This week: “I’m a 31-year-old food product development manager living in Hertfordshire with my other half and dog. I moved straight here for work after graduating and we’ve been in this house for three years now (we bought during COVID when the mortgage rates were super low). I work both in the office and at home whereas my other half is full time working from home. With regards to money, I would say I am more of a saver than a spender and I’m not overly frivolous with money. However, generally if I want something I will buy it as I work hard to be able to be comfortable with money.”
Occupation: Product development manager
Industry: Food
Age: 31
Location: Hertfordshire
Salary: £51,000
Paycheque Amount: £2,700
Number of housemates: One partner (P) and a dog (L)
Pronouns: She/Her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £550 per month for the mortgage, split 50/50 with partner.
Loan payments: £228 car payment, £186 student loan.
Pension? I pay 4% monthly out of my salary and my employer matches this. My contribution per month is £198.
Savings?: £17,000
Utilities: We put £1,000 into the joint account to cover mortgage and bills.
All other monthly payments: £34.95 gym; £11 contact lenses. Subscriptions: £10.99 Spotify; £15.99 Fitness app.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I studied a food and nutrition degree which meant moving from a small village to a big city. There weren’t many employment opportunities where I grew up, so to make more money and pursue the career I wanted, it meant having to go to uni and move away. I paid for it via the normal route of student loans and was also lucky enough to receive inheritance to cover my accommodation payments for the first year.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I was very fortunate to grow up in a family that was comfortable with money. I think for this reason I didn’t get a huge amount of money education via my parents as it wasn’t a huge concern for them. They were very savvy with investments, savings and so on, so I picked some of that up and have always been quite money conscious with anything I earn.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out at the age of 18 and only went back for short periods of time in the university holidays.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I became financially responsible at the age of 22 with my first graduate job. My safety net is the savings pot I try not to dip into too much. I pay for everything myself, apart from the occasional dinner or trip my other half pays for.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was in a shoe shop aged 17, where I worked to earn money to go out with friends and buy the clothes I wanted to. A great perk of the job was a free pair of shoes when you joined.
Do you worry about money now?
I worry more now about money than when I was younger. Having a mortgage is a big responsibility — especially now when the rates are soaring we would really have to compromise our spending if the payments went up much more. Saying that, both myself and my partner have worked hard to earn the salaries we do which enable us to not have to count every single penny.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
Yes. I received about £30,000 from in total from grandparents which helped with the deposit for my first house.
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7 a.m. — Start the day early with a pre-WFH swim.
8 a.m. — Get a notification that our joint account has dipped into the unarranged overdraft so I send over £50 each from our personal accounts. This doesn’t happen every month but we had to renew our home insurance last week so that hurt a bit.
8:15 a.m. — Drive back from the gym and take the dog out for a quick walk around the block before logging on at 8:45 a.m.
9 a.m. — Make a quick breakfast of a protein smoothie to drink while working through some emails and putting a wash on.
12:30 p.m. — Do a quick trip to big Tesco as the other half (P) needs Euros for an upcoming trip. I love F&F clothing so I also pick up a long-sleeve running top and a pair of grey jeans, £26.
1 p.m. — Head back home to make lunch and carry on working.
4 p.m. — Finish my final call of the day. Mondays tend to be very meeting heavy so they go by fairly quickly. Pack up my bag ready for an office day tomorrow.
7 p.m. — Head out for a free yoga class which was being advertised on Facebook. I also need to complete a run from my training plan so I run there and do a few laps around the car park to make the time.
8 p.m. — I have no intention of signing up as I’m already a member of a gym and use a fitness app meaning the end sales pitch was fairly pointless for the trainer (but it was a good class for a free one!). P picks me up as I don’t fancy walking home in the dark.
9 p.m. — I’m shattered so headed to bed for an early night.
Total: £76
7 a.m. — Get ready to head into the office.
8 a.m. — I’ve been sharing a car with P for the past three years and I’ve just recently just purchased my own. As a thank you, I got his call a full valet near work. A small price to pay for what I’ve saved over the years. Drop it off before going into the office.
12 p.m. — After a few meetings, lunchtime rolls around and I get a text from the car wash so I head over. I pick up up the car all fresh and clean and the price comes to £36. This is quite a lot for a car wash in my opinion, so I think I will stick to the local garage wash in future and for my new car.
