A Week In Crows Nest, Sydney, As A Legal Counsel On $120,000

Occupation: Legal Counsel
Industry: Technology
Age: 26
Location: Crows Nest, Sydney
Salary: $120,000
Net Worth: $92,100 ($87,000 in savings, $3,100 in ETFs, $51,000 in super). My partner also makes $120,000 and we split shared expenses such as groceries and utilities evenly out of a joint spending account. We are responsible for our own individual expenses.
Debt: $49,000 in student debt. Payments automatically come out of my paycheque.
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $6,490
Pronouns: She/her

Rent: $3,823. My partner and I rent a two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartment with one car space.
Private Health Insurance: $155
At-home Gym Membership: $20
Phone: $25
Spotify Premium: $16 (shared expense)
Binge: $16 (shared expense)
Internet: $70 (shared expense)
Savings: $1,500. This varies but is the minimum that I allocate to my savings each month. It's automatically paid to my savings account from my paycheque each month.

Yes. I undertook a combined undergraduate degree in Communications and Law and also had to complete a postgraduate certificate to be admitted to legal practice. This was all put on my HECS and was nearly $70,000 all up.

We didn’t have a lot of conversations about money aside from the importance of saving and not taking on debt where possible. My family was definitely very frugal and we didn’t tend to buy brand names for clothes or groceries. I didn’t really understand this when I was younger but now I’m all for saving where you can. As I’ve gotten older, my dad has talked to me more about investing and passed on his knowledge.

My parents discouraged me from working during high school so the second I graduated, I got a summer casual job at a fast fashion retailer so that I could have my own spending money. I was 17 so my priorities were money for live concerts and makeup!

Not really, although I think I thought we were worse off than we really were because of how frugal my dad is. I didn’t ever go without anything I needed (even if I didn’t get everything I wanted!), and my family travelled both domestically and internationally growing up. I didn’t realise the extent to which we were wealthy until I was much older, but my dad was made redundant twice (with the second time leading to him retiring early) and it didn’t make a big difference to our day-to-day life. Given my mum is a preschool teacher and didn’t have a massive income, I now realise this means my family had a very good safety net.

I don’t worry about my day-to-day expenses, but I do worry about long-term financial goals such as owning a house, paying off a mortgage, and being able to support my family as they age, rather than the other way around.

I became mostly financially responsible for myself when I moved out at 20. The main exception to this is that I was on my family’s health insurance until turning 26, but I paid my parents for my portion of it when I started working fulltime at 22. I do have a financial safety net in that if I ever needed to move home, my parents would let me and my partner live with them rent-free for as long as we needed.

When I graduated from university, my parents gave me a $5,000 cash gift (this went directly to my savings). Last year, when inflation started creeping up and the CPI increase to my HECS would have wiped all the compulsory repayments I would have made for the year, they also gave me $10,000 to pay towards my HECS debt.

7:00am — I wake up annoyingly early for a Saturday morning and lie in bed for about an hour until my partner wakes up too. We cuddle for a bit then get up and have breakfast.

9:00am — I check my banking app to find out I’ve been paid. I’ve decided to put some of my savings towards my HECS debt as I don’t have any immediate plans for the funds, my debt is high, and the indexation is going to hurt this year. I contribute $16,700 of my savings and my parents have very generously given me $5,300, so I pay off $22,000. I wish I was more excited about this, but this doesn’t even wipe half my debt. I also transfer $1,000 to my partner for our car registration, insurance and the service we had done a few weeks ago. $17,700

10:00am — The new The Legend of Zelda game came out yesterday and I don’t want to do anything other than play it — which I do while M. cleans our apartment. I’m very grateful to have a male partner who, in all honesty, does more housework than I do.

12:00pm — Time for lunch. We have a homemade Vietnamese rice salad bowl from the last of our groceries we bought last week. It is fresh and delicious.

3:00pm — I take my ‘everything shower’ — hair washed, body exfoliated, legs shaved and lasered (I have an at-home IPL device). This takes way too long and I need to lie down afterwards. Since having Covid, I’ve developed POTS, which means standing in a hot shower makes me feel pretty sick pretty quickly.

4:30pm — We’re seeing Wil Anderson do standup tonight so I quickly Dyson Airwrap my hair. I have naturally curly hair and this has cut down on so much styling time. I also put on some makeup so we can head out straight after dinner.

