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 student air traffic controller on €24K living in Shannon does a second Money Diary, following up on one they kept for The Journal in 2021. This week, a 23-year-old mechanical engineer living and working in London.
I’m currently living in a three-bed flat share in London. I pay £750 per month + bills (~£100 per month) for a decent-sized double room. It’s a nice place and the rent is actually quite cheap for the area. Maybe the landlord has found out about this as unfortunately, the rent for my room is going up to £800 per month from next month.
On a good month, I put away £400 in savings, but a busy summer full of plans has meant my actual savings figure for the last couple of months was pretty much £0. I’m hoping things will calm down a bit now and I’ll have a bit more in the bank come Christmas.
I don’t really have any serious savings goals right now. Before I came to London I was saving hard for the move, which I relied on to get on my feet over here, but now I’m just putting something away for future plans like holidays/events/trips home to Ireland and to make sure I have something there for any unforeseen circumstances.
I work in the office five days a week, which is just outside the city. It’s great that I’m travelling against the flow of people so my commute is much quieter than if I was going into the city centre but being in the office every day means my travel costs add up.
I play Gaelic Football with the local GAA club so that keeps me busy two/three nights a week. It was a great way to meet new people and stay active. I love the social aspect of the GAA here. We do have a championship to win and people take it seriously but we’re always encouraged to go for drinks after games and enjoy ourselves. No drinking bans around here.
Following on from above, London has a very big drinking culture so it’s not unusual to find myself in the pub two or three nights a week, especially during the summer. Mid-week it’s never anything hectic, usually only for a couple of drinks after work if the weather’s nice, but with the price of a pint around here, that is not cheap!
Occupation: Mechanical engineer
Age: 23
Location: London
Salary: £40,000
Pension: 4% from me and 6% from my employer
Monthly pay (net): £2,500
Transport: ~ £200 per month
Rent: £755 per month
Household bills: ~ £100 per month
Phone bill: £10 per month
Health insurance: Paid for by work
Groceries: ~ £200 per month
Gym membership: £50 per month
GAA club membership: £16 per month (fully paid off after this month)
Subscriptions: Amazon Prime: £9 per month, Spotify: £11 per month, PlayStation Plus: £13 per month, Netflix: Use the family account.
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7.00 am: I get up to go to work and jump in the shower. I’m never really hungry in the morning so I’m straight out the door. I get the tube and then a bus which takes about 45 minutes in total (depending on traffic) but it drops me right outside the door of my office just after 8 am. (£3.85)
9.50 am: I normally go for a coffee break around 10 am each morning. All hot drinks are free from the machines in the canteen and the coffee is actually pretty good so no complaints here. The office is quiet on a Monday so I just chill for a few minutes and do a crossword before going back to my desk.
11.30 am: Quick Team catch-up meeting just to go through our plans for this week and highlight any successes or snags from last week.
12.00 pm: Skipping breakfast does have its downsides as I’m starving come midday. Although we have a canteen on site, it’s not actually in use (I’m told it was great pre-Covid) so I usually bring my own food in. However, I didn’t cook yesterday and I always find buying lunch on a Monday is a nice way to ease myself into the week so I stroll down to the high street and pick up a Subway. (£8.95)
2.40 pm: Second coffee of the day. No crossword this time. I rarely have more than one meeting a day and we are left off to work away on our own so I’m in control of how I spend my time, which I enjoy.
5.00 pm: My job is pretty good for finishing on time. There’s no pressure to stay late so I’m out the door at 5 bells on the dot. I get the bus from across the road and I’m home just before 6 pm. (£3.85)
6.00 pm: I did my food shop yesterday so the fridge is stocked and I get the dinner on as soon as I get in the door. I’m pretty lucky that all of us in the flat finish work at different times so I get the kitchen to myself at this time almost every day. Today I’ve decided to make a curry and I usually make three portions – one for now, one for after the gym/training and one for lunch tomorrow.
7.30 pm: I would usually go to the gym around this time but as I had a match yesterday and the body’s a little bit sore, I’m just going to take it easy and go for a quick stroll to get my steps in.
8.15 pm: Arrive home, eat again and relax for a couple of hours. I normally try to get to bed for 11 pm.
Today’s total: £16.65
7.00 am: Same routine – up, shower, out the door and into work for 8 am. (£3.85)
9.50 am: Usual morning coffee break before my meeting at 10 am. There’s not much change to my work routine from Monday to Friday. It’s a wider Team meeting today, going through the tasks for the week and updates on any changes to project-related activity.
12.00 pm: Lunch today is last night’s curry. I munch that down and then go for a walk around the town for the remainder of my lunch break. Summer seems to be giving us one last hurrah as it’s nearly 30 degrees today. I’m really going to miss the lunchtime walks once the winter comes.
