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 23-year-old who has moved close to London to pursue a musical theatre career...
"I’m originally from Yorkshire but have lived in Buckinghamshire since graduating from dance college four years ago, to be close to London for auditions. I’m hoping to achieve a full-time career in musical theatre but I’ve only had a handful of short performance contracts so far. As well as doing odd bits of performing and teaching work, I’m currently working full-time in an office role at a museum, which I fell into after starting there as a temp. I’m super lucky that the museum supports my goals; they’ve allowed me to take unpaid leave to do performing jobs and attend auditions, after I used up most of my annual leave doing a part-time musical theatre course this year. It can be really tricky to juggle my time and my budget – especially when I take unpaid leave to do performance work that pays less per day than I would normally earn – however I’ve just signed with a new agent so I’m hoping things will work out for me soon."
Industry: Performing Arts / Museums
Age: 23
Location: Buckinghamshire
Salary: £20,412 (give or take, depending on performance work and/or unpaid leave)
Paycheque amount: £1,438.72 after tax. This is my standard paycheque from the museum, but again this can vary.
Number of housemates: None
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £363.65 for rent and service charges. I have a shared ownership flat; my parents helped me buy a 25% share, so I pay rent on the 75% I don’t own. It was a big decision to do this rather than rent normally, but I think it’ll work out best in the long run. When I sell, we’ll split the money between me and my sister, so we’ll each have some money we can use as a deposit for our own places.
Loan payments: £80 by direct debit to my parents each month to pay back money I borrowed for course fees, and a minimum payment of £25 for my credit card (plus whatever else I can afford to pay off in chunks to both). I do have a student loan, but I don’t earn enough to pay it off yet.
Utilities: £66 council tax, £15 water, £46 electricity, £12.37 TV licence, £7.98 contents insurance and £17 broadband (which I signed up for a couple of years ago after realising I was spending more on coffee while using the free Wi-Fi in Costa).
Transportation: £186.40 a month for my annual travel card for work, which gets deducted from my salary as part of a loan scheme (over 10 months rather than 12, so I won’t have to pay in November or December), plus any extra travel into London for auditions and stuff, which really varies month to month (but thankfully is claimable as expenses against tax… Yay for being self-employed!).
Phone bill: £43.68
Savings? None
Other: £15.99 for the gym, £4.99 for Apple Music and £0.79 for extra iCloud storage. I use my parents' Netflix for free.
Total: £884.85
Day One
12.45pm: I drag myself out of bed after snoozing all morning... it’s Sunday, but I got back from a holiday yesterday so I need to unpack and tidy, and desperately need to get some food in the house. I shower, heat up some pie from the freezer for lunch (shopping on an empty stomach – always the worst idea!) and head out to Waitrose, taking my reusable cup so I can have a free coffee. I buy a couple of dinner options to stock up the fridge, some soup and bagels for work lunches, and some staple bits like juice, milk, yoghurts, etc. I find it difficult to plan evening meals at the moment, as I never know if my boyfriend will come round to eat at mine or if I’ll end up going to his and eating there... This means I tend to do a smaller shop every few days rather than a big weekly shop, so I waste less. I know Waitrose can be a bit pricey, but it’s way closer to my flat than the other supermarkets and I don’t drive, so it’s the easiest option. My shop today totals £15.15.
5.30pm: My boyfriend has invited me to his so, after spending the afternoon doing a few chores at home, I walk round. His mum usually cooks a big dinner on a Sunday, so I’m always grateful to join and get a good meal for free. Her shallots in cheese sauce are to DIE for!
10.55pm: I grab a lift home and, when I arrive, remember I ran out of shampoo and conditioner before I went on holiday. I like to use a particular brand that’s not available in the supermarket, so I order some online; I have a couple of sample sachets that will tide me over until they arrive. They’re £6.99 each, so a total of £13.98 with free delivery; expensive I know, but one bottle of each usually lasts me about three months. I settle down to watch a couple of episodes of Bodyguard, then go to bed afterwards feeling exhausted from the stress of the finale.
Total: £29.13
Day Two
9.30am: First day back at work after my holiday and it’s freezing... NOT helping with my motivation levels. I decide against treating myself to a Costa on the way into work as I’m already running late. Luckily there’s coffee in the pot when I get into the office and someone’s brought biscuits.
