This week: “I’m a 28-year-old customer success manager living in London. I moved to London right after uni, mostly because that’s where all my friends were headed, and never left! I absolutely love this city, for all its flaws, and can’t see myself moving anywhere else anytime soon. I haven’t always had the best relationship with money, and spent most of my early and mid 20s working low-paying jobs while trying to keep up with my better-off friends. I also used to be a big partier, with the majority of my income being spent on nights out. This caused me to get into some debt with a big ol’ overdraft and a credit card. I consolidated that debt onto a couple of 0% interest credit cards in order to pay it down with the least additional cost. Thankfully, I have found more balance over the last few years. I don’t worry about surviving until the end of the month like I used to, but I do worry about not having enough money for big purchases and emergencies. I’m in the process of moving in with my partner, and I’m worried about the cost of finding a new place together (although excited to be able to split bills and grocery costs after several years of living the single life on my own).”
Occupation: Customer success manager
Industry: Technology
Age: 28
Location: London
Salary: £65,000
Paycheque Amount: £3,566.90 plus a £60 a month wellbeing allowance.
Number of housemates: One, my kitten (S), although my partner F will be officially moved in as of this month.
Pronouns: They/them
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £1,050 for a one-bed flat.
Loan payments: £188 towards one credit card and £25 towards the other (I have £2,950 of debt spread across two 0% interest credit cards which I used to consolidate other debt). £282 toward my student loan is taken automatically out of my salary as well — I don’t think I’ll ever pay that baby off.
Pension?: Yes, I pay £183.45 and my employer matches this contribution.
Savings?: £1,900 Monzo savings pot. I’m going to use this for my half of a deposit and moving expenses, as F is temporarily moving into my flat while we search for a new place of our own to rent. When I get my deposit back from my current flat, I intend to use that to replenish the savings account and start aggressively saving once we’re settled, in order to build up a rainy day fund.
Utilities: £99.82 council tax; £51 electricity £17 water (F has started contributing to these as of this month, but does not contribute towards the rent yet).
All other monthly payments: £19.52 renter’s insurance; £9.98 pet insurance; £9.49 phone insurance; £36.22 phone bill; £100 family support to my mum; £41 quarterly TV licence; £112 yearly Picturehouse membership. Subscriptions: £10.99 Spotify; £15.98 Netflix; £2.99 NowTV; £3.25 Mubi; £59.99 ClassPass; £53.75 Untamed Cat food subscription; £53.75 Who Gives a Crap toilet paper; £38 Smol cleaning products every six months.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Neither of my parents went to university, but both really wanted me to get at least an undergraduate degree. I got a BA from a Russell Group university, and generally really enjoyed my time there. Everything was paid for with student loans, and I also got the highest amount of maintenance loan and maintenance grant, as well as access to a hardship fund my university had.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I knew we couldn’t afford a lot of things, so the conversations I do remember were more about setting my expectations for what school trips we could or couldn’t afford, what school clothes we could afford and so on. My mum also had an ex who took out loans in her name, so she talked about not letting a partner do that, being careful about combining finances with someone, and not getting into credit card debt. I don’t remember my dad talking about money, and he was unemployed for a large stretch of my childhood.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out at age 18 for university. I came back during the holidays, but never moved back for a long stretch after this, although I lived with other family members (with subsidised rent) for about three months during an internship after I graduated.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
Probably not until I was 23 or 24. My mum sent me quite a lot of money during uni and for a few years after I graduated when I was working very low paying jobs. My first full-time job after uni only paid £15,000 a year which is not enough to live on in London (I was also extremely irresponsible with money during this time). She helped with rental deposits, bought me a laptop, and bailed me out on more than one occasion when I hit my overdraft limit. This is why I send her money every month: partly to pay her back (although we never kept proper track of the money she gave me, and neither of us consider it an official “loan”) and partly because I want to help her out now that I am in a better financial position.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I was an assistant art technician employed by my school for minimum wage aged 16. I got it because I wanted some additional spending money (to spend on Topshop skinny jeans and cigarettes probably) and was friendly with the art teachers.
Do you worry about money now?
All the time. I know I’m not the best with money — in fact I’m hyper aware and critical of myself about this. I’m trying to get better about impulsive spending and build up my savings, but I do feel “behind” compared to other friends my age who are putting down house deposits or going on expensive holidays. I’m getting better about not comparing myself, especially as a lot of my friends come from very different financial backgrounds to me. All of that being said, I’m in a much better financial position than I could have ever dreamed of growing up and am very grateful for this.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
When my great grandad passed away, all the great grandkids received £10,000. I intended to save this, but ended up using it to subsidise my living in London when I was on a low salary. I regret this as I would love to have this safety net now.