7:00pm — We drive and get to the show one minute late because a bird pooped on my partner’s head on the way there. I see the humour in this a lot more than he does! We awkwardly duck into our seats in the front row — luckily we’re not the only latecomers. The show is great — I’ve been seeing Wil Anderson’s shows since I was a teenager and they’re always hilarious.

8:30pm — We head home (thank you, free parking) and I get ready for bed before falling asleep at about 9:30pm.

9:00am — I had the most restless sleep and end up oversleeping. I check my phone and my partner has headed out to get our weekly groceries ($134, joint card) and some pastries from a bakery I have been wanting to try for ages ($35, joint card) while I sleep. I get up and have breakfast. $84.50

12:00pm — My parents arrive for Mother’s Day lunch. M. and I have cooked some salmon and put together a salad. We tend to meal plan and batch cook about three times a week, so this will give us leftovers too. Mum and Dad give my cats plenty of attention and we talk for a few hours. It’s always so nice to see them and by the time they leave, I’m feeling tired but very content.

3:00pm — I film some content. I’ve been posting on social media for about a year and have grown a very small following. There are two paid partnerships I’ve committed to sending out for approval by tomorrow morning, so I spend some time filming and editing before I send them to the clients.

5:30pm — I’m meant to be meeting a new friend for drinks tonight but I feel drained and exhausted. I send the most apologetic cancellation message ever but thankfully she’s fine with it and we agree to reschedule.

6:00pm — We have some more of the fish and salad for dinner before I take a quick shower. I love the feeling of being moisturised and putting on fresh pyjamas especially when the weather starts getting cooler.

8:30pm — Time for dessert and the new season of The Great. We have one of the pastries we bought this morning and it is DIVINE. We agree to make the drive to this bakery more often — it’s not too far but we are terrible at leaving our 15-minute radius just because everything is so convenient to us.

9:30pm — Lights out.

7:30am — My partner kisses me goodbye on his way out the door, which wakes me up. He is in the office and I’ll be WFH today — just how I like my Mondays! I lie in bed for a while with some cat cuddles before getting up to have breakfast.

9:00am — I log onto work for the day. For some reason the weekend always makes me forget everything on my to-do list and I’m very slow on a Monday morning. I find out that my afternoon interview for a new lawyer in our team has to be rescheduled and am a little annoyed because I turned down an invite to a Fashion Week show today based on the fact the two clashed. I contemplate emailing to see if I can still go as the invite was very last minute but I decide to leave it and get into my work for the day.

12:15pm — Time for lunch. I always make sure I take time away from my desk to eat. I don’t really feel like my leftovers but I also don’t want to leave the house or pay for delivery… so leftovers it is. I check some emails while I eat and watch an old episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The clients have approved the content I filmed yesterday so I make a note to schedule them and draft my invoices after work tonight.

1:00pm — Back to work and I’m reviewing some employment policies and client comments on service agreements. I take a quick mid-afternoon break for another croissant then power through the rest of my day.

6:00pm — We have dinner and watch the new episode of Succession. This is easily my favourite TV show and I’m deeply upset that there are only two episodes left.

7:30pm — I take a shower and then settle on the couch. I’m nearly out of some skincare products, so I look at the early Click Frenzy deals. La Roche Posay has 25% off if I buy directly, but Adore Beauty is doing 20% off and usually has great gifts with purchases. I decide to sleep on it and order the items I need later this week.

9:30pm — After another episode of The Great and an after-dinner snack of grapes, it’s time for bed.

7:30am — I wake up before my alarm after a night of weird and vivid dreams. I’m in the office today, so I quickly get ready and have breakfast before my partner drives me to the office.

8:45am — Arrive at work. I noticed when I was taking my supplements this morning that I was running low on probiotics so I order more ($49.65). We don’t have assigned desks so I set up my desk for the day and get straight into work. $49.65

12:15pm — Lunchtime! My manager and I go to a new lunch spot where we grab some takeaway ($14.90), which I eat in the office kitchen with my colleagues. $14.90

1:00pm — I’m back at my desk and have an afternoon of meetings. I quickly check my emails in between and have received a few offers for gifting and events. I reply accepting the gifts and declining the event. I’m really grateful that I’m being invited to more influencer events but most of them are during work hours and I am definitely prioritising my job!

