A Week In Macquarie Park, Sydney, As A Freelance Content Creator On $16K

Occupation: Freelancer 
Industry: Social Media Marketing/Content Creation
Age: 26
Location: Macquarie Park, Sydney 
Salary: $16,000
Net Worth: $70,000 ($90,000 across savings and shares. I don’t have a partner or a mortgage. I’m currently not paying rent as I’m living with my family, but I’m paying the entirety of the bills for a two-person household.)
Debt: I have a $20,000 HECS debt. I voluntarily repaid $13,000 off my HECS before this year's 7% indexation.
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): My pay varies from month-to-month due to the nature of freelancing and one-off jobs, but I usually make anywhere between $0 and $4,000 a month. 
Pronouns: She/Her 

Rent: I’m currently not paying rent and living with my immediate family. It's a modern apartment (owner-occupied) in the north western suburbs of Sydney. Everyone that lives over the bridge has either not heard of my suburb or jokingly say that I live ‘out of town’.
Phone Bill: $19 
Spotify: $13
Netflix: $12
Car: $100 (petrol and tolls)
Public Transport: $200
Electricity: $70 
Health Insurance: $104
Dining Out: $160 
Savings: If it's possible, I like to transfer $1,000 into my ING high interest savings account every month. This is what I used to do when I earned a full time salary. Obviously, some months I only make like $200, so this isn't a consistent thing anymore.

Yep, I completed a four-year communications degree and had a HECS debt of $33,000. 

I’m a second generation Australian. My father came to Australia at 18, with just 100 Deutsche Mark (the German currency at the time) to his name. He was a blue collar worker and was out of work a lot, so we relied on my mother's income as she worked as an accountant. With both my parents being migrants, they made a lot of sacrifices. Looking back, I missed out on a lot of things that my peers and friends had because we didn't have the money — such as a family dog/pet, broadband internet, a swimming pool, a trampoline etc. 

When I was 12 years old, my father suddenly passed away and we became a sole income household overnight. Even though he wasn’t the breadwinner when he was alive, his passing made things even tougher for my mum because I was enrolled in a private school. 

When I was growing up, my parents didn’t talk about money much, except to tell me to save as much of it as possible. I was raised to be frugal and save a lot because money was hard to come by and easy to spend. I feel like this mentality has made me much better at saving money in adulthood compared to my peers.

My first job was working front of house at Nando's at my local shopping centre when I was 17. I got the job so I could spend my money on $2 Macca's burgers on beach days and new clothes from Supré. 

Thankfully, no. My parents made a lot of sacrifices so that I never had to worry. When my dad died, there was a small bit of life insurance that helped us get by too.

Day to day, no. Whilst I don't make much money due to choosing to go back to freelancing and focusing on travel rather than working this year, I have A LOT of savings to keep me afloat, and I do plan to return to a traditional 9-5 in order to return to financial independence and live out of home again. However, I do compare myself to my peers who are on six-figure corporate salaries, who have made those big money moves like buying property.

Throughout uni, I lived at home but I always worked part time and had side hustles from as long as I can remember. I moved out of home at 21 and became financially independent then. 

However, at the end of 2020, I was hospitalised with a life-threatening auto-immune disease and was unable to look after myself. My mum had to move in with me, and although I worked part-time and full-time during my recovery, I was no longer financially independent. Not paying rent and not being able to spend any money on fun things between 2020 and 2022 (due to both Covid lockdowns and my illness) meant that I was able to save a lot of money. When I was finally declared in remission from my illness in July 2022, I decided to travel as much as I could in 2023 and make up for lost time. Hence, work hasn't been my focus this year, which is why I haven't earned that much money. 

I would say my savings and financial safety net are much greater than other people my age, that is simply because I've been able to save that money from a) not paying rent and b) not being able to spend money on anything fun whilst I was immunocompromised.

Yes, I received 17,000 euros ($26,000 AUD) from my Oma's passing. This was supposed to go to my dad, but as he has also passed, it went directly to me.

9am: I finally get out of bed after scrolling on TikTok for about an hour. It’s a terrible habit but I’m also a content creator so it counts as researching trends, right? I decide next week will be the week I get back into a routine and start getting up earlier, since it will be the third week back home since my three-month Europe trip. Breakfast is a loaded bagel with egg, cheese, and avocado. The bagels are fancy $6 ones I bought last week, so no money spent on groceries yet this week.

12pm: I go for my daily hot girl trot around the neighbourhood, film some jacaranda content that later goes off on my travel TikTok account. Social media is THE job where you are constantly working for free. Despite the fact I live with my family, we do separate groceries in this household, so lunch is a shitty pasta salad with whatever is in the fridge. Normally, I meal plan and batch cook for the week, but this week is heavy on the socialising, and I have a dinner scheduled for every night of the week, so I decide to put off doing groceries.

