A Week In Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, As An Architect On $120,000

Occupation: Architect
Industry: Construction
Age: 31
Location: Elizabeth Bay, Sydney
Salary: $120,000
Net Worth: $151,000 (An apartment worth about $600,000, plus $3,000 in savings and $6,000 in shares)
Debt: $458,000 (A $410,000 mortgage and $48,000 in HECS debt)
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $6,490
Pronouns: She/Her

Mortgage: $1,629. My apartment is a tiny, 29 sqm studio apartment with a little balcony that overlooks the water. The original apartment was very rundown — a 60-year-old kitchen, broken tiles and cockroaches in door jambs. The lot. When I renovated it, I was homesick for Europe (I am yet to travel internationally after Covid), so I wanted to design it to have some cute French vibes while also being modern. So I put in parquet herringbone flooring and long floor-to-ceiling curtains and shaker panel joinery.
Strata: $410
HECS Repayments: $849
Gym: $112
Spotify: $13
GoDaddy Email: $17
Phone: $49
Streaming: I don't have any subscription services for TV because I mooch off my brother and boyfriend.

Yes. I have a Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Hons.) and a Master of Architecture and paid for them through HECS.

Not really. My parents always told me to work hard and to save, but they never really discussed money management in any meaningful manner outside of that. Most of what I learnt (how to save and how to invest) was through reading money blogs and talking to friends.

I got a job at age 14 at the local Toys R Us. I made my resume on a school computer, printed off a bunch of copies and handed them out at the local shopping centre. Toys R Us was the only one to call me back.

No. My parents ran a good household. We were first-generation immigrants and my parents worked multiple jobs throughout their lives so they could provide us with a good quality of life. We always had the money for necessities, but also money to have fun with.

I came to Australia as a refugee. I was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991, just on the cusp of the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia. My father, grandfather and uncle were caught up in the civil war that ensued and were prisoners of war for a while.

However, because of this, after they were released we were able to apply for refugee visas through the U.N.. My parents were the only ones in my family to accept the visa, so we moved to Australia in 1998 with no family or friends to welcome us.

From a money point of view, my dad always likes to stress that we came to Australia with all the money that we had, which was 1900 German Marks (about $1,200 AUD at that time). So everything we've achieved as a family has stemmed from that $1,200. 

In 1998, the Australian government was housing refugees in Liverpool and Cabramatta in Sydney, which was pretty rough as those areas were suffering a lot due to the heroin and crime epidemic. When we moved there, my parents were a bit taken aback by where they found themselves. Despite this, my parents worked very hard at menial labour jobs to get us out of the situation. Their work ethic is still strong — my mother is 65 and still works part-time as a cleaner. My father is 69 and works as a forklift driver. They both refuse to retire.

I recently purchased and renovated an apartment. The cost of doing both within a year of each other meant that I had to use all my savings and sell some of my shares to make it a reality. Right after the process, I was really stressed as it was the first time in a very, very long time that I had no money as a backup. I have just built up somewhat of a safety blanket and it feels good to be emerging from that precarious state.

I moved out of home at age 23 and became responsible for paying my own rent and expenses. Even though I am fully sufficient when it comes to money, my family is still my safety net as I know I could ask my parents or my brother to help me if I ever get myself into any situation where I needed extra money. This is an unwritten rule, though, as I have not asked them for money for a very long time (ever since I stopped being a student).

No.

7:30am — I wake up and spend too much time scrolling on Instagram and Facebook Marketplace. I love browsing the web for interior design inspiration and second-hand designer furniture. A year ago, I bought a designer shelving unit that usually retails for around $3,000 for $90 on Facebook Marketplace. The best part was when I went to pick it up, the lady who was selling the shelves lived in a Harry Seidler-designed house that I had studied at university! She showed me around the house — it was amazing. I should probably clarify: Harry Seidler was a prominent Sydney modernist architect. If you’ve been to Sydney city, you’ve inadvertently seen some of his towers. Anyway, because I woke up so late, I have no time to make a coffee or eat. I rush off to the office with a banana in my bag that I’ll eat later.

