We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on TheJournal.ie running weekly and looking 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.
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. If you’d like to document your spending, or lack thereof during this Covid-19 period, we’d love to hear from you. Send an email to money@thejournal.ie and we’ll be in touch.
Last week, we heard from a 35-year-old man from Dublin living in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden for the past six years. This week, our reader is a 37-year-old junior civil servant who signed on to social welfare just before Covid-19 hit as his contract had ended. His diary was written before the last tougher social restrictions came into place.
I am a 37-year-old man from Dublin and I returned to university as a mature student to study journalism a few years ago. I found it hard enough to get full-time work in media so I found myself working in a call centre for a large company for two years. I nearly lost the will to live doing that, so decided to apply to the civil service and I got a temporary appointment in the prison service.
I had enjoyed the time working in this department but the contract was temporary, so that finished up at the end of February, meaning I had to sign on. I am waiting on interviews for further civil service roles, but as things stand, it’s hard to know if the recruitment process will be extended as a result of the crisis
I immediately applied for social welfare to get some breathing space ahead of deciding what to do. I wasn’t really in a hurry as my lease had just finished in my flat in Dublin city centre so in terms of pressures being brought on by the crisis I was doing OK.
When the Covid-19 thing kicked off, I panicked as my mum and dad both have underlying health conditions, so I was afraid to cause any hassles for them. Some old friends of mine, a couple, live in Dublin and invited me to stay with them. We know each other for over 15 years, so it’s working pretty well, this whole isolation thing, as we share the cooking and cleaning load.
Occupation: Civil service clerk
Age: 37
Location: Dublin/Meath
Salary: Base was €26,000, now on social welfare
Monthly pay (net): €203 per week
Phone bill: €20
Subscriptions: Spotify €5 Netflix €10
***
8am: It’s the first week of proper isolation in Ireland. We’re not quite on lockdown. You can still go for walks, but pretty much everything is closed. I was in town walking around over the weekend though and I couldn’t’ believe how many people were still about. Lots of my friends are still working in offices.
8.05am: I’ve made the mistake of checking social media and the news is so bad about Covid-19, so I turn around and go back to sleep. I’m not ready to deal with this new reality.
9.30am: Everyone is up now. One of my friends has to work today so he’s in the small office they have. They both work so I’m doing my best to help out by cooking nice breakfasts and dinners whenever I can. We’re all into cooking nice food, so there’s no suggestion any of us will starve during this time. Today, I’m doing poached eggs with spinach on toast, with Lidl’s pesto. We did a monster shop in Lidl on Saturday. It wasn’t a panic buy, because we are hammering through food, isolating as if it were Christmas week. None of the food is going to waste.
12pm: Breakfast finished and cleaning done. Now what? I’m struggling to come to terms with not working, let alone this new dystopian world we live in. I decide to video-call a couple of friends.
1.30pm: Myself and my friend decide to go to the Phoenix Park for a walk. She’s on her bike and I attempt to cycle her husband’s one. We’ve decided, like most people in Ireland, that the great outdoors is going to be our saviour at this time. Who knew walks were the new dancing on tables? We bring some sandwiches and a flask of coffee, so we don’t spend anything. Phoenix Park is packed but lovely and we enjoy our walk, cycle and picnic.
4pm: Well, we’ve wasted a good couple of hours in the park and are now headed home. I stop off at the local shop and get a bottle of Coke (my guilty pleasure), some crisps and chocolate. Methinks I am comfort eating this week. That comes to €4.25.
Today’s total: €4.25
10am: Wake up, weather is freezing, so over this Covid-19 stuff so I stay in bed.
12pm: OK, not my finest hour but I slept in and now I feel human again. Sure, what else am I getting up for? It’s not my style, however as I do like to always be up and showered and ready for the day. I’m consoling myself with the idea that we’re all processing a lot and sometimes you just need a good rest. I get up and make some food and head out for a walk.
2pm: I video chat with my family. My parents are in great form and at this stage, they’re laughing at all our panic. But I think it’s bravado, they are concerned about what they see in the news. One thing about their generation though, they’re not into the drama, they just get on with it. My siblings and I will be fine through all of this once my family stays healthy.
3pm: We all decide to hit the couch and watch movies. We cook a nice dinner and don’t move for the rest of the day. We’re on a news embargo, too. Sometimes you just need a break.
