This week: “I’m a 26-year-old project manager from Devon. After I graduated, I was very fortunate to move back in with my parents and then start my first full-time position (and move out into my own place). However, COVID-19 struck, and I spent lockdown in my family home working remotely surrounded by my parents, siblings and dog! Once lockdown restrictions were relaxed, I finally moved into a two-bed flat with a friend and began being more independent again. Recently, I completed on my first house which needed an intensive amount of renovation, so I am learning how to live in DIY chaos! I’m incredibly fortunate that I work in a great team and love my job, and I’m grateful to have received three promotions and pay rises. I’ve been incredibly lucky and also so grateful that my family have been there to support and help me throughout the renovation to save money — I didn’t know my brother was good at tiling! — which has made me more appreciative of the cost of things and hunting for the best deal. I’ve had to spend all my savings on renovation and emergency repairs, which means I have a more negative attitude to money where I feel a lot of guilt with spending money on ‘nice’ things. I’ve always been careful with money, so this is a fairly new feeling of having to justify purchases to myself. My partner, A, is a lot more relaxed with money and spending which I hope to embrace a bit more.”
Occupation: Project manager
Industry: Defence
Age: 26
Location: Devon
Salary: £46,589
Paycheque Amount: £2,688, plus £550 from my housemate to cover bills.
Number of housemates: 1 (H, who lodges in the house)
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £903.04
Loan payments: £170 per month on kitchen, £75 on laser eye surgery repayments (ends this month), £123 Plan 2 student loan finance.
Savings? £500 emergency fund
Pension? I contribute 4.5% (£174 per month) and my employer matches this and adds an additional 1%, so 5.5%.
Utilities: £180 council tax; £25 a month water; £175 for gas and electric (standing order); £16.90 building and contents insurance; £26.50 Wi-Fi; £26.50 TV licence
All other monthly payments: £10 O2 sim; £45.63 car insurance; £14.43 car tax; £37.53 life insurance and critical illness cover; £9.05 income protection. Subscriptions: £14.99 Spotify; £95 Amazon Prime
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? I started my undergraduate degree straight after finishing A levels, and I received the lowest maintenance loan and tuition fee loan. Because of the low maintenance loan, I had to work alongside my studies to afford the rent and necessities, which I think enforced my attitude of saving and not spending unnecessarily.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I was incredibly lucky to have had a very comfortable standard of living, or at least the appearance of it. My parents were great at keeping any money issues to themselves if we had any, but my step-mum (who I call Mum as she’s raised me for most of my life) was always good at budgeting and making sure the finances were in order. When we could, we would go on holidays abroad but if not, we spent many weekends down in Cornwall. We did not receive pocket money, but we would never go without.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out for university when I was 18, but moved back once I graduated when I was 21. I lived at home throughout lockdown (I was planning on moving out) and moved out when I was 23 to shared accommodation. I recently moved home for a longer period than expected due to giving up my tenancy and an unexpected delay in completing on my house, but I fully moved out when I was 26. When living at home, I contributed to household costs, but this was reduced to allow me to build up savings for my house purchase and renovation.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I would say I have been fully financially responsible for myself since the age of 26 when I moved into my house.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was as a kitchen assistant in a local health centre when I was 15. I actually got this job as a result of volunteering to teach children to play squash for my Duke of Edinburgh award. The kitchen were short on staff one day and I helped out. I worked two evenings a week to earn money to buy my own clothes and save to learn to drive (and eventually buy a car, insurance, et cetera).
Do you worry about money now?
I have a very bad relationship with money as I worry too much about it and restrict my own spending, so when I do spend money, I feel exceptionally guilty about it. I think this stems from having to be so financially careful when I was at university to make sure I could afford rent and food. This has continued into my adult life as although I am on a monthly salary, I feel nervous around spending money and saved throughout to buy my first house and put money aside for renovations. The house required a lot of renovation (some of which was definitely unplanned!) which saw my savings deplete and my spending on house-related activities increase, which has probably heightened my guilt around spending. I am now in a position where the majority of work is done and I can start to save again or spend money on decorating, but I will still have hesitation around spending.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I was extremely fortunate to be given some money towards my house deposit from my grandmother, which I invested and added to so I could afford the house. I also had some money in trust from when my mum passed, but this was not a lot as my dad didn’t really anticipate her passing at all.
