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 systems operations analyst on €57K living in Wicklow.
I am a 30-year-old woman who at the time of writing this is just going into the third month of living in our newly purchased 3-bed home in a small village in Co Wicklow. My wife and I have two cats and a dog and are still getting used to having all this space and total control over where we live.
We absolutely know how lucky we are to be in the position we are in considering how awful Ireland is at the moment for anyone looking to buy or even rent. We went through four hard years of saving and living in tiny, mould-ridden, damp apartments that we seemed to spend more time trying to repair than actually live in.
We were fortunate enough that we were able to stay with family at the start of our saving phase rent and bill-free for a few months so we could wipe all of our debts and start saving for our deposit. At the time, my wife and I were in lower-paying jobs and both happened to earn promotions around the same time with a sizable increase in salary so we rented a small apartment (€1,500) and buckled down to save up a deposit.
Personally, I have always been awful at saving money and struggled to not buy things to cheer myself or my wife up when what seemed like our endless renting got to us so I had to plan out my month in advance so I could stick to a budget and I found keeping an excel of everything really beneficial. We both made a decision that this year we would just have as much fun as possible and not impose limits on ourselves if we wanted to buy anything as, after spending four years of not being able to buy anything “fun”, we want to really enjoy our first year of living in the home we worked hard for.
I’m big into gaming and comic collecting and that’s where most of my discretionary spending goes.
Occupation: System operations analyst
Age: 30
Location: Wicklow
Salary: €57,800
Monthly pay (net): €3,459.09
Transport: Average €200 of petrol a month, we split the cost 50/50
Car loan: €700 in total, my wife and I pay half each (€350), two-and-a-half more years left on the loan
Mortgage: €961 in total, my wife and I pay €480.50 each
Savings: €500 gets split into two Revolut vaults each month: €300 goes into a holiday vault and €200 goes into a rainy day savings vault. I know this should be the other way around and I will make it so eventually but we want to have a “Treat Yourself” holiday at the end of the year
Household bills: €300 average for electricity (we both work from home and have a lot of tech running), €24.50 for our bins, €35 for Sky TV package (this includes Netflix and Disney+), €50 for Internet. We put money into the joint account at the start of each month and split bill 50/50 as we are paid almost the same amount.
Phone bill: €55
Health insurance: €110 a month paid for by my employer
Pension: €180 a month and my employer contributes €210
Groceries: We average around €300 a month. We usually either shop in Lidl or Aldi and only pop into more expensive supermarkets if we know they have a deal on for something we want
Subscriptions: Playstation Extra (€13.99) Amazon Prime (€10.27) YouTube Premium (€11.99)
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7.35 am: Alarm goes off and gets me up for the week I have been dreading as I’m covering colleagues who are off so have a big workload ahead of me for the next five days. I feel bad complaining as our team is very good at sharing the workloads usually but it was just the perfect storm this week as I’m the only one who knows certain processes so the lion’s share is coming my way.
7.45 am: Go downstairs and make a cup of tea and a bagel with cream cheese to get me going and look longingly at my side of the bed on the way out as the dog has gotten out of his bed and into mine to sleep beside my wife who starts later than I do. Go into my office and start what I know will be a long day and my now 200-mail-strong inbox only confirms it.
10.30 am: Give myself a small break after sorting through two-thirds of my to-do list and have a scroll through the GameStop website for what was only going to be a browse, but I end up buying three PlayStation games on sale and put a preorder in for a game I have been looking forward to that’s due to be released on my birthday. (€152)
10.35 am: My break is interrupted by my colleague calling who has heard some rumours about another big tech company that is downsizing and we discuss what the future might hold for our employer. After that dread-filled call, it’s straight back into work.
1.30 pm: Hunger makes me look at the clock and realise I’ve been flying through work but haven’t seemed to make a dent. I go to the kitchen and while deciding what to have for lunch, I make a bolognese sauce and throw it into the slow cooker. I make a quick bowl of Korean spicy noodles and steamed dumplings and make a note that we have to stock up on some of our pantry essentials.
