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 23-year-old social media manager on €32K living in Dublin. This week, a 24-year-old software developer on €50K living in Louth.
I’m a 24-year-old software developer. Before working, I studied for four years in Dundalk Institute of Technology, doing a computer science degree. I currently live at home with my parents in Co. Louth, which has its struggles, especially with working from home. I have begun to save up for a mortgage so I can eventually move out. However, this is proving to be more difficult than I first thought, especially when trying to pay for other things like a car, insurance, phone bills and trying to maintain some sort of a social life.
Occupation: Software developer
Age: 24
Location: Co. Louth
Salary: €50,000
Monthly pay (net): €3,040
Transport: €200
Rent: €250 (not actual rent, just handing up money)
Household bills: €100
Phone bill: €60
Health insurance: €18.20
Groceries: €100
Subscriptions: Disney+ – €8.99, Spotify – €9.99, NowTV – €10
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8.30 am: I have my alarm set to wake me up at this time so I can slowly wake up for work at 9am. I will more than likely lie in bed on my phone until then or go downstairs and make myself a coffee and some toast.
9.00 am: I open my laptop and begin to read through my emails and messages and begin my workday. After reading through emails and messages, I start on some real work, until it’s time to attend the first of my daily meetings, or just having some catch up calls with co-workers.
1.00 pm: After taking care of emails and beginning some work, it’s lunch time. It would be cheaper to make some lunch at home myself, but I decide to walk to my local shop and get something from the hot deli, obvious choice being the staple of the Irish diet – the glorious chicken fillet roll. I get my roll as well as a coffee and a small chocolate bar which adds up to €10. I head back home. While I’m eating my food, I watch some YouTube videos to kill some time.
2.00 pm: It’s already time to get back to my desk.
6.00 pm: After a very eventful day, time to finish up work for the day. I chill for a little to wind down from work mode before getting up to make dinner. I normally have my dinner around this time as when I’m working, I try to stay at my desk. Otherwise I’ll get distracted. Mash, ham and beans is on the menu for today.
7.00 pm: Once I finish dinner, I head up to my room and play on my Xbox, because I obviously need more screen time in my life.
8.00 pm: Tea time!
11.00 pm: That’s it for me today, time to go to bed.
Today’s total: €10.00
8.30 am: The morning routine is pretty much the same as yesterday – get up, shower and start getting ready for work. Today’s breakfast of choice is porridge.
9.00 am: Time for work again. Not much different to yesterday, just more meetings today.
1.00 pm: Lunch time. Today is a homemade lunch of just some eggs on toast. I also decided to go for a walk to get some well needed fresh air and a bit of exercise.
2.00 pm: Back at the desk.
6.00 pm: Work finished for the day, and for today’s dinner we have a homemade chicken curry and rice. After work I needed to clean the car, so I spent an hour cleaning the inside of the car.
7.30 pm: Time for some football – I go for Villareal V Juventus. Even if I don’t support the teams playing, it’s always a good choice.
10.30 pm: Good match, but ended in a draw.
11.00 pm: Lights out.
Today’s total: €0.00
8.30 am: Wakey wakey, time for work again. Today’s breakfast of choice is porridge (again).
9.00 am: At my desk ready to start the work day. Pretty much the same as Monday and Tuesday meetings-wise. Some new projects for work are coming up though, so time for some planning sessions and getting into work.
1.00 pm: Lunch time again, and again I decide to go out for a walk and then got some lunch from the shop. Another chicken fillet roll (you just can’t go wrong, really) with the usual extras of a small bar of chocolate and a drink, costing €10 again. I really am a creature of habit.
2.00 pm: Chat to my girlfriend on the phone for a bit before sitting back at my desk and hoping the rest of the work day goes quickly.
6.00 pm: Work finished for the day, and I get dinner started. Today’s main course is chicken and mash potatoes with some peas and broccoli, and of course, some gravy.
6.45 pm: Dinner was 10/10, if I do say so myself. Afterwards, I need to get diesel, so I went out and filled up the car. (€60)
7.30 pm: Time for some football again – Benfica V Ajax. Got to love European football.
10.30 pm: Another match, another draw.
11.00 pm: Time for sleep.
