This week: “I’m an ops manager in the East Midlands living with my two daughters. I have worked in the same company for over 10 years now and the stability and flexibility has been great while my children have been growing up. I divorced around four years ago and I’m currently single. I bought my ex out of the house almost immediately and although I’m keen to move to somewhere bigger, the increasing costs make it seem more out of reach. I try to put away a little each month to allow for a family holiday once a year, so that has wiped out my savings this year, but now I will start saving again for next year. I am conscious of my incomings and outgoings and try to stay on track throughout the month, and instil in my children how important it is to save, but they don’t listen!”
Occupation: Operations manager
Industry: Retail
Age: 42
Location: East Midlands
Salary: £49,000
Paycheque Amount: £2,744
Number of housemates: Two daughters, R and S, and one dog, J.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £485 mortgage payment.
Loan payments: £135 car loan, £190 approximately for student loans, taken straight from my salary.
Savings?: £4,000.
Utilities: £210 energy, £43 water, £115 council tax, £33 broadband, £13.37 TV licence.
Pension? I pay 6% and my company add 7%, totalling £245 per month.
All other monthly payments: £10 life insurance, £60 phone contracts, £19 pet insurance, £248 for my children’s activities. Subscriptions: £7 Netflix.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Yes, I did a degree that was funded by student loans and I’m still paying it off.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
My parents split when I was a baby. When I was young we were quite well off and money was never an issue, but I remember my stepdad losing his job when I was around 10 and we really struggled for a few years financially after that. My parents have always taught me to be financially independent, to save and live within your means and they encouraged us to work hard for everything.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out after uni when I was 23.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
When I moved out at 23. I’m financially responsible for myself now and nobody else covers any aspect of my living expenses.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
Working in a local pub-restaurant at the age of 14. I started washing dishes and worked my way up to waitressing, chef and bar, and kept this job for years.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes! On a daily basis. Over the past year costs have steadily increased and I have found it more and more of a worry covering all bills on one income.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No, never.
7:30 a.m. — After another restless night, finally open my eyes. I’ve not been sleeping well lately. I had a shitty breakup (we didn’t live together) but I’m still getting over it.
8 a.m. — Make a cup of tea. It’s food shop day so the cupboards are bare. I decide on a slice of toast with chocolate spread. Sit down to enjoy my chilled hour of the week, and watch another episode of Painkiller before I have to adult.
11 a.m. — Head to a range of food shops to get our bits for the week. I spend £34.67 at Aldi, £35.79 at Lidl and £15 at little local and then head home to unpack and have lunch.
12:15 p.m. — Head into town with S to grab a few school bits. I bought her some boots thinking they would last a while, especially as she has stopped growing, but I discovered this week she’s already put a hole in them so we need new shoes, which I hadn’t planned for.
2:30 p.m. — Get home and realise why I avoid shopping in town whenever possible. We didn’t get the school shoes but spend £60.12 in TK Maxx on new socks, underwear and a top each for the girls. We also spend £22 in Boots topping up on essentials.
3 p.m. — I’m in the process of looking for new jobs, as although I’m okay where I’m at, I really need to see some future development. I feel there’s a bit of a glass ceiling which I’m never going to crack so I keep an eye on the job market. I’ve got through a few stages for an area manager role so I now need to record and submit a short video.
5 p.m. — Make R a peri peri chicken dish and feed the dog, J. She’s got a suspected cruciate ligament tear so is currently on complete rest, which means very minimal walks.
6 p.m. — S decides she is now hungry so I put her dinner in. Since divorcing four years ago, I really struggle with cooking for myself. I love cooking but I don’t enjoy cooking for one so I tend to graze all day long rather than having a decent dinner.
7 p.m. — Water the plants and sit down to watch The Chase. I also order some school shoes and socks, £26.
8 p.m. — Answer a few work emails and messages, have a couple of glasses of red and relax with the pooch.
10 p.m. — Bedtime, teeth and skin routine. I’m a fan of retinol but my skin has been sensitive to it lately, so I can only use twice a week or I seem to break out.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £193.58
6:35 a.m. — Alarm goes off, snooze for 10 mins. I then get up, feed the dog and head out the door for work with a cereal bar for the drive in.
7:30 a.m. — I stop at the Post Office to drop a parcel, £5.39.
7:45 a.m. — The day begins with morning meetings, including a 1-2-1 with my manager to go over issues and so on.
11:30 a.m. — I’m starving! I head to the shop to grab some lunch before an afternoon of meetings with my team. I get a BBQ chicken sandwich, prawn cocktail crisps and a bottle of Diet Coke, £5.41.
12:30 p.m. — Purchase a chocolate fix from the vending machine to see me through the afternoon of meetings, £0.55.
