Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period – and we're tracking every last penny.
This week we're with a 24-year-old woman and her 25-year-old boyfriend living together in Manchester. Although the couple earn almost exactly the same as each other, she always finds herself left with money at the end of the month, while he never is.
To find out where his money's going, we got them both to record their week in spending. And, well, things didn't turn out quite like she expected...
Her
I originally moved to Manchester for university but somehow have managed to stay on an extra two years and it has flown by. I recently left a job to pursue a higher paid role, which didn’t work out – so I took a pay cut to go back to my original workplace (in a different role at least). I’m much happier now and I don’t miss the extra money, however I’m trying to get used to this new role, which is very different from the work I’ve done in the past.
I’ve worked in the public sector since leaving uni and although I am being paid less than the market average, I am more than happy to stay put for now and take advantage of the extra leave (28 days a year plus 26 flexi leave days) and flexible working hours (it also helps that the environment is fairly relaxed). Most of my money is spent seeing friends and booking trips – I know I should start saving but it’s hard when there is so much fun to be had!
My boyfriend and I work for the same organisation, which definitely has its perks – I’ve always got someone to tempt into having a naughty lunch, and getting a lift in is also a bonus. We tend to go in for 7am to leave at 3pm, and often work a few extra hours so we can take our flexi leave. This means we have a pretty good work–life balance and plenty of time for activities.
We got engaged last year but have prioritised going travelling and buying a house over a wedding.
Industry: Public Sector – Lead Auditor
Age: 24
Location: Manchester
Salary: £26,603
Paycheque amount: Around £1,765, not including a pension contribution and student loan, so after that around £1,600
Number of housemates: 1 (boyfriend)
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs and utilities: £640 (split between two). We tend to transfer £600 into the joint account each to cover rent, utilities and food.
Loan payments: After making a wrong career move, my credit card had some heavy use! I try to do at least £100 a month – that way I’ll have it paid off in another three months. Student loan repayments have recently decreased from around £60-£70 to more like £20 (yay for threshold increases; there has to be one silver lining to taking a pay cut, right?).
Transportation: Free (usually). I jump in the car with my boyfriend as we work for the same company.
Phone bill: £62.99 including insurance
Savings? My savings were completely obliterated after an urgent house move (mould problem – the joys of renting!). I do intend to try to save about £200 a month towards a trip to Thailand next year and I really should start saving for our wedding.
Other: Rock n Roll Bride subscription £5, Flying Vinyl subscription £20, Spotify premium (family, for me and boyfriend) £15.99, gym £16.99 (yay for work discount!).
Him
I’m 25 and have been immersed in the scary world of full-time work for around four years. Since uni I’ve bounced around a few jobs (teaching, call centre work and content writing) before settling into the exciting world of data protection. I’m not the best at keeping a firm track of my spending; I tend to guesstimate my spending during the week, keeping to a loose budget of £100, then panic on a Sunday night when I check my accounts and realise I’ve spent £50 more than I intended. We tend to go out for meals with friends, or to do activities, once or twice a week. This week however was particularly heavy for us, which has led to a large overspend on my part.
Industry: Data Protection
Age: 25
Location: Manchester
Salary: £26,503
Paycheque amount: £1,660(ish) after tax, student loan, pension, etc.
Number of housemates: 1 (fiancée)
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £322.50 (my half of the rent)
Loan payments: I’ve got a credit card with around £2,000 left on it which I’m trying to pay at least £300 a month off, if not more. However there tend to be tons more exciting things to spend money on than credit card debt (help me I’m a mess).
Utilities: Around £100 a month. I’m not 100% sure of the exact costs, I transfer my half into our joint account (around £600 including money for weekly food shops) for the fiancée to handle; if more is needed I tend to drop around £20-£50 in on an ad hoc basis.
Transportation: I tend to put around £25 a week of petrol in my car. I also pay £61.97 a month car insurance so let’s call this £162 total for the sake of argument.
