This week: “I’m 31, married and child-free, living in north-west England. I have lived in the same town for my whole life and moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) a few years ago when we bought our first house. I work full time, as does my husband, and we bring in a similar wage each, and contribute 50/50 to all household expenses. We do have a joint account, but this is just for our mortgage and other bills and we have direct debits set up for the relevant amount to move over to this account on payday. All of our other money is separate. I work for a nursery, running the before and after school club and the holiday club. I also cover some hours in the nursery to make my hours up to full time. I love going on holiday and always have a holiday or two planned. To fund the holidays I enjoy, I am sensible with my money, saving as much as I can each month and also babysit occasionally to supplement this. I have a sensible attitude towards money, as my parents have always been savers as opposed to spenders. Although I have a relatively low-paid job, I am always on top of my budget and factor every little spend in each month, even including our weekly takeaways!”
Occupation: Nursery practitioner/out of school club room leader
Industry: Childcare
Age: 31
Location: NW England
Salary: £11.17 per hour (£21,840 per year)
Paycheque Amount: £1,537.41 after tax (this has increased very slightly recently due to NI contributions decreasing).
Number of housemates: One, my husband E.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £242.95 for my half of mortgage. We got a fixed rate mortgage for seven years in November 2022 — very happy with that!
Loan payments: £103.27 (this isn’t an official loan, but a standing direct debit to my mum every month as she lent me the money for my car).
Pension? £39.04 each month automatically taken from my payslip, not sure what % this is but very low. Obviously, this is not very much at all and I know I need to look at increasing this in the next couple of years, realistically.
Savings? £1,200 and then £2,250 in another separate savings account that is earmarked for a big holiday I am booking soon.
Utilities: £133.55 for my half of water, council tax, internet et cetera. £80-£100 on gas and electric (we are still on an old-fashioned payment meter).
All other monthly payments: £56 phone contract; £2.99 iCloud storage; £6.99 phone insurance; £29.71 car insurance; £14.43 car tax. Subscriptions: £14.99 Odeon Limitless; £3.70 Twinkl (I pay half with a friend); £6.99.Netflix.
Did you participate in any form of higher education?
Yes, I completed an undergraduate degree in early years and childhood studies. This was £9,000 per year and paid for with student loans. I don’t currently earn enough to pay any of this back. I also had around £3,000 per year in maintenance loans, but mainly saved this as I worked during university, lived at home and didn’t go out much as I don’t drink. Later, I did my early years teacher Status qualification, but this was fully funded by the NCTL and I worked full time during this.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I grew up in a nice house with my parents and two sisters, we all had our own bedrooms and yearly holidays (either in the UK or Europe) but my parents didn’t waste money on us pointlessly. At 17, I started my first part time job. I didn’t pay rent or board, but did buy my own food and toiletries, paid my own phone bill, and so on. We talk very openly and honestly about money and I plan and budget for EVERYTHING. I wish I had been more serious about savings a little earlier than I was, but I enjoyed my earnings at the time and I’m thankful that I am sensible with money now.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I bought my house with my husband (then boyfriend) when I was 25 (six and a half years ago). My parents gifted us £10,000 towards our deposit.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
Fully responsible from 25 when I moved out, before that I was responsible for my own food, clothes, phone bill, toiletries, et cetera, but did live at home for free as I did not pay board. I bought my own car when I passed my test at 21 and have always paid the costs associated with my car. My mum has since bought me two cars (not at the same time!) that I pay her back monthly for. She won’t “let” me waste money paying a car loan back when she can comfortably afford to lend me the money, so I am very grateful for that!
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked at McDonald’s from the age of 17. I wanted a part-time job so I could afford to buy clothes for myself and hang out with my friends more.
Do you worry about money now?
No, I don’t. I’m very careful with my money and definitely wish I had more (ha ha), as my taste in holidays is definitely far too expensive for my income! BUT I don’t “worry” about it as my priority will always be having a roof over my head, food in the fridge and money on the gas and electric meters. I don’t have much in savings, but it is enough if anything happens on a day-to-day basis. I like having that security and will be focusing much more on building my savings up in 2025 and beyond.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
When I was 18, I got £1,400 from my grandparents. This did not last very long unfortunately as I was young and just been handed over a thousand pounds! Then the £10,000 towards my house deposit at age 25 from my parents.
7:05 a.m. — Drive to work (10 minutes away). I start at 7.30 a.m. and have toast at work with the children at breakfast club.
9 a.m. — Today is the day I get admin time at work until 3 p.m. I have brought snacks with me. Wednesday may or may not be my favourite long workday!
