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 primary school teacher enjoying the summer in Munster. This week, a manager in an insurance company earning €95K based in Dublin.
I am a 42-year-old mother of three (ages 6, 8, 10) and I live in Co Dublin. My husband and I pool our resources on payday to cover all joint costs and savings. We are honestly pretty careful to ensure we have the savings pot ready for all the big and small bills we know about (e.g. insurance, car costs, childcare, food, bills, mortgage etc).
We also save every month for things likes of Christmas, kids’ birthdays, holiday costs, holiday spending money, kids’ clothes, kids’ activities etc. I have my own small savings pot for things like a night away with my friends (once a year normally), hairdresser appointments, a big clothes spend e.g. winter coat or boots, pot for husband’s birthday etc.
Finally, both my husband and I “pay ourselves” monthly for day-to-day spending and that’s ours to spend as we decide. I honestly have very little sight of how he spends his day-to-day money so I won’t log that here. I use our joint account for any joint costs, I use my own account or my own personal savings for my personal spending.
It may sound complicated, every couple is different, but it means we are rarely caught out with an unexpected cost. We have a rainy-day fund in place too in case either of us unexpectedly loses our jobs. I come from a working-class background, and I know my parents managed pretty much hand to mouth throughout my childhood, saving was hard for them with low wages and kids to feed.
I spent a good chunk of my 20s quite broke, I worked in tutoring, services and retail sectors to make ends meet whilst studying. I was determined to benefit from our education system in Ireland. It is standing to me now, and I want to make sure I do not have financial surprises knocking me about.
I know I could make a higher salary in different companies, but I love my job and my team, I am genuinely fulfilled in my work, there is a lot to be said for that. We are heading off on holidays for two weeks in the next week or so, we haven’t been on a sun holiday in about four years, so we are really looking forward to it and I will likely be getting us prepped for that over the coming week.
The net figure below is after pension contributions, and I’ve just made an increase on that to 18% + company contribution of 8.5% which will kick in fully in September.
Occupation: Manager in insurance company
Age: 42
Location: Dublin
Salary: €95K
Monthly pay (net): €4,300
Child Support Payment: €420
Transport: Approx €20 as I normally cycle to work
I pay half of the following monthly bills:
Mortgage: €1,340
Household bills (electricity, gas, bins, broadband): €315
Mobile phone bill: €30
Health insurance: €250
Groceries: €800
Subscriptions: €60
Car (all related costs, tax, service, insurance, petrol): €210
Cleaner: €260
I contribute monthly to joint savings: €1.6K
Monthly personal savings: €600
Monthly spending: €800 (any leftover gets put back into joint savings)
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6.30 am: I am up early today even though Mondays are like a cold shower after a few days without work. I have a shower, get ready and quietly go downstairs. I don’t want to wake the kids as they can stay in bed at least another hour which we all benefit from.
7.00 am: I have breakfast (yoghurt, fruit, toast, coffee) and set everything out for my husband and the kids for when they come down. I prep an easy lunch (tuna salad sambo + fruit + crisps). I let the dog out and give him a snuggle before I hop on the bike. It’s actually not raining, not cold, fingers crossed the sun comes out today!
8.00 am: I decide to take the Dart today as I’m tired from the weekend, I lock the bike up and get a spot on the train. I love Mondays in the office, nice and chilled, not a huge crowd so I can normally blast through work.
8.50 am: I get an Americano from the local café (€3) I have a quiet diary today and manage to work on two big reports and follow up on some actions I have had on the go for a while.
12.30 pm: I have a quiet lunch on my own, heaven honestly, and then get back to my desk. I get in the zone and do a few hours of solid work, then go to a meeting and I decide to hit the road at 4.30 pm via the shops.
5.00 pm: My summer sandals are literally about to fall apart so I rip the band-aid off and splurge on a pair of Birkenstocks (€106). They are my go-to brand and the last pair have done me for five years which is so decent.
6.00 pm: I get home and as I’m earlier than usual I go to pick up the kids a small bit earlier from the childminder. They are in great form playing with water and are half soaked. I get them home and we make fish and chips for dinner with salad. My youngest hates it (they kill me with their fussiness!) but he eats some cucumber and a yoghurt, he’s not starving that’s for sure, although it’s a miracle he makes it through the day with the little he eats some days.
7.00 pm: My husband and I tidy up and I decide to do a workout, I get some weights out and do a YouTube workout. I used to be with a gym but I was just not able to get there, during Covid I bought some weights and they have been one of the best investments. I try to do a workout once a week (not much I know but better than nothing) and I can squeeze something in easily at home.
