This week: “I’m 28 and work remotely for a publishing company. My partner is in the military, which means we get subsidised military housing (which is great) but also that we have to move around a lot, without much warning (which is less great). We are currently based in Scotland, in a beautiful area, and love it a lot. I am used to working remotely but some days I really miss working in the office and having colleagues to chat to (I never miss the commute though). Overall, living in military housing has really helped with saving and with having more stability, compared to when we were renting privately. We are currently trying to save for our wedding next year and for a mortgage deposit. I don’t think we will always be in the situation of being able to save so I am trying to make the most of it while still enjoying life.”
Occupation: Editor
Industry: Publishing
Age: 28
Location: Dunbartonshire
Salary: £29,950
Paycheque amount: £1,957
Number of housemates: My partner (M) and cat (A).
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: Rent comes directly out of my partner’s pay, along with most of the other bills (which are subsidised).
Loan payments: £4 per month for student loan.
Savings? £47,500 split across ISAs and a savings account, £5,750 in premium bonds (wedding fund).
Pension? Yes, I pay 7% of my salary and my employer pays 6%.
Utilities: £25 a month for internet, £80-120 for gas and electric.
All other monthly payments: £6 for phone (SIM only), £20 for gym, £20ish for pet supplies. Subscriptions: £8.50 for my half of Spotify Duo.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I did an undergraduate degree, paid for with student loans and maintenance loans. I would have loved to have done a master’s but getting into so much debt the first time round freaked me out.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
There weren’t really any conversations. Things were mostly comfortable when I was growing up but I can remember periods when my dad was made redundant and things were a bit more tight. My parents had quite unequal salaries and money was always a source of tension between them, and was sometimes weaponised. I think this has made me quite cautious about spending. It is only since building up a bit of a safety net that I have been able to relax a little.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out for uni and then when I got my first full-time job, then moved back after my office shut down during COVID. I moved in with my partner in 2021, renting privately at first, then got military housing.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
When I got my first full-time job, after uni. My partner, M, pays more now for our living costs (by covering the rent) but I put more into the wedding and mortgage funds.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I tutored at a tutoring centre when I was in school and did seasonal retail/odd jobs through uni. My first full-time job was as an editorial assistant. It was pretty badly paid but it was the first offer that came my way when I graduated so I jumped at it.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes and no. Our situation is okay at the moment but I don’t think it will stay the same forever. We don’t earn heaps and the cost of living crisis isn’t getting better. I worry if we will be able to afford a house in the future.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
My sister and I received £3,000 each when my grandma passed away. My parents also bought me my first car, which was invaluable in getting to work and having freedom.
11 a.m. — Wake up. We got back from travelling way later than expected last night so all plans of getting up early on Sunday go out of the window. I read a little bit, do some admin and sort some Vinted bits from my bed. This would be peaceful but the cat, A, comes in and has a vigorous bath in the corner. I pay my partner, M, back half for a grocery shop done last week, £23.59.
1 p.m. — We eventually get up and watch Spartacus with tea and toast while doing some laundry. Normally I go to a yoga class on Sundays (there is a local teacher who is amazing and her class really helps with flexibility, which is important after being sat in an office chair 24/7). However, today is not the day. M is going on deployment in a few weeks so I appreciate the peaceful afternoon together all the more.
4 p.m. — I walk down the road to post the Vinted parcels I packed this morning, then get a train into town for a board games session, £5.20. I am still knackered so this feels pretty taxing. I haven’t been to the board games session in a while so it is nice to see familiar faces, and a relaxed time overall, but trying to learn the rules for a new game (Obscurio?) while half-asleep is a challenge.
8 p.m. — I head back to the train station but all the trains are delayed. I get treats from M&S (a pizza, tortilla chips and biscuits) for £8.29, mostly out of boredom and to kill time.
9:45 p.m. — I eventually make it back! M picks me up from the station to save me walking and has also cooked a vegetable curry, which is great as I am starving.
10 p.m. — We skim TV channels without really paying attention (mostly focused on the curry).
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £37.08
8 a.m. — I get up and get dressed as M is going to base. This week is just a regular nine-to-five type week for M (there is a bag in the spare room already packed for M’s deployment but I am ignoring it).
8:15 a.m. — I eat some cereal, feed A and pack up another Vinted parcel that was sold last night (if only it could have been posted with the others!). I manage to drop my phone on the kitchen floor while making a cup of tea and smash the screen. A good start to the week. £92.95 for a secondhand replacement from CEX.
8:40 a.m. — I start work. I only have one meeting today, which is nice and means I can get on with sorting out some audio files.
