A Week In Heathmont, Victoria, As An Education Administrator On $75K

Occupation: Senior Administrator 
Industry: Education 
Age: 34
Location: Heathmont, Victoria 
Salary: $75,318 
Net Worth: $869,000. Our house is worth $675,000, we have $20,000 in various savings accounts, my superannuation is at $107,000, and my husband’s is at $85,000. The majority of my pay goes straight to our mortgage. Any leftover gets split into our Splurge, Smile and Emergency funds — yes, we do a bit of The Barefoot Investor here! My husband’s pay then covers groceries and bills, and any leftover is also ferried off to those savings accounts, or used to buy the odd purchase for the week like unplanned groceries, clothing, or treat meals on the weekends.
Debt: We have $457,341 left on the mortgage, $12,012 left on my HECS student loan, and $24,147 left on our car loan. 
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $9,192.38 monthly, combined with my husband. 
Pronouns: She/her 

Mortgage: Our little family of myself, my husband, toddler daughter and two cats live in a two-bedroom unit, which has its own title but shares the land with another unit. Our mortgage repayments are currently $3,066/month, which we expect to continue to rise. Mega sad face.
Council Rates: $190
Utility Bills: $525
Car Loan: $737.66 
Home & Contents Insurance: $299.94  
Streaming Services: $57.98 
Childcare: $604 
Phone: $131 (combined with my husband’s)
Gym Membership: $108 
Shopify: $40 
Charity Donations: $39 
Private Health Insurance: $270 
Savings: $400 

I did a Bachelor of Science (majoring in psychology), and then while working full time, I completed a Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies. All of these studies went onto HECS, and thanks to the indexation (gah!) I have about five years' worth of payments left until I have paid it off.

My parents were very cautious about money but never made us feel like they couldn’t afford anything without a little time. They are solidly middle class and anytime they had a bit of luck money-wise, they would share it — with a surprise toy, an outing to the city, or dinner out as a family. Once we reached our teens and were given access to our accounts for our part-time jobs, they started talking about how we needed to save for long-term goals or expensive things. We were charged rent for as long as we lived with them, which I did on and off until I owned my own house.

My first job was in retail. I learned very quickly that while I was good at building relationships with my coworkers, I wasn’t suited to the work itself. I stuck it out as long as I could in various retail places until part-way through university, when I got a job at my current employer. It worked well with the university lifestyle and study, and as I hadn’t decided if I wanted to continue studying or try to use my qualification, I transitioned to full-time work at this employer and have been through various roles to get to where I am today.

My parents never made a huge fuss about money in front of us, yet I also never felt like I was missing out, so there was no worry on my part. As an early teen, I spent a lot on going to the movies, and as a late teen, I started to want to keep up with technology trends. Often, I would save every dollar until I could afford a new phone, a new PC, or a new video game console.

I started worrying about money when I started to want the stereotypical ‘big life experiences’ — a wedding, an overseas honeymoon, my own car, and the Aussie dream of owning a house. We have managed to pay off any debt we had related to all of these, except the mortgage. The one I’m most proud of was how I aggressively paid off my first new car before I got engaged — I did it in two years. I still have her and my hope is not to let her go until baby number two is reaching primary school age, aka I’m going to run this car into the ground!

I became financially responsible for myself when I moved out of home in my early twenties. I had witnessed my now-husband do this from his late teens, so I felt that I had a good knowledge about what to expect, but it was absolutely still a challenge trying to navigate it for the first few months. I’ve followed some of The Barefoot Investor steps to get us out of debt and get our savings going — our Emergency Bucket was a lifesaver. We have tapped into it twice — once when my daughter required surgery for her hip dysplasia, and another time when we were dealing with my husband’s *ahem* avoidable tax debt. We’re steadily rebuilding our savings now.

No, I haven’t. 

6am: I’m up early to get my daughter to childcare before work. I have a very basic morning routine –  shower, BioOil on any stretch marks, moisturise, eyeliner, eyebrows, lip balm. My daughter sleepily gives my husband a hug before we’re out the door. She’s so cute! 

7:50am: I sign up for an online resilience and stress in the workplace training session. It will help break up the workday, as it’s on a work-from-home day. 

12pm: My role at work is a bit of a ‘Mrs Fix-It’, which keeps my days busy and full of problem-solving. I take my lunch in the park outside and have a quick walk as the wind is a bit nippy today.

4:20pm: Because I’ve done a lot of overtime in the past, it’s my new goal to walk out of work on time. I head off to collect my daughter from daycare. She’s had a good day and the educators praise how well her verbal communication is coming along.

