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 29 years old, living in Edinburgh and working remotely in engagement for a regulator. I’m from the UK originally and spent almost 10 years living abroad with my family. I met my husband abroad and relocated back to the UK with him five years ago. We rented in Edinburgh until last year before purchasing a flat. We plan to remain child-free and adopt a cat soon.”
Occupation: Senior advisor
Industry: Regulation
Age: 29
Location: Edinburgh
Salary: £42,138
Paycheque amount: £2,700
Number of housemates: One: my husband, E (who earns approximately £32,000).
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £1,005 mortgage.
Loan payments: None.
Savings? £6,000 spread across a few accounts, and £500 in pots for things like holidays and Christmas.
Utilities: £166 council tax, £80 gas and electricity.
All other monthly payments: £36 phone plan, £22 union membership, £8 life insurance, £27 internet with Vodafone, £71 factor company for flat, £12 home insurance.
Pension? I have been in the civil service pension since 2022. I contribute 5.45% of my salary and my employer contributes 27%. I have one other small pension from my first job, which has about £6,000 in it.
Subscriptions: £8 Disney+, £30 Now TV, £5 Netflix, £9 Edinburgh Zoo, £29 ClassPass, £39 Apple storage and music, workouts and news.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I got both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the United States. I studied international relations, political science and Chinese. Both of these degrees were covered by scholarships from the university.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
We were comfortable — my mum was a teacher and my dad worked as a consultant. My dad encouraged me from an early age to get comfortable discussing finances. He made sure I read many books about finances like Rich Dad Poor Dad and taught me to always listen to Martin Lewis. My mum taught me to use vouchers and to think about whether I should spend or save, rather than impulse-purchasing. I remember my dad losing his job the day before my birthday as a child and him putting on a brave face for me. I’m so grateful for my parents, who are always there to give me advice to this day.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
I moved out of my parents’ house at 18 to attend university, returning each summer unless I was travelling or interning somewhere else. After graduating, I moved to the UK with my now husband, E.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
My parents helped me out with groceries from time to time while I was at university, which I was very grateful for. I would say I became fully independent at 22.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I got my first job at 17 at the Starbucks on my university campus. I got the job so I could have some extra spending money. I ended up meeting my husband and my future roommates while working there.
Do you worry about money now?
I worry about being secure enough in case E or I lose our job unexpectedly. We are committed to remaining child-free, which takes some of the pressure off, but I do get nervous and compare myself to others at the same stage of life. It has cost us a huge amount of money to apply for visas so that E can stay in the UK so that has impacted our savings. At this point we have paid the Home Office just over £12,000 in just under five years. Our current arrangement is that I pay our mortgage and E pays a similar amount into our joint account, which covers all our bills and groceries. We keep the rest of our paycheques in our individual accounts for saving and our own spending. It works well for us.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
Yes, we had family help purchasing a flat last year. We saved £15k, and my parents and E’s parents gifted us £14k each for our deposit. We are forever grateful for this help so that we could get on the property ladder.
7 a.m. — Alarm goes off early as my husband, E, is in the office today. I check my phone for 15 minutes and get up slowly. I have a quick breakfast of Belvita biscuits and black coffee (I have the same breakfast Monday to Friday and E tends to make nicer things at the weekend).
8:45 a.m. — Log into work and check emails that have come in. I’m emerging from a really busy few months and feel grateful that things are slowing down at last. Make a to-do list and check in with a few colleagues about ongoing work.
10 a.m. — And so begins the never-ending struggle of not eating lunch before noon. I know I should eat a bigger breakfast but can never bring myself to eat early on. I have had lunch as early as 10:30 a.m. on occasion…
10:30 a.m. — A dress I ordered for a friend’s anniversary party arrives in the post. I try it on and don’t love the way it looks so I’ll return it. I absolutely despise shopping. I only have a month until the party so I hope to find something to wear soon.
12 p.m. — Take my lunch break, have a bagel and do 20 minutes of yoga on Apple Fitness.
1 p.m. — Back to work. I have an afternoon with no meetings and get through a few tasks on my list quickly. Take a short break to speak to my sister in the US as she drives to work. I look forward to seeing her in person at Thanksgiving next month.
2:30 p.m. — Donate £10 to a colleague who is running a half marathon at the weekend for charity.
4:45 p.m. — Log off and head straight out for a bus to an early spin class. £2 for the bus.
7 p.m. — £2 for the bus back from class. E cooks a dinner of “fake Nando’s”: peri peri chicken breast, garlic bread and broccoli.
8 p.m. — Watch a few episodes of Abbott Elementary with E.
9:30 p.m. — Do my usual skincare of double cleansing, bakuchiol and moisturiser. Early to bed.
Total: £14
7:30 a.m. — Later alarm today as both E and I are working at home. Do the usual phone check and get ready for the day. I also do a quick tidy around the flat and my daily Duolingo.
