A Week In Ermington, Sydney, On A $90,000 Salary

Occupation: E-commerce Executive
Industry: Retail
Age: 36
Location: Ermington, Sydney
Salary: $90,000
Net Worth: $425,000 ($30,000 of savings in my maternity leave fund, and a house worth $1.9 million (a massive rise of $500,000 since my husband and I bought it last year!)).
Debt: $560,000 ($1,1000,000 in our mortgage, split 50/50 with my partner. I also have a running $5,000 credit card debt which never seems to die due to frequent medical appointments. If you don’t laugh, you’ll run away screaming!)
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $5,706
Pronouns: She/Her

Mortgage: $4,100, split with my husband. We live in a four-bedroom house that we purchased together last year, which is valued at $1.9 million. For context, this is about the same as renting a three-bedroom apartment in Bondi. We split our mortgage based on a percentage of our salaries — so 33% of each of our salaries goes into our mortgage. Some experts would probably classify this as mortgage stress.
Loans: None. We paid off our car loan using money that we got when we sold our first apartment together two years ago.
Gas: $54.33
Electricity: $168
Water: $35.66
TV & Entertainment Subscriptions: $46.25 
Internet Related (Domain Name, Cloud Storage, Internet): $80
Health Insurance: $200
Phone Bills: $288
Dog Food Subscription: $77
Pet Insurance: $50
Car Insurance: $150
House Insurance: $109

We split all our expenses equally, so this works out to be $692.12 a month each for our recurring expenses. If I add my mortgage repayments to this, it comes up to $2,557.69, or 44% of my income. The rest is left over for life expenses.

We don't have a proper joint account or card, so we do a pretty bad job with managing our regular outgoing expenses. We genuinely think it all evens out in the wash, however it’s hard to put on paper. We do one smart thing, though — we pay more on our mortgage into an offset account. This covers the bigger bills so we don’t find ourselves short when they come around. We realise that this situation isn't exactly sustainable, so we need to completely combine our finances soon.

Yes, I completed a bachelor's degree. My family were kind enough to pay for my higher education on the provision that I finished it.

Honestly, neither of our families openly discussed money, and we still have some difficulty with it today. We both grew up in very different but equally hardworking families that kept these matters private. My father grew his own successful business in the 80s, affording me a comfortable childhood. As an adult who's now working 11-hour days, I can see the sacrifices that he made in his family life to give us that privilege. I thank both of our families for our work ethic — we really grind our asses off. But we haven't quite nailed the financial education piece. I think about this quite a lot, especially now that we're eyeballs deep in bank debt.

At 14, I started my first job as a retail assistant. I was so painfully shy that I couldn't sell anything, so I was made to stand out the front of the shop wearing a sombrero, saying hello to people as they passed by. I wanted the job for a number of deeply personal reasons — I didn't want to spend much time in my home environment and I was also encouraged by my dad. I remember handing out many printed CVs in the local shopping centre and being rejected a lot. I didn't really overcome that shyness until well into my 20s and I ended up building a career in the more introverted world of technology.

Not as a child. If there had been ups and downs in the family business, these conversations were kept well away from us. As a teen, I worried about keeping up with my friends and some of the other well-off kids at school. When I was 19 and starting university, I moved out of home and began paying rent by working in a pub. I made some pretty terrible choices during those few years and hit rock bottom a couple of times, but it was a learning for me. I probably worried everyone else more than I worried myself, though. I was happy enough eating packet pasta, cutting my own side fringe and shopping at Vinnies until I was about 24.

Yes, all the time! We really debated going into so much debt to buy our home. The pandemic completely changed our course as a couple. It took us six years to save for a deposit while renting together (and we still had our family's help in the end!). We probably would have blissfully coasted along in our first apartment for a few more years had it not been for Covid. Our corporate jobs had previously afforded us a lot of socialising, eating out and travelling — that 'work hard, play hard' mentality. But when we had our 'play hard' taken away, we were left sitting in our shoebox together, working long days in front of our screens. We watched property prices start to soar, waiting for a fall that just wasn't coming. So we panicked and just dove in. Sometimes it feels like we've lost the first few carefree years of our marriage and have already landed ourselves in the serious part. Fast forward to now, and we're expecting a baby mid-year. It's nuts.

