Money Diary: A Creative Director On £57,000

This week: “I’m a 30-year-old Londoner working as a creative director in a marketing agency, which I love. I’m single and I’m not doing much to change that.
Right now my priority is to enjoy this time with all my friends still living nearby and savour everyone still being up for spontaneous pub trips. This does mean I feel torn sometimes finding the balance between saving for the future and enjoying the present — but normally the present wins.”

Occupation: Creative director 
Industry: Marketing
Age: 30
Location: London
Salary: £57,000 (with a possible annual bonus awarded on a sliding scale in relation to company performance)
Paycheque Amount: £3,224
Number of housemates: Two
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: £650 rent 
Loan payments: Nothing other than student loan deductions covered in my paycheque. 
Savings?: Around £85,000. I say “around” because a portion of this is in a building society I’ve had since I was a child and it’s been so long since I touched the account I’ve no idea what the interest accrued might be. I intend to sort this out soon (banks are open very inconvenient hours).
Pension? Yes, but I’m not sure of the rates. Probably the normal minimum. I get overwhelmed thinking about it. 
Utilities: Our monthly bills as a household come to £26.50 wifi, £76 council tax, and £198 energy bills. I pay a third of this, plus water and TV licence (which are annual costs).  
All other monthly payments: £36 leisure centre membership; £21 phone plan; £20 for my share of a cleaner twice a month for the flat.
Subscriptions: £6.99 Netflix; £4 Vittles newsletter; £62 Picturehouse Cinemas membership (annual).  

Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Yes, up to master’s level. My undergrad was covered by loans and grants with a bit of odd job working for extra cash. I also spent a year abroad on a work placement where my salary covered my living expenses. You automatically get maximum loans for a year abroad, so that plus the four-year course makes my debt pretty high. I didn’t want to add to that with the substantially higher repayment rates on postgrad funding, so I paid for my MA upfront. The postgrad tuition cost £10,000. I paid for half out of inheritance and my parents very kindly paid the other half. I lived at home that year and used the money I’d earned in a customer service job after graduating.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I don’t remember many explicit conversations around money but my parents are both very much post-war babies and modelled pretty restrained financial behaviour. They encouraged my sister and I to save from an early age. They did instil a fear of credit cards in me (with good intentions) so as I still don’t use one now which is probably doing horrors to my credit score.   

If you have, when did you move out of your parents’/guardians’ house?
Age 25. I did temporarily live with another family member after that, but that was for personal reasons rather than financial. 

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I couldn’t fairly say I did until I moved out at 25. I was very lucky to have family in London that I was able to live with for so long and I know they’d have me back if I needed to, but they currently don’t cover any of my expenses.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
When I was a teenager I did occasional cash-in-hand work for a family friends’ catering company doing things like waitressing and dishwashing. God knows what I spent the money on, probably Topshop and Starbucks. 

Do you worry about money now?
Day to day, no, because I earn a good salary and I have a big safety net, but I do feel guilt around impulse purchases or spending as a result of poor planning. My main financial worries are around my living situation — I’ve got a good deal now but if things changed I know I could end up spending significantly more on rent. I’d love to be able to rent or even buy alone but despite being in a privileged position financially, this feels miles away to do solo in London. I’m glad I don’t want kids because that would just add to the pressure. As my parents are older and have had some health troubles recently, I also worry about the cost of good care and supported living should they need it. 

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I was left around £20,000 in trust from one grandparent who passed when I was a baby, and another £10,000 from my grandmother who died when I was a teenager and wanted me to use it for my education. I’m incredibly lucky to have inherited this amount of money and don’t take it lightly, but it is bittersweet as I didn’t get to know any of my grandparents into adulthood.