Welcome to Money Diaries, where we tackle the ever-present taboo that is money. We ask real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we track every last dollar.
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Today: a marketing executive who makes $80,000 a year and spends some of her money this week on a lemon, lime and bitters at the pub.
Occupation: Marketing Executive
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 25
Location: Inner North Brisbane, Queensland
Salary: $80,000
Net Worth: $105,000 (An apartment worth $400,000, $5,000 in savings, $5,000 in shares, $35,000 in superannuation)
Debt: $290,000 on my mortgage and $50,000 in HECS debt
Paycheque Amount (Fortnightly): $2,180
Pronouns: She/Her
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 25
Location: Inner North Brisbane, Queensland
Salary: $80,000
Net Worth: $105,000 (An apartment worth $400,000, $5,000 in savings, $5,000 in shares, $35,000 in superannuation)
Debt: $290,000 on my mortgage and $50,000 in HECS debt
Paycheque Amount (Fortnightly): $2,180
Pronouns: She/Her
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Monthly Expenses
Mortgage: $1,400. This is $200 more each month than what it was when I settled on my apartment 10 months ago. I live in a two-bedroom apartment by myself, so I front all the bills alone. I've previously rented with roommates for many years, but I really enjoy living alone and having my own space. This is worth the premium I pay to live alone.
Private Health Insurance: $88
Salary Sacrifice Into My Super: $152
Gym: $220 usually. I actually just quit going to F45 last week as it's very expensive and I need something less intense on my body. I'm currently trying to find a new gym.
Phone Bill: $25. I own my phone outright and just pay for usage.
Internet: $59
Rates: $350/quarter
Electricity: $150/quarter
Gas: $200/quarter
Water And Sewerage: $400
Body Corporate: $1,600 (recently raised from $1,200)
Hockey Fees: $600/season
Car Rego: $800/year
Car Insurance: $800/year
Home And Contents Insurance: $350/year
Streaming: I use my parent's Netflix, Stan and Spotify accounts.
Private Health Insurance: $88
Salary Sacrifice Into My Super: $152
Gym: $220 usually. I actually just quit going to F45 last week as it's very expensive and I need something less intense on my body. I'm currently trying to find a new gym.
Phone Bill: $25. I own my phone outright and just pay for usage.
Internet: $59
Rates: $350/quarter
Electricity: $150/quarter
Gas: $200/quarter
Water And Sewerage: $400
Body Corporate: $1,600 (recently raised from $1,200)
Hockey Fees: $600/season
Car Rego: $800/year
Car Insurance: $800/year
Home And Contents Insurance: $350/year
Streaming: I use my parent's Netflix, Stan and Spotify accounts.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes. I have a Bachelor of Business and put the tuition costs onto HECS. I grew up in a regional area, so once I graduated high school, I had to move away for university. My parents very kindly paid for my rent and other occasional living costs, like electricity. I paid for everything else though and worked part-time all through uni.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents are extremely open about money. My dad especially pushed for me to gain financial literacy, which has really shaped my relationship with money today. I always knew what my parents earnt and they would often take me through how they spent their money, breaking down how much was for bills and how much was for fun things. Because of this, I always knew the value of money and that it was important to have a financial safety net. It also meant that I had a much healthier relationship with money. I'm very open about finances and I think it's so important for people to know how to make money work for you.
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What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started working on the checkouts at Big W when I was 14, as soon as I legally could. I worked this job all through high school, and then other retail jobs throughout uni. I never needed money in high school, but it was nice to have my own and understand the value of a dollar. I also never liked (and still don't) asking my parents for money, so having my own income was very nice. All of my friends also got jobs when they were 14 and 15, so it was just the normal thing to do in my circle.
Did you worry about money growing up?
No. I was very lucky that I grew up in a dual-income household with both of my parents having careers. I grew up regionally and we were never rich, but I never went without and I never had to worry about where food would come from or if we'd have a place to live.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes. Like Biggie says, Mo' Money Mo' Problems. I've found that the more I earn, the more I worry. Especially now that I have a mortgage that I'm solely responsible for. I worried a lot less when I was working part-time at uni and didn't really have any. Money is funny like that.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
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I started working full-time at 21, which is when I become responsible for my housing costs and all of my bills. I was on my parent's private health insurance until I was kicked off it at 25, so I'd probably say that I was technically fully responsible at 25. I do still mooch off their streaming services though, so maybe I'm not 100% there...
