This week: “I’m 22 years old and work as an analyst in the science sector. I moved to London for uni and stayed for a graduate degree after finishing my bachelor’s. I started my job last September after finishing my MSc. I’m doing a graduate scheme at the moment and am committed to doing the full two years and using the job security to focus on taking care of my physical and mental health after a difficult master’s year.
I met my boyfriend, K, during undergrad and moved in with him in September after we both finished our master’s degrees. For now, we’re both quite happy in London but we probably will move away (either back to the US or potentially somewhere new) once we reach mid-senior titles in our respective jobs. I grew up in a high-earning household and with very open parents, and I am privileged to have a very unproblematic relationship with finances. I’m not anxious about money (and am lucky to have found an above-average wage straight out of uni) but K is from a completely different background. Together we’re learning the best way to budget and how to approach spending and talking about money with each other’s families. K and I budget and save separately but contribute equal amounts to household expenses and holidays. I’ve got a monthly budget based on the UK Personal Finance Reddit flowchart (a gem!) and I am currently saving up a one-year emergency fund of £15-20k.”
Occupation: Data analyst
Industry: STEM/Tech
Age: 22
Location: London, UK
Salary: £40,700
Paycheque amount: £2,649.78 after tax/NI, pension and Cyclescheme contributions.
Number of housemates: One: my boyfriend, K.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £925 for rent and wi-fi.
Loan payments: None.
Savings? I pay into three separate pots each month, the totals sit at: £5,509 emergency fund, £2,481 LISA, £603 travel fund.
Pension? Yes, a DCP (defined contribution pension) which currently has £2,146.20 in it. My contributions started in November after I turned 22 and I pay in £423.48 each month. There’s no employer match as the payment comes from a ‘flexible benefits’ bonus each month.
Utilities: £50 heating/hot water, £116 council tax, £40 water and £56 electricity. We also pay into a joint account for groceries and entertainment.
All other monthly payments: £10 phone, £6.17 cycle insurance, £60 therapy, £83.33 Cyclescheme (which comes out of my pre-tax pay). Subscriptions: £6.99 Mubi, £2 NYT, £1.59 Google, £5 Monzo Plus, £3 Santander Edge (this gets me just under 6% interest on savings and 1% cashback for bills, very worth it).
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I did a three-year BSc and a one-year MSc. My parents paid my fees and living costs throughout; I’m very lucky to have had their support! I did also work part-time during uni but that money went more towards entertainment/travel.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My mother worked in a finance-related job so we definitely spoke a lot about it. Money wasn’t tight for my family but we did have two ‘emergencies’ which required a lot of legal expenses (my parents sold assets to cover these). When I was a teenager my parents gave me a monthly pre-filled debit card and encouraged me to budget with that to cover my transportation to school and going out. The biggest talks we had about money were when I went off to uni and my parents helped me set up a budget based on the living costs guide from the university — this was super helpful and I use a similar system to this day. We also had another big money talk during COVID when my dad considered retiring early. Because we were all at home at the time, I just ended up included in my parents’ money conversations and now know quite a lot about retirement planning.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
At 17, when I went to uni.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I would say 21, when I moved out of my uni house and into the flat with my boyfriend. I paid the deposit and moving costs with money I had saved from part-time work, and I received my first salary the month I moved in. My parents sometimes help cover travel for family trips but otherwise I’m now in charge of all my own expenses.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
When I was 14, someone asked me to cat-sit and I then got asked by a few other people every summer to do the same. They usually paid me £75 a week, so not much but really good for a teenager!
Do you worry about money now?
No, thankfully K and I both have very secure jobs and great pay, plus we know we can count on our families if things get rough.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I have £3,000 in an account linked to my parents’ bank, which they gave me access to in my uni days for emergencies. Luckily I did not ever need this and it now counts as a backup emergency fund. It would be great to never use it and put it in an account for my own kid(s) one day or use it for a good cause.