5.00 pm: Skipped the afternoon coffee today as I was working away fine without interruption. Talks of after-work drinks this evening due to the weather but I give this one a miss. Not much traffic on the bus route so I’m home in no time. (£3.85)
6.00 pm: Fish on the menu this evening. Picked up some salmon at the weekend so I’ll cover that in cajun and accompany it with rice and broccoli. I try to eat pretty clean and vary my dinners between chicken, fish and beef during the week before it turns into the inevitable free-for-all at the weekend.
7.30 pm: Football training is normally a Tuesday and Thursday but it’s just Thursday this week so I’ll do a gym session tonight instead. It’s only a 10-minute walk to the gym. I do a solid hour and I’m home by nine o’clock.
9.00 pm: Have my second helping of salmon and just chill out in front of the TV with the others in the house for the night. My flatmate is re-watching Top Boy so I join for a bit of a refresher as there’s a new season out soon.
Today’s total: £7.70
7.00 am: Disaster has struck. The schools are back. The bus is crammed full of kids and traffic is a nightmare. I’m an extra 20 minutes on the bus this morning so I think I’ll have to start taking the train from now on. (£3.85).
12.00 pm: I don’t like to be that guy that brings fish into the office but our lunch room is pretty secluded and away from all the desks so I think I get away with it. Go for a nice walk in the heat before returning to my desk.
5.20 pm: I attempt to take the train home but it’s part suspended on my route so I’ll have to get the usual bus and tube. I do find the train is quite unreliable. There always seems to be a problem on my route. (£3.85)
6.20 pm: Chicken and noodle stir fry with satay sauce for dinner tonight. I’m a bit conscious that this might be becoming a food and travel diary but that really is mostly what I do during the week. We have some flat viewings tonight as one of the girls is moving out so I get everything cooked and washed up before people arrive.
8.30 pm: Viewings are done. I’ll go to the gym for an upper body session to complement the lower body session I did yesterday. The gym is pretty quiet at this time but I’m not the biggest fan of going late.
10.00 pm: Home from the gym. It does feel a bit late to be tucking into a dinner but I am starving and I’ll be hangry all morning if I don’t have something now.
Today’s total: £7.70
7.00 am: Got the train to work this morning. It takes slightly longer and there’s a lot more walking involved but it’s not affected by traffic so I know I’ll be at work for 8.10 am every morning. I have had some nightmare mornings where I’ve spent over an hour on the bus and not gotten to work until 9 am, especially painful when I have to stay in until 6 pm to make up the hour. It’s also 25p cheaper each way. (£3.60)
12.00 pm: The noodles haven’t kept too well overnight and are not great the next day. I’ll have to stick to the rice or pasta. Had my usual morning coffee break before the team meeting and there’s been a change of scope for the project I’m on so it’s all hands on deck to meet the customer deadline.
5.10 pm: Same problem with the train again this evening so I get the bus and tube home. I do not have much time to cook dinner before I have to leave for training so I just munch on a protein bar while I’m packing my things. (£3.85)
6.20 pm: Football training this evening. We have changed training location as we had no floodlights in our last place and the evenings are getting dark fast. This place is 20 minutes further away from me which is not ideal but there are only five/six weeks left in the season so I’ll manage. Bus to training – (£1.75).
8.15 pm: The new Astro just happens to have an Irish pub across the road so a gang of us head inside after training in the hope of getting the remainder of Ireland vs. France in the soccer. It’s not on in here but they said they can put it on for us so we grab a pint while we wait. One pint of Moretti sets me back £6.50.
8.30 pm: Halfway through the pint, we notice that the match hasn’t been put on. we enquire at the bar and turns out they don’t have the channel. We try the next pub down the road and they’re not showing it either. We call it a night after that as it’s not worth the hassle of searching for a place that’s showing the game. I get the bus and tube home which is discounted as I’ve hit a TFL weekly spend cap. (£1.50)
9.30 pm: I get the dinner on as soon as I’m in and it cannot cook fast enough. Chili con carne tonight, split into two so I have some for lunch tomorrow. A quick shower and straight into bed.
Today’s total: £17.20
7.00 am: Same routine. Up, shower and out the door. The train is working this morning, I think maybe it just gets tired during the day and needs a break in the evening, so I take that route to work again today. The TFL spend caps are great and it applies to this journey as well so my travel in this morning was free!
12.00 pm: Lunch is last night’s chilli and a stroll down the high street. Really trying to make the most of these sunny days while I can. The Friday feeling is in so when I get back to my desk I pick my fantasy RWC team as I’m in a league with a few mates and while I’m at it, I slip a tenner into my betting account and put £5 on Ireland to win outright and £5 on Will Jordan being top try scorer. I rarely bet, but it’s a bit of fun to have something in for big events like a World Cup. (£10)
4.45 pm: I thought the end would never come. Finishing 15 minutes earlier on a Friday is a little consolation but that’s another week down and I’m looking forward to a weekend in the sun. I get the bus and tube home as I would have to wait around for the train and luckily this journey is free as well.
