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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 development chemist on €63K living in Cork City. This week, a 25-year-old primary school teacher on €38K living in Dublin.
I am a 25-year-old primary school teacher in my third year of teaching. I went to college in Dublin and have worked here since. I spent the first year and a half of my career living with my parents, as I did through college, before moving out with two friends from college to rent in Dublin during the pandemic. Doubling my commute and expenses by doing so, but the mental health benefits and freedom are worth the price (sometimes).
I have applied for a career break for the next school year so I’ve been trying to save for the last while to fund a few months in South America with my partner. This is proving difficult while paying rent and bills in Dublin on a teacher’s income, making me think I should have saved more during lockdowns rather than blowing it on a few weeks long summer holidays as soon as the opportunity came last summer.
I always knew that money wasn’t great in teaching, but when my close friends from school are earning twice as much money as me in their jobs, it’s quite frustrating. For the hours that go into the job, aside from the contractual 30, there’s no bonuses, incentives or even opportunity to work harder for more/performances appraisals/overtime. And before we go into the provisions teachers can do at Easter and summer, or taking on a part-time job some evenings/weekends, we fall into that unfortunate tax bracket that doesn’t make half a wage worth the hours, particularly if it’s going to impact our performance in the profession. If someone has a better alternative to teach and make more money, I’m all ears.
Some will tell you teaching is a vocation and those that do it and do it well, it’s out of kindness and sort of guilt to do good for the faces sitting in front of them, not the joy we get from planning and preparation in our “own” time.
Anyhow, this is a rough week of expenditure for me, possibly living out of my debt as I totalled up my expenses for the week.
Occupation: Primary school teacher
Age: 25
Location: Dublin
Salary: €38,225
Monthly pay (net): €2,371.90
Transport: €80 for petrol
Rent: €700
Car insurance: €650 paid in full January
Household bills: €60
Phone bill: €15
Gym: €25
Health insurance: €55
Groceries: €180
Subscriptions: Netflix €15.99, Spotify €7.99, Amazon prime €9.53.
Savings: €120 credit union, €300 into savings account. Swimming classes I teach €120
Approx expenses: €1,150
7.00 am: Get up and make a breakfast of eggs, turkey sausages and coffee.
10.20 am: Cooked four chicken fillets for lunches this week. Chop them up and put them into paninis with mixed leaves, mayo and cheese.
12.20 pm: Lunchtime. Popped my pre-made panini into the George Foreman in the staffroom and it’s good to go.
3.00 pm: Took a trip to the gym after school and came home for dinner. My housemate was cooking as she does Mondays so we had a garlic crispy chicken dish with rice.
5.00 pm: Sat in and watched a movie (The Gentlemen – 10/10) on Netflix, while tipping away at schoolwork on laptops again.
Today’s total: €0.00
7.00 am: More eggs, turkey sausages and coffee.
10.20 am: Another day, another lunch prepped for work using Sunday’s shop. Chicken fillet paninis again.
12.20 pm: Where would I be without the George Foreman?
3.00 pm: I took an irregular visit to the doctor because I found a lump (always check it out if you’re not sure). I have VHI cover which includes three free video consultations a year I think, but I knew this needed a physical exam so I went to my GP. €60 for peace of mind is a small price to pay. Nothing out of the ordinary – my doctor referred me for an ultrasound to confirm what he thinks and, all going well, it’s nothing to be worried about.
3.30 pm: Trip to the gym with a friend, finished off with 20 minutes on the Stairmaster because we have no intention of wanting to walk tomorrow.
6.30 pm: I cook a prawn fried rice dish for myself and my housemates using the goods from Sunday’s shop in Lidl, plus rice and spices that are always plentiful in the house.
8.00 pm: My girlfriend comes over for the evening and we watch This Way Up on Netflix – definitely recommend, some quality Irish acting. We have some dark chocolate and tea and go to bed. No school work this evening.
Today’s total: €60.00
7.00 am: Yep. Eggs, turkey sausage and coffee again.
10.20 am: More prepped lunches and snacks for school. Roast chicken paninis don’t get old.
12.20 pm: See earlier entry on what I have for lunch.
1.00 pm: I find out we got hit with an astronomical electricity bill of nearly €400 today because we didn’t realise our contract ran out. We ring and got a contract renewed to give us 30% off the bill. It’s still a lot more expensive than usual, but then again, we were home a lot during Christmas and isolating with Covid. (€89.13)
3.30 pm: After hanging back in school to get a few plans and resources ready, I teach a few swimming classes on Wednesday evenings to add to my savings.
5.00 pm: I get half an hour of gym in before teaching another swimming class.
7.30 pm: My housemate cooks a really good katsu curry for dinner and then it’s winddown time with some TV for me while they do some schoolwork.
