Money Diary Public Affairs Worker On 70k

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’ve lived in London for five years and started my current job six months ago, which is a bit of a career change. I have an excellent life here, filled with wonderful people, and I’m proud of the network I’ve built as I didn’t know anyone in the UK when I moved. My upbringing gave me a financial head start in life and I currently make good money but I blew through all my savings to do a master's. I am not the most financially responsible, but not the worst. I'm bad at saying no to stuff but I don’t ever have credit card debt. My new job has also put me in the ridiculous position of rarely having to buy groceries as they provide three meals a day for free. I have the great privilege of knowing my parents will help out if I get in a big pickle, and the naive optimism of someone for whom life has broadly worked out well so far. For the moment, I’m enjoying having a higher income and I’m not saving for anything in particular."

Occupation: Public affairs
Industry: Tech
Age: 28
Location: London
Salary: £70,000
Paycheque amount: £4,205
Number of housemates: Two
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: £865 rent. This is an absolute steal considering the area and how big the house is for three people.
Loan payments: I owe approximately £11,000 on my postgrad student loan and my parents about £10,000. The postgrad loan hasn’t come out of my paycheque yet and I haven’t started paying my parents back as they’ve told me to build up my own savings a bit more.
Savings? I have £5,000 saved currently as I totally emptied my savings while I did my master's. I have USD20,000 in RSUs.
Pension? I contribute 6% and my employer matches.
Utilities: £150 per month for energy, council tax, internet, water and a fortnightly cleaner.
All other monthly payments: £15 phone, £15 insurance for laptop. Subscriptions: £170 gym, £8 Disney+, £5 Hayu, £6 Spotify, £8 iCloud storage, £7.30 New York Times, £4.50 Morning Person newsletter. £18 Google Drive, £29 Luminary podcasts, £120 Financial Times (all annual).

Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?

I went to a small, private university in the US for my BA. My parents paid for it fully, including books and accommodation, and gave me about $500 in spending money per month. I then worked for five years and then did my master's in London. I used a UK government loan for most of the fees and funded the remainder plus 13 months of living expenses with my savings and borrowed money from my parents. It was extremely indulgent to just not work for a year and I loved it. I didn’t live very frugally but I basically got to spend a year reading and writing about things I found interesting and then had a carefree summer with lots of holidays. Maybe not the world’s best use of money but I don’t regret it.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?

Not much honestly. I grew up moving around due to my dad’s job and going to international schools, and my parents' income increased steadily as I got older. A lot of the lifestyle perks came from my dad’s company paying for lots of stuff and I’ve realised despite how much lifestyle wealth I had growing up, my parents don’t have lots of actual cash/assets. This means they won’t be able to give me a deposit for a house like a lot of my friends have received (cue tiny violin).

If you have, when did you move out of your parents'/guardians' house?

After university I moved back in with my parents for a year while I interned, and then for another six months they paid my rent while I lived in another country. I properly moved out around 23 when I moved to London.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?

At 23 I got a proper job in London and started paying my own rent. My parents continued to pay for flights home and occasional treats (e.g. a pack of spin classes) during my first couple of years here. A year ago they lent me a sizeable amount of money for my master's as I stayed in this stupid expensive city to study. Now they’ll shout me an occasional flight to go see them. If it wasn’t clear, my parents are my safety net.

What was your first job and why did you get it?

During my second year of university I worked a couple of afternoons a week, calling alumni to ask for donations as I wanted more spending money.

Do you worry about money now?

Yes. I’m single and that makes life more expensive. I would love to live on my own but I don’t see how I could ever afford a place in London without someone helping with the deposit or rent. Because buying feels so out of reach, I don’t save as well as I should and then spend a bit frivolously and get anxious about it after. I find it reassuring that my only debt is the government postgraduate loan and money I owe my parents, who are very chill about it.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?

Nope. Other than my allowance in college.