6:40 a.m. — Confused. Why are we up so early? It’s a Sunday! We get out of bed, do some tidying and I decide to turn leftover pizza dough from a couple of nights ago into focaccia. While that’s cooking I have some toast and a matcha, lovingly prepared by K. The whole house smells of bread and rosemary by 9 a.m.
9:15 a.m. — I’m meeting a friend, M, to see the new Barbican exhibition, which I bought tickets for a week ago (£10 for the two of us with the Young Barbican discount). I quickly shower so I can be out by 10 a.m.
9:58 a.m. — I pay for the Tube with my Oyster, £1.80. I’ve arrived a tad early so I take some photos of the “Purple Hibiscus” piece currently clothing the facade of the Barbican Centre. K and I were seeing a film here the week the fabric was being set up; it’s super impressive seeing the finished work. I sit next to a sleepy duck while I wait for M’s text.
11:10 a.m. — M and I head in. It’s a very diverse range of pieces and great curation — we spend a lot of time taking photos and discussing materials. M is a product designer and it’s nice to have a materials ‘expert’ walking through the exhibition with me!
12:45 p.m. — M is taking me to a Greek bakery she recently discovered for a coffee and pastry. We get the bus, £1.75.
1:15 p.m. — We arrive at the bakery and there are no seats. Committed as ever, we offer to wait. We get two freddo espressos and two bougatsa, M pays. I spot a couple leaving a table outside and secure the spot as M brings over our order. We speak for a while; it’s been about a month since we’ve hung out and before we know it, it’s nearly 3pm.
3:15 p.m. — We walk to Farringdon together and end up chatting for another 25 minutes in the station before going our separate ways, £1.80.
3:45 p.m. — I stop by the shop to get girl dinner ingredients for K and me: Greek aubergine in tomato sauce, mushroom pâté, a baguette, Quorn chicken nuggets and kombucha, £7.09 for my half.
4:45 p.m. — K and I pick at the different sides and some bread. We end up not cooking the nuggets as we’ve also got leftover focaccia and half a can of chickpeas in the fridge, which I quickly blend into some hummus. We watch Immaculate while eating. We give it a 3.5 out of 5 on Letterboxd.
7 p.m. — I call my brother and we speak for a while (mostly talking over my niece who’s got major zoomies) while K preps us a second spread of baguette and various dips.
7:30 p.m. — We have some yoghurt with raspberry jam for dessert and watch a couple episodes of Atlanta before heading to bed for an early night.
Total: £12.44
6 a.m. — Wake up a little bit earlier than usual today as K and I both want to try getting some exercise before work now that the weather is good. I’m out of the house by 6.53 a.m. and cycle to the climbing gym.
7:30 a.m. — I get to the gym and feel warmed up! I’ve never seen it so empty. I tap in using a prepaid multi-entry pass and climb away. I’m nursing a very stubborn ankle strain so I’m being extra careful and keep my climb to about 40 intense minutes before heading to the training area for some core work.
8:40 a.m. — I cycle the five minutes from the climbing gym to work, shower and head to my desk. I make myself some (free) oatmeal and mix in protein powder brought from home. Since it’s a quiet day I’m able to head to reception and get a free barista coffee, which we get as a perk for coming in early.
12:30 p.m. — I really need to eat. It’s launch day for one of my projects and I’ve been doing user testing all morning. I heat up the dinner leftovers I packed last night: quinoa and bulgur with spinach and vegan meatballs in tomato sauce. I eat with a colleague I haven’t seen in a while and we catch up on the adventures she’s been on with her new puppy.
2:30 p.m. — I feel stir-crazy. I go for a speedy walk and judiciously avoid the street with plenty of bakeries but at the end of my loop I’m tempted by a new cafe. I hold it together and make myself a DIY mocha back at the office, mixing hot chocolate powder and machine coffee.
5:30 p.m. — Time to ride home.
6 p.m. — I get home and shower. K worked from home this afternoon and says he wants to order Honest Burgers, which we haven’t had in a while. We get a Plant 2.0 with coleslaw for me, a Double Smashed cheeseburger with the iconic Honest Burger rosemary fries for him, onion rings to share and chicken wings for K, £20.19 for my half.
