Money Diary Redundant Account Manager

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 27-year-old (ex) event account manager who was made redundant in November due to COVID-19. My dad passed away from a terminal illness three months ago and I am still trying to navigate life around my grief and finding normality during this already crazy year. I moved out of my flatshare with my two best friends to live with my mum to be each other’s moral support, which has definitely had its ups and downs during the second lockdown. I also feel lucky that my boyfriend, L, lives alone and has decided to have me and my mum in his support bubble as we live fairly close to each other. I decided against trying to find a job this year and will start to think about 'real life' (jobs, money, etc.) in January as fortunately my mum doesn’t expect me to pay rent or contribute to any bills while I am living with her. I am currently living off my savings; luckily, because of COVID I managed to save a little this year and my outgoings haven’t been excessive. As it’s not been that long since my last paycheque, I have roughly worked out what I think would be a comfortable amount to live on each month but of course I will adjust this as time goes on and I realise how much I can realistically live on. And not how much I want to live on.

At the time of starting this diary I was in a tier 2 area and as mentioned, entered tier 3 halfway through the week."

Industry: Events
Age: 29
Location: London
Salary: N/A (due to redundancy) but prior to December it was £29,000.
Paycheque amount: N/A. I have budgeted myself £400 a month to live on. This is still new so I might have to adjust the amount moving forward (more likely I will need to tell myself to stop spending money).
Number of housemates: One, my mama.

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: N/A
Loan payments: N/A. I don’t have to pay into my student debt atm.
Utilities: N/A
Transportation: Approx £30 on my Oyster card to cover all travel during COVID.
Phone bill: £60 – I know it’s extortionate and I hate myself for it! I tried to reduce it but they wouldn’t let me. Stuck with it for another 10 months.
Savings? £3,903 in an instant saver, £14 in Help to Buy (lol – I have a £1 monthly direct debit for this), £14,607 in savings account, £190 in Monzo pot.
Other: Phone insurance £12.99, Netflix £3.75 (me and my friend share an account). Spotify, Amazon Prime, Now TV and Headspace I have free use of, thanks to my lovely friends and my bf.