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.
I’m a single parent due to separation. I work full-time in the public health system. I live outside Dublin because I can’t afford to live in Dublin where I’m from, and I commute to work in Dublin. I have one child, a daughter, who is the apple of my eye, and most of my decisions are based around her.
I also try to pursue some of my own interests and a sedate social life! I’m mostly content with my situation but I do sometimes feel the burden of one income needing to cover everything, including savings! Especially when there are large unexpected expenses, like car trouble or a problem with something in the house, etc. I’m lucky that I have a reasonably good job and I can provide for us, but I studied and worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am. I’d be interested to see if readers had any constructive advice for me.
Occupation: Health and social care professional – half as a clinician and half as a team manager
Age: 38
Location: The east of the country
Salary: €63,000
Monthly pay (net): €3,555
Children’s allowance: €140 – saved each month
Maintenance from my child’s father: €500, but he also pays for her activities, summer holidays and is generous at birthday and Christmas
Total monthly income combined (net): €4,195
Transport: €130 petrol €20 for parking in work
Mortgage: €1100
Childcare: €455 approx (depends a bit on my working hours, etc)
Household bills: Tv/phone/broadband – €99, gas/electricity – €110, bins – €15 approx
Life insurance: €20
Income protection: €140 – this is very expensive insurance to have but I feel as a single parent I really need it
Car insurance: €40
House insurance: €28
Cleaner: €130 per month or €32 per week
Health insurance: €1,450 per year for me and €350 for my daughter. I pay it in full, but daughter’s father contributes half of hers, so cost to me is €120 per month although I don’t pay it like that
Groceries: €500
Subscriptions: Netflix – €9, Disney + – €9, Google photos – €1.99
Charity: Oxfam – €15, Focus Ireland – €15
Savings: €400 towards car fund for when I need to change it, and separate €140 for my daughter. This is the children’s allowance saved every month for her future
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6.00 am: Alarm goes off. Up and prepare my daughter’s school lunch and my own lunch for work later. I try to eat healthily and save time and money at work by not going to the canteen. Unload the dishwasher, and hang out the washing that has been done overnight.
6.45 am: I do an online yoga class for an hour (€15). I wake my daughter before jumping in for a quick shower and get dressed for work.
8.00 am: Breakfast for both of us. Help my daughter get dressed and out the door for 8.30 am. I drop her to school at 8.45 (thank God it’s local!) and by 8.50 am I’m on the road to work.
9.30 am: Arrive at work. It’s always busy after the weekend! First thing I do is scan emails, then meet the team, see how everyone is fixed, any issues arising etc. The team I work with are great. We mostly get on with our own work but help each other out as needed. As a senior team member, as complications arise I’m pulled in to try to help them out which I’m glad to do. I spend the morning catching up on emails, planning and confirming arrangements for the week ahead. Healthcare is so dynamic, there can be rapidly changing schedules.
11.00 am: I grab a coffee in our staff room at no cost to me and eat a banana I brought from home. More emails, calls and meeting prep take me to lunchtime. Lunch is short, 20 mins whilst I eat my homemade soup and toasted sandwich I prepared this morning, and a quick social catch up with the team.
12.00 pm: The afternoon is busy with clinic appointments, which take the whole afternoon. There’s no time for an afternoon break.
5.00 pm: My brain is tired so I grab a quick coffee and eat three Cadbury roses from the staff room. Bad habit really shortly before dinner, but I feel like I need an energy boost. I tend to further emails/final calls of the day.
5.45 pm: I finish up. Thankfully the worst of the traffic is gone so I get home quickly, stopping at the childminder to pick up my daughter at 6.20 pm.
6.30 pm: Home and I reheat dinner for both of us. Leftover chicken and broccoli bake I made at the weekend. Tidy up after dinner, check daughter’s homework (which is not much thankfully) to ensure it’s done properly, check her lunchbox to make sure lunch is eaten (it is!)
7.15 pm: I spend a while playing with my daughter before getting her ready for bed. Phone my sister for a chat afterwards. We make plans to try to meet up at the weekend.
8.00 pm: I watch a bit of telly whilst simultaneously scrolling through my phone, and messaging some friends.
10.30 pm: I’m tired so head to bed and listen to a podcast.