Phone bill: £18.99 (I’m on a sim only deal on an iPhone I’ve had for years – so far it hasn’t given up on me so I refuse to give up on it).
Savings? What are those? In all seriousness, as soon as my credit card is paid off I’m going to get a car on finance so I don’t have to pray to Optimus Prime (the Greek god of cars) that it’ll start in the morning. Anything I earn extra over that amount (I’m estimating around £200) will then be chucked into a joint savings account to be used for a house deposit/travelling/wedding fund.
Other: We have an extremely active Netflix account which costs £7.99 a month. Also the gym costs £16.99 a month.
Day One
Her
5am: I’m woken up by birds, damn birds.
6am: I’m woken up by my alarm, damn alarm.
6.15am: I really need to get up if I want to be in work for 7. I pull on some clothes and my 'Lucky 13' earrings and immediately drop concealer all down my black dress – I hope micellar water will remove it (it doesn’t) as I have no time to change. I pull on and rip two pairs of tights (note to self, change earrings).
7.10am: I made it into work! As usual, I bring my breakfast with me – pearl barley porridge with raspberries, yum – but I did pick up some melon from the Co-op on the way. £2 (not worth it, it was gross).
11am: I’m getting annoyed at difficult colleagues and I definitely haven’t had enough caffeine. I buy a roll of fruit gums from the vending machine and split it with my boyfriend. 75p
12pm: I quickly eat a sad-looking cheese roll before my next meeting (I bought the ingredients for it a few days ago and left it in the work fridge for my last two lunches).
1pm: I find out we are getting a bonus, yay… instead of a pay rise, ugh… but I mentally spend the extra money in two minutes (hello Thailand holiday plans). I do a bit of online clothes browsing and see there is a Monki sale – YES. I get to the checkout and postage is £6, no way am I spending that! I close the page and my bank balance sighs in relief.
4pm: I finish work and remember to top up my Monzo card with £100 for fun activities and hope that it will last until Sunday.
5pm: My boyfriend and I get the train into Manchester as it’s easier than driving (£3.20) and grab some food from Bundobust, which is incredible! He pays.
We head to the cheap cinema in the Printworks to see the new Jurassic Park film, £4.99. I have a 2 for 1 code so boyfriend gets in for free.
10pm: The film was really good and we aren’t quite ready for the train home yet. We pass a cute-looking late night coffee/book shop and pop in for a cuppa and a slice of shortbread (boyfriend pays but I feel bad as he bought dinner; I send him £8 via Monzo).
11pm: Finally, bedtime!
11.30pm: Daydreaming instead of sleeping and I remember I need a charger for a spare laptop to take to Wales with work next week. £12.99
Total: £31.93
Him
6am: The alarm goes off and I lie in bed for five minutes really considering if I need a job or whether I could survive in the wild like I’m in an extended episode of a Bear Grylls show. Yet again I decide a life of eating insects and foraged mushrooms would be decidedly tedious so I roll out of bed. I’m showered and dressed for around 6.40 and out the door.
7.07am: I purchase breakfast (a slightly crumpled pain au chocolat and some cocktail sausages) and a meal deal (soggy tuna mayo sandwich, popcorn and a Coke Zero) from the Co-op around the corner from work, £5.58. We’re usually quite good at preparing breakfasts and lunches at home and bringing them in, but we had a busy weekend and as such very little meal prep time.
3pm: We leave work after an exciting day protecting the nation’s data. We’re home for half past then it’s time for a brew, a quick costume change and an episode of Doomsday Preppers before we’re back out and on the train for 5.07pm, £3.20. I hate driving into Manchester; the train is almost as cheap as parking and I don’t have to worry about finding a parking space, it’s a win-win.
5.40pm: We meet a couple of friends at a restaurant for dinner (really tasty vegetarian Indian street food). We get four small plates to share and a drink each for £20.50. I pay for this in return for my cinema ticket later. We really shouldn’t have gone for a midweek meal and movie date but Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was well worth it.
