ADVERTISEMENT
Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last penny.
This week: "I’m 39 and work in sales in the West Midlands. Having grown up in Birmingham, I moved a bit further out for work a few years ago (I'm not about that M6 life anymore). I’ve got two sisters and a brother, all of whom have also ventured further afield so I don’t see them very often! I’ve not really had a relationship with my dad for about ten years, something which I do occasionally feel massively guilty about, even though I’m not the reason for it. I know some people struggle living alone, but I really enjoy it, at least until I’m getting ripped off by a tradesperson or can’t reach something without a stepladder. I can definitely be quite solitary by nature, as I really need ‘down time’ after a busy week, but I’m trying to make more effort to socialise and plan things. I’ve also realised that I get ridiculously blue over the winter, SAD is really a thing and yet I’ve still managed to resist buying one of those lamps".
Occupation: Sales executive
Industry: Manufacturing
Age: 39
Location: West Midlands
Salary: £49,000 + bonus (anywhere between 0-750 per month)
Paycheque Amount: £2975 + bonus
Number of housemates: Just a dog!
Pronouns: She/her
Industry: Manufacturing
Age: 39
Location: West Midlands
Salary: £49,000 + bonus (anywhere between 0-750 per month)
Paycheque Amount: £2975 + bonus
Number of housemates: Just a dog!
Pronouns: She/her
Housing costs: £750 mortgage. The actual mortgage figure is £420, but I overpay this.
I had some wobbles when I was buying this place as it was much more expensive than my previous house and intentionally chose a long term in exchange for a lower monthly payment, in case I faced difficulties in future.
Loan payments: £0
Savings?: Around £43,000. This includes £3,300 in an account my bills come out of, which is intentionally about three months of payments as a safety net, £32,000 in a long term savings and £7,500 in what I call a 'rainy day fund'. This is what I use for any work needed on my house, holidays, weekends away, etc. I also have about £1,750 in cashback and rounding up accounts.
Pension? My employer pays 4%. I’m currently paying in 10% — I try to increase this by 1% every time I get a pay increase. I’m in the process of combining all of them at the moment!
Utilities: £99 gas/electric, £81 council tax, £52 water.
All other monthly payments: £22 vet plan, £15 pet insurance, £10 health insurance, £15 TV license, £10 healthcare plan, £2 bank account fee, £8 phone bill, £30 internet/TV package.
Subscriptions: £4.99 Netflix, £0.99 iCloud, £1.99 an app supporting local businesses in exchange for discounts, £11.99 Deezer.
I had some wobbles when I was buying this place as it was much more expensive than my previous house and intentionally chose a long term in exchange for a lower monthly payment, in case I faced difficulties in future.
Loan payments: £0
Savings?: Around £43,000. This includes £3,300 in an account my bills come out of, which is intentionally about three months of payments as a safety net, £32,000 in a long term savings and £7,500 in what I call a 'rainy day fund'. This is what I use for any work needed on my house, holidays, weekends away, etc. I also have about £1,750 in cashback and rounding up accounts.
Pension? My employer pays 4%. I’m currently paying in 10% — I try to increase this by 1% every time I get a pay increase. I’m in the process of combining all of them at the moment!
Utilities: £99 gas/electric, £81 council tax, £52 water.
All other monthly payments: £22 vet plan, £15 pet insurance, £10 health insurance, £15 TV license, £10 healthcare plan, £2 bank account fee, £8 phone bill, £30 internet/TV package.
