A Week In St Kilda, Melbourne, As A Business Development Manager On $115,000

Occupation: Business Development Manager
Industry: Real Estate
Age: 27
Location: St Kilda, Melbourne
Salary: $115,000, plus bonuses
Net Worth: $62,000 ($20,000 in personal savings, $20,000 in a joint savings account with my partner (so my share of this would be $10,000), $5,000 in my own emergency fund, $4,000 in a holiday fund for a 2024 holiday we are planning (again, shared with my partner). I also have a car worth about $35,000, as well as nearly $1,000 in NFT investments.)
Debt: $13,000 of HECS debt. I have paid off about $14,000 through my salary repayments, however, I'm hoping to have this paid off by end of the year so I can say I'm completely debt free for the first time in my adult life. I spent the last three years paying off a huge amount of debt ($95,000) that I had accumulated through poor money decisions, such as a high-rate personal loan I took out to buy a car in my early 20s that I was still paying off, as well as a credit card that I had spent HUGE amounts on. I also took out a loan from a small lender to fund a trip (again, a stupid decision) which ended up having huge interest. Being debt free has become a very important goal of mine, so at the moment, I am focusing on paying off the HECS. However, I still consider it important to have savings, so that's also a key money priority of mine.
Paycheque Amount (Fortnightly): $3,923 for my full-time gig, and $500 for a part-time/casual second job I work in events. So $4,234 in total each fortnight.
Pronouns: She/Her

Rent: $1,912. I currently live alone, although my partner stays often. He lives at home comfortably. We are travelling to Europe in June for six weeks, so we have decided that I'll pay my rent until after we get back and then we will find a rental together where we'll split the rent 50/50.
Utilities: $150
HECS Debt: $800
Private Health Insurance: $64
Spotify: $12
Car Insurance: $180
Collingwood Footy Membership: $20
Mindfulness App: $7
Apple Storage: $5
Osteo: $220 per month, but I get $156 back from my health insurance.
Joint Account Contributions: My partner and I currently contribute $600 per month each towards our joint account that we have been using to pay for Europe-related expenses and will use when we are in Europe.
Personal Savings Contributions: $2,000
Emergency Savings: $500
NFTs: $100

Yes. I have a Bachelor of Business and a Diploma of Property (but my employer paid for this). I paid for my degree via HECS which I'm currently paying off as I earn above the threshold. I moved out at 19, so I only did one semester of uni full-time before I moved to online study so I could work full-time to support myself. I've always had relatively well-paying office jobs, so I have found it manageable to pay my way. However, I got into some serious debt, so in hindsight, I wished I had better money habits before I moved out so I didn't try to live beyond my means!

My parents avoided talking about money when we were growing up. My brother and I never went without and we both attended quite prestigious private schools and attended multiple after-school activities. It wasn't until my parents got divorced at 14 that I realised my parents were kept comfortable. There were some frank discussions about who would keep the family home and who would get the investment property in the divorce settlement, so I guess this was my first glimpse into the privileged lifestyle I was in. I think both of my parents wanted to instil good money values in us but I don't think they spoke about debt or the dangers of living beyond your means. In a way, I think they relied on our school for money education, which was lacking a bit if I'm honest.

My first job was at Hungry Jacks. I worked there from the age of 16. I would work every Thursday 4pm to 11pm and every Sunday 8am to 2pm, so I could still enjoy my weekends. I only earned about $180 per week, but at 16, that felt like I was rich!

I wouldn't say I worried — our parents kept the money discussions to 'the adults' so I don't think I was ever made aware if they were struggling.

I'm not sure if worry is the right word. I would like to buy a home soon, so I am worried about interest rate rises and the property market and how that might affect my future. But my current income affords me a relatively comfortable lifestyle. I would like to increase my savings, however, paying off my significant debt has been a huge milestone for me, so I'd like to take some time to appreciate my own hard work.

I became completely financially responsible for myself at age 19, however, I am a little ashamed to admit that I did call my mum a few times to ask for her to transfer me some funds, particularly when I was overseas! My mum remarried after my parent's divorce and was able to build up a sizeable property portfolio of around five investment properties which she earnt passive income on. She also started a business with her new partner that gave them a very comfortable lifestyle, so she became my financial safety net. When in doubt, call mum!

No, but I will. I sadly lost my mum recently and unexpectedly, but she had no will, so due to the remarriage and her multiple investments, the settlement of her estate has been more complicated.

