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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 a 27-year-old living in east London with her boyfriend. She works in central London as an analyst in a real estate investment company. She enjoys seeing friends, tries to get regular exercise and loves going to new bars and restaurants. She also goes to the theatre fairly frequently. She is trying to save £5,000 this year which is a bit of a challenge as she also has quite a few holiday plans, as well as her boyfriend’s 30th birthday in November, when she is planning to take him to the Fat Duck. As a result she is trying to live off £75 a week for non-essentials (clothes, beauty, socialising, etc).
Industry: Real Estate Investment
Age: 27
Location: London
Salary: £53,000
Paycheque amount per month: £2,997 (after taxes, pension & student loan repayment)
Number of housemates: 1 (boyfriend)
Age: 27
Location: London
Salary: £53,000
Paycheque amount per month: £2,997 (after taxes, pension & student loan repayment)
Number of housemates: 1 (boyfriend)
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £650 (my portion of the mortgage + ground rent & service charge)
Loan payments: £100 against a no-interest credit card balance
Utilities: My boyfriend and I pay £500 each into a joint account each month. This covers council tax, internet/TV, water, electricity, heating and a cleaner every fortnight, as well as food shopping and some other joint activities like meals/drinks out and theatre tickets. (I’ve denoted spending from the joint account with a *, so my portion of these amounts is actually 50%.)
Transportation: I use Apple Pay on my phone for public transport so the maximum I would pay each week is £33 due to weekly capping. I’ve included these amounts below so not counting them here.
Phone bill: £42
Health insurance: Nope
Savings? I aim to save £1,000 a month
Other: Netflix: £7.50; gym: £38.99; phone insurance: £7; contact lenses: £25; Guardian subscription: £5
Loan payments: £100 against a no-interest credit card balance
Utilities: My boyfriend and I pay £500 each into a joint account each month. This covers council tax, internet/TV, water, electricity, heating and a cleaner every fortnight, as well as food shopping and some other joint activities like meals/drinks out and theatre tickets. (I’ve denoted spending from the joint account with a *, so my portion of these amounts is actually 50%.)
Transportation: I use Apple Pay on my phone for public transport so the maximum I would pay each week is £33 due to weekly capping. I’ve included these amounts below so not counting them here.
Phone bill: £42
Health insurance: Nope
Savings? I aim to save £1,000 a month
Other: Netflix: £7.50; gym: £38.99; phone insurance: £7; contact lenses: £25; Guardian subscription: £5
Total: £2,375.49
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