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 25-year-old in Dublin who's moved back in with her parents while she starts a new job and figures out how to manage her money for the very first time...
"I’ve recently moved back home from living abroad, and started a new job. I’ve only had one full paycheque so far, so I’m slowly learning to budget. Like every millennial, I flitter between panicking about the future and being frugal, and treating myself, because why not? Realistically I’ll never be able to afford a house, and paying the sky-high rates in Dublin feels like the equivalent of burning money right now.
I love to travel, so have a permanent list of places I want to go. I try to keep some money set aside for these trips. I had some grand ideas about taking six months to do a trip across Central and South America, but instead I succumbed to the corporate life and got a job.
It’s been a huge change living with my parents and adjusting to work life. So far so good, I think. I’m usually so bad at budgeting but I’m trying to learn and get better each month. I have a top-up only bank card I try to upload to every once in a while, but in the past month I’ve forgotten to use it.
I know I probably spend too much on coffee and eating out, but it's the main way I socialise and catch up with friends and family. Finding good restaurants and having nice meals with my favourite people are some of my favourite things to do."
Industry: Communications
Age: 25
Location: Dublin
Salary: €25,000 (£22,000)
Paycheque amount: €1,819 monthly (£1,601)
Number of housemates: Living with my parents until I can afford to move out (but I've only just started my job and Dublin is in the middle of a housing crisis and rents are insane, so I'll be home for another few months until I've saved enough and found the right place).
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: €300 (£264) per month to my parents
Loan payments: €0
Transportation: €40-50 (£35-44) on petrol
Phone bill: Currently on a pay as you go plan, so I usually top up monthly by €20 (£17.61) (in the process of scouting for a better deal elsewhere with better coverage).
Savings? I actually don’t have a savings account, I just mentally set aside money in my account that’s not to be spent. I’ve been meaning to open one though.
Credit card: Varies monthly, depending on what I’ve been doing or whether I've been away. Last month’s bill was €110 (£96.83).
Other: Gym membership €29 (£25.53), Spotify €9.99 (£8.79).
Day One
7.10am: Alarm goes off, had set it a bit early with the intention of doing some morning stretches or yoga, having a decent healthy breakfast, and taking my time before going to work. Such grand ideas but so unrealistic. I happily roll over and get some more sleep instead.
7.45am: Snooze alarm until I really have to get up. Quick breakfast of yoghurt, blueberries, raspberries and peanut butter. Put on some makeup, brush teeth, fill my reusable water bottle and make coffee with frothy oat milk to go in my keep cup. I’ve started making a coffee before I leave every day, because it means I won’t pick one up on the way.
8.30am: Drive to work, it takes me just under 30 minutes in the morning and 15-20 minutes in the evening.
9am: Get into work, check emails, have a quiet panic/sweat about the amount of work I have to do and make some tea (I bring in my own teabags).
11am: Emails, emails, emails, spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets. Think wistfully about how I should've brought a snack. Guzzle water instead, dreaming about all the snacks I could be eating right now.
1pm-2pm: Once every few weeks I meet my mum out for lunch or dinner, and we alternate who pays. This week it's her treat and we go to our usual place, about 10 minutes' walk from work. We both have the veggie special (mushrooms, aubergine, peppers, salad and pesto on sourdough) and I have a flat white (€13 for both of us).
6pm: After a hectic afternoon in work, I go to the phone shop on the way home. Successfully switch network – the sim card is free and I decide to pick my plan tomorrow because my brain is a bit fried and I can’t figure out exactly what I want right now. Wander around a few other shops, debate buying a jumper and even wait at the till but then decide I don't need it and leave (trying to be sensible and minimalist). Drive home. €2 parking (£1.76).
7.30pm: Dinner is a mix of flatbreads, veggies and hummus. Followed by some dark chocolate and a glass of red wine. Relax by finding some mindless TV to watch, settle on 90 Day Fiancé (a very trashy, very guilty pleasure). I make lunch for tomorrow: fry up some tofu and veggies in olive oil with cumin, salt and pepper, and add rice.
10pm: Exhausted. I do my nightly routine: take off my makeup, brush teeth, light a candle, try to read my book and spend more time scrolling through my phone. Set alarm for 7.15am with more good intentions of yoga and stretching.
Total: €2 (£1.76)
Day Two
7.25am: Snooze alarm for 10 minutes, no stretching/yoga. Grumble, put on a podcast and have the same breakfast as yesterday. Still hungry, so have some toast. Pack my lunch up, add some leftover flatbreads and hummus from last night. Makeup, brush teeth, water bottle, coffee to go.
8.30am: Drive to work. Realise halfway there I've forgotten my water bottle. Get to work for 8.50am, feeling slightly smug about beating the traffic and arriving before 9. Take my keycard out of my bag and somehow drop it on my 30-second walk from the car. Spend a full five minutes looking for the lost keycard. Find it, and end up being a few minutes late.
9.30am: Have a mild panic thinking about whether I put on deodorant this morning, casually spritz myself with some perfume just in case. Try to get my new network working on my phone. I’m generally a pretty patient person, except when it comes to technology. I get very stressed when something doesn’t just work automatically with minimal input.
11am: Spend 20 minutes scrolling through work-suitable-but-fancy backpacks online, decide yes I need one. Justify this as a necessity for work purposes – something that will fit my laptop. Will look again online properly when I'm home. WhatsApp a friend I haven't seen in months and make weekend brunch plans.
1pm: Top up phone before heading out. Eat in the canteen before going for a walk. Finding my anxiety levels are way higher than usual this week, try to calm down before going back into work. €20 (£17.61)
6pm: After-work drinks. I'm driving and my coworker kindly buys me a Sprite. Lots of small talk with people, but it ends up being more fun than expected and I stay later than planned. Graze on the free food platters floating around.