2.30 pm: Jump back into work and give myself a target of tasks to finish before the end of the day. Hopefully it works!
5.35 pm: Shut down my systems after a busy day and go for a shower, it’s become a habit to wash the stress of the day away.
6.00 pm: My wife has now finished work and we chat about dinner. She’s not a fan of bolognese so she’s going to make a leftover plate from the roast dinner we had on Sunday. We have dinner in front of the TV and watch the latest “The Last of Us” episode. It’s based on her favourite PlayStation game and though I’ve never really liked the game, I’m very much enjoying the show.
7.30 pm: Bring the dog out on a smaller walk than he would like but he’s recovering from a bad sprained paw so he’s under doctor’s orders to take it slow. Put the bins out on the way out the door and realise our next-door neighbour who is just moving in has gotten a skip bag, filled it a bit wonky and now there are various bits of material packaging blowing all over the road and our garden. We plan to clean it up when we get back from the walk as they are not home.
8.00 pm: Back home and the rubbish we were going to clean that’s blown out of our neighbour’s skip bag has totally blown away and there’s no sight of it… sugar. We settle in front of mindless TV, my wife and I browse through an online Asia market that we frequently buy from. Stock up on noodles, spices, flour and soft drinks and can’t resist adding in some of our favourite snacks. Japanese curry-flavoured crisps are incredible and in my opinion, beat Tayto any day. (€76)
8.15 pm: Wife quickly hoovers the house. With so many animals, we have to do this daily to keep things clean and tidy.
8.30 pm: Switch on the PlayStation and continue a game I’ve been playing on and off as I’m not into the gameplay but the story is amazing. I’m powering through as the reviews for it are amazing and I find it hard to leave games unfinished once I’ve started them. My wife plays her own game on her handheld console and we chat and play and just enjoy our time together.
11.15 pm: My eyes won’t stay open so I say goodnight to my wife and the animals and head off to bed. I’m pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
1.45 am: I’m woken up by my wife trying to go to bed only to discover the dog at some stage got out of his own and got in beside me. Once everyone’s back to where they belong, it’s lights out again.
Today’s total: €228.00
7.35 am: Alarm goes off and I stay in bed for a few minutes staring into space before I manage to drag myself up and bring the dog out for his morning bathroom break. First cup of tea for the day and surprised to see my wife up earlier than usual. We discuss our work for the day. We plan to go out and do a grocery shop as the cupboards are quite empty and we’re running low on just about everything.
7.45 am: I skip breakfast and dive straight into work as there are issues that have sprung up overnight and they need resolving.
8.50 am: Go down and make a tuna melt for breakfast with another cup of tea. Not the most conventional breakfast but really hits the spot.
9.20 am: Back at work and it’s a meeting-heavy day. Great to catch up with people but it’s hard to manage tasks and requests when you’re on teams calls for most of the day. Someone floats the idea of meeting up in the office tomorrow in person but thankfully most people are not available, so I don’t have to make any plans to go into the office. I get so much more work done from home than I do with the office and its plethora of distractions.
1.30 pm: Lunchtime and I heat up some leftover bolognese. While it’s warming, I make a grocery list for later in the evening.
2.00 pm: Back to work, hoping I can finish on time today as things seemed to have slowed down a bit and am making good progress on my to-do list.
4.30 pm: Finished work on time! A rare occurrence this time of year as the year-end fever has taken over almost every employee. Head downstairs and throw on some TV and wait for my wife to finish at 5.30 pm so we can go do a grocery shop. The dog has a nap on my lap and I throw a blanket over us for added cosiness – this was a mistake.
6.15 pm: I wake up, not sure where I am and what time it is. My wife is beside me and says she’s just ordered a chipper (€26.50) and we can postpone groceries until tomorrow as she didn’t want to wake me. True love.
6.30 pm: Chipper arrives and we throw on a movie – The Menu on Disney+. Great film and not what we expected at all.
