This week: “I’m a 29-year-old local government worker living in Hampshire. I started my current role earlier this year, having worked at another local authority prior to this. I live at home with my parents. In fact, I haven’t moved out apart from when I attended university! I love my parents and they are very chilled out.
I am more of a spender than a saver. This has gotten me into trouble in the past but now, having paid off a significant amount of debt, I am in a much more stable financial position. My long-term money goals are to get married to my partner without going into debt and saving towards a house deposit. My salary should go up significantly in around 15 months so these goals feel achievable to me. Seeing as I spent most of last year paying down debt and saying no to things, this is definitely the year of yes. My boyfriend and I have already discussed that we are going to cut down on socialising and treats next year to save for our futures.”
Occupation: Local government & part-time customer service advisor
Industry: Local government & travel and tourism
Age: 29
Location: Hampshire
Salary: £26,446 salary. I also earn roughly £200 pcm from my other job (six months each year) but it depends on hours worked.
Paycheque amount: £1,622.22 (+£200ish)
Number of housemates: Two: my parents.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £0. My parents do not charge me anything to live at home. It is quite common in my culture to stay at home until you are married. While my parents are not that strict, there’s no pressure for me to pay rent.
Loan payments: £0! It is still quite novel to me that my bank account is always in credit and that I have no debt to pay.
Savings? I have £6,893 in a LISA. I also save £25 NSI (Premium Bonds) and the current balance is £1,100. I have recently started saving £200 per month into a H2B ISA.
Pension? I have a work pension and I pay £143.25 into it.
Utilities: £0
All other monthly payments: £10 SIM only with EE, £11.25 UNISON, £18.37 road tax, £60 singing lessons. Subscriptions: £9.99 Spotify, £39 per year Amazon Prime.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I paid for my degree using Student Finance. I was the last year of £3k tuition fees. I received a loan and small grant. I also got a job at a local supermarket in second and third year to supplement my spending.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
Not much! My parents told me to avoid debt, apart from for education and owning a home. Both of my parents are quite frugal and they have always made sure that my siblings and I have been provided for but they never spoke to me explicitly about money. I wish they had as I think that if I had been able to speak to them, I wouldn’t have felt so ashamed about my debt and I would have tackled it sooner. They were very supportive when I told them about my plans for repayment.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I am still here! I hope to move out within the next two years with my boyfriend.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I still live at home and I am culturally not expected to contribute towards the household. I was paying £150 once a month for the family food shop but my parents told me to stop and use this towards my debt and to put into savings. My parents do not give me any money, outside of birthdays and Christmas, but I still consider myself reliant on them in some respects as I could not afford my life if I had to pay rent. I make up for this by doing most of the cleaning and buying random gifts. I tend to pay for meals out or if we order a takeaway. I also tend to treat them with clothes and help my little sister out (she’s in university).
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked as a cleaner at my school. All my friends were doing it and I got the job so that I could pay for mobile phone top-ups and clothes from New Look. I earned £5 an hour and at 16 this seemed like a fortune.
Do you worry about money now?
Sometimes. I no longer worry about debt as it has all been paid off now and I have no concerns about being able to afford the day-to-day. I do worry about the bigger things, like savings and owning a house. My salary will increase significantly within the next 15 months when I qualify and my boyfriend and I have discussed long-term plans, such as getting married and buying a house. Since becoming debt-free, I try to balance saving with enjoying the little I have left of my 20s.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I expect to receive an inheritance when my parents die. I have no idea how much I will receive and I am not counting on this in any way. I would love to pass my share directly to my younger sister. I hope it is not something that I have to think about for a VERY long time.
7.30am: Wake up. I’m working from home today and like to start at around 8/8.30 if I can. I write in the morning part of my wellness journal (shoutout to Papier). I have found this really helps me set intentions for the day. I have also started my period…great.
7.45am: I get out the shower and get dressed. I then head downstairs to make a breakfast smoothie. I also have a sugar-free muffin I made earlier in the week.
