This week: “I’m a 24-year-old foundation doctor in the South East. I’ve lived here for eight months since graduating from medical school last summer. I moved into a flat in the town centre and a few months later my partner of five years, T, moved in. He works in finance in London and commutes to the office twice a week. I was lucky enough to secure my first-choice job, so this is the first time in five years that I have been able to choose where I live. I really love it here and I’ll be incredibly sad to leave after a year, as I need to move to a different Trust for my training.
My average work week is 47 hours but depending on the rotation (we move departments every four months) I can work anywhere between 47-70 hours per week. We get paid for out-of-hours and on-call shifts on top of our base salary and some jobs have more out-of-hours work than others. My last job was very busy with long hours and I was pretty much always at the hospital. My current job is less busy and is normally 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with on-call shifts weekly.
At the moment, T and I are both enjoying living together and having salaries rather than living off student finance. We are hoping to buy a property in the next five years as T earns significantly more than me so this will be helpful when it comes to saving for a deposit. I am enjoying this stage of my life and the freedom that it brings. Having a salary means I can afford to try new hobbies, I have been more creative with music and painting. At medical school I didn’t really have any hobbies other than fitness and gaming, so it is fun to experiment with new activities.”
Occupation: Doctor
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 24
Location South East
Salary £32,400 base salary, actual salary £36,900 (pre-tax)
Paycheque Amount: £2,300-£3,100 depending on the job (post-tax)
Number of housemates: One, my boyfriend, T
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £435 for my half of the rent
Loan payments: £100 for my car (to a family member). Around £200-£350 to my mum, who leant me money. I have not started repaying my student loan yet.
Pension?: NHS pension, £240.
Savings?: I currently have £150 saved for Christmas and £150 for my mum’s birthday this year, as it’s a big one. I have £100 saved to go towards transport for my holiday, too.
Utilities: £18 water, £38 gas and electricity, £11 wifi.
All other monthly payments: £8.85 SIM-only contract, £7 SIM-only Apple watch, £21.99 gym, £10.08 BMA, £15 contact lenses, £7.50 Spotify. Subscriptions: £9.95 FFS razors, £13.50 Grind coffee.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? I have a medical degree that I thankfully received grants for, alongside tuition and maintenance loans.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
We were comfortable until the financial crash in 2008, when my dad unfortunately had to close his business. I remember there being conversations that things were different, and we had to be more careful with our money. My parents definitely instilled in me the importance of only buying things that you can afford. I am very risk averse as a result. I use credit cards to build credit and essentially as an extension of my debit card. I will sometimes use them to spread the cost of things, but only for things I can afford. They have definitely put me off the idea of financing things like phones and cars. Wherever possible I try to buy things outright.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
At 18, for university.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
Around age 15, when I got my first job. At the moment I occasionally rely on my partner financially, but I always pay him back. I also help him when he needs it. I no longer rely on my parents, but I know they would help me if I needed it, and if they were able to.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
A sales assistant in a retail chain that has since sadly gone into administration. I wanted to be able to go out with my friends and get coffee or go to the cinema, and I didn’t like having to ask my parents for money.
Do you worry about money now?
For the most part no. I am fortunate to receive a decent salary (obviously with the junior doctor strikes this is a heated issue) and while I think I should be paid more for the work that I do, I am very aware that I earn more than many people in the UK, and certainly many families survive on a combined income of less than this (as my family did). My worries stem from the significant amount that I owe my parents and the fact that my partner and I would like to buy a property in the next five years. I worry that I won’t be able to save as much as I would like towards this and the fact that house prices in the South East are extortionate.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I received £500 at 18 when my grandmother passed away, which I put towards Interrailing.
7 a.m. — Wake up, very happy that it is Friday, and start getting ready for work. After doing some basic makeup (I found a tinted SPF 50 that is life-changing), I make a breakfast of Greek yoghurt with white chocolate protein powder and some chocolate chips on top (for fun).