3pm: If I want to get into the city by 5pm to meet my friend, I need to leave the house at 4pm, so I start getting ready. Living with family and saving money on rent means the trade-off is my hour-long commute into the city. The kilometre distance also means I pay on average $10 or more for a return trip to the CBD on public transport during the peak times.

5:45pm: My friend found this happy hour where they’re slinging frozen margaritas for $12 each. We get two rounds, so two margies each at a cost of $24pp. 

7pm: Tonight, we’re also meeting other friends for a farewell dinner. As a group of media girlies on low(er) salaries, we’ve opted for a cheap and cheerful dumpling house fave, that’s also FREE BYO. If we were with our friends who work in consulting, no doubt, we’d be dining somewhere much less budget-friendly. Plenty of dumplings and noodles (with leftovers!) split between the five of us comes to $33 each. The endless laughs — and a few tears as one of our girls is moving to Europe forever — are free. — $33

8am: I’m actually up earlier as I’ve booked a reformer Pilates class for 9:30am, but I want to walk there as it’s a suburb over. I leave my house at 8:45am so that I can leisurely walk the 35 minutes to the Pilates studio. This class was booked via a free ClassPass trial, so it cost $0.

11am: I arrive back home after the Pilates class and head off again on my daily walk. One of my favourite things about not working a traditional 9-5 is the freedom to exercise at random hours during the daytime.

1pm: I make another loaded bagel for brunch/lunch. I had an Up & Go before the class to keep me going. They were $17 for the largest pack from Woolworths, which makes them cheaper than if you buy the smaller packs.

4pm: It’s time to leave the house again in order to make a 5pm date in the city. It’s a first Hinge date and he’s my age, so I’m not confident the drinks will be free tonight.

6pm: We have two Negroni cocktails each. It’s a nice bar and we’re getting along well. He picks up the bill and then suggests we go to the pub across the road…

7pm: I don’t get a drink at the second venue, but he gets himself one. Then when he asks me if I want one and I say maybe, he asks if I can get this round…

9pm: We say goodbye. There was no me getting that round and there will be no second date.

10:30pm: It takes me an hour and a half to get home on public transport ($10) because there are replacement buses in lieu of the Metro. For some reason, the city thinks it’s okay to shut down the Metro on weeknights after 9pm in my area, on the assumption that us north-west dwellers don’t leave/return to the house after 9pm. They’d never do this in the inner west, city circle or eastern suburbs lines. At least, with the replacement bus, travel is free. Half the bus still taps on like fools. — $10

5:45am: It's the weekend and I’m up at the actual crack of dawn because today is market day! I’m having a stall to sell pre-loved clothes and other things with two friends.

7am: As the designated driver, I’m already over the Anzac Bridge and have picked up one of the girls and loaded our stuff into the car. We get to the market at 7:15am and begin setting up.

9am: I break even on the cost of the stall at a decent time, and we spend most of the day chatting and discounting prices anytime a prospective buyer comes to our stall.

10am: Two of my lovely friends visit, and as they paid for my dinner last week, I shout them a round of coffees. – $13.

12pm: Lunch is pre-packed snacks and anxiety that not enough clothes are selling. So far, most people are also paying with PayID and not cash.

4pm: We pack up at the market and I begin the long drive back home, avoiding the tolls! I filled my car up with petrol last week, so am still looking pretty good.

5pm: The traffic is at a standstill on the left two lanes of the Anzac Bridge. I hate the stop-start traffic, especially when my car is heavy from all the market things, as it uses more petrol.

6pm: I arrive home and make some ramen noodles for dinner and tally up my total earnings. I’m officially $255 richer! 

8pm: I watch a movie and fall asleep during it — I’m exhausted but happy from the market day.

10pm: I turn the lights off and actually go to sleep.

10am: I sleep in for as long as possible. I still feel tired from the markets yesterday and I’m also a bit sunburnt. 

11am: I get ready to meet the girls for a wholesome picnic! We’re also painting today and I’m bringing the painting supplies. I already have all of these laying around, so it doesn’t cost me any extra. I’m also bringing a packet of crackers that came free in a PR box earlier this week, and leftover protein balls from yesterday. We’re picnicking in the north today, so it only takes me 45 minutes to commute on the train instead of my usual hour plus.

12pm: We set up in the park and have ourselves a lovely DIY cheese board spread.

3pm: I head home. I’m feeling tipsy from the two cups of wine I drank at the picnic, so I make myself a black tea to sober up. I have another first date tonight and he’s 1) older, and 2) taking me to a surprise Italian restaurant, so I’m excited for good vibes and free dinner.

