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 an accountant on €88K living in the Midlands. This week, an IT systems architect on €90K living in Dublin.

I am currently living in Dublin and I’m in the luxurious situation of being able to work from home for one of the big tech companies. My primary financial goal is to become financially independent by the age of 50 so that I can live off the gains I make from my investments. That’s why I am putting away at least €1,600 every month, plus the bigger part of my bonus payments. Although that is ambitious, I don’t live too frugally. I enjoy reading a lot and spending my free time with cultural things (movies, talks, readings, etc).

I am from Germany originally but I relocated to Ireland on purpose, despite the higher taxes. I believe the quality of life in every dimension in Ireland is higher compared to Germany, and after having lived here for three years now, that was proven in many different situations.

Occupation: Cloud solution architect

Age: 35

Location: Dublin 

Salary: €90,000 base salary + €20,000 bonus opportunity

Monthly pay (net): €4,600

Monthly expenses 

Transport: €20 for TFI + €120 on the motorcycle

Rent: €2,400

Household bills: €150

Phone bill: €0 – company phone

Health insurance: €0 – company provided

Groceries: €200

Subscriptions: €13 (Revolut Metal)

Savings/investments: €1,600

Gym membership: €40 

***

Monday

6.30 am: Wake up, make a cup of tea then read the morning newspapers on my eReader.

7.30 am: Walk to my favourite coffee place to get a large Americano, spent €3.60.

8.00 am: Start my work day in my home office. I work at my desk with a big screen most of the time, but due to the comfort of working from home, I enjoy lying on the couch for reading long emails or researching stuff from time to time.

12.00 pm: Lunch break, I prepared a big salad bowl at home so no spending today. While eating, I check my Revolut trading account for any major movements.

5.00 pm: Finish work and go to Tesco to do some grocery shopping. Check the bargain shelf and save a total of €4 on groceries I would’ve bought anyway. Spent €13 at Tescos.

6.30 pm: Dinner is chicken curry with rice.

8.00 pm: Head to Pavilion Cinema. I recently bought a season pass, so every Monday is now cinema night! The movie on screen tonight is ‘Christy’, a great Irish movie that reminds me of how privileged I am and that there are a lot of people struggling in their daily lives.

10.00 pm: Time for bed.

Today’s total: €16.60

Tuesday

6.30 am: Wake up and make a cup of tea, then read today’s papers on my eReader.

7.30 am: Same as yesterday, I walk to my favourite coffee place to get a large Americano. (€3.60)

8.00 am: Start my work day in my home office.

12.00 pm: Lunch break. I have a meal deal (€5) while checking Revolut – it’s the first Tuesday of the month, which means my scheduled payments are due to come out (I have several pockets for different expenses; one pocket for putting money aside for buying ETF shares every week; etc).

5.00 pm: Finish work and go straight to the gym for a workout.

7.00 pm: Today’s dinner is pizza that I completely made myself with the ingredients I bought from Tesco yesterday.

8.30 pm: Read a few pages in the book I am currently into. The title is ‘Money – a story of humanity’ from David McWilliams. I like it so far because it gives a very good overview about the historical context of money in terms of society, which is often left out of money-focused books.

10.30 pm: Go to bed.

Today’s total: €8.60

Wednesday

6.30 am: Wake up and the usual morning routine applies – I make myself a cup of tea and read today’s newspaper on my eReader.

7.30 am: I get a large oat latte at my favourite coffee place this morning. It costs €4.10.

8.00 am: Start my work day in my home office.

12.00 pm: It’s a bowl of porridge for lunch today while checking Revolut for execution of my weekly ETF share order, documenting my current net worth in my spreadsheet (I am doing this every week).

5.30 pm: Finish up at work and cycle to Lidl to do some grocery shopping. I spend €22.60 after taking advantage of current offers and vouchers to save €2.50.

7.00 pm: Dinner is leftover pizza dough from yesterday with a big bowl of salad.

8.30 pm: Watch a movie that I borrowed from the library. ‘Lo and Behold’ challenged me to think critically about my own relationship with technology.

10.30 pm: Head to bed.

Today’s total: €26.70

Thursday

6.30 am: You know what I’m going to say: wake up, cup of tea and catch up with the papers.

7.30 am: Grab a large Americano from my favourite coffee place, spend €3.60.

