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 civil servant who's been in Manchester for a year and has decided to move on to a nicer place and record how much it all costs.
"I moved to Manchester a year ago for a new job. Loved my old flat but the landlord never liked paying for repairs so I decided to move. I also wanted to sign up for a 12-month lease which my current flatmate couldn’t do, so I'm moving in with another friend."
Industry: Civil Service
Age: 23
Location: Manchester
Salary: £28,000
Paycheque amount: £1,766.80
Number of housemates: 1
Moving Expenses: £1,175
I applied online and was accepted by the landlords. We then had to pay £175 application fee each so the agent could start credit checks and referencing. Once that was cleared, I paid £1,000 (£475 first month's rent and £525 deposit). It’s annoying that I have to pay a new deposit before I get the old one back (the vicious cycle of renting). Told my mum this on the phone and she kindly donated the cost of the new deposit to my bank account. I'm very grateful that my parents are understanding of the high costs associated with renting in England (I’m originally from Ireland, where the costs are much lower). I will pay her back when I get the old deposit into my account.
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £500 pcm in the old flat, £475 pcm in the new.
Loan payments: Student loan repayments taken out before tax.
Utilities: £146 (£10 internet, £20 water, £15 electric, £10 contents insurance, £78.50 council tax, £12.50 TV licence).
Transportation: £0 (I live and work in the city centre so can walk to work).
Phone bill: £14 sim-free contract – bought the phone outright a year ago.
Savings? £400. £200 into a LISA (savings for a house deposit). I put £2,500 into the LISA each year which my parents then top up for me. It means I get the full benefit of the HMRC bonus each tax year. I also contribute £200 a month to a regular savings account with a high interest rate. This is going towards my emergency fund and a fancy holiday I plan on taking next year.
Other: £0.79 iCloud storage.
Day One
7.45am: Get up after an hour or so of snoozing my alarm (yes, I’m that person). Trying to get into work before 9am every day this week so I’m off to an okay start. Quickly get washed, dressed, pack my bag and have breakfast (porridge and raspberries). Out the door by 8.20 and listen to the radio while walking to work.
8.50am: Arrive at work and realise I’ve forgotten my security pass. Wait in a queue at reception to get a visitor's one and promise to be more organised tomorrow. Finally get to my desk around 9 and make myself a coffee. We have a coffee club in the office which we pay into every so often. Try to remember how much I’ve paid in over the past year and realise it’s only been £10. It’s considerable value for money as I have an average of three cups a day.
12pm: Feeling hungry and forgot to bring any snacks in so I heat up my lunch. Have some leftover salami and red pepper pizza from an M&S deal at the weekend. Probably not the healthiest option but saves eating out for lunch.
1pm: Pop out to Waitrose to get coffee with a colleague. We have Waitrose cards for a free takeaway coffee when you buy something and the trip out has become a habit. Buy a lemon fool yoghurt and get an Americano in my KeepCup. Colleague gets mini chocolate rice cakes and a latte with her Waitrose gift card (which I’m very jealous of as she’s had free coffee trips all summer). £0.66
5.15pm: Stop in Sainsbury’s on my way home from work. As I’m packing up my kitchen stuff for moving flat I need to make easy lunches this week. Decide that sandwiches and salad is probably the best option so get ingredients for that and a few other breakfast items. Internal cry when I remember how expensive Sainsbury’s is in comparison to other supermarkets and vow to go via Aldi next time. £9.15
7.15pm: Meet my friend for a 10k. We’re both training for our first half marathon and I desperately need the company to get me through longer runs. We’ve decided to change from our normal route to see more of the bee statues that are throughout the city.
9pm: Successful run to Platt Fields park and back, taking in as many bees as possible on our way. My friend is letting me use her living room to store all my bags and boxes for moving as she only lives down the hall from my new flat, so I get another two moved after the run. All this carrying heavy boxes is 100% being counted as weight training. Get home, stick an M&S ready meal in the oven and sit down with Unforgotten (an ITV series I’ve been bingeing since the weekend). Look at kayaking for my trip to Portugal next week. Make note to self to text boyfriend about it tomorrow.
11pm: Shower and get into bed. Absolutely wrecked after the run and need a good night's rest as I’ve a busy day at work tomorrow.
Total: £9.81
Day Two
8.15am: Didn’t sleep well so I sleep in until after 8. That’s my pre-9am start ruined but better than being tired all day. Text my boyfriend while getting ready to see if he’d be interested in seeing Matilda the musical in September. He is and I happily make a mental note to stop off at the Palace Theatre after work to buy tickets. Get ready, eat breakfast and am out the door just before 9am.
