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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 woman saving up to buy a house for the first time.
"I fairly recently started a new job, got a £10k pay increase and swapped a company car for a car allowance. I am currently trying to get over my imposter syndrome, which is difficult sometimes as I am out of my comfort zone in a new company, trying to set up completely new procedures. My boyfriend and I have been together six years and lived together for over five.
We currently rent but have decided to buy a new build in a development near us (thank you, Help to Buy) – the plots that we are considering won’t be ready until 2020 but that is not a bad thing as we need as much saving time as possible! I now earn about twice what my boyfriend earns so the expectation is that I will put in a higher percentage of the deposit – of course with all the legal agreements in place.
Up until recently we have very much been a splurge rather than save kinda couple and have had lots of wonderful trips as a result but my impending 30th birthday and seeing all our friends get on the property ladder, get married and have kids (pfft peer pressure) has given us a bit of a kick to take our future more seriously. I also wanted to do something a little more productive with my extra salary. It has been quite a culture shock for me to rein in my eating out with friends, spontaneous weekends away and shopping sprees."
Industry: IT programme manager
Age: 29
Location: Leeds
Salary: £60,000 + £6,000
Paycheque amount: £3,460
Number of housemates: 1 boyfriend + 3 cats
Age: 29
Location: Leeds
Salary: £60,000 + £6,000
Paycheque amount: £3,460
Number of housemates: 1 boyfriend + 3 cats
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £750 (split with my boyfriend so my share is £375, however all the bills come out of my account and he transfers me his half when he gets paid).
Loan payments: £320 split between two loans – one has about £3,000 left on it and I pay £260 a month towards that and the other has around £800 left and I pay only £60 towards that. I know I should pay these down but we have a deadline on the deposit and these payments are manageable so I am prioritising house deposit even though I know I am paying interest on loans. My student loan comes directly out of my paycheque so isn’t included.
Utilities: £143 council tax, £96 gas and electricity, £63.70 water, £12.37 TV licence, £101.48 Sky TV and broadband.
Transportation: £300 car payment (when I changed jobs I went from having a company car to a car allowance so technically this is paid for using the car allowance and isn’t an expense from my salary), £60 car insurance, £17.99 car tax.
Phone bill: £67
Savings? £400 a month into my LISA (I want to max out the £4k within the year so am paying in extra to ensure I hit it), £200 into a monthly saver, £250 into an instant access savings account for holidays/emergencies.
Other: Cleaner £48 (£24 every other week).
Dentist plan: £5 (my dentist is private and this gives me a check-up and hygienist appointment a year).
Credit card: £200. I have a credit card that was once maxed out that I am paying down and it should be paid off completely within the year and then another credit card that I put maybe £50 of payments on a month and pay it off in full every month.
Vet-prescribed cat food: £60 (two of my cats require vet cat food due to allergies – we have a monthly order of this from an online retailer to reduce the cost).
Loan payments: £320 split between two loans – one has about £3,000 left on it and I pay £260 a month towards that and the other has around £800 left and I pay only £60 towards that. I know I should pay these down but we have a deadline on the deposit and these payments are manageable so I am prioritising house deposit even though I know I am paying interest on loans. My student loan comes directly out of my paycheque so isn’t included.
Utilities: £143 council tax, £96 gas and electricity, £63.70 water, £12.37 TV licence, £101.48 Sky TV and broadband.
Transportation: £300 car payment (when I changed jobs I went from having a company car to a car allowance so technically this is paid for using the car allowance and isn’t an expense from my salary), £60 car insurance, £17.99 car tax.
Phone bill: £67
Savings? £400 a month into my LISA (I want to max out the £4k within the year so am paying in extra to ensure I hit it), £200 into a monthly saver, £250 into an instant access savings account for holidays/emergencies.
Other: Cleaner £48 (£24 every other week).
Dentist plan: £5 (my dentist is private and this gives me a check-up and hygienist appointment a year).
Credit card: £200. I have a credit card that was once maxed out that I am paying down and it should be paid off completely within the year and then another credit card that I put maybe £50 of payments on a month and pay it off in full every month.
Vet-prescribed cat food: £60 (two of my cats require vet cat food due to allergies – we have a monthly order of this from an online retailer to reduce the cost).
I also have a wax every month (£36) and shellac on my nails every other week (£22 a session). I pay for these at the time but they are monthly spends that I budget for.
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