8am: I log on and start work. It is nice and quiet so I can knock out a big piece of work first thing, which makes me feel good. It is payday so I start the day with paying off my credit card, which is £500.47. For context, my limit is £700 and I like to keep my spending around £200/300. I have just come to the end of a debt payoff journey which involved clearing a £10,000 career development loan and £1,700 overdraft, while also paying £6,000 for a mandatory university course. I was very fortunate to live at home during most of this, which helped massively. I felt a lot of shame around this debt and buried my head in the sand, which resulted in me getting a default. I have since paid this off by taking an active part in my finances and saving so much money during lockdown, which enabled me to put massive chunks into repayments. The default (fully paid) has just come off my credit report, which resulted in a 220+ increase to my credit score. I am now somehow in the ‘excellent’ category.
8.10am: I get a notification that my NS&I direct debit has gone out and my H2B ISA payment. I set up notifications to help me keep track of my spending. It came in useful when my bank card was stolen last week! Whoever stole it spent £150 and I only noticed as I track the payments. Luckily my bank was amazing and cancelled my card and returned the money within 20 minutes when I called the next day. I never used to look at my account when I was in debt as I was so scared but setting up notifications and checking my balance daily made me feel very empowered.
9am: I text my boyfriend regarding some upcoming plans for his friend’s engagement party. We finalise travel plans and I start to look for train tickets. I go on the Trainline website and tickets are over £30. I then remember a friend recommended the website Split My Fare for train tickets. I manage to book the exact same train journey for £24.82. Honestly the pricing structure of the train system baffles me and every little helps.
10am: I remember that the last instalment of my BSL Level 1 course fee is due so I transfer £210.
10.30am: I am on a roll with spending money today. I pay another instalment of our upcoming holiday. I pay it on my credit card for the extra protection, £350. One more payment left!
11.30am: I have some fruit and carrots and hummus to keep me going.
12.30pm: My period pains are kicking off with a vengeance so I respond by wolfing down two chocolate digestives. They are delicious but I do not manage anything else for lunch…whoops.
1.15pm: I log back onto work and deal with some emails while lying down in my home office. I receive a response from my friend about finally booking a theatre trip later in the year. I pay £51.50 for my ticket. I tell her about Split My Fare so that she can look at train tickets.
5.15pm: I work steadily to 5.15 and then decide to log off as I am still feeling a little under the weather – but I am hungry so that is some progress. I have some tomatoey pasta with salad and chicken, courtesy of my mum. I wash up to say thanks.
6pm. I have a shower and then catch up on some sport.
7pm: I go upstairs and spend the evening watching Homes Under the Hammer. It is my boyfriend’s dream to buy a fixer-upper and renovate it. I am not so sure but it is interesting to see what people manage to achieve in such a short amount of time.
8pm: I complete the rest of my wellness journal and notice that I haven’t drunk nearly enough water today. Oops! I go downstairs and have two glasses.
9.30pm: I brush my teeth and then get into bed.
10pm: Lights out. I am shattered!
Total: £1,136.79
7.30am: I get up and fill out the morning part of my wellness journal. I’m feeling better today so I’m already winning.
7.50am: I get out of the shower and brush my teeth and get dressed. I go downstairs and grab some salami, carrot sticks and popcorn for breakfast. I know this is crazy but it hits the spot.
8.15am: I laze around for a bit and turn on Kay Burley. I am never sure whether I should like her or not. She seems a bit of a Karen but she cracks me up with how she sometimes questions politicians.
8.30am: I log onto work and see a complaint from a client about a hearing being delayed. Like I can be responsible for the court timetable! I deal with this and move on.
12.30pm: I’m feeling better so I go on my lunchtime walk. I call my boyfriend and we catch up on each other’s day and make plans for the weekend. It feels so good to talk to him and stretch my legs.
1.15pm: I log back onto work and the rest of the day passes at a slow and steady pace.
4pm: I finish job number one and begin job number two. I am so grateful for the way the pandemic changed working as this job can now be done 100% remotely. I have worked this job six months out of the year for around four years. It has been helpful with paying down debt, saving for car insurance and paying for all the expensive things that I want to do. I have a big turkey sandwich and a bag of crisps to keep me going through the shift.
4.30pm: Another reason that I continue to come back is the excellent benefits. I receive an email offering severely discounted tickets for the local theatre. The show is one that my boyfriend has wanted to see for a while. I text him to see if he is free next week. He responds with an immediate yes so I forward him the email with the discount code. He books the tickets and I transfer him £19.50 for mine. They are near the front and I am very excited.
7pm: The shift passes without much happening and I finish on the dot.
