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WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on TheJournal.ie that runs on Wednesdays and Sundays and looks at what people in Ireland really do with their cash.
We’re asking readers to keep a record of how much they earn, how much they save if anything, and what they spend their money on over the course of one week.
Want to take part? We’re looking for readers who will keep a money diary for a week. In particular, we’re looking for people who fall into one of these categories:
- People who don’t usually track their spending and would consider themselves to be not great with money
- Students
- People working for minimum wage
- People aged over 65
If you’re interested, please send a mail to money@thejournal.ie.
Each money diary is submitted by readers just like you. When reading and commenting, bear in mind that their situation will not be relatable for everyone, it is simply an account of a week in their shoes.
Last time, a 29-year-old data analyst from Waterford detailed his spending in a week. This week, we hear from a 23-year-old clerical officer from Louth earning €23,352, having left a better-paid job she wasn’t happy in, in order to take up this role.
Last year I graduated from college with a degree in English and History. I worked in retail for 4 years while doing my degree. Earlier this year I left a well paid, but mind-numbingly boring job for a less well-paid job with the HSE. I love my job but just wish the pay was higher. However, I know that in the long run, the pay will increase.
I pay my car insurance and tax in one go in April. This generally comes from my personal savings and this year cost €1,300 and €200. Saving is something I’ve always been good at, but since I’ve taken out a car loan, and spent a good portion of my savings on it, I feel like I struggle to make it from one pay packet to another – I worry a lot about money. On expensive weeks my rainy day fund takes the hit as it is the only payment not set up as a standing order to my savings account.
Occupation: Clerical Officer
Age: 23
Location: Louth
Salary: €23,352
Monthly pay (net): €1,578
Monthly expenses
Rent: €200
Transport (Petrol): €60
Phone bill: €5. I have a prepay phone and only spend €5 on data a month. I use wifi most of the time.
Health insurance: I don’t have health insurance. At the minute it’s just not something I can afford.
Groceries: €60 (I use the basics in my house and then buy whatever I specifically need).
Gym membership: €39
Subscriptions: Spotify Premium Student €5
Car loan: €210
Savings: €100 to a personal savings account, €200 to joint savings account with my boyfriend, €50 to rainy day fund.
Total overheads: €929
***
7am I get up to get breakfast and walk to work.
7.45am I’m in and ready to start my day.
12 noon: I’m covering an area that isn’t mine and it’s very busy so I have lunch at my desk.
4pm I walk home from work. I get a cup of tea and visit my granny on my way to the gym.
7pm After the gym I’m treated to a takeaway as it’s my birthday (counterproductive I know).
10.30pm I relax for a bit before heading to bed.
Today’s total: €0
7am Same as Monday; up, breakfast and walk to work. I love the walk to work but I have to admit it, it’s not as enjoyable on the dark mornings!
1pm Lunchtime. I have leftover lasagne that I made on Sunday. The hospital has a well-subsidised canteen but I prefer to bring my own and save the €10 or €15 that I’d end up spending in it.
4pm I finish work early today as I’m going to a concert tonight. One of the great benefits of my job is flexible working hours. I can start any time before 10, but I usually come in early to get home early.
4:30pm I get the bus to Dublin – this costs me €15 for a return ticket
5:30pm We go and get something to eat. My share costs €20. I bought the concert tickets last March so the money spent on them is a distant memory.
8pm I buy me and my brother a bottle of Coke each for €6.50 in total.
11pm We get the bus home and I’m home by 12:30am.
Today’s total: €41.50
9.30am I have a bit of a lie-in as I’m off work today as I have a good few days holidays left to take.
10.30am I meet my friend for breakfast, €12
1pm I do some Christmas shopping. I buy a Chromecast as a family present (€39), a present for my boyfriend’s family (€13) and some storage boxes for my room (€5).
4pm I pick up some things for dinner (€4.50). I head home and make dinner.
7pm I’m really not feeling well today so I skip the gym and head to bed.
Today’s total: €73.50
7am Up, breakfast and out to work.
8am It’s payday so I stop by the ATM on my way to work to withdraw the money for my essential planned expenses e.g. rent. I do this straight away every time I get paid so I don’t feel like I’m missing the money.
5pm I head to the gym. I haven’t gone as much as I usually do this week.
7pm I skip dinner as I’m still not feeling great and I do some late-night Christmas shopping with my boyfriend but don’t buy anything.
Today’s total: €0
7am I’m up and in to work by 8:10. The dark mornings are getting depressing at this stage.
4.30pm I head home from work, and surprise, surprise it’s pitch black outside, again!
6pm I head out with my friends for our Christmas/my birthday night out. We have food first which costs me €12.50 including a bottle of beer.
2am I’m home and calculate that I’ve spent €20 on drinks over the evening. I enjoy going out but usually only have 3 or 4 drinks as I hate wasting my days off hungover and I see it as money down the drain. I don’t need a drink to have a good time anyway so it doesn’t really affect me.
Today’s total: €32.50
9.30am I’m up to get some breakfast and head down to the gym.
11am I get home and head downtown with my mam to finish some Christmas shopping. I spend €44 on gifts for my mam and sister. I spend the rest of the day chilling out.
7pm I make dinner with the food we have in the house and then head out with my sister and her friend.
3am I’m home and have spent €30 on drinks this evening.
Today’s total: €74
10am I get up and get breakfast. I head to my boyfriend’s house where we’ll watch the football before heading into town to hopefully finish our Christmas shopping.
4pm I pick up the last present for my dad €22 and some ingredients to make a spaghetti bolognese later (€6.40).
6pm I make dinner and we relax for the evening.
10pm Off to bed delighted that I only have a day and a half left at work before I’m off for Christmas!
