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 business owner living in Dublin. This week, a legal executive in Dublin looks back at their previous Money Diary and compares spending and earnings to their current position.
I am still in the same job as last year, just with a title change – I am now a legal executive as opposed to a legal secretary. I completed one-and-a-half years’ worth of legal exams since we last spoke, hence the title change. As for my pay, I still make €36,000 which hasn’t changed since I got the job in January 2022 (not for a lack of trying!).
Myself and my boyfriend had to leave our last apartment as our landlord came home from his travels. We now live in a south Dublin suburb, which – as I’m sure you have guessed – is higher rent. My boyfriend makes quite a lot more than I do so he pays a bit more of the rent than me. The space is very small but we just feel lucky we aren’t paying thousands to live in Dublin. Years ago, my granny converted a space in her house into a little granny flat/apartment, and her previous tenant was moving out around the same time I was looking for a new place to live in, so it worked out well. She is very sick at the moment so I feel grateful to be able to be close to her and spend some time with her while I still can.
We have noticed a huge difference in the cost of living this year. A Euro is not going quite as far as it used to. As a result, I’ve picked up another job to try to curve the impact while we are still saving to emigrate. We’ve put October in the diary to emigrate to Australia so every penny counts. I also work one or two nights a week in a local pub. The pay is minimum wage and taxed extremely heavily, but the tips are good and definitely help out week-to-week.
Since last year, I have also picked up a part-time volunteering position writing blog posts for a homeless charity. I’ve connected with some incredible people in the last year and I’m so grateful to be a part of something that makes a difference. I write one blog post a month. These can range from statistics about Irish homelessness, personal stories from people living on the streets or even just the best coffee in Dublin.
Occupation: Legal executive
Age: 25
Location: Dublin
Salary: €36,000
Monthly income (net): €2,503.60 from my full-time legal job, €150/€200-ish from my part-time waitressing job (not including tips)
Rent: €350 (my part) plus €150 every two months for electricity bill
Insurance: I don’t have any
Mobile: €35
Groceries: €23 a week for my half of our Hello Fresh boxes
Savings: €1,400
Subscriptions: Amazon Prime – €10, Gym – €59
Weekly donations: Dogs Trust – €12, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre – €16
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7.00 am: Good morning cruel world! I am not a morning person at all. Up, dressed and out to the car before my bed lures me back in.
7.35 am: Arrive at the coffee shop closest to the office. When I was studying I got into the habit of getting up early to get some study done and it has stuck with me since. Although I’ve finished studying, I now like to go sit in a coffee shop and read before work most days. It also suits as my boyfriend starts work at 8am so he can drop me off before he heads off for the day. I am currently reading The Housemaid and so far, it is brilliant. I get an iced coffee (€4.55) and read for an hour. Before you all start, I know spending money every day on coffee adds up, but it’s the only thing that makes me want to leave my cosy bed in the morning so whisht!
9.00 am: Stroll over to work and start my day. I am very much hating Friday me who left a lot of work for Monday me.
1.00 pm: Lunch time. I went to a BBQ at my parents’ house yesterday so I am having leftovers for lunch. Scoff it down while reading. Today is payday so I make some transfers over lunch:
My donations come out every Monday as well – €12 to Dogs Trust and €16 to the DRCC. That leaves me with exactly €590.60.
5.50 pm: I finish up for the day. My boyfriend would usually pick me up from work but he is stuck finishing a job so I decide to walk home. It’s a lovely day and I could do with getting some steps in.
6.30 pm: Home sweet home. For dinner, I’m having leftover curry from the weekend.
7.00 pm: Once I’m full of good food, I get my lunch ready for tomorrow. Big hearty yummy salad with an obnoxious amount of cheese. Delish. Clean up the kitchen a bit, shower and into bed.
8.30 pm: We pop on Yellowstone to watch an episode but it is so difficult to stop at just one. We recently just started this show and it is amazing. After that, I pop on a true crime YouTube video to fall asleep to (relaxing… I know).
11.00 pm: Lights out.
Today’s Total: €1,917.55
7.10 am: Same routine as yesterday. Up dressed, resist the temptation to lose my job for the sake of a lie-in, coffee (€3.50) and reading. I finish my book and see that there is a second book in the series so I immediately buy it (€3.46 – Kindle prices). My 2023 aim was to read 20 books in the year – so far I’m at eight so we will see if I reach my goal.
