Money Diary: A 23-Year-Old Legal Assistant & Student In Preston On 20k

This week: "I currently work full-time as a legal assistant and I am also completing my master's degree in history part-time. I have been working continuously throughout the pandemic, working from home since March last year. I am in my second and final year of my master's course. I have been studying via distance learning since I started the course in September 2019 – little did I know then that distance learning would become the norm.

I have come to realise that balancing a full-time job in the legal sector with a part-time MA is quite a lot to manage but I have always been quite good at organising my time to fit everything, which is super important with distance learning as it is very independent and requires a lot of self-motivation! Between 14-hour days of work, study, alongside the general mental toll of everything happening in the world, the last year has really made me realise the importance of putting my physical and mental health first and making time for myself.

Towards the end of last year I moved from Birmingham to Preston to move in with my boyfriend, R. We met while we were both travelling a few years ago. We are desperate to go travelling again and had plans to go indefinitely last year but then COVID happened so our plans changed. Pre-COVID we would split our weekends between Preston and Birmingham, taking it in turns to travel, then R lived with me and my parents during the first lockdown. When we headed into lockdown 2.0 last October, we weren’t sure how we would manage as COVID and long-distance relationships aren’t very compatible. As he is still going out to work every day, while I’m working remotely, it made sense for me to move. We would like to buy together and although we are probably in a financial position to do so, we do still plan to go travelling again when we can so we aren’t ready to commit to settling in this country yet. 

I like to think I am quite good with my money. I have a substantial amount of savings – the last year has helped that a lot, especially with living at home rent-free with my parents for much of the year. My parents have always been super helpful when it comes to financial sense and budgeting and I’m extremely grateful to them for this."

Industry: Legal
Age: 23
Location: Preston
Salary: £20,344
Paycheque amount: £1,409.50
Number of housemates: One, my boyfriend, R.

Monthly Expenses

Rent: £300 for my share – we are renting a three-bedroom house.
Utilities etc: R and I both pay £200 each to our shared Monzo account each month to cover all bills – gas and electric, internet (£20). Food comes out of this too.
Phone bill: My dad still pays my phone contract (don’t @ me, there’s only a few months left and he has insisted).
Transport: R bought us a car when I moved up here as he knew how much of a big move it was and he wanted to ensure I did not feel isolated. I pay the insurance, which is £70 a month.
Contents insurance: £4 a month.
Savings? £22,000 in an ISA, £3,000 in a LISA, £10,000 in a regular saver. I try and contribute at least £500 each month to my savings.
Other: I pay £3.99 for Amazon Prime (student membership); £4.99 for Apple Music and TV student plan; £1.79 for iCloud storage; Dad pays for Netflix and Spotify Family and my sister pays for Disney+. They use my Amazon and Apple TV in return.