5:10pm: The evenings always pass by in a blur. I whip up chicken stir-fry and rice, but cook some separate basmati rice for myself. I’ve had to adjust what I eat, now that I’m pregnant again. Woo hoo! But also boo, because I can’t have as many carbs or sweet things.

7:30pm: It’s bath and bedtime for my daughter. She gets water everywhere, all over my husband and on most of the bathroom floor. We always read books to her and sing some songs. Childcare wipes her out, and tonight is no different.

9:30pm: I set some alarms on my phone for my gym days, and for when a product goes on sale that I’m after. I read a bit of a fantasy book before bed.

Daily Total: $0 

5:15am: I’m up before dawn in order to hit the gym. It’s incredible timing that my return to the gym coincides with my pregnancy – keeping my body as healthy as possible means the baby will be as healthy as possible too!

7:35am: I get to work a little earlier than usual. I have my standard breakfast of low-GI peanut butter toast and schedule a Pilates class for the next morning, noting that this is my last class included in my package deal and I’ll need to buy another package come payday.

12pm: My morning is made up of a quick meeting to teach some colleagues from another department about one of our processes, solving an outstanding problem and urgently solving another issue involving a third party. I eat lunch at my desk. I know a lot of people frown upon this, but our work group is pretty respectful of our lunchtimes and they do not disturb me today. I browse TikTok and snigger over some of the #bookmath jokes. 

4:20pm: My daughter spends three days with her grandparents and two days at childcare – we’re SO grateful for how much money this saves us. Today, she’s with my parents. I have a quick cup of tea with my mum before heading home. My daughter and husband play outside while I get some tacos together for dinner. I’m loving that daylight savings means my daughter can play outside for longer.

9:05pm: After dinner, it’s the usual quiet time and bedtime routine for my daughter. Once she’s asleep, I get to spend some time catching up on some of my YouTube subscriptions and playing a video game.

11:30pm: It turns out my daughter fell asleep quickly because she’s sick. Her breathing was very rapid when I came in to check on her, and I woke her up while taking her temperature only to have her vomit everywhere. She was pretty upset, as this was the first time she had ever vomited, so I consoled her and cleaned us both up, while my husband stripped the bed. She thankfully fell asleep quickly afterwards. I cancel my Pilates class for the morning, in case we have more drama during the night.

Daily Total:  $0 

7am: No more drama overnight, so my husband and I let our daughter sleep in a bit while we get her bags ready to go to the other set of grandparents. She seems more like her usual self, though a little quiet, so my husband carts her off while I begin my working-from-home day.

9am: I attend the two-hour training on resilience and stress in the workplace. I think I was aware of a lot of the information, but it was a nice refresher and hearing other colleagues' perspectives on the matter was insightful.

11:30am: I take a call from a diabetes educator. I have gestational diabetes, and managing it during pregnancy is always a lot of back and forth to get the insulin levels right. 

12:15pm: On my lunch break, I drive to our local shopping centre to get a new workout top for myself ($8), the schnitzel for tonight’s dinner ($14.95) and a Subway lunch for myself ($14). I get home in time to start a new show on Netflix called The Devil’s Game and it hooks me in straight away. $36.95

4:20pm: Another blur of emails and my day’s done. When I collect my daughter, her grandparents tell me that she hasn’t been her usual chatty herself, has not eaten a whole lot, and not slept a lot. She didn’t vomit again, though. I spoil her with a little Cocomelon time when we get home. She’s in a very cuddly mood, so I snuggle with her on the couch while my husband makes dinner.

6:20pm: She barely touches the noodles we make for her dinner (her favourite), so while she chills on the couch, my husband and I make a plan of attack over our schnitzel — she’s going straight into a lukewarm bath and then it’s bedtime. We think the bath does the trick — she perks up and is more chatty, and afterwards, steals a piece of the toast I have made because my blood sugars were low. She’s asleep shortly after 9pm.

10:10pm: I’m pretty tired after this evening, so I leave my husband hanging out with friends online and head to bed to read. I check on my daughter and she’s sleeping soundly.

Daily Total: $36.95

5:20am: It’s payday and I’m up and off to the gym! My daughter has slept well all night, so I kiss her and my husband goodbye before working out to a new Spotify playlist. It’s highly amusing how their Disney 100 playlists mirror my own favourite list. I have a quick shower and head off to work.