9 a.m. — Alarm goes off; reluctantly get out of bed and begin the tea round after staying at my parents’ last night.
10 a.m. — We sit down on the sofa to watch the new Chicken Run. My mum is having some bad tooth pain, so I make her a hot water bottle and give some pain meds, but otherwise we all sprawl out on the sofa and enjoy it being calm.
12 p.m. — Film finished, highly recommend to all fellow Chicken Run fans! Bacon rolls are cooked by my dad and promptly inhaled.
3 p.m. — Try and find the energy to leave the home household and return to my house.
4 p.m. — After a few laps of driving and lots of complaining, I manage to find parking and walk back to my house. Parking is very busy around where I live, and it can be a real pain in the evenings. Walk in and have a natter with my housemate, H, and his girlfriend, O.
4:45 p.m. — Reluctantly force myself to unpack from my overnight stay and get my life in order before the return to work.
5 p.m. — FaceTime my partner, A, who is currently away with his family. I’ve missed having him around and can’t wait for him to come back.
5:30 p.m. — Decide to start meal prepping my lunches for the week. As I’m in the office three times a week, I try to make sure I take a big lunch into work to get me through the day as there’s nothing worse than being hungry and having to deal with people.
6:45 p.m. — Meal prep finished, and kitchen cleaned, so I reheat some shepherd’s pie I made the other night and sit down to watch another episode of Berlin on Netflix. I’ve spent the past few months renovating my house after work and all day every weekend, so it’s great to get the chance to sit down and watch TV without feeling guilty that I’m not doing work on the house (although there are still things that need doing!).
7 p.m. — See a sale on and treat myself to a new frying pan and saucepan, £24. I get a new mirror for my bedroom that’s reduced, a fitted sheet and some keyhole locks for my doors, £88. I feel guilty making big, expensive purchases for decorative things when I’m used to paying for materials and tradesmen, but these are things I need for the house (or at least I tell myself that).
7:30 p.m. — I force myself to shower and start prepping my clothes for work.
9 p.m. — Ironing complete, work clothes all laid out and excessive tidying complete. I’m a nervous tidier so I feel a bit better when I’ve had a clean. Sit down to watch another episode of Berlin to calm the mind.
10 p.m. — Head to bed, try and get a decent night sleep before my alarm gets to me!
Total: £112
5:45 a.m. — I wake up slightly before my alarm and ponder my life choices for 10 minutes before I drag myself out of bed. I’ve found I can do my makeup and hair for work while catching up on YouTube videos which is always a result, and I manage to eat a bagel before I pack my lunch.
7 a.m. — I set off for work in my car — although it’s only a 10-minute drive, I always end up having to park miles away and walk in through the gale force wind and rain.
7:20 a.m. — Arrive in the office windswept and soaked, ready for a busy day. Set my computer up and promptly turn on my heater (small mercies) to start defrosting while chatting to my colleagues. One of my favourite parts of this job is that I get on well with my colleagues and really like them as people. A colleague kindly offers me some coffee from their cafetière and I throw myself at this to make sure I am ready for the day.
12 p.m. — I spend the morning clearing my emails, chasing outstanding actions and attending meetings. I manage to find time to grab lunch and reheat my teriyaki chicken and rice, as well as inhaling my cereal bar and fruit.
3:35 p.m. — Spend the rest of my afternoon updating my spreadsheets and reports for my manager to review. I finish work and head back to car to drive home.
4 p.m. — I manage to find parking (result!) and arrive back home, quickly unpack work bag, empty dishwasher, and restore house back to earlier calm.
4:30 p.m. — Tuesday is netball night so I start prepping my dinner and bits for my lunches on Thursday and Friday. H arrived back from work, so I get to hear the gossip from his day.
5:15 p.m. — Dinner prepped, I remove my makeup and change into gym clothes to make sure I don’t find any excuse to not go to netball. I love going but the matches are so late, so I have to wrangle with myself to go.
5:45 p.m. — Throw food in the oven and start another episode of Berlin while I seemingly have time to myself.