1pm: Have a later than usual lunch as it’s been quite the busy morning. I’m changing jobs at the end of the month (moving to a different government department) so I’m mid-handover at the moment. Met my replacement today so have been unloading everything I’ve learned over the past year. Go to Waitrose to grab my usual yoghurt and coffee with some colleagues and eat my packed lunch at my desk (chorizo and cheese sandwiches). The yoghurt was somehow cheaper today but won’t question it. £0.64
5.15pm: Stop at the theatre on the way home to enquire about Matilda tickets. Find out my preferred dates aren’t available so say I’ll come back later. Message boyfriend to see if he can do other dates and make a note to call back in later this week. Would book online to save the hassle but this way avoids the expensive booking fee.
7pm: Current landlady texts to say she wants to collect the keys on Friday afternoon. I get the keys to my new place on Friday morning so guessing that will be quite a rushed/stressful day. Already not looking forward to it.
7.10pm: Get confirmation that a friend from work passed away while on holidays. I heard yesterday but really didn’t want it to be true. The news shocks me as he was only 28. Realise that I should stop complaining about silly things like moving flat.
8pm: Stick another M&S ready meal in the oven, Indian this time. I had a voucher which I used over the weekend and this is the last of the meals. Have quite enjoyed not having to cook over the past few days.
9.20pm: Move another few boxes with my friend. The flat is looking pretty empty now and it’s all starting to feel a bit more real. I’ll miss this flat, despite all the problems we had with it.
11pm: After bingeing a few episodes of Unforgotten I call it a night and get into bed.
Total: £0.64
Day Three
8.15am: Wake up – yet another lie-in. Haven’t got any meetings until 11 so I don’t worry about it too much. Have porridge for breakfast, make my lunch and am out the door by 8.50.
11.30am: My manager is visiting me today which is really nice. He’s based in the Midlands so we don’t get to see each other that often but he wants to make the most of my last few weeks and ensure my handover is going to plan. I lead a session for the whole division on the work I’ve been doing this year, which seems to go down quite well.
12pm: Read this week's Money Diary and think mine will seem so dull in comparison. Friend messages me about the diary and I’m already looking forward to our in-depth analysis of it at running club tonight. Eat packed lunch at my desk – I know it’s a bad habit.
3.30pm: Leave work early for a sports massage. I bought it on Groupon a few months ago but never got round to using it. Only slot they could give me was 4pm; thankfully I have flexi-time.
4.45pm: Feeling much better after the massage but the therapist said I need to strengthen my gluteus muscles if I ever want to stop shin splints. Stop by Sainsbury’s on the way home and pick up Terry's Chocolate Orange minis and a packet of coriander and lime Sensations. £2
6.30pm: Head to running club, they meet at a pub just across the road from my flat and I’m not stuck in the rain for too long.
7.15pm: Finished my 5k, thankfully the rain eased off while we were running and we are now safely in the shelter of the pub. Buy myself and a friend drinks; cider for me, Orangina for her. £7.30
8.40pm: Move some boxes over with some friends. End up chatting and drinking tea until 10pm.
10pm: Finally get home and put my dinner on. I’ve packed up most of my food so tonight’s meal is garlic bread from the freezer, leftover chorizo slices and some salad.
11pm: Bed, need to be in work early tomorrow.
Total: £9.30
Day Four
7.45am: Wake up, get dressed and have my usual porridge breakfast. Out the door by 8.15.
8.45am: Arrive at work for my 9am meeting; find it’s been rescheduled. Oh well, suppose this means I can leave earlier.
1.15pm: Go for lunch with the girls from work. We’re short on time so go to Northern Soul Grilled Cheese (a new one has just opened up beside our office). I get loaded fries with buffalo chicken, blue cheese and Sriracha sauce. Delicious. £6
5pm: Leave work and head home. Meeting my friend in the Green Quarter at 6 but need to drop my bag off first and pick up a Debenhams voucher.
6.15pm: Meet my friend at one of our favourite bars after being drenched in the torrential Manchester rain. Have our usual £1 pizza and a cider (£6). My friend pays for the pizza as I fed her at the weekend. Spend a while co-writing a eulogy for our friend to be included in his obituary and talk about our memories of him.
7.50pm: Make it to Debenhams just before they close to buy some new pillows. The ones I want are priced at £45 but when I get to the till I find out they’re doing a 25% sale and I use my rewards voucher. Bargain! I pay with my Debenhams credit card. I know a lot of people tend to avoid store cards due to the high interest rates but I always pay off my bill in full at the end of each month. I love the rewards vouchers and it’s helping towards building a good credit score as I hope to get a mortgage in a few years. £29.75
11pm: Get into bed after a few hours of cleaning/packing. Fall asleep after bingeing too many episodes of Unforgotten.
Total: £41.75
Day Five
7.45am: Wake up and see that we’re owed £160 in council tax – will check out how to get that back later. Fall back asleep.
8.45am: Get up and start cleaning again. Today is moving day and I have to be out of this flat and into the new one in the space of five hours – nightmare. Have taken a flexi day to be able to manage it on my own. Finish off cleaning the oven and scrub the kitchen down.
10.45am: Estate agents ring me to say they’ve arrived at the new flat. Happily walk over and collect my new keys.
