This week: “I’m a 35-year-old communications specialist living in Bedfordshire, working a hybrid role for local government based in London. I have recently been promoted and I’m really happy with my current role, but I haven’t ruled out a further upward move. This isn’t because I necessarily want more responsibility but because I feel I need the money to continue to live comfortably. I live with my partner, S, and I own the home that we live in as I purchased it before S and I met. We are looking to buy a larger house together and have recently started to both actively save for this. However, houses where we live are very expensive and we are toying with the idea of moving further up north to get “more bang for our buck”. However, that would mean a longer commute for us both to work which isn’t ideal. With moving as our next financial goal we have made a conscious effort to rein in our spending on socialising, but we do find it hard not to book little city breaks and weekends away as we love travel and feel we are generally quite consistent in our saving.”
Occupation: Communications
Industry: Local government
Age: 35
Location: Bedfordshire
Salary: £52,000
Paycheque Amount: £2,961 (four weekly)
Number of housemates: One — my partner, S.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £600 mortgage payment
Loan payments: £200 (paying off a £700 credit card balance)
Savings: £500 in an easy-access ISA; £700 in an easy-access savings account for property management fees to be paid quarterly; £4,000 in investments; £6,000 in a fixed-term ISA.
Pension? I pay 6.8% annually.
Utilities: Household bills (energy, TV and internet) are covered by my partner.
All other monthly payments: £11 phone; £200 towards quarterly property management and annual ground rent; £35 gym membership; £10 annual yoga app membership; £600 to savings account monthly. Subscriptions: £26.99 vitamin and wellness subscription.
Did you participate in any form of higher education?
I have an undergraduate and a master’s degree, both of which were paid for with a mix of student loans and support from my parents. Both of these loans have been paid off a long time ago. I also worked every summer in between years at uni and took a year off between my undergrad and master’s to work to earn money towards paying for it.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My parents were very careful and sensible with money, and always impressed on my sister and I the importance of saving and not getting into debt. We were given weekly pocket money but were expected to work for it with chores around the house. Our parents always made it clear that although they would support us at university, we were expected to also work to support ourselves.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
At 18 for my undergrad, then I moved back for short periods in between uni courses and living with boyfriends, et cetera. My parents have always made it clear we are always welcome back at home if we ever need it, which I am very grateful for.
Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
My partner S moved into the property that I had purchased before we met and I pay for the mortgage and property management, and he contributes by paying for bills and food. It works for us! We are looking to purchase a property together and the bills and mortgage for that will be split 50/50 when the time comes.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was waitressing at 16 in a local café to earn extra money to go out with my friends and go towards things like driving lessons. I was really keen to work and my parents very much encouraged it.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes — I want to buy a property with my partner and I worry about the rising housing costs. I worry about having children and being able to give them a comfortable life.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
My parents paid considerably towards both my degrees which meant I took out smaller student loans, which I am immensely grateful for. They are very generous and now often treat my sister and I to meals, gifts, and so on. They are amazing!
7:30 a.m. — Wake up (too early for a Saturday!) and go to my weekly yoga and Pilates (previously paid for in a block).
10:30 a.m. — Finish Pilates and walk to meet my high school friend A and her dog G for a walk and catch up. We grab a coffee from a local café, and I pay for us both, £7.
12 p.m. — Walk home from the park via supermarkets. I spend £5 in Iceland on a bag of frozen roasted vegetables (good for keeping in the freezer for last-minute meals) and some chocolate. I then head to Asda to buy ingredients to bake bread, get veggies to batch cook a veggie soup for the week and nuts and seeds to make homemade granola, £34.65.
12:30 p.m. — I get home and make a start on the food: bake bread (which comes out so good — the recipe is from Instagram and is more like a big cheese scone), granola and chop and roast veggies for blitzing with stock for soup.
1:30 p.m. — Take a break from being a domestic goddess to go for a drive and a walk with S. We go on a short but picturesque walk in the local countryside, and stop in a cute little country pub for a couple of drinks and a few packets of nuts. I pay, £21.
4 p.m. — Get home to finish cooking and baking the bread, granola and soup, before a well-deserved rest on the couch catching up with MAFSA.
6 p.m. — I make dinner: chicken parmigiana with pasta and broccoli for us both. I then clean up and decide to put a movie on Netflix.
10 p.m. — Do skincare and get into bed with my book (Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, absolutely loving it!) and lights out.
Total: £67.65
9 a.m. — Get up late after lazing in bed with my book and get ready to go grocery shopping to Aldi for a big-ish shop, which S pays for. We get lots of fresh produce, some pasta, chicken thigh fillets, two packs of fresh salmon, big tub of Greek yoghurt, crisps, bread, pitta bread and milk.
