I eat with my housemate while we watch Coda. I’m late to the party but wow, such a good movie.
9.30pm: Chitchat on WhatsApp with people for too long. Then I’m too tired to even read so just go straight to sleep by 10.30pm.
Total: £39.50
7am: Up and at ’em to the gym. Walk home and shower and change quickly before I walk 25 minutes to the Tube. I’m quite glad for the late start and missing rush hour on the Central line, £3.30.
9.45am: Make it to the office just before they pack up breakfast. Have a mix of cereals with almond milk and berries and coffee. I don’t have a huge amount of work at the moment so it’s a bit of a slow morning.
12pm: For lunch I have butternut squash and miso soup, focaccia and iced green tea.
2.30pm: I have a really early flight this weekend and it will be near impossible to get public transport to the airport. I’m visiting my parents, who feel bad about how faffy my journey will be and send me money towards a pre-booked taxi. I happily oblige, £103.
4pm: I’m really at a loose end today. The project I’m meant to be on keeps getting delayed. I go to Boots to buy shampoo, dry shampoo and conditioner, £11.35.
4.30pm: I sign up for a free online course on theology that’s part of Harvard’s open education programme. I then have a bar of pretzel chocolate from the office kitchen as a wee snackette.
6.30pm: I had intended to have dinner in the office but my friend/colleague insists we go out so we can fully decomp our love lives and finances without risk of being overheard. We walk to a nearby restaurant where I have a daikon bao bun, mapo aubergine, sweet potato fries and peanut milk. My friend kindly pays.
8.30pm: Tube home, £3.30. Call my mum on the walk and then hurry to bed and my book (I’ve moved on to Accidental Gods by Anna Della Subin). Lights out by 10pm.
Total: £120.95
6am: To the gym! Too much running today for my taste.
7.30am: Shower at home and hightail it to the office. Take the bus to the Tube as I’m running late, £4.80.
9am: Make it in time for my meeting. Get a peanut butter and banana smoothie bowl from the canteen and coffee.
12.30pm: Don’t fancy the hot lunch options so I try and freestyle a salad from the salad bar (it’s not a hugely successful attempt). I get a bag of quinoa chips to make up for it. The kitchen then put out pancakes and I eat too many.
6pm: A friend comes to meet me at the office for a pre-theatre dinner. We’re able to bring guests into work for food, which is great. We have a tagine sort of chickpea dish with salads and a glass of wine, all free from the office kitchen, which is such a crazy perk. I put a beer in my bag to have at the show later. I send my pal £33 for my ticket and we walk 10 minutes to the theatre.
10.30pm: We see Oklahoma! and it’s an absolute ride. I like musicals but I’ve never seen this one and I feel like I need to watch the original movie to compare.
11pm: Head straight home on the Tube and bus, £4.80. I jump straight into bed as it’s well past my bedtime.
Total: £42.60
Food & Drink: £195.10
Entertainment: £33
Clothes & Beauty: £42.35
Home & Health: £25
Travel: £134.30
Other: £0
Total: £429.75
Conclusion
“This is very much a standard week for me and I’m a bit surprised by how much I spent as I didn’t even buy any clothes or general ‘things’. I definitely spend a silly amount on food and drink considering I have a catered office but a lot is from dating, which is an expense I don’t feel like I can cut easily. All up, I think my money is going towards spending time with people, which I am happy to prioritise, but I’d probably benefit from a night in more often.”
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