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 an Irish primary school teacher currently living and working in Vietnam. This week, a COO of a company on €245K living in Dublin.
I’m the COO of a ‘Buy and Build’ organisation – it’s similar to a venture capital except instead of investing in companies, we acquire and scale them. We have eight companies in our portfolio at the minute. I’m Irish and live in South County Dublin, although I spend a lot of time in London for work, as our HQ and most of our companies are based in the UK.
My first job was in the corner shop at 16 and I worked all through college as a waitress so I’ve been financially independent since I was 21, when I moved out of the family home. My first ‘proper’ job was as a graduate consultant for one of the Big 4 and I’ve been steadily climbing the ladder ever since. My work is very important to me but my plan is to pivot in a few years and use my qualifications to do something more vocational.
I’m lucky enough to have bought my own home in 2010, after the crash and before the market went haywire again and I’m forever grateful that I’m not trying to rent in this city, as the rental market is madness here. I’m not married, and have no kids (unless you count my dogs!). I do have a partner, who works as a barrister, but we’re financially independent of each other – he has his own place close by and we pay our separate bills.
I’m doing a Doctorate in Psychology part-time so I don’t have much spare time at the minute. But when I do, I really enjoy getting outdoors with the dogs and I’m big into kayaking – I lived in central London for a few years so I really appreciate having the sea and the mountains on my doorstep. I also enjoy pottery and gardening – I have a little polytunnel to grow my own herbs and veg and my house is like the botanical gardens with the amount of plants! Besides that, I enjoy galleries, live gigs, going to the theatre, exploring new restaurants and taking mini-breaks around Ireland and Europe whenever I can.
I wouldn’t consider myself to be particularly materialistic – I’m not into designer label bags and shoes etc., but I avoid fast fashion retailers and am happy to pay more for good quality clothes that will last. I do invest in my health and wellbeing – I spend a lot on skincare treatments and products and will buy organic food from local producers where I can. I definitely see the value in paying a bit extra for a particularly nice meal in a great restaurant, or for the good seats at gigs and shows; and staying in nice hotels when I go on holidays.
Occupation: Chief operating officer
Age: 30s
Location: South County Dublin
Salary: €245,000 base salary, plus shares and equity. My Doctorate research is funded and I also lecture for the university sometimes which amounts to an additional €10,000 per year – so €255,000 in total
Monthly pay (net): €11,500 – €11,100 from my salary, €400 from the university after tax, PRSI and USC
Transport: I work from home when I’m in Dublin, and the company pays for my travel costs when I go to London for work. I do have a car which costs me around €70 a month in fuel and insurance but I don’t use it often as I’m close to public transport and also have a bike… I only learned to ride a bike two years ago (I know!) but now I try to make an effort to be as non-car-centric as possible. I top up my Leap card with around €20 every month.
Mortgage: I was able to pay a chunk off my mortgage over the summer so my monthly repayments are down to €1,050. I’m hoping to have paid the remainder off in three-four years time.
Household bills: €150 for gas and electric, €20 for bins and €40 for broadband, house insurance is covered by annual management fees which work out at €200 per month
Household costs (community management fees, LPT, repairs, furnishings etc): €500 – I’m estimating here as I’ve only recently moved back into my own home and am spending a bit more than usual doing it up. I was fortunate to be able to donate my house to an Irish/Ukrainian charity for the past few years – they provide free accommodation to families who have to leave their own country due to the war. Each family stayed for three months while they found their feet and then the next would move in. I stayed in my partner’s place during this time so it didn’t cost me any more than my usual overheads of the mortgage and bills. Now I’m back in my house and slowly redecorating the place so spending a bit more than I usually would.
Phone bill: This is covered by work
Health insurance: This is covered by work
Groceries: €400-€500
Subscriptions: Netflix – €8.99, Spotify – €10, Disney+ – €10, Now TV – €10, Financial Times – €22, The Independent – €8, Dublin Inquirer – €6, Amazon Prime – €10
Gym membership: €160
Dogs (food, vet, toys etc): €100 – I use Butternut Box which is a subscription service for fresh dog food and it works out around the same price as buying cans of processed rubbish in the shop… I highly recommend it!