8.30pm: Get home, have a (large) glass of red wine and some chocolate.
10.30pm: Set alarm for early gym session tomorrow and watch Netflix until I fall asleep.
Total: €20 (£17.61)
Day Three
5.30am: Alarm goes off, instantly regret my decision to go to a 6am gym glass. Roll out of bed, get dressed, make coffee, and go to the gym. Sweat, bleary eyed, through a 45-minute workout.
7.15am: Home, feeling extremely smug that I've fit a full workout in before 7am and overall feel better about myself anxiety-wise. Have a huge bowl of porridge for breakfast (complete with yoghurt, peanut butter, dark chocolate and berries). Shower, then usual routine and out the door by 8.35am.
10am: Remember I owe my friend for a skincare order she put in for us and transfer her the money. €13 (£11.44)
1pm: Go for lunch, have brought in a spicy bean and lentil curry I made last week. Eat with a friend; we solve all our problems in the hour. Come back from lunch feeling a lot lighter and more positive.
7pm: End up going out for dinner with my parents, they kindly pay. Have a relatively early night because I'm pretty exhausted after a long stressful week. Realise that this has been a really boring Money Diary so far.
Total: €13 (£11.44)
Day Four
8.15am: Wake up, get dressed and go to yoga for an hour. Feel extremely chilled and relaxed after, and meet a friend for coffee. €3 (£2.64)
12pm: Meet another friend for brunch. So great to catch up over good food. I have a flat white and spicy eggs with dukkah, yoghurt and sourdough. €13 (£11.44)
2pm-6pm: Spend the day lazing around, relaxing, catching up on YouTube videos and binge some Netflix. Go to the shop to pick up some "necessities": coffee, bottle of wine (for my friend's dinner later), raspberries and some one-pot microwave dishes because I’m lazy and bad at making my lunch the night before work. €25 (£22.01)
8pm: Meet friends for dinner, not super hungry after a huge brunch so order a halloumi salad. Instantly regret when the salad comes and have serious food envy of everyone else’s much bigger and more appetising dishes. Good to catch up with friends, we end up leaving the restaurant about midnight. I seriously consider stopping by McDonald's on my drive home, but resist the temptation. Get home and inhale some toast instead. Watch Ozark on Netflix before falling asleep. €18 (£15.84)
Total: €59 (£52)
Day Five
7.30am: Wake up far too early for a weekend, roll over and sleep for a few more hours. Call my boyfriend around 11 to catch up (he’s currently away so we’re making an effort to have proper phone calls).
12pm: Craving carbs so go and buy bread rolls, crisps and a Diet Coke in the shop around the corner. Come home, make a crisp sandwich (no judgment please). End up eating the entire family-size bag of crisps but I’ve truly satisfied my carb cravings. Worth it. €5 (£4.40)
4pm: Drive to the seafront for a walk, realise after I've left the house that I have no petrol. Stop at a garage to get petrol and a bottle of water. Go for a nice long walk to clear my head and listen to some music. Feel a lot more refreshed and positive afterwards. €24 (£21.13)
7pm: Watching TV with my parents, keep seeing pizza ads and decide we should just order pizza. I order and pay online, then go to pick it up, €26.50 (£23.33). I stop in the shop on the way home to get another couple of Diet Cokes and some chocolate for dessert. €5 (£4.40)
9-12pm: Watch a movie, call my boyfriend again, and go to bed around midnight.
Total: €60.50 (£53.46)
Day Six
7.30am: Drag myself out of bed to make breakfast and lunch. Usual routine – porridge, coffee, water, make lunch, get ready. Out the door by 8.35am, at work by 9am.
10am: Have another coffee using the coffee pods I picked up the other day.
12.30pm: Feeling ravenous, eat my lunch at my desk (pre-made spicy lentil and spinach pot).
1pm: Go for a walk during lunch. Grab another flat white, telling myself three is my absolute limit for the day, €2 (£1.76). I pass a shop selling incense and candles. Go in for a browse, end up buying an incense holder and some sandalwood incense (trying to meditate and chill for mindfulness). €5 (£4.40)
6.30pm: Home from work, eat the leftover pizza and some chilli that was in the freezer. Book concert tickets for me and a friend, she reimburses me for her half. €24.75 (£21.79)
7.30pm: Meet a friend for hot chocolate in a nearby late night café, just to catch up and chill out. Making a more conscious effort with friends and family lately. €3 (£2.64)
8.30-10pm: Tidy room and prep overnight oats for tomorrow morning. Make an appointment to get my hair cut, and book in for three gym classes this week. Watch Netflix before going to sleep.
Total: €34.75 (£30.59)
Day Seven
7.30am: Get up, have overnight oats, get ready. Make coffee, out the door by 8.30am.
1pm: Go for lunch in a café near work. Listen to a podcast, order a flat white and spicy cauliflower soup special. €9 (£7.92)
1.45pm: Pop into Boots, realise my cleanser is on sale so pick up two bottles and a moisturiser/suncream hybrid from the same range. €13.50 (£11.88)
6.30pm: Get home from work, quickly change into my gym gear and go back out to the gym.
7.15-8pm: Sweat and grumble through the entirety of the workout, but feel 100x better afterwards.
8pm-11pm: Spend my evening having dinner (stir fry with veggies and soy sauce), on the phone to my boyfriend and trawling Instagram and Twitter. Read a book until I fall asleep.
Total: €22.50 (£19.81)
The Breakdown:
Food/Drink: €109.50 (£96.50)
Entertainment: €24.75 (£21.79)
Clothes/Beauty: €26.50 (£23.33)
Travel: €24 (£21.13)
Other: €27 (£23.80)
Total: €211.75 (£186.55)
Ed note: All prices converted from EUR to GBP via XE.com
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