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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 an administrative worker on €46K living in the Midlands. This time, a financial services manager on £43K living in Britain.
I moved to the UK nearly 10 years ago and am planning to move home in the next couple of years. I am saving for a house as the prices in Ireland are high in comparison to the UK and it’s difficult to get a mortgage when living abroad. I have worked in financial services for the last five years and have generous benefits. I also run a sports-based business part-time and tend to spend about 10-15 hours per week on this.
I work from home three days a week most weeks, which is great as I live just over an hour’s drive from work. My business is based in the same city I work in, so I try to align days to reduce commuting, but this doesn’t always work. I’m expecting our first child so we’re planning for this too and conscious of how our finances will be affected.
I’m very money aware and try not to waste money but also like to live a good quality of life. Without boring you with the details, I earn a salary from both the business and my day job and top it up with dividends from the business. I put 14% of my day job salary into a pension, company adds 17%. I retain the remaining earnings in the company for now but am planning to take them out on maternity leave next year to be as tax efficient as possible before moving home. This should help with the mortgage!
I find the financial products in the UK offer more for the middle earner and business owner than in Ireland – you can contribute up to £60,000 to your pension annually and up to £20,000 into an ISA which you can then invest, and any gains are tax-free. There is also an ISA where you can save £4,000 per year and the government tops up with £1,000 each year, which can only be used to buy your first house but encourages long-term saving.
Since working in Financial Services this has helped my understanding but I’m a firm believer it’s made to appear more complex than it is, and everyone should have a basic understanding of investing. I’m largely self-taught and try to be open with friends and family to help them understand their options.
Occupation: Manager in Financial Services
Age: 33
Location: UK
Salary: £43,161
Pensions & Investments: £104,000
Cash savings: £20,000
Dividends: £6,608 (taken from business in February annually)
Monthly pay (net): £3,018.50 (job and business)
Transport: £50 – The rest is business related so goes through business. Bought car outright two years ago – it’s six years old but great. Put half of it on a 0% credit card for two years and put the cash into savings for this time – it’s due in January but I’ve gotten interest on the savings instead of paying cash up front.
Rent: £0 – currently have a tenant who covers mortgage payments (interest only at the minute). This will change when the baby comes. You can earn £7500 tax-free annually from the ‘rent a room’ scheme and we’re not in the house very much for it to be an issue.
Household bills: £156 – I cover gas and electricity, husband covers the rest.
Phone bill: £42 – soon to put this in the business – was a rookie mistake putting it in my name. Health insurance: covered by employer.
Life insurance: Covered by employer.
Groceries: £150
Eating out/Entertaining: £150
Travel – usually fly home once a month: £200
Subscriptions: None – without sounding preachy I think the convenience is killing our patience.
Pension: £490 per month – personal contribution.
Stocks & Share ISA: £866.66
High interest saver account: £150 per month
Charity: £10/month
Any remaining cash into a regular savings account to cover car, holidays, car tax, insurance etc.
***
4.00 am: Husband gets up and tries not to wake me but unsuccessfully. He’s off to catch a flight. He works away Mon-Thursday. We’re both pretty busy in life at the minute so it all works but once baba arrives, this might have to change.
7.00 am: Alarm goes off. Working from home today. Do a shorter day on a Monday so start at 8 am and finish at 1 pm. Breakfast is a bagel, guac and egg. Got bagels when on offer and freeze, avocados’s discounted yesterday too.
8.00 am: Start work, it was a busy week last week with lots of issues cropping up so I get straight into it to sort stuff out, review last week and look forward to this week’s plans. Catch up with the manager as she was out sick, and I stand in in her absence so had a lot to discuss the UK budget and the American election within two weeks of each other wasn’t fun.
1.00 pm: Finish work and grab lunch. Leftover roast from yesterday and Apple tart and custard! I was in a baking frenzy this weekend. My friend is doing Movember so donate €20.00 to that: Amex have an offer at the minute where they match any charity contributions, so that’ll be a €40 total donation.