11 a.m. — My mum is in Blackpool for work and has stopped by my favourite bakery for me to pick up some treats. They do the absolute best blondies, and I haven’t had them for months, so I am happy to spend the money on them (however my mum treats me because she is the best!). We live well over an hour away so don’t get to go a lot, so I am looking forward to them.
1 p.m. — Lunch is a microwave chicken sub that I bought from Asda during the food shop at the weekend. I work three long days a week where I need to bring lunch with me. I will always buy stuff on the food shop for at least two of my long days, and sometimes treat myself to a cheap lunch out on the third day or just grab something from the cupboard. My other two days are split shifts, so I am at home over lunchtime.
6 p.m. — Finish work and chat to a friend for a bit after giving her a lift home.
7 p.m. — My husband works away every Wednesday night and I usually just chuck something from the freezer into the air fryer for tea which is what I do tonight (yes, I eat like a toddler 50% of the time).
10 p.m. — Head up to bed as I need a half decent sleep tonight.
Total: £0
7:10 a.m. — Drive to work and have toast there with the children at breakfast club – a definite perk of my job!
9 a.m. — Drive home. Two days a week I do a split shift just working 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., which is before and after school club hours. Sometimes these can be risky days for me for spending money as it’s so easy to nip to the shops on the way home! Today this happens and I go to Aldi. This is part of our weekly food shop and has been budgeted for. I do most of the food shopping at Asda but will nip to Aldi maybe once a fortnight and do part of the shop there as there’s some bits we do like. E will pay me back half for this when I have done the rest of the shop on Sunday, so £13.14 for my half.
10:30 a.m. — Relax watching Walt Disney World vlogs on YouTube while planning my own trip in November. I’m a planner and find it oddly relaxing making lists for everything!
1 p.m. — Lunch time, chicken strips and fries in the air fryer from the freezer. Yes, I am actually a toddler in an adult’s body.
2:35 p.m. — Drive back to work for after school club to start work at 3 p.m.
6 p.m. — Drive home and cook tea for me and E — I cook, and he does the dishes. We then chill in front of the TV for a couple of hours before bed.
10:45 p.m. — Bedtime.
Total: £13.14
7:10 a.m. — Drive to work, have toast with the children as usual. I have work all day today.
12 p.m. — Have my other chicken sub for lunch today. My mum and dad live just across the road from where I work, so I always spend my lunch hour at their house which is nice. I like the people I work with, but I do appreciate an hour away from my workplace at lunchtime.
6 p.m. — Finish work and get ready for tea out. It was mine and my husband’s 13-year anniversary of being together (not married that long!) on Wednesday so we are celebrating today due to both being at work on the actual day.
8 p.m. — We are at an all-you-can-eat Asian restaurant (yum). We always pay for what we eat individually when we go out for food as we have always earned similarly, and I find the concept of splitting the bill with anyone strange. I budget for what I’m buying, so it would throw me off if that changed because I was paying more due to splitting the bill in half. My husband generally eats a lot more than me and I don’t want to be paying for more than I am eating. I kept money aside from a babysitting job a few weeks ago to pay for this, so it almost feels like it’s free (girl math!), £25.99.
10 p.m. — Arrive home and chill watching television for an hour before bed.
Total: £25.99
8:50 a.m. — Drag myself out of bed. I literally turn into the laziest person alive on Saturdays if I don’t have plans. However, today I have to help out at the work open day for a couple of hours, so I am actually up very “early” for me on a Saturday.
9:30 a.m. — Work. This is overtime which is classed as time back so I can finish earlier another day(s).
12:15 p.m. — Obviously I deserve a treat lunch for working on a Saturday! £4.29 wrap of the day meal at McDonald’s.
1 p.m. — Nip home to grab a parcel I’ve been meaning to post for a couple of days and take to the Evri parcel shop near me.
1:30 p.m. — Pick my nephew, T, up as I am taking him to a birthday party for one of his classmates, which resulted in a massive headache and me questioning my life choices. I then take T to mine for a few hours, we watch Inside Out and make plans to go to the cinema when Inside Out 2 comes out in the summer.
6:30 p.m. — Make myself a quick tea for one (E is at the football with his dad and brother) before taking T home. Earlier than I would usually eat but I can’t be bothered to take tea with me to babysitting.
7:30 p.m. — I have my little babysitting job that I have recently started doing once a month. I get regular babysitting jobs due to having connections at the nursery where I work. These jobs really help me with my holiday fund and a little bit of extra cash to get me through the month.
11 p.m. — Home and bed.
Total: £4.29
9:30 a.m. — Get up after scrolling Instagram for a couple of hours in bed thinking about how hungry I am.
