Money Diaries: A teacher on €68K living in the east of the country

WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances.

Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? 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. 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 fintech worker on €65K living in Dublin. This week, a secondary school teacher on €68K who will shortly be taking maternity leave.

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My husband and I live in the east of the country with our two small children, and we are currently expecting our third child. We are both teachers employed at the same school and are on identical salary scales. We work very close to home, and our children attend a crèche located beside our school which means we can walk or cycle to work each day. I will shortly be going on maternity leave. Before meeting my husband, I purchased my own home. This property is now rented to tenants and is fully registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). After tax, the rental income just covers the mortgage repayments on the property. We recently completed renovation works on the house, funded through a home improvement loan. As the property is rented, I pay income tax on the rental income and approximately 50% of the rental profit is deducted through taxation each month.

We are very careful and responsible with our finances. I have always adopted a frugal approach to spending, preferring to minimise costs in everyday areas so that we can prioritise experiences and long-term financial security. I always opt to buy secondhand when possible, and I’m mindful with keeping our bills and costs to a minimum. We love to get away for a holiday, and we try to take regular breaks, often booking at short notice to take advantage of discounted prices. Since having children, our holiday priorities have changed, and we now focus on family-friendly accommodation and facilities such as apartments, children’s pools and kids’ clubs. With busy teaching jobs and two small children, there isn’t much time these days for the hobbies we used to enjoy. Instead, our evenings and weekends revolve around child-centred activities such as library trips, playground excursions and attending the many family-friendly events and activities that take place across the city (usually always free activities).

We make a concerted effort to keep grocery expenditure low. Meal planning, batch cooking and preparing meals from scratch form a regular part of our household routine. Living within walking distance of several major supermarkets allows us to take advantage of reduced-price items throughout the week. Thanks to this, we maintain a well-stocked freezer and frequently purchase household essentials and food items in bulk when discounted, helping us to manage costs effectively.

We are currently focused on repaying a home improvement loan and a personal loan to a family member, so we don’t have a dedicated monthly savings amount. However, we both contribute to private pensions, invest our children’s Child Benefit payments and maintain income protection, specified illness cover and life insurance policies. We own our car outright, with this year’s tax and insurance already paid. As I’m originally from the west of Ireland, I travel home every few weeks to visit family and friends, but otherwise use the car very little, which helps keep fuel costs low. We have also boosted our income in recent summers through exam superintending and correcting state examinations.

Occupation: Secondary school teacher

Age: 37

Location: East of the country

Salary: €68,356

Monthly pay (net): €3,475 (after pension, cycle to work scheme and other mandatory deductions)

Monthly expenses

Mortgage: €1,664 (I pay half)

Home improvement loan: €1,033 (I pay half)

Personal loan: €6,000 remaining – paid sporadically

Crèche fees: €380 (I pay half)

Groceries: Between €350 and €450 (I pay half)

Household bills: Gas and electricity – €140, broadband and mobile phone – €61, bins – €25 (I pay half)

Transport: €20 Leap card, €60 fuel (I pay half)

Cleaner: €120 (I pay half)

Pension: €566 each per month (€340 net pay and €226 tax relief)

Income protection: €99 each per month

Life insurance/specified illness: €94 for both (I pay half)

Health insurance: N/a

Apple iCloud storage: €2.99

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Monday

7.00am: Alarm goes off, but I am already awake and having a morning scroll. I get up, shower and prepare the kids’ snacks for crèche. They get a hot dinner there each day but bring in their own morning and afternoon snacks. My husband and I enjoy the calm before the storm and sip our coffees (along with my hot water and lemon) before waking the babies at 7.45am.

8.10am: After eating breakfast and dressing the babies, we cycle to work. We drop the kids to crèche and head to our respective classes.

12.00pm: Lunch today is my homemade, frozen soup with brown bread from the canteen. I was at home at the weekend so no time to bake bread on Sunday.