7:50am: One of our staff members is sick, so I cover their shift doing face-to-face customer service work. One of my colleagues covers me briefly while I run to the cafeteria. This colleague knows about my pregnancy and I’m grateful that she has let me run to get some brekky. I’m absolutely famished, so I get a bacon and egg wrap and a hot chocolate ($13). During a quiet moment, I also buy another package of Pilates classes from my gym ($279). $292

10:30am: Thanks to my phone alarms, I jump online bang on time for the release of the product I’m after — a really pretty reading journal and some stationery from a fabulous small business ($84). It’ll be one of my Christmas presents this year. $84

1pm: My productive counter shift has finished. I spend a quiet lunch with leftover stir-fry and making some Christmas decorations I want to sell. I have been quiet on my storefront while adjusting to this pregnancy, but Christmas is always the best time of year for sales, so I gotta hop to it on production!

4:20pm: On my way to my parents' place, where my daughter and I will have dinner, I pick up a stool for her to use in our bathroom ($21), as I know that soon the pregnancy will have me struggling to lift her to wash her hands at the sink. $21

5:30pm: Good news! My parents tell me she has been her usual self, which is a relief after the past 24 hours. She eats really well at dinner and my dad has cooked a veritable feast — spinach soup, steamed fish with ginger and spring onions, scrambled eggs with beans and some crispy roast pork.

7:10pm: I chill on the couch with my mum and catch up on family news in between answering Jeopardy questions. My dad and brother play with my daughter, and her squeals of laughter make my day.

8:20pm: We arrive home and I’m feeling a bit odd. It turns out my blood sugars are low again. Darn this pregnancy and its constant hormonal fluctuations! I have some toast again, before battling my daughter to get her to bed. She does not want to sleep despite the usual routine.

10:30pm: My husband arrives home from his gaming evening and wakes me up as he comes through the door. I had fallen asleep while getting my daughter to sleep. I give him a rundown of her day and mine, then go back to sleep.

Daily Total: $397

6:20am: I manage to squeeze in 10 minutes of questing on a video game while getting ready this morning. I completed two goals, which pleased my inner gamer girl. My daughter wakes up and is chatty about going to childcare this morning.

8:05am: I’m famished and throw down some Greek yoghurt, blueberries and granola. The yoghurt is still a little sour for me, so I make a mental note to add more blueberries next time. I attend a Teams meeting about testing a new system, and do so much talking that I down a litre of water afterwards.

12:30pm: During my lunch break, I do a lap around the park and have a nice catch-up with a colleague I don’t see often. 

4:40pm: Picking up my daughter from childcare is always amazing — she runs to me, arms outstretched, a happy smile on her face. It’s the best feeling ever!

6:50pm: Dinner is a bit late, but homemade pizza is worth it! While cleaning up, I quickly check our accounts to make sure that our direct debits for our goal accounts have gone through, and tick off on our calendar all the direct debits related to bills. Writing out the bills on our calendar each month, and then checking that they’ve gone through each week, stops any big impulse purchases.

8:37pm: Bath and bedtime are a little later this evening, but while my daughter is in the bath, I take out my husband's car to get fuel and a full tank is a bit ouch to look at ($91.85). My daughter has cracked it while I’m out, because she’s overtired and did not want her dad drying her hair. I complete the task and sing her some songs until she falls asleep. $91.85

9:40pm: I convince my husband to watch The Devil’s Game with me and we smash through two episodes.

11:46pm: Bedtime! 

Daily Total: $91.85 

4:45am: Our cats wake me up as they play in our bedroom curtains. Gah! I roll over and will myself back to sleep.

6:30am: A sleep-in by my standards! I have a shower and then get some video game time in before my daughter wakes up. While fixing her breakfast, I realise that we’re out of milk, so I run out to buy some more, as well as some garlic butter and some Cadbury Breakaway ($11.50). I also get takeaway coffee, a babyccino and two croissants for my husband and me ($24.70) as a weekend brekky treat! $36.20

9:20am: My husband heads to a gaming tournament and I take my daughter shopping with my mum. She has two weddings coming up and she wants my opinion on a dress she saw for herself.

10:10am: I pick up my mum and off to a local shopping centre we go. We have quite the productive trip and she buys not one but two dresses – one for each wedding she’s attending. I buy a plain black top from H&M ($20), mostly as a backup for the nice skirt I want to wear to one of the weddings. I’m hoping that I’ll find something a little fancier in the meantime, but a backup is always a good idea!. My mum shouts us some hot drinks and another babyccino for my daughter. I also buy a bilingual book I want to give to my daughter's childcare centre ($19.95). $39.95

12:05pm: My daughter is getting cranky and is due for a nap, so I hurriedly buy us a KFC Popcorn Chicken Snack Pack each ($9.90) to eat as lunch back at my parents'. We get home and, of course, my daughter is not hugely interested in hers, so we make her some noodles and she alternates between bites of that and some plain yoghurt. If you don’t have a toddler, this is a prime example of what mealtime can be like.

