This week: “I’m a 32-year-old management consultant in Birmingham, living alone in a little house I bought two years ago. I work in the infrastructure industry (notoriously male-dominated) which I have been working hard to crack and my hard work is finally starting to pay off. I recently changed companies which resulted in quite a big pay rise and quite a big confidence boost: My new employer thought I was worth the high salary and my new team are giving me great feedback on my work. Despite having a great new salary, I’m trying to avoid lifestyle creep and instead use my extra earnings to fund experiences rather than a fancy car/phone. I’m also trying to build up my savings which were drained when I bought my house.”
Occupation: Management consultant
Industry: Infrastructure
Age: 32
Location: Birmingham
Salary: £64,950
Paycheque Amount: £3,520
Number of housemates: 0
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £650
Loan payments: £300 each month to my student loan repayment.
Savings?: £5,000 in an easy-access account, £20,000 in a savings account and around £10,000 in shares, plus £2,000 in a travel fund.
Pension? Yes, I pay 3% and my employer pays 5%. This will increase once I pass my probation period and I will qualify for other benefits (i.e. GAYE, healthcare, et cetera). I have about £45,000 in my pension.
Utilities: £650 mortgage, £105 council tax, £40 TV and broadband (including Netflix), £18 water, £100 gas and electricity. Home insurance, car insurance, tax, and so on are paid annually.
All other monthly payments: £10 SIM-only contract. Subscriptions: £25 gym membership. £10 blades (razor and dermaplaning). Amazon Prime, paid annually.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I did an undergraduate degree paid for through student loans. I got a small scholarship (based on my A-level grades) in my first year which helped to cover my living expenses alongside my loan. I didn’t get this in my second and third year, so my parents gave me £20 a week towards living costs. I also worked during the holidays to build up some funds.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I’m from a working class background where my dad worked in construction and my mum stayed at home to look after us. While we never wanted for anything, we didn’t go on fancy holidays or have an expensive car. I was also conscious that money was sometimes tight especially during times when the construction industry wasn’t thriving (i.e. during the recession). My mum is a spender while my dad is a saver, so we got quite conflicting advice about finances. I think I definitely follow more in my dad’s footsteps.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out for uni and then rented in another city in my early 20s before moving back to my home town in my mid 20s and in with my parents (at their request). The plan was to save for a house deposit for a couple of years and then buy my own place when I was about 28… Then COVID-19 hit. I ended up living with them longer than expected which enabled me to save up more and buy a house instead of a flat. I ended up moving out officially at 30.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
Once I graduated from uni at 21, I became financially responsible for myself and never asked for anything from my parents. However, I did live with them rent-free for a couple of years, so they were technically covering my living arrangements. At present, no one covers any aspect of my financial life.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started babysitting for family friends from around the age of 13, for spending money. As soon as I turned 16, I got a job in retail which I had until I left for uni. I worked during the uni summer holidays and started my graduate job straight after graduating.
Do you worry about money now?
I don’t worry day to day as I have a good income which affords me a comfortable lifestyle. I’m conscious of the single tax however, and that taking on a mortgage alone means that I have no one to fall back on if the worst was to happen. While my industry pays well, it would be heavily impacted by a recession. I try to alleviate my worries by saving and investing where I can.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No. But as mentioned, my parents allowed me to live at home rent-free for periods during my 20s.
8 a.m. — It’s Sunday! Wake up naturally, go downstairs and make myself a cup of tea. After a day of socialising yesterday, I’m ready to get stuff done.
10 a.m. — Strip my bed, load the washing machine and head to the gym for a circuits class.
11 a.m. — Class finished so I drive into town as I have a few jobs to do. Park in the nice part of town which is free on a Sunday. Walk to the shops to return a couple of online orders and then pop into my favourite bakery and treat myself to an Eton Mess Cronut for later, £4.50. Finally, go into my office to collect my new computer monitor which was delivered there instead of home.
1 p.m. — Leave town and get confused by the (poorly signposted) bus lanes and bus gates. Drive around in circles trying to find a way out. Expect a fine.
