WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances.
We’re asking readers to keep a record of how much they earn, what they save if anything, and what they’re spending their money on over the course of one week.
Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? We’re looking for readers who will keep a money diary for a week. If you’re interested send a mail to money@thejournal.ie. We would love to hear from you.
Each money diary is submitted by readers just like you. When reading and commenting, bear in mind that their situation will not be relatable for everyone, it is simply an account of a week in their shoes, so let’s be kind.
Last time around, we heard from a 36-year-old on €95K working in the pharmaceutical industry. This week, a student manages on €13K working part-time and studying.
I am a 22-year-old student who works part-time in retail and lives at home with my mum and our three dogs. I am in the final year of a culinary arts degree and currently completing an internship as part of that degree.
The internship is unpaid, which means I have to keep my retail job. I work 32 hours over four days a week in the internship and 15 hours in my retail job over days a week. I work my retail job on Monday and Sunday and then the internship varies from either Tuesday – Friday, or Wednesday – Saturday.
My internship is 12 weeks altogether. I’m only two weeks in so far, but I’m already quite tired from working a lot more than I’m used to! I’m trying to stay positive though as it’s all leading to the end goal of getting my degree, which will help with my future career. Although I’m more tired, I’m enjoying the work a lot. The 6.45 am starts are tough to get used to initially, but I find the day flies by and before I know it, it’s 3 o’clock and I’m on the way home.
I try my best to save as my ultimate goal is to have my own business and be my own
boss. How much I’m able to save differs depending on my wages and bills. I haven’t been able to save as much as I would like since I started my internship, but I know it’s only temporary and I’ll be able to put a bit more away once I’m not in between jobs. In my interview, I was told there was a possibility of a job offer at the end, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to quit my retail job and continue on with this one. All going well, I’ll be able to continue to save from there and eventually be able to move out.
Occupation: Student
Age: 22
Location: Dublin
Salary: Approx. €13,000
Monthly pay (net): Approx. €750 at the moment
Transport: €75
Rent: €200 (I pay €50 per week right now)
Household bills: Included in my rent
Phone bill: €25
Health insurance: I don’t have any
Groceries: Mum buys most of the groceries
Subscriptions: Netflix – €11.99, Disney+ – €6.99, Spotify – €5.99
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7.00 am: My alarm goes off and I get up and start getting ready. I’m at my retail job today. I have a quick breakfast and leave my house at 8:30.
9.00 am: I get to work. Mondays are usually quiet enough, but I feel quite tired so I buy
myself a latte before my shift starts. (€3.90)
1.00 pm: On my 30-minute break, I eat a sandwich and an apple from home and make myself a cup of tea in the canteen. The day has been uneventful so far, which isn’t helpful when you’re writing a diary about your week. Sorry, readers.
4.00 pm: I’m on my 15-minute break now and fully eating out of boredom as it’s been a very boring day. I have some chocolate from the canteen with another cup of tea. On Mondays in general, there’s not usually a whole lot of customers and if there are any deliveries, they are usually relatively small. It is a good day to clean and organise though, which I’ve been doing to try and pass the time.
6.00 pm: Once I get home, I put my pyjamas on and make dinner for me and my mum. We have pasta and watch some TV together. Her favourite soaps are Home and Away and Neighbours, and while both are pretty terrible, it’s tough not to get sucked in. She’s very sad that they might be cancelling Neighbours, so we’re enjoying it while we can.
8.00 pm: I go upstairs to try and get a start on one of the weekly diaries we have to fill out for the internship, but I end up procrastinating and scrolling through my phone after writing a few sentences.
10.00 pm: I give up on trying to pretend like I’m going to do any college work and decide to try to go to sleep relatively early knowing I’ll have to get up at 5.30 am tomorrow.
Today’s total: €3.90
5.30 am: I wake up and try my best to eat breakfast without feeling nauseous at this time of the morning. I have the classic tea and toast combo before leaving the house.
6.10 am: As I get to the bus stop, I top up my Leap card (€20.00) for the week using the app on my phone. The bus comes at 6.15 am and gets me into town in about 20 minutes. When I get off the bus I go straight to my internship. Town is very dark and quiet at this time of the morning, and after enjoying the rare quiet during my walk, I get to work just in time.
11.30 am: The first two hours of the morning in the restaurant where I work are very busy. By the time lunch comes around, I’m starving, so I decide to get myself a chicken fillet roll from the deli counter across the road as I forgot to make lunch last night. It comes in a deal with a can of drink and a packet of Tayto (€5.00). I eat my lunch and head back downstairs to finish my shift.
3.00 pm: My shift ends, so I head straight to the bus stop and head home after a busy day.
5.00 pm: After getting home and relaxing after a long day on my feet, I make a stir fry for dinner and watch some TV – I’m watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the moment.
7.00 pm: I decide to go to the gym. I bought myself a year’s membership just at the end of January and have been trying to get myself to go a couple of times a week even if it’s just to walk on the treadmill. I forget my water bottle, so I buy a bottle of water on the way. (€1.40)
8.30 pm: I get home from the gym and take a shower. Fresh and clean, I get ready for bed and lay out everything I’ll need for the morning. I’m trying to go to bed as early as possible so I’m not too tired getting up early. I get into bed at 9.30 am and scroll for a while before falling asleep.
Today’s total: €21.40
5.30 am: I wake up, get ready, eat breakfast and head out for work.
6.45 am: I get into work and change into my work trousers, apron, and safety shoes before heading down to clock in and start my shift.
11.00 am: I was nervous at first starting my internship, but everybody has been really lovely and patient with me and I’ve already made some friends. I also get tea or coffee brought to me every couple of hours or so, which is great because it keeps me going – and they’re free!