We watch Atlanta while we eat — we’re almost finished with the show!
8 p.m. — K puts on the football and I call my parents. While the match is on, we clean up the living area and make sure our home is generally presentable. We go to bed around 10 p.m. after our early morning.
Total: £20.19
6:30 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I’m working from home today as I’ve got an X-ray appointment for my ankle at lunchtime and my parents are coming to visit. I get started with work around 7 a.m., while K has his breakfast.
8 a.m. — K leaves for work. I take a mini break to call my mother — this turns into a long break and before I know it, it’s 8.50 a.m. and I need to shower before a 9 a.m. meeting.
10 a.m. — After my meeting I make myself some oatmeal with protein, sultanas and chia seeds. After breakfast I get stuck into some code. I’m working on a new predictive model and need to consult my uni lecture notes to remind myself of how to do the stats!
1 p.m. — Not sure where the time has gone but my appointment is in 10 minutes. Luckily, I live an eight-minute cycle from the hospital and they’re probably running late…
1:10 p.m. — I check in for my X-ray and I’m told to wait to be called.
1:45 p.m. — Still waiting to be called…
2 p.m. — Sigh. I go to the desk and ask what’s going on. Oh! They must have missed me, she says.
2:25 p.m. — I’m in and out of the X-ray room in about six minutes. So about 10x less time than I waited. That’s so fine. That’s so totally fine. I cycle home not at all frustrated. At all.
3:12 p.m. — I get home and back to work. I get a text saying my parents are on the way, ETA 6.17 p.m. How exciting! I get back into my coding wormhole and before I know it my dad is calling — they’re downstairs!
6:20 p.m. — Our guests settle in and I get started on dinner. We don’t have much food in the house as we were waiting for them to do a grocery order. I make some rice and start cooking up some beans — keeping it very simple today. K gets in from his run back from work and heads out to the shop after a shower to get us some dessert (Häagen-Dazs vanilla, a family fave). He pays.
8 p.m. — We’ve had our dinner and settle down to watch an episode of Mammals on iPlayer. This one is about how different animals adapt to living with our constant interference. K and I agree that we prefer this production to that of Planet Earth III.
Total: £0
6 a.m. — K is running into work today so wakes up a little earlier than normal. He makes coffee for the household and the smell draws me out of bed. I’m working from home for the rest of the week to spend time with the parents, but I have therapy this morning.
8:20 a.m. — I quietly leave the house as my parents are still asleep and text to let them know I’ll be back around 10.30 a.m. I take the Overground to my appointment, £1.95.
10 a.m. — After my session I walk to the bakery. I had broken this habit but tell myself it would be nice to get something to share with my parents. The pastries set me back £6.70.
10:15 a.m. — I head back via the Overground, £1.15 for off-peak times on my Oyster card.
10:35 a.m. — I’m home and need to head into a meeting. I quickly brew up some matcha for myself — my parents are drinking the coffee K left for them — and cut up the pastries to share. I’ve got back-to-back calls until 1 p.m. today — so fun.
1:15 p.m. — I’m not super hungry and neither are my parents so I whip up some hummus and serve it up with bread, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. A small lunch but we’re planning a big pasta dish for early dinner.
2 p.m. — I get back to work while my parents are out for a stroll. I’m back working on my model and get completely sucked in. I love the technical side of my job — hopefully after my graduate scheme I can find a full-time developer or data scientist role. When I work from home especially, getting deep into a coding project makes the day go by super quickly and I can work uninterrupted for hours.
5 p.m. — My parents gently encourage me to log off and take a walk. I accept. By the time we’re back, there’s commotion on the estate — it appears our neighbour’s flat is on fire! K came home to the chaos and hasn’t been able to get inside. We live within walking distance of Grenfell and lots of us are close to that community so everyone is on edge. LFB are very quick to put it out — luckily they came quickly and the fire did not spread. Our building is evacuated until the smoke clears and we’re not back in until nearly 7pm. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, and we find out from the neighbour that the damage is mostly on their balcony. The fire was caused by a loose cigarette butt. Very sad that some of our community still smoke carelessly on their balconies.
