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 [email protected]. 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 a 23-year-old social media manager on €32K living in Dublin. This week, a sales manager on €240K living in Dublin with her partner and three dogs.
I’m currently living in Dublin working as a sales manager in a large tech organisation and making around €240,000 a year (€105k salary, €70k bonus, €65k stock). I love this compensation model as it forces me to save. I manage my expenses from my monthly salary, save my bonuses and don’t touch my stock so it can accrue value.
Coming from a large family supported by a single mother working as a public servant, we grew up modestly in rental accommodation. We never had money for holidays, luxuries and sometimes fell short of being able to manage basics. This embedded in me a lifelong obsession with creating financial security for myself so that I could manage the anxiety of feeling like the floor could fall out from beneath me at any time.
I took my first job at age 11, and began trading in early ecommerce until I was old enough to be legally employed as a teen. I saved enough to move out when starting college. Years of waitressing gave me a great income with wages and tips, and I was able to save while balancing full time work, full time education and covering my costs of living. I paid for my Masters and went into full time work in the tech industry in my mid-twenties where I have worked my way up to a sales leadership position. It can be long hours, and challenging to disconnect, but I have a better work life balance than I did working 50 hours a week on top of full time study as a youth!
I have historically been very disciplined about saving. I’m honestly at my most satisfied and comfortable when my needs are met. Meals out, Deliveroo and the occasional holiday (well planned out to ensure I always get more for less) are the pinnacles of my indulges. I bought a small house near the city centre a few years back, and since then, I’ve relaxed a little bit on extreme frugality where I used to plan things out to the cent. I put away €2,500 a month in savings, and top this up further when I get my quarterly sales bonuses (typically awarded an extra €10,000 net every three months depending on performance to quota). I put 7% of my salary into my pension and the contribution is company matched. I have a stock portfolio valued at around €300,000, largely awarded over the years as company stock.
I live with my significant other of many years who is a freelance artist – we split some expenses, but I try to pick up the bulk of them as I’m a much higher earner. I bought the house and cover the mortgage, and he covers utilities, petrol and the dog walker. My hobbies include the gym (bought a 12 month membership upfront for €600 last year), hiking, VR, poker, and spending time with our wonderful rescue dogs. My biggest expenses at the moment are costs associated with a small renovation project I bought last year, ensuring I have enough liquid to cover our upcoming wedding, and building savings in the bank to be able to cover further study in a Doctorate course that I’m getting ready to set me back around €30,000 a year for three years, which I’ll complete alongside full time work and hopefully use to accelerate my career trajectory further.
Occupation: Sales manager
Age: 33
Location: Dublin
Salary: €240,000 (flexible depending on stock values and bonus earnings according to quota)
Monthly pay (net): €4,800 on a non-bonus month – core salary after tax and pension contribution, and around €12,000 – €15,000 every third month with bonuses, excluding stock grants throughout the year.
Monthly expenses
Transport: €0 – I cycle or walk everywhere I need to be
Mortgage: €1,033
Household bills: Usually €200 a month but my partner covers these as I pay the mortgage. He also pays our dog walker bill – €125 a week, or around €600 a month. My work pays for our WiFi – €55
Phone bill: Covered by work
Health insurance: Covered by work
Groceries: €50 – €80 per week, so around €250 a month for the two of us
Subscriptions: Spending €2 a month on dog food at the moment due to a bank of referral credits, but this would normally be €90. I pay €7.99 a month for my Aer Lingus credit card, which usually pays itself back in avios (that I use to pay for flights), lounge passes and an annual free European flight for two which saved us hundreds earlier this year. €9.99 for Spotify, and my partner covers Netflix.
Donations: €21 a month subscription to Dog’s Trust and €10 a month to Merchant’s Quay.
***
Monday
6.30 am: The dogs usually start barking just before my alarm clock and today is no different. They know how to let us know they need their morning bathroom break and breakfast! My partner staggers out of bed to get them fed and gives me some extra rest. I always go to bed way too late, especially on Sundays, so this morning I’m feeling particularly drained.
8.30am: Dressed and ready for the day, I’ve been working from home since the start of the pandemic so I have a lot more time in the morning not having to worry about an hour-long commute. I screen through emails on my phone as I prep the office (a desk in the spare bedroom). My partner brings me Ready Brek and coffee for breakfast while my brain kicks into gear.
9.00 am: At the desk preparing for my day of meetings, doing a bit of customer research to get ahead of the strategy sessions we’re having today and weekly team comms that go out early.