7.15pm: I go downstairs to chat to my parents but my mum immediately says something that annoys me so I give up and have a bath instead. I am not too hungry for dinner after my large late lunch so I have a smoothie for my evening meal.
8pm: I bite the bullet and book six PT sessions for £160. I try not to feel too guilty about this as I have been wanting to do it for a while. I need direction on how to improve my fitness and this PT will provide guidance on nutrition and the best exercises for me.
9.30pm: I brush my teeth and fill out the evening part of my wellness journal. I chat some more to my boyfriend.
10pm: Lights out! Another exhausting day.
Total: £179.50
7.30am: I wake up. I’m going to see my sister and my brand-new baby niece today who live around an hour away from us. I get up, shower, get dressed and have a smoothie and a low-sugar muffin for breakfast.
7.45am: I pack a light weekend bag and my work equipment for job number two, which I will be working tomorrow.
8.15am: I remember that my sister wanted me to do a COVID test as my niece has not had all of her jabs yet. Thankfully it is negative.
8.30am: I stop off at the petrol station and shudder as it costs me £50 to fill up my little car. I bought my new (to me) car in September 2020 as a reward for paying off all my debt. Petrol was at a record low then so these high prices are even more of a shock to the system. There is nothing I can do about it so I just try to move on.
9.50am: I arrive at my sister’s, wash my hands and immediately take my niece to have baby cuddles.
11am: Spend the day with my niece. I try to give my sister a break so that she can have a shower, clean her house etc. I take over the changing and entertaining and I’m in heaven.
12.30pm: I have some fruit and biscuits for a light lunch. I am truly experiencing the life of a new parent. It is a big wake-up call as I want at least four kids!
1pm: My sister and I catch up on the sport and we chat about life and her becoming a mum, my boyfriend and family things.
3pm: I help my sister put away her Waitrose shop, which she has delivered to save time.
4pm: I have hash browns, fish fingers and salad for lunch. It is another odd combination but it works!
6pm: My niece has been napping and feeding all day. I let her sleep on my chest – she is so small and cute but is growing quickly. I try to hold her as much as possible so my sister can do some things for herself.
7pm: My niece pees on me! We have a laugh about this. It is a good thing I love her so much.
8pm: I have carrots and hummus and some soup as a late dinner.
9pm: I am seriously flagging now and I have a new appreciation for new parents. HOW DO THEY DO IT?
10pm: I am done. I hand my niece to my brother-in-law and head to bed. The benefits of not being a parent yet.
Total: £50
7.30am: I get up. I wash my face, brush my teeth and set up my workstation for job number two. I realise that I have forgotten a fob which gives me a code to log onto the secure network.
7.45am: I call my dad and he helps me generate a code so that I can log on. Phew.
8am: I chat to my colleagues over Teams. We are always so annoyed with the customers who call right on the dot at 8am. The morning passes at a nice pace and the Teams chat is hilarious.
11am: My manager posts lunches on the chat and for some reason my name is not on there. I ask her about this and she asks me to call her.
11.15am: I AM NOT SCHEDULED TO WORK TODAY! I am so annoyed at myself but we both have a good laugh about it. She says that someone called in sick so it was very useful that I have logged on. She asks if I want to stay but we agree that I will log off at 12pm. I will be paid for these extra hours.
12.30pm: I see my sister and my niece and ask her what she wants to eat for dinner. She says that she has been craving lasagne. I make a mean lasagne so I agree to make it tonight. My brother-in-law goes to the shop for ingredients.
1pm: I chop the carrots, mushroom and onions and start to make the sauce. I add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for two hours. I take over niece duty and my sister has a shower. My niece and I play games and I try to make her smile as much as possible. My sister asks me to come upstairs and look at some clothes she has bought for my niece. They are so small and cute.
2pm: I assemble the lasagne and my brother-in-law comes in just as I am putting the top layer on. Perfect timing. I add the parmesan and some black pepper to the top.
2.30pm: My brother-in-law says that he wants to eat his lasagne with potatoes. I argue that this is not normal and he says it is! My sister agrees with me but he prepares them anyway while I organise garlic bread and a salad. I then go for a shower.
3pm: I get out of the shower, check on the food and serve for my sister and me. My brother-in-law will have his later with his potatoes… My niece is asleep so my sister can take her time, which is nice.
4pm: I have some fruit and a cookie for dessert.