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
Not inherited, but I've received passive income through my shares. I don't have a significant portfolio anymore as I sold the majority of my shares to fund the deposit on my apartment. I still have a few though, so I receive a very small amount of passive income from this. I'm slowly building this back up, with dividends as my main goal within my share portfolio. It's a great little income stream to have.
Day 1
10:00am — I wake up naturally and lie around in bed on my phone for a bit. It's the weekend and I love not having to wake up to an alarm. I slowly get out of bed and make a coffee, hopping back into bed. I play around on my phone for a bit while I drink my coffee.
11:00am — I eat some Vegemite toast for breakfast and start to get ready for hockey. I played all throughout my childhood and picked it back up a couple of years ago. I really enjoy it, but it's quite expensive. It also seems to take up my whole Saturday every week — despite it only being for half the day. My game is at 12:30pm, so I leave my house around 11:45am and drive to the fields.
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12:30pm — I play two games of hockey. We sadly lose both. We have been going very strong this year, but have just hit the harder teams again. Some key players are also out with sickness and holidays.
3:30pm — After most games, we have a bit of a team picnic. My coach supplies nibbles like salami and cheese. This is my third season with this team and sadly between this season and the last, our previous coach unexpectedly passed away. He put a lot into the team and after every game, he would always supply a picnic and a lot of us would stay and hang out. We’re trying to continue his legacy. I really like my team and it’s the best part about playing hockey.
4:00pm — I head home from hockey and have a shower. When I get out of the shower, I see my friend, R., is on his way over because he's bored. We chill for a bit and have a chat, then decide to head to the pub for an early dinner.
6:00pm — We order chips, arancini balls, pizza and salad to share. He gets a lemonade and I get a lemon, lime and bitters. We split the bill ($31.77). We're both a bit anti-alcohol at the moment so it's nice to go out without feeling like I have to drink. I don't really feel like I can do this with any of my other friends as our nighttime catch-ups always seem to involve alcohol. As I get older, I find that I'm enjoying drinking less — plus, the cost of drinking adds up quite quickly. It’s hard to justify doing it anymore. I’m leaning more toward coffee catch-ups with friends. We don't end up finishing our pizza, so I pop it in a takeaway box and bring it home. $31.77
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8:00pm — We head back to mine, eat some chocolate and watch Crashing on Netflix. We've both seen it before, but it's been a few years between watches. About three-quarters of the way through, R. remembers that he's watched this within the last month. He has a terrible memory. We end up finishing it as it’s quite a short series.
11:00pm — R. heads home and I go to bed.
Daily Total: $31.77
Day 2
10:00am — I wake up around the same time as yesterday without an alarm. I make a coffee and lie in bed on my phone. I switch between all the regular apps — Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram and Facebook. I really should make an effort to do more on Sunday mornings, but this is pretty standard.
12:00pm — I've been really sore lately, so I've been getting regular massages. I used to do F45 until last week, and found the high intensity was doing no favours for my body. My massage therapist also said I need to chill out on exercise. I have PCOS, so for me personally, high-intensity workouts are awful for my condition. I need to give my body a bit of a break. I drive to the massage clinic and get an hour-long remedial massage — I can't believe how tight my muscles are! I pay a $73 gap, thanks to private health insurance. $73
1:00pm — I feel so much better! I head home and have some of the leftover pizza from yesterday. I read a bit of my book — Why We Sleep. I started this about two months ago. I'm enjoying it, but it's hard to read a lot of it at once. I'm a huge reader and managed to get through 52 books last year. However, I'm a bit slower this year and finding it harder to rip through books like I used to. I definitely read more than the average person though and probably need to get a life. My five-star reads of this year are Lessons in Chemistry, Transcendent Kingdom, How to Fail and The Last Bookshop in London. But my favourite book of all time is probably Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton.
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3:00pm — I deep clean my kitchen, put my clean laundry away and then make my way outside to do some gardening before the sun goes down. I water my plants and repot a few of them as they've outgrown their old homes. A few of my plants are looking a bit worse for wear, but I’m hoping this is just because of the cold weather and that they'll bounce back soon.
6:00pm — I make dumpling soup for dinner and then watch some 90 Day Fiancé on Binge. I usually eat a lot later than this, but I'm hungry.
7:00pm — I clean the kitchen and have a quick shower. I would usually put something together for lunch tomorrow, but I’ll be working from home so I don’t need to worry about it.
