This week: “I’m a 29-year-old HR manager living in Kent with my husband, M, and our 1-month-old, B. We moved here in March after selling our first home in southeast London. M and I have been together since 2017 and have lived together since 2018. I started parental leave in mid-May, ahead of the birth of our first baby at the end of May. I have been on full pay since then and am about to move onto 90% pay for the next chunk of my leave (I am planning on returning to work in January 2024).
I can be both a spender and a saver, depending on what is going on in our lives. With the purchase of our house and the birth of our first baby (and all the things you need for a baby), our savings have taken a big hit. So we are trying to build them back up. We also have a high interest rate on our new mortgage and are both very apprehensive about what the new rate will be when we come to remortgage in February 2025.”
Occupation: HR manager
Industry: Retail
Age: 29
Location: Southeast
Salary: £55,000 + annual variable bonus of 10% of salary.
Paycheque amount: £694 weekly post-deductions.
Number of housemates: Two: my husband (M) and baby (B).
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £989.60 per month for my half (this has increased recently due to moving and the interest increase).
Loan payments: I currently pay £184 a month to Student Finance via weekly salary deduction. This will reduce when I am on enhanced maternity leave pay.
Savings? £1,700 in my personal savings (lower after house purchase and baby).
Pension? I currently pay 6% of my base salary a month into my pension and my employer contributes 9%. When I joined this company over four and a half years ago, I merged my pension from my previous company. I currently have roughly £30,000 in my pension pot.
Utilities: We currently split all household bills 50/50. I pay half of each of the following amounts: £12.25 home insurance, £223 council tax, £80 gas and electric, £25 wi-fi, £41 TV licence, £51.32 critical illness and life insurance, £35 South East Water.
All other monthly payments: £38.62 phone contract, £15 charity donation, £0.79 iPhone storage, £89.99 (yearly) Sweat workout app. Subscriptions: We equally split: £16.99 Spotify, £9.99 Now TV, £6.99 Tesco delivery, £95 Amazon Prime annual membership.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes, I went to university and did a four-year sandwich degree, which included a year in industry. I had student and maintenance loans but these did not fully cover the cost of rent and living so I worked part-time in retail to top up the money. I have completed a Level 5 HR qualification since finishing university, which was paid for by my previous company.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My mum and dad taught me the value of money from a very young age; neither left school with any qualifications but my dad has his own business and my mum is very financially savvy. They taught me not to live beyond your means but they also taught me the importance of having a credit card and paying it off in full each month to build your credit score.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out when I went to university at 19. I moved back after university and stayed there until I moved in with my now husband when I was 24. We moved into one of his parents’ properties and they very generously let us pay heavily subsided rent. This enabled my husband and I to build our savings and buy our first property in 2021.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I would say when I moved out fully at age 24. Being on maternity leave, I am slightly reliant now on my husband and we are also incredibly lucky that our parents have helped a lot in terms of renovating and will be helping us with childcare one day a week each due to the crazy cost of nursery.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was in a local café when I was 16, just after I had finished my GCSEs. I turned 17 in the September of that year and took the job to fund my driving lessons.
Do you worry about money now?
I have only started to worry about money recently due to the increase in our mortgage, the rising cost of living and having a baby. When we lived in our previous property, we were on fixed energy costs and our mortgage was a lot lower so we were able to save a good amount of money each month. Now I wonder if we will ever be able to build our savings up again.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I was very lucky that my parents created a savings account for me, with the amount of £10,000, which was gifted to me in my early 20s. This was made up of money from them, and I would put in money I received from family at birthdays and Christmases, too. I used this to build upon for my half of the deposit on our first property.
7am: We have a nearly 5-week-old so I will not list all the times I was up in the night.
8am: The next couple of hours are filled with packing our bags for a day trip to my parents’ (crazy how much stuff you need for a trip with a baby) and getting us both ready. I make a smoothie for the train journey.
9.30am: Speed out the door to make our train, causing the smoothie to fall out of the pram cup holder and all over the front of the pram. Baby boy is an angel and sleeps for the whole of his first train journey.
10.45am: My mum meets us at the station and we walk into their local town for breakfast at a pub, which Mum kindly treats me to. We also book the venue for my son’s christening celebrations — it’s a local pub with a function room so there is no cost to hire. Not used to this, having lived in London for the last few years.
11.30am: We walk up the high street to run some errands and I pop into a local café to pick us up some cake for this afternoon as my nan is coming to catch up, £12.
1.30pm: Arrive back at my parents’ house and spend the afternoon catching up with my mum and nan and snuggling and feeding B.
2pm: Catch up on some life admin while Mum is nap-trapped with B. We had some bespoke wardrobes made and fitted this week in our bedroom so I pay £425 for my half. It is a big expense but we are very happy with the finished product.
4pm: My dad arrives home early from work for cuddles with B. Catch up with him while Mum pops out for an hour.
