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...
"I'm a 26-year-old living in east London with my girlfriend. I'm an artist manager in the music industry, day-to-day managing a global pop star, and my girlfriend produces branded content for a film company.
We’ve been together for almost three years and have lived together for two in a flat that we love, but we're looking to move in December as we just can't save and we want to be sensible now and start thinking about our future together. We have just started scheduling viewings of flats we can rent on a tighter budget, to give ourselves enough time to make a decision, but so far we are conflicted!
We both travel a lot for work, so it’s important for us to feel safe, and close to friends when the other is away working, while still being able to somehow save money."
Industry: Music
Age: 26
Location: East London
Salary: £30,000
Paycheque amount: £1,935
Number of housemates: 1 (girlfriend)
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £725.83 (my half of the rent)
Loan payments: Credit card £75 direct debit
Utilities: £92 each (we split all bills 50/50)
Transportation: Sometimes I use contactless and other times I buy a weekly travel card, depending on my meetings that week, so approx £135
Phone bill: £40
Savings? Oops...
Other: Amazon Fresh £3.50, Spotify £9.99, Netflix £5
Day One
8.30am: Hurrah! It’s Saturday! Except I’m not cheering because GF enjoys waking up at the crack of dawn at the weekend and (literally) pawing at my face until I too am awake (and grumpy). Oh well, at least she’s brought me a coffee. Win!
9.30am: GF leaves to go for a swim at the local lido with a friend, so I figure I’ll get up and be productive. I drag myself out of bed, put a wash on, tidy the kitchen, lash on a face mask, and embark on the biannual task of clearing out my wardrobe. I’m a hoarder, so this is never fun, but I convince myself that if I make room, I can treat myself to something from ASOS. Hehe.
11am: An hour and a half and two black sacks for charity later and I am D O N E. I decide to hit the gym seeing as my lazy Saturday morning is already doomed, promising myself a breakfast quesadilla when I’m back. The gym isn’t my favourite thing, but I really want to tone up and improve my fitness. Plus the gym is downstairs in our building and included in rent, so I have no excuse. Oops.
12.15pm: Quesadilla time. So worth it!
1pm: GF gets home so we decide to rally ourselves and get ready to head out. We’re viewing a flat in Croydon today to get an idea of what we can get for our new and refined budget (£1,000 PCM) and to get a feel for the area. It takes us a considerable length of time to get ready to go pretty much anywhere amid the "who gets to shower first" debate, arguing over outfits and makeup meltdowns, but we eventually leave the flat at about 3pm.
4pm: We get to East Croydon which surprisingly only took 15 mins from London Bridge. Right outside the station is a brand new Box Park and a cute tram. So far, so good! £4.90
4.45pm: Viewing over and done with; we’re not blown away, but maybe we’re just spoiled with what we’ve got. We decide to have a mooch around the shops, check out the surrounding area and then grab a consolation ice cream (my treat) before GF says: "Shall we head back to heaven now?" £6.20
6.30pm: We catch a train back home and silently think (panic) about what to do. £4.90
8pm: Home and GF whips up one of my all-time favourite dinners – chilli beef spicy lettuce wraps (SO GOOD) – and we put on some comedy film that neither of us really pays attention to. We’re still hungry so I make us a fruit salad.
11pm: Bedtime a.k.a. time for me to have a nightmare about being in debt forevermore. AND it’s too hot and sticky for cuddles to ease the anxiety. BOOOOO!
Total: £16
Day Two
10.30am: Finally, a lie-in! We are going to Kew Gardens today, which we’re very excited about. There’s a cellist and composer playing there, accompanying an aerial performer in The Temperate House, who I would like to sign and manage, so he’s put us on the guest list free of charge! I’ve almost been at my job a year now, so I feel like I’m ready to take on an artist of my own. So far I’ve been day-to-day manager for a highly established artist, which is super exciting but the dream is to break my own act.
12pm: Parcel arrives, looks like GF bought us a treat each – a swimming kit complete with goggles, ear plugs and *ahem* nose clip! She knows I love to swim and she’s just started going so this is very sweet of her. Loads of girlfriend points! She accidentally paid for this on my card on our shared Amazon amount but immediately sends me the money.
12.30pm: I chuck the makings of a chicken tikka masala into the slow cooker and set it on low before we pack up some tasty treats (complete with a couple of cans of G&T) and a picnic blanket and catch the Overground directly to Kew Gardens. It takes about an hour but it’s already approaching 30 degrees out and the train has air-con so we’re not complaining! £3
1.40pm: We get off the train and by now, it’s absolutely SCORCHING. We get to Kew and easily jump the queue (lol) due to our names being down for complimentary tickets – what a treat! We love a free gig.
2pm: We have 30 mins until the show and decide to have our picnic in the shade of one of the many beautiful trees in the gardens. GF made HOMEMADE VIETNAMESE SUMMER ROLLS! More girlfriend points. This also saves us from buying lunch while we’re out, so it’s a win-win. We sip our G&Ts and take in the views before heading into the glasshouse for the show, which blows us away! Time for a stroll round the gardens and then a hunt for ice cream.