9:15am — It's a Sunday, so this morning, I get up early and take the dog for a huge walk, allowing my partner to sleep in. At the beginning of the walk, I get a smoothie (with a sneaky protein shot) from the place around the corner from me ($12.50). This should keep me going until lunch. I get back at around 11am. My partner is awake so I remind him we have lunch with my nan today. $12.50

12:00pm — We head off for a lunch booking with my nan. I sadly lost my mum last year, so I have a pretty close relationship with my Nan. We often have lunch together to catch up. My partner and I order a parma each and Nan gets the lamb shanks. It comes to $76, but Nan shouts lunch because she's a legend.

2:45pm — After lunch, my partner goes to meet his friends at the pub to watch the UFC, so I take the opportunity to head to Chadstone to do a return. I’ve bought quite a lot of clothes online recently for our upcoming Europe trip, but I have found the quality can be a little lacking, so I need to return two dresses and a skirt from H&M. I complete my return and I'm up $79.95. Then I head to Aldi to do as much of the food shop as I can. I get chicken breast, beef mince, salmon, some veg, spaghetti sauce, rice, bread rolls, hot cross buns, ham, cheese, and a few pantry essentials ($64.21). This should last for four dinners, our lunches and breakfasts. $64.21

4:30pm — I couldn't get everything from Aldi, so I walk out of Woolies having spent $52.95 on toilet paper, bread rolls, dog food, deodorant, my fave cheese and the expensive tuna. $52.95

5:06pm — On the way home, I grab a discounted sushi roll for a snack ($2.50). Once I'm home, my partner comes over and we cook tacos for dinner. I do all the cooking in our relationship — I enjoy it and it doesn’t bother me, plus he's happy to eat whatever I cook. $2.50

7:30pm — After dinner, we sit down to watch MAFS and I also book a train from London to Paris ($115) and a plane from Naples to Barcelona ($300) for each of us for our upcoming Europe trip in June. This comes out of our joint savings account as we are using this for all of our Europe costs. $415

9:30pm — My partner has a 6am start tomorrow with a long drive, so he'll often go to bed before me. He has a quick shower and says goodnight, but I'm not ready to go to bed yet. I always stay up and watch the shows he hates — tonight, it's an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey. 

10:30pm — I’m ready for bed at 10:30pm, but I like to do my skincare routine which normally involves showering, then some expensive Sunday Riley skincare. It's a four-step process involving a skin mist, a retinol serum, a lactic acid treatment and a moisturiser. I love it and my skin smells amazing. That being said, I'm not sure if it actually makes a difference. Then it's time for bed.

8:00am — It's a Monday and I'm in the office today, so I make two hot cross buns at home for breakfast and take my dog with me to the office. My day often consists of a lot of calls scouting for new business, so a lot of my morning is making calls and writing notes. Monday morning is usually quite busy in the office, but we usually have a chat about our weekends, which makes the morning fly by. 

10:15am — Just before our 10:30am staff meeting, my colleague and I take my dog for a walk and get a coffee at the local cafe. I spot a delicious-looking muffin, so I treat myself. I also owe my colleague a coffee from last week, so I pay for both of us. $16.50

1:00pm — For lunch, I have a ham, cheese and salad roll, as well as some Pringles and an apple — all packed from home.

4:10pm — The afternoon at work drags on, so I find myself looking at Country Road's website at my desk. I spot the perfect crossbody bag — I just have to have it! I have a $50 Country Road voucher from my birthday back in September, so I use this which takes the final cost down to $99 with express shipping. Love that. $99

5:00pm — I head home after work and quickly change into activewear. I want to get a dog walk in before my partner comes over to help me with dinner. We cook carbonara and garlic bread and it's so delicious! 

7:30pm — We watch MAFS on the couch and eat before my partner heads to bed. I spend the evening trawling online shops for some deals — right now, I’m all about looking for summer clothes for Europe. But this year, I want to focus on staple pieces more, so I’m looking for a decent pair of leather sandals that will last a while. Unfortunately, the ones I like are $500 and would need to be shipped from overseas, so I can't really justify spending my money on anything.

10:00pm — I jump into the shower and do my skincare before heading to bed.

8:00am — It's a Tuesday so I'm working from home today. I walk my dog before my day starts so he's happy, then I make a pod coffee at home. I also toast another couple of hot cross buns for brekkie. 