10:45 a.m. — Head to do my Asda food shop. I always do this on a Sunday morning. Me and E budget around £50-£55 a week for this (he budgets £30, I budget £25). We split equally, but every week I complain about how much all of his work snacks cost, and he always says he doesn’t mind paying a little bit more as he budgets more than me anyway. One day I will listen! £17.58 for my half.
11:45 a.m. — Get petrol while I am out (I budget for two full tanks a month and my light has just come on), £39.47.
12 p.m. — E picks my friend M up. We’re having lunch and watching the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie at mine. We have frozen pizzas for lunch that I grabbed on the food shop as they were on a good offer.
4 p.m. — Take M home. She lives near my mum and dad, so I pop in to say hello on my way home. My nephew T is there so end up staying for a couple of hours.
7:30 p.m. — Me and E go and grab our favourite takeaway. We prefer to go out and pick takeaways up as we find it’s cheaper/faster/fresher and sometimes we get food from separate places. Sunday night has always been our “movie and takeaway” night; when we first met it was the only night we could both guarantee we would never be at work, £6.29. I also remember I’ve got a dentist appointment tomorrow during my lunch break and need an easy on-the-go lunch (which I have not bought with the shopping, oops!) so grab a sandwich meal deal from Tesco, £3.40.
Total: £66.74
7:30 a.m. — Start work and have cereal with the children for breakfast. I have work all day today. Generally my longer workdays are usually no or very low spend days as obviously I am working. Also because I work with children, I don’t have access to my phone during working hours so no scrolling Vinted, et cetera.
11:30 a.m. — Dentist appointment for some treatment on a painful tooth. This appointment has been cancelled twice now over the last two months (once by me, once by them) and when I rang to rearrange from the latest cancellation, I wasn’t expecting them to fit me in this soon. I paid for my check-up last time, so today I pay the other £44.90 I owe for the Band 2 treatment. I end up having a two-hour “lunch” break due to the appointment being around 40 minutes late and being quite a lengthy appointment. Luckily, I have some overtime at work to take back so won’t lose any pay.
6 p.m. — Home time. Stop at Boots on the way home to pick up some painkillers which will be needed once this anaesthetic wears off. Annoyingly, I can’t swallow tablets due to a medical problem that I was born with, and I have to buy dissolvable painkillers. I buy two packs of Nurofen meltlets, £8.40 (shockingly expensive, sadly!)
6:45 p.m. — Jump in the shower when I get home and then cook tea for me and E. Chill in front of the TV while E does the dishes.
11 p.m. — Bedtime.
Total: £53.30
7:30 a.m. — Breakfast club shift meaning I have cereal at work with the children. Eating breakfast at work saves me money, so I appreciate being able to do that.
9 a.m. — I drive home after my breakfast club shift and spend my morning sorting my clothes out in my bedroom and packing away all my big winter jumpers and unpacking my more “summery” clothes. I have been meaning to do this for a couple of weeks now, and the weather has warmed up a little bit. I’m still expecting to need layers and hoodies and cardigans, but I don’t want to wear my big thick jumpers anymore.
12 p.m. — I have the pasta I was supposed to have for my tea last night and enjoy it now my mouth isn’t numb!
1 p.m. — Chill in front of the TV while working out the money for a few big costs I’ve got coming up. My service and MOT are due soon which will cost around £170, Disney+ is due for renewal, as well as general bill increases once the minimum wage increases. I also need to get my ESTA sorted for my travel to America in November. I am a pretty organised person when it comes to my finances and want to ensure I’m prepared for these extra expenses when they come. I will save less money in my savings/holiday funds when these are due, as well as putting babysitting money towards them.
2:35 p.m. — Drive back to work for after school club.
6:25 p.m. — Arrive home, shower and then make katsu curry and rice for tea.
8:25 p.m. — Chill in front of the TV until bedtime.
Total: £0
Food & Drink: £70.69
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £53.30
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £39.47
Other: £0
Total: £163.46
Conclusion
“Most of the week was fairly average for me. Obviously, I don’t go to the dentist weekly so this was an out of the ordinary, but necessary, expense. The meal out to celebrate our anniversary is a rarity, too, as we don’t eat out very often. But I had kept the money aside for this and factored this into my budget. The bulk of my spending other than that has been the food shop and petrol, which I meticulously budget for every month anyway! We always get a takeaway or two a week, too, but this is also budgeted for. I save around £350-£400 a month in my savings/holiday fund so it does leave me tight for general spending money across the month, but to be honest I manage fine with that most of the time and I would rather the money is going on something fun like a holiday rather than wasting it on things I don’t really need. I enjoyed keeping track of my spending this week as I enjoy doing this anyway and will definitely continue to do so.”
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