8.00 pm: My husband heads off to play five a side with his friends. I get the kids into PJs and we watch Bluey, then I wrangle them up to their bedrooms, read a story and finally get a shower for myself. I fold an enormous pile of laundry and chat to my Dad while I do it, he wants to hear all about the kids and the upcoming holiday so we have a good natter.
9.00 pm: My husband gets home with some bits from the shop for kids lunches (joint spending €18.50) I get myself a cuppa and head straight to bed, it has been a good but busy day.
Today’s total: €109 (my personal spending)
7.00 am: Up with my middle child today who is an early riser. We make breakfast together and he shows me some gymnastics moves on the sofa (honestly, I wish I woke up with that much energy!)
7.15 am: My husband is up and makes himself and the other kids breakfast. I work from home today but I have to drop the car at the garage for the yearly service. I walk home and pick up a coffee on the way (€3.20).
9.00 am: My husband has dropped off the kids by the time I get back and he has even brought the dog for a walk, happy days. He is in the office today.
12.00 pm: The cleaner arrives at midday and does three hours, she’s pretty brilliant and saves my sanity most weeks. She helps with making beds and some ironing too, she’s worth every penny (joint spending €60). I get through a raft of meetings and a new project has been thrown at me which I wasn’t expecting, I don’t mind but something else falls off the list when that happens!
1.00 pm: I make an omelette and salad for lunch then bring the dog out for a walk and a bit of ball chasing I get back to my desk and blast through some reading and prepping for this new project.
2.00 pm: The garage calls, the car is ready, I walk over to pick it up and my eyes water at the price, €656.00 for full service, but we had some bits needing replacing so I was expecting a big bill.
6.00 pm: Before I know it it’s 6 pm and I am late to pick up the kids, gah. I run/walk to the childminder’s house and we all manage to get home.
7.00 pm: The childminder fed them this evening which we had agreed so it’s just dinner prep for myself and my husband. I decide to make a spicy veggie curry, rice, yoghurt. It’s yum if I do say so myself.
8.00 pm: My husband gives the kids a bath and then we all decide to play a game of UNO to round out the evening, I am famously bad at card games and lose spectacularly at the three rounds.
9.30 pm: It’s already 9.30, it’s off to bed for the kids and I am not far behind. I read half a page of my book and I am out like a light!
Today’s total: Personal €3.20
6.45 am: It’s a work from home day today but I am up early, I walk the dog and when I get back I get the kids and myself breakfast and I sort out the kids’ lunches for camp.
7.30 am: Husband is fed and watered and leaves at 7.30 as he is in the office today, we make the most of office days, especially in the summer when there are no multiple kids drop-offs to manage. I get the kids into their clothes and rain jackets (where is the summer?) and off to camp I pick up a coffee on the way back, €3. I get to my desk at 9.40 am and join a call.
11.00 am: I’m on calls to 1 pm so no elevenses for me. My eldest gets back from his camp and we make a nice lunch together, a massive salad with tuna and avocado. He’s a great little eater and loves my food so I like to enjoy that with him. I like eating at home honestly, I find supermarket and coffee shop sambos too much and they kill my appetite for the day. I pick up the younger two and swing by the shop to treat the kids to ice pops (€5.20), I feel bad they have camps and minders in the summer while I work so perhaps I’m bartering my guilt for pops?
3.00 pm: I drop the kids at the afternoon minder and head back to work. Afternoon is back-to-back with meetings and work piled on the pile.
5.55 pm: I finish at 5.55 pm and pick up the kids (they are a short walk away). My husband is out with work tonight so it’s just the dog, me and the kids. We all vote for pizza for dinner so I get that started.
7.00 pm: The kids play a bit of switch while I get that ready, we all inhale our pizzas and the rain has held off so we bring the dog for another walk around the block. I coax the kids away from the telly and we play with the dog in the garden for an hour.
8.30 pm: It’s already 8.30, so I give the kids a quick bath (they get stinky enough in the summer) and get the two youngest to bed, or I should say to bedroom, sleeping isn’t easy for kids in the summer.
9.30 pm: My oldest goes up an hour later. I do some laundry, finish tidying up, have a shower and get some me time at 10.30 1.e. falling asleep in front of Bridgerton.
11.00 pm: I figure bed is a better bet and get up the stairs to bed. Husband isn’t back until midnight (he will feel that tomorrow!)
Today’s total: personal €8.20
6.45 am: I am in the office today, so I am up early and out early. I have a coffee, bowl of porridge and fruit and a piece of toast. I can’t function in public on an empty stomach, so I always make sure to stock up before I leave home.
