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 civil servant on €32K living in Dublin. This week, a project manager on €86K living in Dublin.
I live in a Dublin suburb with my husband. We bought our house about four years ago and the plan is to buy a second property in the next couple of years (rental one, thinking about extra income once we retire). Although I think we are good with money, I’m aware we overspend in some areas, but that is the joy of life, right?
We want to retire in our early 50s, hence we need to save more towards it. I believe keeping this diary will help us to narrow down the overspending areas. We have separate bank accounts but the money is basically one pot. As we have similar salaries, it doesn’t matter who pays for what. The goal is to save €3,000 a month (we started to put that amount aside in a savings account as soon as we get paid, you know if the money is in the current account we tend to spend it).
In our spare time, Netflix and good food paired with good wine are a winning combination. We also try to go on holiday twice a year, but that might change this year. With recent layoffs in our sector, we need to plan for the worst, hoping it won’t come our way.
Occupation: Project manager
Age: 36
Location: Dublin
Salary: €86,000 + around 20% annual bonus
Monthly pay (net): €4,240 (10% goes into a pension scheme and I do an AVC on the following year to get the full tax relief)
Transport: €250
Mortgage: €1,350
Life/mortgage insurance: €30
Household bills: €400 (gas, electricity, broadband, bins)
Phone bill: €25
Health insurance: Paid by my husband employer (BIK)
Groceries: €450
Subscriptions: Netflix – €20.99, YouTube Premium – €10, coffee – €44, Patreon – €5
Mental health: €180
Restaurants/deliveries: €300
Beauty: €140
Cleaner: €150
Home and car insurance: €120 (I break once off cost into monthly cost and put money towards it in vaults). We also have vaults for holidays, house maintenance, health and gifts.
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8.00 am: I’m working from home today so I can spend some extra time in bed. Get up, have a shower and get ready for the day.
9.00 am: Logged in and went through my emails from last Friday as I had to finish a little early. I normally don’t have breakfast if I’m working from home.
9.45 am: Coffee time. A double espresso for me, double espresso for husband and back to my room as I have a call.
12.00 pm: Meetings are over for the morning, I open Chrome to read some news (I don’t watch TV, reading the news is what keeps me updated).
1.00 pm: Lunch time without lunch. I make another double espresso for myself and another for my husband. He also works from home but while my mornings are normally packed with meetings, his afternoons are busier. We chat a little and discuss dinner plans.
2.00 pm: No meetings in the afternoon but I need to work on some data. I listen to a podcast while working on five different spreadsheets.
4.30 pm: Grab a snack – a slice of toast and a can of Coca-Cola – as I skipped lunch I’m starving!
5.30 pm: Done for the day. Dinner today will be the same as yesterday so no heavy cooking is needed. While my husband is working, I watch two episodes of a Netflix series.
8.00 pm: Dinner time. Pita bread, homemade hummus and stir-fried lamb. We watch some YouTube while eating.
9.00 pm: More YouTube and two episodes of another series I’m watching.
12.00 am: Bedtime. It is impressive how you lose track of time when going from one video to another…
Today’s total: €0.00
7.30 am: I’m working from home again today but I have some material to prepare for a morning meeting so I get up a little early, have a shower and go to my desk.
8.10 am: Coffee time. Husband hasn’t started his day yet so I have an americano while scrolling on Facebook.
8.30 am: Log in and get things ready for the morning. I have four hours of non-stop meetings.
1.30 pm: Meetings are over and I’m wrecked. Grab another coffee, some water and back to my desk. I have notes and material to review.
3.00 pm: Stop a little and read the news. More layoffs are announced in the tech sector. I feel this year won’t be a good one and my anxiety levels are up!
5.30 pm: Finish work, grab some snacks and relax a little. Husband still in meetings so I watch another episode of my series.
7.00 pm: Today’s dinner is beef meatballs with broad beans, a recipe by Ottolenghi. I’m preparing everything from scratch so it takes 90 minutes to be ready.
8.30 pm: Dinner time! The meatballs are good and we have enough left for another day. We watch some YouTube while eating.
11.45 pm: A little scrolling on Instagram and TikTok and ready for bed.
Today’s total: €0.00
6.30 am: I’m going to the office today so my day starts earlier. Shower, coffee and ready to go.
