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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 an assistant editor working full-time in book publishing. She lives in Oxford and in spite of having good intentions to save, tends to splurge on holidays and socialising. She lives with three other young professionals in a house-share close to the city centre.
Industry: Publishing
Age: 25
Location: Oxford
Salary: £24,500
Paycheque amount: £1,616 after tax
Number of housemates: 3
Age: 25
Location: Oxford
Salary: £24,500
Paycheque amount: £1,616 after tax
Number of housemates: 3
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £550 for rent on a lovely but smallish, front-facing, ground floor room in a house-share.
Loan payments: £0. I was fortunate enough that my parents were a massive help when I was at university and very generously covered my tuition fees. I worked at a supermarket throughout to help cover my living costs, leaving me debt-free for graduation.
Bills: We each pay £100 into a house account per month to cover water, electricity, council tax, television licence, and bits and pieces (bulk loo roll orders!) for the house.
Transportation: I’ve recently started walking to and from work, which in theory should save me about £500 per year on a bus pass. In practice, I’ve been less than perfect sticking to this on cold dark mornings, and also recently acquired a boyfriend who lives a fairly substantial journey from mine, which is starting to add up. £30 bus fares.
Phone bill: £24
Savings: On a frugal month I aim to put £200-£300 away, which I will then tend to splurge on big trips – I’ve backpacked around Australia and Japan in the last couple of years, which thoroughly depleted the small amounts I’d managed to save.
Other: £5.99 Netflix subscription, £9.99 Spotify subscription, £23 gym membership.
Loan payments: £0. I was fortunate enough that my parents were a massive help when I was at university and very generously covered my tuition fees. I worked at a supermarket throughout to help cover my living costs, leaving me debt-free for graduation.
Bills: We each pay £100 into a house account per month to cover water, electricity, council tax, television licence, and bits and pieces (bulk loo roll orders!) for the house.
Transportation: I’ve recently started walking to and from work, which in theory should save me about £500 per year on a bus pass. In practice, I’ve been less than perfect sticking to this on cold dark mornings, and also recently acquired a boyfriend who lives a fairly substantial journey from mine, which is starting to add up. £30 bus fares.
Phone bill: £24
Savings: On a frugal month I aim to put £200-£300 away, which I will then tend to splurge on big trips – I’ve backpacked around Australia and Japan in the last couple of years, which thoroughly depleted the small amounts I’d managed to save.
Other: £5.99 Netflix subscription, £9.99 Spotify subscription, £23 gym membership.
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