10:00am — I have to head across the city to a work appointment. There's no free parking, so I park in the paid parking area. However, it's free if I spend more than $15 at the Kmart in the same building, so I decide to grab a few essentials. I grab some new socks, a new water bottle that actually fits in my car (looking at you, Frank Green), and some undies for my partner. It comes to $20.50, but I'd have to pay $6 for a parking ticket otherwise, so I consider it a win. $20.50

12:00pm — I arrive back home and eat leftover taco meat in a burrito bowl for lunch. I realise my phone credit runs out tomorrow, so I recharge $30 for the month, which gives me 20GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. My iPhone 11 stopped working late last year, so I ended up buying a new phone outright using my savings, just so I could avoid another monthly plan. $30

5:00pm — I work for the rest of the day. I am on the phone scouting for new businesses. I also book in a few appraisals for clients for later in the week, so I spend some time prepping documents so I’m well-prepared for the conversation. At about 5pm, I can’t look at a screen or make any more calls, so I head out to get some fresh air and walk my dog. Then I head over to my partner's house — we usually spend a few nights a week at his (and his family’s) house. His mum will always cook for us which is great because it’s free!

7:00pm — My partner's mum cooks homemade fish and chips for dinner. It's honestly such a blessing that she does this for us — it eases the pressure on our cost of living, but it’s also a godsend to come over and see a cooked meal waiting for me. We spend the evening watching MAFS. My partner’s sister really loves Tahnee and Ollie, but I’m starting to lose interest in the show as a whole. It feels like MAFS has probably had its best seasons and it's starting to get harder and harder to watch the misogyny play out on screen now. 

9:30pm — At the end of the show, my partner wants to go to sleep so I go to bed and scroll through TikTok for about 20 minutes before also falling asleep. I don’t have all of my skincare products at his place, but I have a few basics so I just make do with what I’ve got. In all honesty, I’m not even sure if my skin needs anything other than a moisturiser, so I figure it should be fine. 

5:00am — My partner wakes me up as he gets ready for work so I decide to head home as I likely won't get back to sleep anyway.

8:00am — It's Wednesday, so another WFH day. I mix it up today and have some English muffins for breakfast and another pod coffee. 

11:00am — My dog has a photoshoot today for a pet apparel brand. He has his own Instagram, so a pet apparel brand reached out to see if he would take some photos and I agreed. He’s a cavoodle, really small (despite being six-years-old) and is all black which is quite unusual, so I often have people stopping me to tell me how cute he is. Although I don't have too many followers on the account, I tagged a dog collar brand in a post so they invited us to shoot some Halloween and Christmas apparel that's dropping later in the year. I drive over and manage to snag some free parking (rare as it's a really tricky area), but it's a little walk away, so I stop and grab a coffee ($4.50). The shop also gives my dog a free pet treat! The photoshoot only goes for 40 minutes, but we get $150 for our time and a voucher for the pet apparel store, so it's a win-win. My dog does really well at the photo shoot and they encourage me to get him involved in more work in the future because he’s quite well trained. 

12:30pm — I head home and jump on a work Teams meeting with my boss. We have a weekly catch-up on how my KPIs are progressing. I quickly make a roast chicken and salad roll for lunch, which I can just eat in the meeting. Given how hard we are trying to save for Europe, I am really trying hard to eat food at home during the week. Lunch is an easy option as long as I have a few different lunch ideas to choose from.

5:00pm — I work for the rest of the day at home. I have a lot of emails to get through and I also need to complete a condition report for a colleague who's on leave. I keep getting distracted by my messages on Teams, so it takes me longer than it should.

6:00pm — I start to cook dinner, but realise I'm missing some garlic. I quickly pop out with my dog to Coles to grab some ($3.40). I live very close to a group of shops, so I usually take my dog as there’s an area inside the shopping centre that has ‘dog parking’. While I'm out, I also take my Soda Stream canister to the servo to swap it out as it's run out of gas ($19). $22.40

7:00pm — My partner comes around so we eat dinner together and settle down for MAFS. 

