This week: “I’m a 28-year-old civil servant living in southeast London. I moved into my current apartment with my boyfriend, T, 18 months ago. We are now, very excitingly, at the start of our search to become homeowners (and hopefully dog owners soon after). My role in the civil service was my first ‘professional’ job after university but I had lots of work experience before that in hospitality, teaching English, freelance editing and as an au pair, having worked (and saved!) since I was a young teenager. I never really planned for this career but the pandemic changed my plans a little as I wasn’t able to move abroad when I graduated.
I’m definitely a saver, though now I earn a stable salary I’m trying to allow myself to enjoy the money. Being in a relationship has definitely helped with that and I really enjoy making plans to do things and go to places just for the fun of it rather than thinking, Do I need to do this? Other than housing costs, my main spend is usually on food. There are so many great places to eat in London and it’s one of my favourite things to do with friends.”
Occupation: Civil servant
Industry: Public service
Age: 28
Location: London
Salary: £33,000
Paycheque amount: £2,044
Number of housemates: One: I live with my boyfriend, T.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £1,350 rent for our two-bedroom flat in London. I pay £550 and my boyfriend pays £800 as his salary is higher than mine.
Loan payments: £42 undergraduate loan. I paid off my £4,500 postgraduate loan in a one-off payment earlier this year after reading an article about it being cheaper in the long run.
Pension: I pay 5.45% into my pension and my employer contributes 27.1%. My monthly pension payment works out at approx. £150 a month.
Savings? £14,000, £32,000 ISA, £9,000 Help to Buy. I started working full-time in the summer holidays aged 16 and have saved slowly ever since.
Utilities: My boyfriend and l split all household bills equally. £150 council tax, £150 gas/electricity, £150 direct debit, £23.50 wi-fi, £14 TV licence.
All other monthly payments: £18 phone contract, £24 netball membership. Subscriptions: £2.99 Apple storage, £3.49 bike insurance.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes, I studied an undergraduate and postgraduate degree, both funded through student tuition and maintenance loans. My parents gave me £100 a month while I was a student and I worked every holiday to fund living costs.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I was taught the value of hard work and saving from a young age. I was very aware that money was hard-earned and once it had gone, it had gone. As a fairly mature child, I feel like I lived some of my dad’s money worries from a young age. We never struggled to put food on the table but I knew that Dad worked very hard to give us everything we wanted so I was grateful. Mum earned a far smaller salary but had a more relaxed outlook on money. I think it was a perfect combination — I learned to work hard and save but also to enjoy the money I spend.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out and lived in Europe when I was 19, moving straight to uni after that. I stayed with my parents during uni holidays and very briefly during the pandemic but never moved back in properly.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I was largely financially independent when I moved out at 19. My parents gave me £100 a month while I was at uni but I wasn’t dependent on that.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started babysitting when I was 13/14 but I got my first ‘real job’ when I’d just turned 16. I worked every day of the summer holidays, filling nail varnish bottles and packing orders for beauty salons. I got my first paycheque (£750) at the end and I thought I’d won the lottery!
Do you worry about money now?
I worry less about money now than I did when I was younger but do still get a bit stressed if I’ve had a heavy spending week. As a child I worried a lot more, even though my parents were never really struggling financially. I was the kind of child who saved an art kit or a pack of stickers because I didn’t want to waste them (I ended up throwing out the never-touched sets aged 19 because they’d all dried out) and I was the same with money. With birthday or pocket money, I was always thinking, What if I buy this and then see something better? This meant I tended to save a lot and buy very little. You could call it non-committal.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No, I’ve never inherited any money.
7am: My alarm wakes me up and I shower before jumping into my sports kit ready for the commute to work. I dislike commuting on the Tube with a passion so I cycle whenever possible. I eat two slices of fruit and toast while making a sandwich to take to work for lunch.
8.30am: Cycle to work and typically get caught out by a British summer downpour. Luckily my work clothes are dry in my backpack.
9am: Change and head straight to the office canteen to grab a coffee to warm up, £2.30. I usually hold out until mid-morning for a coffee but I was soaking wet and needed to cheer myself up ahead of a busy week!
