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 60-year-old resident in a nursing home on disability. This week, a private healthcare agency manager on €65K who is expecting her first child.
I’m currently living in the South East of the country with my husband and dog. We have had a busy (and expensive!) few years buying a house, doing up said house, getting married and undergoing fertility treatment in 2022. After three years of trying to conceive, our little miracle is due in the coming months.
My husband is an office worker and he is hybrid working. He travels to the office in Dublin three days per week and works from home two days. He earns €29,000 per year. During Covid, he was full-time from home and this was great, but he now has to go in three days per week which feels like such a waste of time and money on travel. Our finances are kept separate, which works for us, and I manage the household finances and take charge of the annual bills and most of the day-to-day household spending.
Over the last number of years, I have developed bad spending habits and there are months where there is literally nothing at the end of the month and this is where the credit card became my friend. My husband is much better at saving but I am a disaster! I have made poor financial choices, being impatient and wanting everything done in the house all at once amongst other things, thinking I can have it all! It was getting really stressful and overwhelming and the credit card debt had wracked up. The fertility treatment costs have really added up last year to the point that we owe over €10,000 following our treatment.
I made a conscious decision for 2023 to try and become as debt-free as possible and I am adapting to living within my means after years of – if I’m honest – living on credit and loans. I have just closed my credit card account paying it off with a loan as the interest was crippling! We have tried to keep spending around the baby to a minimum for the moment and have agreed to leave the house as it is for the next number of years. Adapting my spending habits has been a process and one that I am adjusting to, but with our baby due, I am determined to have our house in order and give them the best start in life as we have waited so long to become parents!
I have no savings at present, which is something I am ashamed to admit, but I am focused on trying to build them up this year in order to be able to afford to take unpaid leave at the end of my maternity leave. My husband has savings and we won’t be stuck but I need to build my own back up to feel some level of security. I am fiercely independent in this manner and don’t like relying on him too much for money!
I am experiencing a high-risk pregnancy and have had a number of complications which are being monitored by the hospital. My GP advised that I take time away from work to rest and give my body the best chance of carrying the baby to term. My job is busy and can be quite stressful at times, but I love it and I feel guilty being out on sick leave at the moment. I know I am very fortunate to have sick pay in place to allow me this time to focus on what is ahead as it has taken us such a long time to get here.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with family, walking the dog and going to the theatre and shows.
Occupation: Manager in private healthcare agency (currently on pregnancy-related sick leave)
Age: 34
Location: South East
Salary: €65,000
Monthly pay (net): €3,500 (social welfare paying €220 illness benefit per week at present and salary is topped up as sick pay by work for a three month period) Husband contributes €400 to household per month
Transport: €320 (this is less when I am out of work)
Mortgage: €652
Household bills: Husband takes care of heat/solid fuel/electricity bill
Phone bill: €14.99
Broadband: €35
Health insurance: €73 (husband’s policy; mine is paid for by work)
Insurance policies: €63 (including mortgage protection and life assurance for both my husband and I)
Groceries: €400
Loans outstanding: €700 a month on repayments for fertility treatment loan, credit card loan and home improvement loan
Pension contribution: €300, work matches this per month
Subscriptions: €10.70 – Amazon Prime, husband pays for Netflix. We got rid of subscriptions to TV channels last year and stream everything
Savings: I currently have no savings but am trying to put away €1,000 a month to save for taking some unpaid leave after my maternity leave will end later this year.
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7.00 am: Wake up after another restless nights’ sleep (caught about four hours, this pregnancy insomnia is killing me). Get up to let the dog out, grab a quick breakfast bar and because it’s a bank holiday, go back to bed for a while to try and rest and catch up on some sleep. I am having a lot of complications with the pregnancy, so I’m trying to rest as much as possible at present.
11.00 am: Finally get up and try to do something with the day. I do some cleaning and put on a wash.
12.30 pm: We decide to go and visit family. While we’re there, we decide on what present to get my mother-in-law for her upcoming “big” birthday. €250 spent on hotel voucher, my husband and his family give me €170 towards it, so I spent €80 altogether.
5.00 pm: On the way back from meeting family, we decide to pick up a takeaway as I am not in the mood for cooking. Takeaways have been our downfall since the Covid lockdowns and we are both as bad as each other for encouraging it! We get an Indian and my husband paid for this one.