2.00 pm: Call with head office for my business. I have these fortnightly to report on any issues or discuss upcoming deadlines etc. Summer is the busiest, so the last few weeks have been odd having some free time which I’m not used to but having to put plans in place for when I’m on Mat leave which is scary when it’s your own business.
2:30 pm: I work away on business. I try to keep Monday afternoons for my business admin so that it doesn’t leach into evenings and weekends. This is usually unsuccessful but at least I get a good bit done in these few hours, so I get to enjoy my weekends. Don’t mind working late on weekday evenings. I’ve an event next weekend to prep for, staff wages to organise, training course to organise, check up on reports from last week’s sessions to see if there’s any action for me.
4.00 pm: I remember I need to call a hotel we’ve booked for February and pay, as Amex have a deal to spend £200 and get £100 back so we get two nights in a 5-star for £206: bargain! (my half £103.00). It was £306 originally. Also, call the dentist as I’ve been meaning to make an appointment- nothing until January! Check my banking app: my £200 has come out today for weekly Stocks and Shares.
6.00 pm: Finish up for the day. Grab some soup and bread I made at the weekend and go to the shop to get some groceries for the week: £25.20. Get some vouchers for double points on fuel and triple points on the next shop: I know it’s designed to keep you coming back but I get all my fuel here so the points add up and you can convert them for higher value for things like Stena Line which we use about twice a year. Watch some TV, scroll on the phone for a bit. Am looking to get a new phone on Black Friday so do some research. Catch up with my husband (we discuss plans for the next few weeks as I have a business event, going home for a family event and my birthday weekend’s coming up which is a trip away to somewhere unknown). A busy couple of weeks again, this is pretty normal. I usually work at one of my business sessions on Monday evenings but one of the staff is totally capable and I’m taking the evening off. Then off to bed for the night.
Today’s total: £128.2 + €20
7.00 am: Alarm goes off, I scroll the phone for a bit, and see a reel for M&S baby club – I sign up for this. Free cake on Tuesdays! I’m in! Have a look for some Christmas presents as the Black Friday ads are starting to pop up. I don’t usually go wild on Christmas. I got some things for nieces and nephews throughout the year when I saw good deals but I need to get something for mam and husband which are a bit more meaningful so it takes me a good while to decide (Weeks in fact – decision fatigue with presents is my weakness). I really hate the idea of excess and waste, so I try to get the kids usable presents and the same for others. My husband has everything you could possibly need, though.
7.30 am: Up and get ready, same breakfast as yesterday. Stick the radio on and catch up with what’s going on at home. I usually listen to Irish radio in the house to keep up to date. My friend sent me his CV to review as he’s going for a new job, so I have a read-through. Read through the report from last night’s session – some things to follow up on which I stick on sticky notes on the wall or I’ll forget.
8.30 am: Start work, another day of challenges. We’ve quite a few newer managers so they’re finding their feet which means they need a lot of support at the minute and the day job gets squeezed in between this. Couple of calls this morning, but not too bad so get a good bit done.
12.40 pm: Lunch. Finish reviewing a friend’s CV and send back then make burritos for lunch. Delish!
1.40 pm: Back to work.
5.00 pm: I finish up and a bit of social media to update for the business so do this so I don’t have to come back to the desk.
6.00 pm: Finish up, another burrito, watch some TV, scroll, catch up with husband, pack things for work and business session after work tomorrow. Bed by 9 pm. I’ve always needed 8-9 hours of sleep but even more so now!
Today’s total: £0.00
(I’m actually up money today if you look at investments but this isn’t a daily thing, but it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling!) The markets like Trump even if we may not.
6.00 am: Alarm goes off. In the office today so an earlier start. Up and get ready. Breakfast of porridge, honey and chia seeds. Pack lunch – yesterday’s burritos.