8:50 a.m. — Arrive on the ward and head into the doctors’ office to update the list with any new patients. Some days we have one or two, other days we can have 15 new patients. Today we have four, not too bad. Then it’s time for morning board round where the whole team (doctors, nurses, physios and occupational therapists) gather to discuss each patient on the ward and their medical status, therapy status and discharge planning. This takes about 30 minutes. We then start the ward round. The consultant sees any new or unwell patients, and the juniors see the remainder.
12:30 p.m. — Finally finish ward round and start working through any urgent jobs. This can be urgent CT scans, phone calls for advice from other teams, or referrals. Blood tests are usually taken by the phlebotomists in the morning, but we may have to take some bloods urgently if they weren’t ordered or someone becomes acutely unwell.
1 p.m. — Today I brought my own lunch (a sandwich with some Snack-a-Jacks and fruit). I usually eat with friends in the staff canteen but today stayed in the doctors’ office with my colleagues.
1:30 p.m. — Have a craving for a cold drink so go down to the staff canteen and get a Dr Pepper, £1.65, and a banana, free.
2 p.m. — Another board round, the same as in the morning, for any updates. This one is a bit faster and takes about 20 minutes. I then work on finishing the rest of the ward jobs. This involves updating family members, checking blood results, prescribing medications, ordering scans or procedures, discussing with other specialties and discharge paperwork, which is the bane of every junior doctor’s life.
5 p.m. — Head home. Stop at Tesco on the way to pick up some extra things for dinner. Buy brioche buns and streaky bacon for dinner, more Greek yoghurt, bagels, garlic, some spices and other bits. My half is £16.77, which I put on Splitwise.
8:30 p.m. — T home from the gym. We decide to make a last-minute trip to B&M to buy a clothes airer, as he somehow broke ours a few days ago. Buy a heated airer, some radiator drying racks and a cute little glass jar for my Greek yoghurt in the morning. T paid £55 in total and put on Splitwise, my share £27.75.
9 p.m. — Get home and start cooking dinner, disgusted by how late it is as I’m normally ready for bed at this time. I make breaded chicken burgers with streaky bacon and avocado in a brioche bun, with a salad on the side. We eat dinner while watching Clarkson’s Farm 2.
11:20 p.m. — Shower and get ready for bed.
Total: £46.17
8 a.m. — Wake up with every intention of getting up but fall asleep for another hour. I will never change.
9 a.m. — Get up and make a coffee. Normally have a cappuccino when I’m at home. Eat a banana quickly. Get dressed and ready to go for a walk.
10 a.m. — We go for a walk to the park near the house. Watch the ducks for a while. It stayed very sunny the whole time, even though it was forecast to rain. Very pleased by this.
11 a.m. — Walk back home and grab some shopping bags. Walk into town, which is only five minutes from the flat. Drag T into Boots (my favourite shop, his least) and pick up some B vitamins, contact lens solution and glasses wipes, £14.
12 p.m. — Walk back home and make T and I some breakfast bagels using the leftover chicken burgers and bacon. Add an egg for good measure. We eat together while watching Netflix and then we chill for a while, T plays the PS5 and I read my Kindle.
12:30 p.m. — As I’ve been going to the gym a lot more, I decide I need some new tops. After browsing multiple websites I settle on Under Armour and buy two long sleeve tops, one short sleeve and one sports bra in the sale. I buy neutral colours so I can wear them with all of my leggings. Pay with my Amex to get the points, but transfer money into my credit card space to ensure it’s covered, £74.
12:40 p.m. — T starts cleaning the kitchen while I tidy the lounge. I put a wash on. Since starting work full time I find that I struggle most with staying on top of laundry, especially the never-ending need to wash scrubs. Get side tracked while tidying and find my old Polaroid camera.
1 p.m. — Head to the gym, also five minutes from home. I have only recently started doing cardio in an effort to improve my cardiovascular fitness, and I find it very difficult.
2:30 p.m. — Walk home, quickly eat some rice cakes with turkey and then got into the shower. After showering I prepped some protein cheesecakes for T and me, using Greek yoghurt (obviously), soft cheese and protein powder on a Biscoff base. Great use of the Gü pots I have kept in my cupboard for six months.
6 p.m. — It was my turn to order us dinner and T wants a Five Guys. Order on Deliveroo and pay with Amex (as it’s a gold card I will get £5 cash back). We had originally planned to go out for dinner, so this is much cheaper, £30.
