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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 menswear fashion designer living in London and commuting to Hertfordshire....
Industry: Fashion Design
Age: 24
Location: Live in London but work in Hertfordshire
Salary: £18,000
Paycheque amount: £1,277.91 (I also get £43.25 a week from my dad, which is my half of what was originally the child support he used to pay my mum... it's a very long story) so total income per month is £1,465.32
Number of housemates: 5 (plus my cat)
Age: 24
Location: Live in London but work in Hertfordshire
Salary: £18,000
Paycheque amount: £1,277.91 (I also get £43.25 a week from my dad, which is my half of what was originally the child support he used to pay my mum... it's a very long story) so total income per month is £1,465.32
Number of housemates: 5 (plus my cat)
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £460 rent (in Zone 2!!!) but it is a very temperamental old east London house which is prone to leaky pipes, dodgy heating and currently we have no hot water, so the cheapness is often outweighed by very high stress levels.
Loan payments: £0 student loan (not even close to paying that back yet! I paid the £9k fees and the repayment threshold recently went up to £25k). I have never had a credit card, but am looking into it to improve my credit score. I have a £500 overdraft as part of my graduate bank account, which I use as a buffer to stop me getting charged for being overdrawn, and will dip into on the particularly long months.
Utilities: £42 for council tax/cleaner/house kitty contribution (all of which I manage). £9 for internet. Gas and electric are on the meter so that varies from £6-£30 depending on the season but last month it was £15. £40ish for water twice a year and about £25 for the TV licence once a year. I usually put aside £90 a month to cover all this and what doesn’t get used goes back into my current account.
Transportation: It varies but I put £264 on my Revolut card (a bit like Monzo but the cards are purple and blue ombré, not fluorescent orange) which is enough to cover me if I have to get the train to work every day. I use this to buy day return train tickets, top up my Oyster and pay for car share petrol; whatever is left at the end of the month goes into my savings.
Phone bill: £0 – my dad still pays my phone bill, but I am on sim only so if he changed his mind it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
Savings? I have £6,000 in a savings account that you have to deposit £100 a month into to get the best interest rate (which is 1% lol). £1,100 in my instant access (If I haven’t got £100 left over from my wages, I’ll move the money from this account to the other to get the better interest rate) and £1,500 in a 2% interest current account (which I get my wages paid into so I hit the minimum monthly deposit). My mum encouraged me to save from a young age, but I do dip into it to pay for big things such as flights, then I’ll top it back up from my wages over a couple of months.
Other: Netflix £5.99, Amazon Prime £79 p/a which I halve with my brother so £39.50 (£3.30p/m). Also have Spotify Premium but that is covered under my family bundle (which my dad pays for). I also contribute to my pension but that comes straight out my wages.
Loan payments: £0 student loan (not even close to paying that back yet! I paid the £9k fees and the repayment threshold recently went up to £25k). I have never had a credit card, but am looking into it to improve my credit score. I have a £500 overdraft as part of my graduate bank account, which I use as a buffer to stop me getting charged for being overdrawn, and will dip into on the particularly long months.
Utilities: £42 for council tax/cleaner/house kitty contribution (all of which I manage). £9 for internet. Gas and electric are on the meter so that varies from £6-£30 depending on the season but last month it was £15. £40ish for water twice a year and about £25 for the TV licence once a year. I usually put aside £90 a month to cover all this and what doesn’t get used goes back into my current account.
Transportation: It varies but I put £264 on my Revolut card (a bit like Monzo but the cards are purple and blue ombré, not fluorescent orange) which is enough to cover me if I have to get the train to work every day. I use this to buy day return train tickets, top up my Oyster and pay for car share petrol; whatever is left at the end of the month goes into my savings.
Phone bill: £0 – my dad still pays my phone bill, but I am on sim only so if he changed his mind it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
Savings? I have £6,000 in a savings account that you have to deposit £100 a month into to get the best interest rate (which is 1% lol). £1,100 in my instant access (If I haven’t got £100 left over from my wages, I’ll move the money from this account to the other to get the better interest rate) and £1,500 in a 2% interest current account (which I get my wages paid into so I hit the minimum monthly deposit). My mum encouraged me to save from a young age, but I do dip into it to pay for big things such as flights, then I’ll top it back up from my wages over a couple of months.
Other: Netflix £5.99, Amazon Prime £79 p/a which I halve with my brother so £39.50 (£3.30p/m). Also have Spotify Premium but that is covered under my family bundle (which my dad pays for). I also contribute to my pension but that comes straight out my wages.
Total: £809.29
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