WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances.
We’re asking readers to keep a record of how much they earn, what they save if anything, and what they’re spending their money on over the course of one week.
Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? We’re looking for readers who will keep a money diary for a week. If you’re interested send a mail to money@thejournal.ie. We would love to hear from you.
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, so let’s be kind.
Last time around, we heard from a researcher on €49K living with her husband in their new house in Dublin. This week, a civil servant on €59K working from home and caring for her aunt.
I’m currently living in Dublin and caring for my aunt in her home. She had a stroke four years ago and is now a wheelchair user. She’s great craic and we get on very well. Thankfully, she has carers coming into her every day which takes the pressure off me somewhat.
I’m a civil servant, working from home for the time being but will probably be looking at some form of blended working in the near future. I recently sold my own house, but I continue to save the equivalent of my mortgage payments each month.
I have a dog who keeps me active and I work out at home. I love music and I am slowly but surely building a decent record collection. During lockdown, I haven’t been hugely sociable as we were cocooning, but I enjoy meeting up with friends for coffee and chats or dog walks now.
Occupation: Civil servant
Age: 41
Location: Dublin
Salary: €57,000
Monthly pay (net): €3,000
Transport: Car Insurance €35, Fuel €70
Rent: €0 (living with aunt)
Household bills: €80 broadband/TV/phone, €30 bins. My aunt pays the electricity and gas bill
Phone bill: €15 mobile
Health insurance: €87
Groceries: €500 (for both of us and the dog)
Subscriptions: €7 Amazon Prime
Life Assurance: €13
Savings: €900 (in lieu of mortgage payments temporarily)
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8.30 am: I get up, let the dog out, shower and get dressed. I then log onto the laptop in the spare bedroom. I check my emails and the diary and make a start on the weekly to-do list.
10.30 am: I go downstairs and make coffee and fix some lunch for my aunt. I go back up and do one of our weekly team calls. It’s good to check in with everyone after the weekend, except it makes me realise what a boring life I’m leading at the moment when I hear what the lads have all been getting up to socially. We discuss projects and what each person’s tasks are for the week, and I catch up on some of my own work before lunch.
12.30 pm: I have a hospital appointment, so I leave the house and drive over to the hospital. I park in the multi-storey (€4.80) and go to my appointment. I get a coffee and cake to go on the way out (€6.70). That will do me for lunch. I get back home from the hospital and log in to do some more calls.
6.30 pm: I clock out and head downstairs to get dinner and chat with my aunt. I’m having leftovers from yesterday’s homemade lasagne which is quite nice. I take the dog out for a long walk around the local park to tire her out before bed.
8.30 pm: I get into bed and watch a film on Amazon Prime before going to sleep.
Today’s total: €11.50
8.30 am: I get up, let the dog out, shower and get dressed. After that, I log on, check my emails and do some project calls.
10.30 am: I go downstairs to fix some lunch for my aunt. I make some coffee and bring it up with me. More calls (pretty much all of my workdays now revolve around Skype calls). I do some of my own project work and review the team planner as some of our project timelines are shifting due to additional workload.
1.00 pm: I have a quick lunch, as I want to meet a friend after work. Throw a ready meal in the microwave and then back to the grind with another coffee and biscuits.
5.30 pm: I log out and head over to IKEA to meet a friend. I get there before her so I grab some dinner – the famous IKEA meatballs, coffee and cake (€9.45). I’m looking for a new bedside locker. We catch up as we wander around the store. I buy a new saucepan (€21) and come home without the bedside locker. I did come home with a table though as my friend bought a table and couldn’t fit it into her car. I’ll drop it over to her later in the week.
9.00 pm: I get home and take the dog out for a quick walk – same park, but just one lap tonight as it’s dark and there are groups of young lads hanging around. Get home and jump into bed. No TV as I’m exhausted.
Today’s total: €30.45
8.30 am: Same again – get up, let the dog out, shower and get dressed. Turn the laptop on, check my emails and do some project calls.
10.30 am: I go downstairs and make some lunch for my aunt. I make some coffee and bring it back to the desk for more calls and project work.
1.00 pm: It’s a nice day so I have lunch out in the garden with the dog (God bless flexi-time!). I make a wrap with ham, cheese and coleslaw. The sun is out so the dog is very happy to sit beside me in hope that I drop some cheese. She’s everyone’s best friend when you’re eating!
2.30 pm: I have a meeting with our management team. We update on progress with projects and we discuss some general housekeeping. It’s a good opportunity to catch up with the other business areas and hear what’s going on – that’s one of the downfalls of remote working, you lose out on the water-cooler talk.
6.00 pm: Finish up and head downstairs to catch up with my aunt. She had a chiropodist appointment so she fills me in on that. I tell her I’m in the wrong job when she says she paid €60 to have her toe nails done. We both have coffee and cake and we chat about George Clooney (her toy-boy) and what the odds are of bumping into him down in Aldi. I tell her I heard a rumour his wife is expecting again and she is devastated. He won’t be hanging around the biscuit aisle in Aldi with three kids in tow!
8.00 pm: I bring the dog out for her walk. We go to a different park tonight which is a bit more lit up so there are fewer gangs of young lads hanging around. Meet up with some regulars and have chats about the dogs.
9.00 pm: Back home and into bed.
Today’s total: €0
10.30 am: I get up, let the dog out, shower and get dressed. I’m off today, hence the lie-in.
12.00 pm: I go downstairs and help my aunt get ready to go out. We’re heading out for lunch. I give the dog some treats and leave her in the garden. She’s getting so used to having people around all day that she’s now getting cranky if we leave her alone. I throw a handful of treats down the garden and she loves running around trying to find them.
