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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: "I’m 18 years old and at the end of my first year at the University of Edinburgh studying geography. All my lectures are now finished for the year and we're at that weird period where everyone's slowly leaving halls. I receive £6,761 maintenance loan and my £9,250 tuition loan is also covered by student finance as I’m from England so unlike students from Scotland I don’t get free tuition. Due to coronavirus I am yet to have a single lecture/tutorial in person(!) and I can't help feeling a bit like I am just getting more and more into debt with nothing to show for it.
My parents currently give me around £2,660 each year which goes towards my rent. I have a weekly budget of £72.50 when I’m at university but sometimes dip into my savings or pick up ad hoc online tutoring work. I’m pretty careful with money but I do find it very easy to go over budget and I’m finding that Edinburgh is not a cheap place to live!"
Occupation: Student
Industry: Geography
Age: 18
Location: Edinburgh
Salary: £0
Number of housemates: I currently live in university student halls where I share a flat with three other students.
Industry: Geography
Age: 18
Location: Edinburgh
Salary: £0
Number of housemates: I currently live in university student halls where I share a flat with three other students.
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £596.62. My room is small and dark but it's in a good location and I get on pretty well with my flatmates. There's one bathroom, no living room and a kitchen.
Loan payments: £0. I am currently not paying back any of my loans and am just getting more and more into debt...
Debt: £9,250 tuition fee per year, £6,761 maintenance loan per year.
Savings? £8,488 in savings from past jobs. I got my first job as a kitchen porter when I was 13, where I earned £4.25 an hour.
All other monthly expenses: Spotify £4.99 a month with student discount. I use the roundup feature on Monzo where all my spending is rounded up to the nearest pound and that money goes into my savings. I don't notice the money going at all but I'm probably saving about £7 a week, especially at uni where I'm making lots of small transactions. This is starting to really add up and I've saved over £250 in a little bit less than a year.
Loan payments: £0. I am currently not paying back any of my loans and am just getting more and more into debt...
Debt: £9,250 tuition fee per year, £6,761 maintenance loan per year.
Savings? £8,488 in savings from past jobs. I got my first job as a kitchen porter when I was 13, where I earned £4.25 an hour.
All other monthly expenses: Spotify £4.99 a month with student discount. I use the roundup feature on Monzo where all my spending is rounded up to the nearest pound and that money goes into my savings. I don't notice the money going at all but I'm probably saving about £7 a week, especially at uni where I'm making lots of small transactions. This is starting to really add up and I've saved over £250 in a little bit less than a year.
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