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Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last penny.
This week: “I’m a 27-year-old project manager from a smallish town in Cheshire. I’ve lived in the same town my whole life and despite hating it as a child, I have grown to love it, and I couldn’t see myself anywhere else now. I purchased my first property, a one-bed apartment, earlier this year. I live there alone, which I love. I am very grateful to be in a position where I’m able to experience living alone as I know it is a luxury not everyone can afford.
Work-wise, ‘project manager’ is the best title we could come up with as my role is extremely varied and spans several different businesses and industries. I work alongside an owner of multiple businesses and I work on whatever is needed at the time; sometimes it’s heading up the rollout of a new CRM (customer relationship management) system, other times it’s planning permission for one of his properties. I love my job and the variety I have, although I do sometimes see people getting bored when I try to explain what I do for a living. I’ve been with my partner, E, for several years now. We met at a music event through mutual friends; six months later, we started dating. He lives around 50 miles from me so we split our weekends between each other’s houses. We are very lucky to have met through friends and despite the distance, we each have close friends in the other’s hometown, which keeps us nice and busy on the weekends!”
Occupation: Project manager
Industry: Several
Age: 27
Location: Cheshire
Salary: £34,000
Paycheque amount: £2,220
Number of housemates: None
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £342 mortgage.
Loan payments: £0
Savings? £1,250 in a “bills” account. I put £250 per month in here to pay for service charges/buildings insurance. I’ve had no contact from the managing company since I bought the property (despite me chasing them). I know this bill is going to come eventually but for now, it’s nice seeing it build up. I will also use this pot to pay for my car insurance renewal when it is due. I have £4,000 in a personal savings account, to which I’m currently adding £500/month to rebuild my savings since buying my apartment (and admittedly a summer full of holidays and events). Once I have a good emergency fund, I will be reducing this to £250 a month and putting the rest into investments.
Pension? I pay 5% and I believe between my employer and the tax relief from the government, this is made up to 10%. There’s only about £5k in there currently and I am acutely aware that I need to be preparing for the future better.
Utilities: £29.30 water, £122.83 for gas, electricity and broadband combined.
All other monthly payments: £103 council tax, £10 giffgaff SIM only, £10.90 life insurance, £11.79 income protection, £11.41 contents insurance policy, £16.62 for my car tax. Subscriptions: £4.99 Netflix, £10.99 Spotify, £26 Now TV Sports, £10 Guide Dogs charity, £2.99 Apple storage, £2.29 F1 app.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I didn’t. I left college after the first year and got an apprenticeship in an office just before my 17th birthday. I made a total of £400 per month — how apprentice wages are legal, I will never know. I have been working full-time ever since.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
There were never many money conversations when I was younger. For most of my childhood, my mum was able to be a stay-at-home mum while my dad supported the family on his own. He worked long hours and late nights to make this possible and his sacrifice was not lost on us. Our parents never let us go without what we needed, however I do remember feeling a lot of guilt surrounding money when I was younger. I would try to convince my parents that I did not want to go on school trips etc. as I wanted us to have more time together.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out at 26, into the apartment I recently purchased.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I have worked since 16, which is when I stopped receiving any money from my parents. I started paying board and purchasing all my own food, toiletries etc. at my parents’ house from around 18.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I got a job as a waitress in a local pub straight after my 16th birthday because I wanted to learn to drive as soon as possible. I saved almost every penny I earned and was able to buy a car and pay for my driving lessons when my 17th birthday rolled around.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes and no. I worry about saving enough for the future, and I worry I don’t have the financial literacy to make the correct decisions surrounding that. I also worry in a way about being able to pay my bills. I feel a strange kind of guilt sometimes when spending money in case I ever find myself out of work as I don’t have anyone in the house to fall back on if anything happens to my income. That being said, I try not to restrict myself as I want to make sure I enjoy my life.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
Yes. Unfortunately I’ve lost a lot of my immediate family over the years, which meant that when my final grandparent passed in 2022, my mother’s share of the estate was split between myself and my sibling. I received £27,000, which, along with my personal savings of a similar amount, enabled me to put down a large deposit on my apartment. I am aware of what a privilege it is to receive money like this and that not everyone will be afforded the same opportunity but, like anyone else in a similar position, I would still much rather have my mum and grandparents here with me instead.