6.40pm: We descend on Co-op like sugar locusts in search of sweet treats to take to the cinema; I snagged a voucher from a tasting stand on the way to the shop and get a free Coke Zero. £2.34 buys me a peanut butter KitKat Chunky and a big bag of chocolate buttons. I buy the buttons 1) To share, and 2) Because there’s an Alton Towers voucher on the bag and a friend and I are supposed to be going in early July (mama dint raise no fool).
9.45pm: We aren’t tired and it's alarmingly light outside still so we stop at a late night café on the way to the train station and get a pot of tea and a millionaire's shortbread to share (I did go to the gym the next day, please don’t judge me), £8.50. As I bought dinner, the fiancée sends me £8 over Monzo to cover the cost.
Total: £32.12
Day Two
Her
6.15am: Up and awake straightaway, throw some clothes and concealer on (and make a mental note to buy new foundation now mine has run out).
7.10am: Nip to Co-op before work to buy some breakfast (as we were out last night I forgot to prep anything). I settle on a pain au chocolat and some melon. £2.99
8am: I do an online food shop from my desk, although I seem to buy a lot of unnecessary things it comes to £40 (which is much cheaper than our Morrisons shops but still a lot more than we used to spend). I hope this will last a week and a half. I pay on the joint account.
12pm: I walk to Sainsbury’s with boyfriend and buy a salad and carrots with hummus, £4. Uncharacteristically for Manchester, it is lovely weather so we sit outside on a bench for lunch – the fresh air improves my mood massively.
12.45pm: Back to the office, then immediately sent out on an emergency teabag run. I also buy a Freddo. £2.48
3pm: Home time finally!!
5pm: I make vegetarian meatballs in a sauce made up of anything I can find in the cupboard and of course lots of garlic (we are a vampire’s worst nightmare). The Sainsbury’s own meatballs aren’t as good as the Quorn ones – that’s what I get for trying to save a few pennies.
7pm: I should go to the gym but I’d rather stay in watching old episodes of Rick and Morty instead. I buy a new gym top on ASOS to motivate me to go tomorrow. £12
Total: £21.47
Him
6am: Alarm. Again.
7.13am: Back to the Co-op, another pain au chocolat and cocktail sausages, £2.08. I’m a creature of habit, sue me. The fiancée doesn’t like mayo so we decide not to buy lunch at the Co-op and instead go and search for a mayo-free meal deal at lunchtime from a different shop.
12.16pm: We journey to Sainsbury’s and she discovers mayo-free lunch foods – lunch is saved. I get a chicken and chorizo sandwich, a bag of crisps, a Coke Zero and a roll of Fruit Pastilles. Unfortunately I didn’t check the packaging properly and my sandwich isn’t included in the meal deal. I’m furious but too lazy to go and get another sandwich, £4.70. I’m genuinely disappointed with myself about this one.
I go to the gym after work and we cook at home. Fortunately we don’t spend any more money!
Total: £6.78
Day Three
Her
6am: Up and out of bed, I forget breakfast AGAIN so I buy a pain au chocolat AGAIN and have the melon from yesterday that I forgot to eat. 99p
10am: I remember to process my expenses from the week before when I visited Sheffield. It’s like I have a mini savings account through work as I get a nice bit of money at the end of each month (okay it was my money to start with but it stops me spending it on late night ASOS splurges).
12pm: Lunchtime! Boyfriend and I realise we forgot our packed lunches prepared last night so head to Sainsbury’s – I buy exactly the same lunch as yesterday. £4
3pm: Work finished for the day! I really should go to the gym but I am too tired after these early starts, I promise boyfriend I’ll go this evening.
6pm: Remember we have to collect the food shop, I’m excited that we’ll have a full cupboard of food, especially as we hardly food prepped this week.
8pm: I’ve already broken my gym promise and instead catch up on my true crime podcasts. My laptop charger arrives and of course I chose the wrong one.