12.50pm: Time for lunch. I toast a couple of the bagels I bought from Waitrose yesterday and have them with half the tub of soup; I’ll have the rest tomorrow. After I’ve eaten, I nip to the Co-op to grab a couple of things I forgot to pick up yesterday; toothpaste and kitchen roll. Annoyingly, the Co-op is always really expensive for toiletries as it’s the only supermarket in the village where I work. I buy myself a chocolate bar as well, and it all comes to £5. I check my receipt after I leave and see that I’ve been charged full price for the toothpaste, which was supposed to be on offer. Boo.
5.25pm: I call my parents while I’m on the train home from work; they live up in Yorkshire, so I don’t see them often. My headphones have been playing up for a while and, although I’ve been putting off buying new ones for ages, I can barely hear my dad today so I decide it’s time to give in. I’ve had my eye on some Bluetooth ones from Argos, so when I get home, I bite the bullet and order them for £19.99; I’ll collect them from the store after work tomorrow.
6.55pm: My boyfriend’s due to come round at about 8pm (which probably means more like 8.45pm, ha), but I’m starving so decide to eat before he arrives. I cook the fishcake and veg I bought from Waitrose yesterday with some potato wedges from the freezer, and eat while watching Netflix. I also reluctantly put the heating on for the first time this autumn. My flat is always either boiling or freezing!
8.35pm: My boyfriend arrives and, as he hasn’t eaten yet, orders pizza. Naturally, even though I’ve already had dinner, I end up eating loads of it too and we slob out on the sofa for the rest of the evening.
Total: £24.99
Day Three
9am: I set off to the station a few minutes early so I have time to grab a coffee before my train arrives. I order a hazelnut latte from the station café for £2.95, but it turns out I have loads of points on my loyalty card, so I get it for free. Win!
1pm: Soup and bagels again for lunch. It’s a pretty busy day at work so I probably should take a proper break, but the weather looks miserable outside so I stay at my desk and check my phone while I eat. My friend has texted me about a comedian who’s doing a gig at our local theatre on Saturday; she’s got a discount code for tickets through her old job and thinks it might be a fun night out. We decide that we’ll book it tonight as we’ve planned to go to the gym and cook dinner together.
6.15pm: I just manage to get back from Argos (where I picked up the headphones I bought yesterday) in time for my friend to arrive at my place; we walk to the gym and work out for about an hour, before heading to Waitrose to buy dinner. We buy ingredients to make chicken wraps, plus dessert, which comes to £4.76 each. We also arrange the theatre tickets for Saturday, which are £8 each. While we’re cooking dinner, we both eat a slice of last night’s leftover pizza... so naughty but soooo nice. We have ingredients spare from the wraps, so we each make extra for work lunches tomorrow.
11pm: After checking out some Airbnbs together for an upcoming night out in London, my friend leaves. I tidy up, pretend to be Kelli O’Hara in the shower for a bit (she’s a huge Broadway star, for those who aren’t as embarrassingly stagey as me) and wind down ready for bed.
Total: £12.76
Day Four
9.25am: I’m absolutely starving, so I pop into the Co-op on the way into work and grab an iced latte and chocolate croissant for £2.50. I also realise that I forgot to bring in the lunch I prepared last night. Damn.
10.20am: My friend has managed to book one of the Airbnbs that we were looking at yesterday; we’re going to a party later in the month and don’t want to have to leave early to get the last train home. I transfer her £26.50 to cover my half for the room; way cheaper than a taxi would have been, plus it means we can do something fun in London the next day.
1.20pm: I decide it’s about time I ate some lunch, so I pop to the Co-op to buy something I can have with my last remaining bagel. I buy some hummus, Monster Munch and chopped mango, as well as washing-up gloves which I need for home. £6.09 spent. My shampoo and conditioner also gets delivered to the office.
8.45pm: After spending the evening doing various bits of life admin (including signing a contract for an upcoming performance job YAY it’s nice when I get to remember I’m a professional!), I prepare my dinner. I have last night’s leftover wrap with some salad and potato wedges. Afterwards, I catch up on this week’s Great British Bake Off, then do some reading before bed.
Total: £35.09
Day Five
9.25am: I head to the Co-op again before work and get an iced latte and a bunch of bananas, which comes to £2.18. I eat one of the bananas for breakfast when I get into the office and save the rest for snacks/breakfasts later in the week.