4 a.m. — This is the new time my kitten (S) has decided I should be waking up, so she jumps on my chest and paws at my face. I stroke her until she settles down. I also check my phone to see that I got paid (yay) before drifting back to sleep. TfL has also taken money like a thief in the night for yesterday’s journey, £2.80.
8 a.m. — Wake up for real but don’t manage to get out of bed until 8:30 a.m. I put on a load of laundry, feed S, and do my morning skincare (Byoma face wash, Superdrug hyaluronic acid and Hello Sunday matte suncream). I then log on to work from home. I spend some time organising my inbox before joining a team sync at 9:30 a.m. After that I make myself some peanut butter and jam on toast (with fancy jam I got from Fortnum & Mason last month) and coffee with oat milk.
10:30 a.m. — I book a haircut for a couple weeks’ time — much needed as I realise I haven’t had one since November. The deposit for this is £59.20, but I’ll only have to pay £15 on the day. I also place an Amazon order for moving boxes for my partner (F), mould remover spray (sexy!), a new pair of running shorts, and two different kinds of energy gels. I’m training for a marathon in a few weeks and only have one gel left so I decide to stock up since they’re on offer, £79.36.
12 p.m. — After more internal meetings this morning, I break for lunch and walk over to the local Pets at Home with F as I’m out of cat litter. I also buy a grooming brush as S is shedding like mad lately, £13.79. On the way home I stop to buy something quick for lunch at the Co-op as I was at my mum’s this weekend and my kitchen is bare, £10.
2 p.m. — F heads off back to their house. They’re moving in with me, but are still packing up their old place so have the day off work to do that and it’s also their housemate’s birthday.
6 p.m. — I wrap up a busy day at work and walk down to my local big Sainsbury’s. There’s a new B&M opened next door so I wander in and end up buying some snacks and brighter whites laundry powder, £7.99.
6:30 p.m. — In Sainsbury’s I buy vegan chicken, red cabbage, bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, fresh herbs, sweet potatoes, garlic and ginger paste, frozen vegan mince, frozen edamame, own-brand Marmite, pasta, pesto, noodles, protein yoghurts, deodorant and shower gel. I realise I have forgotten my Nectar card so no discounts for me — the total comes to £38.84.
8 p.m. — On the way home a slightly scary angry man follows me yelling so I get back a little shaken. Once I’ve calmed down, I give S her dinner and make a big salad.
10 p.m. — I do my evening skincare (the same face wash, Skin+Me booster, Boots gel moisturiser and The Ordinary brow and lash serum). I’m absolutely exhausted by the time I get into bed.
Total: £211.98
5 a.m. — Another day, another cat wake-up call. This time she actually scratches my face a little bit, leaving a fun mark on my nose. She does eventually settle back down in her bed.
8 a.m. — I wake up for another WFH day (usually I go into the office more often than this, but F was planning on bringing some of their belongings to mine so I wanted to be in today to help unpack). I do my morning skincare routine and cat-related chores. I also do the dishes and then make myself some more coffee and toast with Marmite.
10 a.m. — I have a meeting with a stakeholder at one of my most important customers (henceforth referred to as Big Scary Customer), which I’m nervous about but that goes really well.
11 a.m. — I look at Shokz headphones on the Argos website as I need a new pair of running headphones that aren’t in-ear, as lots of races ban them. I ask my dad if he’d contribute, as he didn’t get me a birthday gift last month (not his fault, he asked for my input and I forgot). The headphones are £103 on sale and my dad says he will contribute half towards them, so I pay £51.50. I also text two friends who are running the same half marathon as me this weekend and make plans for afterwards. I’m genuinely concerned how my legs are going to feel as marathon training has made me SLOW.
12:15 p.m. — I break from work to go on a run. Afterwards I buy a Diet Coke and a Biscoff protein bar on the way home, £2.75. When I get back, I eat my leftover salad from last night and then the protein bar, both of which are 10/10.
6 p.m. — I log off right as F arrives and help them unpack their things. Then I shower and wash my hair. We’re going for dinner tonight to celebrate F and I moving in together. F feeds S and shows me silly TikToks while I do my makeup. When we’re ready, and as it’s pouring rain, F calls us an Uber to the pizza place.
7 p.m. — We arrive at the restaurant (one of the Top 50 best pizzas in Europe babyyyy) which we’ve been to a few times and are obsessed with. The bill comes to £70 with tip but F covers this as a thank you as they recently went through a period of unemployment where I picked up the bill for things more often.