Today’s total: €15.00
6.30 am: Time to get up. No yoga this morning, so I shower, get dressed, etc and prepare lunches for both of us.
7.00 am: I prepare dinner by putting it in the slow cooker on low. It’ll be on for 9-10 hours whilst I’m out at work. Fold and put away clothes that were drying overnight. I try to minimise what needs ironing because I pay someone to do it – this might sound like a luxury to others, but I just don’t have time to do everything myself!
7.45 am: Wake my daughter to get her ready for school. Thankfully she’s pretty good at getting up and getting ready in the morning. My daughter needs €14 for books she selected from the recent book fair at school. I also Revolut a colleague €10 (we are sending flowers to another colleague who had a baby recently).
8.30 am: Drop my daughter to school. Traffic is heavy this morning, so I’m going to be late for work!
9.30 am: I’m late for a meeting that I have started by phone from the car (thank God for Bluetooth and virtual meeting options). This is not how I like to start the day!
9.45 am: I get to work and join the meeting in person.
11.00 am: Finish the meeting and go grab a coffee in the staff room with the team. Catch up on their issues and try troubleshooting with them.
11.30 am: Finally get to my office and work on a project that’s on a tight deadline.
1.30 pm: Where did the last two hours go? I go to the staff room to get my lunch of smoked salmon and avocado on a toasted bagel, followed by a yoghurt. This was all bought during the weekly shop. Have a team meeting this afternoon, so I get takeout teas and coffees for the team. I do this the odd time, they all work so hard. Cost is €21.75!
3.00 pm: After our meeting, I spend the rest of the afternoon returning calls and emails that have piled up, and working on some of my projects. There’s a lot going on in healthcare at the moment with endless asks for inputs on different things.
5.00 pm: Leave work and collect my daughter from the childminder on the way home. We also stop to buy bread (€1.80) for school lunches for the remainder of the week.
6.00 pm: Get home. Herself is delighted with books from the book club and can’t wait to show me! I get the smell of bolognese in the slow cooker as soon as we enter the kitchen – yum. Quickly cook some spaghetti with extra for lunch tomorrow and check her homework and lunchbox – all ok.
6.30 pm: Eat dinner and tidy up afterwards.
7.00 pm: Watch some kids’ TV with my daughter. It’s mind-numbing, but she loves it when I watch this stuff with her. I simultaneously go online to do weekly grocery shopping for delivery on Friday (€111.24). It might sound a lot for such a small household but I do some batch cooking to stock up the freezer, etc and also all cosmetics, cleaning products and the like are included.
7.45 pm: After TV, we begin one of the new books at bedtime. That’s an incentive to get up to bed early! She is asleep by 8.30 pm this eve.
9.00 pm: I decide to have a bath to relax.
9.30 pm: Watch some Netflix.
10.30 pm: Head to bed and lights out for 11 pm.
Today’s total: €158.79
6.00 am: I get up and do my online yoga class (€15).
7.00 am: Get my daughter up, shower and dress, etc. My daughter does an art class directly after school today and another mother of a child in her class collects her and brings her back to their house for a play. This is a huge help to me as it eliminates a day’s childcare for me. Although her childminder is excellent and very flexible, the cost really adds up. Little things like that make a big difference to me. I will try to get out of work a bit early today not to take advantage of the other parent’s generosity, and at Christmas I’ll gift them some wine or chocolates.
9.30 am: Drop herself to school and at work for 9.30 am. Full-on day of meetings and working on various projects, consulting with the team, etc.
1.00 pm: I heat up my spag bol and eat at my desk and work through lunch as I’ll leave about 4 pm today.
1.30 pm: After lunch, I treat myself to a cappuccino (€3.75). I also buy a birthday card and stamp to send to a friend (€4.55). It’s also my father’s birthday soon, so I order some aftershave for him (€120). My sister will probably go halves with me but I haven’t checked, and we’ll take him out for lunch on the day. I make an appointment to see my GP as I require a routine blood test for some medication I’m on.
4.45 pm: Something came up and I don’t get out of work as early as I’d hoped I would. Traffic is bad and I stop for petrol on the way (€62.47).