Total: £4.99
Him
6am: Today's an odd day, instead of contemplation I have a 10-minute existential crisis. At least anxiety is free.
6.57am: Traffic was good so I decide to add a bag of popcorn to my breakfast so I’ve got a tasty snack for later, £3.07. I get hungry mid-morning so snacking should, in theory, make me less likely to spend more at lunch.
12.09pm: The whole point of experimentation is to prove/disprove theories. In this case the theory was wrong. I spend £5.40 at lunchtime in Sainsbury’s. In my defence I did have to buy sweeteners for my tea as I had run out.
3.30pm: Home time.
6pm: I’ve been feeling sluggish for a long while and after discussing it with a friend they recommended vitamin B12 supplements. I go on Amazon and order some for £11.97.
Total: £20.44
Day Four
Her
6am: Getting up is a little bit harder each day this week (I’ve definitely contemplated quitting and joining a commune far too much) and I’m on my final day at work before the weekend! I remember my breakfast this time – pearl barley porridge. As it is Friday I also treat myself to some hash browns. £1
12.30pm: After a long meeting it’s time for fun lunch Friday! Every Friday my colleagues and I choose a new place to go for lunch – today it’s a pizza place around the corner with a good build your own pizza deal, £7.99. I get extra garlic on mine – my colleagues love me. I spend the afternoon in a food coma and hardly get anything done, it can all wait until Monday I’m sure.
3pm: Work is officially finished for the week. Boyfriend’s friend had her baby last night so we nip to the hospital to have cuddles. She asks us to pick up some food and also explains that she forgot to bring any Baby-gros (relaxed or what?) so we swing by a supermarket on the way and I pick out some adorable grey and white ones with tiny giraffes on (keeping it gender neutral of course). £9
5pm: When we arrive at the ward I immediately start crying, little Thomas is the most beautiful little potato I’ve ever seen! Boyfriend has cuddles with the baby while I help mum brush her long hair (this takes literally about an hour). We stay for a few hours helping out and as much as I love baby Thomas already, I am so sure that I am nowhere near ready to have one of my own – even if boyfriend does talk about what our kids would be like when we drive home (cute yes, but after hearing his friend’s birth story I’m going to need a few years to get over my new fear).
8.30pm: Even though it’s Friday night and everyone else is out being sociable, all I want to do is sleep! I’ve had a super busy week at work sorting out next week's equally busy business trip so I collapse on the sofa watching Netflix (new Drag Race, #TeamKameron).
Total: £17.99
Him
6am: Today will be a good day. Today I’m going for pizza at lunch, a weekly tradition we’ve come to call fun lunch Friday.
6.56am: I’ve switched up breakfast, today I get hash browns to accompany my pastry. £1.89
12.40pm: It's pizza o’clock. The pizza place is set up like a Subway for pizzas and does a three-topping pizza and a drink for £7.99 as a lunch deal. I don’t think this needs any justification, you can’t put a price on happiness.
3.30pm: My best friend gave birth yesterday and she’s ready for visitors. We leave work and go to the hospital via Asda for some food, £10. Hospital food sucks and, after the trauma of giving birth, my friend could definitely use some comfort food. I get to hold the baby and don’t drop it, which I’m counting as a victory.
8.30pm: We arrive home and pop on Netflix (new Drag Race, #TeamAsia). Bed.
Total: £19.88
Day Five
Her
8am: Some extra time in bed makes me feel so refreshed… Then next door starts some loud DIY so I suppose two extra hours is all I’m going to get today. A letter pops through the door – it’s our hen do instructions for next weekend. We are going to York to do a murder mystery (and have paid £160 just for the night!). I’ve been assigned the character Patsy from Ab Fab – which is hilarious as I unfortunately resemble Eddie, even down to the fluffy hair and bad taste in clothes. The organiser forgot to say a man was attending, so boyfriend has been assigned Bubbles.
10am: We hit the local charity shops to see if we can buy some last-minute costumes cheaply but quickly give up – I decide I’ll just have to look Patsy-inspired; there is no way my curly locks will be tamed into a beehive.