12.30pm: Eat my lunch (cheese sandwich, banana, biscuit) with a colleague in the office canteen and take a quick walk around the park.
5.30pm: Thankfully the skies are a little brighter so the cycle home is dry.
6pm: Make a green mac and cheese from Jamie Oliver’s Veg. This is a favourite in our house and it will save for another meal (or two) later in the week.
7.30pm: Speak to my parents briefly before having a chilled evening on the sofa watching reality TV with my boyfriend, T.
10.30pm: Attempt to read my book but I’m falling asleep within five minutes.
Total: £2.30
7.45am: Alarm wakes me up again. Result! I’m usually a poor sleeper and wake up early, especially in summer when it’s light in the mornings. For some reason I’ve recently been sleeping a lot better (not complaining).
8am: It’s a beautiful sunny morning so I head for a quick walk before showering and getting ready for work. Being able to get time outdoors before work is, for me, the biggest perk of working from home a couple of days a week.
9am: Log on for another busy morning of meetings at work, accompanied by multiple cups of tea.
11am: Quick coffee break and social media scroll. My feed has been littered with arts and crafts lately and I’m feeling inspired despite having limited creative abilities.
1pm: Grab some fruit and yoghurt for a light lunch, knowing I’ll need to eat dinner early before netball later.
1.30pm: After a bit more scrolling, I succumb to my arty inspiration and buy some paint pens on Vinted, £21. The childlike excitement for their arrival is real!
6pm: Quickly make some gnocchi and veg before heading out for netball. I recently joined a team through Go Mammoth, which matches you with people in the local area and organises weekly games. We pay a season fee so I don’t pay for this game.
9pm: Shower, laundry, wash dishes and hit the sofa before bed.
Total: £21
6.45am: Wake up with T’s alarm but snooze in bed for a while while he goes running.
8.15am: Early log-on today. Working with international colleagues means earlier meetings to account for time differences. Keep my caffeine to hand.
11.30am: Call T to arrange some flat viewings for the weekend. We’re currently facing the dilemma of whether to move to the countryside, where we’re both happiest, or stay in London for a few more years (which is the sensible thing to do for our careers). These will be the first flat viewings we’ve had as prospective buyers, which is hugely exciting.
5pm: Another early dinner before my Samaritans shift (leftover mac and cheese this time). I’ve volunteered for a couple of years and I love it as it’s a charity close to my heart. I’ve faced my own mental health struggles over the years and being able to support others facing a difficult time is challenging but the most humbling thing to do.
9pm: Should have brought a rain jacket — it’s pouring! T has been out for work drinks so I meet him halfway home on the cycle and we brave the storm together.
9.45pm: Home and still soggy. Hang our wet clothes to dry in the bathroom, knowing full well they’ll still be wet in the morning and will make the house smell like wet dog. The joys of having no radiators!
10.45pm: Showered, finally dry and in bed with a tea.
Total: £0
11.30am: After a morning of working at home, I cycle into work to meet a colleague for lunch in the park.
12pm: I’m late so quickly grab a meal deal from Tesco on the way in. I get a wrap, crisps, a drink and banana for £3.65. My colleague is also in the process of buying a first house so I learn from his wisdom.
5.30pm: Stop off at the shops on the way home. We usually do our almost-weekly shop at the weekends but we always have to pick up extras in the week, either because we’ve forgotten something or because the shopping was too heavy to carry on our bikes. I pick up milk, bread, leeks, razors and toothpaste, £4.10.
7pm: T is out running so I make brunch for dinner. Brunch food is my favourite but I’m always starving when I wake up so the idea of holding out for an 11am meal never works for me. We make up for it by doing brunch for dinner on a regular basis!
8.30pm: Pack up a T-shirt I sold on Vinted. Living in an apartment with limited storage has done wonders for keeping my wardrobe full of things I actually wear. I started using Vinted to sell things I never reach for in my wardrobe and it’s been great. Building up that balance in the app also means I have a little pot for more guilt-free clothes shopping.
10pm: Sleep.
Total: £7.75
8.30am: Log on earlier to do some prep for an interview later in the day. T and I are both working from home. Luckily we have a small second bedroom that we use as a study, which makes it slightly easier.
