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 project manager on €86K living in Dublin and saving for a second house. This week, a 28-year-old consultant on €120K living and working in the United Arab Emirates.
I am 28 years old and as of three years ago, I live in the Gulf region. The cost of living and poor prospects in Ireland led me to seek employment abroad. I studied chemical engineering in college and spent about two years working in Ireland and wasn’t really able to save effectively without living the hermit lifestyle, so I made the move!
For the last three years, I’ve worked in consulting. I’m lucky that my area of consulting is quite technical and in demand in the Gulf region, so career prospects are high and I’m compensated well. I do miss Ireland a lot and when my finances are set, I plan to move home, but for now, I’m content to sell my soul to corporate life.
Due to the nature of my work, I travel every week to spend time on client sites. I work remotely for a few days every month to project plan. Work covers my accommodation and transport, breakfast is included in the hotel and lunch are covered by the client.
Occupation: Consultant
Age: 28
Location: United Arab Emirates
Salary: Base €120,000, Performance Bonus up to €40,000
Monthly pay (net): €10,000 (depends on what I expense and get credited back)
Rent: €1,125
Apartment bills: €100
Car insurance: €400 per year
Gym: €150
Phone bill: Work covers this
Health insurance: Work covers this
Public transport: n/a
Subscriptions: VPN – €9.99, Amazon Prime – €5.99, uTorrent- €0.00
Petrol: €80
5.00 am: I travel out by air today. My client is only a short flight away this month, which departs at 7 am. I’ve gotten very streamlined from when my alarm goes off to when I’m through security and ready to board. Everything’s packed and I’m checked in so I order a taxi, which is expensed through work.
6.00 am: Through security. I pick up a coffee on my way to the gate. I’ve tried the majority of coffee shops/stalls at the airport at this stage and have yet to find one that isn’t miserable, but alas we (French) press on. (€6.00)
9.30 am: Flights landed and I’ve taken another taxi to the client site – again, covered by work. We have a big deliverable due so the expectations are for a very long week. My workload varies drastically depending on the period of the project.
11.00 am: I grab another coffee for myself and press on with work. (€4.00)
12.30 pm: I grab a comped lunch. One thing I hate about eating on a client site is the feeling of being watched. On average I spend less than 15 minutes taking lunch every day on site. My boss thinks it looks poor from an optics point of view (I disagree but he’s paying me so I keep my mouth shut). Today was some chicken and rice with a juice – tasty!
12.45 pm: Head down for the rest of the day working on deliverables (i.e., PowerPoint slides) with the occasional meeting interruption.
6.00 pm: I have a 30-minute meeting at the client’s other site so I get a cab there and back. Meeting feels like an absolute waste of time, particularly since I couldn’t do it over the phone.
9.30 pm: A colleague orders us a taxi back to the hotel. Made good progress today, but still a lot to do by the end of the week. I order food from the taxi from a local sandwich place. Delivery takes an age in this region, so I know I’ll have time to check in and get changed before it arrives. My food costs €21.00.
10.30 pm: I go for a quick 25 minutes on the treadmill before I go to bed. I’ve found that after a long day, I struggle to sleep (over-tired?) so I always try to do some form of exercise at night when I travel. I spend the entire time watching the clock down.
11.00 pm: Shower, brush teeth, bed.
Today’s total: €31.00
6.10 am: Alarm off – get dressed and head down for breakfast. I get up early mid-week to give myself a leisurely pace to eat, supposedly much better for your digestion this way. Breakfast is usually fruit, coffee and eggs. Covered by hotel.
7.30 am: Taxi (comped) to the office, arrive on client site by 8 am.
8.00 am: Coffee on site. (€4.00)
12.30 pm: Same story as Monday – comped lunch (beef and rice to be wild, no juice). Progress has been OK today albeit people onsite are slow to respond and not used to the pace our company works at.
10.15 pm: Non-stop day today. Order the same lunch as I did yesterday to the hotel in the taxi on the way back (€21.00). No gym today.
11.00 pm: Bed – can’t believe it’s still only Tuesday…
Today’s total: €25.00
6.10 am: Alarm again. Mixed up breakfast today and went for some porridge and a smoothie – humpday vibes!
8.00 am: Coffee on site (€4.00). Deliverable is due tomorrow and have mostly meetings today so know it will be a late one to push through.
5.00 pm: Meetings done for the day – time to get the actual work done.