9 a.m. — Log in for work. I’m in back-to-back meetings for most of the morning. Most of the weekly meetings fall on this day of the week.
12 p.m. — Throw two frozen sausage rolls in the oven for lunch between meetings.
1:30 p.m. — Head out to get a print I bought at Comic-Con framed at a nearby frame shop. It’s a print of Lewis Hamilton, which I plan to hang up in the spare room. I’ll pay for this when I pick it up in two weeks. Use the rest of my lunch break to take a quick walk on the beach before returning to work.
3 p.m. — Take a short tea break and scroll on TikTok. I come across a TikTok advertising a small hobbit hole door for cats. As we are about to adopt a cat, I instantly order it for £30. I then have a productive rest of the afternoon drafting letters to stakeholders.
5:30 p.m. — Finish work for the day and go through to the living room to finalise E’s application for indefinite leave to remain. Go through it with a fine-tooth comb, looking for any errors. We decide it’s good to go, hold our breath and put £2,885 on our 0% credit card. We are going to pay this off monthly over the next year. E is paying half and I am paying half so my share is £1,442.50.
7 p.m. — Celebrate by ordering pizza, £12.50 each. I settle in to decompress and play Ghost of Tsushima on the PlayStation. This is one of my favourite games. I played it a few years ago when I had to take time off work for mental health reasons and I am really loving playing it again.
9 p.m. — Move from the living room to the bedroom with my book. I’m currently reading A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon and really enjoying it. It took me a bit of time to get into it because of the world-building but I’m glad I stuck with it. I think I prefer The Priory of the Orange Tree but both books are great!
10:15 p.m. — Lights out.
Total: £1,485
5:40 a.m. — Wide awake and can’t get my mind to slow down to go back to sleep. I get up quietly so I don’t wake E and proceed to clean the flat and put a wash on.
8 a.m. — Log into work laptop for a quick scan of emails. I allocate some cases to colleagues for action and then head out for a short stroll to a nearby coffee shop. I use my full stamp card to grab a free hazelnut latte and dash home.
9:30 a.m. — Attend a few morning meetings about ongoing work across the team and give updates on my work. Make plans for some in-person meetings when I’m next in London.
11 a.m. — I have a bagel between meetings. E texts me to say he has bought tickets for the Formula 1 exhibition in London when we go at the end of the month, £35 for my ticket.
11:30 a.m. — Go out for a quick 5k run at a nearby park. Listen to the Red Flags Formula 1 podcast about the latest race. Can you tell I’m a huge fan?
1 p.m. — I have a few hours of focused work finishing off a project and sending it to managers for clearance.
4 p.m. — While on Instagram, I notice an advert for an upcoming event at the Surgeons’ Hall Museum about the history of pathology and exploration. Why not? Pay £3 for a ticket and send the link to two history-loving friends to see if they’d like to join.
5:15 p.m. — Log off work, fold laundry and put it away. I throw two chicken burgers in the air fryer and E gets home from work. We eat quickly and get the table unfolded and set up for D&D. E runs the game and three friends come over (I play a High Elf Ranger). We play every other week and it has become one of my favourite hobbies.
10 p.m. — The game wraps up and we put away the table and chairs. Talk to E about the session and head to bed.
Total: £38
7:15 a.m. — Alarm goes off and I get up and do a 30-minute strength workout on Apple Fitness. I then get ready for work and clean up a few things around the flat. I have to clean certain areas of the house on certain days as I am autistic (albeit undiagnosed) and this forms part of my routine. Working from home full-time has really helped me get into a rhythm that works well for me.
9 a.m. — Log into work and have a quick meeting with my manager about the project I finished yesterday. My manager is happy with the outreach work and I commence sending out the letters. I feel proud that this project has run relatively smoothly and I can turn my attention to other things.
10:45 a.m. — Get a digital letter from the NHS. I log in to view it and feel my heart leap with anticipation. I’ve been on the waiting list to be diagnosed with autism for almost a year. When I got on the list, the GP said it would take a while to be diagnosed. My hopes rise that this could be the moment I’ve been waiting for. However, the letter is just telling me that the waiting list remains really long and they need confirmation that I want to remain on it. I feel quite teary and disappointed for a few minutes before shaking it off and confirming I want to stay on the list. I hope to be diagnosed soon. I’m fairly certain I am autistic but I feel strongly that a diagnosis will offer some clarity on why I do certain things differently. I’ve weighed up paying for a diagnosis privately but I don’t feel like I can justify it at the moment financially. We will keep this under review depending on how long the waiting list is.
12 p.m. — Go for a walk on the beach with E. Pick up cinnamon buns on the way back as a treat, £7.
5 p.m. — The afternoon flies by as an emergency matter lands on my desk and I need to arrange a meeting of higher ups to make them aware and get their views on next steps.