9 p.m. — We wander to another favourite spot, a cocktail bar a few doors down. They are all so delicious! We split the bill 50/50, £35 for my half.
11 p.m. — F is starting to feel sick and thinks they’re coming down with a cold so I call an Uber home, £8.98. When we get back S initially snuggles with F but then comes and lays down as my little spoon, as is her usual routine.
Total: £98.23
8 a.m. — My third day in a row WFH, which is starting to drive me crazy (who would have thought I’d miss the office). But today I have a follow-up dermatology appointment at the hospital, so there’s no point going into the city. I shower, do my skincare, feed the cat and eat a protein yoghurt for breakfast. I also log on a little early to get a jump on the time I’ll be away from my desk; respond to some emails and update my to-do list.
9:30 a.m. — As the sun is shining, I decide to walk to the hospital as this only takes a little longer than getting the bus (and is free). I have so much sympathy for the NHS and how overworked everyone is the last several years (damn the Tories). I brought my book with me (Breast and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami) so I read it in the waiting room until the consultant calls me in.
10 a.m. — The appointment ends up being a bit of a waste of time, even the nurse admitted that the appointment could have been a phone call. Oh well! I check Slack and emails on my phone while I wait for the bus home to make sure nothing crazy happened while I was offline. I arrive home just in time to devour a protein flapjack (I am starving) and log on for my 11:30 a.m. team meeting.
12 p.m. — I realise the only convenient food I have for lunch is the second pizza from the Co-op deal. I need to eat quickly as I have a meeting at 1 p.m. Pizza three days in a row it is! While it cooks I unpack some of the Amazon parcels I ordered on Monday and hoover the flat. My partner also comes home from the office as they’re still feeling poorly.
1 p.m. — The meeting goes well, and I buckle down for the rest of the afternoon responding to emails and prepping some webinar slides for next week.
3 p.m. — F and I walk over to the local post office to collect the last of the Amazon parcels, which is their moving boxes (the delivery driver couldn’t find my front door so I panicked and got them delivered here instead). I get back and continue working on the webinar slides from bed as I’m starting to get a headache and feel run down.
5:30 p.m. — I get an email with some urgent questions from the Big Scary Customer which I share on Slack and tag the relevant teams who can support me with the response. There is a bit of confusion as some of my colleagues think we’ve already resolved some of these issues so I ask the stakeholder if she can jump on a call and clarify some of her questions. I end up on the phone with her for 40 minutes, and write up notes on exactly what she’s looking for to share with my colleagues. I came into this customer after they hadn’t really had a CSM for the first year of their contract with us, so I’m trying really hard to build out better processes and rebuild their trust in us. I also feel quite torn between the customer and internal stakeholders sometimes, but I’m trying really hard to find the balance and make sure we’re delivering value.
7:30 p.m. — F suggests we order some food. I had planned to cook but I’m feeling burnt out, so I cave and we order a Burger King. I get a six vegan nuggets meal, chilli cheese bites and a Diet Coke, £17 for my half.
9 p.m. — I complete a Food Safety Allergen course I need to do for my volunteer role and send the certificate to them. I volunteer at a local day centre for homeless people every Friday morning, and part of my role includes making breakfast for the service users hence the allergen course. They’re closed for the Easter bank holiday.
10 p.m. — Right before I go to bed I get a huge wave of anxiety about the mould that is growing in various places in my flat. I grab the new mould spray and go crazy in a few spots. I’ll sort the rest out tomorrow.
Total: £17
5:30 a.m. — S is relentless this morning and keeps scratching my back. I eventually cave and feed her early (reinforcing her bad habits, I know) because I need to get up to pee anyway.
7:30 a.m. — Wake up for real to get ready for the office. I shower, do my skincare and some light makeup. I leave around 8:30 a.m. to walk to the station and get a direct train into the city which only takes about 15 minutes.
9:05 a.m. — Make it to the office and bump into a coworker and new starter in the lifts. Chat to them while I make a free office coffee and eat my yoghurt. I do some admin work ahead of the long weekend.
10 a.m. — I have a meeting with our new ops manager to give feedback about various company processes. I then have my 121 meeting with my manager where we discuss a few projects I’m working on, as well as how we’ll reallocate some customers when a new starter joins our team next month.
12:15 p.m. — I head out in the rain with some colleagues to grab lunch. I get a falafel salad bowl and add fried aubergine as I feel like I haven’t eaten enough veggies this week, £9.45. We get back to the office and grab free Diet Cokes and take our lunches upstairs to eat and catch up.
