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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.
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 psychologist on €140K living in the east of the country. This week, a quality and compliance officer, on €42K, saving for a mortgage.
I’m a 25-year-old male currently back living with my parents and brother after being abroad for a year. I‘m currently saving for a mortgage with my girlfriend.
I started a job in a completely new industry when I came home, having decided that what I spent four years studying in college for wasn’t really for me. I’m very happy at work: I enjoy my job and feel as though I make decent money for my age and my role.
In my spare time, I like to play golf, go for dinners/coffees with my girlfriend and watch almost any live sport I can find. I’ve found the mid-20s to be a time of real transition for friendships and socialising, so I try my best to see people when I can.
I think it’s important to check in on friends, especially the lads. A lot of men my age struggle to open up, and I think it’s important to make yourself available to people – the best ability is availability!
Occupation: Quality and compliance
Age: 25
Location: South East
Salary: €42,000
Monthly pay (net): €2,780
Transport: €400 (petrol)
Rent: €200
Household bills: €0
Phone bill: €45
Health insurance: €0 (company)
Groceries: Approx. €150
Subscriptions: €40 (YouTube Premium, Spotify, Patreon)
Savings: €500
***
7.00 am: Another week begins. I get up and ready for work. I’ve never been a breakfast person so out the gap with me.
8.00am: Into work and debrief on the weekend with my colleagues. A nice soft start to a Monday.
9.30 am: Morning full of meetings and inspections. I wish I had more interesting work, but alas…
12.00 pm: Lunch is a toastie and some leftover soup my mam made on Sunday.
1.00 pm: Weekly audits take up most of my afternoon.
5.00 pm: Finish work and head to the driving range (60 balls for €6). Prices are really high for any of the decent ranges, so I’m lucky my local one hasn’t lost the run of themselves. Head to Dunnes afterwards to get supplies for dinner and lunches (€20.50)
7.00 pm: Home and fed with a nice chicken curry. I stick on some telly for the evening. I’ve been watching How I Met Your Mother as I never watched it when it came out. Really enjoying it, but some bits don’t stand the test of time!
10.30 pm: Lights out ready for work tomorrow.
Today’s total: €26.50
7.00 am: My alarm pulls me from a deep sleep and so it begins again. Up, dressed and out the door. I come outside to discover car trouble. One of the lads in work is a bit of a weekend mechanic. I’ll get him to take a look and hopefully it won’t cost a fortune.
10.00 am: I get a nice, albeit purposeful, walk around the factory done between meetings. A lot of my job is a mix of being out and about and desk work, which I enjoy. I’d go mad if I was sat at a screen all day (which happens, often).
1.00 pm: I drag myself away from my laptop to enjoy the food I brought from home for lunch. I have to say I’d rather head to the café beside work but here, I want to buy a house some day!
3.30 pm: Last meeting over so I commit the rest of the day to paperwork.
5.30 pm: On my own for dinner tonight as everyone is elsewhere. Scrambled eggs does the job – it’s not a day for fancy football.
6.30 pm: Out for a walk. Stop in to the shop, but I resist the urge to spend money. Out again empty-handed.
8.00 pm: Shower and then some telly, keep the badness out.
10.30 pm: Lights out.
Today’s total: €0.00 (for now, car expenses coming)
7.00 am: I’m at an all-day meeting off site today, so no need to prepare lunch. I get to leave a little bit later so I take it slow to start the day
8.00 am: I stop on the way to the meeting to buy some nicotine pouches (€8 (save me the lecture, I know it’s stupid)).
11.00 am: Icebreakers, networking and guest speakers. The usual “think in” stuff, but the morning has flown by. Quick cup of coffee and back to it.
1.00 pm: Free lunch, not bad at all! Although now I’m stuffed and would prefer a nap to a few more hours of brainstorming.
4.30 pm: Meeting over and back on the road.
6.30 pm: I’m meeting a friend for dinner. We go to a local pub and pay handsomely for mediocre food. I can’t fault the company though! (€25)
9.00 pm: Home for a shower before an early night.
10.00 pm: Lights out.
Today’s total: €33.00
6.30 am: Wake up before my alarm, but I make the point to stay in bed until 7am anyway. Call it a treat to myself.
7.00 am: Up, showered and ready for work. Yesterday’s off site meeting was great, but it really puts me behind for the week so I get in early (ish).
9.00 am: Run up for a quick cup of coffee between meetings and internal audits. The trade-off for free coffee in work is that it’s really, really bad coffee.
11.30 am: Daily management meeting gives me a chance to share learnings and takeaways from yesterday, so I pull a slide or two together and something jogs my memory to have the car looked at. I ask him to take a look and luckily it just needs a coolant top up – I’m embarrassed to be a grown man who couldn’t figure that out, but sure look, isn’t that why the experts are on hand?
1.00 pm: Run up to the auto parts shop and get a litre of coolant (€8) on my lunch and take a breather for a few.
5.00 pm: The afternoon flies by and I leave feeling broadly caught up on everything. I’m staying in my girlfriend’s house tonight so I head up straight from work, about 30 mins drive.