5:24 a.m. — Alarm goes off earlier than normal. Thursday night is usually a pamper night for me but I am getting it all done this morning instead. My partner, E, is visiting me this weekend — he normally arrives Friday night but he is WFH tomorrow so he’s joining me a day early.
7:30 a.m. — I’m ready early so I have a coffee at home and watch some TikTok. I pack my lunch up and head out the door at 8 a.m., ready for an 8.45 a.m. start.
11:30 a.m. — The morning is flying by and I notice I haven’t had a break yet. I take 15 minutes to make a herbal tea and eat a kiwi and a clementine.
1:20 p.m. — Lunchtime. I go for a quick trip to the town centre with my colleague T to check out the charity shops but there’s no joy for either of us. When I get back to the office, I microwave my five bean chilli and eat at my desk. I have the cereal bar I forgot about this morning for dessert.
3:45 p.m. — Quick break so I snack on Pom-Bears and a yoghurt. I wash this down with a can of Diet Coke, which we always keep in the fridge as a team. I realise now how much of my day revolves around a snack and a nice drink.
5:30 p.m. — Leave work for the day and head to Tesco Express to return some ASOS parcels. I’ve been trying to break up with Klarna as I thought it was encouraging me to order more than I would otherwise so I paid for both these orders on my card. Unfortunately I’m returning everything, so I’ve got no treats and I’m out of pocket for a few weeks until they refund me. I will probably just re-download Klarna next time.
6:10 p.m. — Meet my dad at the pub. He’s already got a drink so I just grab two pints of Madrí, one for me and the other for E, who is on his way here too. I pay for both, £12.20.
7:45 p.m. — Get home after dropping Dad at his. E helps with tea and we make veggie sausages, Yorkshire puds, mash, mushy peas and gravy. E isn’t veggie like me but is happy to eat my food, which I am grateful for as it saves me having to buy two of everything when he comes to visit. We settle in on the sofa and watch The Walking Dead until bedtime — everyone we speak to says they gave up on it before the end but we are in the last season and still loving it!
10:30 p.m. — Climb into bed.
Total £12.20
7:15 a.m. — Up and getting ready for work. E joins me for the commute as he is going to be working from a coworking space today.
8:30 a.m. — Arrive at work early so I open the letter that Dad gave me last night — lo and behold, it’s the service charges I’ve been expecting. Panic sets in when I see it’s almost £2k but I quickly realise they are trying to charge me almost £900 in unpaid fees from before I owned the apartment so I fire off an angry email to my solicitor. I owe six months of service fees and my share of the year’s buildings insurance, so my total is £1,066.75 (yuck). I pay this right away.
11:50 a.m. — Receive confirmation that the vendor’s solicitors have settled the rest of the bill, phew. It seems they also had been emailing the management company for the last few months, with no response. I eat a clementine to celebrate. I can actually focus on work now.
1 p.m. — Meet E for lunch and we go to the café across the road. E buys a sandwich. I have my chilli with me again but I fancy some hash browns so get a side of two and E kindly pays. We head back to the office to eat together.
3 p.m. — Completely lacking motivation so walk to McDonald’s with E and my colleague T and we all get McFlurrys. I have a free one from Monopoly so spend nothing.
5 p.m. — I finish “early” on Fridays so I head to Aldi with E. I do a massive food shop at the start of the month to fill the freezer, then top up as I need to. Grab some bread, orange juice, mixers and crisps, £8.
6:10 p.m. — We are out for tea tonight at a pub which we are mystery shopping. This is something we do a lot and the more we do, the better places we get to review. We have a lovely dinner and a pint each. E pays for now but it will be refunded once we complete the form, so it technically costs nothing.
7:45 p.m. — Talk ourselves into some sweet treats on the way home. Stop at Morrisons and get some Cadbury snowballs, M&M’s and a bag of Cheez-Its — this is the first time I’ve seen the double cheese ones in stock (we’re working our way through all the flavours they have just launched), £5.50.
8:45 p.m. — Spend the rest of the night on the sofa, eating snacks and watching F1.
11 p.m. — Lights out.