7 p.m. — There was a problem with the order but as we live near the restaurant the delivery driver kindly went back to Five Guys to sort it for us. Food is delivered and I tip him £3.50 on the app. We eat together watching Clarkson’s Farm.
11 p.m. — I get tired and go to bed while T carries on playing on the PS5.
Total: £121.50
9 a.m. — Wake up. Make an espresso this morning as I can’t be bothered to clean the milk frother. Settle onto the sofa to read my Kindle. I have optimised my setup with a holder and page turner.
9:40 a.m. — Yesterday I saw a sponsored Instagram ad for a company called Boot Buddy. I convinced myself that we need one, thinking of our mud covered shoes in the hallway. After debating with T about the necessity of said item, I purchase it and T agrees to pay half, £10.49.
10 a.m. — All my expenses have been automatically sent to my saving spaces, which I have set up on my banking app. I have spaces for rent, groceries, direct debits, bills, credit cards, et cetera. These are then paid directly from these spaces. I find this the best way to ease my money worries, as I know that, regardless of what I am paid that month, all of my expenses are accounted for. This leaves me with £598. I move an extra £100 into my travel space to put towards our transport (flights or driving) to France. T’s parents have kindly paid for the accommodation, so we only need to contribute towards food when we are there. I also put £50 into both savings spaces for my mum’s birthday and for Christmas. This is the first time I have tried using sink funds and I am finding it very effective. It will definitely reduce the burden in November and December as I don’t really notice £50 leaving my current account.
2 p.m. — We make an appointment to go to the tip to get rid of our broken airer, that was so broken it could not be salvaged in any way. This was conveniently near M&S, so much to T’s dismay, I drag him in with me to pick up things for dinner. We end up getting the £12 meal deal and chose a roast chicken with vegetables and gravy. I also pick up some ragù sauce for work lunches and some loose vegetables. Total £37, my share £13.50.
3 p.m. — We do the usual walk and see the ducks and loop around the park, which takes about an hour. We play a game where whoever can spot a squirrel first gets a coffee made by the loser when we return home. It can get quite heated. T won this time.
34 p.m. — Get home and I make us both a cup of tea (as a bit late for coffee on a school night). T plays his PS5 and I play the Nintendo. I bought The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom nearly a year ago and still haven’t finished it because I enjoy doing the side quests and exploring.
6 p.m. — We start cooking dinner together. Thankfully the meal deal made it very easy. The chicken is surprisingly good for something cooked in a bag. We watch Netflix for the rest of the evening.
10 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £23.99
7 a.m. — Wake up and get ready for work. Didn’t prep any yoghurt last night and curse myself. Grab a banana and head out the door at 7:30 a.m.
9 a.m. — Arrive on ward for board round. Start seeing patients on the ward round.
10 a.m. — Notice that a cheque cleared for a cremation form. We are paid directly by funeral homes for signing cremation paperwork, as we are doing the job for them. This involves checking all the patient notes, writing out the cause of death and certifying that there is no pacemaker or other devices in place, as this can damage the crematorium equipment.
12:30 p.m. — Finish ward round and start on any urgent jobs. Luckily today nothing is urgent so I do what I can and wait for my friend to finish her ward round so we can go to lunch together.
1 p.m. — We head down to the canteen to get lunch. I didn’t prepare any lunch today, so I bought a meatball pasta. I have to pay extra for cheese, but she did give me a LOT of cheese, £5.25.
1:30 p.m. — Head back to the ward to work on jobs before board round at 2 p.m. We do the round at 2 p.m. and have some urgent discharge paperwork to do. We finish the rest of the jobs by 4 p.m., so I do some work on my portfolio. All junior doctors in the NHS have to keep a portfolio that contains procedural sign offs, reflections, peer feedback and a learning log of teaching hours.
5 p.m. — Drive home. Happy to see T, who has been working from home. His work has been busy lately and he often works into the evening. He finishes what he can and we get ready to go to the gym.
6 p.m. — Walk to the gym, we train biceps and triceps and then do our 30 minutes of cardio.