8:40am — I make a coffee using the new office coffee machine. It's neither better nor worse than the previous coffee, which is a disappointment. I’ve been practising my barista skills on the coffee machine since I started at my new job about a year ago. Aside from upping my coffee game, making coffee at work means I don’t spend money during the week on coffee. I walk to my desk, peel my banana, have a sip of coffee and we are off for the day. 

1:00pm — I walk home for lunch and think about what I’m going to have. I decide on two boiled eggs on toast and some feta cheese when I remember I have yesterday's leftover green curry in the fridge. I’m awash with disappointment — day-old green curry is never really that good. As I eat my curry, I can hear someone using my building's swimming pool. I contemplate going for a quick dip, but then I talk myself out of it — there’s no time and there’s work to be done in the office. 

5:30pm — I am brain-dead after spending two hours designing a building awning, so I'm happy to get out and about for some fresh air. The day is done, so it's time for this ol’ gal to work out. I walk to the gym, get changed, and notice there’s only one cross-trainer free. I beeline to the cross-trainer and as I’m setting up, one of the trainers approaches me. Apparently, there’s a free group class tonight and she’s asking me if I’d like to join. I say yes, even though deep down, I really want to just use the cross-trainer and blast TayTay. Before I know it, I find myself doing burpees to very loud dance music. Instant regret. But overall, it's a great workout, judging by how sweaty I am by the end of it.

7:00pm — Off to Woolies to pick up some groceries for dinner, tomorrow's fruit snacks, and some toothpaste and toilet paper ($28.34). Then I head home and cook. $28.34

7:30pm — I whip up a chicken salad and serve it with a glass of red wine. As I’m eating, I browse Facebook Marketplace. Someone's selling a brand new Flos pendant for $1,500 that usually retails for over $5,000+. Ooh, could I? Should I? I decide against it, both because of its cost and its size (I live in a studio apartment with low ceilings) and get ready for bed. Goodnight!

8:30am — I walk into the office and head straight for the coffee machine. There's usually a bit of a line for it in the morning and seeing as it's a Tuesday, I need some caffeine to get me in the mood for work. Today’s agenda is pretty uneventful. I am currently working on two projects and both have just started construction. Because today is a bit chill, I have time to think through some areas of the buildings that haven’t been fully fleshed out. I have been meaning to rethink the design of one of the building's lobby spaces, so I decide to occupy myself with that.

1:00pm — My mind is preoccupied with thinking about the lobby as I walk home. The lobby is pretty small, but we want it to have some punch. I walk home with a couple of aluminium powder coat samples in-hand so I can look at them as I eat and give them some more thought. I also want to look at the samples outside so I can see what they look like in different lighting conditions, as the lobby will have daylight streaming in some areas.

2:00pm — After I eat and sit around in my apartment for a bit, I repack my work bag and head back to the office, where I finish off the remainder of the workday.

5:30pm — After work, I decide to head out for a run as opposed to heading to the gym. The sun is out and the vibes at the local park are great, so I don't want to miss out by staying indoors. An after-work run is also great for people and dog-watching. I run into some friends who are going for an afternoon walk and have a quick catch-up. As I run, I think about what I’m going to have for dinner and remember I have some chicken tenders in the freezer. 

9:00pm — After dinner, I watch TV for a bit and then take a shower. As I’m getting ready for bed, I look through my bank accounts to tally up my daily spending for today and realise today was a no-spend day! Whenever this happens, I feel like I’ve really achieved something special. 

7:30 am — Another day, another dollar. The usual routine: wake up, shower. I iron a dress to wear to work today. On Wednesdays, I have a big team meeting for a project I'm working on, so I like to look a little more put together. Another morning where I spend too much time scrolling on my phone, so once again, no time for breakfast. As I’m scrolling, I see someone is selling two Alvar Aalto Iittala vases on Marketplace. Temptation is truly around every corner. I put my phone in my bag, grab a punnet of blueberries I bought yesterday and walk to work. 