9.30 pm: Off to bed – 25 never sounded so boring.
Today’s total: €89.13
7.00 am: Breakfast? You guessed it.
8.30 am: Spend €7.50 on Lotto tickets after a morning discussion with my housemate about how the €19 million must be won this Saturday. If you’re reading this, I probably didn’t win.
11.00 am: I had booked a hotel for myself and my partner over Christmas as a surprise. We had to reschedule for this weekend coming because of some earlier Covid outbreaks. The hotel charged my account today, the day before rent is due. . . (€180).
3.00 pm: After a short staff meeting I book in for a haircut after work given the weekend that’s in it. (€25)
6.00 pm: Myself and my two housemates decided to go to a restaurant in town for dinner. The restaurant tried to sit us at a sopping wet table with big holes in the gazebo so I said it to a different waitress passing and they gave us an €80 voucher when they saw me take a picture of the table (only to send to my friends to get a kick out of, the manager must have seen it in a different way). The meal comes to €82 and we leave €8 tip. I send on my housemate €2.30 for the €10 she added to the bill because that’s all I have left in my Revolut.
8.00 pm: We’re home and with no schoolwork to do for Friday, it’s 14 Peaks on Netflix before another 9.30 pm bedtime.
Today’s total: €214.80
7.00 am: Breakfast as usual.
9.00 am: The rent is due. My share works out at €715 after I pay the balance my housemate takes off for bins and WiFi.
2.30 pm: School is wrapped up for the week and I hang back to get ready for the week ahead.
4.00 pm: I meet my partner in the gym for the last session of the week.
6.00 pm: I go and top up the car with €25 fuel and go to Lidl to get some bits for dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast (blueberry and banana pancakes, shout out to Daniel Davey). Have steak in the freezer, so I just need a few other things to do with it - broccoli and garlic and thyme roast potatoes. Pick up coffee and a few other bits for the house, which total €20.99. We have dinner and make two gin sling cocktails with leftover alcohol from Christmas.
Today’s total: €760.99
12.00 pm: I drive us down to the hotel, which is only about an hour and a half away. I owe my partner about a year’s worth of driving as I only upgraded from motorbike to car recently and wasn’t very useful for lifts before that.
2.00 pm: My partner gets us lunch to balance out the dinner bits from last night. Spend a few hours before checking in around the shops. There’s a sale in Zara so for €19.98, I get myself two pairs of jeans. They’re dressy enough to wear out (until 8 pm) yet comfy enough for school. A win-win.
4.00 pm: Go to Tesco to pick up some bits for our night away. Popcorn and G&T pre mixes come to €18.70. Forgot to bring some of the leftover alcohol in the house. We spend an hour or so relaxing in the pool and using the facilities before we go for our meal.
7.30 pm: My partner gets us dinner and drinks because I have paid for the hotel. I get another drink afterwards (€7.70). Turns out, I have won €3 in the National Lotto. It’s not the €19 million, but it’s enough to pay the toll back home (or so I think).
Today’s total: €46.38
11.00 am: We have our breakfast in the hotel and check out. We go for a little walk around the grounds and grab a coffee and protein ball before heading back to Dublin. My partner gets our coffees and we call it square between that, lunch and dinner for the petrol money and shopping. At this point, I should note that she is also a teacher and we earn the same amount of money.
1.00 pm: Spend €2.70 for a bottle of VitHit for the road.
2.00 pm: €5 on the toll home because the machine logged my Volkswagen Polo as a heavy goods vehicle and didn’t register coins I put into the basket!
3.00 pm: Get home and decide to get my car ready for the NCT. €12.99 for a wash, €1 to fill the tyres with air. We then go to Aldi to do the weekly shop. €34.18 for me, send €3 on to my housemate for our dinner this evening – carbonara from scratch.
Today’s total: €55.87
***
What I learned:
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Yes. Nice Christmas tradition to keep up, letting people know that you’re thinking about them, and nice to be able to buy them for charities too.
@GrumpyAulFella: Isnt that what social media, telephones, and private messages does in modern times? You can donate to charities when ever you want?
@Stephen Campbell: no it’s not, cards are a nice way for someone to physically receive something from someone that shows they are being thought about especially folks that live alone.
@Stephen Campbell: Oh yea the lazy incencer way, I almost forgot that.
@Stephen Campbell: I’ll just show my 92 year old mother how to setup a FB account so she can post to her relatives in the UK. She can then set herself up on online banking, buy a mobile and use MFA to send a few bob to Barnardos. I don’t think so.
@Stephen Campbell: You can physically keep a card. It literally has the senders DNA on it. It is so personal.
