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 26-year-old software engineer on £75K living in London. This week, a financial consultant on €50K living in Leinster.
I’m living in Leinster and working in Dublin two days per week. I am quite strict about saving but I’m not happy with the amount I’m saving per month now (€250). But the reason I can’t save more is because I am sitting my Masters and I have a loan repayment for this, which is €250 per month as well. We also moved into our house earlier this year so my salary is taken up with paying for the odd little bits for renovation. I also have a plant fetish – this works out at approx. €30-€50 per month!
I’m paid monthly to my sole current account and, on the 25th of each month, my loan repayment is taken. I immediately transfer €1,000 to the joint account for the mortgage, utility bills, LPT, and TV license, and immediately transfer €700 to my Revolut account. Of this €700, €500 is for groceries and misc. expenses, the remaining €200 is transferred to my Vault for savings for ad-hoc expenses e.g. savings to cover my brother’s upcoming wedding and a holiday to France in a month.
My brother and sister-in-law are getting married this summer so I have been putting extra savings aside in my Revolut Vault to pay for the hen party, gift, hotel, etc. If we didn’t have this expense, we’d be taking a trip abroad so the money will have been spent anyway.
My Master’s will finish next year, so this will free up €250 per month – I’m seriously considering using this for AVCs but my heart is also set on purchasing a rental property in Dublin for our pension and/or buying a holiday home on the Amalfi coast for us to retire in. We’re not sure what we want to do for our retirement, but we know we want to live out the rest of our years abroad.
We don’t have kids (nor do we plan to as it’s not an innate desire for us to do so) so it’s a two-income, no-kids household. I would rather spend my money on experiences rather than material possessions so I don’t have many clothes/makeup/jewellery. I do, however, invest in expensive frames every two years as I wear glasses all day every day. We love going out to restaurants incl. fine dining, day trips, holidays abroad three or four times a year.
My friends are scattered around the world so I don’t get a chance to meet up with them as much as I would like. Hobbies are plants/gardening, cooking, gaming, dining and travelling. I also like to clean in my spare time. Every month or so I head down to the Midlands which is where my family is from for a visit.
Occupation: Financial consultant
Age: 29
Location: Leinster
Salary: €50,000 per annum + paid health insurance + 5% pension employer contribution
Monthly pay (net): €3,250
Transport: €60-€80 on Dublin Bus and Irish Rail. Only one car in the household which my husband uses most of the time; it’s an EV so no fuel costs. Husband pays for all maintenance for the car.
Rent/mortgage: A mortgage which is €1,208 – my share is €604 and my husband pays the other half
Household bills: Electric and gas are our two main bills, billed every two months, so works out to around €350 per month in total – these are joint bills. LPT & TV licenses are also joint. I pay for Netflix and the bins. Husband pays for internet, Discovery+, YT Premium, Amazon Prime, and Disney
Phone bill: €20 as I am prepaid and this gets me the package I need
Health insurance: Paid by my employer
Groceries: We spend a lot on food, and we are aware of this. Easily €600-€700 per month, sometimes more, between us and I estimate I pay for probably 60% of this. We’ve spoken and agreed that we spend so much on food and takeaways and need to reduce this
Subscriptions: We have a Hello Fresh subscription but we’re planning on cancelling it over the next couple of weeks because we’re quite busy between work and other events, especially over the summer, and I just signed up to a news subscription @ €12 per month
Other: I go to the beauty salon every couple of weeks and this costs me up to €100 per month
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6.30 am: Bank holiday Monday; woke up early; not my preferred choice for a Bank Holiday but I’ll roll with it. I get up and go downstairs to have some water and a strong coffee. I relax for a bit before diving into some study.
10.30 am: Drove to our local Centra for some brekkie. I got a large sausage roll and some fruit. Hubby paid so no cost to me.
11.00 am: Went to the shop to buy some food for me for the week for the days I’m WFH, the makings of dinner tonight and some top-up household items. (€49.50)
11.30 am: Popped to Starbucks on the way home and picked up two iced coffees for €10.40. When we get home, I put the shopping away, do some cleaning, painting (we’re painting our downstairs bathroom at the moment) and tidying for a couple of hours.
