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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 a HR administrator on €43K living in Co Wicklow. This week, a director at an IT company who is on the shortlist for redundancy.
I’m currently living in the countryside in the south of the country. We were lucky enough to buy this property right before the pandemic, thank goodness, because we would not be able to afford a place like this now. My husband and I both work from home. We’re in the same industry (IT), and usually we put away all of my wages into savings. However, I was recently informed my role may be made redundant, so this will be an interesting exercise to see how I can better manage our money.
What I want to get out of this? Well, I intend to go on the dole after this period of “collective discussion”. I’ve never been on the dole before, but I’ve always paid my taxes, so I figured I might as well. So I want to see how much I’m spending and how I can adjust my lifestyle. At the very least, I’d like to see if I can pay for our household groceries.
Occupation: Was a director at an IT company, now on the shortlist for redundancy (we are in the “collective discussion” phase)
Age: Mid-40s
Location: South of the country
Salary: Was €168,000 + bonuses and stocks per annum
Monthly pay (net): About €6.7k after tax, PRSI, and pension
Transport: About €80 every 10 days for diesel
Rent/mortgage: €0 – We are lucky enough to have bought this property in cash after many years of hard work abroad
Household bills: About €200 a quarter for electricity (we have solar panels), and we fill up our oil tank maybe twice a year to the tune of about €1,300 each time. I also occasionally have a local lady clean for me at €15 an hour
Phone bill: €47.50
Health insurance: Company-paid (for now)
Groceries: About €200 a week on groceries; since we work from home, we tend to eat a lot of leftovers, so our takeaway/eating out is minimal.
Subscriptions: €19.99 for Spotify, €23.99 for Netflix, €70.00 for Doctors without Borders, €14.99 for the NYT, €5.00 each for the Journal and the Ditch, about a total of €20.00 a month on various Substack accounts (gotta support the free press!)
Child expenses: Between €68 and €110 a week for creche (depends on ECCE), €50 a month on a football programme
***
7.27 am: The toddler is my alarm; it’s my morning (my husband and I take turns) so I get up, feed the child and the dogs and make coffee. I wake my husband up about half an hour later to bring the child to creche, and also because he has an early morning meeting.
9.15 am: I potter around in the polytunnel. Since being informed I was on the shortlist for redundancy, I’ve been spending more time in there, which is actually kind of perfect because it’s the growing season. Last year, I was working full-time, so I didn’t feel like I planned the garden efficiently. One of the only positive things about being semi-redundant is now I have time.
2.10 pm: I call a solicitor who specialises in employment law. He gives me a little background about the concept of collective discussions, and some advice about how to negotiate for certain things (like extending our health insurance).
2.50 pm: I leave for the gym and to run a few errands around town. I go to Dunnes because I have vouchers and buy a few bits. I’m short of the €50 voucher limit by about €4, so I grab a couple of bagel packs (the bread aisle is closest to the self-checkout counter I’m in), and that brings me right over (it comes to €41.27 with the voucher). Bread is a great thing to buy loads of, because I chuck it in the freezer and take out only as much as I will eat. I also go to the pharmacy to buy, among other things, nail polish, because I need a pick-me-up. (€10.65)
5.30 pm: Dinner is some chicken thighs from Dunnes and some rice and veg.
Today’s total: €51.92
7.58 am: Slept upstairs because the toddler was kicking the shit out of me. Anyway, it’s the husband’s turn to do morning stuff, so I have a small lie-in. By the time I get downstairs, the toddler is dressed and almost out the door in Dada’s car.
8.48 am: I potter around in the polytunnel a little more. I re-plant three Pomodoro tomato seedlings, which I’m hoping will have a high yield so I can make my own passata.
10.00 am: I have a meeting with HR and the other colleagues who are up for redundancy. Me and my other colleagues know that this is basically a tick-the-box exercise for our company, but since there’s only a handful of us on the chopping block (so there’s not a lot of noise), we get respectfully aggressive when it comes to the package negotiations. We ask for access to our payslips, training platforms, pension documents, and to have our private health insurance extended until the end of July (as my solicitor advised me). I leave the meeting super disoriented.
1.00 pm: I work on my CV for a while, and then look at what jobs there are out there. Since I’m in IT, there’s been a lot of chatter about how AI is going to take over all the things. I’m keeping this in mind; looking at the job market, and given my level of experience, I’m thinking I’m probably better off starting over.