7:30 p.m. — We get started on dinner: a big pot of pasta, tomato-basil salad, pan-seared salmon for the parents and a creamy, cheesy pea sauce for K and me. We eat hungrily and then migrate TV-side to watch more Mammals.
10 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £9.80
6:30 a.m. — K and I wake up and I get started with work almost right away, around 7 a.m. Today I start G-CSF injections for a stem cell donation I’m making on Monday. A nurse is coming to show me how to administer the drugs around 12 p.m. so I’m getting started early in case it takes a while.
10 a.m. — I get warped back into my code machine until my parents and I take a breakfast break — oatmeal porridge and protein for me, yoghurt and fruit for them.
12:20 p.m. — The nurse arrives. She walks me through the process of self-administering the drugs, which come in pre-filled syringes — two per day for the next four days. I’ve never given myself or anyone else an injection so I’m pretty uncomfortable and weirded out. She gives me the first dose and helps me give myself the second one. It is SO STRANGE. She tells me I’ll get used to it and just need to do it quickly before it sinks in and I freak out. She hangs around for an hour or so to make sure I don’t have an adverse reaction.
1:30 p.m. — All is clear. I’m told to expect head and bone aches, and flu-like symptoms in the evening. The nurse wishes me well and heads off.
1:45 p.m. — My parents and I walk down the road to a local cafe for panini, they pay. On the way back we stop at a different cafe just outside mine and I buy my dad a coffee, £3.60. Back at home, I enjoy my halloumi-pesto panini and watch a little bit of YouTube before getting back to work.
2 p.m. — Another afternoon of back-to-back calls. I join my first meeting and don’t have a chance to step away until 4.30 p.m. One of my programmes has been running in the background and my laptop is burning hot and sounding like a jet engine. I spend the last 30 minutes of the work day answering messages and emails I didn’t get to earlier and let some of my team know I won’t be in on Monday due to the donation.
5:30 p.m. — K texts to say he will be taking care of dinner this evening — yay! My parents and I head out for a long walk.
7 p.m. — K has made my parents lamb chops and is roasting Quorn chicken pieces for himself and me, accompanied by rice and veggies. I make a quick za’atar-garlic-yoghurt sauce as a side and we have a lovely dinner conversation about nuclear energy prospects in Europe (K’s area of research).
8:30 p.m. — Another episode of Mammals goes on and we all have some ice cream while we watch. I’m starting to feel achey and sore, and am very quickly exhausted. I barely make it to the end of the episode before needing very badly to sleep. Ouch.
Total: £3.60
6 a.m. — It’s early but my hips, back and head are killing me. K is already up, getting ready to run into work. I take a couple of paracetamol and hop in the shower, hoping it will make me feel better.
7:45 a.m. — After K leaves I log into my work laptop and do some copywriting. A not insignificant part of my role is communications, trying to get product managers more invested in the data collection process and encourage better data governance in the non-technical teams we work with. I’m working on a series of short newsletters highlighting different ‘wins’ from teams we’ve worked with that have benefited from making changes to their data management.
9:30 a.m. — I make myself some breakfast — not feeling super hungry today so I just have a slice of toast and a little bit of yoghurt. My parents are up and about by this point. I think they were so bored watching me work yesterday that they’ve learned their lesson. They head out, letting me know they’ll be back by lunch.
1:30 p.m. — I give myself my second round of injections, trying not to tense too much. My parents have returned as promised and watch with discomfort as I inject myself. Poor kids. They cook up some quinoa; I have mine with leftover tomato salad and hummus and they eat theirs with some salmon. I’m starting to feel really under the weather but have a meeting with my manager later on and need to tidy up a broken automation by the end of today (it’s Friday).
4 p.m. — Back-to-back calls now, first with my team and then with my manager. These see me through to 5.30 p.m. and with great relief I log off for the week. I pop a couple of paracetamol and go out for a quick walk.