Personal spending (haircare, skincare, clothes, nails, books etc): €300
Gifts (birthdays, baby showers, weddings etc): €200
Charity: €500 – €600. I donate €150 each month by direct debit to three different charities (animal welfare, children and homeless) and switch them up each year. I usually donate another €100+ a month to a local community fundraiser (this month it went to my friend who’s doing The Rising 2024 Challenge for the charity A Lust For Life).
Investments: Aside from the house, I have equity in the company I work for, and an additional €200,000 worth of shares.
Savings: I don’t have a dedicated savings account, but whatever I don’t spend stays in the bank. This is at least €4,000 per month, often more. I hope to pay off my mortgage in a couple of years, with enough left to supplement a smaller salary so I can work more full time with a charity that I’m involved with; and to be able to spend the winter months somewhere far flung and exotic.
***
7.00 am: Stayed at my partner’s place last night so we get up and take the dogs for a 40-minute walk along the pier near his house. I have my own little dog, he’s 15, and a foster dog from the DSPCA. I’ve been fostering for a few years now and it’s very rewarding, but it’s so hard to say goodbye when it’s time to let them go… I’ve had this guy for six months now and have grown very attached!
7.45 am: Hop in the shower and then give the dogs their breakfast. Make a smoothie in the Nutribullet to keep me going as I’m not really hungry this morning. As I work from home when I’m in Dublin, I don’t have to worry about a commute which is handy. I set up camp in my partner’s home office.
9.00 am: Start work: catch up with the leadership team to get a sense of what everyone’s got on for the week. Today I had lots of meetings with founders and MD’s, to give me a sense of where best to invest my time for the week ahead.
12.00 pm: Have a decent break in the day, so make a lovely lunch (lemon teriyaki chicken salad) and take the dogs for a walk in the local park with a friend who lives down the road. I buy us both a couple of pastries and coffees (€13). On the way home I swing by a local grocers to pick up ingredients for dinner (I’m making Carbonara so I need pasta, pancetta, eggs and parmesan – €26). If I was in Dublin for the whole week I’d do a big shop, but I’m travelling so taking it day-by-day. Head back to my own house, taking the dogs with me… I have a work call with one of the team on the drive home.
2.00 pm: Back home, and into a strategy meeting. We’ve recently acquired a company so are in the early stages of integrating them – today we were working on their go-to-market strategy and customer journey
3.30 pm: No more meetings so reply to emails and get some admin done. There’s a knock at the door and it’s two little girls selling homemade bracelets for €1 each. I give them €5 and you’d swear Christmas has come early for them, they were so delighted! I pick a bracelet and get back to work.
5.30 pm: Finish work for the day and head to the gym, calling my mum on the way to catch up. I’m part of a group training gym with daily workout programmes and this really works for me – I wouldn’t be nearly as motivated in a regular gym where you do your own thing.
7.00 pm: Back home, have a shower and cook dinner with my partner (I was more of a sous chef!). His brother comes by to eat with us and it’s lovely to catch up.
8.30 pm: Our local community has been granted funding for a neighbourhood rejuvenation project and there’s a volunteer planning committee that I’m part of. Tonight there’s a webinar about the plans so I join that call.
9.15 pm: Bring the dogs for their last walk of the evening and play a game of cards with the guys over a glass of wine. We get very, very competitive… I win.
10.30 pm: My partner’s brother heads home and I pack my bag for London.
11.00 pm: We head to bed, falling asleep around 12am.
Today’s total: €44.00
6.15 am: Earlier start today as I have a flight to catch. Get up, walk the dogs (much to their misery as it’s still dark and far too early for them) and throw on my clothes ready to go.
7.00 am: It’s the 1st of the month so I leave a big bag of plastic bottles and cans that we’ve accumulated throughout September at my back door for my neighbour’s son, who’s 11, to collect before I head off. He takes them to the Return bank to boost his pocket money. I really admire his ingenuity and am happy to help him develop an appreciation for recycling (and making money!).