9.00 am: Stroll over to work and plop myself down for the day. It is 22 degrees out and I will be inside at my desk all day. Boo. Times like this I wish I was able to work from home. It is payday today from my part-time waitressing job. €143.96 up.
1.00 pm: For lunch, myself and a few of the girls from the office go out and sit on the grass and eat our lunch in the sun. Before heading back to the office I pop over to a coffee shop to get a coffee and a packet of crisps (€6.50). I am justifying this because I have a tenner left from my tips from last week.
5.30 pm: Leave work and walk over to the gym. I meet my boyfriend there and get my gym clothes from his car and we head on in. I do upper body and cardio today.
7.00 pm: Leave the gym and drive home.
7.30 pm: Our Hello Fresh box has arrived, yay. We’ve really loved having this subscription, it means we don’t have to do a “Big Shop” and we don’t end up aimlessly wandering around the shops spending money on things we don’t need. We’ve found that we are saving a lot of money. We get three meals a week with two portions of each. Tonight on the menu is “The Ultimate Fish and Chips” which includes hake, homemade chips and broccoli.
8.30 pm: Dinner is ready. Scoff it down followed by a nice cold Coke Zero.
9.00 pm: Clean up, shower and get ready for tomorrow. I make the same lunch as yesterday and head to bed.
11.30 pm: Pass out with the TV still on.
Today’s total: €13.46 (But up €143.96 wages)
7.00 am: Up and at ‘em. Going straight to work rather than a cafè today, as it’s extremely busy at the moment.
7.30 am: Get to work, grab a coffee from the coffee machine in the kitchen and eat my apple I brought from home. Scan my emails and make a to-do list. Sigh, this is going to be a long day.
1.00 pm: Eat my salad for lunch at my desk while re-watching Grey’s Anatomy for the second time. Scalpel, code blue, McDreamy… you know yourself.
6.30 pm: Finish up work for the day and head out the door. It’s not abnormal for me to work late but today I am particularly tired.
7.00 pm: Home sweet home… I’m not feeling well so as soon as I get in the door, I beeline for my bed and fall asleep.
9.00 pm: My boyfriend wakes me up with dinner. He’s made “Rigatoni au Gratin” from our Hello Fresh box, which I’m pretty sure is just fancy words for cheesy pasta but no complaints here as it is delish! While eating I open up my laptop and start up the payroll system. On Wednesdays, I do the payroll for my dad’s company. It usually takes about half an hour so I tip away at that while eating my cheesy goodness.
10.30 pm: As soon as I’m fed and the payslips for the lads are sent off I start to doze off. I’m surprised I lasted this long really.
Today’s total: €0.00
7.00 am: The sound of the iPhone alarm makes me feel physically ill! My boyfriend has a few errands to run before he heads to work today so I tag along in the car and play passenger princess. He gets us hash browns from the deli (these are my death row meal) and coffee. When he’s done he drops me off to work.
9.00 am: Another day in paradise… Although I don’t necessarily dislike my job, it’s become very difficult to come in and work hard when I don’t feel like my financial compensation aligns with my value. I’ve wanted to leave for a while now but I’m sticking it out until we leave to go travelling.
1.00 pm: I didn’t make lunch yesterday evening, so I head to the local shop to pick something up. A roll, a packet of crisps and a can of Coke Zero cost me €7.20. Daylight robbery!
5.15 pm: Run out the door of work and rush home.
5.40 pm: I get in the door, pop the kettle on quickly and get changed. I’m in work in the pub at 6pm. While I am getting changed and refreshing my makeup quickly, I make a packet of noodles. I scoff it down as quickly as I can and at 5.50pm, I am out the door.
6.00 pm: Clock into work and get going. It’s quiet tonight which is a bit annoying. I rely on these tips to get me through the week so I’m praying it gets a bit busier.
12.30 am: All done. It didn’t pick up too much which was disappointing but I managed to make €50 in tips so still better than nothing! After clean up, I walk home.
12.35 am: Home sweet home. I have a quick shower to rinse off the smell of beer from me and crawl into bed.
Today’s total: €7.20
7.00 am: Alarm goes off and up I get. I’m still reading The Housemaid’s Secret and I’m loving it, so although I’m tired, I am excited to get a coffee (€5.10) and dive into my book for an hour. There is no better feeling than reading a good book.
7.30 am: I sit outside on a bench in the sun. After putting on some sunscreen I drink my coffee and read (it’s the little things in life!).