1 p.m. — I chase my manager for my team meeting only for him to decide to cancel. This is slightly frustrating as I moved other meetings around for it. Still, it gives me quite a bit of time back so I get to check in with my afternoon team.
4:30 p.m. — I’m home. J is still hobbling around and feeling very sorry for herself, which is not promising. I hate to see her in pain.
5 p.m. — Eat my way through a packet of crisps shared with R and then make a start on the mountain of washing up.
5:30 p.m. — I flick the oven on ready for dinners. Sweet and sour chicken, one with chips, one with egg fried rice. I juggle the washing up while cooking. I have some egg fried rice with the girls.
6:15 p.m. — Time to catch up on Duolingo and browse the latest houses up for sale. S appears and tells me she has RE homework to do, so I help her with the values of Islam.
8 p.m. — J is sleeping so I pop a blanket under her leg for support in the hope it will allow her to rest longer. I do a quick check in with my team at work to see how their shift is going.
10 p.m. — Head to bed.
Total: £11.35
6:35 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I take five minutes to come to life, check my emails and see that I’ll be walking into a challenging day.
7 a.m. — Shower, dress, feed the dog, have glass of OJ, and head out the door with a cereal bar and an apple for the drive.
9 a.m. — I’m about to start my second meeting of the day with all other ops managers when school calls. I find out R is meant to be in to do a mock retake! Call her to find out she’s about to go on a driving lesson and knew nothing about it so there’s not much I can do. I jump back on to my Teams call.
11:55 a.m. — Another couple of meetings done. The day is going very well so I had nothing to panic about. I have more meetings at 12 p.m. so I grab a sandwich, drink and crisps from the vending machine and head to the meeting room, £2.95.
1 p.m. — Second meeting ended an hour early, so I head back to my office to get on top of admin stuff and catch up with my team.
4:30 p.m. — Head home and the traffic is awful so takes over half an hour. As I pull up S asks if she can go to her bf’s so I offer a lift.
5:15 p.m. — Get home, snack on some bread sticks and dip and then chat with R about her lesson and the expectations for resitting. They called me back earlier to say they missed sending a letter out.
6 p.m. — I look after a Euro Lotto syndicate for eight of us at work so I transfer £5 to the lotto account for this week’s ticket. We have never won more than £10 in the five years I’ve played — one day, hey!
8 p.m. — Washing up done, cook a sesame chicken dish and do a few rounds of Duolingo before picking S up.
10:15 p.m. — Head up to bed. I’m tired but not feeling great so it takes a while to drop off listening to a podcast story.
Total: £7.95
6:35 a.m. — My alarm goes off, even though I’ve been awake on and off for past two hours as it’s really noisy outside.
7 a.m. — Normal morning routine: check the girls are both awake for school, get a glass of OJ and grab a couple of biscuits, as cereal bars all gone. I normally take J for a walk but due to her injury I can’t.
7:25 a.m. — I know I’m walking into a bad start as the night shift had a bad night and didn’t get through all the work, leaving more for the day shifts today.
12:15 p.m. — Break for lunch. I had several meetings this morning trying to unpick the issues from overnight. I head to the canteen for a chip roll and a Diet Coke, £1.71.
1 p.m. — Back to a meeting on our charity events. It’s a good meeting as we’ve had a brilliant year and managed to raise a lot, so I feel proud as I head this up for our department.
4:30 p.m. — Log off and head home. I need to pick up the school shirts I’ve ordered, then nip to supermarket for some toilet rolls as I remember we were down to our last one this morning. I also get a couple of cartons of orange juice, Biscoff ice creams and a large tub of Philadelphia, £13.50.
7:30 p.m. — We’re out of milk so I walk to Tesco and get four pints, £1.55.
8 p.m. — Unfortunately my fixed rate mortgage of around 1.5% finishes at the end of this year so I recently used a broker to lock in a new deal at an eye-watering 5.97%, meaning payments will increase by £215 a month, and I have to send them £149 for the privilege. I’m hoping rates drop soon so I can secure a better deal but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity and risk them increasing further.
9 p.m. — S gets home from her bf’s. I’ve spent the last hour speaking with my team about how the shift has been going and what actions to take to get through it, updating senior managers. I decide it’s time for a pinot and some TV. S sits with me and completes some homework before bed.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £165.76
6:35 a.m. — Check emails and drag myself out of bed. I shower, get dressed and say bye. J is waiting for me downstairs so I try to get her out for a walk but she’s having none of it and runs to the garden as soon as she sees the lead.
7:45 a.m. — Arrive into work with a busy day ahead. We have a workshop for four hours then a weekly health and safety meeting, with a few others thrown in too. I grab a flapjack for breakfast to get me through the four-hour meeting, £1.