7.15 am: Drive to the airport instead of getting a taxi, as I recently upgraded my car (I’d had my last one for 16 years and she was very ready to retire). Because I don’t drive every day, it’s great to get it out for a decent spin.
9.00 am: Get through security and head to the lounge for breakfast. The Aer Lingus lounge has a decent set up with a fresh breakfast buffet which is very handy. Today I had a salmon and cream cheese bagel and a lemon and ginger tea.
9.45 am: Hop on the flight, heading to Heathrow. We’re on the runway for a good 30 minutes before take off so while I’m still connected to the network, I send some emails and give my mum a call to check in. I have two books on the go at the minute – The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, and Poverty By America by Matthew Desmond. Read a few chapters of The Bee Sting on my kindle (it’s great!)
11.30 am: Land in London and hop on the underground heading straight to Victoria for our monthly board meeting.
12.30 pm: Meet the rest of the team and grab some lunch (sushi from Wasabi).
2.00 pm: Head into the board meeting, where we bring our investors and non-exec directors up to speed on everything from financials, to operations and upcoming acquisitions.
5.30 pm: Go to a nearby bar for a few drinks before heading out to dinner with the team (we go to Dishoom which is one of my favourite Indian restaurants and always has a wonderful atmosphere). It’s great to catch up with everyone, and I love the buzz of London.
10.00 pm: Catch a taxi to the hotel, wash my face and head to bed. Read a bit more of my book until I fall asleep.
Today’s total: €0.00 (when I travel for work, all expenses (food, drinks, travel – including parking, toll charges and mileage when I drive to the airport) are covered by the company.)
7.00 am: Wake up and check my emails. It’s a gorgeous sunny day.
7.30 am: Get up and go for a run before the streets become packed with people. I really love early morning runs in London as the roads are actually really quiet and I can take in all the amazing architecture as I go.
8.15 am: Have a shower, get dressed and walk to the office (it’s only 10 minutes from the hotel). Pick up breakfast from Pret on the way (a yoghurt with granola, a green juice and a lemon ginger shot).
9.00 am: Straight into meetings – first with marketing, then tech and then finance. When I’m over in the UK, we make the effort to come together in person. We’re a remote-friendly company so most people work from home, but we do have offices across the UK so we can get together when it suits. As much as I enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working from home, I really love being in the same room as everyone!
12.30 pm: Head out for a walk and to pick up lunch. Today we went to the Spitalfields market and I got a risotto with green veg and a brownie.
1.45 pm: Back into meetings – this time with our legal team as we’re doing due diligence for a potential acquisition.
5.00 pm: Head to the airport. I usually spend two nights in London every second week, but I’ve lots on back home so it’s a quick trip this week. Listen to the latest podcast episode of ‘If Books Could Kill’ for the journey on the tube and it has me engrossed!
6.30 pm: Once I’m through security I head to the duty free to buy my mum a gift of her favourite perfume (€70). Then I go straight to the Aer Lingus lounge again, have a glass of wine and grab a quick bite to eat from their hot buffet as I’m starving (it’s some sort of casserole, and a slice of carrot cake). Meet someone I know (as is the way with the Irish) and we have a great catch up until it’s time to board.
7.45 pm: Take off (on time for once!) and watch a bit of Netflix on the iPad for the flight.
9.00 pm: Land back in a very wet and rainy Dublin and head to my partner’s place. The dogs are ecstatic to see me! Catch up over a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers. Bring the dogs for a quick walk around the block before bed.
11.30 pm: Fall into the bed, shattered!
Today’s total: €70 for the perfume but no other personal expense – thanks to work!
8.00 am: Wake up and bring the dogs for a walk down to the beach and then walk my partner to the DART. He heads into work and I head back to my own place.
9.15 am: Feed the dogs and make myself a bowl of porridge with honey and almond butter.
