Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period – and we're tracking every last penny.
This week, a 29-year-old woman who has lived in London for nearly seven years and works in PR with a variety of luxury lifestyle brands shares her weekly spend. Each month she tries to scale back on non-essentials but tends to blow it in the third week, buying something expensive as a treat for her earlier good behaviour. YOLO.
Industry: PR
Age: 29
Location: London
Salary: £50,000
Paycheque amount per month: £2,583 with pension contribution deducted. Earlier this year I read that you need to halve the age at which you begin your pension and save that percentage of your paycheque until retirement. Daunting, but it helps that the money is removed before it reaches me.
Number of roommates: 1 – my boyfriend
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: Mortgage plus apartment maintenance fee is £1,725, I pay half. My parents loaned me the deposit with the agreement that after a set time the flat would be sold and their share paid back. £862.50
Utilities: £115 (my half, includes gas, electricity, water and insurance)
Transportation: £146 for a Zone 1-3 travel card
Phone bill: £45
Savings: £500 per month into a high-interest savings account. I set this goal at the start of the year and have managed to stick to it so far.
Charity donations (RSPCA & Doctors Without Borders): £15
Spotify, Netflix: £15 (my half, split with boyfriend)
Total: £1,698.50
Day One – Friday
8.30am: Go to an event hosted by a magazine on behalf of a client. They have a hospitality area so I help myself to a cup of Earl Grey tea, a bottle of water and some fruit.
12pm: Eat a packet of crisps from stash in my drawer.
1.30pm: Lunch at Leon with colleagues – chicken meatballs with cashew pesto and brown rice. £5.35
6.30pm: Visit Sainsbury's to stock up. My boyfriend and I go to a lot of evening events for work and don't like wasting food so we don't often do a weekly shop, but I buy enough to last through the weekend...
Kale, spinach, brown rice, red onion, mixed beans, chorizo, mushrooms and sour cream & chive dip will go into a Buddha bowl with miso paste from fridge for dinner. Dried mango as I'm trying to cut down on processed sugar (my addiction – I have lasted two days and counting). Also buy sesame bagels, avocados, pitta bread, Vietnamese vegetable soup, apples & cleaning products. £20.30, which I log on Splitwise so my boyfriend can pay half. He cooks as I went to the shop.
Day Two – Saturday
10am: Breakfast of toasted bagels and smashed avocado purchased yesterday, plus Earl Grey tea.
10.30am: A beauty brand I love is having a sale this weekend, so I stock up on bath products as well as a Christmas gift for my mother. £42
11.30am: Barre class. The studio is one of my clients so I exercise for free. Membership here costs £200 per month. I buy a berry smoothie with cashew butter, which feels like good value since I haven't paid for the class. £5
2pm: Eat pitta bread and dip as a snack, bought yesterday.
3.50pm: The weather isn't great so decide to go to cinema with boyfriend. Go to shop to buy snacks, want something sweet so buy dark chocolate with sea salt. Also end up with a lottery ticket on a whim. £4.54
4pm: My cinema ticket. £12.50
7pm: Having dinner with friends so pick up prosecco to take to their house. They cook roast chicken with vegetables and we end up playing Articulate (my team wins), then doing karaoke as they have a set at home. £12
12.15am: Get last tube home instead of Uber.
Day Three – Sunday
10am: Cup of Earl Grey (never skip breakfast, but saving appetite for later).
11am: Check lottery results. We didn't win.
1pm: It's my dad's birthday next week, so my sister and I treat him to a huge lunch at one of our favourite Italian restaurants. £45
8.30pm: Dinner of veggie soup and toasted bagels, bought on Friday. Eat more cinema chocolate.
Day Four – Monday
9am: Eat a cereal bar and some fruit leftover from last week, plus Earl Grey tea.
2.15pm: Seriously busy day at work but manage to escape as I have a few errands to run. Drop off a parcel at the Post Office, an item I sold on eBay over the weekend. £3.95
2.25pm: Choose an anniversary card for my boyfriend. £2.99
2.30pm: Buy granola and coconut yoghurt for the next few breakfasts at my desk, then a chicken caesar baguette, which I eat with crisps from my stash. £7.49
4pm: Meet clients for a catch-up, drink a cup of tea. They pay.
6pm: Barre class.
8pm: Take the leftover veggies, chorizo and sour cream from Friday, add couscous from cupboard. Finish cinema chocolate – better to get it out of the house.
Day Five – Tuesday
9am: Eat granola, yoghurt and add fruit from work supply.
1pm: Browse COS online but don't buy anything. I normally spend around £200/£300 a month on clothing but pre-ordered a beautiful coat during London Fashion Week that's due to arrive in a few weeks, which is keeping my spending urge at bay for now. It was wholesale price, so it seemed rude not to.
2pm: Setting up for an event tomorrow so grab a quick butternut squash and pesto sandwich, plus sparkling water. £4.20
4pm: Buy a round of takeaway hot drinks from the nearest café. Also buy some props for event. £20 (expensed)
7pm: Acupuncture. I've been doing this every three weeks since the start of the year. It makes me feel calmer. £60
9pm: Eat soup left over from the weekend (can't believe how long this shop has lasted), plus cheese and matzo crackers, which are kitchen staples. Boyfriend tops up cheese supply and gets a couple of other basic household items. £8.48 (My half is logged via Splitwise. We usually settle up every few weeks.)
Day Six – Wednesday
8am: Early start today as we have an all-day press event. We use the most delicious catering company, so grab tea and an avocado bagel before guests start to arrive.
1pm: Eat more free food for lunch. Different mixed salads and roasted vegetables.
7pm: Dinner – it's our anniversary today and I'm tired after being on my feet at work. Boyfriend and I opt to order Indian takeaway (I get a mix of vegetarian, including tandoori paneer and black lentils) and drink a celebratory bottle of champagne that I was given by work earlier in summer. Food comes to £25, I pay half. Boyfriend also buys us a box of our favourite doughnuts.
Day Seven – Thursday
9am: Meet a journalist for breakfast. This is a regular occurrence and I can expense the cost as I'm discussing editorial opportunities on behalf of my clients. £48 (expensed)
1pm: Get a gel manicure at work as I'm going to a wedding this weekend. Someone comes into work every week to offer this service to staff. It's extremely convenient. £20
1.30pm: Stock up at M&S on prawns, avocados and salad. This will last two lunches. £9.25
7pm: Barre class. Such a lovely perk of the job.
9pm: Dinner. Soup again and a grilled cheese sandwich using bread from freezer. Boring but I don't really like cooking, especially during the week, and this is a fast option. Also eat a leftover doughnut from yesterday.
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