7.50 am: I pop my lunch in my bag (big salad I prepped last night) and I get on my bike, in all my rain gear as it is absolutely lashing. It’s a 35 min cycle to work, I take it handy as I have had a few scares with motorists over the years, I am a slow and steady type of cyclist.
8.30 am: I get to the office, I’m an absolute drowned rat, thankfully I have a quick shower and into my dry clothes which makes me feel better. I pop to the café next door to buy an Americano €3.60.
8.40 am: I get to my desk at 8.40 and get working on a report that has been dragging for a few weeks. I make a bit of progress but then the meetings kick in and it is lost to me for the morning.
12.30 pm: I stop for lunch, loving my salad combo at the moment, I’m still peckish and need a break for a few minutes from the building so I take a walk around the block, I get myself a cookie (€3.00) from the café next door and eat that at my desk with coffee from the canteen.
1.00 pm: I decide to buy a few bits for my holidays, my wardrobe is a bit momsville honestly, jeans and tops these past many years. I get shorts and a jumpsuit, both on sale (€40.00).
1.30 pm: Back to work, I have lots of meetings in the diary all afternoon, so I end up not leaving my desk for nearly four hours. Urgh.
5.30 pm: I shut up the laptop at 5.30 and I’m back on the bike home, thankfully the rain has stopped.
6.00 pm: I get home and my husband has prepped some dinner which I can only describe as a pasta stir fry. It’s tasty though and I will never turn down a plate of dinner handed to me. The kids are more suspicious, however, and so there are a lot of leftovers.
6.45 pm: We tidy up, my husband goes for a run while I play with the kids and the dog in the garden, we have great craic although the garden is sopping from all the rain which has brought grass cuttings pretty much everywhere in the house.
7.30 pm: I get us and the house cleaned up, we watch some Bluey and I get the two youngest to bed. We have a chat about where love comes from in our bodies, brain or heart. The youngest votes for heart, middle child votes for brain. I love these chats, being a parent is hard work but these are the moments that fill the battery.
8.00 pm: I read them a story and hope they fall asleep before 10, summer bedtimes are drawn out honestly. Husband is home and showered so he takes over.
9.00 pm: I pop out to the shop for bread, fruit and chocolate (€10.50, on joint account), I bring the dog with me to get his steps in and call my Dad too for a chat. We get on well and since my Mum passed a few years ago I connect with him most days. I wish he lived closer so I could pop in to see him. He loves his chats too, it’s hard to get him off the phone!
9.45 pm: I get home and help tidying up the last few things, get my eldest up to bed and have a shower.
10.30 pm: I pull out the laptop to review a report which just didn’t get done today. It is due in the morning, so I am happier to do it now as I’m working from home tomorrow and the morning starts later with camp drops offs.
11.30 pm: Bed by 11.30, I fall asleep pretty much immediately.
Today’s total: personal spend €46.60
7.20 am: I slept badly so I give myself a “sleep in”. However, honestly, it is not worth it as I am chasing my tail all morning.
8.00 am: Husband is feeling unwell and has opted for the bed today, he never takes days off so he must feel really sick. So now I am late and my sidekick is out of action. Kids are up late and we’re all in a flap getting ourselves ready. I end up shouting a bit to get the skates on everyone and nobody is happy.
9.00 am: I get them to their camp and thankfully we have all calmed down a bit and luckily I get goodbye kisses. I buy myself a coffee on the way back (€3.00), poor dog didn’t get a walk this morning but I promise to bring him out later. I’m in meetings all morning and only have 30 minutes for lunch so I pull together a veggie wrap for myself and my eldest, it’s not my finest work honestly but it fills a gap.
12.00 pm: No lunch for my husband but I bring him some toast and tea to ensure he has a bit of energy, he looks a little better than this morning so we are hoping it’s a short lived illness.
12.30 pm: I bring the dog out for a 5-minute sniff walk and a promise of future long walk later in the day.
2.00 pm: I have a 45-minute meeting then jump in the car to pick up the younger two from camp, they are full of the joys – this was a good camp week thankfully. I drop all the kids off at the afternoon minder and get home to make the end of a wider team call. I have no more meetings today thankfully so I block my diary and work on completing some reports needed for next week.
5.00 pm: I break the back of them thankfully by “home time” but I feel I need to spend an hour tomorrow on it without any office distraction to make some decent progress. I get dinner started, spaghetti bolognese, I manage to roll in yesterday’s dinner leftovers – I hate food waste, I head out to pick up the kids.
6.00 pm: I pay the minder, (€300 – joint account) and we all roll into the house. I dish up dinner and my husband is feeling well enough to join us. I do like cooking and I get some praise for dinner, 9.5/10 from the kids, we all tidy up.