7.30 pm: Chatting about nothing in particular while watching the movie with my wife when we hear something bang outside. I joke that it sounds like a bin that’s blown away. It is a bin that’s blown away and is now sliding down the road. It’s our bin that we forgot to bring in this morning. Go and grab it and hope we don’t get a reputation as “those neighbours”.
8.00 pm: Go have a shower and then stick the PlayStation on as I’m just about finished the game I have been playing while my wife heads up to her office to continue organising her gaming and other nerdy memorabilia. No matter how much we’ve unpacked and arranged, there’s always something else we seem to have to do.
11.00 pm: I’m finished the game I’ve not been sure about and the ending has blown me away so much that I can now only agree with the rave reviews it was getting. I read up a bit on a possible sequel before heading up to see my wife’s progress. Chat for a bit and admire all the decorations she has put up. I put the dog in his bed (and then back into it after he tries getting into mine) and watch some YouTube videos before falling asleep.
Today’s total: €26.50
7.10 am: The dog manages to wake me before my alarm as one of the cats is staring at him and making him nervous. I bring him down and he spends his morning bathroom break barking at a bird who had the audacity to land on our fence. The dog goes back to bed and I make a cup of tea while checking my emails and the news.
7.50 am: See an email about a PC game bundle that benefits charity and pick it up. It will go into my large pile of to-play games that I should really clear before buying anything else. (€13.78)
8.00 am: Make the long commute from the kitchen to my home office and start seeing what work I’ve to do today. Quickly get disheartened when I see my inbox go over 100 unread emails and settle in for a long day.
9.00 am: Hear my wife waking up and making her commute to her own office. Go in and say good morning and chat for a bit before getting back to work.
11.30 am: Work is only getting busier for both of us so we throw a lead on the dog (who is not happy about being woken back up) and head down to the local shop to pick up a chicken fillet roll, a coffee and then without even thinking, a packet of biscuits to make the day a bit sweeter. (€14.39)
3.00 pm: It’s a desk lunch today of some crisps and a peach iced tea we had rattling around in the pantry as I’m in the middle of some complex projects and don’t want to stop while I’m in the zone. When I’m working, I usually have some sort of sitcom or movie playing in the background on one of my screens. The background noise helps me focus but now I’ve zoned out watching an episode of The Office US and get startled when I realise half an hour has passed without realising and get back to work.
4.45 pm: Finished work and just as I’m logging off the doorbell goes. It’s the games I ordered on Monday – perfect timing! Waste no time and stick the first game in to install and give it a quick go while waiting for my wife to finish work.
5.35 pm: Wife finishes up and we jump straight into the car and drive 20 minutes to the next town over as we don’t have a supermarket in our village. Chat about our day on the drive and decide to go to Lidl as we went to Aldi last time. We grab a trolley and pick up food and snacks to last us a week. Can’t resist a stroll down the middle aisle but nothing catches our fancy. Grab everything on the list and also pick up a crate of Coke that’s on offer (although now that I think about it, I always pick up a crate and it’s usually always on offer). We use our joint Revolut to pay that we both send equal money each month. (€126)
6.50 pm: We get home and bring everything in while trying to control the dog and cats who apparently thought we were never coming home. Throw some veggie schnitzels, American corn dogs and a carrot and turnip mix in the oven and I hoover the house while they cook. We have dinner while watching some YouTube videos. Odd mix but we wanted to try some new bits that we picked up in our food shop. Pretty nice!
7.30 pm: Bring the dog out for a walk and decide to walk around the town and explore some of the housing estates. They are really the only areas that are consistently lit up and as we are still not totally familiar with the area we feel a bit safer walking around them at night. There are a lot of large green areas in one of the estates that are not yet finished so the dog has a good run around.
8.30 pm: We get back home and clean up the dishes from dinner. I run for a shower and then I go back and keep playing the new game I got today. It’s good fun and my wife and I game for the rest of the evening passing the controller back and forth to each have a go.
10.30 pm: I say goodnight to everyone as I have to be up early tomorrow. Watch a YouTuber I like playing the game I just bought to see what their opinions are (they hate it) and fall asleep.
