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WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances. We’re asking readers to keep a record of how much they earn, what they save if anything, and what they’re spending their money on over the course of one week.
Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? We’re looking for readers who will keep a money diary for a week. If you’re interested send a mail to money@thejournal.ie. We would love to hear from you.
Each money diary is submitted by readers just like you. When reading and commenting, bear in mind that their situation will not be relatable for everyone, it is simply an account of a week in their shoes, so let’s be kind.
Last time around, we heard from an administrator on €37K living in the Midlands. This week, a trainee accountant on €33K living in Dublin.
I am a trainee accountant in Dublin. I am from the South of Ireland, but have been living in Dublin for the last few years during college and since I began working. I usually work in the office 3/4 days a week.
I am fortunate to have family living in Dublin, which helps me save. They recognise the difficulty of renting in Dublin and would rather see me save money to buy my own home in the future instead of making me pay them a high amount of rent each month.
I am hoping to be in a position to buy my own home soon, which is why I try to save as much as I can. I have been a good saver since my first job, so it is like a habit to put away money each month as soon as I get paid.
I play GAA back at home at the weekends, and I go to the gym once or twice a week in Dublin. I have exams in a few weeks, and I currently have time off work to study for these exams.
Occupation: Trainee Accountant
Age: 25
Location: Dublin
Salary: €33,000
Monthly pay (net): €2,350 (after pension contribution)
Leap Card: Around €32 a month, depending on how many days a week I am in the office
Irish Rail: €42 for trains up and down from Dublin
Diesel: €40 for when I am back at home to get about
Rent: €300 (the family members I live with only charge me a small bit of rent, and this is more so to cover bills, etc, each month, which I am extremely grateful for).
Household bills: Included in rent above.
Phone bill: €14.99
Health insurance: N/A
Groceries: Around €120 (€30 a week as I am only in Dublin midweek mostly)
Subscriptions: N/A. We have Netflix, NowTV, Sky, etc, which is covered with the money I pay for rent/bills.
Savings: Around €1,500 — €1,750 a month (€250 into an investment account and €1,250 — €1,500 which I put into two online saver accounts which pay a small bit of interest each year). I also pay into a pension, which is taken through payroll.
Car Insurance: €400
Car Tax: €190
Gym: €350
GAA Membership: €100
***
8:30 am: Wake up and have a shower. I had a match at the weekend and the body is feeling a bit sore. I make some breakfast and start studying for my exams, which are in a few weeks.
12:30 pm: I heat up my lunch, which is some chicken, rice and veg. I meal prep on a Sunday, which makes things easier during the week. After lunch, I go for a walk to Lidl to pick up some things (€3.79). When I get back home, I study some more.
5:30 pm: I have some dinner, which is meal prep from Sunday. Afterwards, I head to the gym and do a session on the bike to loosen out my legs.
8:30 pm: I make some eggs on toast and watch some TV with my family members.
10:00 pm: I head to bed. I look over some notes and watch some Netflix before going to sleep.
Today’s total: €3.79
8:30 am: Wake up and have a shower. Have cereal with some seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds for breakfast. I then start into the studying.
11:00 am: I go to the gym. Afterwards, I go to Dunnes and pick up some eggs (€3.75).
1:00 pm: I have lunch, which is meal prep from Sunday of chicken, rice, veg and sriracha sauce. Afterwards, I get back into the studying again.
6:00 pm: I throw my meal prep into the microwave and continue studying while eating dinner.
8:30 pm: Watch some TV with my family members and talk about different things.
10:00 pm: Head to bed. I read some news articles which are related to my study and head to sleep.
Today’s total: €3.75
8:30 am: Wake up and have a shower. Have some breakfast and start studying. My routine is very standard these days with exams around the corner.
12:30 pm: I go to a local pitch with one of my friends, and we do a running session for 40 minutes.
1:30 pm: I walk back home, have a shower and have my lunch, which is still my meal prep from the weekend. Afterwards, I get back to the desk and study for the afternoon.
5:30 pm: Finish up the study and have some dinner. The meal prep is a great time saver during the week. I chat with my family for a while, and we decide to go out for a walk in the sun.
7:30 pm: I find myself back in the books. I go to Dunnes after a while to get some chocolate to keep me going (€2.96).
10:00 pm: Head to bed, scroll through the phone for a while before going to sleep.
Today’s total: €2.96
8:30 am: Wake up and have a shower. I have some cereal for breakfast and start studying.
11:00 am: I take a break from studying and go for a walk into town. On the way home, I go into Lidl and get some food for this evening and some toiletries (€9.16).
1:00 pm: I get back to the house and have the last of my meal prep for this week for lunch.
6:00 pm: After studying for the evening, I finish up and put on a pizza which I bought earlier.
9:00 pm: I do a bit more studying after dinner and head to bed.
Today’s total: €9.16
8:30 am: Wake up and have a shower. Have some pancakes for breakfast with some raspberries and honey, and start into the studying.
12:30 pm: I have some pasta and chicken for lunch. I also book my train ticket home (€5.20).
2:00 pm: I finish up studying and go down and watch the Titan documentary on Netflix with my family members. I only get to see an hour of it as I have to leave at 3 pm to get the Luas into town to catch the train home.
5:00 pm: I arrive back home and have some dinner before training at 8 pm.
10:00 pm: I get home from training, get some food and head straight to bed.
Today’s total: €5.20
09:00 am: Wake up and have a shower. I have a match this evening, so I keep well hydrated.
12:30 pm: I have some dinner of cottage pie. Afterwards, I do a bit of study after lunch, but mostly take it easy as it’s a Saturday.
5:30 pm: I head to my game. It’s an away game, and we carpool, so we take it in turns driving. I am not the designated driver today, which is always nice.
10:30 pm: We end up going into one of the pubs which sponsor us for some food they put on for us after the game. I get home at 10:30 pm. I watch some Netflix, book my train ticket back to Dublin (€5.20).
Today’s total: €5.20.
9:00 am: Wake up and have a shower. I have some breakfast before driving to the train station.
12:15 pm: I arrive in Dublin. I head to Lidl to do my grocery shopping for the week. On Sunday’s I usually just buy stuff for lunch and dinner, and then I buy milk, eggs, bread, etc, during the week as and when I run out of them. This shop only cost me €9.90 as I picked some chicken up from the reduced section. I also go to Tesco to pick up some more bits (€4.10). I then get the bus back to my house.
4:00 pm: I start doing my meal prep, which is minced chicken breast burgers and pasta with different sauces for the week, which will last me until Thursday. I am fairly easy going with eating mostly the same thing for the whole week!
10:30 pm: Time for bed, busy week ahead.
Today’s total: €14.00
***
What I learned –
⦁ This has been a fairly standard week for me during study leave, and it is typically what I would spend in a week on study leave, as I am not getting up to much other than studying!
⦁ I budget around €75 a week on day-to-day things, groceries, etc. I am under that this week; however, I would be in and around €75 when I am in the office working and have more going on than just studying.
⦁ Everyone seems to be talking about how much the cost of groceries has increased over the last few months. I have noticed this as well, so I have started to have a look at the reduced sections in shops to see if there are any good deals on meat which I can put in the freezer until I need to use it.
⦁ I am lucky to live with family members. They are happy to have me around for company and also for security at night. It has helped me to save, and hopefully, I will be in a position to buy a house in the near future.
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