6.50 am: Jump into the car and away. I have a slow puncture so I have to stop and pump that up: I have a compressor in the car so there’s no cost. A friend at work gave me their parking place today which brightens my day! This means I don’t have to park at the tram and pay £3 and saves time after work getting down to the session so takes pressure off. The radio man convinced me I needed to enter the competition for £300,000 so I send a text off. I allow myself this once a month as you could spend a fortune, and the odds really aren’t in your favour! £2.50
8.20 am: Arrive at work. Don’t make it past the canteen so I get a roll for £2.20.
8.30 am: Start work.
12.40 pm: Time for lunch. I heat up burritos and catch up with the boss. She’s a bit stressed so we go through a few bits to rationalise it all. Grab a bar in the shop: 90p.
1.40 pm: Back to work, it’s meeting heavy on Wednesdays so get very little actual work done today.
5.00 pm: Finish and off to the session for tonight: stop and grab a meal deal: £5.00. If I was in the office more, I’d probably bring my own post work snacks, especially in Summer when we have sessions 4 nights a week, but no harm in it once a week.
7.30 pm: Head home, the staff have it covered for the rest of the night.
8.45 pm: Home and bed.
Today’s total: £10.60
7.30 am: Alarm goes off – working from home today. Up and breakfast of a bagel, cheese and fried egg.
8.30 am: Watch the news and start work.
12.15 pm: Lunch, which is the last burrito. I’m sick of it now! Check my bank apps and I see my £100 from our hotel booking in Feb is credited back to my card. I do a bit of a clean of the house. My husband is home tonight and he’s picked up more than his fair share recently, so I better start pulling my weight again. Check through some messages and emails that have come through for the business which I’ll need to deal with this evening. I did a couple of stretches as my hips are in bits after last night it’s only about an hour of a run around but the last month has been tough. I did 2-3 hours on a night pre-pregnancy with no issues. I’m lucky that the business involves exercise and people as it ticks the hobby, social, money-making and fitness goals all in one.
5.00 pm: Finish work and move onto business admin. Bit of Matt Cooper in the background to keep me going.
6.00 pm: Finish for the day. Off to the shop for some snacks and to get something for my husband’s lunch tomorrow: £12.10. Got an email during the day about a Black Friday deal in the hotel we got married in so booked one night there over the Christmas holidays: deposit now: £50 (£25.00 my half). We try to have one night over Christmas for ‘us’ as when you travel home it ends up being not very relaxing at all but on the road around the country visiting everyone. Tip – if you have friends/family living abroad: when they come home, please offer to visit them rather than them doing all the travel.
Today’s total: £37.10
6.00 am: Alarm goes off – in the office again today. Porridge and out the door. Got a parking place at work again, this is a very unusual week – I never get a parking place!
8.20 am: Arrive at work and start.
12.30 pm: Lunch. I grab fish and chips in the canteen and a bar, £5.40.
6.30 pm: I get home and work on the business for a bit. Training event tomorrow to pack and do admin for.
7.30 pm: Finish up, food, zero beer and rugby for the evening.
Today’s total: £5.40
7.30 am: The alarm goes, up and out the door for a training event this morning, grab a tea and a roll on the way (£3.95). Drive to the city and deliver training.
2.00 pm: I visit a friend and bring her back to mine. Chill and catch up for a couple of hours. Go for some dinner and drinks to watch some rugby - £17.50.
9.30 pm: Home and bed.
Today’s total: £21.45
8.30 am: Am up and get ready for a walk. Get some diesel on the way (£50.91) but this gets covered in mileage by the business which I’ll get back at the end of the month.
9.30 – 1.30 pm: Go for a lovely walk in the countryside close by and get breakfast halfway through the walk (my half £12.70). Walk back to the car and drop my friend to the train.
1.30 pm: I go to get some presents for my nieces and pick up a dress for an event next week (£64.96) and my husband does the shopping (£12.00 for my half). We put all groceries and shared meals on the joint account.