9.45 am: Check my emails and catch up with the team from one of our companies. We’re about to kick off a hiring drive for them so that’s what we focus on.
11.00 am: Head out to meet a founder for coffee. We haven’t acquired an Irish company yet but I’m really keen to explore the possibility, and this is a really exciting opportunity (coffees and pastries €14.25).
1.00 pm: Grab lunch at Eathos while I’m in town – I really love eating out on my own, just watching the world go by. I have a falafel salad and a bowl of soup (€22). I send some emails while I’m there.
2.30 pm: Back home and take a meeting while I walk the dogs. We often do ‘walk and talks’ at work, where a few of us join a Teams call but get out and about at the same time – I highly recommend them! My house overlooks a huge valley, so the dogs have a good run (well the young fella does, the older one just hobbles around).
3.30 pm: Back home and I spend the rest of the day working from the sofa – mostly signing off some marketing collateral and reviewing a tender that one of our companies is putting together.
5.30 pm: Finish up work and head to the gym, calling my mum on the way for our usual daily chat. Stop by the shop afterwards to pick up ingredients for dinner with friends (I’m making us smoked salmon and crab tagliatelle with garlic bread and a bottle of wine, with raspberry sorbet for dessert – €56)
7.00 pm: We walk to our friends’ house down the road for dinner – they recently had a baby so are very much housebound. I cook for them while we catch up.
9.30 pm: We wander home, and bring the dogs for one last walk around the block. I light some candles, run myself a bath and have a good soak while reading over the last chapter I wrote for my dissertation on my iPad, making some amendments as I go.
10.30 pm: Head to bed but it’s almost midnight before we fall asleep
Today’s total: €92.25
7.00 am: Wake up to a gorgeous day so decide to head to the sea for a swim and work from my partner’s house after. It’s baltic so I’m in and out in three minutes but he stays in for half an hour while I get him a coffee, a fresh mint tea for myself and two croissants (€11.50). We meet some neighbours while we’re there and spend a half an hour chatting
9.00 am: Back home, feed the dogs and hop into the shower.
9.45 am: Get to work, but no meetings in the diary until after lunch so sort through some emails and Slack some of the team to catch up.
12.30 pm: Break for lunch (leftovers from the Tagliatelle because I made enough for an army so I took some home) and bring the dogs for a walk. Find a frog on the footpath near the road so turn back to get something to put him and carry him to the pond behind the house to set him free. Delighted with myself!!
1.30 pm: It’s back-to-back meetings for the afternoon, one particularly stressful one as we’re restructuring one of the companies and change is never easy, so navigating that situation as sensitively as I can.
5.30 pm: Call it a day work-wise. Drop over to my mum (she lives five minutes down the road) and bring her the perfume I picked up for her at the airport. Replace the batteries in her carbon monoxide alarms and put fresh ink in her printer.
6.30 pm: Head home, bring the dogs for a walk and get ready to go out. A group of friends have a table booked at Allta, which I’m really excited about.
7.30 pm: Hop on the Luas (€2.60), off to dinner. We get the chef’s menu and three bottles of wine which works out at €135 a head. Food and service are both fantastic and well worth it, especially for a special occasion!
11.00 pm: We continue the night in a bar nearby, I buy a round of drinks (€46) but head home in a taxi (€25) soon after because I’ve hit a wall and am dying for my bed.
12.30 am: Back home, bring the dog for a quick wee, wash my face and into bed!
Today’s total: €220.10
8.00 am: Wake up feeling surprisingly fresh! Reply to some Whatsapps and scroll through social media for a few minutes. Take my phone off silent as I am an on-call volunteer on Saturdays from 8am-8pm at the Rotunda SATU. I don’t get called in often but I need to be available to drop everything and go if I am.
8.15 am: Get up and take the dogs for their morning walk.
9.00 am: Cycle to the gym and get the workout done for the day.
10.00 am: Head back home, have a shower and make scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast. Throw some popcorn, a protein bar and a big bottle of water in my bag for later.
10.45 am: Hop on the bus to college to do some work on the dissertation. This is usually how my Saturday and Sunday mornings go at the minute.