2 p.m. — Call number one today with Big Scary Customer. This one is a product roadmap, so I’m not leading and just listen in.
4 p.m. — Lead call number two with Big Scary Customer about our current project. At some point this afternoon, TFL takes £1.75 for yesterday’s bus journey.
5 p.m. — I grab a free beer from the fridge and settle down for our weekly all-hands meeting. It runs over so I have to quickly duck out before it finishes to get the tube to a flat viewing. F is moving into my place for now as their lease is up soon, but we want to find a two-bed to rent together in the next couple of months. This is the first flat we’ve viewed, but we both really like it. It’s just down the road from my current place, so we already know we love the area, too.
7 p.m. — We go to the pub afterwards to debrief and get a pint each, £6.40. We decide we need to view at least one other place, but this flat is a high contender!
8 p.m. — We get home and F gets an Uber back to their place with the flat pack boxes they bought the other day to do some more packing. I do some cat chores and then make myself a big vegetarian chilli. While it simmers, I empty out the cupboard with all my dishes, pots and pans and give it a good scrub with the mould remover spray. The mould spray fumes nearly take me out, but my chilli is delicious!
9:30 p.m. — I empty out and organise the cupboard under my kitchen sink. I’m on an organisation kick in anticipation of F moving in. After that I do my evening skincare and make myself a cup of sleepy tea. I get into bed with the intention to read but end up watching TikToks until I fall asleep.
Total: £17.60
4 a.m. — An early kitty wake-up call is not what I wanted this bank holiday. In my attempt to fall back asleep I check on the cat food delivery that’s due this week, to see it was “delivered” yesterday but neither F or I received it. There’s a photo of it outside my door so it must have been stolen — shit! I will attempt to get a refund later but I doubt it’ll work.
7:30 a.m. — I wake up again before my alarm. I had every intention of running this morning, but the wind sounds ferocious and I feel crap from my lack of sleep so I decide to treat myself to a rest day after a very stressful week. Usually I run three or four times a week and strength train once or twice, but now I’m in my de-load pre-marathon phase I’m enjoying doing a little less.
9:30 a.m. — I fold the clean laundry from yesterday, put on another load of laundry and do last night’s dishes before having a quick shower. I head over to F’s at around 11 a.m. to help them pack up more of their flat. I read some more of my book on the DLR, and then switch to an audiobook of Elliot Page’s autobiography when I change to the bus (car sick club, woo!).
12 p.m. — I get to F’s and order us some McDonalds on Deliveroo as we’re both starving, £16.71. After we are properly fuelled, we spend the whole afternoon going through F’s things deciding what to keep and what to donate or throw away, and packing up boxes.
3 p.m. — F decides we need beers to help us get through the packing. They order a Getir with some beers and chocolates. At some point, TfL takes £7.10 for yesterday’s travels.
7 p.m. — I head back to mine via Argos to collect the headphones I bought on Tuesday. The Argos is inside of a Sainsbury’s so I also grab some bagels, fresh soup and moisturiser as mine was running low this morning, £8.80.
8 p.m. — I get home and put the headphones on charge so I can try them out on my run tomorrow. I feed S and give her some fuss, although she seems particularly indifferent tonight. I am eternally grateful that I have leftovers — I reheat the second half of last night’s chilli and eat that with some grated cheddar on top. I also email the estate agent from yesterday with some follow up questions about the flat we viewed — most importantly, would the little kitty be allowed?! Afterwards I get ready for bed and promptly pass out at 10 p.m.
Total: £32.61
4:45 a.m. — Another morning, another kitty wake-up call. This time S wakes me up drinking from the metal cup of water on my bedside table. What is it with cats and drinking your water, even though they have a bowl full of fresh water for themselves?
7:30 a.m. — I wake up naturally and get up to feed S. Then I get back into bed (it is a bank holiday weekend after all) and spend a few hours watching TikToks. TfL took £7.10 for yesterday during the night.
9 a.m. — I get up and make myself a coffee with oat milk and a Marmite bagel for breakfast, and psych myself up to go on the run I skipped yesterday. The cat food people reply to my complaint and say they’ll send me a replacement box and offer me a partial refund. I’m so happy as I really didn’t want to have to spend another £54!
10:15 a.m. — I clean my teeth, wash my face, put on some suncream and change into my running clothes and head out. My plan is to do somewhere around 12km at an easy pace so I don’t kill myself for the half marathon tomorrow.
12:20 p.m. — I get back and immediately get in the shower. It’s an absolutely beautiful day for a run so I was in a great mood the whole time. I also tried out my new Shokz headphones — I’m not sure how I feel about them yet but they definitely do let you hear more of your surroundings. After my shower I get ready to meet my friend L for a late lunch.