9:00pm  — We have spent a lot of our evenings researching and booking Europe as it's three months away. We are doing a seven-week trip across England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands and Hungary, so we'd like to have most things booked when we go. My partner has also stipulated that it’s hotels only (no hostels), as we are in an okay position financially. However, hotels in Positano and Paris are SPENNY, so we trying to figure out what areas (if any) we can save on. A lot of our friends are also going to Europe at the same time, so we're planning on meeting up with a few of them — my partner and his mates are going to the Ahses when we're in London, and I've discovered that one of my friends will be in Lisbon at the same time as me.

I chat with some friends who went to Italy last year and they tell me to avoid taking a train, so we decide to book private car transfers from Positano to Naples — $162 each for both ways. It seems expensive, but Positano is really hard to get to via public transport and we are travelling a bit on the trip, so anytime we can save time and effort, we jump at the opportunity. I am the planner in the relationship and I’ve got a DETAILED spreadsheet on where we are going, how we are travelling, where we are staying and the budget. $162

8:45am — It's Thursday so I'm WFH again today. I decide to skip a morning walk and instead sleep in until 8:45am. Then I make a couple of English muffins for brekkie and a pod coffee. I have two appointments to go to this morning as I'm attempting to gain their business, so I wear my favourite blazer. I drive a half hour to the first meeting, which goes well. I'm in a great mood and head to the other meeting, about 45 minutes away. head to the first one, which is only about a half an hour drive. The meeting goes well so I’m in a great mood as I head to the other one, about 45 minutes away. A good portion of my job is on the road, meeting clients at properties so my petrol prices can creep up a little. I try to remind myself that if I gain their business, I’ll get paid commission. It's also literally part of my job so there’s really no point getting too upset about it. 

12:00pm — I start driving home as I have an osteo appointment at lunchtime. It's $110, but I can claim on my health insurance on the spot, so my out-of-pocket cost is only $34. I go to the osteo about once per fortnight as I get a really sore back, mostly from sitting in an office chair and having bad posture. I pay for my private health insurance as a luxury, but it covers a good portion of this cost, so I think it’s worth it for what I get back. $34

1:00pm — I go for a quick walk with the dog. I find movement after the osteo really helps to loosen up and going for a walk with the dog always puts a smile on my face. He’s so happy to be outside enjoying the fresh air that I can’t help but be happy too. 

4:00pm — I finish work a little early as I've been selected for market research today. It takes around an hour and I get a $100 voucher for my time, however, the parking is $4 as it's near the city. I apply for market research all the time and fill in surveys at least once or twice a week. This one is on sustainability which is interesting. All I have to do is watch the stimulus and give my thoughts — they're building an ad campaign, so it’s interesting to be involved. Market research is also a great way to make some extra money. It usually comes in the form of vouchers, but these can be used at a bunch of places. I'll usually use mine at Woolworths to save on grocery costs. $4

6:00pm — I head home to grab the dog then head to my partner's house. His parents have headed to Thailand for a trip, so we are on our own for dinner. My partner grabs some BBQ stuff from Coles which is a nice change for us. Normally, I do the planning/shopping and cooking. It’s a warm evening, so we enjoy it outside as it might be the last nice night for a while.

7:30pm — After dinner, I have a lash appointment which I get once every two to three weeks. I have cut back on a lot of my personal appointments such as getting my nails done and getting my eyebrows professionally done, so I see this as a treat for myself. The cost is $65. I also book in my next appointment and pay a $25 deposit. My lash tech only takes cash, so I also get charged $2.50 when I take cash out. $92.50

8:40pm — When I get back to my partner's house, he's watching the cricket on the TV in the lounge room. His sister wants to watch her show, Survivor, on the big TV, but neither of us like it so we decide to head to bed early.

10:00pm — I end up watching TikToks for about two hours. It sounds scary when I say it, but it's honestly not that uncommon for me. Because I spend a lot of the day with people, it's nice to unwind by doing nothing other than watching a screen. I feel my eyes getting really heavy at about 10pm, so I finally plug my phone in to charge and head to bed. 

7:00am — It's Friday which is an in-office day for me. We start early and finish early on Fridays, so I have a quick pod coffee at home and will have breakfast at work.

8:00am — Fridays in the office are very relaxed. We wear casual clothes and usually wrap up an hour or so early to have drinks in the office, so the mood is always quite nice. Fridays are my ‘admin’ day, so I spend a lot of the day catching up on emails, looking through documents, and updating my KPI tracker. I'll often send out some personalised notes to new clients too as I want to make them feel special for signing on with me.