12 p.m. — I heat up leftover curry for lunch and clean the kitchen while listening to a podcast called Welcome to Hell (it is really funny and makes the cleaning pass quickly). I pay off the credit card bill for last month, which was mostly covering transport costs for a trip to France, £81.31.
1 p.m. — I get back to work. My brain feels so slow. Honestly Mondays are the worst for this. It’s like it takes time to get back into gear almost? I manage to get some things done but it feels like I am moving at a snail’s pace. A mid-afternoon bag of crisps is as exciting as things get.
5:30 p.m. — M gets back from work and we do a quick trip to the gym then pick up extra bits from the shops, £4.10.
7 p.m. — M makes a bean chilli. I have a call with a publishing society I am part of. We are trying to organise events for the next few months (panels, socials and things like that). I am looking forward to the events and keeping my fingers crossed everything comes together (it is hard when we all have jobs/studies/other commitments).
8:30 p.m. — Time for the chilli! M really likes cooking and this is my favourite thing that they make so I am content. We watch some of The Great, which we have been working our way through.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £178.36
8 a.m. — The usual routine. A is wailing and requiring a lot of fuss this morning (I am not entirely sure why). She goes on to spend the morning sat underneath my office chair. I try my best to remember she is there so I don’t get up too suddenly and run her over!
10 a.m. — I pause work to buy gig tickets that go on sale, £37.75. I saw this band in the tiniest of venues for £15 a few years ago and now they are playing stadiums. The price is a bit galling and I don’t know if the experience will be the same but I’ve been wanting to see them again for a while and none of their other tour dates has worked out. Ticketmaster crashes as so many people are trying to get tickets.
12:30 p.m. — I stop for leftover chilli and clean the kitchen again. M likes cooking but not necessarily the tidying up afterwards. I don’t mind the cleaning too much, as I don’t have the patience for cooking.
1:30 p.m. — The afternoon passes quickly as I have back-to-back meetings. I am working on a large project and it takes a long time for everyone to give updates on their respective areas. A new starter is also joining the project this week so I try to help answer her questions, which is useful as it jogs my memory on certain processes and documents I haven’t had to look at in a while.
5:20 p.m. — I accidentally fall asleep as soon as I finish working and only wake up when M gets back. This is a bit embarrassing! I make a plan to have an earlier night tonight.
6:20 p.m. — I walk down to the gym for a swim while M goes to rugby training.
8 p.m. — We are back on the leftover chilli this evening. We swap from watching The Great to watching Grand Designs, for something a bit less involved. It gives me a new ambition to build a house out of larch with a turf roof (M does not support this).
10:40 p.m. —- Sleep (earlier ish).
Total: £37.75
8 a.m. — I get up and have cereal before making a start on work. Today is a blur of editing with a smattering of meetings. The morning is pretty quiet to begin with so I sign up to help with someone else’s project. Shortly after that, more work on my project appears.
12 p.m. — I eat lunch at my desk and crack on. It is the final bit of chilli, which is possibly for the best. I have been having a lot of chilli-based meals.
4:30 p.m. — I head into town for a girls’ walking group, £5.20 for the train ticket. The plan is to go round the Botanic Gardens then head to an ice cream shop afterwards. The walk itself is lovely, going past the plants and the glasshouses. It isn’t super sunny but a lot of people are chilling on the grass so it feels summery. I definitely get my steps in.
7:30 p.m. — I head home without getting an ice cream (I kind of want proper food at this point, rather than a sugar rush). Luckily there are no train delays today and I make it home quickly, without even stopping for a treat.
8:30 p.m. — M made vegetarian meatballs and has waited for me to get back so we can eat together. M reports that there is some debate at work whether they’ll be drafted elsewhere, meaning we might have to move to Dundee. I barely feel settled here so I am not keen.
10:30 p.m. — Sleep! Knackered from walking.
Total: £5.20
4:45 a.m. — I wake up super early for no discernible reason. A is pleased with this development and jumps up on the bed to be fussed. I can’t get back to sleep so get up properly and work on the publishing society event I am responsible for. I sit downstairs, with the world news on quietly. Once I’ve done some planning and sent it off for the others to feedback on, I look up Edinburgh Fringe shows to see what I might be interested in.
8:15 a.m. — Start work. Today is mostly carrying on with tasks from yesterday.
12 p.m. — Clean the kitchen and have a selection of odds and ends for lunch (there’s a little bit of leftover spaghetti and meatballs, which I supplement with toast and a chocolate peanut bar). I am tired from my weird early wake-up.
2 p.m. — New phone arrives! Hurray!