2 p.m. — I leave to go and collect a Vinted parcel from a nearby pick-up point. Afterwards, I have some time to kill before I need to meet L, so I get myself an oat latte from a nearby vegan cafe as a treat, £3.70.
3 p.m. — We meet at Old Street and wander up to Hoxton together. On the way, L buys us two beers from a corner shop which we sit and drink in the sun, before heading to a Vietnamese restaurant. It’s BYOB so I buy us two more beers from a Sainsbury’s nearby, £4.50.
5 p.m. — The food was absolutely delicious (I had coconut rice and chilli and lemongrass tofu) and we have a lovely time catching up about the last month or so since we saw each other and chatting about books. We round up the bill to include a tip, so it comes to £15 each.
6 p.m. — After we say goodbye I walk to the tube to head home. My Spotify Daylist is absolutely banging today and I completely forget about reading my book.
9 p.m. — I’m not super hungry but I know I should eat some carbs, so I force down some pasta and fresh pesto. I also lay out my running clothes and pack a bag for tomorrow, so I have as little as possible to think about at 5 a.m. I get myself ready for bed because I need to have an early night, but my brain is wide awake and I absolutely cannot fall asleep.
Total: £30.30
4:45 a.m. — All the early morning cat wake-up calls have been training me for this moment, but it is still so very painful. I get up and put on the clothes I laid out last night, do my skincare and clean my teeth. I make coffee in a travel mug and eat a bagel with peanut butter and jam. My TfL charge for yesterday comes out, £8.50.
5:30 a.m. — I’m out the door to head the half marathon with my friends M and E. Normally this journey would take about an hour but this early it takes around 90 minutes and involves four different buses. I am worried about my phone battery so stare zombie-like out of the windows the whole journey (my phone still ends up almost dead by the end of the race, classic).
7:30 a.m. — I arrive, collect my bib number and meet E. We immediately head to the toilet for a pre-race pee. We get into one toilet queue but a man dressed like a wolf advises us there’s a shorter queue round the corner, so we head there. This queue takes almost 40 minutes because there’s only one working cubicle in the ladies toilet. We’re almost late to the start line and both feeling stressed.
11 a.m. — We’re all finished and re-convene near the bag drop to take some photos. It was E’s first half marathon, and a PB for M! We debrief about the best and worst parts of the route before M heads off to meet her family. E and I charge our phones in the cafe before heading to her brother’s to collect her things.
1 p.m. — E and I head to London Bridge to go for a drink with some of our friends. I buy Hula Hoops at the train station because I’m starving, £1.35. We get to the station and meet our friend from uni, R, and walk over to a pub near Borough Market. I get a pint, £6.30.
3 p.m. — My friends A and T join us, as well as another uni friend, G. We chat about the race and what everyone has done with their weekends. I buy another pint and some fries when the kitchen re-opens, £12.60.
5:30 p.m. — I decide to head home and walk back to London Bridge to get the train. On the way back, I stop at Sainsbury’s to buy F some more cold medicine. I also buy a six-pack of Estrella in case I fancy another drink this evening, £15.35.
7 p.m. — I get back and F congratulates me on the run. I am starving and exhausted, so I decide to order food as there’s no way I’m cooking tonight. I get a large bowl with sushi rice, spicy tofu, seaweed, charred corn and various pickles. I also get some veggie gyoza, £21.85. While I wait for the food, I have an absolutely beautiful shower and feel born again.
9 p.m. — F didn’t want food earlier but is now hungry so orders a Burger King. They surprise me with a Diet Coke and some chilli cheese bites. We watch some Avatar while we eat. I intend to go to bed early, as I have a 10 a.m. yoga class booked to help my legs recover, but fall down a TikTok rabbit hole and don’t fall asleep until after midnight.
Total: £65.95
Food & Drink: £228.40
Clothes & Beauty: £59.20
Home & Health: £144.65
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £33.43
Other: £0
Total: £473.67
Conclusion
“I think this week was slightly out of the ordinary, although probably reflective of how I spend the week I get paid. I don’t often do big Amazon orders or purchase electronics like headphones and I haven’t had a haircut in six months, but I do tend to spend more around payday and then calm myself down for the rest of the month. I’m not surprised that food and drink were my biggest spend as a lot of my socialising revolves around this. I definitely don’t usually eat out this many times in one week, so this made me aware that I’d fallen off with cooking from scratch, which is both cheaper and healthier, so I am definitely going to try and improve on that moving forward.”
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