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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 warehouse worker on €38K living in the east of the country. This week, a laboratory aide on €28K living in Kildare.
My husband and I are currently living in Kildare, renting a room from a family member while trying to buy a house. We both work together in a medical laboratory in Dublin, so we share travel costs, which is good. We have been saving for three years. We are very lucky to have been able to rent from a family member while saving. On a good month, we are able to save €2,000.
We are currently sale agreed on a property in Kildare and things are moving along nicely, so my money diary may look very different in a few months! While saving, we really don’t do much and try to spend as little as possible, unless necessary, so this may not be a very interesting read.
Our biggest expenses right now are food, petrol and savings. We travel 120km per day, at least five days a week (six days most weeks, as we do a lot of overtime) and we put around €100 petrol into the car per week. We make a menu and a list for food each week and go shopping on weekends for the following week. This helps us to control spending unnecessarily.
Our money is put together, for ease. We have separate bank accounts, so I usually put the money into the savings account and pay rent from my account. We then use my husband’s account for everything else needed, or he’d transfer some to me if I needed. We both have Revolut accounts, but this is mostly used to pay rent and the occasional raffle I might enter.
Occupation: Laboratory aide
Age: 29
Location: Kildare
Salary: €28,000 base salary (plus overtime and shift allowance)
Monthly pay (net): €1,866.67 base salary, plus approx. €400 – €600 overtime and shift allowance. On a good month (where we do a lot of overtime), my take home pay would be around the €2,400 mark. My husband earns around the same.
Savings: €1,000 – €2,000
Transport: €400 – €500 (petrol)
Rent: €500
Household bills: €100
Phone bill: €40 for two
Health insurance: Covered by work
Life insurance: €56.54 for two
Groceries: €400 approx
Subscriptions: Spotify – €9.99, Kindle Unlimited – €9.99.
Dental: €222.50
Clothes: As needed, no real budget. We don’t go mad with shopping. I would say approx. €600 for both of us.
Car tax, insurance & servicing/maintenance: €1,500 approx
***
4.50 am: We get up, brush teeth, get dressed, etc. to go to work. My husband makes coffee to take in the car for the 40-minute journey to work.
5.10 am: Leave the house, and my husband drives us to work.
6.00 am: Work day begins. A busy enough day. Monday is usually not overly busy, but still a lot to get through.
8.30 am: 10-minute morning break. I make an espresso in the canteen and scroll on TikTok/Facebook.
11.00 am: Break time. Eat sandwiches that I made the night before. We try to avoid buying lunches out if we can.
11.40 am: Back to work.
12.50 pm: 10-minute afternoon break. I enter a raffle to win a holiday (€15).
2.00 pm: Finish work for the day, begin journey home. On the way home, I book in for a wash and blow dry for a christening on Saturday. Paid €3 deposit.
2.45 pm: Arrive home. I put our lunch containers in the dishwasher and wash out the travel mugs. Make a cup of tea and sit down for 45 minutes, scrolling on phones.
3.30 pm: Have a shower and put on some comfy pjs as I’m not going anywhere for the rest of the day. I tidy the bedroom and put away clean clothes that I took off the clothes horse yesterday. General tidying around. Sort clothes for tomorrow.
5.15 pm: My husband starts making dinner – chicken and mozzarella salad with olive oil and balsamic dressing. Very yum.
6.00 pm: We finish dinner and I clean up. Our rule is whoever cooks doesn’t clean and we take turns cooking. I make lunches for tomorrow when I’m finished.
6.40 pm: Sit on the sofa, continue a series on Prime.
8.00 pm: My husband goes to bed. I stay up and watch a series I like on Netflix.
9.10 pm: I head to bed. My husband is fast asleep. Dog barking to be let out of the kitchen, so it is almost 10pm by the time I go to sleep.
Today’s total: €18.00
4.50 am: Same routine as before – get up, brush teeth, get dressed, etc. to go to work. My husband makes the morning coffee.
5.10 am: Leave the house. My husband drives.
6.00 am: Work day begins.
8.00 am: 10-minute morning break. I stand outside in the sun and scroll on TikTok.