6pm: My parents drive me and B back home (after a fight trying to get the car seat to fit in the car). Mum picks up some pizza and salad on the way for dinner.
8pm: Have dinner with my mum and dad and lots more snuggles with B. They stay for a couple of hours and then drive home. They are coming up again tomorrow to look after B for a few hours while we celebrate our wedding anniversary.
10pm: M arrives home, we catch up about our days and start the routine of getting B ready for bed. M makes us a cup of tea and we get everything ready for the night feeds. Complete my usual nighttime routine of skincare and brushing teeth.
11.30pm: Lights off, wondering how much sleep we will get before B wakes up for his next feed.
Total: £437
8.30am: B was up every couple of hours in the night so M and I split the feeds and woke up properly for the day at 8.30am.
9am: I change and feed B while M brings me a cup of tea and chocolate biscuits. I do some life admin and purchase a birthday card online for one of my best friends, £3.09.
9.30am: We spend the next couple of hours cleaning and organising downstairs, doing some washing and clearing the fridge as we are having a food shop delivery later. Food shop includes nappies, BBQ stuff, Aperol, lots of fresh fruit, bread, chocolate biscuits and cleaning products. £64.57 for my half.
11.30am: Purchase my train tickets for our date afternoon out, £3.80. My parents arrive and so does the food shop. They kindly help put it away and then help with baby B while M and I get ready for our date.
1.35pm: Standard last-minute rush to get ready. It is our first time leaving B for longer than one hour so I’m feeling all the emotions! We get a 10-minute train to the next town and head to one of our favourite places for a glass of champagne to celebrate our wedding anniversary, £10.50 for my half. My husband then treats us to another glass each, which he pays for from his account.
3.30pm: Head to our afternoon tea booking, which was a birthday gift for me last year from two of my best friends. Fill up on sandwiches and cake and spend half the time talking about B and how much we miss him, and the other half catching up and talking about our plans for the rest of the year.
5.30pm: Get the train home and power back the five minutes from the station to see baby B.
8pm: Have dinner of lasagne, salad and garlic bread. Transfer my mum money for dinner as we wanted to pay for it since they looked after B and my dad has been doing DIY around the house for us, £17.90.
9pm: My parents head home and M and I watch a couple of episodes of Five Star Kitchen, which we are really getting into!
11.30pm: Usual bedtime routine, getting ready for the nighttime feed routine and having a final sleepy snuggle with M.
Total: £99.86
8.45am: Usual routine of feeding and changing B, which M and I split between us. It’s our wedding anniversary today so M and I exchange gifts with a cup of tea and biscuits in bed, then spend the next couple of hours playing with B and watching some of our wedding video.
11am: We have M’s family coming round today for a BBQ so we take it in turns to look after B and prep the food and outside area. M makes me eggs on a bagel for breakfast.
12pm: M’s parents arrive so we have tea and catch up and get the last few bits ready for the BBQ.
1.30pm: M’s brothers and their partners arrive. We spend the rest of the afternoon in the garden, catching up, eating lots of food and cuddling B.
6pm: We put B in his pram and all head for a walk around our local town.
9pm: Everyone apart from M’s mum has left as she is staying over to spend some more time with us and baby B. We spend the next couple of hours tidying up from the BBQ, drinking tea, feeding B and getting him ready for bed.
10pm: Do my skincare and brush my teeth.
11pm: Bedtime!
Total: £0
7am: B only woke up twice in the night (1.30am and 5am) for feeds! I feed and change him, then we both settle back down for another couple of hours’ sleep.
9am: Wake up feeling like a new woman. This is the most sleep I have had in a very long time, albeit broken up.
11am: Spend the next couple of hours chatting with my mother-in-law, getting ready and putting on some washing. Make a big smoothie for a late breakfast.
12pm: Put B down for a nap after feeding him and start to have a sort-out of the bedrooms upstairs.
1.20pm: Say goodbye to my mother-in-law and have lunch of leftover BBQ food. Watch an episode of Sex in the City. I have started the series from the beginning (a productive use of my maternity leave).
3pm: Do a quick 20-minute workout before B wakes up from his nap. Feed, change and give him lots of cuddles, then he goes back to sleep. I spend the next couple of hours cleaning and tidying downstairs.
5pm: B wakes up from his nap and we have another feed and tummy time. I make a cup of tea and FaceTime my Mum.
6pm: M arrives home from work, yay! We spend the next hour catching up with a cup of tea and doing some life admin.
7.30pm: We bath baby B. It’s the first time he is happy about it and doesn’t cry so it feels like a small win. We get him ready for bed and settle him upstairs and take the monitors with us. We head downstairs to have dinner (chicken stew) and watch some more episodes of Five Star Kitchen.
9.30pm: Get some bits for B on Amazon, £7.80 for my half.
10pm: I am exhausted! We both get ready for bed. B wakes up and has a final feed.
