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Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar. (Thanks, New York mag, for the inspiration.)
Today, a good week and a bad week from a woman working full-time in transport while studying full-time.
Today, a good week and a bad week from a woman working full-time in transport while studying full-time.
Industry: State Government (Transport)
Age: 35
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Salary: $70,145 + train fare $2,776 per year
Husband's Salary: $99,145 approx. My husband and I share money and all expenses. Each week, approx. $800 goes into our shared account to cover all of our bills and food. We each get $114 a week to do whatever we want with, which stays in our personal spending accounts, along with money for petrol and parking.
Paycheck (every 2 weeks): $1,761 (after tax and extra superannuation)
# of Roommates: Husband and 1 dog
Monthly Expenses (Total Amounts)
Mortgage: $1,982 (we pay an extra $457 per month on top of what we have to pay)
Car Payment (2 cars): $457
Utilities: $610 (rates, gas, electricity, internet, 2 mobiles)
Insurance: $344 (house, contents, 2 cars, pet, health)
Uni Payments: Approx. $305/month (this is calculated based on how much I earn and taken out with my tax each pay). I am studying for a Bachelor of Counseling full-time (one class a week plus two subjects online).
Savings: $1,144 + extra. My husband is a carpenter and does overtime each week, so once our bill and pocket money are calculated, anything extra from his paycheck goes into savings. Some weeks it's $190, but when he works on a Saturday, it can be up to $610 extra. Every two weeks, $572 automatically comes out of my pay and goes into the savings account, too. We are also saving up for a trip to Hawaii, and our annual holiday with friends, so we are putting $190/month away.
Age: 35
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Salary: $70,145 + train fare $2,776 per year
Husband's Salary: $99,145 approx. My husband and I share money and all expenses. Each week, approx. $800 goes into our shared account to cover all of our bills and food. We each get $114 a week to do whatever we want with, which stays in our personal spending accounts, along with money for petrol and parking.
Paycheck (every 2 weeks): $1,761 (after tax and extra superannuation)
# of Roommates: Husband and 1 dog
Monthly Expenses (Total Amounts)
Mortgage: $1,982 (we pay an extra $457 per month on top of what we have to pay)
Car Payment (2 cars): $457
Utilities: $610 (rates, gas, electricity, internet, 2 mobiles)
Insurance: $344 (house, contents, 2 cars, pet, health)
Uni Payments: Approx. $305/month (this is calculated based on how much I earn and taken out with my tax each pay). I am studying for a Bachelor of Counseling full-time (one class a week plus two subjects online).
Savings: $1,144 + extra. My husband is a carpenter and does overtime each week, so once our bill and pocket money are calculated, anything extra from his paycheck goes into savings. Some weeks it's $190, but when he works on a Saturday, it can be up to $610 extra. Every two weeks, $572 automatically comes out of my pay and goes into the savings account, too. We are also saving up for a trip to Hawaii, and our annual holiday with friends, so we are putting $190/month away.
Current Savings: We have several savings accounts: one for our home renovation money, since we have a four-bedroom, two-bathroom "renovator's delight" that we have been fixing up for the past five years. All of our savings money — about $42,000 — is going here at the moment. We also have another savings account that has $7,626 of emergency savings in it (enough to cover the mortgage for 20 weeks).
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