Today’s total: €0
10am: The social restrictions are really starting to bite. I go for a walk in the park and then head towards town. On the way, I drop into Dealz and pick up some toiletries and cosmetics. That comes to €12.00.
2pm: Getting bored again so I head out on a cycle down the canal to get exercise. The town is so quiet with hardly anybody around. Also, I top up my phone with €20 credit. I have a deal with Vodafone so this will cover me for the next four weeks.
7pm: Not spending any money is actually totally feasible given how we all have to stay indoors. But even so, I get a packet of cigarettes from the shop, costing €13.50. Crikey, when you write it, it’s a scary amount. I am supposed to be quitting but what with the world being turned on its head I decide to pick my battles. Cigarettes are ridiculously expensive though and if this Covid-19 shutdown lasts much longer I am going to have to reconsider them.
Today’s total: €45.50
7am: Wake up and decide to make breakfast. With all the free time and no work the skies really are the limits when it comes to breakfast. Do a quick reconnaissance of the shelves to see what we need. Wait until 8am until the shop opens to pick up eggs and bacon which come in around €4.10.
10am: The National Concert Hall has just refunded me for four tickets that I bought pre-crisis for concerts which were supposed to take place in April. I must resist the urge to waste it all on pandemic comforts. Although I still find myself looking at weights on Amazon, which I am pretty sure I will never use.
2pm: Take what feels like the 700th walk of the crisis towards Thomas Street. The regeneration of that area is really cool and the streetscape is starting to look slick. Too bad everything is closed. I join the queue to the supermarket which, to be honest, feels like something from the last days of communism. Everybody is sketchy, eyeballing each other and non verbally communicating a “don’t get in my space” vibe. I pick up a couple of groceries and then some bottles of wine. The cancelled concerts should at least be parlayed into some quarantine fun. The total bill for the shopping excursion is €36.
7pm: Take a stroll around the neighbourhood. It’s starting to feel like groundhog day. Everybody looking ashen as you walk towards them. I swing by Spar on the way home and grab water which costs €1.
Today’s total: € 41.10
9am: Get up and take a stab at all the ironing that I need to do. Ordinarily, I am an iron-as-you-go kind of guy. But I decide to do it all in one go. Turns out I am turning into my Mother. Upon completion, I take a stroll with the dog around the neighbourhood and grab a coffee from the cafe attached to the local shop, which now has all the warmth of a train station at 2am. Total cost €3.
3pm: Decide that tonight I will cook a Thai curry for the household. We’re still ploughing through the massive shop we did the last week so we have plenty of ingredients. Still need to get an aubergine and some coconut milk, so I decided to walk down to the Lidl. Even at this early stage the queues to get in are quite considerable. I gather up what I need and head back. Total cost €3.30, which will pretty much conclude my expenditure for the day.
Today’s total: €6.30
9am: Everything changed last night as the Taoiseach announced a total shutdown, in all but name. We now have to only move within 2 km of a house, except to go shopping. Everyone was expecting it but it is still a shock. Get up, go for a run. It’s actually quite sunny out and the canals are pretty deserted which is nice. Stop at a convenience garage on the way back and pick up some treats. Total cost is €2.50.
11am: Have to go and pick up potatoes for the cooking, so I cycle to Rathmines and the total cost was €2. However, on the way back I get a puncture. It’s not the end of the world. Thankfully the local bike shop was winding down but not totally closed so I am able to get it repaired for €12.
7pm: As it’s the weekend and we are in dire need of some distraction from the onslaught of Covid 19 news, we decide that we should get some snacks and alcohol. I nip round to the local shop and pick up some crisps, dips and some gin and lime. Total cost €28.75.
Today’s total: €45.25
9.30am: Do a weekly shop in local Aldi which comes in at €60. As we are all cooking in the house these groceries will pretty much last the week as we are strategically shopping in order to minimise waste.
2.30pm: Take a walk in the local park. There are not too many people there on the way back I grab a coffee. Given how most of the nice place around have closed their doors the coffee options have really dwindled. I grab one from the convenience station and it costs €3.
7pm: I pick up some moisturiser online that is on sale. It was severely reduced in the sale so I decide to treat myself. It costs €20.
Today’s total: €83.00
What I’ve learned:
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
What was she thinking about going topless – she surely should have known that his kind of thing could happen.
I know!! the cheek of her thinking she could sun bathe topless in privacy like thousands of women around the world do without peeping toms with zoom lenses taking her photo. completely her own fault.The Damn paparazzi are why I shower with Knickers on.