8.00 am: Start work in the home office. 

1.00 pm: I meet a friend at a local ramen shop on my lunch break. Decide to go for the meal deal for €13 plus a €2 tip.

5.00 pm: Finish work and head to the gym for a workout.

Related Reads

Money Diaries: An accountant on €88K living in the Midlands

Money Diaries: A marketing manager on €63K living in Dublin

Money Diaries: An investment banker on £112K who moved to London last year

7.00 pm: Time for dinner. Only some slices of bread with cheese and vegetables today because lunch was pretty filling.

9.00 pm: Read some articles that I put aside earlier, mostly focused on economics and financial advice.

10.30 pm: Go to bed.

Today’s total: €18.60

Friday

6.30 am: Wake up and the same morning routine applies. 

7.30 am: At my favourite coffee place, I decide to get a flat white with oak milk today. Costs €4.

8.00 am: Start my work day in my home office.

3.00 pm: No lunch break today because I finish work early.

3.30 pm: Head to the library to download some news there (I discovered that while using the library’s Wifi, you have access to Irish Times Subscriber content). This is sort of a tradition for me: every Friday afternoon, I go to the library and download some articles for the weekend from the Irish Times, The Journal, Financial Times (incl. In Revolut subscription), etc., and put them on my eReader.

9.00 pm: Meet some friends in the pub for some pints. Spend €14.

11.00 pm: Bedtime. 

Today’s total: €18.00

Saturday

8.00 am: Wake up a bit later than usual and make myself some porridge and a cup of tea. Have my breakfast while reading the weekend issue of my favourite newspaper on my eReader.

11.30 am: Head out to do some grocery shopping at Tescos for the weekend. A bit more than usual, so ended up spending €34.80.

3.00 pm: Some friends drop over for some tea and cake.

8.00 pm: Tune into the Ireland v Japan Autumn Nations rugby match on Virgin Media, streaming via the internet. Ireland win, as expected. Since I’m from Germany, I only recently started watching rugby, which I really enjoy – but my heart is still with Olympic Handball, which I watch every time a game is on.

11.00 pm: Read my book in bed for a while before falling asleep.

Today’s total: €34.80

Sunday

8.00 am: Wake up and make porridge and tea, then read the last bits and pieces of the weekend issue of my favourite newspaper on my eReader. After that, I read the articles I saved while I was at the library on Friday.

11.00 am: Head to the gym for a workout.

2.00 pm: I do a Facetime call with my family.

4.00 pm: Take a walk at the Dún Laoghaire East Pier, up to the lighthouse and back. It’s always a nice walk. 

7.00 pm: Watch a movie on the streaming service Kanopy that comes for free with my library membership.

10.30 pm: Do a quick calendar check for the week ahead before going to bed.

Today’s total: €0.00 

Weekly subtotal: €123.30 

***

What I learned –

• Having a coffee from my local coffee shop is probably a significant cost, but something I don’t want to stop doing because it’s part of my daily routine that prepares me for a busy working day. It’s not only about the coffee, but about sitting there, without my mobile phone or something else, reflecting on the day ahead of me.
• I don’t drink much alcohol, which significantly reduces my expenses for the pub or the off-license compared to other people. Also, since I am a vegetarian, I reckon my grocery shopping spendings are way less than average amount.
• While keeping this diary, I realised how focused I am in the way I do things, especially in terms of digital detox or distraction from technology. I know a lot of my friends have multiple subscriptions for streaming services, for example Disney+ and Netflix and Prime Video. I don’t have either video or audio streaming subscriptions. By solely using the services the local library offers for free, it’s not only without a cost, but also gives you more time to focus on yourself instead of fast entertainment. I have a feeling that brings me more value than binge-watching something on Netflix.
• I realise that I am in a very privileged situation. I wasn’t really paying attention to when and how much I was spending, yet I didn’t spend very much money when thinking about it objectively. But I guess that ability of not needing or thinking about it while not spending too much at the same time is something one can only do if they have a clear structure, both in their life and financial planning.
• I believe I am on the right track and the diary made that clear to me once again: I am not limiting myself to an extent that I don’t enjoy my life right now in the present. However, I would deem myself as being on the right track for my long-term goal: gaining financial freedom by the age of 50.