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 32-year-old admin assistant on €39K living in Dublin. This week, a 60-year-old resident in a nursing home on disability.
I’m 60 years old and in a nursing home. I was admitted to the hospital in January 2021 with a stroke. I was in that hospital for three months during which time I had a second (severe) stroke, Covid-19 and pneumonia.
When I left there, I went to a Dublin residential rehab hospital, which meant I had improved. Still a hospital, but once I got into a power chair I was free to roam, go to the coffee shop, into the extensive grounds and just chill when I wanted.
I relearned how to eat and drink, and started learning how to walk and talk. I had a serious quantity (and quality) of physio, speech and occupational therapies from April to December 2021, by which time they had all done as much as they could and anything more will just take time.
That’s frustrating but I listened to a TED talk by Jill Bolte Taylor, a neurologist who had a stroke. It’s enlightening but she said it took eight years to get her left arm back. That’s depressing – I can’t even move my fingers. I was in the rehab facility for 13 months and then came here to a private nursing home facility in Dublin.
I got here last year and, while not a hospital, there are still nurses and carers around the clock so it’s safe. Now that they know me, as long as I let them know, I can roll into the local village and meet friends for lunch, go for a pint and do some shopping. That plus all the activities – the most frequent one is Mass – I can be as busy as I want.
A younger relative is living in my house. In the middle of last year, his father spoke to my siblings that his son needed somewhere to live in Dublin. He was studying and my immediate reaction was YES.
He’s a lovely man and very good about bringing post to me. He pays some bills in lieu of rent so we’ll have to see how that works out when I’m home. My current income is €208 disability allowance a week.
I’m here until I can get my house adapted for the chair I’m using. That involves installing a lift, turning the bathroom into a level access en-suite and turning one bedroom into a new bathroom.
Occupation: In residential care
Age: 60
Location: Dublin
Income: €10,816 (disability)
Education: €12.99 monthly for BBC Maestro courses. I loved Peter Jones and am enjoying David Walliams, some of the others not so much but when I had money they were worth it. I also have a MasterClass subscription – 16 a month billed annually. I tend to dip in and out of some surprisingly good classes.
Nursing home fees: €750/775 - €25 a day
Phone bill: €25
Health insurance: €290.89
Subscriptions: TV apps €28.89 monthly, audio €24.48 monthly, actually tend to watch a lot on All4 or Virgin Media app (both free).
9.00 am: Breakfast of porridge with berries and yoghurt.
10.00 am: Carers arrive to get me up.
10.45 am: I head to the coffee shop. As soon as I roll in, one nurse greets me and starts to make my Soy Latte (€3). She makes good coffee and I sit there and drink it slowly. My swallow has massively improved. But I’m still careful as I’ve had a few chokes on the most stupid things (one small grape, pancakes so thin you could see through them). The pancakes were the worst. I was sitting in a chair and it’s virtually impossible to get a proper Heimlich so the nurses were doing it pretty much sideways. My ribs hurt for days after but it worked.
11.15 am: Back up to the room and watch TV. I’ve worked my way through most of the stuff I want to watch. I’m sure there’s more out there but I haven’t found it yet so for now I’m on Gogglebox and various other “no brain required” shows. I binged Big Bang from start to finish and am on the last season of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS, the original). I’d work for Gibbs any day. Modern Family is next. I watched it religiously a few years ago but have to start again now.
1.15 pm: Dinner. The food’s not bad, they’re fond of chicken usually with mash and two veg. Yip – chicken in a bit of sauce, mash, carrots and turnips followed by a piece of cheesecake with ice cream all washed down with some wine.
2.00 pm: Call my carers to visit the bathroom.
2.20 pm: I gotta laugh. As they leave me they say “ring the bell when you’re finished,”, so I duly ring the bell. The first one ALWAYS asks “Are you finished?” before they get me out. I admire the carers so much. They do a very tough job, long hours (12-hour shifts) for – I guess – very little.
2.30 pm: I want to work on my assignment this afternoon but time for a quick coffee (€3) first so back to the basement.
3.20 pm: Back and ready to go. I know exactly what I want this assignment to say but typing it with one hand is slow laborious and extremely frustrating, to put it mildly. Given how badly I talk, I can’t do dictation either. They want 3,000 words by midnight on Wednesday.
4.30 pm: I’m at 780 words and am falling asleep over the keyboard but need a bit more before I quit. My stamina sucks these days and it’s really annoying. Nearly tea time so enough work, but more Modern Family. Talk to the OT manager at the rehab facility – I’m having problems with my power chair and also the splint that was made there for my left hand to prevent the fingers from curling up into a fist. I managed to loosen and break off the thumb piece and the chair is misbehaving with what looks like battery problems, so I’m talking to the rehab facility to try and arrange a day I can go there and get the splint fixed. I sense more expenses coming up.
5.00 pm: Tea. Quiche, some mash and some sauce. Cup of my peppermint tea. Outside for a quick run up and down the car park.
