Money Diary Business Management Assistant On 16k

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: "I’m a 27-year-old mum of a feisty toddler, working part-time. I live in the southeast with my husband, baby and the dog. We find ourselves in a constant battle between 'treat yourself' and being sensible and paying off the credit card and building savings. We have a healthy amount of equity in our house at the moment but that will be wiped out this year when we remortgage and (hopefully) pay back the Help to Buy equity loan we took out when purchasing our house. On paper, our household income seems great (£60k plus bonuses, around £75k if I was FTE) but life is just so expensive that we have to cut back on a lot of luxuries. We haven’t been abroad since the world reopened, we rarely have proper date nights, I do my own nails and I’ve recently started buying/selling clothes on Vinted. I don’t want to moan too much because we are in a really good position and I am well aware that many people are struggling at the moment. We had such high disposable incomes pre-baby but we chose to start a family and have those responsibilities so we have to suck it up."

Occupation: Business management assistant
Industry: Property consultancy
Age: 27
Location: Southeast
Salary: £30k but pro-rata to my part-time hours so actually £16k.
Paycheque amount: £1,194
Number of housemates: Two: my husband and our toddler. Plus the dog!
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: £716 mortgage. This is paid from our joint account.
Loan payments: Personal loan is £116 per month.
Savings? About £2k (joint).
Pension? There’s about £18k in one pension pot from my old job. In my current job I pay 3% (I’d like it to be more but I’m only part-time and kids are expensive).
Utilities: £130 electric, £13 water, £178 council tax, £75 TV and broadband package, £709 for two cars on finance, £35 private road management fee. All of this comes out of our joint account, which I pay £615 into a month and my partner covers the remaining £2k.
All other monthly payments: My phone is £32. Childcare is around £350 a month (paid from joint account). Subscriptions: £10.99 Apple Music, £4 online Pilates membership.

Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?

No, I didn’t. I didn’t even get any A-levels!

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?

We didn't discuss money at all as it was quite a hush subject. Once I turned 18 I was encouraged to get a credit card (which my parents used) and I also took out finance deals for materialistic things. I really regret this now as I had almost £10k worth of debt at a really young age.

If you have, when did you move out of your parents'/guardians' house?

I was around 21. We moved into my in-laws' and then purchased our house around one and a half/two years later.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?

Around 19, when I took on my first car finance. I then moved out at 21 and was fully responsible for myself. I don't have a safety net as such, although my partner's salary covers the bills so there's the security in knowing that if anything happens to my job, at least the bills are paid.

What was your first job and why did you get it?

My first job was in a call centre. I got it because they employed kids straight from school to pay them minimum wage. I lasted two weeks.

Do you worry about money now?

I do worry about money. Despite us both being in good positions with great career prospects and the potential to earn more money, I still worry. I'm definitely the voice of reason with money now. Every big purchase is planned and thought out, I don't even pay to get my car valeted unless it's filthy and beyond cleaning myself.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?

Kind of. My grandparents loaned us a small amount toward our house deposit. Once we’d paid back a fair chunk they told me the rest would be a gift, as they saw my main priority was to pay them back and they appreciated that. It meant that we could replace our secondhand washing machine!