12:30 p.m. — One meeting finished early, so have 10 minutes in between. It isn’t enough time to eat so I get some crisps from vending machine £0.55. I head straight into the health and safety meeting, followed by a team catch-up, then into an end-of-year review with one of my team. All goes well but by 4:30 p.m. I’m well and truly ready to head home.
5 p.m. — Home; R is at work and S comes home with her bf and we spend 45 minutes chatting about how school has been before they head back out. I blitz the kitchen and snack on bread sticks and cream cheese.
8 p.m. — I head out to fetch R from work and S from her bf’s. I need fuel but I only put in £10 as my local garage is much more expensive than any others.
8:30 p.m. — All back home so I cook a quick chicken dish for dinner. Sit with S and watch some trashy TV.
10:30 p.m. — Head off to bed, do teeth, attempt to brush through my wild mane of hair, and crash.
Total: £11.55
5:30 a.m. — Wake up needing a pee. Get back in bed but I’m feeling a bit sad; this stuff comes in waves. I contemplate heading to the sofa to chill with J but I’m still tired so I try and rest some more.
6:45 a.m. — Time to move, shower, dress, fuss and head off.
7:45 a.m. — Arrive at work for a busy start. This week has been good for my team so it’s thanks all round. I have a performance review with my manager which takes about two hours. I’ve had a good year so I’m pleased with the outcome but I explain to him that I don’t see what my next step can be within the near future. I also receive an email to say I was not successful for the job I had been applying for. The search continues…
11:30 a.m. — Decide to go for a walk over lunch to get some air. I go to shop on way back and get a duck wrap, paprika crisps, Diet Coke and some body moisturiser and shaving gel, £7.41.
12 p.m. — Have a quieter afternoon. We have a team meeting and I try and clear through my emails while organising the team’s workload for the coming week.
4 p.m. — It’s Friday so I get logged off. I’d love to say I have wild plans but unfortunately not tonight.
6 p.m. — I tidy the kitchen and feed the dog and then head out to the shop. I see my neighbour in a cafe and he asks me for a drink, so I join him. He then heads on to the pub and I head home to try and coax J out, but she’s having none of it.
7 p.m. — S is at home but feeling tired after her week at school so I decide to go meet my neighbour. He’s already got the drinks in as I arrive and we join another couple he knows and have a good chat with them. R is at work and I was going to pick her up but I’m having a nice evening so I ask her to get a cab and I’ll pay, £5.50.
8 p.m. — More neighbours come in so we join them. I get a drink for two of us, £7.40. I head home after.
8:30 p.m. — R gets home. I hate cooking on a Friday so we agree on steak loaded fries for me and S to share and kebab and chips for R, £11. I also go Tesco to get a bottle of wine, £6.85.
9 p.m. — After me and S share our food, we watch Netflix (although I drop off and she disappears).
11:45 p.m. — Wake up and head to bed.
Total: £38.16
7:30 p.m. — Wake up wishing I could actually lie in, but I just can’t. I take a load of washing down and let J out.
8 a.m. — Make a start on cleaning. I turn the vacuum on but it dies a death – it’s only two years old but it has no power. Great start!
8:45 a.m. — Get showered and wash hair.
9:30 a.m. — My aunt has just got married and she wanted me to get her a gift voucher for local restaurant. I walk there with S and J but the manager isn’t around so they ask me to come back later. On the way back we pass the lovely pie shop and decide to get tonight’s dinner. S wants a balti pie but there’s no single servings left, but he gives me a family size for the same price, amazing! I also get R a sausage roll for her lunch, £8.
10:30 a.m. — Shoot to Post Office to collect parcel. It’s S’s new school shoes and she tries them and they fit — happy days.
10:45 a.m. — Head to Lidl for snacks, water, mozzarella pizza for lunch, fruit, and dog food, £8.41.
11:30 a.m. — Both girls have dance class today. It’s 50 miles, which I know seems far, but it’s their hobby and the school is fantastic. I get £30 of fuel for the journey and week ahead.
5:45 p.m. — Get home and J has slept most day so I get her dinner and let her in garden.
6:15 p.m. — Go and get the voucher for my aunt, £40. We all go over to deliver it before they go on their honeymoon.
7 p.m. — Dinnertime. I cook the balti pie for me and S with veg, and pizza and chips for R. We’re all tired after our busy day so we all sit and watch TV together.
9:45 p.m. — Head to bed for an early night.
Total: £86.41
Food & Drink: £161.75
Clothes & Beauty: £108.12
Home & Health: £0
Entertainment: £0
Travel: £45.50
Other: £199.39
Total: £514.76
Conclusion
“I always feel like I spend far too much, and although this week felt expensive due to a shopping trip and broker fee, I don’t think I spent too much on food and drink for the three of us. If I can have a couple of weeks in the month where I just spend on normal essentials then I should be able to save a bit more.”
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