6.00 pm: Had a total fit of the giggles with the carers putting me to bed, no idea why but my laugh appears to be infectious, so they joined in. This place and the rehab facility have that in common, there may be one or two nurses or carers you don’t get on with but you can have a good laugh with the rest.
7.00 pm: Now in bed watching NCIS with a glass of wine and thinking about sleep.
8.30 pm: At home, before all this happened, I would never have thought of being in bed at 8.30, yet here I am. There’s a check at 9 pm and the nurse arrives at 10.10 pm with my meds. Wakey-wakey no getting out of it. Back to sleep.
Today’s total: €6.00
5.10 am: Woke up for no reason.
6.10 am: Check. Start doing once a day. Covid app check-in. Heardle, Wordle, Sweardle, three film ones, Globle.
8.00 am: Wake up again with day staff arriving into the kitchen across the hall.
8.30 am: Breakfast arrives – porridge with berries, yoghurt and tea. I don’t drink the stuff, don’t like the smell. Modern Family for entertainment.
9.30 am: Carers arrive to get me up.
10.00 am: In the coffee shop, latte in hand.
11.00 am: Back to room, quick toilet trip.
11.30 am: Chiropodist due – he is due into us but today didn’t arrive and is not answering the phone so back up to the room at 12.00 pm to watch Mulan. Two packages arrive, one from Boots – diffuser and perfume – and one from Lightinthebox – two new warm tops.
12.30 pm: Dinner – chicken, mash, peas and sweet potatoes followed by apple crumble and custard. Decided to give up on the chiropodist and go for a pint.
1.40 pm: Leave the room. Five minutes out the gate and I changed my mind – a bit too cold so came back for another coffee (free with loyalty card). By the time I finished that, the chiropodist had arrived. A quick trim of the nails and I’m done, so back to the room with the intention of working, but no to that as well. Rubbish TV and film until tea.
5.15 pm: Breaded scampi with mash and tartar sauce and a slice of cake for tea. Cup of my mint tea to finish it off.
6.00 pm: The carers have decided it’s bedtime so by 6.30 pm, I’m changed and tucked in. Have restarted Game Of Thrones. I’d forgotten how slow the first season is, and they’re all so YOUNG!
7.00 pm: First attempt to sleep.
8.30 pm: Meds.
9.00 pm: Check. Five minutes done and dusted. G’night!
Today’s total: €3.00
2.30 am: Woke for no reason
6.15 am: Check. Five minutes again. Check finances – disability allowance came in and won €29 on the Lotto – not bad. Start the once a day.
8.30 am: Usual breakfast.
9.45 am: Reality sinks in: this paper is due tonight so I’m having a duvet day.
11.20 am: Washed and changed, sitting up in bed with laptop ready to go.
12.20 pm: An hour later and progress is so slow, I welcome a large wasp buzzing around my head.
1.15 pm: Dinner – chicken, mash, carrots, broccoli, cake and custard with juice.
1.30 pm: I give myself a break. Games of Thrones and play a few games.
2.30 pm: Back to work.
5.00 pm: Assignment submitted – way too short but hopefully good enough. Nearly tea time, so Game of Thrones and games continue.
5.15 pm: Tea – lasagne and a bit of cake accompanied by mint tea.
7.00 pm: I give in, will finish this episode and sleep. Knackered after all the typing.
9.00 pm: Usual check.
Today’s total: €0.00
1.00 am: I wake in my room in the nursing home for no reason, but it’s going to be a rush later so do the Heardles. Exceptionally bad today – get none of them.
6.00 am: Check.
8.00 am: Nurse arrives in to check where I’m going, when, why and with who. I head to the rehab facility appointment at 9.15 am on my own, to get the chair fixed. I was a patient there for over a year so I know where I’m going.
8.15 am: Nurses arrive, get me dressed and in the chair.
8.30 am: I go to the kitchen for breakfast, usual fare. Head to reception to get the bus.
9.20 am: Driver arrives, I load up and off we go. Short trip. In the door and tell security why I’m there.
9.45 am: Head down to seating clinic to find the engineer. He has a look but can’t really tell what’s happening unless he sees it happen, so I need to get a decent video. I head up to the Stroke Unit. One nurse screams when she sees me so the other nurses and carers come running. Another is there, so I get some slagging in about how clean my current digs are compared to this place – the usual banter. The only patient left I know is at physio. Back downstairs, decide to go see the pond. It’s totally overgrown and green. Then go for a coffee, joined by one patient for five mins, then back to OT to fix my splint. She was expecting me, so once she found the hot gun that the physio had borrowed she reattached the thumb piece in quick order. On the way back up the corridor, I bump into two more staff members. I still owe one for helping me so much to speak coherently. If it has improved since that’s because I have had to make myself understood so I have to enunciate better.
12.00 pm: Back into the bus – a bit of messing with staff and driver on the way.