8:00pm — R. calls me and we chat for about an hour. We spend so much time together and I honestly don't know how we always have something to talk about, but we do. It’s usually just nonsense. We used to work together in retail many years ago and have stayed friends. We’ve both got very similar personalities and senses of humour, which is why I think we get along so well.
9:00pm — I switch between reading Why We Sleep and watching TikTok's in bed. I also drink a Sleepy Time tea.
11:00pm — I go to sleep. This was a very, very chill weekend, and I'm so glad about it. They're normally a lot busier than this, and I normally spend more than this over the weekend. Working full-time means you mostly do all of your errands over the weekend, which makes it very hard to rest. Luckily, I didn’t have much on my to-do list. I also usually end up going out drinking one night during the weekend, so it's nice to have a break and feel fresher for the week ahead.
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Daily Total: $73
Day 3
8:15am — I wake up to my alarm. I usually work from the office five days a week and tend to wake up much earlier than this. But my whole office has been told to work from home at the moment. Covid and the flu are blowing up in Queensland and I don't need to be in the office to do my job, so I'll be at home for at least the next two weeks. I make a coffee and get stuck into work.
9:00am — I have my team WIP. One of my team members (aka my work wife) is on leave and it is very sad without her. I can never get any of my actual work done on Mondays — it's just a battle between me and my inbox.
12:00pm — I stop for lunch and make a bacon and egg wrap. I'm not often hungry in the mornings but I love breakfast food. I love having access to my own kitchen when I work from home. I eat my lunch, clean up and suddenly it’s time to get back to work.
1:00pm — Get back to staring at my computer for the rest of the afternoon. As part of my job, I do content creation, which includes writing blog posts and creating social media content. I spend the afternoon creating some posts for the upcoming month.
5:00pm — I finish work and feel a bit lost as I would normally always go to the gym after work. I potter around my apartment for a bit and consider going for a walk, but decide against it. I sign up for a couple of trials of gyms in my area for later this week.
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7:00pm — I make some pasta for dinner. It’s very basic tonight — just pasta and a throw-together sauce I've made from canned tomatoes, topped with herbs and garlic. I pile it high with cheese, obviously.
9:00pm — I head to bed and scroll TikTok for way too long. I eventually put my phone down and try to go to sleep at around 10:30pm.
Daily Total: $0
Day 4
8:15am — Wake up to my alarm. I love the nice little sleep-in I get when I work from home. To be fair, I only live about a five-minute drive from my office, so the commute is never a problem. Working from home just means that I don't need to get ready in the morning. I make a coffee and get to work.
10:00am — I have a quick break to put on a load of washing and eat a banana.
12:00pm — I hang out my washing and cook a red Thai curry with chicken for lunch. I eat this and see that The Midnight Library is on sale on my Kindle. I've really been wanting to read it, so I buy it ($2.47) and start it over lunch. $2.47
1:00pm — I get back to work and tick off some important tasks over the afternoon, including having a 3pm cuppa with Scotch Fingers. I also realise my period has started. I have the Implanon so I get very random periods every three to four months — it's always a surprise when it shows up.
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5:00pm — Finish work and lie around for way too long. I snack on some Jatz and capsicum dip and realise I haven't left my apartment or seen another person for two days. I need to go out tonight.
7:30pm — I drive to go play netball with my old work team. I used to officially be in the team but still fill in occasionally when they need extra players. It costs $5 a game, but I'm filling in for an old work friend for a few weeks as they're travelling. She’s already paid for these games and told me not to worry, but I should probably pay her anyway. I transfer her money for this week's and last week's games. $10
9:00pm — We win netball by a lot. I'm buzzing with endorphins and know that it'll be hard to sleep tonight. I really enjoy netball, but hockey will always be my sport.
11:00pm — Lights out. I try to go to sleep, but as predicted, I lay there staring at the ceiling for a while.
Daily Total: $12.47
Day 5
8:15am — Same morning as the last two. Wake up, have coffee, and get to work.
10L00am — Snack time! I keep things simple with a banana.
12:00pm — I duck out to a GP appointment. It's actually a very pleasant experience. I doctor jump quite a bit as I can never find one that I like, but this doctor has been great the last few times I've seen her. I'm having some issues with my PCOS, and she actually listens to me and works with me to find a solution. Plus, she always runs on time! I pay a $46.45 gap. $46.45
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12:30pm — Head home, have some leftover curry for lunch and get back to work. I usually have the full hour for lunch, but I'm so busy at the moment and have a lot of conflicting deadlines and reports due, so I need to be at my laptop. That being said, I always make a note to finish at 5pm, no matter what.