12.45pm: I decide to treat myself for lunch today as I’m having a coil fitted later and I’m a) really dreading it and b) think I should eat something substantial beforehand in case I get a bit faint or anything. I order myself a jacket potato with cheese and beans from the café at work. We get 10% discount but it’s still a bit pricey – it costs me £4.50, but it’s delicious so it’s worth it.
8.45pm: After being out of action for a good few hours since my coil fitting (horrendous cramps, I won’t go into more detail), I’m feeling a bit perkier after a nice hot shower. I tidy the kitchen a bit and then cook myself a veggie stir-fry with ingredients I bought at Waitrose on Sunday. My boyfriend comes round to chill and sleep over; he brings something from home to cook for his own dinner.
Total: £6.68
Day Six
8.45am: I have a banana for breakfast at home, then set off to the train station. When I get off the train, I pop into Costa and order a flat white with coconut milk; I get a discount for using my reusable cup, so it’s £2.80.
12.20pm: I’m still feeling pretty crappy after yesterday and I’ve been feeling a bit faint for the last half-hour, so I head out of the office to get some fresh air and grab something to eat. First, I go to the post office to post some items I’ve sold on eBay, then nip to the Co-op and basically buy everything I’m craving; a really bad idea, but I’m feeling too rubbish to decide on anything sensible to eat. I buy a share bag of crisps, some dip, a big bag of Haribo and some melon, which comes to £6.40. I return to the office and have some of the crisps and dip, plus the melon, for lunch. I decide it’d be nice to share the Haribo with my colleagues, so I put them by the printer (where we keep office snacks) so everyone can dig in.
7pm: I’m home alone tonight, so I decide to treat myself to a takeaway. I deliberate over ordering Wagamama (which would be a healthier option), however go for KFC in the end as it’s cheaper. Including delivery, I spend £13.19. I feel super guilty for being so unhealthy today and promise myself I’ll eat better over the weekend! I crash on the sofa for the rest of the evening.
Total: £22.39
Day Seven
10.30am: I get up, showered and breakfasted (a banana and a biscuit), before getting started on tidying my kitchen so I can finish painting it this weekend. I started redecorating it in August, however haven’t had a chance to finish up for ages as I’ve been so busy.
1.30pm: I run out of washing-up liquid, so venture out in the rain to Waitrose to get some. I also buy a few other bits, including some veggie chilli, rice and wraps which should be enough to have for lunch today and tomorrow; my shop totals £12.64. When I get back, I eat and then carry on cleaning.
5.30pm: After an afternoon of painting, my friend arrives ready to go to the comedy gig; she brings a bottle of fizz, which we manage to drain before heading out. We only eat a few snacks before we go (including some of the crisps and dip I bought yesterday), as my friend went out for lunch and is still pretty full.
7.25pm: Just before the show, I buy us gin and tonics at the theatre bar; we share one tonic between us, but it still comes to £12.10! Seeing as that was such a rip-off, we run across the road to Waitrose in the interval to buy some G&T cans for the second half. My friend pays for these and we sneak them back into the theatre in her bag.
9.45pm: The show finishes and we head into town for some drinks. I have a £10 voucher for one of the local pubs, so we get a drink each there and my friend pays the difference of about £2. Then we head round the corner to a little cocktail bar, where we have Espresso Martinis for £7.50 each. I pay by card, and my friend gives me the cash for her half.
10.35pm: My friend’s boyfriend works at a pub in a village just outside of town, so she pays for a taxi to get us there. We have a few drinks and the chef even makes us a mini dessert each, all of which we end up getting for free! Afterwards, her boyfriend gives us a lift home, via McDonald's, which he pays for (I'm too tipsy to care about yesterday’s "healthy eating" resolution).
2.15am: I feel a bit guilty about all the free food and drink we’ve had, so when I get home, I transfer my friend £4 to give to her boyfriend to cover the cost of my McDonald's. I take off my makeup as best I can in my drunken state and roll into bed, ready for a mega Sunday lie-in.
Total: £36.24
The Breakdown
Food/Drink: £98.81
Entertainment: £8
Clothes/Beauty: £13.98
Travel: £0
Other: £46.49
Total: £167.28
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