5.45 pm: Don’t normally tend to cook on a Friday evening but I know I’m going to the pub later and have a game tomorrow so I’m going to try to cancel out the few beers by eating some good food. Picked up some chicken, wraps, and peppers on the way home and I’ll combine these with a few bits I already have in the press to make some burritos. (£9.40)
7.30 pm: Change of plan: We’ve decided against the pub so I head over to a friend’s house to watch the first game of the RWC, France vs. the All Blacks. I stop in the shop for a few beers on the way and they have cans of Peroni on offer so I pick up a four-pack to sip away on for the evening. (£5.81)
10.00 pm: Avoided the Kebab shop on the way home as I knew I had a couple of burritos waiting for me in the fridge. It wouldn’t take much to convince me to abandon my good habits and order a large doner meal but I stay strong this time. I get plenty of water on board and I’m asleep for 11 pm.
Today’s total: £25.21
8.45 am: I’m conditioned to wake up early at this point so nine o’clock is now considered a lie-in. Due to the way the bus routes are, the barbers are 20 minutes on the bus or it’s a 20-minute walk so I always prefer to walk it and get a coffee on the way. (£2.60)
9.40 am: Time for a haircut. These guys are a little more expensive than I would like to pay for a haircut but they’re one of the few places near me that takes bookings, so paying an extra few pounds to avoid waiting around in a barber for an hour on a Saturday morning seems reasonable to me. There’s always top-quality service in there too. (£26.00)
11.00 am: I pack my gear bag and try my best to stomach the last of the burritos as a pre-game meal. It’s about a 75-minute trip on the tube up to the pitch we’re playing on today so I meet one of the lads at the station and we bump into a few more of them on the way (£3.20). I also picked up a big bottle of water in the shop for the journey. (£1.70)
1.30 pm: Not sure who was in charge of scheduling a challenge game for today but they could have at least checked the weather. 34 degrees it said on my phone as I arrived. Playing a match in that heat was tough going but it was actually a very enjoyable kickabout. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win.
3.00 pm: The RWC is on in the clubhouse so both teams cool down with a few Clonmel chardonnays and watch Ireland put 80 past Romania. (£30.00)
6.30 pm: It’s a long way home on the tube when you need to pee for the entire journey. I don’t understand why they don’t have toilets in tube stations (£3.20). I couldn’t resist the kebab shop this time so I stopped in for a large doner wrap in the fine establishment beside the station. (£8.50)
7.30 pm: Have another shower once I got home after the extremely sweaty tube journey. I put on my Saturday best and head down to the pub to meet the lads. I could walk it in about 20 minutes but I’m feeling lazy so I jump on the bus. (£1.75)
8 pm until late: There’s nothing more soul-destroying than looking at your bank account the morning after, never mind having to pick out transactions for a money diary. Thankfully I didn’t actually spend very much once I went out and I was able to walk home after which saved a taxi fare. £40 pounds is incredibly cheap for a Saturday night out by London standards! (£40.05)
Today’s total: £117.00
10.00 am: Up and at it early this morning. I’m feeling pretty fresh for someone that was out all day yesterday so I make the most of it and meet a friend for a coffee at the local park. I pick up the two coffees as I’m passing the ‘nice’ place on my way and we wander around for an hour. (£7)
11.00 am: On my way back home I stop in for a roll in the café on the corner. No options for chicken fillet rolls around here. You really don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I’ll have to make do with a premade option but they put extra cheese on and toast it so at least it feels warm and fresh. (£6.80)
12.00 pm: I keep the productive morning activities going and go do my weekly shop. There’s an Aldi close to where I live so that’s where I do most of my food shopping. It usually costs anywhere from £35-£45 to feed me for the week and I’ll pick up some small extra bits as I go if needed. (£34.77)
4.00 pm: As my Scottish flatmate is moving out tomorrow, the three of us in the flat decide to go to the pub to watch the Scotland game and say goodbye. It’s the days you go out with the intention of quiet drinks that end up being the not-so-quiet ones. We decide to stay for the late game. Some other friends join us and then all of a sudden it’s closing time. (£65.00)
11.30 pm: We all bundle into a takeaway as we’re passing on the way home. I decide to split a pizza meal deal with one of the girls who assures me she will pay me her share but I think I’m footing the bill on this one. (£20.49)
12.00 am: Home and straight into bed, ready for another week.
Today’s total: £134.06
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What I learned –
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