1:30 p.m. — Drive to Aldi to do my weekly shop. Buy milk, peppers, courgette, cherry tomatoes, avocado, fresh pasta, mozzarella, chorizo, halloumi, pesto, biscuits and bagels,£14.82. Walk to Morrisons to buy gnocchi and red onion as Aldi were all out, £1.88. I’m out for dinner a few times this week so I don’t do a full week’s shop.
2 p.m. — Arrive home and the sun is shining. Unload the machine and decide it’s warm enough to dry my sheets outside for the first time this year. The summer is coming, girls! Make myself lunch (bagel, crisps and tea) and treat myself to a 30-minute sit down before the next round of jobs start.
3 p.m. — Put another load of laundry on, then go into the garden to get some jobs done: mow the lawn, do some weeding, attempt to tidy the shed. Once I’m happy with my efforts, I go back and move my laundry from the machine to the tumble drier as there’s no more space on the line.
5 p.m. — Time for the Sunday evening reset. Face mask, shower, wash my hair, dermaplaning, pluck my eyebrows, and do my skincare. Feel like a new person. Put all the laundry away and then put fresh sheets on my bed.
6 p.m. — Make a dinner of pasta with chorizo, garlic, red onion, courgette and a generous helping of parmesan. Feeling decadent so I add both shaved and grated parmesan on top. I’ve made enough for lunch for the next two days so put those portions away and wash up. Make a cup of tea and devour my Eton Mess Cronut. It was a 10/10, but I have lost my skincare from the nose down.
7 p.m. — Light a candle and curl up on the sofa with a blanket to watch TV. I do my obligatory Sunday evening scroll through Hinge. Decide I am better off alone and go back to living my best life.
10 p.m. — Head upstairs to brush my teeth and patch up my skincare. Lights out at 10:30 p.m.
Total: £21.20
7:45 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I’m working from home today so I make my bed, do my skincare and do light touch makeup and hair. Make a cup of tea and have two crumpets from the freezer for breakfast.
8:30 a.m. — Log on for a morning of catch-up meetings for projects I’m working on. I lead some of the meetings and just provide input into the others. In between meetings, I check my to-do list and decide what I want to get done today. I’ve had a really busy month with lots of project deadlines which resulted in me working late pretty much every day. This week should be quieter so I’m hopeful that I will make a dent in my to-do list and might actually get to take a lunch break.
1 p.m. — Break for lunch. Eat my leftover chorizo pasta, followed by crisps and a crème egg. Watch the news while I eat and reply to some WhatsApp messages.
1:30 p.m. — Back to work for more meetings. Spend my last two hours of the day prepping for a meeting tomorrow, inputting into a bid document, replying to emails and talking to a couple of junior colleagues about their tasks for the week.
5:30 p.m. — Log off for the day and have a quick shower before driving to my LVL eyelash appointment. I paid when I booked a couple of weeks ago so it’s free for today’s me.
7 p.m. — Appointment over, I drive to my parents’ house for dinner. Enjoy spaghetti and meatballs followed by a slice of cake. They are good to me.
9 p.m. — Drive back to my house. Sort out my lunch/snacks for the office and pack my bag. Prep for tomorrow’s dinner by chopping and roasting some vegetables. Catch up on more TV with a cup of tea.
10 p.m. — Do skincare around my eyelashes as I can’t get them wet, brush my teeth and head to bed.
Total: £0
7 a.m. — Rise and shine for a day in the office. Skincare, makeup, hair, outfit (correct order, IMO). Try on four skirts and decide that I hate them all. End up wearing the first one. When I’m ready, I go downstairs to open the blinds, put yesterday’s drying up away and collect my lunch from the fridge. Drive to the station and catch the train to work. Parking is free and a return ticket is £3.90.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive at work, set up my laptop and make a drink. I have an hour before my first meeting, so I use this time to review and make some changes to a report that is due out this week.
10 a.m. — Walk to a client’s office for a meeting (my only local client, therefore my favourite client). It’s a long meeting so I go via Tesco to pick up some sweet treats, £4. Spend the next three or so hours going through a report we issued to them last week. I lead the meeting so I’m tired of listening to my own voice by the end of it. Take notes on actions and agree to update and reissue the report in the next week.
2 p.m. — Back at the office. Eat my lunch at my desk while I catch up on emails I missed while I was out. Send notes from the earlier meeting to a junior consultant to start actioning. Get two hours of solid work done on another report that needs to be issued this week before a client call stops my flow.