10 a.m. — Pop into the library to return my book (10/10 to Demon Copperhead) and get new books that I had ordered (support your local library!).
10:45 a.m. — Go straight to the gym and run a slow and comfortable 5km.
11:30 a.m. — Get home and showered as S wakes up.
12:30 p.m. —- Go to my parents’ place with some bread. My sister is already there with her partner so we all have a good catch up and a cup of tea.
2 p.m. —- Pop home to start dinner (beef stew) and leave that to slow cook for two hours while we go to see S’ mum and drop off more bread and presents. S’ mum is a great cook so nervous to give her something I have baked for a change!
4:30 p.m. —- Home from S’ mum’s and relax on the couch together watching MAFSA. I’m delighted there is a new series.
6 p.m. —- Have dinner with S. The beef stew isn’t great — can’t win them all.
7:30 p.m. —- S leaves for work (he has a couple of upcoming night shifts) so I clean up the house, do skincare and get in to bed with my new book (Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman).
Total: £0
4 a.m. —- Wake up to S coming home from his night shift and go back to sleep.
7:30 a.m. — Wake up before my alarm and get up quietly and do skincare trying not to wake S.
8 a.m. — Log on at home for work and drink a protein shake for breakfast with a big mug of coffee from my coffee machine. My role is hybrid and they’re pretty flexible on the days I come in. I try to go in at least twice a week, usually on a Wednesday and Thursday, so I can start the week from home.
10 a.m. — Have an important meeting with legal team to discuss the legal implications of some comms I am planning.
10:30 a.m. — Catch up with my line manager on the coming weeks activity and determine goals for the week.
11 a.m. — Work on a slide deck for my line manager for an upcoming activity piece.
12 p.m. — Break for a lunchtime walk and coffee with my friend, L, in a local park for some much-needed fresh air and exercise.
1 p.m. — Lunch al desko. I have the weekends homemade roasted tomato, pepper and squash soup and homemade bread while I handle emails.
4 p.m. — Finish work and go to Lidl with S for some dinner and more essentials — get two huge steaks, some dessert, a bottle of wine, toilet paper, cleaning products and some nice scented candles (total impulse buy!). S pays.
5 p.m. — Cook dinner for S (steak and homemade sweet potato fries). I will have fishcake and sweet potato fries later when I get in from the gym.
5:45 p.m. — Kiss S goodbye and go to gym classes (HIIT and yoga — included in my membership).
8 p.m. — In from gym (S left for another night shift) and put a pre-made fishcake on to cook while I shower and do nighttime skincare: glycolic acid, eye cream and heavy moisturiser.
8:45 p.m. — Eat in front of the TV and have a banana with vanilla Skyr and cinnamon for dessert with two big mugs of tea.
9:45 p.m. — Get into bed and have a quick phone call to S at work to say goodnight and read my book.
10:45 p.m. — Lights out.
Total: £0
4 a.m. —Wake up to S getting into bed and fall back to sleep.
7:30 a.m. — Morning skincare, log on for work and make breakfast — vanilla Skyr with cinnamon, homemade granola, banana, kiwi and strawberry while S sleeps.
10 a.m. —- Work on a slide deck until my first meeting of the day (light on meetings today, THANK GOD).
12.30 p.m. —- Lunchtime walk to Asda for salad (lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber) and some rotisserie chicken for work lunches this week, £6.50.
1 p.m. — Lunch at my desk while I work through emails. Homemade soup and bread again (I freeze the remaining servings of soup and package up the last of the bread to give to my sister).
2:30 p.m. — Listen to a call I don’t need to contribute to like a podcast while prepping a tofu Thai red curry for tomorrow night’s dinner, and salads for lunch in the office the next two days.
3 p.m. — Power through the last few emails of the day.
4 p.m. — Finish work for the day and do a 30 minute yin yoga practice at home. I feel like a pretzel after being sat at my desk all day! S wakes up halfway through.
4:30 p.m. — Start dinner (an Instagram recipe of gobi manchurian with rice — always comes out really well and is our go-to weeknight meal). After we chill on the couch with S watching more of our favourite, MAFSA.
6 p.m. —- Eat dinner and then more chill out with S on the couch.
7:30 p.m. —- I decide to do my nails and call my parents for a chat while S plays videogames.
8:30 p.m. —- Everything shower followed by book and tea in bed.
10:30 p.m. —- We are both exhausted. Lights out.
Total: £6.50
6:15 a.m. —- The alarm goes off for work for S and I lie in bed until 6.30 a.m. — office day for me today!
7:15 a.m. —- S leaves for work and I leave the house to walk to the bus stop.