10.00 am: Back-to-back meetings across numerous clients in my team’s portfolios, feeling buzzed about some great opportunities. Smashing these opportunities makes sure I take home my quarterly bonus.
2.00 pm: A later lunch than usual due to my meeting schedule – I pop downstairs and throw a Happy Pear cannelloni from the weekend shop in the microwave. I live for a lunch that only takes minutes during the week as it gives me some inactive down time or space to catch up on work admin if I’m swamped with video calls for the rest of the day. I don’t always get the time for a proper break in the afternoon, but with a lighter than usual meeting schedule this week, I take the whole hour and use the rest of my break to lay down on my bed, catching up with my sisters over Whatsapp on upcoming travel plans. My sister wants to join a gym for her mental health – she’s unemployed right now, so I offer to pay for it for her, to which she declines.
3.00 pm: Back to meetings! Some internal strategy sessions on a big group project, but thankfully I have a couple of hours gap in my calendar after that, which is rare. I catch up on a presentation I’m preparing.
6.00 pm: Close the laptop and head downstairs to spend some time with the other half and the dogs. My partner makes dinner while I have a bath. I love a bath after work as a way to separate the work day from the evening, and wind down a bit.
7.00 pm: We eat mashed potatoes, veggie pie and I smash through a can of Diet Coke and spend the evening watching Selling Sunset on Netflix, while cuddling the dogs.
10.00 pm: My other half steps out to pick up a relative from the airport. I use the time to check tomorrow’s calendar and prepare for another day of meetings.
1.05 am: Struggle to drag myself to bed as usual – brain feels too active. I switch on a meditation from a free app I downloaded to get myself relaxed enough to fall asleep.
Today’s total: €0.00
Tuesday
6.30 am: I hear my alarm before the dogs begin barking this morning, and I’m absolutely wrecked after going to bed so late. My plan to hit the gym before work has lost all chance of success.
8.00 am: After lingering in bed and dipping in and out of early emails, I get myself dressed and slap on some makeup before heading downstairs for a warming bowl of Ready Brek – I go through phases of breakfast preferences and lately I’m all about the oats. Ready Brek, oat milk and maple syrup – I throw on a handful of fresh raspberries too, because I’m worth it.
9.00 am: Back in productivity mode. Smashing through preparation and ready for quite a back-to-back day of strategy meetings. I realise it’s payday and our team sends dollar sign emojis and hallelujahs to each other. It’s not a bonus month (quarterly), so throwing nothing extra into savings for the minute.
11.00 am: I step out of meeting to take a delivery at the door. My Butternut Box has arrived! We’re huge fans of this fresh, human quality dog food without the dodgy additives and look forward to our monthly subscription. This month of food for three dogs cost me €2, as I have racked up a lot of referral credits in my account.
12.00 pm: Get a little gap between meetings earlier than usual so pop downstairs for a quick lunch. Happy Pear lasagne in the microwave, and a cup of tea. Five minutes later, I’m back upstairs at the laptop, eating while working through a presentation before the next batch of meetings.
3.55 pm: A meeting wraps up a few minutes early, and I get a bathroom and snack break. Handful of raspberries, a few grapes and I share a banana with the dogs.
4.00 pm: Last meeting of the day, and then use my last hour after that to tackle some actions from earlier (project management, feedback from call shadows) and set myself up for tomorrow with some customer research and industry analyses.
6.00 pm: Laptop is closed and I head downstairs to go bother my other half. He’s still working, so I make myself a snack and run a bath. Two potato waffles in the toaster. You may be noticing a pattern that I like things that can be prepped in fewer minutes than I can count on one hand.
8.00 pm: Since I didn’t make the gym, I play some FitXR in my Oculus Quest VR to make sure I don’t fall behind my exercise goals. This is essentially a virtual reality boxing class. Great music, punch away the day and get the heart rate up.
9.00 pm: Back on the laptop to action a few more follow-ups and conduct a little bit of performance analysis. I don’t mind dipping back into work in the evenings when I have peace and quiet and can get through to do lists and data quite quickly.
10.00 pm: Tend to the life admin and have a back and forth about booking in a wedding date with a venue, and receive some updates from our builder on a renovation project we’re working on – feels like we discover new problems every day. This time, some windows need resealing from the outside. Have to factor in time and costs to get this done – this is currently my biggest financial drain, but will be an additional income source once complete; the goal here is to rent it out for a few years then sell it on for a profit. I distract myself with a relaxing skincare routine that I’ve convinced is keeping me looking young – I love my beauty tech and use my LED light therapy device and a radiofrequency collagen stimulation thing.