6pm: We’re meeting at 7:30pm, so I had time for a quick nap. I’m feeling bloated from the picnic and the tea.

8pm: We have a lovely dinner, he takes care of the bill but he also knows the owner of the restaurant so I don’t think he actually had to pay. I go back to his place.

Daily Total: $15 (for all public transport today)

8am: I wake up in a suburb that’s possibly the furthest away from mine via public transport ($8). My date from the night before drops me off at the train station nearest to his apartment and I begin the trek home. 

10am: I arrive home and make breakfast. Another day, another at-home bagel! 

12pm: I decide to have a nap, because I have not mastered the art of sleeping well when not in my own bed.

3pm: No walkies today! Instead, I put on washing and scroll mindlessly on social media.

6pm: I finally unpack my car from Saturday’s market stall and FaceTime one of my besties who has moved abroad this year. She wants to know all the tea from this week’s dates and I dispense it.

8pm: Dinner is random snacks like a bite of a pickle, some deli ham and some bocconcini.

9pm:I fall asleep watching the Luna Park doco on Netflix.

7am: I’m up early and getting ready to shoot some sponsored Instagram content at the beach.

8am: I’m on the bus on the way to the beach and the weather is patchy. It has completely clouded over, and the product I’m shooting really needs sunshine for it to look good on camera.

9am: The sun finally comes out (hooray!) and I film all the shots I need in just over an hour.

10am: I sit on the beach for a bit longer — it did take me an hour to get here, after all – even though it’s very windy.

12pm: I arrive home and lunch is freezer dumplings. I’m very happy with the content I got, and I begin editing it ahead of submitting it to the brand for approval tomorrow.

1pm: I begin my hair wash day routine, which involves many different products and takes me a total of an hour.

2pm: I start getting ready for a PR event in the city this afternoon. My friend, who’s a fellow content creator, has been invited to some celebrity chef’s new product line launch. I love these events from a networking perspective, and obviously the free food and drinks are a bonus! 

4pm: We arrive at the event and are handed a complimentary cocktail each, and so begins a lovely evening of catching up over (free) canapés, including: oysters, pork belly skewers, lamb kofta, tuna crudo and more. Food definitely tastes better when it’s free! 

9pm: We finally call it a night and begin the commute home . The Metro is still being replaced by a bus this week after 8:45pm, and there are still people tapping on when they absolutely shouldn’t be.

11pm: I get into bed and fall asleep.

Daily Total: $15 (for all transport today)

8am: I wake up feeling motivated after what's been a socially busy week so far, and head straight out to get groceries as soon as the shops open. I'm not even cooking much this week but the bill comes to $48 at ALDI.

9am: Breakfast is a homemade bagel (the cheap ones this time) with smoked salmon, cream cheese, fresh dill and capers. After I eat, I busy myself with prepping some organic TikTok and Instagram content. People forget that it's the years of unpaid work creating authentic, organic content that goes into building an audience on social media that allows for the ‘easy money’ that comes from paid partnerships.

11am: I spend the next few hours until lunchtime preparing my travel insurance claims. I only have one incident to claim, but I feel like I'm drowning in paperwork by the end of it.

2pm: I'm feeling lazy and chuck a frozen gozleme from ALDI in my sandwich press for lunch. These are only $4.99 and I like them as much as the freshly made $15 ones you get at a food stall.

3pm: The afternoon is filled with mundane necessities like clothes washing, dishwashing, changing sheets, replying to friends to confirm weekend plans etc. During this time I also listen to some finance podcasts.

5pm: It wouldn't be a day in my life without some TikTok scrolling. My fellow content creator friend and I had some great chats about new strategies and goals for socials next year, and it's got me motivated to batch prep some more content.

6pm: Before dinner, I spend some time pitching to brands, which is part of how I land my paid work in socials. I'm staying in tonight (no commute into the city, hooray!) so I pour myself a  glass of wine (the bottle was gifted in exchange for an Instagram story) and get started on cooking a good ol' spag bol with the groceries I bought earlier today.

This year has been a diversion from working a traditional job, with a focus on travel and having fun, after two years of being immunocompromised and not being able to do either. I may come across as swanning around and privileged with the whole free dinner on dates and free stuff from Instagram, but I have spent the last seven years growing my platforms and not taking a day off for months at a time. Only recently, have I started reaping the benefits of the hundreds of hours of unpaid work that I put in previously. The cost of living is a topic that comes up in almost every conversation I have, and not included in this Money Diary are the countless times my card has been declined or been overdrawn. I choose to live frugally and save wherever possible.