Total: £7.80
8.15am: My alarm goes off as we are meeting a friend and her baby for a walk and coffee this morning. Another night of waking up most hours for feeds and cuddles so I have two cups of tea to get some caffeine in me.
9am: Feed, change and cuddles with B.
9.30am: Empty and reload dishwasher and put on a wash; the washing feels never-ending! Put B in his chair in the bathroom with me and hop in the shower to get ready. Feed and change B again and make it out the door by 10.15am.
10.30am: Meet my friend and her baby for a walk and a coffee. We met through NCT and her baby is a week older than B. I’m so grateful to have someone who is going through the same thing at the same time as me. I get the hot drinks, £8.20.
12.45pm: Pop into Lidl on the way home to pick up milk and butter, £3.34.
1pm: B is still sleeping so while I probably should be sleeping too, I catch up on some life admin, make lunch and FaceTime my mum. I get a notification to say that HSBC has approved my bank switch application. I should receive £200 for this in the next couple of weeks.
3pm: B wakes up so I feed and change him, then put him in his bouncy chair in the kitchen. I then make a banana and chocolate chip loaf. We do some tummy time and he has another feed before going back to sleep.
4pm: Fold some washing and text M about dinner. We decide on a freezer meal as we want something quick and easy this evening so we can spend time making some DIY decisions in the house.
6.40pm: M arrives home. We catch up over a cup of tea and he spends time with B while I potter around. We then spend some time deciding which handles to buy for our new wardrobes, £29.26 for my half.
8.30pm: We sit down to eat and catch up about our days. We then have a slice of the banana bread I made earlier and watch Impractical Jokers.
11pm: Usual bedtime routine of skincare, brushing teeth, night feed prep and then sleep.
Total: £40.80
8.15am: Baby B only wakes up twice in the night and then wakes up for good at 8am, which feels very civilised. Feed him while M, who is working from home, makes me a cup of tea.
9.30am: Put on a hair mask, then do a 30-minute workout as B has gone back to sleep. It feels good to be moving my body post-pregnancy and I am starting to feel back to my old self day by day.
10.15am: M makes us breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast with a cup of tea. I tidy the kitchen and put on a wash load.
11am: I hop in the shower and get ready for the day while M looks after B. We then get B ready for a walk and head out the door in record time.
12pm: We head to our local park for a walk. We still can’t get over how lucky we are to live in the area we do. On the way back we pop into Lidl to pick up eggs and cereal bars, £6.12.
2pm: The leftover BBQ is still going strong so I have it for lunch for the third day in a row. B is not settling today so I spend some time settling and feeding him before having a cup of tea and banana bread. We are going to Ireland in August for a wedding so I send some emails on airport transfer quotes and purchase a baby carrier that we have been thinking about for a few days, £65 for my half.
5pm: My mother-in-law arrives as she is staying over again to help look after B tomorrow (I am doing a baby first aid course). I take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep and nap for a couple of hours.
9pm: We have a late dinner of leftover chicken stew, watch a programme about the UK’s most expensive houses and have an early night as we are all shattered.
Total: £71.12
6.45am: B was up every hour from 2am. It is days like today that I wish I liked coffee. Feed and change B, have a cup of tea and catch up with M before he leaves for work. I then take the opportunity of my mother-in-law being here to hop in the shower and get ready to head out.
9.30am: Arrive at the baby first aid course, which is being run for free by our local council. The course is a couple of hours and on the way back I head into Lidl to pick up broccoli, yoghurts, cookies and Yorkshire puddings, £3.94 for my half.
12pm: Arrive back home and catch up with my mother-in-law before she leaves. Have a quick tidy of the house after cuddling B, then make lunch of Vegemite toast with an apple.
2.30pm: Mum and a couple of her friends arrive to see the baby. We chat for a couple of hours and have tea and the cookies I bought earlier. My mum stays when her friends head home, which means I can have a nap for two days in a row!
3pm: Before napping I buy a few dresses online for some weddings we have coming up, £39.99. I will most likely have to return them as I am still not sure what dress size I am post-baby.
7pm: M arrives home from work and my dad arrives too. Dad helps with some DIY and Mum and I make bangers, mash and veg for dinner.
10pm: Mum and Dad head home and M and I do the usual getting-ready-for-bed routine. We end up catching up with our next-door neighbour for 30 minutes, then I head to bed, feed B and instantly fall asleep.
Total: £43.93
Food & Drink: £126.57
Clothes & Beauty: £39.99
Home & Health: £454.26
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £3.80
Other: £75.89
Total: £700.51
Conclusion
“This was a much more expensive week than usual, due to the wardrobes and buying B’s carrier. We have had a costly few months with moving and having a baby but hopefully all our big purchases are completed now and I can start to build my savings back up. Keeping a diary definitely made me more conscious of what I spend in the week and I will try and add more to our biweekly food shop rather than doing the small, ad hoc shops.”
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