5:15pm — I get picked up from work and head home where I take a quick shower and do my skincare. My face immediately starts burning and I think about booking to see my dermatologist. I’ve developed what might be eczema or rosacea as part of my very frustrating set of long Covid symptoms and I have no idea how to manage it. I’ve been wanting to try the TBH Rebound Serum for a while and it’s currently 15% off so I add to cart and check out while trying not to scratch my face ($58.45). $58.45

6:30pm — My partner cooks us dinner — chicken kebabs with rice and a Mediterranean salad. We’ll get about eight servings out of this batch. Afterwards, I spend some time winding down on the couch with the Zelda game and my partner runs to the shops ($58.80, joint card) before we watch another episode of The Great and snack on some grapes. $29.40

9:30pm — I am falling asleep on the couch so it’s time for bed!

7:45am — I wake up and scroll through my phone for a bit before getting up to have breakfast and get ready. I do my skincare and put on some makeup because I want to film a video before logging on to work this morning.

8:30am — I film my content, which is promoting an upcoming sale for one of my favourite homewares brands. I get so excited every time a brand I already really love reaches out to me because they’re the most genuine collaborations to do and don’t really feel like ads, even though they are.

9:00am — Log on to work. For some reason, I’ve completely forgotten everything I’m meant to be doing and it takes me a while to get focused. I write my to-do list for the day before getting stuck into my work. I’m doing some more contract review work this morning which is always interesting but I do have to pay quite close attention to detail.

12:30pm — I post the video I filmed this morning before heating up last night’s leftovers for lunch. I am trying to eat more mindfully but I end up scrolling on social media instead.

1:00pm — Back to work. I’m definitely not feeling the most focused today and it doesn’t help that I’m getting a headache. I pop some ibuprofen before my phone rings — the serum I ordered last night is here! I didn’t pay for express delivery or anything so I’m surprised and impressed. I immediately remove my makeup and put the serum on and it is cooling and soothing.

3:00pm — I need a break. I grab a sugary snack from the pantry and sit in the living room for a few minutes. I end up scrolling through Fashion Week content and feeling very jealous — I tell myself that I will work towards getting invited next year as a goal.

3:15pm — Back to work. It’s becoming clear I’m not going to be as productive as I’d like this afternoon, so I do some more admin that I’ve been putting off, update my to-do list, and go through my emails to plan out the rest of my week.

5:30pm — I finish up work and read this week’s edition of Bri Lee’s newsletter. Her insights on Fashion Week are fascinating and some of my FOMO disappears after reading about a designer who allegedly didn’t pay musical performers at their show. I sometimes find it really hard to reconcile my love for fashion and the content creation I’ve been doing with my left politics — is all I’m doing encouraging overconsumption and murdering the planet and the further oppression of the underpaid and overworked garment workers who make the clothes I love so much? Sigh.

6:15pm — We have dinner. My head is pounding and I feel awful so I spontaneously burst into tears halfway through eating. That’s how I know I’ll be having an early night!

7:30pm — I take a shower and do my skincare (less burning tonight!). I then catch up on some emails and reply to some messages. I then remember the skincare I needed to buy — I restock my La Roche Posay Cleanser and Cicaplast as well as picking up a new Avene balm that seems to have good reviews from people with irritated skin. I stack another discount code so it comes down even more in price ($58.31) — Adore Beauty is so good. $58.31

8:30pm — We watch another episode of The Great and have some fruit. I get a notification that Farfetch has started their private member sale and scroll through, but I’m trying not to buy anything. It’s halfway through the month and I haven’t bought any new clothes which I’m pretty happy with!

9:10pm — Zzz.

7:00am — I wake up after a restless night of sleep and lie in bed for a while before publishing one of the collaborations I filmed over the weekend and sending it over to the brand. They have requested an early publication time which I’m happy with as I won’t have to remember to post it in the middle of a busy work day!

8:15am — Breakfast and skincare time. The skin around my eyes has flaked so much overnight that there’s dead skin in my hair — gross.

9:00am — I log onto work. My headache from yesterday is definitely not going away, and it doesn’t help that every time I get stressed I get heart palpitations and become short of breath. This only developed after I got Covid and it doesn’t seem to be going away.