10.30 am: Break time. Eat lunch – today it is fruit, granola and Greek yoghurt. While eating, I receive an email from our mortgage broker and we email back and forth.
11.15 am: Back to work. Quiet day.
12.45 pm: 10-minute afternoon break. Again, I head outside on my phone.
2.00 pm: Finish for the day and head home. Stop off to pick up something from the dry cleaners.
2.50 pm: Arrive home. My husband went out to drop our watches to a jeweller to change the batteries. I sort out lunch containers, wash travel mugs. Make tea and chill out for a while. I have a look at furniture online for the (near future) house. Then time for a shower and pjs.
5.00 pm: My husband cooks dinner again. Sausage pasta in homemade tomato sauce with garlic bread. Yum as usual. I clean up. After dinner, I put the leftovers into containers for lunch tomorrow.
6.30 pm: We watch the movie Hustlers on Netflix.
8.00 pm: My husband goes to bed. I stay up and watch The Circle on Netflix.
9.00 pm: Enough of the TV. I’m tired, time for bed. Went straight to sleep.
Today’s total: €0.00
4.50 am: We get up, brush teeth, get dressed, etc. to go to work. My husband makes coffee.
5.10 am: My husband drives us to work.
6.00 am: Work day begins.
8.00 am: 10-minute morning break. I reply to some text messages I received last night after I fell asleep and see a notification that our life insurance direct debit was done today (€56.54).
10.45 am: Break time. Today I have the leftover sausage pasta from last night for lunch. Still yum. Get a call from our mortgage provider to take payment for the valuation on the house (€184.50) and to tell us we’re fully approved. It’s a good day!
11.25 am: Back to work. Uneventful work day, which is good because I’m distracted by the good news.
12.55 pm: 10-minute afternoon break. I make a coffee in the canteen and drink it outside while on my phone.
2.00 pm: Finish work for the day. Head to see my sister and niece for an hour or so. Stop off at the jeweller on the way home to pick up our watches (€43). Once home, I have a shower.
5.00 pm: It’s my turn to cook today. I try to make burritos, which turn out nice, very messy. My husband had a good bit to clean up. Lots of leftovers, so I make a burrito for myself for lunch tomorrow and my husband makes sandwiches for himself.
6.30 pm: Watched the movie In Time. I don’t focus on it fully, but I’ve seen it before. I’m still distracted by the good news and looking at house stuff online.
8.30 pm: My husband goes to bed, I stay up (still looking at house stuff online and reading about mortgage timelines and what to expect next).
9.30 pm: I go to bed, but I can’t sleep – too excited.
Today’s total: €284.04
4.50 am: Same routine – we get up, brush teeth, get dressed, etc.
5.10 am: My husband drives as usual. On the way, I read the news online.
6.00 am: Work day begins.
8.00 am: 10-minute break. I read about the Johnny Depp V Amber Heard trial verdict.
10.50 am: Break time. Burrito for me, sandwich for my husband.
11.30 am: Back to work. Busy day.
2.00 pm: Home time. Straight home today (except for a quick stop in the shop for some bits, €25) and no cooking to do for either of us. Our housemate is making nachos today, so I have a shower and we both chill out for the rest of the afternoon.
6.00 pm: Eat dinner, very good nachos. After dinner, I make lunches for tomorrow.
6.30 pm: Watch the new Ghostbusters movie.
8.20 pm: Husband goes to bed. I want to stay up but I’m tired so I go to bed a few minutes after him. Straight to sleep.
Today’s total: €25.00
4.50 am: We get up, brush teeth, get dressed etc. to go to work, my husband makes coffee.
5.10 am: I read the news online while my husband drives us to work.
6.00 am: Work day begins. TGIF.
11.00 am: Break time, eat lunch. Granola, fruit and Greek yoghurt today.
11.40 am: Back to work.
2.00 pm: Home time. No work for three days! Stopped at Smyths to pick up a travel cot to take my niece overnight tomorrow after the christening and my husband bought some headphones (€79.98). My husband went to get the car cleaned and to fill up the tank (€121). I cleaned the house, then prepped myself for tomorrow.
6.30 pm: We ordered a munchie box from the Chinese (€30.40 including tip). Watch TV and relax.