4.30pm: No ice cream to be found and I am quickly going into (literal) meltdown mode in this heat. GF senses and the gardens are closing anyway so she treats us to a frap from Starbucks before getting on the train home. £1.50
6pm: We pop into our local shop to pick up some essentials. I pay. £10.50
7.30pm: I boil some rice to have with our curry which is ready when we get in (God bless the slow cooker) and tidy the flat while GF pops to the gym. We eat dinner on the balcony, and I convince GF to make her awesome banana bread. I buy a book for my Kindle and we half-watch a movie and are in bed for 10.30pm. It’s too hot to stay up any longer! £3.99
Total: £18.99
Day Three
8am: It’s Monday morning and I’ve been snoozing my alarm for an hour, but I can’t hide any longer. I contemplate working from home as there won’t be many people in my office but realise I don’t actually want to sit alone in my flat all day so I jump in the shower. GF has made a pot of coffee so I do my makeup on the sofa, eat a couple of Weetabix, drink a large coffee with oat milk and watch Good Morning Britain before leaving the flat at 9.15am.
9.30am: After jumping on a bus to the station (which I could easily have walked to but, Monday) I buy a travel card as I reckon it’ll save me some money this week, and then get the train to work. My office is by Oxford Circus so not the most fun commute due to the people traffic, but at least it doesn’t take long to get in! At my desk for 10am. Boom. £35.60
11am: I’m peckish so I crack out a slice of bangin’ banana bread and a smoothie that I made this morning. My standard second breakfast. Work is relatively quiet today as my main artist is on a promo trip in Germany with my colleague, so I’m having an admin day.
2pm: I’m ravenous again, so time for last night’s leftovers. It’s probably (definitely) too hot for spicy curries though… I’ve not really thought this through, but it is delicious.
3pm: It’s too hot in our office and our cleaner accidentally broke our fan last week, so I pop out to get some fresh air. I end up buying conditioner and a cheap concealer in Boots. I splurged on skincare in Selfridges last week, so need to be good now! £6.73
5.45pm: I manage to leave work 15 mins early (a futile attempt to beat the Oxford Circus rush) and head home. I immediately change and head downstairs to the gym as soon as I get in before losing all motivation! Grab a bottle of sweet chilli sauce on my way back up to the flat (essentials!). £1.89
7.15pm: GF has just got home when I get back from the gym. She then heads to the gym (it’s like a relay race in this flat sometimes) while I whip us up a courgette, broad bean and lentil salad with vegan aubergine fritters (cue sweet chilli sauce). We watch the first two episodes of Marcella as we’ve been meaning to for ages and we’re both big Anna Friel fans. We’re in bed by 10.30pm.
Total: £44.22
Day Four
7.45am: Another string of snoozes and another struggle to get out of bed. Why am I always so tired?! I get a notification from TfL with a delayed travel charge (whyyyyy) and my Spotify account has been renewed for the month, but have already accounted for this in my monthly outgoings. Shower, coffee, Weetabix and out the flat by 9.20am. £6
11.30am: Second breakfast time! Quickly scoff a slice of banana bread and homemade smoothie before diving into a two-hour team meeting to go through all artist schedules. Looks like I might be heading back to New York next week, so today will be a busy day!
6.15pm: Today has been hectic! Finally time to jump on the sweaty Tube and go home. GF has yoga tonight so I cook us up some gnocchi to eat before she goes. I usually use this time to myself for some self-care (face mask/ bath/ do my nails) but I end up on a stressful conference call about a music video we’ve got to shoot soon and feel demotivated and worn out. I want to stress eat so I decide to make carrot cake. Turns out you can’t directly substitute flour for coconut flour and it doesn’t work out. Massive waste of time and money and I’ve used the last of the milk so can’t even have a cup of tea. You know those days where nothing goes your way? Yep.
10pm: GF gets home bearing milk and CHOCOLATE! She is an angel. We watch Gogglebox for a bit and are out cold by 10.30pm.
Total: £6
Day Five
7.45am: Genuinely don’t feel well today, so decide to work from home as I will 100% be more productive that way. Collate more info for upcoming promo trips. There’s one to Tokyo coming up that I’m supposed to be jumping on, so ensure that band and crew are en route to sorting Japanese visas.
1pm: Have some eggs and bacon for lunch and feel smug that the top work-from-home perk is having whatever I like for lunch, for FREE (kinda).
4pm: Emails have quietened down, so I have a browse on ASOS and buy a sunhat for GF as she goes to Africa with work next month and that strawberry blonde noggin needs to be protected. Also it’ll be super cute on her. Choose one for myself too because I can’t help myself and decide I deserve it. £26
7.30pm: GF gets home with dinner supplies and cooks us beef brisket burgers followed by melt-in-the-middle chocolate desserts (I’m in heaven). I crack open a bottle of wine we’d been saving for a special occasion; we decide that it being Wednesday evening is special enough. Miraculously, I feel better and we demolish our dinner and polish off the bottle of wine while watching Marcella. I offer to split the cost of dinner but GF insists. What a dream. In bed by 11pm.