1.00 am: The cats did not get the memo about my early morning and spend a good 30 minutes chasing each other around the bedroom and use our bed as a launchpad. Eventually, fall asleep thinking about the cost involved in getting a tent and sleeping in the garden.
Today’s total: €154.17
5.57 am: Wake up three minutes before my alarm and spend those minutes trying to get out of bed. Boot up my work systems and drink an iced coffee I picked up yesterday. Straight into the thick of things at work.
9.00 am: My wife comes in to say good morning and we chat before she goes in to start her work. I take a quick break to throw some jambons in the oven and watch the dog chase a leaf in the garden.
9.30 am: Back to the grind. I put on a let’s play video that’s nine hours long and this will keep me company all day while getting through my never-ending task list.
3.30 pm: My alarm goes and stops my work marathon. I invested in an ergonomic gaming desk and gaming chair when we moved in and if it wasn’t for my set-up, I think my back would be broken after not moving for so long. We have an appointment to get new tires on our car so we head out and drive to the next town over to the garage.
4.00 pm: We leave the car in and they tell us it will take an hour. There’s a café down the road so we grab a tea, a coffee and a sausage roll to share. (€11.50)
5.00 pm: Pick up the car and the mechanic mentions an error light that was popping up, might be battery related but we just need to keep an eye on it for now. We see our four new tires that should last a good few years but they are larger than normal so they set us back, but we use the money in our rainy-day savings account. (€400)
5.30 pm: Back home and my wife says she will start dinner as I have to go back and finish work. Nothing mad happened while I was away so get stuck back in.
6.30 pm: Log out and head for a shower to wash the day away. When I go downstairs, I see my wife has made a korma with rice and garlic bread. It’s delicious as always.
7.15 pm: Bring the dog out for his walk and to help walk off our dinner. It’s getting a bit warmer which is nice. I can’t wait until the brighter evenings so we can explore more of the village.
8.00 pm: Back home and to no one’s surprise I start up the PlayStation and continue the game I’m playing. The cats settle in beside me for a nap and the dog finds a way to squeeze in. My wife heads upstairs to play her new PC game and I can hear her laughing away with her brother who has the same game.
10.00 pm: Wrecked after my early start so head up to bed and read a book, It’s a good horror book and I’m really enjoying it. Start falling asleep one chapter away from the end, so put it away and it’s lights out.
Today’s total: €411.50
7.45 am: Alarm goes and I’m up and making a cup of tea before I even realise it. The Friday before a bank holiday weekend just hits differently. Throw a load of washing on while the dog inspects the garden.
8.00 am: Log into work and start the day. It’s thankfully quieting down and I plan to be finished on time to start the weekend.
12.30 pm: I get a call from my best friend who also recently purchased a house in the town over she is out walking her dog and asks if I want to come over for tea and a chat. She works shifts so our schedules during the week don’t usually sync up. I see if my wife can rearrange stuff to come but she’s pretty busy, so I put the dog in the car and head out.
1.00 pm: Arrive at my buddy’s and we let the dogs out the back to go and play. Have to keep an eye on mine as he is still recovering but he seems to be having a blast. We have a lot of tea and catch each other up on what we have been up to. My bud mentions that 15 years ago, we would have been sitting in her mam’s kitchen and dreaming about the type of house we would buy and what we would be doing, makes us both feel very privileged to be in our current positions and also old to reminisce!
2.30 pm: Notice the time and have to drag myself back home and to work. My dog is even more reluctant than I am to leave but eventually get him into the car and organise a lunch date with my friend and our partners for next week.
3.00 pm: Home again and work is waiting. Quickly chat with my wife and get stuck back in.
6.00 pm: Finally finished, later than I wanted but also very happy that I have the flexibility to go out during the day if I want. I go down and start dinner. Chicken Kievs, cajun wedges and mixed veg, simple but still pretty tasty.
7.30 pm: We finish dinner and I get a text from my sister asking if we want to come over for dinner tomorrow as my brother and his partner will also be over. We say we will be there and check if she needs anything picked up. She’s all good for ingredients but asks if we can bring some board games – easily done!
