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 28-year-old advertising account manager who has just moved to Australia. This week, a civil technician on €60K living in Leinster.

I’m currently living in a rural area in a county in the east of the country. We’re a one-income household consisting of myself, my partner and our two children – one in primary school and one in secondary school.

We don’t have much spare cash to save in any given month, but I try to put away about €30 a week towards emergency funds. I have a few pockets set up in a banking app to try to get enough together for things like car insurance and annual membership costs for the kids in GAA and football.

I run them daily, so it doesn’t feel like a pinch every week or month – they work out at about €60 a month. Most large outgoings (like a family holiday or vehicle repairs) usually have to be paid for with loans.

Extracurricular activities for the two kids add to the living costs, but they include all sports, so they are really important. Our vehicles are 16 years and 12 years old, and we don’t have any great hope of upgrading anytime in the immediate future. That generally means more repairs, though.

Occupation: Civil technician in a local authority

Age: 46

Location: East of the country

Salary: €60,200

Monthly pay (net): €3,326

Monthly expenses

Transport: €250 on two vehicles (or more if I have to travel for work/sports activities)

School transport: €120

Rent: We are co-living with my parents after returning to live in a family flat extension

Phone bill: Some paid for by work, additional phones are €40 per month

Health insurance: €90 but covers almost nothing. Have no health insurance for partner or kids yet

House insurance: €45 per month

Appliance insurance: €15 per month

Groceries: At least €650

Subscriptions: TV and broadband- €68; Amazon Prime – €11; Amazon Music – €6

Sports: €75 (GAA, football, swimming)

Music: €88

Homework club: €28

Loans/Credit cards: €350-€1000 (this varies depending on whether or not we’ve used the credit cards)

***

Monday

6.45 am: Get up and get the secondary school goer up and out. Breakfast at home. Get the younger one up, out and dropped to school at 9 am, then on to work.

11.00 am: Tea break. I brought fruit today and make tea at the tea station so no coffee for me!

1.00 pm: Lunchtime. I brought my own today, but forgot water and needed a snack for later so go to the shop. (€5)

5.00 pm: Finishing time, but have to catch up on files, so don’t get leaving till nearly 20 past. Traffic is the usual nightmare!

6.00 pm: My partner is a fantastic cook and dinner’s always ready when I get home, so at least I’m not facing into that when I walk in. We eat together every evening and catch up on what’s been going on. Catch a bit of TV after dinner while the two are doing homework, and then start clearing everything up for tomorrow. Bedtime is getting later and later!

11.30 pm: With everything done, I get into bed and have a news catch-up and a quick read of a book. Hopefully sleep will come easily!

Today’s total: €5.00

Tuesday

6.45 am: Get up and repeat yesterday’s routine. Have breakfast at home again, but I’m running out the door to work, so it’s only a slice of toast. I have to pay homework club today (€28). And I need fuel again – I haven’t time to go to the cheaper plac,e so I’m getting less bang for my buck today (€20).

1.00 pm:  I didn’t have time for tea break, and I forgot to bring any lunch, so I’m starving by lunchtime! There’s an absolute ream of meals, so I settle for soup and bread (€6).

5.15 pm: Finish work. I have to get the tax on the car as it’s out since the end of December (didn’t time that one well). It’s €110 for three months. The car failed the NCT last week, so I’ve a few jobs to get done and have to book a retest. I have to pick up a car part in the motor factors today, and hopefully can get our man to fix it up for the retest. (€90)

7.00 pm: Training for the two at the local hall. The club run indoor training in winter while the season of play is finished. It’s great to keep their fitness up.

8.15 pm: Training means hungry mouths, so a bit of supper is had before we all catch a bit of TV. There’s a new series on Netflix that we’re all watching. Magic and adventure – perfect winter viewing!

11.00 pm: Got everything sorted for tomorrow. Younger has PE so of course, there’s some last-minute panic looking for kit. Find the shorts at the bottom of the wash basket, so I throw on a quick wash for the morning. Should have plenty of time to dry in the dryer (I hope!).