2.35pm: Managed to move all my stuff over to the new building and I’m nearly finished cleaning the old flat. Landlady texts to say she’ll be late so I grab some lunch from the corner shop – chickpea salad. Eat it in the new flat. £2.75
5pm: Landlady arrives and I hand over the keys. She seems to be happy with how clean it is. We were originally going to get a professional end of tenancy clean but it was very expensive and wasn’t stipulated in our contract so I decided to just do it myself. Start unpacking in the other flat and me and the new flatmate have some beers as a toast.
8.30pm: We order Thai food on Deliveroo, I pay. £22. Flatmate goes to the shop to pick up more beers. He pays. My friend comes over to see the new flat and we toast to it. Realise that I ordered the food to the old flat by mistake so I ring Deliveroo quickly to get it changed.
9.15pm: We go to our local to play board games. I buy an Orangina and then flatmate buys me a glass of white wine. I come second in Trivial Pursuit, although I’ll admit I did get a string of easy questions. £3.10
10.30pm: We get back to the flat and make Old Fashioneds. My friend goes home around 11.
11.30pm: Bedtime as it’s been a long, long day.
Total: £27.85
Day Six
7.45am: Wake up and start to get ready for Parkrun. Look out the window and see that it’s pouring down. Decide I don’t want to spend £3 on a tram ticket just to get soaked so make the wise choice to get back into bed.
9.30am: Wake up again. Look out the windows and it’s blue skies and sunny now – typical Manchester. Get up and make my usual breakfast of porridge. Watch the Pope arrive in Ireland on the TV with the flatmate. I was raised Catholic in Ireland so give a great running commentary of the whole thing.
11am: Move the last of the suitcases over from my friend's flat. Now just need to start unpacking.
12pm: We drive down to my flatmate's parents’ house (they only live 15 minutes away) to pick up some stuff there. Shop at B&M Bargains, Aldi and Tesco to get things for the flat and groceries. Spend £31.60 at B&M, £22.92 at Aldi and £12 at Tesco.
4.15pm: Go to a nearby building to collect a desk I bought a few weeks ago. I paid the guy half when I agreed to buy it and I transfer him the other half when I get back to my flat. £15
5pm: My boyfriend sends me pictures of a cute little puppy he’s just visited. Jealous isn’t strong enough to describe how I feel. Wish I was there. Hoping he’ll steal it and bring it with him when he comes over next weekend.
7pm: Flatmate has made a lamb biriyani. It’s delicious and I need to get the recipe for it.
11pm: After a few more hours of unpacking I get into bed and binge Unforgotten until after midnight with a glass of red wine and chocolate. I swear at this rate I’ll have all the seasons finished by the end of the bank holiday weekend.
Total: £81.52
Day Seven
9am: Get up and make my usual breakfast of porridge. Look outside and it’s very drizzly. Have to do a 7k run to make up my weekly miles today so not looking forward to that. Watch the Pope as I have my breakfast and then make a coffee. Text a friend and we agree to meet at 3pm to go to Manchester Pride.
11am: I put a full chicken in the slow cooker with some seasoning. Will use it for a Sunday roast later and lunches during the week.
12.30pm: See on our building Facebook page that someone is selling a floor lamp and a clothes horse for a fiver each. Message her about buying them and pick them up a few minutes later. Managed to get her down to £8 for the two items. Could have done better, to be honest; my haggling self is disappointed.
1pm: It’s still bucketing down outside so I decide to go to the gym instead of a run. Do 2.5 miles on the treadmill, and finish off with a quick swim/sauna. I bought a summer pass a few weeks ago and this was the last day of it.
2.30pm: Google "Manchester Pride events" and realise it’s very expensive just to go for the day so decide to go to the free candlelit vigil tomorrow instead. Message my friend about going bowling tonight instead. She seems up for it and will ask her flatmate.
3pm: Make a late lunch – leftover rice from last night, chorizo slices, spinach and tomatoes. Unpack the last bag of clothes which means I’m pretty much finished!
3.45pm: Listen to today’s Desert Island Discs. It’s a re-run from 1988 with Cilla Black.
4.30pm: I reserve a lane for bowling. Earliest slot they have available is 10pm but I suppose we can just have a few drinks before that. £12 for three of us and the others will pay me back later.
5.15pm: Get a Snapchat from my friend who’s just finished her charity cycle around Lough Neagh. It comes as a good reminder to donate to her fundraising page for the Alzheimer’s Society. I give £5 (plus £1.25 gift aid).
9.50pm: Get to Dog Bowl. Friends buy my drinks. Play a round and I come second, buy another round (second again) and we head home for a drink there. End up drinking until 4am. Thank god it’s a bank holiday tomorrow. £12
Total: £37
The Breakdown
Food/Drink: £94.52
Entertainment: £24
Clothes/Beauty: £0
Travel: £0
Other: £89.35
Total: £207.87
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