Today’s total: €28.40
What I’ve learned:
These individuals are not fit to be guests on the Jerry Springer Show let alone hold the presidency of a country!
They could be Jeremy Kyle material though…
You’d think the first thing he would be doing is filing a law suit against the article.
He probably is
If he doesn’t sue = guilty. Trump did his homework. Clinton is in for some abuse.
“Guilty” implies that it is illegal to cheat on your spouse. It is not.
I hate this aspect to politics in some countries, mainly in the English speaking world. Unless you plan on marrying Ted Cruz, who cares if he cheats constantly on his wife or not? If you’re considering him as a potential political leader rather than a potential future spouse, surely it’s his policies rather than his fidelity with which you should be concerned. When Hollande’s extramarital dalliances were released in the French media, the French public rounded on the publications immediately, and insisted their president’s personal life should remain private – the yanks, and often ourselves, could learn a lot from that attitude.
Great entertainment, these lads.
Com’on Ted….don’t do the Facebook thingy, sue Trump…isn’t that the American thing to do when they make false accusations.
How would he sue Trump for something printed in the National Enquirer?
If Cruz wants to become president he should probably do what most intelligent people do and ignore whatever his name is
Any wonder more and more people are becoming disillusioned with politics.
Trump trumps the competition!
Brilliant.
Why couldn’t we have an election like that instead of the boring shite we got? People can slag Trump off but the difference between him and other politicians is that he’s telling the truth and they don’t like that.
Donald Trump speakes the truth? Hey generalises whole population’s to further his own agenda. He has countless failed businesses he mocks people with disabilities he counts on ignorance for support. If that’s the truth you are seeking you will die a happy man I’m sure
I have absolutely no idea what your argument is.
Point proven I think
Argument should be Trump does not tell the truth. In fact he will take any position if he thinks it will get him votes. He is very talented at playing to the media and at speaking to people who are disillusioned with the American political system but happy not to look past the sound bite. He plays on people’s fears and exacerbates their prejudices. Blame Muslims, blame Mexicans, blame Democrates, Obamas to blame. Easier to blame others and allude to a simple solution that will make their lives easier. Scary that people are thick enough to drink the Kool aid.
Maybe it’s because he actually listens to the disaffected American people and isn’t one of these leftie liberals who just tell people what to do. Latino immigrants are taking American jobs. You can’t say that. It’s racist. Mexicans are drug pushers. More racism. Muslims are shielding terrorists. That’s bigotry. Russia is the enemy of the free world. Please don’t make Putin angry. It’s this liberal rubbish that has put IS terrorists and foreign criminals in the heart of all our major European cities. Trump is someone who listens to the Americans who are saying enough is enough and his policies are going to take him all the way to the White House.
What an odd world view you have.
He’s right, Trump is going to win. I look forward to an American president that won’t use a politicians filter. He touches on subjects that most would never dare. That has to be a good thing.
“Mexicans are Drug pushers. That’s racism” – yes that statement could not possibly fit the definition of racist more perfectly. I don’t disagree though that there are issues to be dealt with – illegal immigration, terrorism etc but lets say for a second that Trump believes what he’s saying and implements his policies- build a wall to eliminate the Mexican drug pushers and rapists. Walls have worked well in Israel and Germany in the past and obviously there are no rapists or drug dealers amongst the non Latino races.. – ban Muslims from America. Hmmm what if the nasty terrorists were smart enough to lie about their religious beliefs not to mention the effect even suggesting this as a legitimate tact has on the majority of the worlds Muslims who are non radical!! – bomb the sh*t out of Isis. We’ll just wait for the stateless organisations leaders to all get together so we know where to send the jets will we?
You don’t disagree there are problems to be dealt with. You just don’t have the balls to actually tackle them because it might offend people. You and the rest of the liberals. It’s no surprise that right wing parties are becoming more powerful across the Western World. Politics has become polarised. You either stand up for yourself or bend over and take it.
Well the far-right do love dragging us all into a good war every couple of decades.
Socialism is about looking out for one another, Capitalism is about becoming a fat cat at the expense of your fellow citizens. Materialism is huge at the minute, and everywhere you look people seem to be plugged into devices. I wonder what kind of species are we becoming. We will suck this planet for everything it’s worth before we move on, but maybe that’s the plan. As long as we pass on the right message.
Materialism and bling has always been huge, people have always been saps.
Love this site, pretty good at wading through the key points. Basically Trump isn’t telling the truth 3/4 of the time http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
“Latino immigrants are taking American jobs”
Were those jobs in the farmers fields picking crops in Alabama that the locals couldn’t do? (Notice that I didn’t type wouldn’t)
Were those jobs in the abattoirs where the locals were demonstrating & the place ended up being raided ? Well those very same demonstrators ended up getting offered the jobs ? They didn’t last pi$$ing time .. True story.
“Illegal immigrants pay an estimated $10.6 billion to state and local taxes in 2010, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)..On average they pay about 6.4% of their income in state and local taxes..”
“Undocumented immigrants contribute more in payroll taxes than they will ever consume in public benefits.”
Trump himself uses the HB1 visa that he wants to “get rid of ” but just last month, one of his companies, the elite Mar-a-Lago Club resort in Florida, applied to import 70 foreign workers to serve as cooks, wait staff and cleaners.There was a few hundred local AMERICANS (those jobs that he wants to protect ) that applied for the jobs but were turned down ..
Trump is a hypocrite of the highest order..
Can’t stump the trump
Doesn’t this umpa lumpa have some chocolate to make? .
I’ve been watching the betting lads and for months hilary is the clear favorite to become the next president! She has always been about 1/3 and Trump waivers about 3/1 to 7/2 and over the years bookies rarely get it wrong… Good fun though watching those two goof balls..
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Stay classy America stay classy
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