This week: “I’m 36 and working in a student support role in a university. I’ve worked in the education sector in various roles since graduating from university. I love my job and I’m lucky to be paid comparatively well for the work that I do. I live with my partner, M, in a house we bought in 2022. We didn’t want a project but the insanely competitive housing market meant we had to take what we could get and, like all houses that need some work, it’s the gift that keeps on giving with its surprise costs! I’m more of a saver than a spender so this has left me in a permanently twitchy state as we’ve spent most of the time since we moved in haemorrhaging cash to tradespeople and DIY shops.”
Occupation: Student support
Industry: Higher education
Age: 36
Location: South East
Salary: £52,815
Paycheque Amount: 2,842.90
Number of housemates: One, my partner M
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £574.33 for my share of the mortgage. Each month, I put £1,500 into our joint account which covers my share of the mortgage, joint living costs and groceries, plus my contribution into our joint savings which is used to cover annual bills, miscellaneous house expenses, et cetera. We split this proportionally to our income as I earn slightly more.
Loan payments: £192 student loan, taken directly from my paycheque
Savings?: £8,992 in a savings pot which will most likely get used on the house; £200 in a “treat” pot; £251.86 in a holiday pot; £3,300 in a regular savings account and approximately £2,500 in a stocks and shares ISA
Utilities: £29.15 gas and electric; £21.20 internet; £112 council tax; £22.10 water
All other monthly payments: £11.11 SIM-only plan; £7.95 Les Mills (woefully under-used); £38.71 for my share of life insurance; £120 for my share to cover minimum payments on credit cards; £112.78 for my share of home insurance; £146.34 for my share of car insurance; ££15.90 for my share of the car tax — all paid annually
Subscriptions: £9.53 Spotify
Pension?: I pay in 9.8% of my pre-tax salary, my employer contributes 21.6%.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? I received the maximum tuition and maintenance loans along with a bursary from my uni and worked part time in a café to cover my living expenses.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
For a lot of my childhood, conversations about money focused on how we couldn’t always afford things and had to wait until Christmas or a birthday. This changed as we got older and my parents became more financially secure, but we were always encouraged to save up for things we wanted and never spend beyond what we could afford.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out at 19 for uni and came back briefly for a couple of months between jobs, shortly after graduating.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
My parents gave me some money here and there to help with living costs at uni, so I’d say I officially became financially responsible for myself once I graduated at 22.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked in a supermarket to fund gig tickets and endless CD purchases.
Do you worry about money now?
To some extent, yes. The work on our house has been more costly than anticipated with the rising cost of materials and several “surprises” which, of course, always cost money! We also have around £15k across a couple of 0% interest credit cards which is always at the back of my mind because I hate knowing that I owe money. However, currently the money is better off earning interest in a savings account than paying them off.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I received £10k from my parents to help us with the purchase of our first flat several years ago.
9:35 a.m. — Slowly wake up at M’s parents’ house and try to work out what day it is. Make a cup of tea and get offered a bacon sandwich for breakfast — like I’m saying no to that!
11:30 a.m. — M heads out for the day, I finally decide it might be a good idea to have a shower then settle in with another huge cup of tea and snacks in preparation for a Netflix session, starting with Selling Sunset. Brace self for nonsense drama and slightly question why I still watch this show.
3:30 p.m. — Eat a banana and some crisps (girl lunch?) while WhatsApping some friends about going to the cinema tomorrow. Book tickets for all four of us using a discount via work, £16 for M and me.
6 p.m. — M returns, we pack up the car and start the two-and-a-half-hour drive home. Stop for petrol en route to the motorway, £19.75 for my share.
7:30 p.m. — On the cusp of becoming hangry; stop at the services with a Greggs in anticipation of getting a limited-edition bake. Hanger quickly redirected at Greggs when I discover they don’t even sell them at the service station — the disappointment is real. Get KFC instead, £10.75 for my share. Mild horror at how expensive fast food has become.