5.30 pm: I finally collect my daughter from her friend’s house and we get home soon after. She has been fed chicken dippers and chips. She didn’t get to finish her art work in art class and is keen to finish this now. She asks me to do some artwork too. I join in because I know how much she loves it when I do things with her, and I have the constant guilt of not having enough time with her.
7.00 pm: I make an omelette for myself and some French toast for her. I give her a bath before bed, which she also loves, and I feel like we’ve had some quality time together this evening.
8.30 pm: She’s in bed and ready to fall asleep. I phone a friend who has been asking my advice about job applications, etc. She is looking to change sectors. This call takes over an hour. It’s good to chat and to try to offer some advice to others. She says we should meet up soon for dinner and drinks which I’d like. We’re both busy working mums, it might take some weeks to get this arranged!
10:00 pm: I watch some Netflix, drink tea and eat chocolate before going to bed too late at 11.30 pm.
Today’s total: €205.77
6.00 am: I’m up and prepping for the day ahead. I’m attending a conference today and have to travel to it, so I need to be away early.
7.00 am: I wake my daughter, get her dressed and drop her to the childminder half an hour later, where she’ll have breakfast and watch TV before going to school. I’m on the train by 8 am.
9.00 am: I get to the conference for welcome tea and coffee. The conference is great but exhausting, very full on, but meet lots of interesting people. All tea, coffee and lunch included and work will pay for my parking and train ticket there.
4.30 pm: It’s been a long day. There’s a wine reception after the conference which I’d love to stay for, but can’t and actually need to leave a little early as I’ve to get home. It’s a very long day for my daughter being with the childminder both before and after school.
5.00 pm: I tend to a few work emails on the train journey home. Collect daughter at 6.15 pm who has had dinner I sent to childminder – leftover spaghetti bol. I will need to pay the childminder a bit extra this week for the longer hours. I’m very lucky she is so flexible.
6.30 pm: We arrive home. The cleaner has come today (she has a key) and I just remotely turn off the alarm and reset when she’s done. I Revolut her €32 for two hours’ work. She is a godsend, the house is sparkling!
7.00 pm: Play with my daughter for a bit, then put her to bed by 8 pm.
8.30 pm: I make myself a toasted sambo with crisps and tea as a snack (I had big lunch at the conference) and eat that whilst watching some Netflix.
10.00 pm: Tired after a long day, so I head up to bed.
Today’s total: €32.00
7.00 am: I get up, prep lunches for my daughter and me, get my daughter up, etc.
8.30 am: I head to my GP appointment, the first appointment of the day. Thankfully it runs on time as I have my daughter with me and need to get her into school! Just bloods and repeat prescription so only €30 at GP, but I know the prescription will cost me €56.
8.50 am: Get my daughter to school just in the nick of time and I’m on the road to work.
9.30 am: Have a clinic this morning but shouldn’t be too busy. Intermittently popping to the office to follow up on other tasks too and grab a quick coffee and scone (brought with me) to keep me going. I take half day annual leave today – I do this occasionally to facilitate a play date. My daughter gets invited to way more than I can return due to working full time, but I think other parents are generally understanding of this.
1.30 pm: I leave work on time to collect my daughter and two friends from school.
3.00 pm: Get home with the three kids and they immediately go up to her room to play. I love having kids in the house, and to be honest, they’re all good kids although I’m supervising, because they’re happily occupied, I tend to get some of my own things done around the house. Tesco online delivery arrives and I put it away. I also make a big batch of soup that I will use for some work lunches during the week and I’ll freeze some, while the girls are ‘doing art’ at the kitchen table.
4.30 pm: I put pizza on for them, and me. They have theirs in a den they built with couch cushions, blankets etc. House is messy but I know this is a good play for them and won’t last forever!
6.30 pm: Their parents pick them up as my daughter has swim lesson this eve. It’s not great timing, but she’s one of those kids who was affected by the Covid delay in getting to start swimming lessons and there is a huge demand for a place in lessons for her age so I had to just take what I could get. It’s paid for by term (€140) so no cost today, and her father usually pays for this and other after-school activities.
8.00 pm: Home from swimming and dry daughter’s hair and get her ready for bed, do a few stories, etc. It’s been a long day.
8.30 pm: I’m really tired myself. I phone my sister and my father and we make plans to meet on Sunday.