6.00 pm: She’s made me a lovely dinner of chicken stir fry and I wolf it down after not getting any lunch earlier.
7.00 pm: We decide to go to the cinema. She gets the tickets and I get the popcorn (€20). Reminders of Him was a decent movie – and any lads out there pretending you don’t enjoy chick flicks, you’re lying to yourself.
Today’s total: €28.00
7.00 am: Thank god for Friday! Up and out the door with a bit more pep in my step than usual.
8.00 am: In and sit down for the morning debrief. This is usually light-hearted enough and we go for about an hour before any real work gets done.
9.00am – 11.00am: Friday tasks usually take a couple of hours to get weekly reports, paperwork and emails sent so I can go into the weekend with a clear conscience. A couple of us run up to the café to grab a decent cup of coffee as a Friday treat. Of course, the chocolate croissant is staring me in the face, so I pull trig (€7.50). Lighter in my pocket, but it’s a rare enough occurrence, so I don’t think too hard about it.
1.00 pm: I didn’t bring lunch today, but I’m not too hungry. I run up to the shop and grab a yoghurt and a banana (€4) which does me grand.
3.00 pm: Out the door early on Friday. We’ll take that!
4.00 pm: I have a few bits to do at home, so I throw a load of washing on and try to put some shape on my wardrobe.
5.00 pm: That’s as good as we’ll get. I call it a day for the cleaning and start to think about dinner. Mam has fajitas on the brain, and that suits me, so I run down to the shop and grab her wraps and peppers. (€3.70)
6.00 pm: I head out for a walk to cleanse my soul from the week gone by and hit my steps for the day, but this weather is making it very, very hard. It is FREEZING out.
7.30 pm: Home and showered, and I decide to watch a movie – The Rip on Netflix with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. It’s grand, but nothing to write home about (I live at home, so there rarely is).
Today’s total: €15.20
10.00 am: A nice lie-in this morning before going to the driving range. I’d love to get out and play a round of golf but this weather is shocking and I’m far too much of a fair weather golfer to embarrass myself in the cold and rain. I’ve been watching plenty of coaching videos, so hoping today is the day I quit my job and turn to professional golf. (€6)
12.30 pm: Finish up with the golf. I’m starting to suspect God-given talent is a big contributor to being a professional golfer, and unfortunately I just don’t have it. I head to Griolladh for a bit of lunch – their toasties are on the pricey side, but they really do hit the spot. (€15)
2.00 pm: A slow afternoon is about to turn into a slow evening, but I go for a walk so I don’t feel bad about that. A relaxing weekend is kind of needed.
3.30 pm: My girlfriend comes down and she brings pizza bases and the rest of the bits for a pizza night. She sends me back the Revolut I sent to her and insists it’s her treat, and who am I to protest?
6.00 pm: I get to making the pizzas with my glamorous assistant not willing to ruin her newly-done nails, so she watches in a Masterchef-esque manner. I’ve nailed it and I’m through to the finals.
7.00 pm: We start into a new series on Disney+ called Love Story. It’s about JFK Jr and his wife. It’s a bit wishy-washy but it’s grand.
9.00 pm: We decide to stick a movie on, but I fall asleep fairly quickly, not out of tiredness but more out of comfort. I really am my father’s son.
10.30 pm: Go to bed and never finish the movie: a common theme.
Today’s total: €21.00
10.30 am: Myself and herself walk for a coffee for walking’s sake. I get the coffee seeing as I wasn’t allowed pay for the pizza (€9.50) and we get a nice walk in despite the cold. At least the rain held off.
12.00 pm: My girlfriend heads home with plenty to do for the rest of the day. I feel bad so I help Mam with Sunday dinner. I’m the premier spud and carrot peeler in the Leinster region.
2.00 pm: A gorgeous Sunday roast as always from the mother. I’m a lucky man to have such a good cook for a mam and my dad is even luckier because he couldn’t cook a Pot Noodle. I clean up and make Mam a coffee as a thank you, in lieu of anything else to do as a 25-year-old still living at home.
3.00 pm: One of the lads just bought a house with his partner so he invites me out to have a mooch around. I stop in on the way and buy them a bottle of prosecco to celebrate (€15). We’ve been mates since school and it’s really nice to see people you care about succeeding. I think there’s a lot to be said for showing up for people.
6.00 pm: The nose around and the catch-up went on a bit longer than expected, but we won’t cry over that. I hit the road and fill up the car on the way - €60!! If this stuff in the Middle East doesn’t quiet down, I might have to go over and sort it myself.
6.30 pm: Home and try to organise myself to go again next week. The best I can manage is pulling out my work phone and reading some emails to get ahead of the Monday rush and getting my bag packed. We’ll call that good enough.
7.00 pm: I settle in for some Sunday night TV coupled with the most intense dread a person can feel. I hate Mondays.
9.00 pm: Head up for a shower and convince myself I’ll get an early night. Nearly two hours of doomscrolling later, I pack it in.
10.45 pm: Lights out.
Today’s total: €24.50
***
What I learned –
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