Total: £1,080.25
10 a.m. — Wake up after a nice lie-in. Have a cup of coffee on the sofa and watch some YouTube videos.
10:30 a.m. — Potter into the town centre to pick up some bits we need. I go to Superdrug for concealers and micropore tape, £19.47. I also go into the local deli and get a slice of blueberry cake for myself and a cornflake cake for E, £5.85. I lastly go to the vape shop (I know it’s a terrible habit and I have quit for the most part, but I will still have one for a big night out) and get one vape, £13.99.
11:15 a.m. — Back home and make brunch of sausages with poached eggs on toast — delicious. I taste test a little of the cake afterwards and it’s delicious as always.
12 p.m. — Shower and start getting ready. We are going to an event in Manchester tonight and our friends N and G are on their way over. We have some pre-drinks at mine before heading out.
3 p.m. — I drive us to the station; we will be leaving my car overnight. It charges by the calendar day so I have to pay two lots of 24hr parking, which annoys me no end, £6.80. E buys all four train tickets. We will work out later on what everyone owes each other and split the costs for the day.
4 p.m. — Arrive in Manchester and head to Weatherspoon’s. It’s like the Hunger Games trying to get a table but we manage it in the end. I get halloumi fries and a double vodka soda. G pays but again we will split everything and pay each other back.
5 p.m. — Stop at Tesco on the way to the venue. I grab a water so I can refill it for free inside. I grab some tissues too, £2.85.
5:20 p.m. — Check our coats. I had booked a locker but we get there and apparently there aren’t any? They honour the £7 I already paid and check everyone’s coats in — I think I ended up getting a good deal there.
8 p.m. — Literally having the best night ever.
10 p.m. — Realise I have lost the vape. Karma, I guess.
12 a.m. — Event ends, we leave the venue and walk about 10 minutes away from the city centre to avoid Uber surcharges. E pays; again, we will split this cost eventually.
1 a.m. — Arrive back at mine, have a kiwi and a debrief with everyone and go to bed.
Total: £48.96
11 a.m. — A huge, much-needed lie-in. Get straight in the shower. E makes toast and coffee for everyone.
11:30 a.m. — The toast didn’t touch the sides so I eat the rest of the blueberry cake from yesterday. We all sit on the sofa watching old Airline episodes on YouTube.
1 p.m. — G leaves and drops us at the station to collect my car. I make E drive as I’m still too worn out. We need a nice drink and some snacks so we head to Tesco first and get two cans of white Monster and a tub of butter as we finished it this morning, £5.79. M&S is next for their cookies and low-cal ice cream, then lastly to McDonald’s for some cheese bites and a Diet Coke, E kindly pays for this.
3 p.m. — I don’t foresee us leaving this sofa all day. We catch up on all the F1 we missed yesterday as it’s a sprint weekend.
4:30 p.m. — Random craving for cauliflower cheese. I honour it and put some in the oven. Stunning, 10/10.
6 p.m. — See an online raffle to win a camper van. Feeling lucky so I buy 10 tickets for £5 (spoiler alert: I don’t win).
7 p.m. — Prep my lunches for the week. I am religious about doing this, it saves so much money and time. Creamy pasta with Quorn pieces and broccoli. I will also take fruit, yoghurt, crisps and a cereal bar each day.
7:45 p.m. — E makes us some food. I fancy Quorn nuggets and he has chicken goujons — we eat while watching the F1 race. We also demolish the Cheez-Its and cookies and ice cream for pudding.
10:30 p.m. — Lights out.
Total: £10.79
7:15 a.m. — Wake up. Realise E and I have both caught some kind of bug this weekend. Say goodbye to him and then do the usual get ready routine. I’m out the door at 8 a.m.
9 a.m. — Already regretting coming into work today, I should have just called in sick. Take some paracetamol and feel sorry for myself.
1 p.m. — No idea where this morning went. I feel like I’ve been staring blankly at my screen all day but at least it’s lunchtime. Go to the salon for a sun bed, £5.95. It’s another bad habit, I know. We all have our vices.
1:30 p.m. — Heat up my lunch and eat at my desk. Say a prayer to the Monday gods that this afternoon will pass quickly. E has finally worked out what we all owe each other for Saturday night so I send £19 to E and £6 to G.