Total: £26
Day Six
7.45am: I’ve been awake on and off since 5.30am knowing I have a busy day ahead, so I just accept it and get up. Shower, coffee, breakfast, smoothie for later and I’m on my way. The Overground is playing up today (surprise, surprise) so I have to take an alternative route to work. Annoyed about the inconvenience but glad I bought a travel card this week. At work for 10.05am.
1.30pm: My period has started and it hits hard. I can’t focus and I’m in agony with cramps so I haul myself to Boots to buy some painkillers. We have complimentary sanitary products at work. In too much pain to eat anything but decide to drink a can of Coke from the office fridge as I feel like I could do with the sugar. £1.19
2.45pm: The painkillers have finally kicked in and the cramps have subsided for now, so I quickly run to Itsu round the corner and grab some chicken gyozas and edamame beans before my 3pm meeting to discuss how our artists should be using social media more to their advantage. We compare Instagram profiles of similar artists and try to come up with a strategy that doesn’t involve our artist taking scantily clad selfies. Yes, some of us in the industry do have integrity! £5.98
6pm: Meet two of my best mates who I’ve not seen in ages for a drink. One of them just got a new job round the corner from me and I’m excited to hear all about it! We manage to find a table outside a bar on Carnaby Street and two more of our friends join us. I intend on just staying for one drink but it’d be rude to leave so quickly…
8.30pm: Three G&Ts, lots of laughter and a packet of crisps later, I decide it’s time to make my exit (seeing as I wasn’t feeling great earlier in the week and it’s still a week ’til payday). We realise we’ll all see each other again in a couple of weeks for our friend’s birthday and get excited. Thankfully the commute home isn’t too tedious as the crowds have died down. Hallelujah! £14.40
9.15pm: Get home and Dream Girl has a homemade-from-scratch pizza hot out of the oven for me (I mean, COME ON). We watch an episode of Marcella in bed and manage to keep our eyes open until 10.30pm.
Total: £21.57
Day Seven
7.30am: I wake up feeling like an actual real person and then see my inbox flooded with emails already so decide that today will be a productive day. Plus it’s Friday! Regular morning routine and out the flat by 9.10am. Pit stop for period supplies on my way to work and at my desk by 9.50am. £2
12.30pm: One of my artists is coming in for a catch-up so I meet him at a local café and get us both a coffee on my company card before bringing him up to the office. I haven’t seen him in a while, so it’s good to catch up and he always makes the team laugh!
1.30pm: Get called for a one-to-one with my boss and for no reason dread that it’s going to be something negative, but it turns out to be a really positive catch-up with some unexpected praise! He tells me he’s happy with everything I’m doing, wants to give me some new projects and asks how I’ve found my first 10 months. Come out feeling motivated (and relieved!).
2pm: Time to meet a former colleague and friend for a chat in Soho. We used to work together at a record label and have been meaning to meet up for ages. I can justify it as a work meeting, so I buy us a muffin and a tea each on my company card. She tells me about some artists that are in need of a manager, I link her to some artists that are looking for a label deal and we agree to go to some gigs together. I get so excited hearing about new talent! We also share some industry gossip and have a genuine catch-up before I head back to the office.
3.30pm: Get a notification from Today Tix saying that I’ve won the £20 lottery for front row seats to see Everybody's Talking About Jamie! Usually theatre tickets are mad expensive, so this is a bargain. GF + I = chuffed! £40
6.30pm: Meet GF at Tottenham Court Road and we rush through Soho to collect our tickets before a speedy pre-theatre dinner of tapas and wine at Brindisa. Back we go to the theatre with just enough time to buy a couple more large glasses of wine and some snacks and settle into our front row seats. HELLO FRIDAY! GF kindly pays for both dinner and theatre drinks.
8.45pm: Interval time and my round. More obscenely large glasses of wine. We’re loving life right now. £18
10pm: Well, that was outrageously funny! 10/10 would recommend. Our faces hurt from laughing and we’re sufficiently pissed to not want to go home yet, so we decide that it would be hilarious for us to revisit our youth and go for a dance at G-A-Y (I know). I pay our entry and the first round and GF pays to check our bags into the cloakroom. We start chatting to a random guy who is super sweet but quickly goes from straggler to third wheel. £15.50
12.30am: GF suggests McDonald's before going home and we’re out the club like lightning (she says all the right things). She bought an extra round earlier so I pay and we jump on the Tube. We get off the Tube and realise there’s no night bus to take us the rest of the way so Uber it is. I pay, £15.75. (Disclaimer: 100% ate my cheeseburger on the Tube #SorryNotSorry)
1.30am: Home at last. We haven’t had a night out like that together in ages, so even though I know we’ve spent a bomb, we’ve had such a laugh! GF has made it as far as the sofa and I can just about stand up long enough to take my makeup off and brush my teeth before collapsing into bed. Not looking forward to this hangover!
Total: £91.25
The Breakdown
Food/Drink: £73.97
Clothes/Beauty: £32.73
Entertainment: £43.99
Travel: £70.15
Other: £3.19
Total: £224.03
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