Money Diary: A Children’s Mental Health Practitioner & Student On £19,884

This week: "I am a 26-year-old children’s mental health practitioner working in the NHS. I am based in the southwest and work part-time for 0.7 FTE so I can study at 0.5 FTE. I moved out to go to uni and lived independently for two years after graduating before boomeranging back home so I could go part-time and study again. I feel very privileged to get on well enough with my family that this is an option. I currently live with my partner (F) and my mum in her house; my brother (T) is home this summer too. We have a cat (M) who F and I are responsible for. I have been in this role for around two and a half years now and I love it. I can see myself staying in this sector for a long time."

Occupation: Children’s mental health practitioner and student
Industry: NHS mental healthcare 
Age: 26
Location: Southwest
Salary: £19,884 (I am on NHS Band 5 but only work 0.7 FTE). 
Paycheque amount: £1,431 after tax, NI and pension deductions.
Number of housemates: Three: my partner, F, my mum and my brother, T. I also have a cat, M.
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: F and I pay £700 to my mum to rent our room and contribute towards utilities. 
Loan payments: None.
Pension? Yes, I contribute about £103 monthly. I think my employer contributes 23% of pensionable pay. 
Savings? I try to save around £200 monthly for holidays, birthday presents, Christmas and the general future. 
Utilities: This is covered by our payment to my mum. 
All other monthly payments: £10 giffgaff SIM, £24.82 pet insurance (my half), £7.99 vet club, £50 car insurance, £220 private psychotherapy (this is a requirement for my course). I pay my professional registration fee of £97 annually to BABCP (British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies). Subscriptions: None. My dad very kindly pays for a family Spotify plan for us to use. 

Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Yes, I did a BFA, during which I qualified for the full student and maintenance loan amounts. I also was awarded a bursary for low-income students. I then did a PgDip, which was fully funded by Health Education England to train in my current role. I am currently studying for my master's part-time, which I have a full student loan for, and I have to save £40 per month as this loan does not cover the cost of my tuition. 

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I grew up in a single-parent, low-income household. We were always tight on money but I am grateful that my mum tried to be frugal so that we could go on holiday occasionally. I think this mindset has stayed with me — I rarely buy clothes that aren’t from a charity shop, and find it very anxiety-inducing to spend money. I would not say I have ever been ‘educated’ about finances and anything I now know is the result of a certain Mr Lewis, praise. 

If you have, when did you move out of your parents'/guardians' house?
I moved out for university in 2017 and then moved back in 2022 to be able to go part-time for my master’s. 

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I was financially responsible for myself from when I started university until I moved back into my mum’s house. Now my housing is obviously very subsidised.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
Babysitting as a teenager, just to go into town with friends. I worked throughout university and then full-time until I started this course. 

Do you worry about money now?
All the time!

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I was very fortunate to receive around £20,000 when my grandparents died and their house was sold. I have put this away in a locked account so I can’t access it currently.