Money Diary: A Student & Support Worker In Aberdeen On £10.30/h
Last Updated 12 August 2020, 6:00
ADVERTISEMENT
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 23-year-old university student living in Aberdeen. I’m about to enter my fourth and final year, which I’m both excited and nervous for, especially as the current pandemic has thrown everything out of whack and I have no idea what to expect come September. I was shielding from March until June, however as I don’t receive a student loan over the summer and my family aren’t in a position to help out, I’ve had to make the choice to go back to work. After a lot of job hunting, I have started a brand-new job this week as a support worker. This is a field I’ve never worked in before and I’ve got so much to learn, so I’m feeling quite out of my depth. I feel like I have a good understanding of money: I prioritise saving as much as possible and I have a weekly budget that I try my hardest to stick to."
Industry: Health and social care
Age: 23
Location: Aberdeen
Salary: £10.30 per hour. I also have a student loan (£522pm) and bursary (£181pm) for nine months of the year, however I haven’t received these since May.
Paycheque amount: I’m not sure as I’m yet to receive my first paycheque. I am also on a zero hours contract so this will vary month to month.
Number of housemates: Two, however they are both away just now visiting their families and aren’t due back until September.
Industry: Health and social care
Age: 23
Location: Aberdeen
Salary: £10.30 per hour. I also have a student loan (£522pm) and bursary (£181pm) for nine months of the year, however I haven’t received these since May.
Paycheque amount: I’m not sure as I’m yet to receive my first paycheque. I am also on a zero hours contract so this will vary month to month.
Number of housemates: Two, however they are both away just now visiting their families and aren’t due back until September.
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £800 rent, split equally between me and my flatmates (£267 each).
Loan payments: No loan payments (yet). While I do have a credit card, I only use it for day-to-day purchases and pay it off at the end of each month.
Utilities: Gas and electricity £58.93 (£19.64 each), Wi-Fi £25 (£8.33 each).
Transportation: £5. I am part of a car club so that I can have access to a car as and when I need it. I also have to pay for the time that I have the car, but this is calculated per individual use.
Phone bill: £36.79. I’m very proud of this figure as I managed to get the iPhone 11 (my first ever new generation phone) through a mix of student discounts and getting a 'good as new' phone (one that was returned to EE within the 14 day cooling off period).
Savings? I have a few different ‘pots’ of savings and I’ve been actively making saving a priority for the last three years. Pot 1: £1,541. This is travel savings, I’m planning on visiting Australia when I finish uni so I have been adding around £300 each month for the last year, however when COVID hit I ate through my emergency fund and have been living out of this pot since May. I’m hoping to be able to replenish and add to it over the next few months.
Pot 2: £1,936. My mum died when I was 15 and left some money for my dad, my siblings and me, this is part of the amount she left me which I keep in a stocks and shares ISA. I have been meaning to add to it but I haven’t quite gotten around to it yet.
Pot 3: £4,806. This is some more of the money my mum left for me, it’s in a Lifetime ISA so that I can save for a house. I’m aiming to buy within the next five years and my plan for this financial year was to establish a monthly sum to transfer, however COVID has delayed my plans.
Pot 4: £2,599. There’s around £1,000 of the money my mum left me in here plus bits and pieces I’ve added over the last three years. I don’t really know what this pot is for, it’s in a crappy ISA and not really doing anything. I’m considering moving it into my Lifetime ISA but after how financially rocky this year has been it feels like a nice safety blanket to have easy access to if needed.
I also have £2 in a tattoo pot and £2.29 in a Christmas presents pot, both of which I raided before dipping into my ISAs to tide me through lockdown.
Other: £4.99 Apple Music, £3.99 Amazon Prime, £6.99 Office 365 (I get this free from uni but I have to pay extra for all the cloud storage I use), £5.99 Disney+. I also pay annual subscriptions to Headspace £50, LifeCycle £9.49 and SleepCycle £24.99, which are all paid in January.
Loan payments: No loan payments (yet). While I do have a credit card, I only use it for day-to-day purchases and pay it off at the end of each month.
Utilities: Gas and electricity £58.93 (£19.64 each), Wi-Fi £25 (£8.33 each).
Transportation: £5. I am part of a car club so that I can have access to a car as and when I need it. I also have to pay for the time that I have the car, but this is calculated per individual use.
Phone bill: £36.79. I’m very proud of this figure as I managed to get the iPhone 11 (my first ever new generation phone) through a mix of student discounts and getting a 'good as new' phone (one that was returned to EE within the 14 day cooling off period).
Savings? I have a few different ‘pots’ of savings and I’ve been actively making saving a priority for the last three years. Pot 1: £1,541. This is travel savings, I’m planning on visiting Australia when I finish uni so I have been adding around £300 each month for the last year, however when COVID hit I ate through my emergency fund and have been living out of this pot since May. I’m hoping to be able to replenish and add to it over the next few months.
Pot 2: £1,936. My mum died when I was 15 and left some money for my dad, my siblings and me, this is part of the amount she left me which I keep in a stocks and shares ISA. I have been meaning to add to it but I haven’t quite gotten around to it yet.
Pot 3: £4,806. This is some more of the money my mum left for me, it’s in a Lifetime ISA so that I can save for a house. I’m aiming to buy within the next five years and my plan for this financial year was to establish a monthly sum to transfer, however COVID has delayed my plans.
Pot 4: £2,599. There’s around £1,000 of the money my mum left me in here plus bits and pieces I’ve added over the last three years. I don’t really know what this pot is for, it’s in a crappy ISA and not really doing anything. I’m considering moving it into my Lifetime ISA but after how financially rocky this year has been it feels like a nice safety blanket to have easy access to if needed.
I also have £2 in a tattoo pot and £2.29 in a Christmas presents pot, both of which I raided before dipping into my ISAs to tide me through lockdown.
Other: £4.99 Apple Music, £3.99 Amazon Prime, £6.99 Office 365 (I get this free from uni but I have to pay extra for all the cloud storage I use), £5.99 Disney+. I also pay annual subscriptions to Headspace £50, LifeCycle £9.49 and SleepCycle £24.99, which are all paid in January.
ADVERTISEMENT