5pm: My niece is up and we play. I change her and we have cuddles before I have to leave.
5.30pm: Last-minute cuddles! My brother-in-law gives me a green juice, fizzy water and a plum for the journey home. I also portion up some lasagne to take with me.
5.45pm: I call my boyfriend as he asked me to call him for an immediate response on something. I sort this and drive home to Tate McRae blasting.
7pm: I arrive home and my parents want to know everything about the baby. I update them with photos and videos.
7.30pm: I complete my wellness journal and sort out some laundry. I am shattered.
8pm: I brush my teeth and text some friends.
9pm: I’m ashamed to say that I fall asleep at this point. On the plus side, I haven’t spent any money today.
Total: £0
8am: I’m up later this morning as I am so tired. I get up, shower, get dressed and write in my wellness journal. I have a smoothie and reduced sugar muffin for breakfast.
9am: I receive a text from a friend that I haven’t heard from in a while (we have a relationship where we text every couple of months). She invites me and my boyfriend to her birthday party and we catch up on some other bits and pieces.
9.30am: I decide to look at Split My Fare again to see if we can get cheap tickets to London and end up getting such a good deal. £35.60 for two!
9.35am: I work steadily through tasks until lunchtime.
1pm: Lunchtime! I go on my usual walk to get some steps in. My Fitbit has really helped with increasing my step count and being more active in general. I initially got a secondhand one from eBay but once I saw the benefits I upgraded to a Fitbit Gorjana, which I now wear every day as it looks like jewellery.
1.30pm: My boyfriend calls as I get to the local shop. I withdraw £30 for my nail appointment later today and spend £13.05 on some fruit, vegetables and bread. I use my NUS card for 10% off.
1.30pm: I have the lasagne that I made yesterday with some salad as I want to be able to keep going through job two.
4pm: I start job number two. The customers are in a good mood, which is helpful, and I finish the shift feeling pleased that I have helped people. I start to flag a little towards the end and have some fruit and an ice lolly.
7pm: I finish work and immediately drive to my nail lady’s house. She has been doing my nails for about a year and I love her! She gives me an update on her life, gossip about her current job and the other salon where she used to work (that’s how I met her). She charges £25 as I use a builder, I give her the £30 that I took out earlier today.
8.15pm: We finish up and I drive home. I show my nails to my parents and then catch up on the sport for the day.
8.45pm: I get a notification from my bank that I have been paid £15. I immediately start laughing as I know it’s from my boyfriend. When we spoke at lunchtime I jokingly told him that he should be paying for half my beauty costs seeing as it is for his benefit and due to patriarchy, my expenses are more.
9pm: I fill out my wellness journal and brush my teeth. I talk to my boyfriend about the direct deposit and we have a good laugh about it. I catch up with some texts from friends.
10pm: I get into bed. Another long day.
Total: £78.65
7.30am: I wake up and do the usual routine. I laze about in bed for a while and watch Kay Burley. I also fill in my wellness journal. I have a shower and get dressed.
8.15am: I have my breakfast of yoghurt, fruit and a cup of tea.
8.30am: I log onto work and deal with emails and tasks.
11.30am: I receive a text from my PT asking if we can reschedule the session that was booked for later today. I am slightly annoyed as I had motivated myself for this session and I do not think it is particularly good etiquette, given that this was meant to be our first session. There is nothing I can do so I ask her to send me her availability for a different session.
12pm: I have a big Teams meeting. It is good to catch up with everyone. As I am so junior, it is useful to hear thought processes from colleagues and different ways of approaching things.
12.30pm: Lunchtime walk! I stop off at the Co-op and spend £12.65 on lottery tickets, fresh vegetables, fruit, cookies and crisps. I then call my boyfriend about an upcoming dinner we have with my best friend and her boyfriend. I say that due to my spending I can’t really afford it, especially as we are going out with them the week after. We agree that I will text my best friend and ask them to have a cheese and wine night at my boyfriend’s flat instead.
1pm: I have soup and a sandwich when I get home and text my best friend about changing the plans. She immediately agrees and says that she is grateful as they are also low on funds. We discuss what she should bring.
5.30pm: Work passes without too much difficulty.
7pm: I have dinner, which my parents have made. Salmon, potatoes and veg. I have an ice lolly for dessert.