9 p.m. — Finally home, car unpacked, pyjamas on, time to catch up with TV.
10:30 p.m. — Time for sleep. Feel grateful to be sleeping in my own bed tonight.
Total: £46.50
9:30 a.m. — Join the waking world. M brings me a cup of tea and I lounge in bed for a bit contemplating the meaning of life (aimlessly scrolling through Instagram and Reddit).
10 a.m. — Remember we’re going to the cinema at 12 p.m. so I drag myself out of bed and make myself look presentable. I actually bother to put makeup on today and marvel at how much more awake I look with camo concealer under my eyes (thank you, e.l.f.).
11 a.m. — M and I get the bus into town because it is raining, again, £2. Arrive in town and, as we have time to spare, continue my quest to Greggs, £3.90.
11:30 a.m. — Pop into some shops on our way to the cinema, spot some Christmas decorations on clearance and I have a gift voucher to use to cover the £15, win! Finally make our way to the cinema…
2:45 p.m. — Deliberate about the meaning of The Boy and the Heron while heading to Boots for mascara, £5.39.
3 p.m. — Head to Gail’s for coffee and cake, £3.70 thanks to a rewards voucher.
5 p.m. — M and I decided to walk home to counteract some of our recent couch potato-ing.
7 p.m. — Get an email to say our home insurance renewal will soon be due. We decide that’s not a today problem and resume being couch potatoes with some leftovers I find in the fridge.
11 p.m. — Sleep.
Total: £14.99
9:45 a.m. — Surprise myself at how late I’ve woken up; this is practically unheard of but very welcome knowing we’re going out tonight. Have a huge mug of tea, some cereal and lounge in bed reading and scrolling.
12:30 p.m. — Finally extract myself from the duvet for a lunch of cheese and crackers.
1:30 p.m. — Discover there’s no room in the recycling bin. Sort out a load of cardboard and take it to the recycling centre. On the way back, I pop into an absolutely heaving Tesco for wraps, seasoning, eggs and custard, £7.61 from the joint account.
3 p.m. — Have a shower and blow dry my hair in preparation for going out later. Very quickly remember why I try to avoid blow drying my hair.
5 p.m. — Commence peak indecisiveness about what to wear, decide to put on makeup and solve that problem later. Thank e.l.f. once again for creating camo concealer.
7 p.m. — After a delicious Mexican dinner served up by M, we meet some friends and make our way out for the evening to a cabaret show. I drink a can of passionfruit martini while walking to the venue.
8:30 p.m. — My turn to hit the bar. Gin and tonic, lemonade, wine, £11.30. Dancing and singing along to a Cher medley, priceless.
11:30 p.m. — Another round of drinks, £22.15.
Total: £41.06
1:30 a.m. — Roll in, down a pint of water and straight to bed.
3 a.m. — The wind keeps me awake until about 3 a.m. I’m not amused by this.
9:35 a.m. — Wake up hoarse from enthusiastically singing along last night. Make M and I bacon sandwiches and large cups of tea.
11 a.m. — The sun makes an appearance so M and I go out for a long walk in a fruitless attempt to top up our vitamin D supplies. Pop into the Co-op for milk and snacks, £4.08 from the joint account.
1:30 p.m. — Consume more cheese and crackers while finally tackling the home insurance. While I’m feeling productive I also pay invoices for some work on the house we had done just before Christmas, £775.50 for my share. I feel slightly ill at how empty my bank account looks already; it’s going to be a long month.
7 p.m. — Cook some sausages and attempt to finish up the leftover veg with a mountain of bubble and squeak. Eat a Terry’s chocolate orange for dessert.
10 a.m. — I head to bed with the intention of reading for half an hour. Finally turn out the lights at 11:30 p.m., oops!
Total: £779.58
7:45 a.m. — Alarm goes off, what was I thinking?
8:45 a.m. — Wake up, read in bed with cereal and a cup of tea.
10 a.m. — Get up, make myself presentable for the outside world and drive to the hairdressers in weather that can only be described as atrocious.