5:30 p.m. — Leave the office and catch the train home. Do a quick outfit change and go straight back out the door to make my LBT gym class.
7:30 p.m. — Back home. Prepare a gnocchi bake using the vegetables I roasted last night plus cherry tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella and gnocchi (obviously). Leave a portion of gnocchi bake for tomorrow’s dinner, freeze the rest in Tupperware for future lunches and do the washing up. Defrost a pork rice bowl for lunch tomorrow.
9 p.m. — Take a shower and give my eyelashes a good rinse. Skincare, pyjamas, scrolling. Lights out at 10:30 p.m.
Total: £7.90
7 a.m. — Wake up for another day in the office and do the exact same routine as yesterday. I don’t have any face-to-face client meets today so I skip the skirt dilemma and opt for jeans and a nice top instead. Return train ticket costs me £3.90.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive at work, set up my laptop and make a drink. Make a to-do list of what needs to be achieved today. Start with reviewing a series of reports which need to be issued to the client today.
12 p.m. — Reports have been issued so I break for lunch. Heat up my pork rice bowl and eat in the kitchen will a colleague. After I’ve eaten, I walk to the shops to buy a birthday present for a friend. Buy prosecco, a candle, a diffuser, chocolate, a photo frame, and flowers, £15 for my share.
1 p.m. — Back to the grind. I have a relatively meeting-free afternoon so spend a couple of hours inputting into a bid that is due by the end of the week. Spend the last part of the day answering emails, speaking to finance about invoices, and catching up with junior team members while snacking on grapes from the office fruit delivery. I then book train tickets to go to a meeting in London next week which is paid for through work.
5:30 p.m. — Leave the office and catch the train home. Miss the train I was aiming for so my outfit change for the gym is even quicker than usual.
7:30 p.m. — Back from the gym. Heat up the leftover gnocchi bake and eat some of the cake that my mum sent me home with on Monday. Wash up and give the kitchen counters a quick once over.
8:30 p.m. — Shower and skincare. My skin is feeling quite tight and dry so I skip the retinol and generously apply a soothing balm instead.
9 p.m. — Back on sofa for TV before heading up to bed around 10 p.m.
Total: £18.90
7:45 a.m. — It’s the last day of work before the bank holiday and I’m working from home because I’m going out straight after. Skin is still feeling a bit sad so I apply a hydrating face mask and opt for a makeup free workday. Get dressed and settle in at my desk with a cup of tea.
8:30 a.m. — Spend the first couple of hours making changes to a report that needs to go out today, then send it to a senior manager for approval. Move onto reviewing another report that a junior colleague has sent to me, and send back comments for them to address. My manager is on leave this week and asked me to finalise a document and get it approved for him. I’ve been chasing the approver via Teams, but he’s been ignoring me. Call him and get it sorted. Final job of the morning is to do a bit of prep for a client call after lunch.
12:30 p.m. — Make a chorizo pizza bagel for lunch, followed by crisps and chocolate. Message the group chat about logistics for this evening, write my friend’s birthday card and put the gifts in the gift bag.
1:15 p.m. — Back to my desk for my client call. Provide an update on a project and get their sign off to continue with our proposed approach. All goes well and we get the green light to continue.
2:15 p.m. — Spend the rest of the afternoon of a couple of quick client catchup calls while trying to wrap up tasks before the bank holiday weekend.
5 p.m. — Last call of the day is finished, the to-list is (almost) complete so I log off for the long-weekend! The sofa is calling my name, but I need to get ready for my friend’s birthday drinks.
6 p.m. — My friend P picks me up and we drive to our friend Z’s house for her birthday drinks where we are joined by our other friends D and E. Spend a lovely evening drinking wine, eating, and chatting about everything and anything.
12 p.m. — P drops me home. Do my skincare and get into bed feeling very thankful to have such a great group of friends.
Total: £0
6 a.m. — Wake up, but it’s a bank holiday so I force myself to go back to sleep.
8 a.m. — I can’t sleep any longer. Get up, make a cup of tea and get back into bed to read the news on my iPad.
10 a.m. — Shower and get ready for the day. Make smashed avocado on a bagel for breakfast, wash up and have a quick tidy up downstairs.