Subscriptions: £4.99 Netflix, £0.99 iCloud, £1.99 an app supporting local businesses in exchange for discounts, £11.99 Deezer.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I became quite disillusioned with college and had no real direction. So I decided to get a full time job instead of going to uni, but then got major FOMO after a year so I decided to go to uni. I realised very quickly it wasn’t for me, but luckily the student loan covered the course fees so I wasn’t out of pocket at all.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I don’t remember money ever really being discussed in our house, other than an unspoken acknowledgment that we didn’t have much! My mom worked part-time in a school and dad was in and out of jobs a lot, so his wage was never something my mom could ever rely on. He’d go OTT at Christmas and get us loads of presents using credit cards and catalogues which would take my mom all year to pay off. We always had food and a house, we weren’t in poverty by any stretch, but we didn’t get new clothes or have many trips out or holidays. I think my childhood has given me a strange attitude to money, I cheap out on a lot of things and hate paying full price for things that I see as unnecessary; but definitely have times when I blow money on things I don’t need (see the £800 rowing machine in my dining room, or the £350 Michelin star dinner I had just before starting this diary).
If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house? I was about 23, though it was a slightly unusual situation in that my mom decided to move away and I took over the mortgage on the house.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
Again, about 23. I found it really difficult suddenly living alone and it came at a difficult time in life where I’d recently been made redundant. Nobody covers any other aspects financially for me and I can’t imagine that changing!
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked in an office with my sister for £12,000 a year. It was meant to be short-term between college and uni but I stayed for a year. When I decided to leave uni, I was lucky they agreed to take me back. It was great fun.
Do you worry about money now?
I don’t worry about money, but I worry about the weight of financial decisions. I’ve got enough of a safety net to make me think I’ll be okay, but the idea of dipping into those savings for anything significant makes me very uncomfortable. I live alone so I have no one to split big costs with. My neighbours have had £30k extensions and £10k driveways recently and I just can’t justify that much money on something I don’t need (even though I’d love a new driveway!).
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
When I took over the mortgage on my mom's house, I didn’t pay any sort of deposit — so in a sense, I suppose she gifted me that, though it’s hard to quantify the figure. We did agree that if I ever sold, I’d give her £10k in exchange though. I ended up giving her £15k in the end as this seemed more relative to the amount I’d had and the house was valued higher than I’d expected.
I became quite disillusioned with college and had no real direction. So I decided to get a full time job instead of going to uni, but then got major FOMO after a year so I decided to go to uni. I realised very quickly it wasn’t for me, but luckily the student loan covered the course fees so I wasn’t out of pocket at all.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I don’t remember money ever really being discussed in our house, other than an unspoken acknowledgment that we didn’t have much! My mom worked part-time in a school and dad was in and out of jobs a lot, so his wage was never something my mom could ever rely on. He’d go OTT at Christmas and get us loads of presents using credit cards and catalogues which would take my mom all year to pay off. We always had food and a house, we weren’t in poverty by any stretch, but we didn’t get new clothes or have many trips out or holidays. I think my childhood has given me a strange attitude to money, I cheap out on a lot of things and hate paying full price for things that I see as unnecessary; but definitely have times when I blow money on things I don’t need (see the £800 rowing machine in my dining room, or the £350 Michelin star dinner I had just before starting this diary).
If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house? I was about 23, though it was a slightly unusual situation in that my mom decided to move away and I took over the mortgage on the house.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
Again, about 23. I found it really difficult suddenly living alone and it came at a difficult time in life where I’d recently been made redundant. Nobody covers any other aspects financially for me and I can’t imagine that changing!
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked in an office with my sister for £12,000 a year. It was meant to be short-term between college and uni but I stayed for a year. When I decided to leave uni, I was lucky they agreed to take me back. It was great fun.
Do you worry about money now?
I don’t worry about money, but I worry about the weight of financial decisions. I’ve got enough of a safety net to make me think I’ll be okay, but the idea of dipping into those savings for anything significant makes me very uncomfortable. I live alone so I have no one to split big costs with. My neighbours have had £30k extensions and £10k driveways recently and I just can’t justify that much money on something I don’t need (even though I’d love a new driveway!).
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
When I took over the mortgage on my mom's house, I didn’t pay any sort of deposit — so in a sense, I suppose she gifted me that, though it’s hard to quantify the figure. We did agree that if I ever sold, I’d give her £10k in exchange though. I ended up giving her £15k in the end as this seemed more relative to the amount I’d had and the house was valued higher than I’d expected.
ADVERTISEMENT