Well if you take your clothes off in private this is what happens!!! NEVER NEVER remove your clothing.
what about when u have a bath?
NEVER I SAID!!!!
Ha, reminds me of the outraged Sam the American Eagle routine: “All these people walking around when, under their clothes, they’re NAKED! Yes, NAKED!”
I agree Dexter, As the future Queen of England and Knowing what happened with Diana she must have realised that long lens can be used to try get pics like this. Nobody is questioning her decision to go naked or not its irrelevant. But she should have realised that some papparazzi will go to any lengths to get these pictures. She ahould have had something in front of her. a wall, a partition, a hedge, anything so that a long shot like that would have been impossible. She should have known better. These people do NOTHING all day but have an entourage follow them around like lap dogs yet not one of them had the brain to make sure she did not let herself open to this kind of exposure. She needs to wake up and it will happen again, and again, Its irrelevant what we think. The reality is there is demand in the media for all these pics and it will continue whether we like it or not and to deny this is unrealistic.
True Christopher it’s not like she can’t afford the bring a good hedge with her on holidays.
The bould Kate had knickers on too Joy, they are were after her lady lumps
Now if Kate had been a Muslim there’d be riots over these photos…
Ah here, — Eddie would hardly come on and say the paper is screwed considering he works with them.
With your track record Eddie? I guess the Star is gone now.
Let’s get some quality back into Irish journalism and leave publications like the star in the gutter where it belongs
Paper should be closed down,as for Eddie Hobbs don’t start me
no it shouldnt, sure the man trying to close it down once owned a publication called Asian Babes
Enlighten us as to why it should be closed down, Raymond.
Enlighten us about Asian Babes, Gary!
That’s all very well but the “Asian Babes” had agreed to having their photographs taken. The photos of Kate were taken illegally – they are in breach of France’s very strict privacy laws – and should never have been reproduced in the Star. If Desmond does pull out the Star will lose a large amount of it’s content, though if INM keeps it open I guess they can always make it up from that other dreadful rag the Irish Independent.
Apologise and Fire the Editor! enough said! Leave the jobs alone
Please! Kate has boobs , just like every other woman! She took risks when going topless as previous photographs of her honeymoon were already leaked. So I wish the media would get over it…. There are a lot more serious stories to report on ..
I agree Mary …so fed up wit hearing about her and her boobs…
So Mary and Rhonda, it would be OK for someone to snap you and your boobs are publish them online for all to see- in a public domain. And for tthen to make money out of those boobs of yours.
You wouldnt even be the tiniest bit upset then?
Don’t miss the main issue here.
Paul of course noone should have their privacy invaded like this. But I don’t think that’s the bones of the issue. The daily star is a rag and its only use as I see it is to toilet train my dog. but that’s my opinion.
The issue here is why should Kate be treated any differently than any other of the daily stars subjects. I don’t agree with any of it, but In Ireland at least Kate Middleton is similar to other celebrities . They paper should not be shut down because of these particular pictures. The fact is its one guy who happens to own half if it all of a sudden seems to like some moral high ground (cause it might affect his wallet in the UK) and he says he’ll shut it down. if the reaction was different he’d be parading around for photo ops with o’kane..
langer
Paper should say sorry in gross error of judgement etc, a lot of jobs on the line etc and they’ll be ok I think, a joke of a newspaper tho
It’s a complete rag, always has been, worse than the Sun if that’s possible. It would be great to see it off the shelves….
We all have a choice whether to buy the Star or not. If it is still going then it must sell pretty well and meet some kind of demand.
Getting rid of it as it’s a “rag” or “tacky” won’t mean its readers will start reading the Times, the Indo or even the Journal. But it will mean lots of jobs lost and given the small size of the Irish media industry, they won’t be able to find new ones that easily.
What I think is wonderful about this episode is how it reminds us how much of the Irish media is actually British owned and how culturally confused so many are…
Sean, after 800 years………….nah, wont go there!
Its worse if you bring in the Barney and iCarly-speak of the younger age group!
Dammit, Friday was the only day i forgot to buy it. :)
The star didn’t print the pics til Saturday. Just saying ;)
What about all the actors for the problem page where will they find work keep it open
Im sure they could find room for their method acting style at Fair City.