12:00pm — I’m starving so my fiancé gets our lunch ready. We have the final portion of our kebab leftovers heated up. We watch an old episode of Grey’s Anatomy and chat while we eat. It’s nice to take breaks from work together!

12:30pm — I get back to work. I finish some research and send an advice out while juggling some other requests. My fiancé heads out to pick up some prescriptions for me ($34) and some top-up groceries ($17.50, joint card). $42.75

3:45pm — I have an appointment so I let my boss know I’ll be back online around 5pm and head into the city. My partner drops me where I need to go and I’ll get the train back.

4:30pm — All done! It’s nice out so I walk to the train station. It’s one of the longer walks I’ve done in a while but it doesn’t make my heart rate shoot up so I’m really happy. The train arrives just as I do — perfect timing ($3.79). $3.79

5:00pm — I get back home and log on to finish my work for the day, before taking a shower and washing my hair. I’m way too tired to Airwrap my hair so I put some curl cream in and just hope it dries nicely.

6:30pm — We have dinner — we had planned to make a salad bowl from our groceries but instead we heat up a frozen pizza because we are feeling lazy and need comfort food. It is deeply unhealthy but also perfect.

7:00pm — I posted some brand work earlier and TikTok has completely glitched so it’s not visible! I try and mess around with some settings but nothing is working so I leave it and will revisit tomorrow. I then get an email notification that an indie nail polish I’ve wanted is back in stock and before I know it I’ve made a cart that includes four other colours of polish. I decide to sleep on it.

8:30pm — We watch another episode of The Great and have some fruit before I nearly fall asleep on the couch and decide to call it a night.

7:00am — I wake up before my alarm. My issue with TikTok hasn’t resolved itself overnight so I delete the app altogether and repost my video which seems to fix the problem.

7:30am — I’m heading into the office today which I don’t normally do on a Friday but my company has monthly town halls which they prefer we attend in person. I really like these days because I get to see everyone and we often have interesting training sessions or talks. I have breakfast and get ready.

9:00am — I arrive at work and do an hour of work before our town hall. We head into the meeting which includes presentations from each business unit and at the end, I’m named the equivalent of our employee of the month! This is very unexpected but I’m really happy to be rewarded for my work as it’s been a pretty full-on few months — and the gift voucher that comes with it is a lovely bonus. When I get back to my desk I buy my cart full of nail polish because I feel like I’ve earned it ($100.05). They're all from Femme Fatala, which is an Australian-owned business specialising in indie polishes. I buy a few Cirque Colors and one Mooncat. $100.05

11:30am — We have a client presenting to our wider team and I attend. I led some recent contract negotiations with this client so it’s really nice to learn more about them and meet their MD in person.

12:30pm — Lunchtime! One of the perks of town hall days is our company provides catered lunch. I grab some salads and a baguette and feel pleasantly full afterwards.

1:00pm — I head back to my desk and do some more work before a meeting. I definitely struggle with productivity on days I’m in the office because everyone is around and I am very chatty.

2:30pm — I head out with some colleagues to grab an afternoon coffee. It’s nice to get out of the office for a bit at a time when I usually get a bit sleepy! I don’t end up buying anything as the walk wakes me up enough.

4:30pm — Office drinks have been going for a while and are loud enough that I know I won’t be getting any more work done, so I head home for the day (I’m too peopled-out to join them). My fiancé picks me up and we still don’t feel like the food we’d planned to make, so we stop at the shops to grab some other groceries including ingredients to bake a cake this weekend ($56.87, joint card). $28.44

6:00pm — After a quick shower, I settle in on the couch with my fiancé for dinner, video games and TV. Tonight we’re watching the two-part finale of Grey’s Anatomy — this show has somehow become good again! While we watch, I finalise and send over the invoices for the content creation work I completed this week.

10:00pm — Lights out.

This is definitely an unusual week of spending for me — it's not every week I put a significant chunk of change towards my HECS debt! I also want to acknowledge that I am very privileged to have received gifts from my parents to put towards my education. I know that for a lot of people, their debts are indexing more than they have paid off and that HECS indexation disproportionately affects women (especially women in lower-paid jobs and/or those who have taken time off work to raise families).

I also want to flag that I haven't included income from the content creation work I've been doing because I have literally only just started making money from it — it's not regular or stable enough for me to include yet, although I am hoping it becomes so as it's both something I enjoy and a nice side hustle.