On the financial side of things, we saw the arrival of the first Labour government budget, the gender pay gap widening for the first time in 12 years and gig ticket prices sky-rocketing into imposs (thanks, Oasis).
But amongst all the calm and chaos of 2024, one thing stayed constant: weekly money diaries. This year, R29 readers submitted 104 money diaries for your reading pleasure and each one has promoted lengthy discussions about everything from ISAs and investments to skincare recommendations and recipe sharing.
As a treat to round out the year, we got back in touch with a handful of writers who topped the list for the most read diaries of 2024. Ahead, they fill you in on everything from salary shifts to debt payments, as well as how their personal lives have changed since we heard from them last.
To catch up on how your favourite money diarists are getting on, click through the slideshow ahead…
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Run date: 19th January
What got commenters talking: Her writing style, debt management and loving relationship with her daughter.
Life update: “Since I wrote the diary in January, I declared 2024 the Year of the Upskill. I felt silly for cruising at work and felt ready for a promotion. I knew this would improve my financial situation and help to get myself and my daughter in a better position to buy a house in a couple of years. After such a brash declaration I’m pleased to report I have actually made some progress! The first thing I set up after the diary was the world’s geekiest spreadsheet (in calming pastel shades, otherwise I wouldn’t want to look at it) to track my finances down to the penny. It has a column for income: my main salary, my second job as a tutor, and exam marking. Then, I have a mighty column for direct debits, a generous food/fuel budget, and I assign whatever I can to paying down my credit card debt every month. This way I know exactly what I can spend and really enjoy buying things like theatre tickets and trips away a couple of months in advance knowing I can genuinely afford them (I used to just cross my fingers, clench my bum and hope for the best…). In the last 11 months I’ve cleared over £6k of debt and I am very relieved to have done so, but there haven’t been many luxuries, I’ll admit. I have £3k left to clear, then it’ll be saving to top up our house deposit. In July, I applied for a career development course and successfully interviewed for promotion, taking my yearly salary from £43k to £50k. Money diaries sort-of forced me to analyse my spending and confront my debt and I really enjoyed the process… I would recommend writing one to stress-heads and gentlefolk alike who wish to take stock.”
Run date: March 15th
What got commenters talking: A weekly cleaner and the pressure to wear cool outfits to work.
Life update: “Since my money diary, I have had a pay rise (£5k), but sadly my rent has also gone up quite dramatically (£250 per month). So all in all, I’m not really saving more. I have taken what felt like a risky (for me) plunge into opening a stocks and shares ISA, and deposited a modest amount in, and I’m very happy with the current return of 14% so I’m thinking of taking most of the money from my premium bonds and putting it into this instead. I really enjoyed doing the money diary as an exercise, but I wouldn’t say it has changed my overall spending habits. My philosophy remains to be — try to save as much as possible but also enjoy spending a little of my money day to day and try not to let it become a stress. Hopefully one day I’ll get onto the property ladder! I’ve started to worry more about other expenses which I never used to think about — maternity leave being one, and the possible commute into London if we were to buy outside of London, being another. I really struggle with understanding how society is set up, and how I’m supposed to afford all of the ‘normal life things’ on my salary which I would label quite a ‘good’ salary. Thank you Money Diary!”
Run date: 9th August
What got commenters talking: Being a supermum and statutory maternity pay.
Life update: “Since writing the entry my newborn is now five months old! I feel a lot more comfortable juggling the two children so much so that I have volunteered to be a mentor for the next year which will be a good change from my normal day to day whilst I’m on maternity leave. I’m almost about to start on my statutory and then unpaid part of maternity leave and so I am trying to be mindful of spending. But, I have made sure to try and do one baby class a week to meet other mums and have also found a local gym class where babies can also attend. Both of these have been great for meeting people and starting to feel like myself again. We managed to buy a second hand pushchair from Marketplace which has been great and enabled me to get around locally much more easily. I spoke a bit about how my money worries stemmed from juggling mum life, which I love, and working because I still really enjoy my job and have wanted to try and make sure I keep the right balance for me and my family. There have been a few new job opportunities on the horizon of which I am exploring and would enable me to stabilise my salary and take on more responsibility, which I believe I am ready for. The final big change is that we have also sold our house and are in the process of buying our family home — we’re all very excited!”
Run date: 16th February
What got commenters talking: Horse ownership and travelling with a newborn.
Life update: “I now have a 10 month-old son! I got a new job while on maternity leave and went back to work nine months after giving birth. My new job pays 40k and I am working for a company I really love. I am saving for a house while still planning some big trips including taking my son to Thailand next year. The comments were quite rough for a new mum so I stopped reading pretty early on but I did gather that my travelling with friends so soon after having a baby really riled people up. I went on the trip to Rome with my three-month-old son and it was great so I encourage all mums to do whatever makes them happy! I also managed to go on three more trips throughout the year as I feel strongly about keeping my identity while being a young-ish mum. Childcare is a massive expense at around £1,000 a month, this is until my funded hours come into play which should ease this cost slightly. My partner and our families also help out massively within this area and do lots of dropping off and picking up as I work long hours. I am paying a bit less for my horse as we have moved yards. My having a horse and opting out of my pension for a few months seemed to upset a lot of people, I have had horses all my life so this is a non-negotiable expense and one that bought me untold joy on maternity leave when I found mum groups and baby sensory classes to be quite exclusionary of a young mum who’s also a woman of colour. I would make that choice 10 times over. I have now opted back into my pension and doubled my contributions! Other than that all my expenses are generally the same. I managed to not take on any debt while on maternity leave which felt like a big win as the final few weeks were tough financially.”
Run date: March 27th
What got commenters talking: High salaries, productivity and work life balance.