3.30pm: After school, we collect the kids and cycle to our local library. I’m too tired to go shopping today so it becomes a tomorrow job. We cycle home and spend the evening playing and entertaining before having dinner of roast chicken, mash and vegetables.

7.00pm: We shower the kids and put them to bed at 8pm. Afterwards we watch some TV and relax before bed.

Today’s total: €0.00

Tuesday

7.00am: I sleep until my alarm and unfortunately, the babies wake then too. Some days they wake a little earlier than others. I have a quick shower, and we all head downstairs for porridge. I drink my usual lemon and hot water and have some fruit too. The cleaner comes every two weeks (€60) and is coming today, so we tidy up and prep the house a little before we cycle to work.

9.00am: School is quite busy at the moment as we have our Open Evening this week. Everyone is busy prepping their classrooms on top of teaching lessons. Today for lunch, I’ve the rest of my frozen soup to use, and I get a turkey salad from the canteen to have with it.

3.30pm: After school, we collect the kids and cycle home. Unfortunately, the youngest baby has a bug and won’t be going back to crèche until Friday. My mother-in-law comes to the rescue and kindly agrees to take him tomorrow when we are at work. It’s always so lovely to come home to a fresh, clean house. It will, of course, be completely messy again in a matter of minutes, but at least it’s clean.

4.15pm: We’re in need of a grocery restock, so we load the babies into the pram and head to the shops. We tend to just buy for a few days at a time and plan meals around what meat we have/what’s reduced. After getting our groceries from three different supermarkets, we’re down €76.

8.00pm: Following a lively dinner of spaghetti bolognese, the babies go down to bed shortly before 8pm and I do a little work on the laptop for school. I head to bed, read some of my book and am asleep before 10pm.

Today’s total: €68.00 (my half for today)

Wednesday

6.30am: The oldest baby wakes super early today and won’t go back to sleep. Thankfully the youngest doesn’t stir and stays asleep, which is good as he’s off crèche. The three of us have breakfast, pack snacks and cycle to school after my mother-in-law arrives at the house.

1.00pm: We have a half day each Wednesday, and I am grateful to have this time to catch up on housework and batch cooking when the babies are still in crèche. My husband is doing a part-time college course and is on campus every Wednesday afternoon. I cycle home and grab a quick lunch of leftovers as the baby is still napping. I do some laundry, wash the dishes (we don’t have a dishwasher), make dinner and watch an episode before he wakes up.

4.00pm: The baby is in great form overall, and after he is fed, we pack snacks and cycle to collect the other baby from crèche. We head to a local playground and spend around an hour eating and playing. I am thankful to have dinner already prepped, and we eat as soon as we get back. My brother calls over for dinner, and my cousin is also here. She is staying with us for a few weeks as she is on placement in Dublin.

9.00pm: After dinner and after the babies are showered, we sit and drink tea and chat. I head to bed around 10pm and my husband arrives home shortly after.

Today’s total: €0.00

Thursday

7.00am: I’m off school today as I have an appointment. I get up, shower and prep snacks for the oldest baby (youngest baby off crèche for one more day). My husband and I drink our coffees before waking, feeding and dressing the babies. I cycle the oldest to crèche and on the way back, the youngest baby and I call into the supermarkets to look out for any deals – not many to be found today. (€9)

11.00am: We get the bus to the hospital and treat ourselves to a coffee and a granola bar (€5.50) while we wait the two hours. The baby naps for nearly two hours when we get home and I have lunch and read some of my book (I’m reading a great Sheila O’Flanagan at the moment). While scrolling Vinted I see a nice pair of shoes, which I buy (€16.70). If you can’t treat yourself …

4.00pm: My parents-in-law are minding the babies this evening as we have our open evening – they are wonderful. I meet them at the crèche, and they get the bus back to their house with both babies. The open evening is a great success and lots of people come to view our school – it’s a very long and tiring event though. Afterwards, I cycle over to collect the babies and we are back home in bed around 9pm – everyone is wrecked!

