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Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last penny.
This week: "I’m a 34-year-old, living in Glasgow with my husband and our dog.
We are child-free by choice, although we are definitely at that age where almost everyone around us seems to be having kids and that inevitably leads to the question being posed to us around when we’ll have some of our own. Motherhood has personally never appealed to me, and from a financial perspective I’d much rather spend my money on myself! We bought our current house four years ago, having owned a flat for seven years prior to that. We made a good return on our flat, which ultimately allowed us to buy the home we are in now. I feel really fortunate to be on the property ladder and living in what I consider to be our forever home, but equally I know we have both worked really hard to achieve this independently. For work, I’m based in finance and have worked in this industry for the last 15 years. It can be fast paced and at times cutthroat. I decided to take a step back in my career last year after falling seriously ill for a period. My illness changed my whole approach to life and I now just want an easy life being paid as much as I can for doing as little work as possible!"
We are child-free by choice, although we are definitely at that age where almost everyone around us seems to be having kids and that inevitably leads to the question being posed to us around when we’ll have some of our own. Motherhood has personally never appealed to me, and from a financial perspective I’d much rather spend my money on myself! We bought our current house four years ago, having owned a flat for seven years prior to that. We made a good return on our flat, which ultimately allowed us to buy the home we are in now. I feel really fortunate to be on the property ladder and living in what I consider to be our forever home, but equally I know we have both worked really hard to achieve this independently. For work, I’m based in finance and have worked in this industry for the last 15 years. It can be fast paced and at times cutthroat. I decided to take a step back in my career last year after falling seriously ill for a period. My illness changed my whole approach to life and I now just want an easy life being paid as much as I can for doing as little work as possible!"
Occupation: Financial advisor
Industry: Wealth management
Age: 34
Location: Glasgow
Salary: £50,000
Paycheque Amount: Net take home £3,000 after tax, NIC, pension contributions and charity donation.
Number of housemates: One (my husband, P)
Pronouns: She/her
Industry: Wealth management
Age: 34
Location: Glasgow
Salary: £50,000
Paycheque Amount: Net take home £3,000 after tax, NIC, pension contributions and charity donation.
Number of housemates: One (my husband, P)
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £595 (for my share).
Loan payments: I have an interest free credit card which currently has a balance of around £2,000 on it. I generally pay around £50-100 per month to it depending on what else I have on that month. No other debts, other than outstanding mortgage.
Savings?: I have approximately £25k in cash savings (which includes a cash ISA, general saver and regular saver). My investments are approximately £40,000. This is a mix of S&S ISA, LISA and some private equity I hold in unlisted companies.
Pension? I have a workplace pension, valued at around £90,000. I pay 5% in and my employer pays 10%.
Utilities: £72 gas and electric, £110 council tax (which includes water bill in Scotland), £25 home phone/internet. I split all bills with my husband, so these figures (and the mortgage) reflect my share.
All other monthly payments: £25 mobile, £140 dog costs (this includes his dog food, two weekly dogwalker fees, dog groom every eight weeks and pet insurance).
Subscriptions: £30 gym membership, £24 contact lens subscription, £7 Monzo Perks. I also have an annual membership for a yoga and Pilates studio, which is £850 per annum.
Loan payments: I have an interest free credit card which currently has a balance of around £2,000 on it. I generally pay around £50-100 per month to it depending on what else I have on that month. No other debts, other than outstanding mortgage.
Savings?: I have approximately £25k in cash savings (which includes a cash ISA, general saver and regular saver). My investments are approximately £40,000. This is a mix of S&S ISA, LISA and some private equity I hold in unlisted companies.
Pension? I have a workplace pension, valued at around £90,000. I pay 5% in and my employer pays 10%.
Utilities: £72 gas and electric, £110 council tax (which includes water bill in Scotland), £25 home phone/internet. I split all bills with my husband, so these figures (and the mortgage) reflect my share.
All other monthly payments: £25 mobile, £140 dog costs (this includes his dog food, two weekly dogwalker fees, dog groom every eight weeks and pet insurance).
Subscriptions: £30 gym membership, £24 contact lens subscription, £7 Monzo Perks. I also have an annual membership for a yoga and Pilates studio, which is £850 per annum.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I went onto university to study a Social Science degree. In Scotland, we are fortunate enough to benefit from free tuition fees.
I went onto university to study a Social Science degree. In Scotland, we are fortunate enough to benefit from free tuition fees.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
Both of my parents came from fairly poor backgrounds and have spent much of their lives worrying about money, living frugally and desperately trying to avoid debt. They are now what I would consider to be very comfortable financially, but they continue to live a modest life and struggle to allow themselves to spend money or splurge.
This is not something that I have a problem doing(!!), but I do live by the hard rule of 'if I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it'.
Both of my parents came from fairly poor backgrounds and have spent much of their lives worrying about money, living frugally and desperately trying to avoid debt. They are now what I would consider to be very comfortable financially, but they continue to live a modest life and struggle to allow themselves to spend money or splurge.
This is not something that I have a problem doing(!!), but I do live by the hard rule of 'if I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it'.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house?
22.
22.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
At 22, when I moved out. I rented my first flat in Glasgow city centre and lived here for around 18 months, before buying a place together with my husband. I was really proud to get on the property ladder at just 24 and to do it without any financial backing from family.
At 22, when I moved out. I rented my first flat in Glasgow city centre and lived here for around 18 months, before buying a place together with my husband. I was really proud to get on the property ladder at just 24 and to do it without any financial backing from family.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I got my first job at 15, working as a waitress in a local hotel and restaurant near where I grew up. My first post-university job was working in a bank call centre. I studied for and completed my financial adviser exams while working in this role, and it ultimately acted as an entry point to getting promoted into my first financial advice role.
I got my first job at 15, working as a waitress in a local hotel and restaurant near where I grew up. My first post-university job was working in a bank call centre. I studied for and completed my financial adviser exams while working in this role, and it ultimately acted as an entry point to getting promoted into my first financial advice role.
Do you worry about money now?
Not particularly — I feel that I am reasonably paid and my husband has a very generous salary of his own, so I know that I could be supported by him should anything ever happen with my job (although it is important to me that I am financially independent and earning my own income). I also take comfort in knowing that I have a decent level of cash and investment reserves to fall back on, as well as several protection policies in place, like income protection and life cover, which will either pay out to me or my husband in the event that something happened to me that prevented me from working, or worse, death. Being a qualified financial advisor means I am pretty financially literate anyway and generally up to speed with government and regulatory changes in that sphere.
Not particularly — I feel that I am reasonably paid and my husband has a very generous salary of his own, so I know that I could be supported by him should anything ever happen with my job (although it is important to me that I am financially independent and earning my own income). I also take comfort in knowing that I have a decent level of cash and investment reserves to fall back on, as well as several protection policies in place, like income protection and life cover, which will either pay out to me or my husband in the event that something happened to me that prevented me from working, or worse, death. Being a qualified financial advisor means I am pretty financially literate anyway and generally up to speed with government and regulatory changes in that sphere.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I have never received an inheritance or any financial help from my family. I did however take voluntary redundancy from my previous employer in early 2024. I received a post-tax lump sum payment of just under £50,000. I spent some of this on a bougie holiday and a yoga teacher training course, but the remainder went into savings.
I have never received an inheritance or any financial help from my family. I did however take voluntary redundancy from my previous employer in early 2024. I received a post-tax lump sum payment of just under £50,000. I spent some of this on a bougie holiday and a yoga teacher training course, but the remainder went into savings.
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