An Advice Worker & Carer In Bristol On £27,700

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We're asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last penny.

This week: "I’m a 25-year-old charity worker and a carer. I moved to Bristol in 2022 after leaving a very stressful job as a full-time care manager, supporting adults with learning disabilities. It was so rewarding but I constantly felt like I was fighting fires and I didn’t have the time I needed to enjoy my life. I also had issues with setting boundaries and I felt I needed a fresh start in many ways. Just before I moved to Bristol, I went through a breakup, which made the move even scarier. I have really noticed a change in myself since moving and it’s made me realise I am stronger than I thought and that I can live on my own. I took a massive pay cut moving here and Bristol is a very expensive place to live so it has definitely been a learning curve. I’ve had to be a bit more conscious about my spending — not that I've always been successful! I definitely have a bit of a complicated relationship with money, often living beyond my means if I worry I’m going to miss out on anything. This is something I need to work on and I am hoping that keeping an eye on my spending this week will give me an idea as to how I can budget a bit better."

Occupation: Advice worker and carer 
Industry: Charity
Age: 25 
Location: Bristol 
Salary: £21,756 from my main job, roughly £6,000 from my care job.
Paycheque amount: £1,539 from my main job and £500-£600 a month for my care job, depending on how many nights I do. 
Number of housemates: None (but I have to share my bathroom with one other girl).
Pronouns: She/her  

Housing costs: £550 for my rent, which includes council tax and water.  
Loan payments: I pay probably between £100 and £200 a month on credit card repayments and I put at least £50 in premium bonds a month. I am going to use that money to pay my dad back after he lent me £1,000 last year.
Savings? £4,600 in a Lifetime ISA — not as high as I’d like but a few pounds dribble in there every month.
Pension? I pay in £29.03 monthly, which I believe is 4%. My employer puts in 8%.
Utilities: I’ve got an electric meter and I was super lucky that it had £220 on it when I moved in so thus far I haven’t had to pay anything! 
All other monthly payments: £51.34 phone, £28.50 internet. Subscriptions: £9.99 Spotify, £6.99 Amazon Prime, £5.99 Netflix and £3.99 Discovery+.

I did not! When I was 17, I moved in with a boy (yikes) and was working full-time and still at college. At that time, there wasn’t anything that was drawing me in and I didn’t want to spend money on something I wasn’t really excited by. I worked in care for a number of years and through that I got my NVQ levels 2 and 3 in health and social care. I was working towards my level 5 but I had to leave care for my mental health.  

I wouldn’t necessarily say my parents educated me. I don’t remember really speaking to them about money when they were together but when me and my sister left with my mum and she had to buy her own house, I definitely picked up on some stress. She wasn’t particularly open about it but I could sense it. I am very grateful to say that I never went without when living with my mum and she did all she could to spoil me and take me on holidays every year. 

I left my mum’s house when I was 17 and moved in elsewhere as a lodger. Nowhere would give me a tenancy as I wasn’t 18. 

For the first six months after moving out of home, my dad gave me £100 a month to help out. He has also given and lent me money over the years if I've been really stuck. Mostly I would say I have been largely financially independent since I moved out at 17.  

I had a paper round for a few years when I was 13 and then went on to some temporary jobs. My first 'real' job was as a customer service and admin assistant at a shopping centre in my home town. I got it because I wanted a bit more independence and I was very depressed as a teenager, which I thought could be helped with some routine — and I was right! This also led to me being able to move out at such a young age.  

Absolutely, every day. 

When I was 18 I was given premium bonds that my grandparents had saved for me, which must have come to about £600-£700. Also, a few years ago my dad gifted me £5,000 for Christmas, which I used to pay for an intensive driving course. I guess I blew the rest!