Today’s total: €31.20

Earned: €10.00 from Norstatpanel (online surveys)

Friday

7.00am: Alarm goes off and thank God it’s Friday. I shower and get dressed and we head downstairs. We decide to walk to work today so pack the snacks and enjoy our coffee before getting the babies up.

8.10am: After eating breakfast and dressing the kids, we walk to work enjoying the already warming weather. We drop the babies to crèche and head to our respective classes.

12.00pm: There are treats in the staffroom today, which were so hard to resist. As I’m not overly hungry come lunchtime, I just get a tuna sandwich and some fruit from the canteen.

3.30pm: School’s over, and we collect the kids and walk to a nearby library. After some colouring, climbing and not so much reading, we leave to walk home. We all get a drink in the shop (€8.45) and are wrecked by the time we get home.

7.30pm: On Fridays and Saturdays, we usually treat ourselves to a later, calmer dinner minus babies so feed them on their own before putting them up to bed. We make homemade burgers and chips for dinner this evening and sit down to a new series we’ve just started – always an accomplishment to find something we both like!

10.00pm: Bedtime (with three wake-ups tonight, unfortunately).

Today’s total: €8.45

Saturday

6.30am: No alarm today, but our mini human alarm clocks kick in. The youngest baby woke three times last night, which is very unusual. He did go straight back to sleep each time, but unfortunately we were awake for some time afterwards and are now already exhausted as a result.

11.30am: My husband is heading into work today for a few hours, so myself and the kids pass the morning making pancakes, building forts and attempting to play with every toy we own. We don’t turn on the television during the week, so cartoons and nursery rhymes are on repeat this morning. They go down for their nap around 12pm. I tackle some laundry then read my book.

4.00pm: My husband brings the babies out for the afternoon to a nearby park and playground and I spend the time relaxing. I watch some TV and read more of my book. A lovely lazy Saturday.

7.00pm: The babies come back covered in sand – the joys of the playground sandpits!! Once they are showered and fed a baby version of a girl dinner (frozen quiche, corn on the cob and a biscuit), they go to bed and we order our Saturday night takeaway. (€27.80)

10.00pm: I’ve fallen in love with the Dublin spice bag. We tend to have them at least twice a month. We haven’t got many vices, so the weekly takeaway is our non-negotiable! We watch more of our new series before heading to bed.

Today’s total: €13.90 (my half of the takeaway)

Sunday

8.00am: No alarm again today and the babies don’t wake as early, which is great. We decide to go swimming today. After breakfast, we get changed, pack up the pram and walk to the nearby leisure centre which has a good kids pool area. My husband is a member here and under 3s are free so it’s just €8 for my ticket.

12.30pm: We stroll home and pop into the supermarket to get the babies a yoghurt pouch (€1.78) for the walk back. We will eat brunch when they are napping.

4.00pm: My other brother visits today and after tea and chats, he brings the babies off to a park and playground after their nap. Myself and my husband go for a walk and pick up some groceries on the way back (€32.89 - my half). I used a €10 voucher which I had obtained from an online survey app. We got a good few deals today and the freezers are nearly at capacity now, which is great.

6.00pm: Roast chicken, mash and veg again for dinner. Once we’re all fed and watered and have tidied up, we put the babies to bed. We do some prep for the week ahead, watch another episode before heading to bed ourselves.

9.30pm: I read some of my book then lights out – another busy week awaits.

Today’s total: €42.67

Weekly subtotal: €164.22

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What I learned –

After keeping a money diary for the week, I am happy to see that our day-to-day spending is relatively low, helped considerably by the fact that our lives are relatively boring right now! Money tends to go on essential rather than non-essential purchases. Being mindful and planning ahead ensures this.
I will be very happy to finish paying back our loans. When they are both cleared, I am looking forward to being able to put a lot more into our pensions each month.
We are very lucky to have family members living close by. If we had to pay for childminders or babysitters for unplanned situations, it would be very costly.

Money Diaries A teacher on €68K living in the east of the country