7:30 a.m. — Get the bus to the station, £2 for a single.
7:45 a.m. — Get a train to London, £36.40.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive at my desk and have breakfast — a protein shake made with protein powder from home and with oat milk from the office fridge. I also make two oat milk cappuccinos and spend some time clearing some emails.
9:30 a.m. — First meeting of the day.
12 p.m. — Have lunch at my desk — a salad I prepped at home of cabbage, cucumber, fresh grated ginger and carrot with a soy and maple dressing and chicken.
2 p.m. — Have another meeting which turns into a big catchup with a colleague on a project that is running behind schedule. It ends up taking up most of the afternoon to get back on track.
5 p.m. — Leave the office and walk to the station.
6 p.m. — Arrive at the station and get the bus home, £2.
6.30 p.m. — Walk from the bus stop and arrive home.
6.45 p.m. — So good to be home! S has cooked dinner (salmon and pasta) and we chat about our days.
7 p.m. — Watch TV and relax with S — more MAFSA to relax my brain.
7.30 p.m. — Leave the house to go to my local leisure centre for a swim, £5. Being in the pool feels great after a long day at work and I leave feeling revitalised! S goes to the gym while I am there.
8.30 p.m. — Arrive home and have a shower and eat some Thai red curry and rice in front of the TV with S.
10 p.m. — Absolutely exhausted. Bed.
Total: £45.40
6:15 a.m. — Another office day.
7:15 a.m. — Leave the house to walk to the bus stop and get the bus to the station, £2.
7:45 a.m. — Get a return train to London, £36.40.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive at my desk and have breakfast — a protein shake and two oat milk cappuccinos. I clear some emails and have some catchups with my direct reports.
11 a.m. — First meeting of the day with an external stakeholder over coffee. I then have a detailed one-to-one with one of my direct reports on an issue he is struggling with.
12:30 p.m. — Catch up with a friend over lunch in the work canteen. I eat the salad I prepped at home of cabbage, cucumber, fresh grated ginger and carrot with a soy and maple dressing and chicken.
1:30 p.m. — Continue clearing emails and prep for a big external meeting with stakeholders this afternoon.
2:30 p.m. — External attendees arrive at 3 p.m. so I do a quick whizz around the building to sort out the meeting room.
3 p.m. — Meeting kicks off. Lots of discussion and lots to do following the meeting but overall a really productive session, which feels good.
5 p.m. — Home time! I leave the office and walk to the station.
6 p.m. — Arrive at the station and get the bus home, £2.
6:30 p.m. — Walk from the bus stop and arrive home to a cup of tea and chat on the couch with S.
7:30 p.m. — S and I go to my friend L’s house for dinner with her and her partner M. We bring a bottle of wine we got in Lidl earlier in the week to share.
10:30 p.m. — Get home and shower, exhausted.
11 p.m. — Lights off and bed!
Total: £40.40
7 a.m. — Have a late wake up as we are back WFH to end the week. I put on a face mask, have a big coffee and enjoy homemade granola, Skyr, strawberries and vitamins.
8 a.m. — Log on for work and have a pile of emails to work through.
12:30 p.m. — Finally break from emails and meetings to have lunch — classic cheese sandwich and a packet of crisps is calling my name!
1:30 p.m. — Final meeting of the day. I can finally tackle some more emails.
2:30 p.m. — Run out after my meeting to post something I had sold on Vinted and enjoy the walk and fresh air after being at my desk all day.
3 p.m. — Finish up some work for the week, and sketch out my week for next week (priorities, deadlines, things I want to achieve, et cetera). I have found this really helps me relax when I have a busy work load.
5 p.m. — Log off for the weekend.
6 p.m. — Head to the gym with S (we usually gym together during the week, but this week was a bit of an exception with his work and being out and so on).
7:30 p.m. — Come home and decide to watch more MAFSA while S cooks a chicken stir-fry for dinner.
8 p.m. — After we eat I get distracted from washing up talking about plans for an upcoming city break trip we have booked to Paris. We spend some time planning what we want to do and see while we are there, pre-booking a few restaurants and pricing up things.
9:30 p.m. — I finally start the washing up and S puts on a film on Netflix.
10:30 p.m. — I promptly fall asleep watching the film and decide to call it a night.
Total: £0
Food & Drink: £74.15
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £5
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £80.80
Other: £0
Total: £159.95
Conclusion
“This was a pretty quiet week for me in terms of social activity and shopping. I do tend to usually spend more on socialising with S, but him working some additional night shifts altered our week somewhat. I am pretty pleased about this as we are trying to make a conscious effort to start saving for a house.”
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