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 software developer on €70K living in Munster. This week, a public servant on €44K living in Dublin.
I am a 44-year-old married man living with my husband, dog and cat in south Dublin in a rented apartment. We both work full-time in a hybrid position. I like to believe that my husband and I are tuned in and aware of how much life costs and what we spend our money on. Sometimes I think we are too prudent, but it is simply not possible to pay high rent, save for a house deposit, go on a few nice holidays and buy what we want when we want it.
We consider what we spend and how we spend it. We regularly cook at home and in bulk using fresh ingredients. We try to do a bigger food shop once or twice a week and we list down what needs to be bought. We switch stores between Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl depending on what products/items we need to buy. Once a month, we buy 54 eggs for €18 directly from a farm. My husband often bakes brown bread. We have no subscriptions such as Netflix etc, but we pay a TV licence and watch terrestrial TV or free movies/programmes on-demand online. We both have bill pay phones.
Once a year we shop around for electricity/gas/broadband deals. Our electricity is on a smart meter with peak time between 5 pm and 7 pm and on Saturdays free electricity between 9 am and 5 pm (we do our weekly wash, tumble drying and sometimes cooking or baking on that day – if we are around or have time, if not, we set the dishwasher and washing machine after 11 pm during the week when the electricity is the cheapest).
We are saving a lot to buy a house as soon as possible.
Occupation: Public servant
Age: 44
Location: Dublin
Salary: €54K
Monthly pay (net): €2,810 (after pension contribution and AVC)
Rent: €870
Transport: Luas €20
Household bills (electricity, gas, broadband): €91
Mobile phone bill: €45
Groceries: €320-€350
Gym: €60 and personal coach online €100
Car (all related costs, tax, service, insurance, petrol): Petrol – €100 per month, insurance – €501 per year, road tax – €330 per year
Monthly savings: €1,025
Monthly spending: €100 (my pocket money)
Credit card repayments: On average €70
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7.30 am: I usually wake up at 7 am but on Mondays, I give myself an extra 30 mins of sleep as the office work is usually quiet on the first day of the week. I take a shower and then I have Weetabix and fruit for breakfast. I like to have something small and sweet with my morning tea so I would have a piece of chocolate. I bring my cat and dog and bring the dog for a short walk.
8.30 am: I work from home on Mondays. In fact, in our office, we are required to be two days in the office and have the flexibility to choose what days that would be. I usually go to the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but if it is going to be a busy week, I work from home on a Tuesday to save time on commuting.
10.30 am: I have my elevenses which usually is sourdough bread (two slices) and two soft boiled eggs. We buy eggs directly from a farm. They are organic and free range and cost €18 for 54 and last for about four weeks. We buy them once a month.
10.45 am: Back to work.
1.00 pm: Lunchtime. I cook in bulk as I train in powerlifting. I would cook for eight lunches and four smaller meals for the second part of the afternoon. For lunch, it is roasted potatoes, mincemeat and veg. It comes out cheaper, is more practical and saves time to cook in bulk. I bring my dog for a walk and back to work. I usually take a 30-45 min break.
3.30 pm: I have my second afternoon meal which is roasted potatoes, smoked salmon and veg.
4.00 pm: I finish work and rest a bit.
5.00 pm: My evening I spend in the gym training and then head home.
7.00 pm: We have dinner (curry chickpeas with pasta that my husband cooked in bulk) and watch TV.
11.00-ish pm: Bed time.
Today’s total: €0.00
7.00 am: The alarm goes off and it’s time to get ready for work. For breakfast, I have Weetabix with fruit, almonds, peanut butter and milk. Then I have a cuppa and a piece of dark chocolate. I drive to work even though I would prefer to cycle. However, there are no communal showers in my workplace. It takes about 25 minutes each way to commute to work by car.
8.40 am: Get in the car and check the fuel level. Thankfully, there is enough to get to and from work for two days. Arrive to work and it’s a sunny day. I love sunshine so the day will be good.
10.30 am: When I’m working in the office, I treat myself to an almond croissant during my mid-morning short break. The cost is €2.50.
