ADVERTISEMENT
Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period – and we're tracking every last penny.
This week we're with a woman who, after leaving the teaching industry, has found a living as a blogger.
"I worked as a teacher for seven years but after a health setback (I have an autoimmune disease), I found it hard to keep up with the pace and the stress was unbearable. I started my blog to chronicle life with my condition but it eventually grew to the point where I started to earn a bit of money from it.
Just over a year ago, I decided enough was enough and I left the profession, moved to the countryside and decided to try blogging for a job. Everyone thought I was crazy but I worked hard and was very persistent (nothing motivates you like dreading returning to the classroom!) and now run three different websites. I make my living by working with brands on adverts (no teeth whitening ads, I promise!), writing for other sites and also helping brands find bloggers to work with. After years of health struggles, I am currently (much to my happy disbelief) pregnant with my first child. I know I won’t have much maternity pay but I don’t care; blogging helped me escape a stressful career and earn a living – and I’m so grateful for that every day."
Industry: Blogging
Age: 33
Location: Warwickshire
Salary: It varies a lot but based on my last tax return, I earned £24,000 (that’s before all my expenses and tax were deducted).
Paycheque amount: Around £2,000 a month or £1,500 if it’s been a quieter month (again without tax and NI, which I pay on my tax return).
Number of housemates: One (my husband) and our two dogs.
Age: 33
Location: Warwickshire
Salary: It varies a lot but based on my last tax return, I earned £24,000 (that’s before all my expenses and tax were deducted).
Paycheque amount: Around £2,000 a month or £1,500 if it’s been a quieter month (again without tax and NI, which I pay on my tax return).
Number of housemates: One (my husband) and our two dogs.
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: My rent is £900 which I split 50/50 with husband.
Loan payments: Very grateful not to have any debt other than student loan (I didn’t pay any last year as was under the threshold).
Utilities: I transfer £800 to our joint account each month and that covers my half of the rent, council tax, utility bills. We usually do a big food shop every week or two and do a petrol top-up with that too.
Transportation: I pay £150 a month for my lease car. My petrol comes out of our joint account (but I don’t drive a huge amount now I work from home, so it’s never much). I paid my car insurance upfront out of some savings last year.
Phone bill: About £45 a month.
Savings? I save about £200 a month for tax and other bits. If it’s been a well paid month, I try to keep a buffer in my account for slower periods.
Other: £7.99 for my Readly magazine subscription (I’m a massive magazine lover so it saves me a fortune), £15.99 a month website hosting fees, £7.99 Netflix, £7.99 Amazon Prime. Donation to local hospital £10. I also pay out a few other boring things for my blog such as social media scheduling services, Pinterest tools and image editing services, which come to about £50 a month.
Loan payments: Very grateful not to have any debt other than student loan (I didn’t pay any last year as was under the threshold).
Utilities: I transfer £800 to our joint account each month and that covers my half of the rent, council tax, utility bills. We usually do a big food shop every week or two and do a petrol top-up with that too.
Transportation: I pay £150 a month for my lease car. My petrol comes out of our joint account (but I don’t drive a huge amount now I work from home, so it’s never much). I paid my car insurance upfront out of some savings last year.
Phone bill: About £45 a month.
Savings? I save about £200 a month for tax and other bits. If it’s been a well paid month, I try to keep a buffer in my account for slower periods.
Other: £7.99 for my Readly magazine subscription (I’m a massive magazine lover so it saves me a fortune), £15.99 a month website hosting fees, £7.99 Netflix, £7.99 Amazon Prime. Donation to local hospital £10. I also pay out a few other boring things for my blog such as social media scheduling services, Pinterest tools and image editing services, which come to about £50 a month.
ADVERTISEMENT