Today’s total: €254.00

Wednesday

6.45 am: Up and do the usual morning routine. The teenager is going on a school trip today, and because they won’t have any canteen for lunch, they need a few bob just in case (€15).

1.00 pm: I have a work meeting at lunchtime, and because it’s away from the office, it bumps up the usual cost (€17). Our restaurant at work is subsidised, so it’s a little cheaper than eating out. I’m not used to paying uptown prices! A committee meeting has been cancelled this evening, so at least that means I won’t have to buy dinner out – a small win!

5.30 pm: Finish work late again, but make it home for dinner and a chat with the crew. No sports tonight, but both have tests coming up at school, so I help them with their studying and learning.

8.00 pm: We decide to watch another episode of the new series. It’s a great distraction from all the crazy news at the moment.

10.30 pm: I promised myself an early night, and I manage to hit the hay before 11 pm. No small achievement!

Today’s total: €32.00

Thursday

6.45 am: You know the drill. I have to bring the car to the mechanics later and I’m not sure how much it’s going to be. Hopefully, getting the parts myself will bring down the cost a bit.

10.30 pm: It’s a slow morning so far. We had some leftovers after dinner yesterday (chicken pasta bake), so I bring those with me for lunch. We also got a few school snacky things in the shopping last weekend, so I brought one of those too to save me from splurging on a scone. Some kind soul has brought in a pile of coffee pods (maybe the New Year’s Resolution!), so I have one of those instead of getting one in the restaurant, meaning no costs at work today. 

1.00 pm: I eat the above for lunch and manage to get out for a short walk as well. It’s so hard to fit exercise into the week. I’m not a gym person at all, so walking, whenever I can, is all I can achieve right now.

5.00 pm: Finish up at work. I feel good about saving a bit on the food side today, but it feels a bit redundant when I bring the car over to the mechanics ahead of the retest. The labour ends up costing me €200.

7.00 pm: Collect the car from the mechanic and head home. It’s dark and miserable out.
Cups of tea and the last of the Xmas biccies cheer us up a bit! The two are allowed an hour of gaming this evening, so I have the TV to myself, but I end up scrolling online till nearly 9 o’clock! It takes more than one go to get them off the devices when their time is up, so I give them an extra few minutes to ‘save’ everything. I’m too soft!

10.00 pm: Bed. I’m doing better with bedtime at least! Thank God it’s Friday tomorrow.

Related Reads

Money Diaries: A 28-year-old advertising account manager who has just moved to Australia

Money Diaries: A part-time writer in Cork, living alone on a pension

Money Diaries: An accounting manager on €60K living in Dublin

Today’s total: €200.00

Friday

7.00 am: Up ever so slightly later today. Thankfully, we still have a working-from-home policy in our place, and today is my WFH day. Having breakfast, lunch and snacks at home simplifies things a bit – and of course, you can manage an extra cup of tea here and there. I falter with the biscuits, though and break an already flimsy New Year’s promise to try to cut out junk food. So much for my plans to get up earlier and make homemade healthy snacks.

1.00 pm: Break time. We have a big birthday for a special lady in our house today, so I head out to pick up a cake and some goodies, plus her card and gift. All these treats in January are really testing my resolve. I need a few essentials in the shop too, as is always the way before the big shop. I can’t believe the price of meat now – a couple of pounds of beef is €14. I nearly keeled over!  The birthday bits and the shopping come to €110 altogether. 

5.00 pm: I throw dinner on Fridays. With no travelling, so it saves that extra bit of time. It’s a Friday-style feast of roast chicken and rolls, salad and chips. It seems wrong to have spuds on a Friday.

7.00 pm: Music lessons in town at half, so I have to head off early to avoid traffic. Killing time during the lesson can end up being expensive if I go wandering, so I hang tight in the car and catch up on socials.

9.30 pm: The two are in bed, so myself and himself have a glass of wine and watch a movie. There’s plenty of junk left from the party, so we’ve loads of movie snacks.

12.00 am: This is a late night for us these days. We’ll probably be wiped tomorrow, doesn’t take much anymore!