3.00 pm: I get cash out from the Centra (€80) for the cleaner. Then I go to the post office and send a couple of packages (€24) – one to a mum in IPAS accommodation who has a son about a year younger than mine (clothes) and another to a friend of mine who just had a child. The postage is reasonable, but I’m told by the lovely post office lady that if I used the bag instead of a box, I could save about five quid on postage. Good to know!
5.30 pm: Dinner today is stir fry with mince and noodles. Some of the veg (mangetout, bok choy) came from my vegetable garden, so I saved a little bit on that. Plus, it’s fresher than what you’d get in the shop!
Today’s total: €104.00
7.38 am: The toddler is awake. Good Lord, I need a couple more minutes to get my head together.
10.00 am: I go to a big shop in Limerick city, which has an in-house butcher and fishmonger. I buy most of what we need for a weekly shop, including loads of meats, toddler snacks, fruit, and household items (kitchen rolls, cleaning materials, etc). All in all, it comes to €122.19.
2.00 pm: I go to a local park to do a walk/run. While it’s summer, I’m trying to keep myself fit; I retained a lot of baby weight. My goal is to fit into my wedding ring again. The walk is 1.5 kilometres, but it’s up and down some steep inclines, and I am bolloxed after.
5.30 pm: Dinner tonight is steak, roast potatoes and green beans (last two of which come from the garden again!)
Today’s total: €122.19 – but should set us up nicely for the rest of the week and more
9.00 am: The cleaner is coming today, so I pick her up from the village so she doesn’t have to come down to my ridiculous little laneway (the road is atrocious). She knows the lay of the house, so I leave her there and go into the nearest town to run errands.
10.00 am: I get dog food from the vets (we have two giant dogs). That comes to €102.44 and will last us about 10 days. I also go to the DIY to get screws for my son’s dresser, because bits are falling off, but of course, I end up buying other random things like an air fryer liner. All in all, it comes to €27.90, and I regret it immediately.
5.30 pm: Today’s dinner is pasta with some passata I made last season. I figured I should use it since I expect a deluge of tomatoes again this year. My monthly donation for Doctors Without Borders also goes out today, so that’s €35.00.
Today’s total: €165.34
8.24 am: It’s my lie-in day today, and by the time I get up, the husband has shipped the toddler out the door and into creche. I get up and make coffee and a bagel.
10.00 am: I do some admin: check LinkedIn, send some insurance claims, reply to some emails. I also order some more nappies for the toddler, and buy hand wash in bulk (it comes in a 5-litre container, saves plastic). The online order comes to €110.32.
2.00 pm: I have an appointment with the GP for a persistent cough that I think is connected to my hay fever. She gives me a prescription for a nasal spray, my third kind. The visit comes to €40, but I can get most of that reimbursed via insurance. I go to the pharmacy to pick up the spray. (€12.18)
5.30 pm: Today’s dinner is salmon and rice for me, and venison burgers for the boys. Veg on the side (kale, some more green beans and peas) again from the garden.
Today’s total: €162.50
11.00 am: My son has “football” practice (it’s really just a bunch of 3-5 year olds kicking balls around in random directions), so I take him. Afterwards, we go to McDonald’s for a kiddie meal, and I try the Big Arch burger. The total is €18.25. I try to bring him to Supermacs instead (buy local!), but today I can’t be bothered to drive all the way to where the Supermacs is.
5.30 pm: Dinner today is bake-in-bag ribs and some Asian radish salad I made with daikon.
Today’s total: €18.25
9.00 am: My husband takes our kid swimming on Sunday mornings, so off they go.
11.00 am: Afterwards, we have lunch in a local pub. Despite having McDonald’s yesterday, my son and I again have burgers (he enjoys it, I regret it), and my husband has a lovely-looking toasted special. No desserts or drinks, but the total still comes to €42.90. I don’t mind; the service is great and I know loads of service places are struggling, so I’m happy to spend a bit of money to eat out.
5.30 pm: Today’s dinner is sausages and potato waffles for the boys and some pesto pasta for myself, made by a friend of mine with some wild garlic. Pesto is so underrated in my opinion.
Today’s total: €42.90
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What I learned –
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