1:40pm: My daughter goes down for a nap and my mum encourages me to have a nap too.

3:20pm: I’m pretty groggy and kind of uncomfortable when I wake up. I’m feeling kind of off, and wonder if it’s blood sugars or a pregnancy symptom. I test my sugars and they are in the normal range, so I put it down to the baby deciding that it wants me to stay put for a while. When my daughter wakes up, she’s still grumpy, so we have some quiet time watching ABC kids' shows.

5:05pm: I end up being sick over the toilet. This pregnancy is truly the opposite of my first one, where I had very few symptoms. This one has all the symptoms. I settle back on the couch, and message my husband to say that we will be staying here for dinner.

8pm: I finally feel well enough to drive home, but my parents insist on escorting us for the 15-minute drive. Mum is in the car with my daughter and me, and my dad follows us. We arrive home safely and I profusely thank my parents. 

8:10pm: My husband is watching the qualifying round for the Texas F1 race. We discuss the outcome, and trade rundowns of our days while watching more of The Devil’s Game. My daughter fights going to bed at her usual time, but eventually settles.

11:49pm: I’m sick again over the toilet. Ugh. My husband comforts me, and I play some video games to take my mind off the sick feeling before falling into bed.

Daily Total: $86.05

7:40am: I decide not to take my daughter to swimming as the nausea is still hanging around. The three of us have a quiet start to the morning, with breakfast and watching the Texas F1 Sprint Race.

9:50am: I leave my husband watching the end of the broadcast and take my daughter to watch the open day performances at my Chinese Lion Dance Club. I’ve been a part of this club for over 20 years, but have taken a leave of absence while adjusting to parent life. We drop in when we can to support them, and I always make time to assist the team during their busiest time of year, which is Lunar New Year.

10:20am: The open day performances start a little late, but as the demonstrations continue more and more families turn up to check us out. This is fantastic! I scramble to help get more chairs, so people can be seated to watch.

11:50am: My daughter was more interested in Cocomelon than the performances, but she did clap at the end of the main lion dance. She has a 15-minute power nap in my arms while I chat with friends and family at the club. The fact she can sleep through the chaotic noise of this event is great and a long-standing tradition for all the kids that get born into the club!

1:20pm: After having some snacks and helping to pack up, I head home for a rest with my daughter. I eat the leftover homemade pizza from Friday’s dinner, and she has some yoghurt and strawberries. I try to see if she will have a nap but no luck – the power nap from earlier has ruined the timing.

2:30pm: My parents offer to take us to Costco to get some of our groceries. I jump at the chance to get my daughter out of the house and hopefully feeling tired again for an actual nap. It’s super busy at Costco with it being a Sunday arvo, but we get what we’re after, and pick up the rest of what we need from a local Coles.

4:10pm: My daughter falls asleep in the car five minutes from our house. Sigh, such is life. I wave goodbye to my parents and transfer her inside and to the couch with me, where she falls into a deep sleep. My husband, back home from his gaming weekend, bundles us up in a blanket, gets me a cup of tea and some chocolate, and I watch a rom-com called A Kindhearted Christmas. It’s pretty meh for a film, but I’m a Christmas film aficionado, and give it points for festivity.

6:10pm: We’re a little late to dinner with my in-laws this evening due to the nap, but we have a nice roast dinner and a wonderful catch-up. Coincidentally, we also draw out the names for this year's Christmas gifts. The adults buy presents for just one relative in the family within the prescribed budget – it’s a huge money and time saver. I highly recommend it! 

8:30pm: We arrive back home and once the little girl is asleep, my husband and I crank out one more episode of The Devil’s Game. We’re now at episode 8 of 12. We’ve enjoyed discussing the psychological impact of how the show is structured to influence the players’ emotional and strategic states. 

10:30pm: I read a bit more of my fantasy novel before bed.

Daily Total: $0

Although some might see it as too personal, I felt that it was important to note my husband's tax debt which we tackled together. While debt is a nasty thing, it should be talked about more, so people don't just stick their heads in the sand and hope that it will all work out. It’s best to tackle it head on and get it fixed like we did. Things were tight for a few years, but we survived and managed to have our daughter arrive in the middle of it all. There’s light at the end of that tunnel and I hope this brings hope to those facing their own tunnels!