11.15 am: Arrive at the library and get stuck in. Most Saturdays, I’ll meet with the research team and run treatment sessions with participants who volunteer for tests, but today it’s just a day of report writing. I stick in my airpods, listen to music and just zone in. I find if I write at home I’m easily distracted, so it’s great to be able to head into the library
2.30 pm: Finish up for the day and go for a wander around town to clear my head and stretch my legs. Pop into The Last Bookshop on Camden Street – which is one of my favourite second-hand bookshops in Dublin. I pick up a copy of Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (€11). Head to Grafton Street and buy a couple of sweaters for autumn from Massimo Dutti (€125) and COS (€89). Get myself a smoothie from The Juicery (€6.50) to tide me over as I don’t fancy a big lunch. I stop by the flower sellers and buy some fresh flowers for the house and a bunch for my next door neighbour who’s dropped in to check on the dogs while I was out (€20).
4.00 pm: Head home on the Luas and then drive over to my mum’s with the dogs. We go to the park for a walk and have a catch up.
5.30 pm: I drop my mum home and go to meet Himself at the pier as he’s been out kayaking with friends for the day. He saw a family of seals when he was out there and I’m sorry to have missed out! We decide we fancy a cozy night in.
6.30 pm: I’ve booked an evening yoga class (€12) at a studio down the road so I head to that. I love spending an hour doing nothing but stretching after a long week.
7.45 pm: Back home and we order a Thai takeaway (€43 – I pay for this one, as my partner got the last one).
8.00 pm: We watch a movie with a bottle of wine followed by a game of cards (we’re addicted!). It almost ends in violence but we both survive (I win).
11.30 pm: Bring the dogs for their last walk around the block and head to bed – fall asleep around 12.30 am.
Today’s total: €306.50
7.00 am: Prior to starting the Doctorate, my Sundays were definitely spent having long lie-ins with the boyfriend (I miss them!). But today I’m up early and out the door to work on the dissertation. As there’s no gym on a Sunday and the sun is shining, I take the bike. I leave Himself and the dogs asleep in the bed.
7.45 am: Grab a mint tea and some delicious ‘cruffin’ thing on the way into the library (€6.50).
8.00 am: Meet with a volunteer participant and run a test session.
9.00 am: Take notes on the session and get stuck into research and writing. The time flies this morning!
12.00 pm: Meet some girlfriends for brunch at The Secret Garden in the Alex Hotel. I get the protein pancakes, two poached eggs and a lemon and ginger tea (€17.50). The terrace is gorgeous and a real hidden gem. We have a great catch up – one of the girls is just back from six months in Japan, which is top of my bucket list of places to visit next year so ask her lots of questions about life over there.
2.00 pm: Head home to the dogs! My partner had them out for a long walk before he left so they’re not up for another one. Drop the flowers into my neighbour and water my plants.
3.00 pm: Head to Dunnes in the car for a weekly shop as I’m not travelling next week. Check with Himself to see if there’s anything particular he wants or needs. We sometimes do a joint shop, but he’s been to the local Sunday market so we’ve lots of lovely cheese, bread and ‘picky bits’ from there. Total comes to €137, after deducting vouchers worth €20. I may end up doing one or two more small shops throughout the week.
4.30 pm: Drive home to unpack the shopping and bring the dogs for a run in the dog park across the road before bringing them both with me to my partner’s family for Sunday dinner. His dad is an amazing cook and dishes up a full roast with all the trimmings. His brother and sister and their other halves are there so we have a good catch up. His sister is recently engaged so there’s lots of wedding talk! We all head to the beach for a walk after dinner but decide against getting in for a swim as it’s quite dark and a bit choppy.
9.30 pm: Return to my place, run myself a bath, stick on a face mask and watch some YouTube on the iPad from the tub…
10.30 pm: Bring the dogs out for their last walk of the day, before we all fall into bed. I read a few chapters of my book and am asleep before midnight.
Today’s total: €161.00
***
What I learned –
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say