7.30 pm: Order food to the office – technically not supposed to be comped, but if we work late I’m allowed to expense a team dinner back every now and then. The bill is approximately €80.00 but I’ll get it back, so let’s call it €0.
11.00 pm: Still here,
2.30 am: Just about finished. Time to order a taxi and get out of here.
3.00 am: Bed. Wrecked.
Today’s total: €4.00
6.10 am: Alarm off. I fly out today at 4.30 pm, thank the Lord. Usual breakfast of eggs fruit and coffee – accompanied by a latte today though to spice it up.
8.00 am: Coffee (€4.00). Presenting at 9.00 am – do a dry run with the team.
11.00 am: Presentation went well. Have a few things to adjust before I share but no harm done.
3.30 pm: Taxi to the airport.
9.00 pm: Taxi back to the apartment. I order a salad on the way back (€15.00), which is delicious. Spend an hour chatting to my partner about their work week – sounds just as bad as mine was.
10.00 pm: Bed.
Today’s total: €19.00
7.45 am: Later wake up today. Stroll down to a local coffee shop in Abu Dhabi near my apartment and grab a flat white. (€5.00)
8.30 am: Arrive at the office and do a quick debrief with the team and my boss to discuss the week and what we need to tidy up today before planning next week’s work schedule.
12.30 pm: Grab a burrito for lunch. (€10.00)
5.30 pm: Time to head home, meeting my partner for a drink and then dinner to unwind for the evening.
10.30 pm: We go to a lounge-style place for a few drinks and then an Italian place for dinner (who doesn’t like pasta, eh?). My share of the total bill is €150. While we earn good money here it still pains me when I get bills like this – pint of beer was about €11 in the bar!
11.00 pm: Home (partner covered cab). One of my favourite aspects of this part of the world is how accessible everything is. Taxis are always available, you can always get a reservation and people in general are quite positive wherever you go. Beats the doom and gloom back home any day of the week.
Today’s total: €165.00
8.30 am: Get out of bed to make a cup of coffee then bring it back to bed to read for a bit.
10.00 am: I do 60 minutes in the gym to wake myself up, followed by the sauna. Grab a shower afterwards.
6.00 pm: My partner and myself head off to play golf for the afternoon – one of my favourite things about winter here is the weather for golf is stunning, albeit disgustingly expensive compared to home (€105). Based on my performance today, the money would have been better spent on a lesson and a ball retriever.
7.30 pm: Head to the mall after work to grab food for dinner (€30). My turn to cook and decide to make a Tikka masala with daal and raita. I’m an absolute sucker for Indian food and have been trying to work on this daal recipe for like six months – getting better, but I don’t think I’m willing to commit the necessary amount of butter to recreate that takeaway feel.
11.30 pm: Movie and a glass of wine later and it’s time for bed.
Today’s total: €135.00
7.00 am: Up early for a gym class today – only a 10-minute drive from the apartment and the roads are empty.
9.00 am: Feeling great after the gym. Head to a coffee shop on the drive back to grab both of us a coffee (€12).
12.30 pm: Skipped breakfast today, but lunch is leftovers from yesterday’s dinner (curries are always better the next day, eh?). I have a bit of work to do in the afternoon, not that big of a deal as my partner wants to go to a tennis lesson so I’m happy to chill. I’d rather do an hour or two of prep on a weekend than wake up to a disaster on a Monday.
5.00 pm: Finished my planning for tomorrow and decide to hit the driving range to get some air. Balls still going everywhere but straight, maybe I need a new driver… (€25).
10.00 pm: Head to a friend’s house for dinner and some food (pizza, they paid). I haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks so it was great to catch up. We make plans to try and get a weekend away organised over the next few weeks. We’re very lucky to have made friends here that are super social. We tend to regress to hermits if left to our own devices!
10.30 pm: Back to the apartment. I pack my bags and check in for my flight in the morning. I spend a few minutes reading on the couch and get ready for bed.
11.30 pm: Movie and a glass of wine later and it’s time for bed.
Today’s total: €37.00
***
What I learned –
I think I manage my expenses well, but should probably start going to the gym before work mid-week. I know I’m in a very lucky position, but I feel I work hard and have been rewarded for the chances I’ve taken.
Based on my typical bank account delta, I would say this is a lower-than-average spending week for me. I usually spend some money on Amazon and would typically splash out for food on the weekend.
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