4:30 p.m. — I put on laundry and clean other bits of the house (not the kitchen) that are bugging me. M comes home from base and helps, then makes veggie burritos for later.
6 p.m. — M goes to rugby training and I go to the gym. There have been posts about dolphins spotted in the estuary in the local Facebook group — I try to see them on the way back but no luck.
8 p.m. — We reheat the burritos and watch more of The Great. We are going over to Ireland after M’s deployment to see M’s family so we sort out travel dates and I book a rail and sail ticket for me (I am coming back earlier as I don’t have as much annual leave left as M). I am looking forward to beach trips and maybe some camping, £54.39.
8:30 p.m. — My mum calls to catch up. She is coming to visit while M is deployed so we mostly talk about that and what she’s been up to. We also book some Fringe shows to see together, £49.50.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £103.89
5:30 a.m. — Wake up. A realises I am awake and comes to curl up by my legs. I read my book for a bit until it is time to get up.
8 a.m. — I have cereal and put food in A’s bowl (she is still curled up on the bed).
8:30 a.m. — It is a no-meetings Friday! But I still have plenty to do, reviewing the copy for some blurbs and covers.
1 p.m. — I have cheesy lentils on toast for lunch and try to wrap things up before the end of the week. I also send £50 to my sister who has moved into a new flat and wants donations towards a washing machine for her birthday. I sent a birthday card and some small bits separately and I’m visiting soon so I can treat her to breakfast or brunch then.
2 p.m. — M is working a half day today so does the big shop AND cleans the kitchen. £25.85 for my half of the shop.
5 p.m. — M is wanting to do more in the garden, which is in a fine state but isn’t a very welcoming space, so we head to the garden centre before it closes. The drive is beautiful, past rolling hills, and it reminds me how grateful I am to live somewhere so lovely. M gets a shovel and birdseed. I get bee- and insect-friendly seeds, which I think we could put in envelopes as part of our wedding favours, £18.99. The elderly man on the till lets me take a punnet of strawberries for free. They are delicious.
8 p.m. — It is an odds-and-ends dinner. I make a sort of salad, with chopped vegetables and chickpeas, to go alongside (and add vitamins to) some beige bits dug out of the freezer. We watch Turtles All the Way Down.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £94.84
8 a.m. — I grab some toast and get ready to go into town for a writing group. M is marching in a Pride parade today with their rugby group, and I am going to catch up with them mid-parade, £5.20 for the train ticket.
11 a.m. — I don’t get a whole lot of writing done but don’t mind. I get the subway across to where I think the parade is starting but this turns out to be last year’s start location, £1.80 for the subway ticket.
11:30 a.m. — I hotfoot it across town to where the parade is actually starting, stopping on the way to buy a brownie for extra energy, £3. There are roughly 50,000 people marching so it is quite tricky to spot M but I eventually do! I join in with the rugby group for a little bit. It is lovely to see people out and celebrating. I think it is really important to have Pride events at the moment as the way trans people are being debated and vilified is grim, and anything that helps counteract that is valuable.
2:30 p.m. — We finish marching and go to the Pride hub to look at the stalls. It feels a bit disorganised and starts to rain heavily so we don’t hang around for long (even though Jedward are performing somewhere…). I look at some cute hand-printed T-shirts in the market but do not buy one as they come down to my knees.
4 p.m. — We escape the rain and sit in a cafe. I get some lentil soup, £4.29. M gets loaded nachos.
4:30 p.m. — I drop off another Vinted parcel and grab some bits from Boots (hair ties because A hunts them and puts them in her dry food bowl, chocolate, and SPF face fluid), £11.89. M is flagging and sits outside while I look at the makeup counters. There is nothing I need but it is fun to look.
5:30 p.m. — It is still raining so we give up and head home. I order a phone case on the way as I have been paranoid all day I’m going to drop my new phone, £2.45.
7 p.m. — We watch Stand By Me. M has toast for tea as they are still full from the nachos. I cook vegetables and mix them into a bowl of quinoa.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £28.63
Food & Drink: £69.12
Clothes & Beauty: £11.89
Home & Health: £18.99
Entertainment: £87.25
Travel: £153.10
Other: £145.40
Total: £485.75
Conclusion
“That was a lot more than expected! I don’t really buy gig/show tickets that often, or new mobile phones. However, there are definitely things I can look out for (picking up treats and doing top-up shops). I think working from home makes me want to go out and about more, so the transport costs build up. I might try setting up sinking funds for different things so I feel a bit more in control of where my money is going.”
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
A Digital Marketing Manager On £44,000