8pm: I catch up on the day’s sport and watch some nothing TV.
9.30pm: I brush my teeth and fill out my wellness journal.
10pm: Lights out!
Total: £12.65
6.30am: I am up! I am going into the office today so I need to be up early in order to catch the train. I have a shower, brush my teeth, get dressed and pack my lunch. I make myself a smoothie to go.
7.10am: I arrive at the train station and park my car. I pay for parking through the app and it costs £8.50 for the day. This is expensive but I like not having to wait for the bus when I finish work and I will also be driving to my boyfriend’s house straight after work.
7.25am: I buy my train ticket, which comes to £14.45 with my 26-30 railcard. My work is very understanding about the rising costs of commuting and encourages me only to come into the office when I need it and, quite frankly, when I can afford to. My boss has said that she understands the wages are low but because we work in local government there is a limited amount that she can do about it. My wage will go up slightly soon and quite substantially when I am qualified.
7.35am: I get the train and spend the next hour catching up on life admin and text messages from friends. I get some pictures of my niece from my sister.
8.50am: I arrive at the train station close to where I work. I stop off at Tesco and buy a large green smoothie and a cheese twist. The green smoothie is ‘reduced’ as I have a Clubcard. The total cost is £4.
9am: I arrive at the office and catch up with my colleagues. I like to get my nails done so it is a running joke to see what nail designs I have each time I come in. I spend the morning working on my training records and other emails before I have my supervision session later in the day.
10am: I have supervision, which goes well and actually overruns because my supervisor and I are having a catch-up. She is very complimentary and assigns me some new tasks and actions and gives me feedback on some notes. I leave supervision and go straight to talking to some work experience students. I have no idea why I have been asked as I am VERY junior. They are smart and engaging and I try to give them as much information about working in local government as I can. The session ends well and I give them my information to reach out if necessary.
1pm: I stop for lunch. What a morning! I take a long walk and my boyfriend calls me. I tell him that my parking fine appeal has been rejected and that I am just going to pay the £60 fine. (For context, I received the fine because I parked in my boyfriend’s allocated parking space without displaying a visitor pass. We feel that this is a little unfair, given that it is his parking space and I had not inconvenienced anyone else.) My sweet boyfriend feels bad and offers to cover the cost. In the end we agree to pay £30 each.
4.45pm: I finish work after a very busy and stressful day and rush to the train station. My supervisor ended up assigning me quite an emotionally difficult case towards the end of the day. I get on the train and text my boyfriend and family about it. I receive positive and encouraging messages in response, which helps a bit.
5.30pm: The train is delayed as some kids are on the track. After the day I have had, I just want to get home! Another passenger and I bond over the driver’s announcement and roll our eyes. We eventually get moving.
7pm: I finally arrive at my home station and get into my car. I notice that my petrol is low and I am paranoid about driving on anything less than half a tank. I stop at a petrol station and wince as I fill up, £25.
7.30pm: I arrive at my boyfriend’s house. He is a sweetie and greets me with a big, long hug and has started dinner.
7.45pm: We eat homemade lamb koftas with cucumber raita and flatbreads. It is delicious. I make us some fancy soft drinks with oranges and strawberries.
8pm: We watch some nothing TV and chat about our days. He had quite a difficult afternoon so I offer him some reassurance and more hugs. We are both tired so we head to bed.
9pm: We spend some time chatting about plans for the weekend and other life goals. We also go through our favourite songs on Spotify. I introduce him to the Hamilton songs. I love “Burn”. I also play Eminem’s “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”. He has never heard it before, which I can’t believe.
9.30pm: We brush our teeth.
10pm: Lights out as we both have early starts tomorrow.
Total: £81.95
Food & Drink: £29.70
Entertainment: £71
Clothes & Beauty: £30
Home & Health: £160
Travel: £508.37
Other: £740.47
Total: £1,539.54
Conclusion
“This was a very high spend week for me but it included a lot of one-off costs, such as my sign language course and personal training. I ended up getting a refund the week after this diary for the PT lessons as my trainer could not commit to meeting me and kept cancelling classes at the last minute. I am now working with another professional. Since the diary I have received a small cost of living increase to my salary. My boyfriend and I have also started a joint savings account. It was helpful to keep this diary and see where I spent the most money. I don’t think I would change anything as I was happy with everything that I spent this week.”
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