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 30-year-old on €58k working in corporate events. This week, it’s an office manager earning €45k and living in Dublin.
I’m currently living in Dublin and am married with teenage children. On a good month, I put away €250 in savings, but hidden costs crop up sometimes and with the kids heading back to school next month, I won’t be saving anything in August.
I love reading, food, true crime documentaries and am a keep-fit enthusiast. I am frugal and love money-saving apps like Too Good to Go and Facebook freecycle groups. I work full-time and have a small side hustle which pays for treats.
Occupation: Office manager
Age: 50
Location: Dublin
Salary: €45,000
Monthly pay (net): €2,450
Side hustle: €6,000 per year
Transport: €100 – three Leap cards topped up (myself and kids)
Rent: Husband pays mortgage
Household bills: Electricity, gas, home insurance – €450
Phone bill: €40
Health insurance: €100
Groceries: €800
Subscriptions: €100
Loan repayment: €350
Gym: €45
Pension: €200
House alarm: €35
Furniture repayment: €150
***
8.00 am: I’m working from home today. I log on and have some homemade brown bread with seeds, butterjam and a coffee.
12.30 pm: Lunch is a homemade salad, crackers, beetroot and a bag of rancheros. I log off for 50 minutes and do three laps of my local park – aiming to get 10,000 steps each day. I put on weight very easily and having heartbreakingly been described as ‘stout’ in the past I am constantly on a mission to shed a few lbs.
1.30 pm: Working on two new projects so I’m very busy all afternoon.
5.00 pm: I log off and unload the dishwasher, hoover the house and hang out a wash.
6.00 pm: I head up to my local sports centre and do a circuits class. 45 minutes long and I weep inside throughout but feel great at the end of it.
7.00 pm: Home and into the shower, make some pasta and sit down with my youngest for some television. We look through his booklist and work out which books he will need for the new school year. I get him to write a list of clothes that he needs for the new school year so that we can start stocking up now.
9.30 pm: I head to bed and read for half an hour before falling into a deep sleep.
Today’s total: €0.00
5.20 am: Up and into the shower before breakfast of toast and coffee. I read the news online, put a wash on, hang a wash up and do a general tidy up.
7.00 am: I leave the house and I’m in my office within the hour. I am lucky to live in an area with a great bus service, although I always get the Dart to work as it gets me to my office in less than an hour.
11.00 am: I head over to the local shop to post a parcel (a return).
12.30 pm: I eat my sandwich and some berries and pecan nuts. Head out for a walk and have a look in the charity shop beside my office. Nothing very exciting here today.
1.15 pm: The rest of the day is very busy and I barely look up from my screen until home time at 4.15pm. I stop on the way home to collect a Too Good to Go bag. (€3.99)
6.00 pm: Dinner is burgers and chips. I’m vegetarian so I have a veggie burger with salad from the Too Good to Go bag and a cup of green tea. I am feeling too tired for circuits so I go for a 40-minute walk instead. Home, paint my nails, follow up on a booking for the coming weekend and watch Girls on Netflix. No idea why it has taken me this long to watch, it’s brilliant.
9.00 pm: I fall into bed, read for half an hour and pass out.
Today’s total: €3.99
5.20 am: Up, shower, get ready, coffee and toast. Fold some clothes and take dinner out of the freezer. I make myself a salad and an acai bowl for lunch along with a flask of coffee. My train is on time and I listen to a True Crime podcast on the way in.
11.00 am: My manager is away this week and so it’s a busy week for me. I head out to collect a jacket that I left in to be mended. This costs €40, which seems like a lot for such a tiny job but is worth it as I see the same jacket selling for €400 on eBay. I head back to the office and slave away until lunchtime, when I book in for a dry cut in a hairdressers near to my office – this costs €42 plus €8 tip. On the way back to the office, I buy a bunch of flowers for a colleague who is retiring next week. (€15).
2.00 pm: I eat my lunch at my desk and work away until 4.20pm when I leave to get the 4.50pm train.
5.30 pm: I get changed and head up to the gym for a 30-minute class. Home, shower and put dinner on (meatballs and pasta for them, pasta and sauce for me). My husband gets home from work and we eat dinner together and watch some of the Olympics. I fall into bed at 9pm and…
9.10 pm: I’m snoring within minutes.
Today’s total: €105.00
8.00 am: Working from home today so I get up later. I feed the cat, make a pot of coffee and log on. I like the flexibility of working from home but do feel like I get a lot more accomplished when I’m in the office.
12.00 pm: I work until lunchtime then head out for a quick walk. When I get back, I have a toasted sandwich at my desk. I give my youngest €20 for his pocket money and a list of chores to be done. I see that I have been paid, so I pay off some bills and top up our Leap cards which will hopefully last the month. (€450)
5.30 pm: I finish off some reports that I have been working on and log off. Put the oven on and do some weeding of the front garden for 20 minutes.
6.15 pm: Off for a 30-minute weights class and when I get home, my pasta bake is ready.
9.30 pm: PJs, Netflix and lights out.
Today’s total: €470.00
8.00 am: Another day of working from home (next week I will be in the office for five days). I log on and have a long call with a colleague to discuss an issue that has cropped up. We come up with a plan that I will present to my manager next week, which will hopefully put an end to this problem.
1.00 pm: I work through lunch as I am hoping to finish up today at 4pm and I have a lot to get through. Lunch is salad, crackers and three Jaffa Cakes.
5.00 pm: Log off. I clean the kitchen and put a wash on. As the weather is so nice, I go for a walk while listening to a podcast.
6.00 pm: Get home, hang the wash out and watch an episode of Girls before a 30 minute circuits class.
7.45 pm: Home, shower, dinner and spend the rest of the evening with my kids sorting out their room.
10.00 pm: I fall into bed and read about three pages before passing out.
Today’s total: €0.00
9.00 am: After breakfast, we head out for a hike with the kids. We stop on the way to fill up with petrol (€50).
12.00 pm: The kids ask to go to McDonalds so while my husband takes them for a feed (€21.00), I have a look in a charity shop and pick up a pair of Levi 501s for €17.00.
5.00 pm: As our kids are on sleepovers, we head out for a nice middle eastern dinner -€109 with tip (husband pays).
8.30 pm: We stop off on the way home for a drink (€14.90 for a gin and tonic and a tonic water).
Today’s total: €101.90
10.00 am: After a lie-in, I head over to the supermarket for the weekly shop. This is getting more expensive every week. Today’s total is €190 and I will end up topping this up towards the end of the week. My teenagers are constantly hungry and often have friends over for food. I don’t buy fizzy drinks but they do get through a lot of crisps and chocolate. Even though it’s expensive, I refuse to cut down on my grocery shop as I feel that food is my only vice (I don’t smoke or drink) and I’m entitled to pig out as much as I like.
12.30 pm: I didn’t have any work from my side hustle this weekend, which is unusual, but having worked all of the previous weekend, I am enjoying the break! My husband goes to pick up the kids. I start to clear out my wardrobe and deeply regret doing so after half an hour as I am struck by a sudden exhaustion.
3.00pm: Forty winks turns into a two-hour nap and I wake up confused and disoriented and force myself to head out for a walk.
4.00 pm: After this, I get home, put the dinner on (a roast) and do some housework. We eat in front of the telly and after I get bored of sports, I get up to do some cleaning- mostly hoovering and folding laundry.
9.00 pm: I read for 30 minutes and then head to bed. I’m asleep within minutes.
Today’s total: €190.00
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What I learned –
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