6:30 p.m. — Dinner is ready (red Thai salmon, baby potatoes and broccoli) and my friend L pops over to say hi while she’s back home to revise. We arrange to meet up on Friday evening for a meal and a catch up, can’t wait!
7:30 p.m. — Leave to head to netball. Although my match isn’t until 8:20 p.m., we arrive early to have a catch up and warm up as it’s really cold on the courts.
9:30 p.m. — Arrive home after driving back from our match. While driving, I call A to chat about our usual weekly loss (it’s about the taking part, right?), try not to feel too envious about his holiday activities (sunbathing, cocktails and scuba diving), and hear all about his day. Get into the house and promptly jump in the shower.
10 p.m. — Crawl into bed and hope tiredness overcomes me as I am feeling incredibly awake.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £0
6 a.m. — Alarm goes off so I snooze it for another 10 minutes as I feel very achy. Begrudgingly get out of bed and begin getting ready for work, do my makeup and hair while catching up on a YouTube episode.
7 a.m. — Breakfast eaten, teeth cleaned, lunch packed, and I walk to my car (only a couple of streets over) to set off for work.
7:20 a.m. — Arrive in work, make myself a cup of tea, turn on the heater and have a natter with my colleague while my laptop starts up.
12 p.m. — I have no meetings in my diary today so I spend the morning scheduling (which I wish I could avoid). Also spend my morning working my way through my snacks and reheat my teriyaki chicken rice for lunch.
3 p.m. — Spend the rest of the afternoon sending emails and finishing up my project proposal documents with some chill music on.
3:45 p.m. — Leave the office and remind myself to head to the garage to fill up my car, £56.60.
5 p.m. — My housemate and I are having dinner together so to accompany the spaghetti, I walk to the shops and pick up some garlic bread, a sharing bag of chocolate buttons and a multipack of Double Deckers, as I have come to resent the healthy version of me who did the food shop last week, £5.90.
5 p.m. — Arrive home, unpack the shopping and spend 10 minutes cramming cardboard into the (rather full) recycling bin.
6 p.m. — Finally change out of my work clothes, unpack my work bag and sit downstairs. Eventually decide to not stare into the abyss and tackle changing the lightbulbs in my light fittings and give the light shades a well-needed clean.
6:15 p.m. — H arrives home from the gym so while he showers, I prep dinner. H then returns so we cook food and have a natter about each other’s day.
6:30 p.m. — Dinner cooked, gin poured and TV on! Time to settle down for a film and a chill after some busy days.
10 p.m. — Film night complete, time to finish washing up and taking off my makeup before I get ready for bed.
10:15 p.m. — A is back from scuba diving and he sends me all his amazing video footage, so I spend a while watching it all and admiring the turtles.
10:30 p.m. — All settled into bed and remember to set my alarm back an hour as I am WFH tomorrow.
Total: £62.50
7 a.m. — Alarm goes off and I appreciate the extra hour I get working from home today. Get myself up, dressed and throw a bagel in the toaster before I sign on.
11 a.m. — Spend most of my morning in a virtual workshop (organiser note: please do them in person) and use every shred of attention I can muster.
12 p.m. — Workshop is complete and I am given some actions, which I distribute to my afternoon activities. Since I’m at home, I make myself a meatball couscous bowl with some peppers and rocket I have in the fridge, and quickly hoover this down.
4 p.m. — Spend the rest of the afternoon completing my actions from the workshop and finish work a bit after my set hours. As I’m working at home, I don’t mind starting and finishing a bit earlier and later, and my manager is great for letting me flex my time when needed. Decide to brave the rain and walk to the local Post Office to collect a parcel that I was 100% home for.
4:30 p.m. — Parcel retrieved, I return home and quickly change into gym kit to do a home workout. I always like to do something active when I’ve spent the day at home as I tend not to walk as much as I do when I’m in the office, and, as I’ve recently moved house, I haven’t quite sussed out the local gym.
5:30 p.m. — My attempt at a lower body workout is complete so I manage to FaceTime A to have a little chat about each other’s days. Absolutely gutted to hear he has clear sunny skies when it’s raining here.