I was financially responsible for myself by the time I was 23, but I did have a bit of a safety net in my parents if things went terribly wrong. Now, I have no safety net. If we screw this property ownership thing up, we're really on our asses! We're both part of a generation where the pressure to get on the property ladder was immense. But people who are a few years younger than us have become far educated in other ways of wealth generation and management — mostly out of necessity. I really admire that.

Yes. We were very lucky to receive a $150,000 inheritance from a grandparent. We'd been looking at dank apartments week after week for over a year, so we decided to take a break for our mental wellbeing. With these funds, we were able to secure an older-style apartment in a good location and avoid lenders mortgage insurance. It also meant that we could use the remainder of our savings to renovate the original 1960s bathroom, kitchen and laundry ourselves. With this renovation, plus good selling conditions, we made a reasonable amount on the apartment when we sold it in 2020.

7:00am — Every day starts with the dog waking us up too early for a walk. I miss sleep.

9:00am — We eat breakfast at home — cereal and berries with homemade coffee. We try to limit café food and coffee to once a week at the moment. The coffee stings.

10:00am — We start working on the house and garden. We seriously underestimated the time and money we'd have to put into the house and the yard every week. It's relentless. This week, bugs have completely decimated the backyard, so we head to Bunnings to buy some pesticide ($25) and spend a few hours spraying and tidying. We eventually need to get professionals in, but that’s a cost for another week! $25

1:00pm — We decide to reward ourselves with lunch and drinks at the local bowlo ($65). This is basically the first meal we've had at a venue since October. Since I'm pregnant, I'm stuck with the waters. Hey, at least it's cheaper? $65

3:00pm — We head to the shops and do our weekly groceries. We're trying to buy at the smaller butchers and greengrocer, but we're finding it to be expensive. I end up purchasing some items at the big chain supermarket, spending $200. It's expensive, but it'll feed us for the entire week, give or take. Our weekly shops are pretty basic — meats, fruit, vegetables and pantry staples like pasta, canned veg, tuna, muesli bars, nuts and packet rice. Hubby is the chef in our household and he prefers to get creative on the barbecue. I'm not into food — I’d literally eat an apple for dinner if left to my own devices, so I’m grateful for his wizardry! $200

5:00pm — Another dog walk. 

7:00pm — We cook a pretty normal dinner of tacos while we watch Survivor before calling it a day. Every time I open my phone at the moment, I've been served maternity or baby ads. I succumb to the pressure and end up purchasing a pregnancy pillow for my back pain ($50). Baby isn't messing around. We head to sleep. $50 

7:00am — The dog refuses to go for a walk. It's going to be a lonnnng day.

8:00am — We start work from home. Because we've already bought all our snacks and meals for the week, we don't need to leave the house much. This suits our really long work hours. My husband and I have cereal with berries and some homemade coffee again, both working until lunchtime. This morning, my job is to brief in some upcoming website changes to an agency overseas. We’re a little bit behind, so I’m in a mild panic.

12:00pm — I eat some leftovers for lunch, but there's not a lot left. I deal with it and rush back to work to continue my briefing. After, my husband and I set off to an obstetrician appointment. I’ve chosen to go private rather than using the public system, purely because I’ve had some challenges with fertility and the peace of mind is worth more than the monetary cost.

3:00pm — I've gone into this appointment fully expecting a $5,000 bill today. Call it baby brain, but I'm about 10 weeks early with the due date of that payment. A win! In general, the cost of all the medical appointments during this pregnancy has really floored me. I've been to a lot of these on my own and paid for them all, however, I think from here on in, I'll have to split the cost with my partner. I do have health insurance that covers maternity, but I'm yet to figure out which appointments they’re swiping my card for, and which ones I have to manually submit a claim for. It feels like health insurance is really confusing on purpose.

4:00pm — I treat myself to an overpriced hospital muffin and a coffee ($20) because there's no giant bill today and I'm running on empty. $20

5:00pm — Back to work — this evening, we have some inventory issues that I need to solve. I jump on a Zoom meeting with someone overseas, then whip up a home-cooked dinner of fish and salad and eat it at my desk. There's no time for TV tonight.

7:00pm — Tidy up, play with the dog and get ready for bed by 10:00pm.

7:00am — I wake up and roll around for an hour because I've pulled my back out. Where the heck is that pillow?!