8:40am — I make an iced coffee today instead of a cap. It’s too warm for a hot coffee and this choice means I also don't need to attempt to froth milk — a win. As I’m about to sit down, I get a text message from my boyfriend. His niece's birthday is coming up on the weekend. He lets me know that the present we bought her, a timber dollhouse, was $270. Since we're going halves, I transfer him my share. $135

1:30pm — We have our team meeting. I present my awning design idea to our boss and he gives it the big thumbs up and says it looks great. Feeling very pleased with myself, I waltz out of the office. Today's lunch is a quick one because our meeting goes over schedule, so I get home and make eggs on toast as per yesterday's wishes. I love living close to work as it means I can go home to eat, so I have no pressure to remember to pack my lunch with me (something I’d definitely fail to do as I am super forgetful). It also means I hardly ever pay for takeout food at work, so it’s a great way to save money. 

6:00pm — I walk to the gym, change into my workout clothes and get amongst it. Today I'm doing a cardio session followed by some ab workouts. I notice a guy walking around the gym wearing socks and Yeezy sandals — is this allowed? Imagine having that much moxy in your day-to-day life. I rock out to TayTay and think about what I’m going to have for dinner. My boyfriend is coming by with two spatchcocks (so random — leftovers from his mum, I think?), so after the gym, I head to the shops to get some potatoes and ingredients for a salad ($10.34). I almost buy a bottle of wine on my way back home, but happily remember I have one in the pantry — one less item to carry on my uphill walk home. $10.34

9:30pm — After we eat, my boyfriend and I sit on my tiny couch and watch TV. The pros of living in my apartment are that it's close to work and to the hubbub of the city. The cons are that it's pretty small and the largest couch I can get in here is a two-seater. Two people + tiny couch = perspiration. Good thing my parents got me a Dyson fan for Christmas! I turn on the fan, and we watch an episode of Myth Busters because the last time we watched TV together, I forced the bf to watch Emily in Paris. Now, I must pay penance. Then it's off to bed.

7:30am — Today is a chill day at work. We have a big meeting but it’s a Zoom so only need to make sure I have a nice top on. No need to worry about dressing up the lower part of the outfit. Once I'm ready, I head into work. Breakfast is my usual fruit and coffee from the office. You've probably picked up on this already, but I really enjoy routine.

1:00pm — I leave the office and head to my place for lunch. Then I jump into a meeting. It's pretty casual as we're just catching up with the builders about what's happening on-site for a project. They have already started piling (which is when they dig giant long holes into the ground and fill them with concrete to form the structural base of a building), so the site doesn’t look like much. The most exciting part is when the building actually starts forming out of the ground, rather than all the in-ground work to get the site ready for construction. As I eat eggs on toast, I think about how much I’d like a Herman Miller Nelson Bubble Lamp to hang over my tiny dining set. A girl can dream. 

6:30pm — After work and a cardio session at the gym, I find myself at my boyfriend's place. He’s making dinner for me tonight, which is always a great treat. Today, he’s breaking out of his comfort zone (which is usually making Italian food) and he’s going to try and make a Thai green curry. It smells great. It tastes great too. Love it. I think about my day and realise today was another no-spend day! The second in the week — double thumbs up. 

8:00pm — We eat dinner and then my boyfriend gives me 'the look' which means one thing: move over, it's time to fire up the Xbox. He's obsessed with this game called Elden Ring where you run around a dystopian fantasy realm full of dragons and weird nightmarish creatures and have to kill them so you can 'level up' to 'kill the big boss'. He's been playing the game for months and it doesn't look like he's made much progress, but he assures me that he's 'really close to the end'. Yes, darling. I get tired and decide to do a face mask before getting ready for bed. My boyfriend's mum is good friends with a family that runs a business selling beauty products. Because of this she always has a lot of hair care and face care product samples that she gives me to try. I look at the little stash and decide to give a Lancôme mask a go. It smells very nice. After I wash it off, I get ready for bed. It's been a long day.