9.00 pm: My husband goes to bed and I’m not far behind him – it will be a busy day tomorrow.
Today’s total: €231.38
7.30 am: Wake up and have coffee before taking a shower.
8.45 am: Went to the hairdressers for a curly blow dry. (€35). My husband went to get some breakfast from the deli (€21).
9.45 am: Arrive home, eat, do my tan/make up and get dressed.
11.30 am: Leave to go to my sister’s to help get the baby ready. Paid €55 for the remaining balance of the cake (I had already paid €50 deposit a few weeks ago).
1.00 pm: Time for the christening.
2.00 pm: After party until 6pm. I buy some drinks (€41.10) and have some finger food and cake.
6.00 pm: Went back to my sister’s to get the baby things for our sleepover.
7.00 pm: Head home. I pick up two topped chips from the chipper on the way home (€14) and got bread and milk in the shop (€4.30). I play with and look after the baby for the rest of the night. Eventually go to sleep at around 11pm.
Today’s total: €170.40
7.10 am: Wake up. Baby is still sleeping, so I doze off for a while.
8.45 am: Baby wakes up and she’s in a giggly mood. Play with and look after baby, lots of cuddles.
9.30 am: Housemate made a fry for breakfast. I spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon looking after the baby. Lots of fun.
2.00 pm: We drop the baby home and head to the Lidl warehouse sale. My husband bought a few tools and a USB extension cord for when we get the house (€119.94). I was disappointed I didn’t find anything for the house. We then go to Lidl for our weekly shopping (€121.08), and grab a few bits we didn’t find in Lidl in Tesco afterwards (€41.96). Also go to the butchers to get some fresh meat (€24.49). This is a particularly high spend week for shopping. We pick up some things that we wouldn’t normally get weekly, for example: lunch containers, cans of fizzy drinks, few cleaning supplies that needed to be topped up. We then head home, put the shopping away and have a shower.
5.00 pm: My husband makes dinner. Surf and turf with chips, asparagus and broccoli with pepper sauce. So good. I clean up.
6.00 pm: Chill out time after a busy weekend. We watch a movie (can’t remember the name).
9.00 pm: Husband goes to bed and I go up an hour later.
Today’s total: €307.47
What I learned -
While family carers are means tested for carers allowance.
@Úna O Connor Barrett: you can say that again
@Úna O Connor Barrett: The funds are there Una, they just do not care… Let them know in the next election..
@Úna O Connor Barrett: think rich people should be subsidised by poorer taxpayers? That’s reason for a means test.
By all means question the threshold but if you are saying a millionaire should automatically qualify then I disagree.
The war is confined to a small part of the country now. You would imagine many of those that came here would be able to return.
@Munster1: Emphasis on for now. Things can change drastically not to mention many of these Ukrainians have not just lost their homes and family members, but their entire towns and cities too.
@Munster1: I think you can thank your lucky stars that you live in Ireland. What a dreadful comment. You have no idea of the horrors nor of the current and future situation of the country . Ukraine is a war zone, all of it currently. Perhaps you should devote some of your free time to helping the Irish disadvantaged and or the Ukrainian refugees. And yes, many of them want nothing more than to return to their homeland
@Dave Phelan: have you been there, have you witnessed first hand these so called atrocities, no, you sit at home in front of your PC and type idiotic statements. find some real information from real people, on the front line, and watch ho most of the cities are in fact, as everyday normal. what has happened to the people of ireland, now we just watch as our leader propose to be the “good boys ” of europe, while they neglect the needs of everyone in this country, unless you are rich of course and there is something in it for them.
@Darren Murphy: They were voted in because they were well able to ignore the needs of others. That happened long beforehand and it’s on us.
While family carers are means tested for carers allowance and have to fight for medical cards
@Úna O Connor Barrett: Absolutely true Una
In the first instance for many people reading this the initial gut response will probably be…
What about the homeless in Ireland? And why isnt the government funding support for them?
To put this in context the total of Public Expenditure on Homeless Service Provision in the Dublin Region in 2021 was €148,142,145 million.
So its not a case of help being made available for Ukrainian refugees, that has not been available to homeless people in Ireland or that this will somehow take funding away from currently homeless people, its two separate issues and both are being addressed.