Today’s total: €110.00

Saturday

9.00 am: The weekend is finally here. Get up a little bit later, and we all have breakfast together.

12.00 pm: We’re out for a little lunch today for the birthday girl – a little extra treat. We go to a local coffee shop that does amazing food for reasonable prices. We’re treating her, so everyone goes in a few quid. I stick to a simple sandwich and coffee – and after the tea yesterday, I skip the cakes. (€30)

1.30 pm: We’re out of almost everything in the house, so it’s time to do the big shop. On the weeks that we’ve enough washing powder and stuff like that, I can try to keep the costs down a bit. Keeping the family fed is a challenge – the meat for dinners in this shop costs at least €30, and I’ll probably have to get something else during the week. I’ve got an ap,p which means I get vouchers for bigger spends. Sometimes I get a few extra things just to get the vouchers to kick in. Today, everything comes to €166, but the €30 off in vouchers brings it down to €136.

3.00 pm: Eating times are always off kilter on Saturday, with all of us coming and going. We have a big snack together now and probably will have a late dinner. Time to bring the dog for a walk, will get me a few steps.

6.00 pm: The two get two hours gaming, so we’ve let them on early as dinner will be another hour.

10.00 pm: The two have just gone to sleep… so we decide to finish off a couple of bottles of beer left over after Christmas. It’s nice just chilling with the fire on and nowhere to be.

11.30 pm: Bed and an easy sleep tonight!

Today’s total: €166.00

Sunday

9.30 am: Another lie in is enjoyed. We have a slow morning and make pancakes for breakfast. Today we have an event at one of the local sports clubs. I bought stuff for dinner yesterday, so we won’t be eating out.

12.00 pm: We have an early lunch of sausages and rolls (to avoid having to buy anything while we’re out and about). If the kids see their friends having treats, they’ll be looking for the same, so best to bring them out full already!

1.00 pm: Arrive at the clubhouse. Great fun is had by all for the afternoon. We let them get a fizzy drink and an ice cream tub on the way home, for after dinner (€20).

3.00 pm: We get the dinner on when we get home and get set up for a movie later on. Fires on, it’s cold outside – perfect Sunday evening!

7.00 pm: Before I know it, it’s time to get ready for the week ahead. Because the food at school is so bad (and to be fair, the kids are not fussy eaters), I have to send lunch in with them. So, it’ll be sandwiches, pieces of fruit, a snack and their water bottles for them both. We’ve some chicken left over, so at least they’ll have a tasty sandwich, not the usual flattened ham.

10.30 pm: Head to bed after getting sucked into Room to Improve. I promised I wouldn’t, but I had to see the final outcome! Before I know it, it’ll be time to do it all over again.

Today’s total: €20.00

Weekly subtotal: €787.00

***

What I learned –

• Paying annually for some things, like motor tax, might save having to find extra every few months, but that means saving more.
• After keeping the money diary for a week, it really opened my eyes to how much goes out on unexpected expenses.
• When it comes to renewal time for providers, I’m definitely going to shop around more.
• I wrote to the column as I do most weeks; I don’t see myself reflected in the submissions people make, so I wanted to give an honest account of what it’s like for a family like ours. We may not have rent to pay, but everything is extra to what is already going out. One-income families who don’t meet thresholds for supports are really, really struggling, and it’s not because they’re spending money on fancy cars or holidays or going out: it’s making sure your kids get to do football, or get to the doctor if they have to, or paying for the car to get fixed again because you can’t afford a new one. Hopefully someone reading this will see it and think ‘at least I’m not the only one’, and they won’t feel bad for not having anything saved or spare to save or guilty because they think ‘sure other people are in a worse state paying rent or mortgages’. Did we expect to be living with my parents at this stage of our lives? Of course not. But if we did have to pay rent or a mortgage, we’d go completely under.
• To anyone who thinks they ‘should’ be doing better or more with what they have, keep going, you’re doing just fine. And hey, things can always get better, hang in there. You’ve got this.