12:30 p.m. — I brought in some lunch with me today at work so I heat up my soup as I know dinner will be fairly big later on.
2 p.m. — Have an all-afternoon meeting requiring a lot of listening. It is hard work paying attention for so long.
6 p.m. — Finally in the car and heading home. I end the day with a headache which annoyingly I get fairly often. This feels like one that won’t shift until I sleep so I take some paracetamol at home in the hope of dulling it.
7 p.m. — P’s family is round for dinner tonight so we all order a kebab in. Chicken shish in a pitta with some shared chips comes to £15.50. It isn’t the best takeaway but it’s better than cooking and washing up.
8 p.m. — We catch up over dinner then they leave and we head for an early night as P’s alarm is set for 3 a.m. for his flight tomorrow. I have a presentation at work so I’m glad we had a busy evening as sometimes I end up dwelling on work if we are just in the two of us.
10 p.m. — Lights out and asleep.
Total: £51.50
3 a.m. — Wake up to let P out the house to go to the airport — wave him off for a week (not jealous at all!).
4 a.m. — Fall back to sleep after an hour scrolling to make myself tired again after the abrupt wake-up alarm.
7 a.m. — Up and out early today as the dog needs walking. We go for a quick round the block before getting ready for the office.
8 a.m. — Fill up the car for the first time at the office as after work I am heading to Oxford to pick up my mum to come and stay for a few days. Luckily our office sells premium unleaded for the price of standard which is a small win for the car engine! The total comes to £52.
12 p.m. — I’ve brought lunch in so soup it is (again). I tend to always try and bring food from home to save money as otherwise I can end up spending £20 a week on office food and it’s easier to track my calories this way. Due to the nature of my job I have to do this quite strictly to try to avoid putting on a lot of weight.
1 p.m. — I prep for a presentation I’m giving from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. I used to get nervous about doing these but as my job involves a lot of them they have got easier over time.
4 p.m. — The presentation went very well and all the products are signed off for launch next year which is great.
4:30 p.m. — Head out the door quickly to miss most of the rush hour traffic on the way to Oxford.
6 p.m. — Meet Mum at the service station and catch up with her and Dad over a Waitrose dinner of a wrap, apple slices and a turmeric shot, £7.80. I avoid the temptation of a service station KFC.
8 p.m. —Jump back in the car and arrive home to a very excitable dog. We have a cup of tea and watch a bit of TV.
10 p.m. — Head to bed.
Total: £59.80
8 a.m. — I rarely get food in the office but today I’m having breakfast with a few friends so we ate in the canteen. I get half a bagel with smashed avo and halloumi to start the day, which will keep me full until lunch, £1.50.
10 a.m. — Have a quick break in between meetings so I pick up a few essentials in the shop at work. I get bread for Mum’s breakfasts and a new bottle of squash which we were running low on, £2.70. I then give Mum a quick call to check the dog sitting is going ok and power through a few emails before lunch.
12:30 p.m. — Lunchtime! We are having some food later on today in a meeting at 3 p.m. so I want to keep lunch fairly light. I opt for the Itsu gyoza from the shop at work with some pineapple, £4.50. They are 10/10!
4:30 p.m. — Head home to collect Mum to go and get our nails done together.
6 p.m. — Book myself and Mum in to get our nails done as she doesn’t get them done much and it was a nice way to get out the house after a full day dog sitting. This is probably my biggest beauty spend as I get my nails done religiously every three weeks with BIAB. However, I spend very little on clothes which is how I justify this as a reasonable expense. Also, as an ex nail biter it really helps with strengthening my nails.
7 p.m. — Mum treats me to this nail appointment which is very generous and helps the budget a bit for the week.
7:30 p.m. — Get home for a quick dinner of air-fryer salmon and egg fried rice.
8 p.m. — Watch a bit of TV before bed.
10 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £8.70
9 a.m. — Get up early for a quick run before work with the dog. I have a very rare meeting-free Friday which is a nice treat after a very busy week.
10 a.m. — P messages me about booking flights for my birthday next year to go away with friends for three nights. It costs £200 per person for return flights, which he very kindly pays for.