9.00 pm: I go to bed early and read.
Today’s total: €86.00
9.15 am: Bit of a lie on this morning. I have a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and smoothies.
11.00 am: I bring my daughter to a ballet lesson paid for by her father. I sometimes go for a walk while this is on but today I just sit in the car and catch up on some life admin.
12.00 pm: After ballet, I meet a friend and her two kids in a cafe for a quick hot chocolate for the kids, and cappuccinos for mummies. We each pay our own way – €7.90 for me. We go to a local playground for a while but it’s really cold so we don’t stay too long.
1.30 pm: I head home with my daughter and we have a late lunch of sausage sandwiches! Just some downtime then till her father comes to collect her at 3 pm. He will take her overnight until around 2.30 pm tomorrow. He works abroad a lot so we don’t have a regular schedule of when he sees her, it depends on his work etc. She is due to attend a birthday party from 12-2 pm tomorrow in a play centre. He will bring her but I send her off with the birthday present wrapped (€15) and card (€1), as I wouldn’t rely on him to organise this.
3.15 pm: After my daughter leaves, I actually go to bed and set my alarm for an hour’s time – I’m that tired from the week, I feel I need it as girls’ night out planned this eve.
4.30 pm: Get up, shower and get ready to go out tonight. I always try to utilise time like tonight to have a social life, so I’ve arranged to meet my group of friends I trained in college with. There are six girls in total who maintained a friendship for years.
6.00 pm: I drive over to my friend’s house because I’ll stay with her tonight. I stop on the way to pick up a bottle of wine (€12.50) so I don’t arrive empty handed. We have a glass of wine that was meant as a gift to my friend, and then her husband drops us into town.
8.00 pm: We meet the others for cocktails before dinner. Two cocktails (€30). We go for dinner after (€70 each with drinks and tip). We debate going for another drink after, but really we’ve had enough and get a taxi home. My friend insists on paying. I must remember to get her back another time.
12.30 am: Flop into bed for sleep with no alarm clock, bliss!
Today’s total: €136.40
9.00 am: It’s bliss not having to get up when I wake up! I doze on and off till 10.30 am when I can hear my friend and her husband up. I get up and have breakfast with them.
11.00 am: Quick shower and head home. I don’t hang around as I’ve things to do and don’t want to impinge on their plans for the day.
12.00 pm: I get home and tidy up my house a bit – unload the dishwasher, put on washing, etc. I start to prepare for dinner. My father and sister will come over later this afternoon for dinner for my father’s birthday, which is actually tomorrow but we won’t get to celebrate then. I remember I have no birthday cake for him. I think about chancing some baking with herself when she gets home, which she loves to do, but then I think that I’ll be too pushed for time to do that.
1.00 pm: I nip out to a local shop to buy a cake (€6.95) and a card (€3.45).
1.30 pm: I head home, wrap the aftershave bought earlier in the week. My sister has Revoluted me €60 for the aftershave and will bring a bottle of wine with her, although no one will drink much, maybe a small glass each. If I hadn’t drunk so much last night I might have had an extra glass when I’m sitting down tonight after my daughter is in bed, but I know I won’t feel like it, as last night was enough alcohol for me.
2.40 pm: My daughter is dropped home with a party bag and full of sugar of course. She’s in good form after the party. She forgot granddaddy and her auntie were coming over. She sets about making a birthday card for him and wants to have a present herself for him. I didn’t anticipate this. I give her a large bar of chocolate already bought as part of weekly shop, and this suffices for her. We chat while I prepare dinner and she makes birthday card for grandad.
4.00 pm: Our guests arrive and we have dinner around an hour later. It’s great to have family round, it livens the place up a bit and they fuss over my daughter and she’s delighted to see them. We do cake after dinner and my daughter has to have a go blowing out the candles too. We just chat and catch up and mark the passing of another year. My mother died a few years ago so we’re all aware that life is to be celebrated.
7.15 pm: My father and sister leave and I go bathe my daughter and get her ready for bed. She’s in bed by 8.30 pm, clothes and uniform ready for the morning.
9.00 pm: I watch a bit of Netflix, send some messages and do too much scrolling before deciding to head to bed for 11 pm.
Today’s total: € 10.40
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What I learned -
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