1.00 pm: Back to room in my nursing home for dinner – beef stew with celery, carrots, sweet potatoes and mash. Cheesecake and ice cream follow. My brother phones – he and his wife have arrived. Short visit for me but a full day for them, train from Northern Ireland and back up, they’re in the coffee shop having lunch, I tell them I’ll be down soon. We talk about physio and speech therapy – I’m not getting either – and money. I get €208 disability a week and the bill for this place is €25 a day, so €750 or €775 a month, plus pharmacy, plus physio so it’s tight in a good month even with no other expenses. Received the hair products I had ordered recently.
4.00 pm: Coffee shop. Third latte of the day. There’s something happening tonight everyone is telling me about it to make sure I’m going. Starts at 6 pm.
5.00 pm: Back up for tea. It seems like I’m constantly eating or drinking! Sold some shares – need cash and can always buy more if I ever have money. Finish the latest Bake Off, then a bit more Game of Thrones over tea. Sausage and chips, chocolate cake.
5.30 pm: Back downstairs – party time. Beer, wine and soft drinks galore. Someone playing the banjo. All the oldies. Residents pouring in all singing. Great atmosphere
7.30 pm: Two pints in and a can in my handbag for tomorrow – with senior nursing approval. Party’s over and my phone battery is dead so I go back up to bed.
8.00 pm: Game of Thrones.
9.00 pm: Check. Nightshift on the button!
Today’s total: €64.50
6.15 am: Check. So fast and smooth I’m not fully awake and they’re gone
8.15 am: Usual breakfast.
10.45 am: Still waiting to get up. I asked for a shower. No problem. Coffee shop latte. Dinner. Coffee shop latte. This is getting monotonous. Game of Thrones, NCIS.
5.15 pm: Tea – quiche and mash. Cake. Mint tea.
6.00 pm: Ask to go to bed.
7.30 pm: Still NCISing but eyes closing. Start Hocus Pocus.
11.00 pm: Nurse wakes me with meds.
Today’s total: €6.00
9.00 am: Usual breakfast, usual meds.
10.00 am: Coffee shop. Trying to contact my bank. I transferred money last week to a foreign account. They haven’t received it so I want to cancel and try again as a SEPA payment. After 20 minutes, I give up and request a callback this evening. Ask carers to go to loo.
2.30 pm: Decisions, decisions, bingo at 3 or the pub. Pub wins. Text head of nursing that I’m going and tell the nurse on the ward. That’s the agreement I have with them so I can come and go alone. The pavement down to the local is atrocious, potholes slopes, steps. I emailed the council and challenged them to try it in a power chair. They replied and asked for specifics so I gave them. Fingers crossed they fix even part of it as some of the carers hate bringing residents in to shop. It’s scary. I’m bouncing even at a slow pace and frequently feel I’m tipping over. Thankfully it’s only a 10-minute walk, but a 20-minute roll. Get to the pub. They know me by now and know my drink. My biggest issue is finding someone to open both sides of the door. Anyway, I get in and get a pint so I’m happy. Takes me close to an hour to drink a pint but it’s relaxing and peaceful. It’s a nice pub but never overly busy.
4.30 pm: Back in my room. My wine has arrived and one of the carers goes to reception to get it. Waiting for tea, bit of Game of Thrones. Time to get weighed. I lost 8kg during the first year of hospital but for most of that I wasn’t eating, I had a tube into my stomach and everything went through that. Now I have put more than the 8 back on again. Need to watch that – the alcohol isn’t helping!
5.00 pm: Tea: sausage, rashers, tomato, bit of cake, mint tea, GoT.
7.00 pm: Ask to go to bed. Start going down rabbit holes on YouTube. No call from my bank.
9.00 pm: Meds and time to sleep.
9.30 pm: Check.
Today’s total: €9.00
6.30 am: Check.
8.00 am: Usual breakfast.
9.00 am: Meds.
10.00 am: Try bank again no success navigating the automated menus.
10.45 am: Nurses arrive to get me up. They don’t even need to talk to each other they just know what to do and get on with it.
11.25 am: Coffee shop and I sit with some one resident for a gossip. She skipped the bingo as well as she won twice last week so no point this week (prizes are usually chocolate).
12.00 pm: Back to room. You can tell it’s a good day weather-wise as one resident is walking up and down the balcony while another is patrolling the corridor.
More TV – The First Lady on Paramount. Amazing cast although Gillian Anderson plays Eleanor Roosevelt the same way she played Thatcher in the Crown.
1.00 pm: Dinner – beef in gravy, mash, carrots, peas and sweetcorn. Cake and icecream, apple juice.
2.15 pm: Coffee shop. But too noisy to watch TV so games and YouTube.
3.00 pm: Back to room and more The First Lady.
5.00 pm: Tea beef, carrots and mash. Cake but I ask for ice cream too. Mint tea.
6.00 pm: Go out for a run up and down the car park. Back to room, toilet and bed (I keep mentioning toilet breaks because they’re usually 20 minutes)
6.45 pm: Tucked in with some wine.
8.00 pm: Sleep.
Today’s total: €3.00
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