5:30 p.m. — I have a quick dinner consisting of garlic bread before heading out to the beach to meet a friend. I was gifted a voucher for an outdoor sauna session last year. We spend an hour going in and out of the sauna, taking plunges in the sea. It is such a wonderful evening and it really refreshes me. It reminds me of my honeymoon to Iceland last year as it’s a crisp, clear night.
7:45 p.m. — Walk home from the beach drinking herbal tea. I get home and watch three episodes of Vox Machina with E. I highly recommend this show for any D&D fans!
9:45 p.m. — Feeing sleepy after the sauna and swim so head to bed early.
Total: £7
7 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I make a pot of coffee and do a pre-weekend clean of the flat. I struggle to focus when working remotely if the flat isn’t tidy.
9 a.m. — Log into work and keep my fingers crossed that it will be an easy end to the week. My workday really depends on demand for guidance from stakeholders so it’s hard to predict.
10 a.m. — I have my weekly catch-up with my manager before heading straight into some internal training for the rest of the morning. Have my usual lunch of a bagel early on so that it can settle before my run.
12 p.m. — I head out to a nearby park for an interval run. I’ve signed up for a marathon in May but I’m struggling to motivate myself to keep the running routine going in winter.
1:30 p.m. — I work on logging casework for the rest of the afternoon, pausing for a short team meeting to recap the week.
5 p.m. — Finish work and run out to return the dress from earlier in the week at the post office.
6 p.m. — E cooks Korean BBQ pork chops with rice and veg for dinner. Our system works well: E does the cooking and I do the cleaning. We then play two board games: Sky Team and Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth. It’s a very nice way to end the week. We have a few beers as we play.
9:30 p.m. — Start to wind down for the evening and go to bed.
Total: £0
7 a.m. — I wake up at the usual time and sneak out of the bedroom so that E can sleep more. I read my book and wait for him to wake up.
8 a.m. — E rises and makes us bacon and egg bagels for breakfast. We get ready and head out for the day. It’s a rainy day in Edinburgh.
10 a.m. — We bus into the middle of town, £2, and go into a local art shop. We buy a voucher as a gift for a friend’s birthday, £40.
11 a.m. — Stop at a coffee shop. I have a hazelnut latte and read my book. E does D&D preparation. E pays for our coffees.
12:30 p.m. — We stop at Lidl for our weekly groceries and at an Asian supermarket, £24 for my half. £2 for the bus back from town.
2:30 p.m. — I have a late lunch of frozen dumplings and call my parents back in the US for a catch-up.
4 p.m. — I meet a friend for cocktails, £1 for the bus. She has a voucher and kindly covers two of my drinks. We move to another nearby place for more drinks. £34 for my half of two drinks each and a charcuterie board we share.
9 p.m. — Take a £9 Uber home as buses are looking infrequent due to the rain. I get home and chat to E, who went to the cinema. He absolutely hated the film.
10 p.m. — Head to bed.
Total: £112
7:30 a.m. — Up at the usual time. I get up quietly, have a small breakfast and head off on a chilly five-mile run along the beach. I listen to The Big Picture podcast.
9 a.m. — Back from the run, I enjoyed getting some movement in. Take a shower and get into comfy clothes. We set the mood with some fantasy music on the speakers and start playing a solo role-playing game called Colostle. This is a game you play by yourself — you create your own adventure using a deck of cards and write about it in a journal. E and I work quietly for a few hours on this.
12 p.m. — E puts pizza in the oven for us to have for lunch. We watch Love Is Blind while we eat. I think our enjoyment of this show has come to an end after so many seasons. It was great entertainment during the pandemic but it has run its course and feels a bit dull now.
4 p.m. — Have another short FaceTime with the parents. We try to talk on both days at the weekends as midweek catch-ups are tricky with the time difference.
5 p.m. — Take a bus into town, £2. We go to our friend’s garden for a birthday bonfire. We spend £20 on burgers on the way and also bring supplies for s’mores. He is happy with the art shop voucher we gift him.
9:30 p.m. — The evening zooms by and E calls us an Uber home, which he pays for as I paid for the birthday gift and dinner.
10:30 p.m. — Bed.
Total: £22
“A very expensive week but we had planned for it by applying for a 0% credit card for the visa. I know I could pay for this visa right now with savings but we decided it was better to have savings available in case of emergencies and we will work on aggressively paying off the credit card (the fee I receive for this Money Diary is going straight towards it). I wouldn’t trade my husband for the world but it has certainly been an expensive road to get here. After this visa is approved, we will have to pay another £2,000 for citizenship. In terms of other purchases, I know I like to treat myself to food and tickets to events. I try to have non-spend days when working remotely as well. I hope to pay off the visa as soon as possible but still enjoy life with my hobbies.”
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Money Diary: A Data Scientist On £160,000
Money Diary: A Family Law Solicitor On £30,000
Money Diary: A Solicitor In Glasgow On £64,200