3:00pm — Make a cuppa and have another cheeky Scotch Finger.
5:30pm — I drive to my friend's work to pick her up for grocery shopping. She doesn't have a car so we usually do our weekly shopping together. It's a nice bonding activity! We get to the centre and I buy us both a sushi roll ($7). We scoff them down, then head into Coles. I don't really need much, but I pick up some lettuce, mandarins, bananas, avocados, carrots, potatoes, cheese, tomato soup, salad dressing, bread, chocolate, frozen dumplings, pizza bases, bathroom cleaning products and tampons ($70.85). $77.85
7:00pm — Drop my friend home, then head back home myself. I unpack the groceries and make a salad for dinner. I keep reading The Midnight Library. I'm enjoying it so far — I love a book with short chapters. I somehow read about half the book in this sitting.
11:00pm — Head to bed.
Daily Total: $124.30
Day 6
8:15am — I'm struggling to wake up this morning. I roll out of bed and open my laptop, then eventually make coffee and find my way out of my bedroom and over to my desk.
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12:00pm — I break for lunch and drive to the chemist to pick up a new prescription ($21.99). I've never had this medication before, so I'm hoping it works for me. It’s spironolactone, which helps with hair growth I get as a result of PCOS. I get home, make toast, and read some horror reviews about side effects some people experience, including not being able to string sentences together and crazy brain fog. Yikes. Time to put Reddit down. $21.99
5:00pm — I work pretty much nonstop until 5pm. After, I head out to check out Fitstop as I've heard good things. Plus, the first session is free! I hope it's a little different to F45 as I'm really tired of that format.
7:00pm — The verdict is in and Fitstop is fun! It's a little different to F45, but still a similar concept. I drive home and contemplate joining, but as the endorphins wear off, I remember the not-so-great parts of group training and why I left F45 in the first place. You can't just go in at any time, and being in a group training environment when you're introverted can be very draining. I just want to do my session and go home, I don’t always want to talk to everyone. It's also just not in my budget anymore. I think I'll forget about Fitstop for now, but it was good to experience it anyway.
8:00pm — I make a vermicelli salad for dinner and eat while I read The Midnight Library. I’ve almost finished it.
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10:00pm — I finish the book! I loved the idea of it, but the story was missing something — I’m not quite sure what, though. I really liked parts of it, but also felt like it was a bit rushed and unfinished, and that it became a little too 'self-helpy'. I did enjoy the moral of the story, though — that you're on the right path for your life. I have a shower, play on my phone for a bit and go to sleep at around 11pm.
Daily Total: $21.99
Day 7
8:15am — It's Friday! I go through the same morning routine again — have a coffee and get to work.
12:00pm — I break for lunch and drive to my local GoodLife gym. I'm signing up for a five-day pass to check it out. I really want to be able to do my own thing, and this gym looks like the right fit, it's also really nice.
1:00pm — I get home and make a toastie for lunch. I continue to put my head down and work until about 5pm, despite it being Friday afternoon. I have too many things to get done to mess around, unfortunately.
5:00pm — Close my laptop for the week. I head back to GoodLife to work out. I'm really sore from yesterday's workout trial, so I take it a bit easier. It's also been so long since I've done my own workout rather than a group class, that I've forgotten that I have to run the show, rather than be told what to do. I quickly throw some exercises together and get a good sweat on.
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6:00pm — I briefly pop home and have a shower, then drive to R.'s for dinner.
7:00pm — We go to a local Vietnamese place that we love. We both get a vermicelli salad (much better than the one I made yesterday), a chicken rice paper roll, and a bubble tea. $28.69
8:00pm — We pop into Woolies on the way out and I grab us some ice cream and brownies for dessert, plus some scourers I need for cleaning. We go back to R.'s and hang out for a bit while having some dessert. $14.49
10:30pm — I drive home and fill up on the way. I'm glad fuel prices are coming down slightly. $19.42
11:30pm — Head to sleep. Bye!
Daily Total: $62.60
Anything else you'd like to add or flag?
This is probably a lower spend week than normal. I usually go out on the weekends and will spend a bit more cash. Working from home also really helps to keep your expenses down. I've never been one to buy a coffee every day and I always try and take lunch to work. I'm very lucky that I can work from anywhere.
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