7 p.m. — T showers whilst I prep some vegetables. Then I shower and wash my hair. I cut some chicken for us to have teriyaki. This is my favourite quick meal as it has at least three vegetables in and tastes amazing, especially with sesame oil and spring onion. I also prep some yoghurt for breakfast and make myself a sandwich for lunch using the leftover chicken from yesterday.
7:30 p.m. —We eat dinner while watching Netflix.
9:30 p.m. — I have every intention of drying my hair but have no energy. I brush my teeth and do my skincare and go to bed with partially damp hair.
Total: £5.25
7 a.m. — Wake up, get ready, yoghurt. Leave at 8:30am.
9 a.m. — Board round then ward round.
12:30 p.m. — Try to finish jobs as there is a wellbeing event with pizza and a therapy dog. Have a few urgent jobs so we end up going downstairs at 1 p.m.
1 p.m. — Grab a brownie from the wellbeing event. There is pizza but I decide to eat my sandwich instead, as I know that the pizza would give me heartburn and as I get older, I realise it’s not worth the suffering. Get relentlessly bullied by my colleagues (deserved). We see the therapy dog and give her some love. We then had to leave the event for our weekly departmental teaching. Usually one of the juniors presents a topic related to the speciality, but as we are rotating to new departments next week we spend the hour giving feedback on how it can be improved going forwards.
2 p.m. — Back to the ward for board round and the usual remainder of the day.
5 p.m. — Leave work, annoyed that there is traffic because I have to go to the gym and I hate going when it’s busy.
6 p.m. — Head to the gym, but as I am pressed for time and it’s busy, I just do 20 minutes of intense cardio (cycling) and call it a day.
6:50 p.m. — Get home and shower. Heat up some leftover teriyaki for dinner. While that is heating, I put a chicken breast and some vegetables into the air fryer and put some pasta on to boil for lunch tomorrow.
7:30 p.m. — Get dressed and pack my guitar into its case as I have a lesson at 8 p.m. I started playing guitar at 15 after I saved up for it for a few months. I was self-taught as I couldn’t afford lessons. I was decent but struggled to progress and then stopped playing at university. I recently found a music school near me that is rock based, so I signed up and I’m really enjoying it.
8 p.m. — Arrive to my lesson. Due to my shift pattern I pay weekly as I’m sometimes working a long day so can’t make it, £22 for 30 minutes. I realise that I pay more for my lessons than I earn in an hour.
8:30 p.m. — Lesson finished and I walk home, proud of myself for making it to the gym and my lesson in one evening. Tupperware my lunch for tomorrow and make a cup of tea. Then watch some Netflix before getting ready for bed.
9 p.m. — Prep breakfast for tomorrow and clean the kitchen.
Total: £22
7 a.m. — Wake up, get ready and have my Greek yoghurt I prepared last night.
8 a.m. — I had a few minutes on my phone and decided to pay my credit cards. I pay £277 on my Amex and £151 on Capital One. Luckily I had the majority of the money put aside in my saving space, so it doesn’t affect my current account balance too much.
9 a.m. — Arrive to the office for handover. I am on-call today, which means a 12.5 hour shift, which we do once or twice a week, and then Friday to Sunday if we are scheduled for the weekend. I collect the bleep and then we do the arrest team meeting, where we allocate roles such as CPR, IV access, scribing or defibrillation if there is a cardiac arrest. There are different types of on-call shifts, today I am working on the ward until 5 p.m. and then I work on the medical take from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., seeing new patients and admitting them to hospital. I am not on my usual ward today as I have been asked to cover on a different one, but under the same specialty.
12 p.m. — There is teaching today meaning lunch is provided. Teaching is protected time and we are meant to attend every week and leave our bleeps with another team member. This doesn’t always happen, and if you’re on-call then you are expected to attend any peri or cardiac arrest calls. Luckily there are no arrests today so I can stay in teaching. I grab a sandwich, bag of crisps and a banana.
5 p.m. — We have finished the ward jobs so I check the list of patients waiting to be seen in the emergency department. I put my name next to a patient and start reading their notes: checking the notes from ED, blood results and any past medical history I can find, including old clinic letters.