7:30am — Okay, it's Friday. I get up and get ready with more eagerness today as I have a 9am meeting to attend. We are meeting with the builders and a specialist in waterproofing to discuss how to waterproof a basement for a project I am working on. The process is called 'tanking' and I don’t know why, but I find it kind of amusing. “Is this basement going to be fully tanked?” “Yes, we need to design a tanked basement”. It makes me think of the basement as a giant fish tank. In many ways it is, but with the water on the outside. Keeping water on the outside of a building is a lot harder than you’d think. Anywho, I get up, get ready and go. My breakfast fruit this morning is a trusty banana. 

11:00am — The waterproofing meeting concludes and we all shake hands as I walk everyone to the door. I love going to meetings with specialists (like the waterproofing contractor today) because I can ask heaps of questions and figure out why things are built the way they are. I write down a series of notes about the meeting — mostly comments about the concrete wall and floor slab joints that I know I'll forget the intricacies of unless I jot them down ASAP. I then figure out my schedule for today — there are some pressing issues that require my attention and one of them is to do with disabled access and fire stairs. I open up the Australian Standard document for accessibility and yawn internally. It's going to be a long morning.

12:30pm — I walk from the office to the corner store to hunt for a small snack to tide me over until 2:30pm. The office is doing a late lunch at a really nice restaurant today to celebrate one of our recently departed staff members opening up their own architecture studio. Opening up your own practice, as we architects like to say, is the end goal of many architects and a very exciting development. I look around and get a can of tuna for $4! That's inflation for ya. I remember when they used to be $2. $4

1:00pm — Friday lunch is a great time of the week because it's when I get 'paid'. I add the quotation marks because while I do get paid monthly, I transfer myself a 'budget' from my savings account each week. After working here for a while, I realised this is the best way for me to not burn through my paycheque in the first three weeks and end up destitute. I set up automatic transfers every Friday so I have the weekend to tuck into my earnings. This process also helps me save, as the amount I 'pay' myself each week adds up to less than my monthly income. 

5:30pm — It's a really nice afternoon at our late lunch/work drinks. We run into a well-known publicist who we've worked with previously and she invites us for drinks at a later date. After work drinks wrap up, I catch an Uber ($23.76) over to join my friends at a bar across town, one of whom is here from Melbourne for the weekend. When I arrive, I buy my friends a round of drinks ($45) and we chat for a while. The hottest topic quickly becomes everyone's dating life. A debate ensues — which city is it better to be single in? I reminisce about my online dating days (I’ve only recently started seeing my man) and we all have a laugh about the awkward interactions we’ve all had. $68.76

9:00pm — I decide to have a relatively early night and head home before 10pm. I debate catching an Uber home, but instead, I head to the train station ($2.43) and resist temptation as I walk past the local McDonald's. $2.43

10:00am — I sleep in today because I’m in for a big one. Today's agenda includes an eye-watering three birthday parties — my goddaughter's 2nd birthday, my boyfriend's niece's 3rd birthday, and my good friend's 31st birthday. I'm tired just thinking about it. I eventually get out of bed and make myself a coffee and some eggs for breakfast. I think about what I’m going to wear as I chat on the phone with my friend who’s here from Melbourne — last night he had a spicy encounter with a Sydneysider. Oooh.

11:00am — I eventually leave the apartment and walk up to town. My goddaughter's party invite requested no presents so I figure I might as well be the Rich Aunt™ who leaves money in a card. I withdraw $150 and slip it into a birthday card I had handy in the house (my bf bought a card for another kid's birthday but it accidentally had the wrong number on it!). $150

12:00pm — My boyfriend comes over and we get into my car. Birthday No.1 is a 45-minute drive away so we need to set off. I'm desperate to be on time for once, so we leave 15 minutes early and pay tolls to get there ($5.32). We arrive and I beeline for the party sausage rolls — haven’t had one of those for a while. $5.32