The reason for continuing homelessness in ireland is not a lack of funding, its a lack of successive governments willingness, to build permanent social housing to replace current temporary accommodation.
@David Van-Standen: stop talking sense… It’s not appreciated on the journal..
@David Van-Standen: What I can’t fathom is why on earth any TD can’t simply make the call and build permanent housing with EU help. They could then be used later for social housing. All these subsidies are going to hotels while tourists can’t get to or from the airport.
@Aileen Lawlor: They will house whoever is next on the list freeing up emergency shelter for the next people.
Hotels cancelling reservations left, right, and centre because they’re getting 4 grand a week per room off the government to house Ukrainians. Twice in 2 weeks it’s happened at last notice to me, and then you’re paying through the teeth for another hotel.
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: 4 grand a week, €570 a night…. per room. Whichnof your arses did you pull that figure out of?
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: 100%. If a hotel has a stragety getting rack rates from the government it has to show 1st that they exist. The vast majority of hotels would love to go down this route hense medium hotels charging 350/400 per night when they were 140 average. They cant get staff so managing 50 rooms at 400 is better than 100 rooms at 140. And again no words from the IHF & Bord Failte. Very very quite.
What’s the Government’s fixation with the City West Hotel, first of all they block booked it as a Covid 19 Base, and now they are going to do the same for the Refugees. Who owns this place, and was these transactions done through Open Procurement, or could there be some Brown Envelopes involved.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: a quick Linkedin search shows the Chairman of Tetrarch who own the Citywest to be Paul Donnolly who is currently also a Senior Advisor to Digicel and was previously a non-exec board member of Digicel… never too far from Denis O’Brien in this country.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: It’s the largest hotel in Ireland, nearly 800 rooms, 2 convention centres and a leisure centre. That’s not including the golf hotel
@Owen G Mc Ginley: not whitstanding the other points made above its also extremely accessible from a transport point of view being only minutes from the M50/N7. No matter what the Govt do you can be guaranteed someone is making a tidy wedge from it.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: , down to all the political contacts made by Jim Mansfield over the years, starting with Liam Lawor, there still there
Current Government remind me of the FF/Green Government towards the end of 2020, a total shambles. Minsters have no control of their departments and the recent fiasco in Dublin Airport, to name one of many, proves this point. A General Election is badly needed as soon as possible.
While family carers are means tested for carers allowance and have to fight for medical cards.
@Úna O Connor Barrett: Yawn
And yet 10 000 irish residents are homeless. I completely agree with helping Ukraine, but look after people who reside in the country first. You cant bring in people into the country in order to inflate this figure next year. 10 000 homeless people, 10 000!!!
Money is the currency of power for this government. They love to have large scale expenditures that they use to curry favour for individual party members or for the party themselves. No money going out equals no votes, favours and LBE’s coming back in. They also don’t care, as can be plainly seen here for years and years, on whether they get value for that money spent, that is besides the point. Or to put it simply, CORRUPTION – alive and well for 50+ years and we just watch it slowly destroy the place.
While family carers are means tested for carers allowance and have to fight for medical cards
@Úna O Connor Barrett: One more time.. that will be 5.
Which government minister, TD or senior civil servant owns, part owns or has a financial interest in the Citywest…..in other words who’s pockets are they lining now
They think the war will Last Two years …???? As soon as things are right in Ukraine They should go back…and let the government sort out the homeless problem for a change
Move refugees out of Greater Dublin Area as use the rest of the country that has excess capacity.
Wow bought just before Covid for peanuts, two handy contracts from state that covers that cost more than once. Lucky deal or just lucky
So what happens if there is another scandemic and they need the hotel again for covid ?
@Ken Bramley: Dafuq is a scandemic? Braindead comment!
It’s a disgrace we need to deal with irelands own homeless I can wait till the next genral election fffg are f##ked
A good decision
Considering? This has been known the last 3 months, not Considering, done.
For god sake people of ireland stand up 10000 on the street family’s struggling children going hungry and the government look the other way I’m all for helping any one who needs help these people have been trough hell but many irish have been in hell for a long time bring on the election
Will they get free use of the golf course ?
Is the darts cancelled so?
have your say