Money Diary: A 29-Year-Old Maths Tutor In London On 30k

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 am a born and bred Londoner who is currently a full-time maths tutor. After graduating, I worked in finance for a few years before retraining to become a maths teacher. I packed it in after a year as I was fed up with all the pointless marking and constant assessments we were forced to do, and decided to go it alone so that I could teach in my own way and focus on the important things. I only started properly in September, so am slowly building up my client base. I had two students at the start of September and now have around 12-14 students. Some only want lessons occasionally and others on a weekly basis so how much I work varies each week. I also work at events stewarding and marshalling on the side to supplement my income, although January-March is a very quiet time in events land. 

I have always been a very money savvy person, this was drilled into me from a young age by my mother who is very frugal. I tend to buy clothes on sale, try to get discounts wherever I can, and try to avoid the small luxuries like coffees which really add up over time. I also have a save rather than spend mentality. My vice, however, is designer handbags. Chanel and Louis Vuitton are my weaknesses. I currently own six designer handbags and several other more contemporary brands/high street bags. All the savings I make through being savvy probably just end up going on a handbag. I tell myself that at least I offset it by cutting down in other areas of my life!

I am quite an introverted person and am quite content with being on my own; when I do things with others, it is usually with my boyfriend or family. I am terrible at keeping in touch with friends so only see people once a month on average. I am lucky enough to jointly own a flat with my boyfriend which is currently being renovated, so am living between my parents' house and my boyfriend's parents' house at the moment. Right now I am saving up for a big trip to Japan, which will cost several thousand pounds."

Industry: Education
Age: 29
Location: London
Salary: Around £30k before tax.
Paycheque amount: I get around £2,500 a month pre-tax and have the joy of filling in a self-assessment tax return at the end of each tax year.
Number of housemates: Two to three, depending on where I am living.

Housing costs: £787 mortgage split with my boyfriend, £158 council tax (split). We are both very lucky in that neither of our parents charge us any rent while we temporarily live with them.
Loan payments: Only student loan, which stands at around £3,900, paid yearly after the tax return.
Utilities: £5 in electricity bills (as we are not living in the flat right now).
Transportation: Around £50 per month: £30-35 in petrol and £15-20 in Oyster card top-ups.
Phone bill: £7.39
Savings? £50k in premium bonds, £35k in ISA, £8k in a stocks and shares ISA and around £8k in various savings/current accounts. (I realise this is a lot for my age and is mainly from earning a killing while in finance. If you are wondering why I don’t just pay off more of my mortgage, it’s because my boyfriend and I have gone 50:50 and he cannot afford to make more payments.)
Other: £3 Netflix (£11.99 split between four people), £8.50 parking permit on my road.