6 p.m. — My parents inform me they have ordered us dinner. Woohoo! They ask me if I can collect it. I happily accept — it’s been a very inactive week and I’m more than happy to head out for a cycle. I leave just before 7pm and see K on his way home from the pub, just in time for food.
7:30 p.m. — We eat and my parents decide to watch a movie in their room. K and I settle down for a game of chess and watch silly YouTube until about 9 p.m., when I find myself once again exhausted from the drugs (the effects of which seem to be most pronounced at nighttime).
Total: £0
9 a.m. — A lie-in. Finally. Saturday mornings in our house are pancake breakfast days and this week it’s my turn to cook them. We’ve got a couple of extra mouths to feed but very little milk left so it’s a skinny breakfast but probably for the best as we’ve booked a restaurant to try with my parents today.
10:30 a.m. — After breakfast and showers, K and I clean up around the flat and then I settle down with a book and fall asleep. My dad wakes me up just before 1 p.m. to remind me about my injections. Today I’m not feeling it at all. Both doses hurt — I’m tired and sore and don’t do a quick enough jab to avoid the pain. Sigh. Only one more day to go.
1:30 p.m. — K and I make an Asda order for delivery tomorrow, £28.35 for my half. This is for a pantry restock plus two-ish weeks of groceries.
2 p.m. — We get to the restaurant and it’s super crowded. There’s an event being held, apparently. At least we get a livelier-than-expected atmosphere. We’re trying a Nigerian place in Hammersmith for the first time. I haven’t been to a Nigerian restaurant before and neither has K. My parents order for the table and while we wait, we try to
make plans for tomorrow, which is meant to be slightly better weather-wise. Our food comes more slowly than expected, probably as the team is busy catering to the event. We’re starving by the time it comes and eat quickly.
4 p.m. — It’s rainy and we’re full so my parents Uber us back to the flat. In the middle of the ride, I’m hit with an extreme wave of car sickness. This is really unusual for me and I chalk it up to the hormone injections. Luckily, we’re only 10 minutes from home. I get into bed the minute we arrive.
5:30 p.m. — K wakes me up. This is probably the worst I’ve felt since starting the treatment. My parents and I drink some hibiscus and I take another couple paracetamol. K and my parents make dinner but all I can manage is about 10g of plain buttered pasta. We put on another episode of Mammals — I think this one (“Water”) might be the best so far.
8 p.m. — I’m feeling a little bit better. I have a small cup of yoghurt and we put on The Hairy Bikers. I open Instagram after days of not checking it and reply to my DMs (as in, go through the reels my friends sent me, react, then go through my Explore page and send relevant cat content back). Mini serotonin boost from the memes injects more life into me.
8:30 p.m. — My parents retreat to watch a movie in their room and K and I decide to head to bed early. I fall asleep before 9 p.m.
Total: £28.35
Food & Drink: £65.93
Clothes & Beauty: £0
Travel: £8.45
Entertainment: £0
Home & Health: £0
Other: £0
Total: £74.38
Conclusion
“This week’s spending was a little unusual since I worked from home four out of five days. Because I’m giving stem cells on Monday, I’ve been at home and under the weather due to the treatment and my routine was thrown off. My parents have come for the occasion so that’s kept spending down too because they’ve spoilt us with a takeaway and meals out, which K and I typically limit to once per week. Weirdly, my main takeaway is noticing how much we probably save from being into coffee/matcha because especially with my dad being a big coffee drinker, we could have easily spent a lot on takeaway coffee. We have a good coffee subscription and a nice coffee setup at home, which are definitely worthwhile investments. The only reason I bought one for my dad on Thursday was because I wanted to introduce my parents to the barista, who I’m friends with. If there was one thing I would change, it would be to try and put more time aside to bake. I love pastries and get them a lot but I could reduce that cost by batch-baking on the weekend. (The post-therapy pastry temptation is a serious threat — in February I got a notification from Chase that I was spending £40 a month at Gail’s. Lol.) Normally I’m in office three to four days a week and with that comes socialising and buying pastries or the occasional pint at least one day a week as well. In general, I’m pretty happy with how things are going in this first year of employment — though any advice is welcome!”
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