2.30 pm: Head home and couch for the evening. The walk has flared up a pain brought on by pregnancy. Do a little bit of business admin following the training session yesterday too for an hour or so.
Today’s total: £89.66
***
What I learned -
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The funniest part is where it says “should Chinese export approval be achieved “ do they know what they are getting. They should be begging us to deal with them. We are leagues ahead of everyone for the quality beef and lamb we produce. In a starving world for the huge nation of China to think they can come in and see if we meet their standards is insulting. They should come in and we tell them what to pay take it or leave it. The farmers should also be able to say how much and not Kepak. Brexit is on our doorsteps. We don’t want to be in a crappy deal after that lands.
@Martin McFly: The Chineese are good at making chips but I am not sure if they could eat them
@Martin McFly: The Chinese population is 1.4 billion people. We have 5 million. It’s not a good idea to tell the country that could hover up the entire production of sheep meat in Ireland in one fell swoop as to how to go about their business.
China is the worlds 3rd largest importer of sheep meat and we are the worlds 5th largest exporter. The UK is 2nd in that category. With Brexit, we need other markets to rely on. If we were relying on your attitude the Chinese would turn around and tell us to piss off.
BTW what country buys any goods form anyone else without first seeing how they are produced. A lot of retailers over the years did this and it came back to bite them in the ass when it emerged that the £50 shirts they were selling were made by workers in sweatshops on £1 an hour.
@CBD HeavenSent: Hitherto, China have a model of producing at minimal cost without any regard for human rights, animal rights or the environment. This has been proven true in their past envoys. They often copy production systems and just make products themselves at home or elsewhere. With the ridiculously high standards we have in beef and dairy farms in europe, why do we even entertain the Chinese? Leave it to the US, UK, etc.
@Monty Donotno: Well why don’t you go up to the farmers and their families whose livelihoods depend on Chinese exports and tell them that they shouldn’t be selling their product to the Chinese.
There’s a bunch of farmers outside that meat plant in Roscommon so wander up there and tell them that they should stop feeding the Chinese lads and find another way to earn an income for their families.
Let me know how you get on.
@CBD HeavenSent: most sensible arguement I have heard on this topic in a long time. This is the real world after all.
@CBD HeavenSent: what do you think they’ll say? The way the Irish produce their beef is below standard. We’ll have to go somewhere else. Nope son. They need every bit. As cheap as they can get it, and all of Britain’s too post Brexit. That doesn’t put us in the weaker position at the table. They don’t get to make the call on how much. They need the product, we can always find and will always find new customers. Having been in business for over 20 years , dealt with, and been to China they do things their way. Sub-standard, few regulations,and massive greed at the top. Companies working for a communist regime and give peanuts back to the people. So yes, tell them what we want for our rare, superior product … or get the boat.
@Martin McFly: Depending in how low the GBP goes, it might be very hard to compete with Britain on price. China doesn’t ‘need’ beef/lamb, they ‘want’ beef/lamb. If British standards equal ours (as they probably do thanks to the EU), and the Yen ends up with more purchasing power in Britain than Ireland it’ll get pretty hard to convince them to buy our meat, never mind getting to demand a price.
@CBD HeavenSent: no need for the small minded “why don’t you go up there and tell them..” Why would I? I’m making the point, we produce a high cost product, and the Chinese in general want a race to the bottom like much of the world in price and ultimately quality. I’m not an anti-trade communist or something.
A great bunch of lads.
Irish meat is v.expensive in the shops now. I was trying out chicken for a long while but you get tired of that. I try to mimimize meat intake partly because i feel it is over-priced. Meat is expensive and farmers have a point….
@Aire Dezamba: If you think that it’s too expensive then try producing it yourself and see how you get on, looking forward to hearing from you.
@John Mc Donagh: why would she try to produce it?
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: Yes, producing a chicken of your own would be terribly expensive.
@Kieran Woods: you did catch that she was using the chicken example as an expense relief, yeah!?
have your say