Today’s total: €70.00
8.30 am: The alarm sounds. We’re nearly there, almost the weekend, but not quite there yet. Today’s breakfast of choice is rashers and eggs with toast, and my much-needed coffee to wake me up.
9.00 am: The work day begins again, pretty much the same as every other day, just meetings and coding and more meetings and more coding. Yes, it is as exciting as it sounds.
1.00 pm: Lunchtime again, but I wasn’t feeling that hungry today after my breakfast, so I just have a quick snack of a banana and a cup of tea.
2.00 pm: Back to work.
6.00 pm: Another day done and dinner is calling. Today I have a lovely steak dinner with baby potatoes and peppercorn sauce. Delicious.
7.00 pm: Watch some tv for a bit, but as there’s not much on, I decide to head up and play some Xbox again.
10.30 pm: Scroll on my phone for a bit and chat to my girlfriend.
11.00 pm: Light’s out, time for sleep.
Today’s total: €0.00
8.30 am: It’s finally Friday, so that already puts me in a better mood. Today’s breakfast is a sausage sandwich with a mug of coffee.
9.00 am: Friday’s work day begins with finishing up the work I had leftover from yesterday before joining in for the daily meetings.
1.00 pm: Time from a break. I have some errands to run and a few bits to pick up, so I go into town during my lunch break. While I’m, I pick up a coffee and a blueberry muffin, which costs me €7.
6.00 pm: The work week is over and it’s finally time to turn off the laptop for the weekend. Friday is the day for treats, so it’s a takeaway for dinner tonight. Got to go for the classic Chinese, and what’s better than a spice bag and curry sauce? (€12)
7.30 pm: After dinner, I head upstairs to pack a small overnight bag as I’m staying over in my girlfriend’s house this weekend. So, I pack my stuff and get going, drive usually doesn’t take longer than an hour thankfully, depending on traffic.
8.30 pm: Finally arrived at my girlfriend’s house.
9.00 pm: It’s time for the most difficult decision of the week – what movie do we watch? After some deliberation, we decide to watch Meet the Parents, a movie I haven’t seen in years but it’s still a great watch.
12.00 am: After a long week of work, it’s time for bed and, hopefully, a well needed lie in.
Today’s total: €19.00
10.00 am: I take my time getting up and going for some breakfast. Normally I’m on breakfast duty when I stay in my girlfriends’, so I make us some omelettes with some veg, which is one of her favourites.
12.00 pm: After eating and having some time to just relax, we both decide that it would be a good idea to make use of the nice weather and go for a walk.
1.30 pm: Definitely the right choice. After the walk, we head into the town centre to get some shopping, along with a coffee. The few bits of food from Tesco and coffee cost €30 altogether, which I pay for.
3.00 pm: After spending some time out of the house, we get back home and begin to plan what to have for dinner. We decide on some pasta and homemade sauce with some garlic bread.
7.30 pm: Some time has passed since dinner, and with the food coma over, we start looking up some places that we can go tomorrow. We usually plan to go somewhere for the day because we both work from home and it’s always nice to get out and do something nice for the day. We end up deciding to go to Wexford, seen as I have some family down there so we can go visit them for the day.
10.30 pm: Time for bed. We both decided it would be good to get an early night before we set off for our day out. We start out with trying to get to sleep by half ten, but after being glued to TikTok it’s soon nearly 12 am, so it really is bedtime.
Today’s total: €30.00
9.00 am: Time to get up and start getting ready to hit the road. I go downstairs and make us both some tea and toast, so we at least eat something before we go. We also pack some small snacks with us like fruit and nuts.
10.30 am: Road trip time! Only the two hour drive ahead of us.
3.00 pm: We arrive at Wexford, little bit delayed after some pit stops for toilet and water breaks.
6.30 pm: After spending some quality time with the family, we end up going out for a meal. We go to this lovely Italian restaurant. I got a pasta carbonara and a tiramisu for dessert. Total cost of the dinner and dessert was €20. Not too bad.
10.00 pm: Time to start heading back home, seeing as tomorrow is Monday. Yay… Oh well. The weekend was great anyway, so time to get back to work.
12.00 am: We’re both back home and are ready to collapse with the tiredness. Time for the bed.
Today’s total: €20.00
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What I learned –
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