8.00 pm: Settle in to watch some TV for the evening after eating dinner. I do some browsing online and make an appointment to see a dermatologist next week to get some moles checked that have me somewhat concerned. I pay a €50 deposit for the appointment (I’m not sure if this will be covered on my health insurance policy). Pull out the wedding photos and finally get around to ordering them to put on the wall. Nothing like a baby on the way to kick you into gear to get the jobs that have been put on the long finger done! I spend €42.14 on enlarged prints and I have the frames already. Hopefully we will have them hung by the weekend (optimistic I know!).
11.00 pm: Head to bed hoping for a better night’s sleep. Here’s hoping the baby co-operates!
Today’s total: €172.14
7.30 am Get up having been awake since 4am with pain, feeling sick and just generally moving around the bed – much to my husband’s dismay! I get up and make breakfast, leave the dog out for a bit and watch some TV for a while. I have a hospital appointment later, so I have a shower and lay down afterwards and fall asleep again (I am very grateful to be off work at the moment to be able to rest when I can).
11.00 am: Get up and spend some time pottering around the house. Nesting has truly kicked in and I want to clean everything, but I am conscious of what the doctor has told me about resting and not doing too much so I resist the urge as much as possible.
2.00 pm: Hospital appointment time. I meet the midwife. My blood pressure is continuing to rise so they are talking about medication for this. I meet the registrar who is really nice. She does a long scan showing me the baby and the anatomy on the screen – all is well. I can’t believe in a few months they will be here in the flesh. It feels surreal, like it’s not happening after waiting for so long! I have to wait to meet my consultant so I do some baby shopping on Amazon while in the waiting room (this is my downfall – I need to get rid of Prime). €41.68 on a breast pump, some sensory toys and a baby record book, to add to the ever growing collection of stuff in the spare room. I am going to try my best to breastfeed when the baby arrives. My experience of the public maternity system has been excellent so far. I feel the baby and I are well cared for.
5.15 pm: I get out of the hospital later than expected with another prescription and an appointment to go back next week to keep an eye on things (€5 hospital parking). I decide while I am near Lidl I will do a grocery shop. I think I fooled myself this week thinking it would be cheaper and spent €155.56 on quite a large shop. I got lots of meat products that will hopefully do us for a few weeks and that will save on next week’s shopping. I am noticing the food shop bill is increasing and probably need to plan better around meals.
9.00 pm: Home after visiting a friend who fed me dinner (winning!). I took the toll road home as I didn’t want to go the long way around (€2). Catch up with my husband, watch some TV before going to bed at 10pm shattered. Here’s hoping for a good night’s sleep tonight!
Today’s total: €204.24
9.00 am: Wake up. OMG a whole seven hours of sleep and only one trip to the bathroom! I am on a high with so much energy. I batch cook some meals and have them ready to freeze. I bring the dog for a walk and the pressure on my pelvis gets too much so we come home much earlier than usual. I have the guilt about the lack of exercise she is getting but hopefully once baby comes, we will be back to our longer walks!
11.30 am: Collect my friend and travel to Dublin. We are going to a matinee of Blood Brothers. I got the tickets as a present from her at Christmas. Stop in the motorway petrol station (after taking the toll again! €2) and grab diesel (€40). Park at the Luas and my friend pays for parking and the tickets.
4.30 pm: The show was amazing. Rebecca Storm was just on another level. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and the music. I got snacks at the interval for us both (€15). Kicking myself that I didn’t bring my own, but these days won’t be as frequent in a couple of months!
6.30 pm: Get back to the car glad to have skipped the worst of Dublin traffic and glad to get home at 8.30pm having taken the toll again. I really need to start going the longer way around to get home (€2).
11.00 pm: Bed after catching up with husband, having some beans on toast and watching some TV. Caught the news this evening and the scenes from the earthquake in Syria and Turkey really upset me. Sent €20 donation to UNICEF after seeing a newborn baby being pulled out of the rubble and her poor mother passed away. I go to bed being even more grateful for the position I find myself in and having a safe place to live and food on the table.
Today’s total: €79.00
7.00 am: The night before must have been a fluke: I’m back to four hours sleep again. I get up repeating the mantra that my body is preparing me for the sleepless nights with a newborn. Have breakfast and let the dog out. I watch some TV trying to shake myself to sort out a few life admin bits for the day.