10 a.m. — I have a work trip coming up to Edinburgh so I sort the flights which work pay for (around £50 return). I then plough through lots of admin from the week.
12 p.m. — I have lunch with mum to keep her company for an hour. I heat up a very disappointing frozen high-protein Thai green curry from Aldi. Generally the products from this range are nice but I won’t be buying that again. I finish off some admin and thankfully don’t have any more calls which is a nice end to a productive week.
4:30 p.m. — Log off before taking the dog for a quick walk round the block.
6 p.m. — Cook me and Mum jacket potatoes and pulled pork for dinner then subject her to watching MAFS.
10 p.m. — Head to bed.
Total: £0
9 a.m. — Weekend! Have a lovely lie in thanks to our thermal blackout curtains and get up around 9 a.m. for a cup of tea with Mum.
10 a.m. — Take the dog out for a long hour walk round the fields near us as he is going to be spending a bit of time alone today so I want to tire him out so he can sleep.
12 p.m. — Get ready and showered and head into town to mooch around the shops. I drop off a bread bin I was trying to sell on Facebook Marketplace but had no takers — even with the price down to £5!
1 p.m. — Meet my P’s sister and Mum for lunch. I get a tuna panino and crisps and Mum has coronation chicken sandwich which comes to £17.70 with two drinks, which I pay for.
2 p.m. — Look in a deli shop in town and find an nduja pasta which P has been talking about for ages. Pick it up for him as a little present for when he returns, £6.50.
2:30 p.m. — Pop into Poundland for a very random list of house bits including cotton pads, drain unblocker, bin bags and dog bones, £8.
3 p.m. — Browse cook books in WHSmith and then head to look at some clothes in town. I try on a long striped jumper but put it back as it looks massive on me.
3:30 p.m. — Head home to check in on the dog and give him a quick walk around the block. Watch a bit more MAFS before heading out for dinner.
8 p.m. — Take Mum to a local pub for dinner which I have heard good things about and it does not disappoint! We both skip a starter, which is unlike me as I would usually prefer this over a dessert, however the sticky toffee banana bread has caught my eye. We both have a cheeseburger for main, drinks and then share the dessert. Mum kindly pays.
10 p.m. — Head home very full, get straight into PJs and fall asleep watching the news.
Total: £32.20
8 a.m. — I’m up early for a Sunday so I take the dog for a run along the river (luckily the winter sun is out and it isn’t too cold).
9 a.m. — Head back home for a quick shower and change of clothes and then jump in the car to go into town for a last send-off breakfast with Mum. It’s been really nice having her to stay and she’s been a great help looking after the dog while I was in the office. Mum goes for the full English and I opt for the poached eggs on toast (and steal one of her hash browns), £8.
10 a.m. — It’s my cousin’s birthday coming up soon so I pop into the card shop and buy a birthday card for her, £2.
11 a.m. — Realise this morning I am lacking warm long-sleeved running tops. Gym wear is so expensive to buy from new, so I’ve started looking on Vinted. I pick up a brand new grey Missguided gym top online which will be delivered by next week, £7.99.
12 p.m. — Say goodbye to the dog and get in the car with Mum to drop her back to Oxford.
1 p.m. — After a quick car swap and “hi” to Dad at the services, I turn straight around as I don’t want to leave the pooch for too long today.
3 p.m. — Come back home to a very quiet house. I make biscuits for this week’s work bake off and clean the bathroom.
4 p.m. — The biscuits are a bit of a fail as I forgot half the recipe midway through. They still taste nice though.
6 p.m. — Sit down with jacket potato and beans watching a film on Netflix. I’m looking forward to P being back tomorrow as the house is very quiet without him or Mum here.
9:30 p.m. — Head up to bed and manage about three pages of my book before lights out at 10 p.m.
Total: £17.99
Food & Drink: £64.20
Clothes & Beauty: £33.99
Home & Health: £8
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £52
Other: £88
Total: £246.19
Conclusion
“Apart from the car wash this was a fairly normal week for me. When you add it all up, nearly £250 is a lot to spend in a week! I want to try and cut down on the amount of money I spend on food and drink as this is where the majority of my spending lies. I’m hoping the car spending will be only once a month on petrol but as it is new we will have to see how that works out. I really enjoyed recording my spending as it’s so easy to buy without thinking.”
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