5.30 pm: Prepped and served dinner. We’re having fajitas, which is one of our favourite dinners.
9.00 pm: As we were prepping for bed, we noticed that our gas boiler has broken. My husband managed to fix this (I’m so lucky he’s very handy because we save a fortune!) but it’ll likely only be a temporary fix. The boiler hasn’t been changed in 20 years so we’ll need a new one. Having researched, it looks like it’ll set us back €2.5K at minimum. Thankfully we have enough savings to cover this, but my husband wants to finance whereas I want to pay in full. He already has his car finance and I have my Master’s loan so not having a third short-term debt would be best; but forecasting is also important. I’m the one that makes the majority of financial decisions in the house so I’ll have to think about this one.
Today’s total: €59.90 – shopping has gone so expensive and I feel like I didn’t get much for what I paid. Iced coffees tend to be a weekend treat and not every weekend at that.
7.10 am: I hop out of bed but feel groggy; I didn’t drink enough water yesterday so I down some water before going on a brisk 15-minute walk. I put on some laundry when I get back as I’m in the office tomorrow, and play the PS5 before logging into work for 8.30 am.
9.15 am: After our daily morning meeting, I make myself a lungo. We have a great Nespresso machine and the quality of the coffee is amazing! I hang out the clothes to dry.
10.00 am: I pop downstairs for some brekkie; a pitta bread with some egg, pesto, and cheese. I head back upstairs to my desk – it looks like this will be a busy day with some training involved. Husband calls me to advise that he’s booked an engineer to investigate the boiler and offer advice re new boilers for next week. It’s a free, no-obligation inspection, so we shall see what comes of it.
1.00 pm: Time for lunch. I have a shower (this is one of the things I love about WFH!) and lunch is a yoghurt, melon slices and a large iced tea. I also prep the veggies and chicken for dinner so that it’s quicker to cook later on.
5.00 pm: I log off work and finish the rest of dinner. We’re having in-authentic jerk chicken and it’s super tasty. Then I tuck into Netflix to watch the finale of a show I’m into right now.
Today’s total: €0.00
5.30 am: Alarm goes off and I get up, get ready, grab a yoghurt to settle my stomach (for some reason my stomach doesn’t like it when I have to get up so early so having a yoghurt really helps), before heading out the door. I’m in the office today and tomorrow.
7.30 am: I arrive into the city centre, and I grab a cappuccino and a croissant on the way to work (€4.90 for both). I love my cappuccinos and they’re an absolute must especially on the mornings I’m in the office.
11.45 am: There’s a lull in work today so I got bored and purchased a news subscription – this will be €12 per month. I’m already not satisfied with what I get with that €12 so I’m thinking of cancelling but we’ll see. I’d prefer a financial news subscription but the package is €36 per month which is very expensive I think so I left it.
12.30 pm: Lunch time so I popped to a local Japanese spot. I didn’t have a big appetite so I just got Ebi Tempura and Miso soup for €12. After lunch I pop to the pharmacy to purchase anti-sickness tablets – on every car journey home from work I get nauseous and I think it’s the constant stopping and starting in traffic, I’m not sure. These cost me €4.90 and will last about three weeks.
2.30 pm: I go to a beauty salon every couple of weeks so I book a treatment for next week and paid the deposit of €15.50.
4.00 pm: Home time. My husband collects me and it takes us an hour and 15 minutes to get home. I hate commuting (mostly because of the travel sickness, and also I can be impatient in traffic!) but I’m grateful I only have to do it twice a week.
5.45 pm: Husband has food delivered. I had a couple of slices of pizza and some chips – no cost to me.
9.30 pm: We get a message from work that there is a water leak in the building so to WFH tomorrow instead – rejoice! Delighted I’m not in the office tomorrow.
Today’s total: €49.30
6.45 am: Awake early but scrolled on my phone for a bit before getting up at 7.30 am. I tend to my plants, unload the dishwasher and grab a yoghurt.
8.30 am: I log into work.
9.30 am: I’d love some toast for brekkie but I forgot to pick some up so I’m having olive tapenade on crackers instead.