3:00pm — After two hours of chatting to friends about babies and how I don't know if I want a baby and how it's such a magical experience should I decide to have one, we head out to birthday party No.2. It's a half hour drive back in the direction of home, so we pay another $5.32 in tolls. This one is in a play centre that's Frozen-themed. We arrive and are immediately asked to take our shoes off and put on a pair of socks. There's a ball pit, a variety of toys, an actor dressed as Elsa (who is also a face painter) and about 25 screaming children. We chat with some of my boyfriend's family and friends that I haven’t met. As the kids are eating cake, my boyfriend pushes me into the ball pit and pegs some balls at my head. Very funny, mate. $5.32

6:30pm — I finally make it home. I have 45 minutes to myself before I have to leave to go to my friend's 31st. She’s booked a karaoke room which sounded like a great idea at first, but after a day surrounded by screaming kids, I begin to question the decision. I sit on my couch for too long to have public transport as a viable option for getting there on time, so I order an Uber ($29.22). I figure it's not that bad, especially since it's just started raining. $29.22

10:30pm — We stumble out of the karaoke room, ears still ringing from the last song — Cher’s Believe. A classic. After three hours of what should have been illegal renditions of various songs and plenty of drinks, I find myself full of energy. We split the bill four ways so it's $165 each. It's an hour and a half before my friend actually turns 31, so we head to a cocktail bar to ring in her birthday. I run into one of my old bosses. As we say hello, I think about how weird it is to be with an old boss at a cocktail bar so close to midnight and a couple of drinks in. I go back to my friends and we sit down and order some drinks. $165

1:30am — Because this bar does really good cocktails for about $25 each, we end up going a little ham. We order some chicken wings and have about... five cocktails each. I definitely don't really go out drinking that much usually, so this is a big one for me. We finally get the bill and decide to split it between two of us (we don't want the birthday girl paying!), so it comes out to $181.21 each. Then we say our goodbyes and head home. I call my friend as we both walk five minutes home in opposite directions. We both get home safe and in one piece. I fall asleep with Britney Spears' lyrics in my head. $181.21

7:15am — I can never sleep in after a big night. I don’t go out often and in the morning I remember why. I’m so tired but also frazzled. I get up and go for a walk. There are a lot of people out walking dogs and it's a bit too much energy for me in my current state. I get home and drink a litre of water. I don't feel any better. I buy a newspaper to pass the time as my growing headache blares. $10.50

11:00am — I wake up from a mini nap to my friends calling me to see if I want to meet them for a coffee. I say no just as it starts raining heavily. My friends all decide to take shelter from the rain by coming over to mine. They chat as I try and clean my apartment, but my hangover makes simple tasks like packing and unpacking a dishwasher impossible. The birthday girl loves having multi-day birthdays and the final leg of the 31st is lunch later today at a new Italian restaurant. I take a shower and get ready and try and think about how great it would be if I had the tenacity to chuck a sickie tomorrow, as I already know I’ll feel awful in the morning. My first-generation ethnic work ethic would never allow me to do that, unfortunately, so I get that thought out of my mind stat. 

1:00pm — The restaurant is great. We order a couple of sharing dishes and chat over some Aperol Spritz. The birthday girl argues for the superiority of the Campari Spritz over the Aperol version and I nod along. Does she ever get tired of being wrong? Ha! Just joking. The bill arrives and we pay $155.76 each. I run into a girl that I used to go running with during my brief run club days and she asks me if I ever did run that half marathon I trained for. I say yes but dodge her question when she asks me what time I managed (it was bad). It’s time to go home, so I figure the 25-minute walk will do me some good after so much food. $155.76

6:00pm — My boyfriend invites me over for dinner and to watch the new show we started on Netflix — Yellowstone. Sounds heavenly. As I wait for him to make his signature dish (a pasta dish — he’s Italian!), I go onto Facebook Marketplace. That $1,500 Flos pendant is still available! Could I? Should I? I check my bank balance. For the second time this week, I decide not.