11.00 am: I set the fire and clean the bathrooms in the house. I’m just not able to sit down and rest for massive long periods of time.
1.00 pm: Have some lunch with my husband who is working from home today. We make a plan for upcoming antenatal classes and sorting out the nursery as it is filling up and things need to be put together, etc. I go back to bed for a while with pain in my pelvis and catch an hour’s rest.
4.00 pm: I have my monthly counselling session with my therapist I have been seeing for years on and off. The infertility difficulties and treatment has really taken its toll on me and I do my best to try and keep on top of my emotional health as I am a worrier and can become very anxious at times, overthinking things. We spend the session focusing on the birth and what I can do to support myself and advocate for the birth that I want. I always feel lighter leaving these sessions and I am starting to think of ways that I can get support post-baby as I am worried that post natal depression might become an issue. Even though this baby is so longed for and loved already, I just want to be the best Mam I can be! (€60 but I get €40 back on my health insurance, so €20 altogether)
7.00 pm: Dinner with my husband (meatballs and spaghetti!), the first I actually cooked this week – that needs to improve! We watch some TV afterwards.
11.00 pm: I go to bed after having a shower and just sitting in what will be the baby’s nursery imagining what is to come in the next few months.
Today’s total: €20.00
7.30 am: Get up after about five hour’s sleep. The lack of routine is really annoying me and I start to wonder would I be better trying to work at the moment, but I have my answer when I have to crawl to the bathroom because I have so much pelvic pain. I would be no good to anyone, but I feel guilty for being out sick when I know how stretched things are staffing-wise at the moment. Breakfast and play with the dog for a while.
11.00 am: I spend my husband’s coffee break with him and we chat about plans for the weekend and talking about the baby – our sole topic of conversation at the moment!
1.00 pm: I go to the local shop to get bread, milk and the things that have run out (€12.88) and pick up some chocolate on the way. I have eaten relatively well this pregnancy, but notice the sweet cravings starting to increase. Have lunch with husband and potter around the house for a while.
3.00 pm: I go and sort out more life admin, go to the credit union to change some details on my account, use a voucher I had from Christmas to top up some of my products for my skin and on the way home, I go to visit my family and have dinner with them. The whole family is very excited for this baby to arrive and we talk about how life is about to change.
8.00 pm: Get home, catch up with my husband and head to bed at 11pm after a bath to try and soak the muscles a bit.
Today’s total: €12.88
7.00 am: The new norm of four hours sleep. I get up and decide to run a bath to try and ease some of this pelvic pain. Have breakfast and play with the dog. I make a start at a job on the list I have to do pre-baby arriving (sorting out photos from the last number of years and putting them in albums). This takes up most of the morning.
11.00 am: My friend calls in for an hour and we natter away and catch up on the news from the last number of weeks!
1.00 pm: We decide to go visit family and on the way, we stop in the shop for diesel and I get us some lunch (€50 diesel and €12 for sandwiches and a drink). We spend the afternoon catching up with family and both come home tired after walking the dog.
6.30 pm: I get up from yet another nap and put on some dinner (pork chops and potatoes). I watch some Netflix while it is cooking and call my husband. We sit and chat for a while and he goes to bed early.
11.00 pm: I go to bed after giving the dog a late walk (for about 10 minutes!)
Today’s total: €62.00
7.00 am: Wake up. I can’t even complain about it anymore, last night took the biscuit in terms of bathroom trips – my bladder will never be the same again!
11.00 am: Enjoy a relaxed morning listening to the radio, reading and sitting in the baby’s room while I start to plan where things are going to go.
1.00 pm: We decide to go for a drive and bring the dog with us. We drive around just enjoying the countryside – it’s nice not to have any plans sometimes. We stop for coffee and my husband gets this one!
6.00 pm: I cook a roast dinner (very proud!) and we relax for the evening. I open up Amazon Prime again to look at baby things and remind myself that we are getting secondhand bits from friends and that the baby will actually need very little when they come home first so I restrain myself and watch some Netflix instead.
11.00 pm: I head to bed after making a plan for the upcoming week. The lack of routine is getting to me, so I am going to try and be more structured and hopefully everything will be okay again in the hospital this week.
Today’s total: €0.00
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What I learned –
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