2pm: We meet a friend for a coffee (and of course I have some cake). We go back to the cute coffee shop from the other night and I order a V60 – it is badly made so I leave it, what a waste. £11 including train ticket.
3pm: It doesn’t just rain in Manchester, it pours. My shoes have a hole in the bottom so I have to run to Primark to pick up a new pair, £8. I dump my useless pair in the bin outside – this is what happens when I am stingy and buy pretty much exclusively from Primark.
4.30pm: It’s a friend’s birthday so boyfriend and I meet him and some others to play Junkyard Golf; on the way we grab a burrito, the best food in existence, £9.50. Our friend buys our tickets for golf so I buy us both a fun cocktail, which comes topped with pick and mix (very Instagrammable, £15). I guess that the £100 I put on my Monzo a few days ago won’t be enough, I add some more and hope that will last until at least the end of the weekend.
8pm: After I get completely destroyed at Junkyard Golf we walk to Font for cheap cocktails. I of course choose a sparkly unicorn one topped with more sweets, £5. We decide to head home after this one before the night escalates.
9pm: Drunk(ish) food is needed. I nip into Co-op on the way home and boyfriend buys crumpets for the morning and some reduced mini scotch eggs.
10pm: I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Total: £48.50
Him
2.09pm: £3.20 on a train ticket to Manchester. We have a mission: We’re meeting one friend, then shopping for fancy dress outfits for a hen do next weekend, then mini golf for another friend’s birthday.
2.40pm: We’re back at the café we went to on Tuesday night. I get myself a pot of tea and a brownie, £6. There is no justification for this, I’m a wreck of a human being.
4.22pm: I’ve bought my fancy dress outfit, I’ve got a pink tutu, matching fishnet gloves and a bead necklace. I’m going to look fabulous. £5.97 (plus my dignity).
4.44pm: To finish my outfit off I buy the cheapest, most hideous, aquamarine tank top I can find from Primark. £3 (and the last vestiges of my dignity).
4.54pm: We meet up with the group for the birthday celebrations at Starbucks, I buy the fiancée’s drink too, £6.65. It’s well known that vanilla Fraps have restorative properties.
5.34pm: Burrito time. I buy my friend’s burrito as he’s booked/paid for golf. £19
6.26pm: Pre-golf drinks. The actual price of two fancy cocktails and a cider is £19.50 but fiancée sends me £15 to cover the cocktails, so the cost for me is £4.50. However it is worth noting that £4.50 for ONE 330ml can of Kopparberg is outright theft. I blame this extortion on post-Brexit Britain.
8pm: Post-golf cocktails. £7 total but fiancée sends me £5 to cover hers so the real cost for me is £2.
9.06pm: We nip into the Co-op on the way home to pick up milk, crumpets and other supplies. £2.65
Total: £52.97
Day Six
Her
9am: I know I need to wake up because I have lots to do today but I just don’t want to…
9.30am: Boyfriend tempts me out of bed with a cuppa and I make Quorn sausages (I decided to try the garlic and parsley ones and they are lush) and crumpet eggs – made by cutting a hole out of the crumpet and frying an egg in it, bloody amazing (the idea was totally stolen from someone on Instagram).
12pm: We tidy the house a little bit before walking into our local town to pick up some things I need for my trip next week. I buy a spare toothbrush, toothpaste, tights, a pair of leggings and two face masks for £13.50 and also some emergency cereal bars and instant noodles (I’m so fussy and need back up just in case) for £3.
Coffee break is absolutely needed – boyfriend pays.
Boyfriend goes to River Island and shows me a jacket in the sale that he loves but says he can’t justify buying until payday. I pay and he offers to buy the new makeup palette I’ve had my eye on when he next gets paid. £25
2pm: We meet boyfriend's brother and wife for lunch. I’m not thrilled by this idea due to the interesting relationship I have with that half of boyfriend’s family (mother-in-law from hell) but we actually have a lovely time. I eat a massive burger and chips. £10
4pm: We go back to boyfriend’s brother’s new house for a cuppa and a tour of the work they’ve carried out, it gives me major house envy. I spend a good part of the evening looking at houses I want to buy (and can’t afford).