12.45 pm: Lunch is instant ramen I had in the press and a Diet Coke. My husband and I love ramen and make sure to stock up on our favourite brand any time we pop into the ethnic shop. We can’t wait to plan a trip to Japan when I’m finished my Master’s!
4.30 pm: I have a dermatological condition which appears to be flaring up the last couple of days, so I pop into a local walk-in clinic. Doctor costs €65 (but I get 50% back through health insurance, so the actual cost is €32.50) and medication costs a whopping €56 for just some antibiotics and a cream. That’s hugely expensive!
5.00 pm: My husband and I go to our local food court for dinner. He buys himself KFC, and I buy myself a tuna melt wrap and a Coke for €8.75.
5.30 pm: I pop to the shop to pick up a few yellow label items and this comes to €14.70.
6.00 pm: I get home, relax by playing the PS and writing this diary, while eating a couple of slices of Swiss Roll. I’m falling behind on studying, so I’ll try to catch up tomorrow if I can.
Today’s total: €111.95 (or €144.45 with the full €65 GP visit) – this was an expensive day but the GP visit and subsequent medication was ad-hoc.
4.15 am: I had a bad night’s sleep. Might be the antibiotics but I’m not sure. I scroll on my phone for a bit and catch up on some news before getting up.
6.45 am: I clean up around the house, put on a load of laundry, and catch up on some study. There’s a bit of a lull in work today so I’m grateful for the opportunity to catch up.
8.00 am: Breakfast is a yoghurt, toast, cheese, peanut butter, and a cuppa. We grew up with the combo of cheese triangles and peanut butter on toast and, while it may sound gross to some, and it’s a brilliant combination and so tasty!
1.00 pm: Lunch is some ready-made veggie spring rolls I picked up yesterday. I pop four in the oven. In the meantime, I chat with my mother on the phone for a bit and put together a dipping sauce.
6.00 pm: We pop to Penneys and I picked up some candles for €10.
6.30 pm: We drive to Tesco to replace our mop. It broke earlier in the week so I wanted to replace it. I also pick up some bleach, fruit and probiotic yoghurts. The total cost is €32.
7.00 pm: Back home. Dinner is cream cheese and some rice crackers. I didn’t want to eat a lot in case it made the effects of the antibiotics worse.
9.00 pm: Off to bed.
Today’s total: €42.00 – the mop was an ad-hoc expense so hopefully it lasts a bit before we have to replace again.
4.00 am: Another 4am start. This time I know I’m suffering side effects from the antibiotics. My doc warned me this might happen. A necessary evil, unfortunately. I try going back to sleep but no luck.
6.00 am: I get up and have a yoghurt, some custard creams, and tea. My husband is gone for the weekend and, as much as I love him, I’m absolutely delighted to have the place to myself!
11.00 am: Lunch is a large bowl of soup I already had in the fridge and some rice crackers.
5.00 pm: Dinner is a microwaveable curry and some rice that I found in the freezer.
7.00 pm: I had a really lazy day today which I rarely have and it’s all about balance. I watched some movies, played the PS5, and did some light cleaning.
10.00 pm: I’m pretty wrecked so I hop in for a shower and go to bed.
Today’s total: €0.00
10.20 am: I wake up and I’m in shock that I slept so well – this isn’t a regular thing for me so I take it when I can!
10.45 am: I get up, make brekkie – which is coffee and toast – and sit down to update this diary. I’ve been really enjoying writing this diary and putting some of my thoughts on paper.
1.30 pm: My neighbour and I are walking buddies so we go out for a long walk and I snack on some rice cakes and crisps when I get home. I’ve actually been snacking all day which isn’t ideal but I guess it’s out of boredom and the way my body has been out of sorts recently.
5.00 pm: I pop for a shower and order dinner for delivery – chicken fried rice, kale salad, and a spring roll. I eat half and put the other half into the fridge for leftovers for lunch tomorrow. This cost me €18.97 incl. delivery.
9.00 pm: Early bedtime to prepare for an early start tomorrow – I’m in the office again so I sort my clothes and jewellery so it’s easy to get ready in the morning.
Today’s total: €18.97
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What I learned –
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