12.00 pm: Today my elevenses are a bit later and it will be roasted potatoes, smoked salmon and veg.
1.30 pm: For my short lunch today, I have the same food as yesterday.
4.00 pm: Finish work and travel home for about 20 min as the traffic on the way back at this time is very light.
5.00 pm: Have some personal work to do on my laptop for about two hours.
7.30 pm: For dinner there is baked hake with veg I bought that evening. The cost is about €11.
8.00 pm: Time to rest – watch TV and then read book before bed at 11 pm.
Today’s total: €13.50
7.00 am: Alarm goes off. I am working from home but my husband works in the office so we both are up at the same time. We have breakfast and I start work at 8 am while he is out the door.
10.00 am: Mid-morning snack – same as yesterday – roasted potatoes, smoked salmon and veg.
1.00 pm: Time for lunch. I work from home so as usual, I have my prepped meal.
5.00 pm: Finished work. I run out of deodorant, so I pick some up in Lidl (€2.49) and do a small grocery shop for dinner on Thursday and breakfast (turkey burgers, yoghurt etc) in Aldi (€5.88).
5.30 pm: Training time.
8.30-ish pm: Have dinner. Tonight is roasted chicken from yesterday.
11.00-ish pm: Book reading and bedtime.
Today’s total: €8.37
7.00 am: It is very difficult to move out of the bed. I had a heavy training session and I’m pretty tired. Nevertheless, I make it to the office by 8.30 am as the traffic was light.
10.15 am: Buy myself an almond croissant (€2.50) and have a cuppa too during my mid-morning break in the office.
1.00 pm: For lunch, I have my prepped smoked salmon, potato and veg.
4.45 pm: Finish work, drive home and go to get some groceries like whole chicken (which will last for five portions over 2.5 days or two dinners for two and one lunch), veg, butter and cake mix. It comes to €25.30, and minus €10 Dunnes vouchers, the total spend is €15.30.
5.00 pm: Today is my payday, which occurs fortnightly, and this means doing my bills this evening. I receive €1,405 net after pension contribution and AVC. Since mid-2021, I have had a spreadsheet where all the outgoings are listed, including the deadlines. I don’t do well with having all the money in one place. I use AIB’s current account for receiving my wages, to pay rent and any other regular standing orders and direct debits. I use Revolut for day-to-day spending to avoid transaction fees in AIB and I use my local Credit Union for savings. Every second Thursday evening, I spend about 30-40 minutes redistributing my wages between all the pockets and subaccounts so that I know how much money has been planned and allocated for what purpose and where. Today, there’s one of the standing orders of €575 to the savings account. I put away €400 for rent, €30 for haircut, €160 for food for two weeks, only €40 for my pocket money and I put away an additional €200 for my husband’s birthday celebration that will be in a few weeks’ time. I also put away €30 for bills.
5.45 pm: As I have little time this evening, I put the chicken in the oven even though I know it is electricity peak time. I then head to the gym as tomorrow I go away camping with the lads.
9.00 pm: A very late dinner for me and some rest after training.
Today’s total: €592.80
7.00 am: Get up. Didn’t sleep the best, but it is Friday and I look forward to my trip with the lads. After work, we are going camping for the weekend. I have a shower, get breakfast, walk the dog and log in for work.
4.00 pm: The day was quite busy and I cleared all my tasks and emails so that nothing was outstanding. The gas bill got paid. My share was €35.48 and that covered the period from the third week of May until the third week of July.
Today’s total: €35.48
Today after work we hopped into the car and went away camping with friends. We like camping and do that every year. We are going to camp at one of the sites in Wexford. The total cost for me including petrol, food, campsite fee and other miscellaneous was €65
Total spend: €65.00
11.00 am: After coming back from my weekend away, I had to buy food and cook in bulk for my lunches for the coming week. I usually prepare 12 portions (potatoes, mincemeat, smoked salmon, tomatoes).
2.30 pm: We also do some general shopping (partially in Aldi and partially in Dunnes). The total cost was €53.50 per person.
Today’s total: €53.50
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What I learned:
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