12 p.m. — The weather is nice(ish) today so head out for a long walk, catching up on some podcasts (The Receipts and The Rest Is Entertainment).
2 p.m. — Go into Morrisons to pick up a few things. Get some bits for my parents, fresh soup and a bread roll, £12.69.
3 p.m. — Arrive home and put my groceries away. Make a cup of tea and make myself comfortable on the sofa to catch up on TV. Start getting hungry so have my soup and roll for dinner.
4:30 p.m. — Not sure where the day has gone and I feel like I haven’t achieved a lot. I start to feel anxious that I have wasted my day and think of all the things that I could have done instead. Give myself a pep talk and imagine what my mum would say if she could hear my thoughts (along the lines of pull yourself together).
5 p.m. — Wash my hair and get ready for the evening. My friend T keeps messaging to ask what I’m wearing, which is a dressing gown until about five minutes before I leave. T convinces me to wear heels (as she is), a decision which I will live to regret.
6:30 p.m. — Leave the house and drive into town to meet our friend F, picking T up on the way. Pay £6 for parking.
7:30 p.m. — Arrive at an activity bar which we booked and paid for a couple of weeks ago (T and I are very much overdressed compared to F and everyone else in the venue). We play duckpin bowling, shuffleboard, and ping pong and I am hopeless at all of them (I blame the heels). Neither T or F drink so we have rounds of soft drinks instead. My round is £7.50.
10:30 p.m. — Drive home, dropping T back on the way. F lives in town so he walks home. I feel exhausted by the time I get back so head straight to bed.
Total: £26.19
9 a.m. — I am looking after my niece today as my brother and his wife are going to a wedding and little B isn’t invited. Shower, get dressed, make smashed avocado on a bagel for breakfast (again), and wait for them to arrive.
10:30 a.m. — B arrives and is less than thrilled to be left with me while her parents go to the nice wedding. Once they leave, we play hide and seek, jump on the bed, do some dancing, play in the garden and do some drawing.
12 p.m. — It’s only midday and we are getting through my activity list pretty quickly. I am waiting for a parcel to arrive so don’t want to go out until then. While we’re waiting, I make B some snacks and we watch a bit of TV.
2 p.m. — The parcel has arrived, so we drive to the park. First stop is lunch in the café. I have a panini and B has fish fingers, £13.90. B must have been starving because she wipes the plate clean. We then head to the play area so B can burn off some energy. I chase B around the play area and push her on the swings so I have burnt off my energy too.
4 p.m. — Play area completed, we walk around the lake and count the ducks and then head to the mini funfair in the park. I pay £10 for tokens to use on the rides. I’m not into rides (especially those that include screaming toddlers) so I watch from the sidelines as B has the time of her life. I think the stress of being responsible for a small child has got to me as I am hit with a banging headache. Suggest to B that we go back to my house for ice cream.
5 p.m. — Arrive back to my house and give B the ice cream I promised while I have a big glass of water. Pack an overnight bag and then drive to my parents’ house as I’m staying there tonight.
6 p.m. — Arrive at my parents’ house and hand B over to them while I lie on the sofa and try to clear my headache. My mum makes spaghetti bolognese for dinner, followed by jelly and (more) ice cream as it’s B’s favourite.
7 p.m. — My headache has finally cleared so I play with B and attempt to teach her the moves to some party classics (Macarena, Saturday Night, et cetera). She’s less into it than I am.
10 p.m. — My brother arrives to pick B up who is spark out. As soon as they leave, I go straight to bed.
Total: £23.90
Food & Drink: £59.29
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Home & Health: £0
Entertainment: £10
Travel: £7.80
Other: £15
Total: £92.09
Conclusion
“I would say this is fairly average spend week for me. Although I don’t spend money on birthday gifts or the funfair every week, this amount would normally be spend topping up toiletries or on petrol, neither of which I had to do this week. Also, some of my activities were paid for in advance so weren’t included in this week’s spend. As expected, I don’t spend a lot during weekdays when my activities are limited to work and the gym, but this ramps up at the weekend when I do more social activities. I think the process of recording my spend made me more conscious about what I was spending which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Seeing my savings amount in black and white has also made me grateful that I have been able to prioritise saving for a rainy day which I appreciate not everyone is able to do.”
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