1pm: Make eggs on toast for lunch after my interview. I think it went okay but I don’t expect to hear back for a couple of weeks so I try to forget about it and not overthink everything I did and didn’t say.
4.30pm: Earlier log-off after a quieter afternoon at work. I tidy the house a bit while T finishes work.
5.30pm: T goes running and I cycle alongside. Friday used to be the day we run together but I got injured at the start of the year so I’m not quite back to training yet.
7pm: Whip up a veggie chilli with rice for dinner. T and I have both been pescatarian for a few years now. I started eating less meat at uni, mainly because it was more expensive. Then it became more about animal welfare and environmental impact. No one in my family is veggie and my grandad was a butcher so I’m still looked at in disbelief when I turn down the Christmas turkey!
8pm: Book trains to visit my parents later this month, £26. I’m definitely a country girl at heart and miss the greenery and hills so much now I’m in London. We try to visit home once every couple of months for a dose of family, the outdoors and dogs.
10.30pm: Bedtime.
Total: £26
7am: Early wake-up for parkrun. I started parkrunning when I moved to London as motivation to get fitter and to meet new people, and now it’s part of my weekly routine.
8am: Surprise, surprise, it’s raining again. I’ve learned from my mistakes earlier in the week and pack a change of clothes.
9am: I manage to jog the whole 5k parkrun, which is only the second time since being injured — hooray! I’m so pleased that I forget that I’m dripping wet and forgot to bring spare socks.
10am: Dash straight from parkrun to catch the train for our flat viewings. I top up my Oyster card with £20 and change into dryer clothes on the train (the socks remain soggy for a good few hours).
11.30am: T and I call in at Lidl to get some snacks between viewings, £3.60. The thought of owning a house is so exciting but also slightly terrifying and I’m not sure I know enough about housing to be asking the right questions. Thankfully my younger sister, who is already on her second house (!), is on the other end of the phone.
2pm: After our last flat viewing, we cycle a good chunk of the way home. I bought my bike when I moved to London and it was the best thing I’ve done as it saves a lot on transport costs and is perfect for exploring. I love nothing more than a slow cycle around London in the summer.
4pm: T and I go to Lidl to do the weekly shop. We usually get the bulk of the food shop in Lidl and then top up with anything we can’t find somewhere else. We buy a whole load of veg, yoghurt, fruit loaf, tinned salmon, cereal, cheese, ice cream, Quorn mince, bleach, chocolate and deodorant. The shop comes to £23 for my half.
7pm: Have a stay-at-home date night after a long but exciting day. We make an Asian-style dinner with ramen and dumplings. We then try to pick a film but give in and play a board game instead before watching more reality TV.
11pm: Sleep.
Total: £46.60
8am: Early wake-up as we’ve booked to go kayaking with some friends. Sadly the weather is in keeping with the rest of the week so we call to reschedule. We aren’t able to get a refund so we rebook for a date next month, £20.
10am: New plan. Our friends will now host a classic wet-weather games afternoon at their house to make up for the lack of paddling. I scramble in the cupboard for ingredients to make a sponge cake to take with us.
2pm: T and I catch the train and stop off at the shop on the way to pick up some soft drinks and olives (the natural accompaniment for cake), £2.75 for my half.
7pm: After a fab afternoon of homemade bread, too much cake and a successfully solved murder mystery game, we catch the train home. Train strikes mean we wait a painfully long time in the rain. I’m getting better though: this time I brought an umbrella.
8.30pm: T and I aren’t very hungry after nibbling all afternoon so we don’t make a proper dinner. I have half a grapefruit and some cereal before crashing on the sofa.
10pm: Sleep.
Total: £22.75
Food & Drink: £39.40
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £0
Entertainment: £41
Travel: £46
Other: £0
Total: £126.40
Conclusion
“This was a slightly higher than usual spending week, particularly on transport, as I paid for train tickets to go home later this month and topped up my Oyster (which I probably only do once a fortnight). Though our kayaking trip was postponed, my social activities usually revolve more around food or sport so I’d typically spend less on entertainment and more in those categories.”
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Money Diary: A Tech Client Manager On 81k