7.00 pm: I get the bath/shower rotation started with the kids, youngest to oldest. They are all in PJs and on the trampoline by 8 o’clock. I leave them to it and get the dog out for their long-awaited walk, we take the long route and I allow them all the sniffs to make up for no walks all day I give my Dad a call too, we have a good ol chinwag.
8.45 pm: By the time I get home the kids are eating popcorn and watching Star Wars with my husband I join them, make a cup of tea and eat some chocolate from the “parent stash” which honestly isn’t a parent stash anymore as everyone knows where it is, it’s a miracle there is some there. We get the kids’ bed rota started from 9-10 pm and honestly, I’m so tired I admit defeat and hit the hay as soon as I can after they are settled.
Today’s total: personal – €3.00
7.00 am: We are up at 7 to get the children ready for their activities, some of them roll through the summer months which is both annoying but nice to get everyone up and out I make us pancakes and fruit and they are devoured within seconds of reaching the table.
7.45 am: I enjoy a coffee while the kids watch some Bluey on telly, we are big fans of Bluey in our house. My husband is feeling better (thank God!) so he is up and we help each other with tidying up and getting kids into clothes and we are out the door.
9.00 am: We drop the kids off for their activities and head to the supermarket for groceries, it’s our last week in the house before the holidays so I don’t go too mad with stocking up on emergency bits, it comes to €137. We shop at Dunnes, we’re in the Dunnes voucher loop – totally tied in now, but it’s the closest supermarket to us and if we get in this early on Saturdays it’s quiet enough.
12.00 pm: We collect the kids from their activities and get home. We prep a nibbly lunch, baguette, ham, salad bits, cheese and fruit. The kids love this as there is always something they can all eat, they call it a “picnic on the table lunch”.
2.00 pm: I am happily off to meet my friends in Limerick for the night, woohoo, we do it once a year and I’m so excited to see them. I get myself packed up, saunter out the door like the free woman I now am and get the bus to the train station (€1.50). I bought my train ticket last week online, I always try to get online tickets as buying at the station is a lot more expensive I pick up a coffee (€3.90) and a free chocolate, yes please.
3.30 pm: I give my Dad a call while on the train, the signal isn’t great so we cut it short but he’s in great spirits thankfully. I listen to a podcast and do a bit online browsing for myself for the holidays, I’m not a huge fan of shopping as I just don’t have time or energy for it but I have to look half decent, I treat myself to a new swimsuit (€37) and hope to God it fits when it arrives.
6.00 pm: I get to Limerick and jump in a taxi to the hotel (€9.50). There are four of us here for the night, we have booked hotel + dinner + breakfast booked so we decide to get ourselves glammed up and head down to dinner.
8.00 pm: We settle in for all the chats and share a few bottles of wine. We end up at the bar after dinner, there’s live music which is actually great craic and we have another couple of drinks.
12.30 am: This is a lot for me and I’m already feeling worse for wear so I switch to water (hangovers in my 40′s are torture).
2.00 am: We hit the hay at about 2 a.m. – still chatting!
Today’s total: personal – €51.90
9.00 am: We are all up and down to breakfast by 9 a.m., feeling a little rough I won’t lie but we have more chats and craic at breakfast which is delicious. We decide to get a quick swim in before we check out, the water clears my head and I feel so much better after it.
10.00 am: Final bill is €350 per person including all the food and drinks, I pay for this out of my personal savings. The staff were great, and we all had some quality time together so for me that was worth it. It’s hard to get time together honestly, we all live in different counties and have children and work. We inevitably meet in the summer as the weekend commitments are a lot less. I love these ladies and wish I could see them every week!
12.30 pm: Two of the girls are staying to do some shopping but I want to get back as I have a big week ahead prepping for holidays and finishing out work. We decide to have some lunch together before we split up for our trips back or shopping. I have a coffee and a toastie (€10.50).
2.00 pm: One of the girls gives me a lift to the station and I make the train just on time. I rest my eyes on the way back and thankfully the journey is smooth.
5.00 pm: I get the bus home and am greeted by noise and chaos. I release my husband for a run with the dog and I start dinner for all of us. I make Mexican chicken, rice, beans, guac, sour cream and some lettuce. It’s a feast and we all enjoy it.
7.00 pm: We get the kids into the bath and pyjamaed for bed. We watch a bit more Star Wars for an hour, after that I get the kids to bed and we finish tidying up. I prep my bag for the morning as I’m in the office tomorrow.
Today’s total: personal – €362
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What I learned -
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