7.30 am: Commute is around an hour long if I leave around this time, otherwise it can take longer. Parking costs me €15, I know I might save some money if I get the bus.
8.30 am: Log in and get things ready for the morning. Grab a coffee in the cafeteria (€2.50) so I can focus on work.
1.00 pm: Morning is – again – packed with meetings. Go to the cafeteria for lunch, grab a sandwich, a Coca Cola and another coffee (€10.50).
6.00 pm: Finished for the day. I drive back home and stop on the way for a small grocery shopping (bread, cream cheese, snacks) for a total of €9.30.
7.30 pm: I do some HIT exercises before cooking dinner. Homemade burger, baked fries and Coca-Cola with some YouTube again.
9.00 pm: I remember that I need to pay for some house maintenance stuff. Transfer €235 for the company that came last week to check the solar panel. This will come out of the Revolut house maintenance vault and shouldn’t impact our monthly saving goal.
11.30 pm: I’m tired. Tomorrow I need to go to the office again so better go to bed.
Today’s total: €272.30
6.30 am: Same routine, shower, coffee and drive.
8.45 am: Coffee from the cafeteria (€2.50), emails and updates. I have some bureaucracy to do later in the morning, so I try to finish as much as possible before leaving.
12.30 am: Get my passport sorted (€145) and I’m back in the office. Go to the cafeteria for lunch. I grab a sandwich, chips and a Coca-Cola (€9.05). Afternoon coffee is free today.
6.30 pm: Finished for the day. I drive back home and cook some pasta. We have a glass of wine while watching YouTube again. My old self would be ordering takeaway on a day like this but we are trying to cut down on deliveries.
9.00 pm: Tomorrow the cleaner will be around, but I’m doing some tidying up in advance.
11.30 pm: Bedtime, no scrolling today.
Today’s total: €156.55
8.30 am: Lazy morning! Quick shower, coffee and I’m ready for work.
9.10 am: Cleaner arrives (€75). Thankfully Fridays are normally quiet. I only have two meetings today and will use the “free” time to prepare some material for next week’s calls.
11.30 am: Second coffee of the day. I choose an americano instead of espresso. We have had a coffee bean subscription for a couple of years now. It might be a luxury but the it’s better quality than the average coffee you can buy from the supermarket and it’s cheaper than a coffee shop. One of my goals is to do a barista course and learn some latte art. Maybe I will find the time to do it this year.
5.30 pm: Done and dusted! I call my parents and also do some HIIT exercises (20 minutes only but it is something) while waiting for my husband to finish. I need to find a good pilates class nearby as my back is screaming for some attention.
8.00 pm: Meatballs for dinner again, although we cooked a different recipe, no beans today.
12.30 am: Bedtime. I love the fact that I don’t need to set an alarm for tomorrow morning.
Today’s total: €75.00
10.00 am: No alarm mornings are the best! Today we chose V60 for coffee. Filtered coffee is one of my favourites on weekends.
1.00 pm: After some sofa time, we get ready to go out.
3.30 pm: After a walk, we stop for some shopping (€11.20) and have a coffee (€6.70) while waiting for my husband’s hair appointment time.
5.00 pm: I have a cappuccino (€4) in another cafe by myself while waiting for him. It is a little rainy so the way to protect myself and keep myself warm is by drinking coffee.
6.00 pm: The place we planned to have dinner is closed, so we have decided to try a new restaurant nearby. They are completely different places (food truck x fine dining) but we give it a go. Spend more than I had in mind but it was worth it – food was spot on! (€190 for two starters, two mains, a bottle of wine, a bottle of water and tips)
8.00 pm: Back home and time for a movie and some sweets.
12.00 am: Bedtime. See you tomorrow.
Today’s total: €211.90
9.00 am: Husband is going away for work. I help him get things packed and iron some clothes while he takes a shower. We then have a coffee together and I drive him to the airport.
11.00 am: I stop for some groceries on my way back home. (€30.73)
4.00 pm: I start a new series on Netflix and can’t stop watching it. Short pause, run downstairs to grab some snacks and a Coca-Cola.
8.00 pm: Eyes still fixed on the screen so I decide to order some sushi (€30.50).
1.00 am: Another series finished (10 episodes) and it’s bedtime! Husband already reached his destination so I can sleep like a baby.
Today’s total: €61.23
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What I learned –
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