6:30 p.m. — FaceTime finished, time to jump in the shower and refresh myself before I stare into the fridge to try and figure out dinner. I usually try to plan my meals for the week but sometimes I find I’m too regimented, so I like to try and eat what I fancy that evening.
7:15 p.m. — Start prepping dinner when H arrives. We decide to combine forces and cook a massive chicken and bacon pasta dish which is insane.
8 p.m. — H and I sit down to catch up on the previous night’s episode of The Traitors, and comment on whether the show is the same as last year.
9:30 p.m. — Start feeling myself drop off so I decide it’s time to get ready for bed.
10 p.m. — Makeup off, teeth cleaned, and I am snuggled up in bed, ready to sleep.
Total: £0
7 a.m. — Good morning world! As it’s a shorter day, I tend to work from home, so I get dressed, eat breakfast and log into my computer while the kettle is boiling for a cup of tea.
9 a.m. — Morning meetings complete, and I hear the doorbell ring which means the carpenter has arrived to finish some bits in the kitchen. Quick natter, make them a coffee and return to the desk.
1:30 p.m. — Sign off work for the day and drive to drop some documents off at the local school that my colleagues and I are supporting as part of our community days.
2 p.m. — First admin drop complete, now off to collect a cupboard from Facebook marketplace for the bathroom so I can finally store my towels, £5.
2:30 p.m. — Arrive at Aldi to pick up a few bits (bagels, kitchen roll, milk, cheese, salt, pasta, chicken, rice, salt) for £13.32.
3 p.m. — Arrive home and unpack the food shop.
5 p.m. — Suddenly check the time and realise I need to start getting ready for dinner with L. Really excited to see her, just slightly strapped for time!
6 p.m. — L picks me up, ready for a big dinner and a gossip about exams, her life and work. I pay for parking, £3.50.
8 p.m. — My half of dinner (a drink, a pork medallion, potato gratin and a panna cotta for dessert) comes to £18.10.
9:30 p.m. — Return home after a much-needed natter. H informs me that the front door lock is starting to catch which means I need to replace the barrel. I begrudgingly order a new one with a twist lock to save us running upstairs to get the keys when the postman arrives, £11.51. It will arrive sometime next week so I only have to deal with this for a few more days.
10 p.m. — Make up has been removed and my teeth are cleaned, so I promptly send myself to bed as I have an early morning run group that I am trying tomorrow. I’m slightly nervous as I don’t know anyone at the group, but I’m really hoping to meet some lovely people and maybe make a few running buddies!
Total: £51.43
7 a.m. — Good morning! Force myself to get out of bed as the run group meets around 8 a.m. and I need to make sure I hydrate beforehand (or else I get a massive stitch).
7:45 a.m. — Set off to the new group, feeling very nervous but excited as I’m hoping this is a good way to meet new people my age.
9:15 a.m. — Run club complete and I’m unsure if I’ll return. The group felt disorganised, cliquey and ended up starting a lot later than it said. I was invited to join for a coffee and bagel at the local cafe after but the wait for food was ridiculous and I didn’t want to pay all that money for food I have at home.
10:30 a.m. — Finally sit down after having a shower, putting a wash on and inhale a bacon and egg bagel with a coffee. Throw on a new episode of Percy Jackson on Disney+ and try to feel proud of myself for being brave enough to try something new today and for running five kilometres.
11 a.m. — Begin a massive deep clean of the house and then finish packing as I’m off to Falmouth this afternoon with my parents to see my sister, M, who is studying at university there.
2 p.m. ± Manage to load an excessive amount of clothes and bedding into my car for one night. Do some last-minute house checks and then set off to my parents’ house, who live about 30 minutes away.
2:30 p.m. — Arrive at my parents’ and chat to my mum while she’s still packing. Start making tea and have a general gossip about work, the house and what we’ve been up to. Spend a copious amount of time harassing the dog, T, and feeding her biscuits when the parents aren’t looking.
4:45 p.m. — Set off a bit early as Mum needs to put fuel in the van. Somehow she’s left her bank card at home, so I pay for the fuel and a packet of sweets for the road, £32.78.
5 p.m. — Dad meets us at the petrol station after his day of golf and off we go! My sister is at university, so we like to pop down and see her when we can (and she gets to see the dog).