8:00am — I eat my usual breakfast and sip my coffee. My dog decides to throw up all over the rug. We're worried and guessing everything from heart disease to pondering whether she's eaten a rock. Thank God for pet insurance, is all I'll say. We leave her to snooze and hope she's fine, jetting off to our desks to start work. Today, those inventory issues from yesterday have rolled into bigger problems. This is going to end up being a huge project involving a few internal and external teams. Sigh.

12:30pm — We pull out some curry from the freezer for lunch, chucking it out to defrost. We strategically cook enough during the week and freeze some portions for when we're time-poor. This week is one of those weeks, with both of us on a large number of projects and calls, with little time for life admin. We'll be depleting the frozen stash.

1:30pm — We're finally eligible for our booster shots, so we head over to the pharmacy to get them. I get mine, and as my partner is getting his, I drop a package off to the post office to return. I'm hoping that the money from this return will offset the pillow I bought on Sunday. I'm not feeling well, so I end up spending $65 at the pharmacy trying to problem solve and fix myself. I get a bunch of gross pregnant lady stuff that is probably best kept secret. $65

2:30pm — I get home and see that my pregnancy pillow has arrived! I think I pee a little from the excitement. Or perhaps that just happens now. Who knows? Pregnancy has thrown a bunch of weird symptoms at me — nosebleeds, sciatica, heartburn and 24/7 nausea. Working from home has been an absolute lifesaver with all of this going on.

3:00pm — I have a brief call with our mortgage broker to discuss our eligibility for a loan for some house improvements. I'm very excited to learn that our house is now valued at $1.9 million! What! Our loan eligibility is very good, but we need to be sensible with this decision. I spend a few minutes daydreaming about bathrooms that aren’t 80s yellow and green and continue working on my project.

7:00pm  — I finish work and I'm exhausted. I browse shopping apps until it's time for bed.

7:00am — My husband calls to let me know that the dog ran away from him in the park this morning. I think about calling the dog trainer, but I definitely can't afford it this week.

8:30am — We have breakfast at home again in front of our computers. We're doing well with our groceries this week, which makes me happy as I'm trying to reduce our food waste. Wednesdays are always very meeting-heavy, and today I have back-to-back meetings with different internal and external teams. Yay.

10:30am — I'm tired and easily distracted today, so I browse some shopping apps during one of my meetings. This is something I usually do in the evenings, but recently, I've been feeling weird about buying things for myself because it doesn't make sense to spend money on anything other than the baby. I keep adding things to cart, then exiting almost straight away.

10:20am — I remember that I have Christmas and birthday vouchers to use, but I can't even commit to using them on myself. Why am I like this? I check out some Facebook Marketplace listings I have online to see if they've sold.

12:30pm — I have lunch — some toast with avocado, tomato and halloumi, eaten in the middle of one of my calls. This week, my husband and I aren’t getting much quality time with big work commitments on the cards. I do some website quality testing and attend to urgent emails. 

2:00pm — I have a call with a builder. We walk through the house and the projects that we are looking to start. I think the interior will be around $80,000, and the exterior and landscaping another $80,000. As part of its standard procedure, our bank needs quotes to approve our top-up loan. Unfortunately, tradies are really busy at the moment and no one is getting back to us quickly. Our window for a new bathroom before the baby arrives is narrowing.

5:00pm — Still working. There are some issues that have arisen as part of the testing I’m doing. I'll need to address them today.

6:30pm — Still working. Same issues. Zzz.

7:00pm — Dinner tonight is spag bol, with a side of renovation discussions. There are so many factors to take into account with a decision like this. Is this our forever home? If the valuation drops in the near future, will it matter that we've spent more on the property? Will we be able to make those repayments this year with one income and a baby? What happens if we don't do these fixes now? Will they ever get done? How will that impact our resale?

7:30pm — A bit more work, as we still haven’t quite figured out the issues but we’re close. After a while, I call it a day and head to bed.

8:00am — I have a sleep-in with my dog. I cancel a much-needed chiro appointment because my work schedule is too crazy. At least I end up saving the $40?

8:30am — Same old breakfast and coffee and straight into work.

9:00am — Tired and distracted during a work call, I get suckered into a 20% off NET-A-PORTER ad. I need new bras and underwear, but again, I can't seem to commit. I'm finding my changing size and shape a little overwhelming for this kind of shopping. I close the app. 

10:30am — I remember that I need to book an ultrasound appointment. Morphology scans are usually $445, and I have no idea how much my health insurance covers. My wallet is just open for this baby. Luckily I don't have to pay anything today — yay!