8 p.m. — After tending to multiple patients, I check the list and there are no patients waiting to be seen, so I take the opportunity to go down to the doctors’ mess and get a snack and a drink. I am terrible on long shifts and often forget to drink any water for the whole day. I finish up the rest of the jobs and follow up on some scans we ordered for the ward patients earlier today. Answer any bleeps and finish up any prescribing.
9 p.m. — Head up for handover. We discuss any unwell patients on the wards and handover any remaining jobs for patients on the take. We give our bleeps to the night team. I head down to the doctors’ mess to have some dinner and to call a patient’s family member with an update. I normally don’t eat until I get home but today I am glad that I brought food; chilli pasta with chicken (apologies to any Italians). I eat my dinner quickly and then head to the car park. I always hate driving in the dark after long shifts as I am so tired, but there are no buses at this time so the only other option would be a taxi, which would cost a lot every week.
10:30 p.m. — I change out of my scrubs and shower. I do my skincare and get into bed.
Total: £0
7 a.m. — Wake up, very happy it is Friday and a long weekend, and get ready. I am now quite swift with getting my skincare and makeup done. I eat my Greek yoghurt and T is awake and makes me a cappuccino. We sit on the sofa together and talk whilst we have coffee. Leave for work at the normal time.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive on ward and start board round. As it is Friday both consultants are here to see their patients and make plans for the long weekend. After the ward round we start on the jobs. We have a patient who is quite unwell that I am asked to assess mid-morning.
12:30 p.m. — Time for lunch, luckily we had left over pasta from T’s dinner so I heat this in the microwave and meet my friends downstairs.
1 p.m. — Head back to the ward to continue with jobs before next board round. I discuss the weekend plan for our unwell patient with the consultant. We check blood results and see that the phlebotomists were unable to get a sample in the morning. The patient is very agitated so I ask one of the doctors to help me with taking the sample. I get a small sample but the patient is moving a lot, causing the needle to go through the vein. Unfortunately the sample is not enough for this specific test. I call a colleague who has a finger prick machine and thankfully she is able to come down and help (there is only one machine in the hospital and only certain people are allowed to use it). The colleague arrives on the ward and manages to get a sample, which gives results instantly. The result is very out of range, so we adjust her dose of warfarin. I write a handover for the weekend team with the plan discussed with the consultant.
2 p.m. — Board round where we discuss any weekend discharges or any unwell patients.
5 p.m. — Finished with jobs but as I am leaving a family member of a patient enters the doctors’ office without asking. I have a difficult conversation with them for 15-20 minutes. I find this the most challenging aspect of the job. I head up to the car park slightly upset by the encounter but glad it is the weekend.
6 p.m. — T convinces me to order a takeaway, so we settle on Chinese. The restaurant only takes cash, so we walk together to the cashpoint. T orders and we watch some Brooklyn Nine-Nine while we wait. The takeaway arrives, it cost £37 so we give £40. T puts it on Splitwise, so my half is £20.
7 p.m. — We are both very full but enjoyed the food. T wants to play the PlayStation so I read my Kindle on the other sofa. I am quite tired from my on-call yesterday.
9 p.m. — Shower and do my skin care.
10 p.m. — Get into bed and look forward to the long weekend.
Total: £20
Food & Drink: £87.17
Clothes & Beauty: £74
Home & Health: £52.24
Entertainment: £22
Travel: £0
Other: £3.50
Total: £238.91
Conclusion
“I think this was an average week for me. I spend most of my money on food and eating out. I didn’t spend any time with my work friends this week, but we usually go out for dinner and drinks when we do have the time and energy to meet up after work. My other friends live in London, so I don’t see them as much as I’d like. Making my own lunches has helped, but there are definitely weeks that I’m too tired and spend £3-£5 a day on lunch, which adds up over the months. I don’t buy clothes very often and when I do it tends to be one or two items here or there, rather than a big spend in one go like this week. At uni I used to spend a lot of money on going out, but since starting work I find that I rarely drink alcohol now. I do feel better, and it has definitely saved a lot of money. That being said, writing this out made me realise how boring my life has become!”
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