12:30 p.m. — It may be a new year but I get the exact same haircut as I always have, £34.50. Head home and M is making cheese toasties for lunch.
1:30 p.m. — TV, crochet, reading. Another general day of laziness.
7 p.m. — Eat leftovers from yesterday followed by apple strudel and custard.
8 p.m. — Wash up, wipe down the kitchen then promptly resume lazing around.
10:30 p.m. — Sleep
Total: £34.50
7:45 a.m. — Alarm goes off. Scroll Instagram and Reddit in bed.
8:30 a.m. — Tea, cereal and Doctor Who.
10 a.m. — M and I decide to finalise our plans for a trip to South East Asia later this year. We book hotels which we’ll pay for on arrival and some internal flights, £203.32 for my share.
1 p.m. — Cheese toastie and a cup of tea for lunch. I decide to enjoy my final day off before going back to work tomorrow with TV, crochet and some aimless scrolling.
6:30 p.m. — Make a stir fry for dinner then decide to have a very long soak in the bath with a face mask on in preparation for work tomorrow.
8:30 p.m. — Watch the Darts with M, it’s a tense final. Finally go to bed at 10:30 p.m., I will have regrets tomorrow!
Total: £203.32
6:45 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I am not ready.
7:05 a.m. — Concede defeat and drag myself out of bed to get ready to head into the office. I have granola and yoghurt, a huge cup of tea and apply my e.l.f. camo concealer.
7:30 a.m. — Have a minor panic about the location of my lanyard and access card! I split my time relatively equally between working from home and the office. I tend to work on site when the students are around then work from home a bit more in the holidays when it’s quieter.
8 a.m. — Cycle into town. Pop into M&S on the quest for lunch as being organised enough to make something to bring in was a stretch today. Grab a reduced curry ready meal for £3.20.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive in the office and immediately make a huge cup of tea, slowly work my way through emails and try to remember what my job is.
12:15 p.m. —The sun is shining so I head out for a quick walk. I remember to pick up a birthday card for a friend for £1.50, then pop into the bank.
1 p.m. — Prep for meeting students later this afternoon.
5:30 p.m. — Finish writing up notes from student meetings, log off and make my way home. Stop at Tesco and pick up reduced chicken kievs, a pizza and some dessert for later, £4.44 from the joint account.
7 p.m. — M returns with food shopping to keep us going over the weekend including peppers, cherry tomatoes, onions, broccoli, chips, milk, yoghurt, cereal, bread, bacon and some supplies for the freezer, £32.03 from the joint account.
8 p.m. — Finally settle down on the sofa with chicken kievs, chips and beans for dinner, ready to continue our watch of The Bear.
10:30 p.m. — Can’t keep my eyes open, time to sleep.
Total: £41.17
Food & Drink: £103.16
Clothes & Beauty: £39.89
Home & Health: £0
Entertainment: £16
Travel: £21.75
Other: £980.32
Total: £1,161.12
Conclusion
“This wasn’t really a typical week as I was on annual leave but my spending isn’t that different to usual. Thankfully, we don’t have big invoices to pay every week but it’s been a fairly frequent occurrence in the past couple of years and I’m thankful that between our salaries and savings we can make these payments reasonably comfortably — it’s a lucky position to be in. Often these big payments have come at the expense of feeling very guilty every time I spend money on socialising or holidays. I used to get really stressed about this, but I have recently adopted a ‘life’s too short’ mindset and decided to cut myself some slack because otherwise I wouldn’t have any bandwidth for dealing with the challenges of a project house! I enjoyed recording my spending for the week as it made me realise just how often I ‘pop to the shops’ and spend small amounts of money on groceries that we don’t always really need. With the cost of food increasing, these small spends add up so quickly so I can be more mindful there. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with my approach to spending and feel like I’ve got myself into a good balance of spending versus saving. Hopefully, this will help us pay off the house-related spending that’s sitting on credit cards while still maintaining a bit of a life!”
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