12:00pm — Leftover pasta for lunch. The postman arrives with my new maternity leggings — thank you, postman! I get back to work and set up some new products that we're launching next month.

3:00pm — I eat ALL of the chocolate. We’ve finally found the issue that was causing our testing drama this week... now to find a resolution.

5:00pm — Still working. I pay my health insurance bill — $94.36, covered in my monthly expenses.

7:30pm — Still working, hubby unfreezes another dinner as he's also quite strapped for time tonight. This time, it’s a casserole. If this sounds like a repetitive corporate WFH nightmare, that’s because it IS a repetitive corporate WFH nightmare. We are the real-life versions of the hopeless millennials on Tiktok with the PJs on the bottom, the "you’re on mute" breakdowns, and the resignation letter drafts. The baby and the house are good motivation...most of the time.

9:00pm — I spend some time on the shopping apps and finally commit to some skincare, paid for with my Mecca voucher ($130). Technically, this is free.

10:00pm — Since getting a puppy, we tend to go to bed earlier simply to get some space from the little fluff monster. As well as having separation anxiety, she’s also super noise reactive. We pop on some white noise (ironically, a cat purring) and close the ‘baby’ gate. Ignoring her cries is torture. Something tells me having an actual human baby will be harder.

7:00am — I roll out of bed. I hate my new pillow. I rebook my chiro for next week.

8:30am — Same breakfast and coffee, with a short browse on Marketplace to find some secondhand furniture for the nursery. I won't be buying any of the big-ticket items new, except a car seat for safety and peace of mind. It’s amazing what people will give away for free. There are changing tables in perfect condition, free cots and brand-name clothes in good condition. I think the biggest shock has been the price of prams. We can't afford to fork out over $2,000 for a brand-new pram.

9:00am — It's a full day of work today. I only manage to squeeze in a 15-minute break to inhale a sandwich. Today, I've been correcting some of the mistakes the agency has made. I've also been adding some extra detail that the marketing team has requested. There's always a mad rush before the weekend. 

5:00pm — A girl arrives to pick up a second-hand TV unit I listed on Facebook Marketplace (+$135). I've been getting into listing unwanted items that we have lying around to make room for mountains of baby paraphernalia.

6:00pm — My husband and I read each other's minds and order pizza and salad and sides for dinner. $60

7:00pm — We settle in for a quiet night on the couch with the dog. The days of after-work all-nighter drinks are looong gone, but we've been missing them lately. We’re hoping that our social lives pick up again later in the year.

8:00am — We have a busy day ahead, so we cave and get coffee and breakfast from the cafe after our dog walk. We were hoping to save this for tomorrow but we feel like we deserve it today! We pay $40 for a clichéd avocado on toast and a breakfast burger, plus coffees. $40

9:00am — Home and housework. Since getting a dog, our floors just seem to be constantly covered in grit. We clean up and get ready to head out.

1:00pm — By 'head out', I mean we're going to a 95th birthday celebration at the in-laws. On the way, we stop off for some nibbles (cheese, dips, crackers and deli meats) for everyone and some wine. $70

1:00pm — We spend the day with my husband's family, catching up on gossip and eating too much. We have toddlers and teenagers in the extended family, which is always entertaining. The teenagers are teaching us the slang word for a vape, and discussing their 14-hour a day phone addictions. The toddlers are teaching us patience.

7:00pm — We head home and have leftover pizza for dinner. I've never been happier to be at home on the couch doing absolutely nothing with the dog. Pre-Covid and baby, we would have partied at the 95th, drank too much with the uncles and gone to a gig or club. How times have changed!

I realise that this isn't the most exciting Money Diary on paper — and I guess that's the point.

We don’t go to parties and galleries, dinners and drinks and clubs like we used to. Our money goes towards truly mundane things. But I think it's a realistic money diary of a couple in their mid-thirties who have chased that traditional property and family dream. Maybe it's a cautionary tale more than anything?!

After these last few years, I strongly believe that there's more to life than the well-worn path our parents walked. We probably didn't realise we were following them at the time, but we do feel the pressure to live up to those standards. I hope this diary might help anyone else who's feeling that pressure, and encourage you to take the time out to educate yourself around your options and re-evaluate what it is that you truly want.

No regrets over here — we love our home and we're happy with our investment. We'll make it all work in the years ahead for our beautiful bub.