10:15am — I usually try to avoid buying coffee if I've had one at home, but because I brought my dog into the office today, I use it as an excuse to take them for a walk and go to the cafe down the road, where I treat myself to a small latte ($4.50). The girls at the cafe always encourage us to sit down to enjoy our coffee — our boss doesn't mind, so myself and a colleague have a seat. My dog gets so many pats and treats for being a good boy. $4.50

12:00pm — We often buy lunch as a team at work on a Friday as we like to sit in the staff room and eat together and watch whatever's on the TV, usually House Hunters. It’s a good distraction from work and given we all work from home a few days, it’s actually nice to sit down for an hour to just chat with each other. Today, we decide on Grill'd. My order comes to $28.50 as I get a side of chips and contribute to the service fees. It's delicious, so no regrets. $28.50

4:00pm — Drinks time. We have two pregnant colleagues at the moment, so drinks these days usually come in the form of a catch-up after work. I'm working my casual event job this evening, so I drop my dog at home and give him a big bowl of dinner. I have a camera so I can watch him and make sure he's okay. Then I head off to work a five-hour shift.

7:15pm — I forgot to bring dinner with me, so I end up with a free coffee from the staff room and an apple for dinner. We get a 40% discount on food at my casual job, but most of the food available is fast food and pretty average, so I'll usually skip it.

9:30pm — At the end of my shift, I'm STARVING, so I decide to grab a discounted staff meal from the staff kitchen which I pass on the way out. It’s is only $8 and is a full meal, so I quickly eat before driving home. I have to pay $6 for staff parking on the way out. $14

10:00pm — My partner decides it's too late to come over and I'm wrecked from working both jobs back-to-back, so I just head straight to bed.

10:00am — It's finally Saturday so I get to sleep in. When I wake up, I put on my activewear so I can walk the dog.

11:15am — After my walk, I grab a bacon and egg roll from the farmer's market ($7.50). I also notice some really beautiful oriental lilies, so I grab some for only $15. $22.50

12:30pm — My partner comes round and brings me some sushi for lunch, which is a nice surprise. We catch up on how the week was. We've been talking about Europe a lot at the moment, but he says he doesn't want to talk about it today, which is fair.

1:30pm — We spend some time catching up on a few missed episodes of The Last of Us which we are enjoying. We have quite different tastes in shows, so whenever we find something we both like watching, we make a pact to not watch it without each other. He’s really enjoying the apocalyptic aspect of it, but I enjoy the softer side. I also LOVE Pedro Pascal, so it’s an easy watch. 

3:00pm — We have a friend's footy event tonight to mark the start of the season — this is his first year as the captain of a VFL team, so we want to attend to give him some support. I panic that I have nothing to wear, so I head to the shops. I walk around for ages and can't find anything I like, but end up buying a new bra that I desperately need. $74.95

4:15pm — The shops are closing soon, so I go back to Myer where I find the perfect dress. It’s a really gorgeous midi with a cowl neckline and is a deep green colour. It suits my body perfectly. It's a little pricey at $249, but it’s from Forever New, so the quality is quite good. I rationalise that I haven't been too bad this week and have a Sunday shift at my casual job tomorrow, so buy it. We also have a few weddings later in the year, so I tell myself I can wear it to one (although, realistically, I probably won’t). $249

7:30pm — I'm not drinking tonight so I drive us to the footy event. It's $35 for entry but my partner pays. He often does this because he stays at mine and doesn't pay rent. We have some finger food for dinner that's provided as part of our entry, and then catch up with a couple of friends. It’s nice to be able to be there for our friend!

10:30pm — The event wraps up pretty early. My partner had a couple of beers but didn't go too crazy, which we're both happy about. He likes to go for a run on a Sunday morning if he’s not feeling too dusty, so on the way home, we chat about how nice it feels to have an early night on a Saturday. Are we getting old?! We are both pretty hungry, so we decide to grab a kebab at a nearby place as we didn't have dinner. Mine costs $11.80 ($0.80 to add cheese?!). Then we head home. $11.80

11:00pm — We watch an episode of Modern Family before going to bed as it's just so easy to watch. I take my make-up off, do my skincare, then crawl into bed at around midnight.

This is a pretty normal week for me financially. I recognise I have a pretty high-paying wage, but I also work a second job so I can afford things like my Europe trip. I also sacrifice most social events and save money by either not drinking, or only going for a short amount of time.