1.00 pm: We get to our lunch spot (my aunt’s favourite) and show our Covid Certs, even though they know us well. We’re limited in terms of where we can go as she’s a wheelchair user and our village isn’t the friendliest for wheelchairs! We order two omelettes and I get her set up for lunch. We then order coffee and cake and watch the world go by – there’s a lovely view of the sea from our café but it’s quite hazy, so we can’t see too many boats today. (€29)
2.30 pm: I pop into the hairdressers to make an appointment and we head back home. We stop at the local dog boutique and pick up some treats for the dog (€5). We chat with the owner and then make our way home. The dog isn’t very happy to have missed out on our lunch date, but there was some leftover omelette which we brought home for her so she gladly hoovered that up. I put on a wash and put my feet up for half an hour before I have to drop the IKEA table over to my friend.
4.00 pm: As I’m getting ready to drive over to my friend, she calls to say she’s broken down and stuck at the side of the road. She’s waiting for a tow-truck so I jump in the car and drive over to pick her up. By the time I get there the tow truck has taken the car so I bring her home. When we get there I give her a hand putting her new table together. Thankfully it’s not too complicated and we manage it ok. I bid her adieu and get on the road as she lives a good hour away from me.
9.00 pm: I take the dog out but it’s very foggy and getting quite dark so we just go out on the green for a run around. I try my best to get her out for a walk once a day but some days when time is tight, she just gets a quick run around on the big green in front of the house.
9.30 pm: Get home and head straight to bed.
Today’s total: €34
8.30 am: Same routine – I get up, let the dog out, shower and get dressed. I log on, check my emails and prep for the team call. I grab a quick coffee and make my aunt some lunch before I jump on the call.
11.00 am: The Friday call is usually a bit more upbeat than the Monday one as everyone is excited for the weekend. I like to make the calls social as well as focusing on work as everyone is in the same boat – working from kitchens/bedrooms and not seeing anyone really during the day. As a manager, I try to keep the morale up as much as possible as everyone is struggling in some way at the moment. We also include the dogs on the Friday call as we’re all dog lovers. Some days it can get a bit rowdy because as soon as one starts barking, they all join in. It’s good fun though.
12.30 pm: I log out for lunch and take the dog for a quick walk around the block as she didn’t get a proper walk last night. I really need to go for a good long walk at the weekend as my Fitbit gives out to me when I don’t reach my step target. I grab a quick sandwich and catch up on personal emails. I get an email about a sale on one of my favourite gym gear brands. Naturally I have to see what’s on offer. I end up buying two gym tops and a hoodie (€87). Not exactly a bargain, but I’m always motivated to work out when I have new gear so there’s method in my madness.
2.00 pm: I log back into the laptop and do some project work for the afternoon. I check my to-do list and am able to cross off a few of the smaller tasks before I clock off for the weekend. It was a fairly productive week, thank God. Some weeks I just feel like I’m not accomplishing everything I set out to but I find it’s quite time consuming working remotely as you don’t have the same level of connection with people as you would face-to-face.
5.00 pm: Time to log off and relax. I go downstairs and fix some dinner – salmon with veg and mash. I make sure to do extra for my aunt’s lunch tomorrow as I’ll be heading out. I find us a George Clooney movie and we watch it together with the dog snoring on my lap. I have a glass of wine and my aunt has a Baileys as she drools over George.
7.00 pm: I grab the dog’s lead and she jumps up, ready for action. We go for a nice long walk around the park and over towards the sea. It’s always lovely this time of the year with the sun going down.
9.30 pm: I jump into bed and watch some TV before I fall asleep.
Today’s total: €87
10.00 am: I get up, shower, get dressed and put on a wash. I head over to Dunnes and do the weekly shop. I just get the usual stuff, nothing too exciting (€100). I come home and order dog food online (€50) so we’re all fed for the week.
12.30 pm: I head out for a bit of retail therapy for the day – visiting a friend later on so I venture to Mullingar for a change of scenery. I have lunch there and get a few bits and a gift for my friend (€50). I fill up the car on the way over. (€70)
5.00 pm: I call into my friend and we catch up over a cup of coffee. She’s looking for a new car so we’re looking at different models online. She’s tempting me to change the car now too. I wonder am I mad though when I’m not doing much driving with work, especially now that I’m working from home. We have a good laugh and it’s great to catch up.
10.00 pm: I get home after getting lost. I’m never great for following the Sat Nav, I find them very annoying, especially on country roads. I take the dog out for a quick walk up the main road and into the park – five minutes off the lead and she’s happy.
10.30 pm: Back home and into bed for both of us.
Today’s total: €270
9.30 am: I get up, shower and get dressed and head over to the local shopping centre to get my hair done. (€140)
1.30 pm: I meet my aunt for lunch in the shopping centre and we have coffee and cake afterwards – our usual (€27). I bid her adieu and head over to visit my mam. More coffee and cake (this Covid stone is going nowhere!).
5.00 pm: I get home, throw on a new Thin Lizzy record I bought a couple of weeks ago, clean the kitchen and wash the floors. I’m feeling energised now so I do a quick workout. So much for getting my hair done – it started out lovely, but now it’s a ball of frizz.
7.30 pm: I make a big lasagne (my aunt’s favourite) and that will do for dinner for a couple of days. I’m starving after my workout so I devour a large bowl of it. I grab the dog and we go for a nice long walk to keep Mr Fitbit from moaning at me! 14,000 steps hit today thank God – maybe I should clean the house more often!
10.00 pm: Sort out the washing and head to bed.
Today’s total: €167
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What I learned –
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