8.45 am: I shut off my Kindle and walk over to work. One of the girls bought mini ice creams and left them in the kitchen for everyone. It’s a tad early, but I’d be insane to turn down an ice cream in this weather.
9.00 am: Head down and try to get as much as I can done so as to not upset Monday me…
1.00 pm: Lunch time. As I was working yesterday evening I didn’t have time to make lunch for myself. I head to the local cafe and pick up a salad and a bag of popcorn for €11.10. Eat it at my desk while working. It’s been busy this week and I don’t want to end up working late tonight.
5.00 pm: Sprint out the door as fast as humanly possible. Nice little early finish of a Friday!
5.30 pm: My dad is staying with my nana for the weekend and he texts me to say he’s going to head down to the local, so I decide to swap the gym for a pint, naturally. We have a nice chat over two pints (he pays for both) and then we stroll back up to the house.
7.00 pm: I decide at this point of the evening to pour myself a fat glass of wine, get a pack of Pringles out of the snack drawer, and stick on a girly movie. I watch Do Revenge and manage to finish off a few glasses of wine.
9.00 pm: Once the movie is over, I stick on Below Deck Sailing Yacht and watch it until I fall asleep.
Today’s total: €16.20
10.20 am: Alarm goes off. My boyfriend and I have a couple of things planned this morning. We don’t get to spend time together on a Saturday night anymore since I picked up the waitressing job, so we try to do something together before I have to go in.
10.30 am: Out the door quickly and we drive to Rathmines. We stop on the way so I can get my first coffee fix of the day (€3.20). Second stop of the day: breakfast. We sit at the counter of a diner and order, we both get breakfast baps and apple juice. Nothing better. We scoff that down and he foots the bill.
12.30 pm: We have tickets to The Stella to see The Grand Budapest Hotel. It’s my first time seeing it and my boyfriend’s third time. We grab a large popcorn to share and a bottle of water each (€12.90) and take our seats.
2.30 pm: What a fun movie! I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we pop into Dunnes as we need new wine glasses (€25). I keep dropping them in the sink when I’m doing the dishes and smashing them. An argument could be made that I just shouldn’t wash the dishes at all…
4.30 pm: After going for a drive, we arrive home. I decide to take a quick shower and try to get a nap in before I have to go to work. Funnily enough, I drift off quite easily.
5.30 pm: Alarm goes off. I quickly slap on a face of makeup and get dressed and walk down to the pub. On the way, I stop to get a Red Bull (€1.85). Luckily, it’s a four-minute walk from the house so I’m not pushed for time.
6.00 pm: Clock in. It’s quite busy this evening so hopefully tips will be good.
2.30 am: 20,000 steps later, I am all done. The place is spotless and all the drinkers are on their way home. I take off my apron and head for the door.
2.35 am: Home sweet home. My boyfriend has left me out dinner and it is only when I start eating it I realise I haven’t eaten since breakfast… Whoops! As I eat, I count my tips for the night which comes to €123, which I’m delighted with.
3.00 am: After finishing my dinner I crawl into bed and fall fast asleep.
Today’s total: €42.95
11.30 am: After a substantial lie-in, I roll out of bed and into the shower. Lazy Sundays are my favourite.
12.30 pm: When we are showered and ready to go, myself and my boyfriend drive to our favourite coffee shop to get two coffees and an almond croissant to share. It comes to €11.20.
1.00 pm: We get back into the car after our coffee and drive down to Blackrock town. We park up and walk over to the bookshop. My boyfriend has decided to treat us both to new books, which I am beyond excited about. We spend an obnoxiously long time in the bookstore reading every blurb you can imagine. I decide to get Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang.
2.30 pm: Once we have our new books, we stroll down the road to a local pub. We spend the afternoon here drinking tea, reading, watching various matches on the TV and chatting. I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon. I get a cheese toastie and a bowl of soup and himself gets a chicken fillet. Neither of us drinks since we have the car. The bill comes to €54, which we round up to €60. My boyfriend pays and once we get back to the car I throw him €20 cash I had in my purse.
7.00 pm: Once we’re home, we do some cleaning of the house and prepare for work tomorrow. The Sunday Scaries are creeping in! I’m quite tired so I head to bed at about 8 pm and watch Gossip Girl on the TV until I inevitably drift off to sleep.
Today’s total: €31.20
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What I Learned -
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