@GrumpyAulFella: you must be over 60
@Frankie J: so true
@Alan Campbell: “you must be over 60”. You say that as if it’s something bad or to be ashamed of
@Alan Campbell: Strange remark. What’s his alternative option?
A handwritten greeting on a card sent through the post is more intimate than a fancy emailed card.
@Garreth Byrne: and letters instead of emails
No, but the wife does!
@Billy O’Brien: Came to say the same thing haha
I do to family and friends that are overseas or I’m unlikely to see over the holidays. As for them going in the bin, that’s fair enough in other homes but I keep most of ours. Nice to look back on.
Poll – ‘Do you send cards to people for Christmas?’ Yes, I generally send mine to people as they’re more likely to appreciate the gesture than non-people. I have heard of ones specifically designed for non-people like pets though. I’m not sure if other non-people such as aliens celebrate Christmas although Chris De Burgh would have us believe they do ‘La la la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la, oh…’ When is An Post last day for posting to Alpha Centauri I wonder…
@William Tallon: New Poll… how many people have sang along to the tune … la la la la ….
@William Tallon: New Poll, How many people have sang along to that tune … la la la la..
@William Tallon: New Poll, How many people have sang along to that tune … la la la la..
@William Tallon: Funny. I always took that song as aliens being the cause of Christmas? That Christ came here from another time/galaxy/universe.
@sean o’dhubhghaill: Well either way it was a good excuse for writing a catchy tune…
I’ve always felt terribly sorry for the people who design, paint, or print Christmas Cards. Any appreciation of their work is so short – lived.
A big waste of money, paper and a fine pile for the bin by the 6th of January.
Rubbish that ends up in landfill or an incinerator.
If you have family or friends living far away wouldn’t a 5 minute phone call be better then some overpriced piece of cardboard?
@Will: Bah Humbug…
@maurolee: ‘Bah Humbug…’
What really shows someone you’re thinking of them? A mass produced hallmark card or a phone call when you can tell them personally how much they mean to you and actually hear their voice?
Christmas cards are about as personable as a business card.
Expensive and unnecessary rubbish.
@Will: Christmas cards are cheap, recyclable, are an avenue for charitable donations, may be kept as a memento, hung over the fireplace for decoration etc. A phone call is fleeting, soon forgotten, may be expensive and carries no opportunity to provide charity to others. Give me a card any day of the week.
@Will: No. Letters and cards can be kept for your whole life.
@Will: just because someone sends a card doesn’t mean they’re not also phoning for a chat.
The parents do and put my name on them.
I send cards to friends and family overseas those I’m not likely to see over Christmas. As for them being dumped Not in my house, I keep the majority of our cards.
I didn’t bother with the Irish ones this year as the stamps were too embarrassing – just cheap emojis with inane slogans. The international ones were just okay.
@Willie Penwright: so you didn’t send Christmas cards because you don’t like the stamp design?
@This time its personable!: Obviously his entire world is full of avid stamp collectors who will feel cheated if he doesn’t send them Penny Blacks every year. The rest of us are keeping in touch regardless!
Happy Christmas
Why send cards when you have social media to send Christmas greetings
@Mick Dunne: … to help out a charity? I always buy E10 worth of Vincent de Paul cards.
@Mick Dunne: your mantle piece must be very bare
@Alan Campbell: why not just give vinny €10 after card costs he looking at only €6 tops
Can’t afford stamps on a state pension.
No i dont send any out the price of the stamps is enough to turn ya off
I know what you mean, it keeps going up. Still, in normal years, it’s a good chance to meet up and exchange cards.
This is going to make me look bad. As soon as they drop on the mat they are put straight into the recycling. Most I don’t even open.
@LUCY Thomas: you are right about one thing, it does make you look bad. Very bad. Someone has gone to the trouble of buying a card, writing a message, posting it to you and you just put it in the bin straight away? How selfish.
@LUCY Thomas: Would you not mention to the senders that you don’t do Christmas cards and suggest some other way of keeping in touch?
I’m sorry but I’m grinning at the amount of bank notes and lottery cards you’ve thrown out along with your personal information!
@Liz Gallagher: I will elaborate further. I wholeheartedly accept your comment on how I deal with it. I don’t do card and I will always acknowledge a card. But I feel nothing for them, my husband thinks I’m “brutal” for it. He will often take them out and keep them. When I was younger growing up into a teenager it became apparent to me how little thought was put Into them by my mother, often on my birthday for instance I would receive a gift in a co-op bag around 5pm on my birthday not wrapped, it was done like this because she had forgotten or didn’t care. Also her cards if one was written was half a ss. So from a young age I’ve grown up with this idea people don’t really care.
I see my husband and his family and its alien to me.. they are much more tactile with one another.
I made a personal birthday card out of a hover bag once – Didn’t go down well
have your say