8.00 pm: I head back up to my office and fire up my PC for a gaming change of pace and my wife does the same on hers. I spend around an hour trying to decide what to play and flicking through Reddit and YouTube. Settle on a Star Wars game and settle in for the night.
1.30 am: My wife comes in to say goodnight and I’m surprised to see how late it is as I’m usually always in bed before my wife. I get sucked into story-heavy games and don’t even feel the time passing. Shut down everything and head to bed.
Today’s total: €0.00
7.00 am: Dog is up bright and early as nature calls. Let him out and we both head back to bed.
9.45 am: Back awake and head down for a quiet breakfast as my wife and animals are still asleep. Tea and a potato waffle sandwich are on the menu. Eat while reading the book I didn’t finish earlier in the week. My wife comes down just as I’m finishing and gets some breakfast of her own. We chat for a while as she eats and then we jump into the big clean of the week.
11.30 am: House is freshly hoovered, mopped, wiped down, bathrooms cleaned, fridge cleaned out and wiped down and bed sheets are put into the wash as we put the new ones on. It’s a good workout and since we do spot cleans during the week, it’s never too bad. I bring the dog out for a walk while my wife finishes organising her office.
12.30 pm: Back home and the dog goes straight into his bath. He’s not happy about this weekly event but if he doesn’t get washed frequently, he sheds like there’s no tomorrow.
1.15 pm: Make some noodles and steam some dumplings for lunch and then head back to the PC to play the game I started yesterday and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
5.00 pm: Wife jumps into the shower and I go after and we get ready to head out to my sister’s for dinner. We bring the dog, who’s excited to be going out again, and we stop in the newsagents on the way there and pick up some drinks. I don’t drink and my wife rarely drinks so just grab some sodas. (€6)
6.00 pm: Arrive at my sister’s and have great craic all evening with some very tasty dinner courtesy of my sister and some fun board games. There’s a 10 and 11-year age gap between my siblings and I and it makes me happy that I can have such fun times with them now as they are older.
11.00 pm: Arrive home and chat with my wife about the evening and our plans for tomorrow. My sister had mentioned wanting to go to the Asia market with us that we shop at to pick up some ingredients, so we shoot her a text if she wants to go tomorrow. Head to bed and was going to start a new book but fall asleep as soon as I lie down.
Today’s total: €6.00
8.30 am: Woken by one of the cats using my head as a climbing frame. Bring the dog out for his morning business and make a cup of tea. Watch some TV and just relax, see my sister texted back to say she was free to go shopping today. Shoot her back a text that we will pick her up at around 11 am.
9.30 am: I can hear TikToks in the distance which is a good signal my wife is awake. Head up and see if she’s up for heading out later and she is, so our plans are set for the day.
10.30 am: After some cereal for breakfast, we get ready and drive to pick up my sister and make tracks towards the Asia market.
11.45 am: We arrive, grab a trolly and start shopping. We have fun just going through the aisles and finding some favourites and some new things to try. I pay for my sister’s groceries as well as the small bits I picked out when we checkout as a thanks for the dinner last night. (€112)
1.15 pm: We stop at a bubble tea place on the way back home as I had a craving and my wife pays for our drinks. Go for a stroll around the town and window shop while chatting.
2.30 pm: Drop off my sister and head back home. Put the groceries away and sit down in front of the TV to relax. I send my brother some money as I don’t want to leave him out after I got my sister’s haul. He’s delighted at the surprise and I enjoy being able to share what I have. (€100)
3.00 pm: We plan to lounge in front of the TV for the rest of the day and get settled in front of some movies.
6.00 pm: My wife makes dinner with bits and pieces we picked up in the Asia market – steamed bao buns, veggie gyoza and I make some chicken fried rice to go along with it.
10.30 pm: Off to bed after our lazy evening. Watch some more YouTube videos and fall asleep after a few minutes.
Today’s total: €212.00
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What I learned –
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