12.00 pm: The chefs offer to make me lunch, so I don’t have to spend any money on that today – yay! I just have a wrap. I find I’m not too hungry because I’ve been given lots of different food here and there to try from both the kitchen and the bakery, which is great, but by the time lunch comes around, you’re not really in the humour for more food.
3.00 pm: I finish work and buy a packet of paracetamol from the chemist on the way home (€2.99). I also stop into Penney’s to pick up a few bits that I need like tights and eyelashes and stuff. I’m going for work drinks this Friday and after a very unsocial two years, it’s nice to get somewhat dressed up to go out again. (€33.50)
4.30 pm: I accidentally fall asleep for an hour when I get home. I’ve been trying not to do that so I don’t mess up my sleep schedule, but what can you do?
5.30 pm: My mum makes dinner, and we watch some TV together and just relax for a while.
8.00 pm: After dinner, I go upstairs to do my diary from last week. I actually get it done this time before getting everything ready for tomorrow and going to bed.
Today’s total: €36.49
5.30 am: You know the drill by now: I get up, get ready, eat breakfast, and head out for work.
11.30 am: I get sent for lunch. I forgot my water bottle again, so I buy another bottle of water (€1.40). I also buy a bar of chocolate because I’m craving something sweet (€1.10). I eat my sandwich and my chocolate before heading back to work.
3.00 pm: Work is finished so I head straight home.
4.30 pm: When I get home I make something quick for dinner (pesto pasta) and sit down to eat and have a scroll through my phone. When I’m finished, I wash the dishes and clean up the house a bit. Today is payday, so I transfer my mum rent money for the week. (€50.00)
6.30 pm: I decide to force myself to go to the gym again even though all I want to do is be a couch potato. I don’t do too much at the gym, mostly stick to cardio before heading home again.
8.00 pm: I have a shower and put some tan on for work drinks tomorrow night. After that, I do my usual routine before heading off to bed. The weekend is almost here!
Today’s total: €52.50
5.30 am: I wake up, get ready, have breakfast, and head out to work for the last time this week.
11.30 am: For lunch, I have soup from home and a pastry from the bakery. I eat those with a coffee to give me a boost before heading back down to work.
3.00 pm: I finish work and head straight home.
4.00 pm: When I get home, I decide to take a quick nap because I feel really tired but I want to have more energy for my night out.
5.00 pm: I eat something before getting ready because I’m not too fond of drinking on an empty stomach! We’re meeting at the pub at 8:00 pm so I head upstairs to shower and get ready after I eat.
8.00 pm: I’m not a huge drinker, but I drank more than usual this time. I get four drinks, altogether (€22.40).
10.30 pm: Someone suggests going to a different pub, so we all get in a taxi and head there (€12.60). The queue is absolutely insane (we should’ve known, really) so we decide to walk into town. Unfortunately, the queues are so long everywhere and we end up wandering around before giving up and getting some food. We probably should’ve just stayed in the first pub. I get a three-in-one (€6.00) and then struggle to get a taxi. Eventually, I get one and head home (€16.40).
1.30 am: Finally home, I take off my makeup and fall into bed.
Today’s total: €57.40
9.30 am: It’s my day off today and I finally get a lie-in. I plan to do absolutely nothing today and enjoy every minute of it.
10.00 am: I decide to get up and have breakfast. I have porridge and a cup of tea and catch up on some Buffy on my phone.
12.00 am: I lay around in bed for another while after breakfast before deciding to get up – properly this time. I make my bed and get dressed, only to go be lazy on the couch instead of in bed. I should really go to the gym, but I know it ain’t gonna happen today.
1.00 pm: My friend texts me asking if I want to go to the cinema tonight, and since I’m not doing anything else, I decide to go. It’s really just sitting and watching TV in a different location, but I haven’t been to the cinema in so long, so I’m quite excited. I heat up some soup for lunch and have some brown bread with it.
4.00 pm: I get out of my “house clothes” and put on real clothes and some makeup before my friend picks me up.
4.30 pm: We meet our other friend in town and sit and have coffee (€3.90) and chat for a while before the movie. We don’t get to see each other much anymore because of all of our busy schedules being different, so it’s always nice to catch up.
6.30 pm: We head to the cinema and buy our tickets (€11.60). I also get some popcorn, chocolate, and a drink (€13.70) because you just can’t go and see a film without those. We’re going to see Nightmare Alley.
10.00 pm: The film ends – it was a bit slow to start, but a good, and also quite disturbing story. I think I enjoyed it?
10.30 pm: I get home and head straight to bed.
Today’s total: €29.20
9.00 am: My alarm goes off and I get up and ready for the day. Sundays aren’t too
bad because the shop opens later.
11.30 am: I arrive for work and get the shop set up before opening at 12:00. I have once again forgotten my water bottle, so I buy myself a bottle from the shop before we open. (€1.60)
2.00 pm: I brought a sandwich from home and make myself a cup of tea in the canteen for lunch. Sundays are usually either really busy or really quiet (there is no in-between). This Sunday is quiet, which I have no complaints about.
6.00 pm: Once my shift ends, I walk home from work. Neither mum nor I are in the mood to cook, so we decide to order a takeaway. We both chip in for it. (€12.50)
6.30 pm: The takeaway arrives and I happily eat my spice bag while watching some TV. I make a mental note that I will go to the gym tomorrow.
7.30 pm: I go upstairs to try and get some of this week’s internship diary done. I get a bit of it done before putting it away and relaxing for the rest of the evening.
Today’s total: €14.10
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What I learned –
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