6pm: I start packing for my trip on Tuesday. My suitcase is full after skincare and loungewear, I will have to make some sacrifices – it is only a three-day trip. After that, boyfriend prepares breakfast for the next few days and I make a veggie lasagne which will sort us for lunch tomorrow and feed boyfriend at least one of the nights I’m away (usually when I go away he eats like a child at a party).
10pm: After a long bath (using up the last of my birthday Lush stash) I jump into bed. I can’t believe the weekend is over already.
Total: £51.50
Him
12pm: My parents have chosen Fathers' Day to go on holiday so instead of jetting around to their house this morning with a hastily wrapped Toblerone I’ve had a lie-in. We then walk into the local town centre in order to pick up some bits and pieces for a business trip fiancée is taking next week. I pick up a new pair of tweezers in Primark because ours have gone missing. £1
12.35pm: Another tea and coffee purchased at a café. Fortunately my stamp card is full so I get one of the drinks for free. £2.45
3pm: We meet up with my brother and my heavily pregnant sister-in-law for an early dinner. I’m not sure of the exact price for all I have but it works out at around £15.
4pm: We retire to my brother’s house and watch numerous quiz shows with cups of tea. It starts to rain a little while we’re there so my brother gives us a lift home. Then it’s meal prep, bath and bed.
Total: £18.45
Day Seven
6am: I hardly slept last night and none of my clothes look right. I try to attempt proper makeup but my signature eyeliner flicks don’t look right, either. I finally choose a dress and immediately spill yoghurt over it when I’m moving things around the kitchen – I then have a large tantrum and change.
7am: At least I get to work at a good time so I can eat my breakfast in peace. A colleague is in a foul mood after some criticism they received on a report – I put my headphones in to drown out the aggressive typing.
8am: Feeling much better after breakfast and a coffee. I even managed to nab a banana from the work fruit bowl before they all went.
10am: I really should be doing some prep before going away tomorrow but after my struggle with clothes this morning I’m panicking about feeling nice on the hen do this weekend. Spend a few hours slyly looking through the ASOS sale.
12pm: Back to our normal ways of preparing food for the week, we've both brought a portion of the lasagne I made last night. I’m still grumpy so I go to Co-op and buy a Freddo, 25p (I could get onto a rant about the increase in the price of Freddos but I’ll spare you this time).
3pm: Work is over for another day, boyfriend is heading to the gym tonight so I get the train home. £4
5pm: After I get home, have an extended nap and rummage around the cupboard for snacks, I continue to pack for my trip – hate being away from boyfriend but at least I will get some reading done (plus I’ve never been to Wales before, so there’s that).
9pm: Early night definitely needed, it seems like I am always busy these days.
Total: £4.25
Him
6am: I can't say I’ve missed my alarm over the weekend. Today I’m aiming for a 'spend free' day. Two of my meals (breakfast and lunch) are already prepped. I’ve put my gym kit in the car boot so I can go on the way home from work.
7.10am: Arrive at work and eat breakfast (pearl barley, yoghurt and raspberries) with a mug of tea.
12pm: Lunchtime – fiancée made a big lasagne last night and portioned it out into Tupperware for the next couple of days.
3.30pm: Work finished for the day, I go to the gym (hopefully damage control for the week of eating out).
5pm: Home at last for dinner and a night of Netflix.
Total: £0
The Breakdown: Her
Food/Drink: £84.75
Entertainment: £4.99
Clothes/Beauty: £58.50
Travel: £10.40
Other: £21.99
Total: £180.63
The Breakdown: Him
Food/Drink: £103.30
Entertainment: £19
Clothes/Beauty: £21.94
Travel: £6.40
Other: £0
Total: £150.64
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