From a purely business perspective, it doesn’t seem over the top at all. The money Desmond gets from the Irish Daily Star must be pretty farcically small-fry compared to the value of his Star/Express/OK! brand in the UK . Yet it’s demonstrated that – as he’s tied to it perception wise, but with no control – that it has the potential to cost him significant damage and lost revenue in the UK.
It’s a liability. To be honest, I’d be very surprised if the owners of the Daily Mail hadn’t spent the weekend pouring over their agreements with the Irish Daily Mail to see if they had a risk of a similar exposure to their British interests by potential Irish editorial decisions.
Sounds like he just found a good excuse to shut the paper. It will not be missed.
What a joke! The paper screwed up and deserve what they get. But in a less selfish world…. The person who made the decison to publish the picture would apologize and resign from their job…. However…. This is Ireand….. No one resigns from jobs for poor judgement or errors nor are individuals held accountable.
Your comment is the only one that gave a proper overview, they were on a private holiday, can no one have privacy these days, once again great reply
Rabbitte gives us his thumbs up to “more tits on Irish newspapers please”. As if we haven’t enough of that already. Up with that sort of thing
And he has given the OK for some to make money from pictures taken without the owners consent.
Rabbitte is wrong on so many levels.
Sack the editor then and leave the other staff in place. Feckin eegit O’Kane – got it all wrong, misread the decency of most of the Irish public.
While I agree with everything you have said Paul, Kate needs to cop on.
She is one of the most famous women in the world and she went topless on a balcony. The lowlife who took the pic was on a public road. You’d nearly think it was done on purpose.
Rabbitte backs up tabloid in the hope they call the hounds off his Labour Party before the next election
that doesnt look right either …i give up
O’Kane got it so wrong. Totally misjudged the Irish public and showed himself up as a misogynist. Stupid man to say that it was no different than photos of Lady Gaga etc. I am fairly certain that Lady Gaga wouldn’t have been too pleased if it had been sneaky photos of her sunbathing either
I am sure she knew very well that she would be seen. Anyway whats all the fuss for? Prince Harry showed off a lot more with less fuss.
Ahh come on. She knew they were there. We’re lucky it wasn’t Camilla
Of course she knew they were there, she was born with them. As for your knowing….shame on you!
haven’t you more important issues to sort rabbite like broadband rollout?get the finger out and stop worrying about tabloid rubbish
jail the person that took the photographs and the editors of the newspapers that publish them. They knowing took and paid for illegal photographs for greed. Would you like it if someone took an intimate photograph of any of your family and saw it in the newspapers the next day?? Bet you wouldn’t, so what’s the difference here? everyone deserves the right to privacy.
It is pure elitism, The end of the day Kate is apparently going to be the future queen of England. Never seen pictures of Diana like that published in the papers. They are no different to any other celebrity in this country. No one objects when snaps of celebrities appear without consent in those rags. As for Desmond chasing his knighthood, and runs an empire built on sleaze and the degradation of women. The hypocrisy of all this stinks and how it has got so much media attention in the wake of tragedies in the north and the ten year old in Co. Offaly leaves a lot to be desired.
Looks like Labour Government has succeeded in insulting another sovereign state – first the Vatican, now the UK. Would have thought we could do with all the friends we could get, at the momemt! … Parcochial, inappropriate and short-sighted response from Pat Rabbitte.
Perhaps Rabbite will include the Star in the licence fee?
give all the profits for that day to charity, paper is shown no profit to be made in cheap sleaze and charitys win..
When are the press going to realise that everyone is entitled to their privacy when they are “not on duty”. Yes, they are public property when they are working on state business or other public duties, but outside “work” they should be left alone, rather than be preyed on by vultures!
“Irish Daily Star editor Michael O’Kane said he believed the images to be tasteful, and pointed out that the photos of Middleton – who, he said, would never be Queen of Ireland – had not appeared in the edition of the paper circulated in Northern Ireland.”
Ah but in Ireland it’s ok to invade one’s privacy but not in the North? Disgusting.
Northern & Shell has previously been the UK publisher of the adult magazines Penthouse and Asian Babes among others. hypocrisy?? No, I enjoy this stuff, the models volunteer and are highly paid. But publishing semi-naked pictures without permission is the same as sticking a hidden camera up someone skirt.
You disgust me.
I prefer the club orange ads!!
sorry charities
Surely there are more important issues that could be getting covered by the media than some posh bints less than impressive boobage, bread and circuses
The porn merchant is a social climber currying favour with the English Establishment in the hope of a knighthood.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say