7 p.m. — Finally arrive after a bit of traffic on the road. Quickly change into some nice clothes and have dinner and drinks at a local place which mum and dad kindly cover as I contributed to fuel.
11 p.m. — Head back to my sister’s house to sleep for the night. End up drinking with her student housemates and get into bed at 12:45 a.m.
Total: £32.78
8 a.m. — I wake up and spend half an hour scrolling on my phone before my sister wakes up. I had a lovely evening catching up with her, so we get ready to meet the parents at the beach.
9:30 a.m. — We arrive at the beach and quickly find our parents and the dog. We all go for a walk which is beautiful as it’s a cold morning, but the sun is rising.
10:15 a.m. — Find a place to eat breakfast and manage to grab an outside table. Although it’s chilly, it has a lovely view, so we were surprised they had tables. Have a look over the menu and order a full English as I am feeling particularly hungry.
11:15 a.m. — Finish breakfast, mum and dad pay (result!), and drop my sister back to her house before we start our journey back home.
12:30 p.m. — Stop off in TK Maxx for a mooch. Feel a big set of guilt at the purchases (chopping boards, utensils, decorative ornament, makeup remover and skin treatment) even though I try to justify it, £55.94.
1:45 p.m. — Set off again back home. Take the opportunity to nap in the back of the van as I always struggle to sleep in new places.
3 p.m. — We hit a bit of traffic on the way home but eventually we arrive at my parents’ house. We have a cup of tea and a natter, and I help them unload the van from the weekend.
4 p.m. — Finally decide to leave my dog and wave goodbye to my parents. Jump in my car and set off back to my house.
4:45 p.m. — Arrive at my house a bit later than I hoped, due to traffic. I spend some time unpacking my clothes, putting a wash on and putting my new purchases away. I ponder why on earth I packed like I was going for a two-week holiday for an overnight trip, but I like to cover all my bases. Spend a bit of time distracting myself scrolling through TikTok so this task takes a lot longer than needed but it’s a day of rest and I’m embracing that.
6 p.m. — A wave of hunger takes over, so I quickly throw together a chicken stir-fry to use up some of the veggies that look like they’ve been neglected in the fridge. It’s a big bulky meal which means I hopefully won’t feel hungry, and I use up the veg, so it’s a win-win in my eyes.
6:30 p.m. — Take my dinner and decide to eat on the sofa, so I put on an episode of Fool Me Once which my mum was raving about all weekend. Commit to watching two episodes but I’m not 100% gripped (I will of course force myself to finish the series, but I was hoping for more drama).
8:30 p.m. — Finish watching the episodes and clean up the kitchen before heading upstairs.
9 p.m. — FaceTime A as he is back in the UK and getting ready to return to work tomorrow. He travels quite a bit with work, so even though he lives near me, he spends most of the week away, which is difficult. However, I love the fact I have the weekdays to do my own thing and I’m confident enough to make my own plans and do my own things (like netball and meeting friends) while he’s away. He’s coming back this weekend and I’m really excited to see him, so we discuss what we will get up to when he gets back and plan out the activities.
10:30 p.m. — Realise we have FaceTimed a lot later than planned, so we call it a night and I quickly clean my teeth before jumping into bed. Luckily, I have managed to tire myself out, so I fall asleep quite quickly which is a relief.
Total: £55.94
Food & Drink: £37.32
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £184.45
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £92.88
Other: £0
Total: £314.65
Conclusion
“On reflection, this was a higher than average spend week for me due to household purchases and filling the car up (which is usually once a month). Trying to plan my meals for work and the evenings helps reduce my spending on food, which means I can justify eating out socially — I am a foodie at heart and love trying new places. I feel that making lists of things I need and want to buy for the house will help me reduce the guilt I feel when I spend, so I’ll look to do this. However, as I’ve only just got to the stage of being able to decorate my house, most of my purchases are the big one-off costs that I have to spend to make the house feel homey, so although expensive, they are semi-necessary. It’s also important for me to try and socialise when I can as I can often find myself spending long periods of time in my own company (which isn’t a bad thing!). Other than that, I actually really enjoyed tracking my spending and looking at where it’s going (and why), and I’ll try to be more aware of my own relationship with money.”
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