Life update: “Since writing my money diary, I got roughly a £30k pay rise around mid year, which was really appreciated. When I wrote my money diary, I had been at my new job for only about six months, and I had taken a pay cut from my previous firm. The rise brought me back up, has given me a little extra to put aside and I’ve now almost managed to pay off the loan I got from my parents to pay off my student loans. Work wise, I’ve been a lot busier since that week, with late nights and working weekends — the work can be unpredictably busy at times but I enjoy what I do. I received suggestions about putting more into my pension via salary sacrifice and this is something I’m looking into, though haven’t taken the plunge just yet as we are saving for a new house and taking advantage of the currently high interest rates to pack away cash. I did splurge on a couple of high end handbags for my birthday and with my bonus so my savings aren’t quite what they should be but, you know — in all things, balance! Commenters were very kind about my body image talk. I’m pleased to say here too, I’ve found some balance — I’m less stressed about weight and looks and happier with finding that I can do more things physically. I’m now training for a marathon next year and am thinking about competing in Hyrox. My spending on sport and exercise has gone up a little as I build recovery days into the programme including massages and physio appointments.”
Run date: March 8th
What got commenters talking: Moving to Manchester, gym life and pets.
Life update: “Thanks to those who enjoyed my Money Diary, especially those who decided to spread some positive comments. I went into my diary being 100% honest and as one commented pointed out, just because I scan a croissant as a morning roll in Sainsbury’s, doesn’t mean I’m going to steal anyone’s packages or deserve to lose my job.
In terms of what’s changed since I wrote this diary, not a whole lot! I’ve started going to therapy twice a month, which is £80 a session. It’s been life changing! I’m working on healing some childhood trauma. In a recent session, I looked at my relationship with money and what’s been instilled into me from a young age — it was so interesting. Spiritually, I’m working on not judging others and just leading with love and compassion always. My rent, bills and salary is all the same and I’m really happy with that. I’ve started putting £50 a month into investments. I’m hoping to get a pay rise in the new year and I’ve been working really hard in my 9-5. In terms of the most controversial elements of my money diary, I still spend around £30 every six months on weed and I have no shame about that at all. I still refer to my dog as my son and have no shame. I still sometimes don’t scan loose vegetables when I scan my shopping and, you know what, so do millions of others. I know myself and my morals and I know these massive companies and their morals too.”
Run date: March 13th
What got commenters talking: Being childfree, ageing gracefully and bird watching spots.
Life update: “I was astonished at the attention this MD attracted and was very touched by people’s kind comments. I don’t think I have ever been called ‘wholesome’ before! Little has changed financially for me since I wrote it. The only points of interest are that I tripped over a step — one of the perils of age — and fractured my shoulder. After some weeks of no improvement I eventually paid about £9k for private surgery; this was a bit indulgent as I could have had it done on the NHS but the waiting list was several months, the summer was running out and I wanted to get a quick return to function so that I could work properly (I could see patients but not do surgery due to my damaged shoulder) and also get out birding with my camera and binoculars. This was particularly important as we had a big holiday to Taiwan planned. I was able to enjoy the holiday as we hoped and it was absolutely fantastic. Beautiful country, lovely people and great birds. Also, Taiwan has the best Chinese vegetarian food around. The other minor source of income was that I worked a day supervising a group of vet students. Apart from being well paid (£360 for a day’s work isn’t bad) this was really good fun, the students were lovely and so knowledgeable and I’m hoping to engineer some more days with them. I am also thinking of taking a sabbatical, which will mean a hit to my income but I’d like to get out and about while I can. I’m thinking of walking at least some of England’s Coastal Path (almost 3000 miles) but it’s not necessarily a cheap pastime. Walking a stretch this week cost me £17.85 in train fares and £40 in taxis (which admittedly I could have saved by waiting an hour for a bus). But as the shoulder injury taught me, we should not take good health and mobility for granted.”
Run date: 21st August
What got commenters talking: Walking to work, learning a language and single life.
Life update: “Since writing my Money Diary at the beginning of the summer my financial situation hasn’t changed much but I will be starting a new role just before Christmas, which I am very excited about. It will be a similar role, personal assistant, but in a very different sector, and although the pay rise won’t be massive, it comes with a big bonus, which I have never received in the past. The reason I started looking for a new job was the fact that there isn’t any room for progression at my current company and I was ready to do something new, although I will miss my team tremendously! This new role comes with a very clear progression path and I am excited to see where this might lead to. In the next few years I really want to focus on career progression as well as growing my investment and saving accounts and I think this will be the right first step. I won’t be able to walk to work anymore but the commute won’t be too bad. I am really excited to get started and I feel very optimistic about the future! I recently got back from a two week trip in South East Asia, which I had saved for over the last year or so. It ended up costing less than I had budgeted for so whatever is left I will transfer to my ISA.”
Run date: 16th August
What got commenters talking: Investing, generosity, Brazil nuts.
Life update: “Thanks to everyone who read my diary and gave me tips (a nudge!) to do more with investments. Of course I understand investment and want to make money by buying shares in good businesses, but there is lots of compliance at work which makes this difficult and because hours are long and I have plenty of other hobbies, its not been a priority! I am also paralysed by tax — something that I don’t want to get wrong and this has put me off investing outside my ISA too. I am taking baby steps and will be speaking with someone to help me manage this.
Other life updates: my partner and I will be moving to London which I feel quite sad about but we have recently found out we are pregnant, so it makes sense to be closer to family! My partner has also got a job in a (large) start-up, so it should be a fresh start. I will be working remotely for a while, but I am not sure how this will pan out in the longer term. We are so thrilled with the news but it has obviously changed my priorities about what we do with our cash. I want to make sure little baby has the best possible life and am very aware of how expensive nursery fees (and everything else!) is.”
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