3 p.m. — Ginger tea and fruit, please nurse me back to health. Text Dad to cancel on him; I should be at the pub tonight but I just don’t feel up to it.
5:30 p.m. — Finally! Stop at Tesco on the way home for some veg for the week and a few other little bits, £16.02.
6:12 p.m. — Get home, unpack the shopping, turn the heating up to max, put some tea in the oven and park myself on the sofa.
9:15 p.m. — Lights out, hallelujah.
Total: £46.97
7:30 a.m. — Urrrrrghhhhhhhh. Text my boss to let him know I’m worse and won’t be in work today, then text my colleague to apologise and let her know a few bits I need her to cover. I left my car on a pay and display last night. Pay £3.77 via the Ringgo app to cover me until 3 p.m. when it’s free again, and go back to sleep.
11 a.m. — Got some more sleep in but feel no better for it. Drag myself to the sofa (via the coffee machine) and start watching Police Interceptors.
12 p.m. — Quick trip to the kitchen for another coffee.
1:30 p.m. — Heat up my meal-prepped lunch and eat it on the sofa from the Tupperware container.
4 p.m. — I would love to pretend that anything else has happened here but it hasn’t.
6:15 p.m. — Drag myself into the shower.
7 p.m. — Put some tea on. I have a veggie mozzarella, vegetable and pesto melt with homemade wedges and roasted Mediterranean veg mix. I stand over the hob eating Cheez-Its while tea cooks.
7:30 p.m. — Decide after being influenced by my TikTok algorithm to start watching Married at First Sight. It’s actually very good and I wish I’d started watching this morning as I would have made some good progress by now.
9:30 p.m. — Lights out.
Total: £3.77
7:15 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I’m feeling a little better than yesterday and I have no idea how many sick days I have left so I drag myself out of bed.
9 a.m. — Boss has baked banana bread, woohooo. Eat two slices with my coffee while I catch up on everything I missed yesterday.
1:30 p.m. — Eat lunch, the same pasta again. Don’t feel like venturing out of the office today so I sit on the sofas and watch some TikTok while I eat.
2:30 p.m. — Remember that I need to order more BIAB ready for when I next do my nails. I am a trained nail technician but unfortunately, I realised on completing the course that I hate doing other people’s nails. It does however mean I have a massive kit full of colours just for me, trade accounts for salon suppliers, and I don’t have to pay £40+ every few weeks for a fresh mani. I order my fave BIAB shade (Teddy) and a mini top coat — these are the only items I ever have to restock as I use them every time. I think I have enough colours and nail art bits to last the rest of my life. The total is £37.27 but this will last 12+ months and with the money I save on going to the salon, I convince myself this is a profit. #girlmath
4 p.m. — Book two seats at Odeon to see The Apprentice on Saturday for £20. We are normally Vue snobs (mostly because of the Blue Light discount E can get) but they are only doing one showing per day at 9 a.m. What is going on? Who goes to the cinema at 9 a.m.?
6 p.m. — Meet Dad and E at the pub. Just a soda water for me tonight, which is free.
7:05 p.m. — E orders a takeaway for our tea and kindly pays. We are both still feeling sorry for ourselves and there’s a 20% discount on our local food delivery app.
7:35 p.m. — Get home about three minutes before the driver arrives with tea. Park up on the sofa and devour a pizza and cheesy loaded fries between us. Watch some more of The Walking Dead.
10:45 p.m. — Lights out.
Total: £57.27
“If you discount the house bill, I’m pretty much on track for what I budget each month. I put £700 a month on a separate bank card for this kind of spending as I find this is the easiest way for me to keep my spending under control. A big night out like Saturday probably only happens once a month and I don’t always have to replace makeup products etc.; on the other hand, I didn’t have to put any fuel in my car this week. I find that my money often balances out across a full month but there are sometimes weeks like this one where I can panic a little! It is interesting to see my spend in different categories so I think this is something I will do over a whole month to see what the totals are like. I am annoyed by the number of trips to supermarkets I did this week — the whole point of the big shop at the start of the month is to stop that so I will be trying to do better! I am also a little shocked that I didn’t manage a single spend-free day. I think I might set myself a challenge to have a few no-buy days during the week, every week.”
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