11.30 pm: Still delaying bed and watching Solar Opposites on Netflix while cuddling the dogs. Nice absurdist humour, fun for the Rick and Morty fans.
12.30 am: Head to bed but not before completing the new Wordle. ⅚. Not my best.
Today’s total: €2.00
Wednesday
6.30 am: Awake to the orchestra of dogs barking downstairs. I’m up quite quickly this morning and getting ready for work as I am actually heading into the office for a change of scene.
9.00 am: Arrive to work after cycling in. Didn’t do breakfast this morning as the usual porridge and fruit spread in the office wasn’t available. Work typically has a buffet-style food arrangement, but this has been cut back considerably since Covid since offices aren’t operating at capacity and have distancing measures in place. Pour a black coffee and jump into back to back meetings.
12.00 pm: Have lunch in the office with a few colleagues. On-site food is a great benefit for us so I save a bit of money if I eat at work, though I don’t go in that often. I have a mix of roast veg and ratatouille with some soup.
1.00 pm: It’s back-to-back meetings until 5pm. More strategy and sales calls.
5.00 pm: Head to the pub with some of the team I haven’t seen for a while. Pick up a round of drinks. (€19)
11.00 pm: Cycle home – by the time I arrive back I realise my bike lock slipped off on the journey, was pumping music so didn’t hear the fall! Thankfully I have a spare at home.
12.00 am: Chatting to my partner who has a friend over. They’ve ordered pizza so I slip down a couple of slices and some wedges as I haven’t had dinner. Chug some water and head to bed.
Today’s total: €19.00
Thursday
8.30 am: Sleep in this morning longer than usual. Have leftover pizza for breakfast – I almost enjoy cold morning pizza more. Black coffee in hand, I get ready for work, as I’m in meetings right up until lunch. Working from home today so I’m appreciative to be able to wear lazy clothes and avoid the commute today. Feel a bit grubby though as I haven’t had time to shower.
11.00 am: Meeting interrupted when I get a call from a beauty salon where I’ve booked my mom in to get her brows done – the treatment is basically natural looking semi-permanent brow tattooing. I’ve offered to pay for this for her as a birthday gift, so they ring to take the payment once she’s finished. (€585)
12.00 pm: Time for a break. I finish the leftover pizza. My sweet tooth kicks in, and having just been paid, I’m okay with treating myself – I order donuts from Krispy Kreme on Deliveroo and promise myself I won’t eat too many. €23 on the donuts and a €2 tip for the rider. Tackle the day’s Wordle puzzle while nibbling on an apple crumble donut.
1.00 pm: Back-to-back meetings all afternoon. Business as usual – strategy calls and customer pitches.
6.30 pm: Wrap up for the evening. Tonnes of work admin and follow ups to do from the day’s activity, but the afternoon was so rammed I couldn’t even get a bathroom break. Need to shut off and approach with a clear head so will start early tomorrow, rather than work late tonight. I switch to life admin and begin shopping for paint colours and flooring options for our renovation project. In personal emails, the wedding venue confirms availability of our chosen date and requests a deposit, which I expect to pay this week.
8.00 pm: My partner is heading out for the night. I’m too tired to make myself dinner so he insists on feeding me before he goes – mashed potatoes, peas and Quorn Roarsomes. The dinosaur-shaped nuggets draw attention to my toddler-like eating habits.
10.00 pm: After a bath, I play a few free poker tournaments on my phone and dip in while watching Selling Sunset.
12.30 am: Head to bed, but not before completing the Wordle in four.
Today’s total: €610.00
Friday
7.30 am: Up after my alarm again. Partner is up before me as usual, so he’s got the furry fiends fed already. I get dressed, grab a black coffee and a donut from yesterday for breakfast.
8.00 am: Tackling work admin early as I’m in meetings back-to-back from 9am. Emails, feedback and team commercial performance for the week analysed for our senior updates.
9.00 am: Another battery of pitch collaborations and call shadows, and a meeting working with management on rolling out a new opportunity tracking process.
1.00 pm: A virtual team get together with expensed lunch. I order fries, mushroom wings and salad – you can see how my diet deteriorates over the course of the week. As energy goes down, carbs and fats go up! Nice to not be out the cost of this indulgence financially, but I guess I pay for it on my waistline. Back-to-back meetings again once it’s over!
6.30 pm: Finished the second batch of meetings, and go through my to do list of “must action” items before I sign off. I polish off my fries from earlier and head upstairs to lay down for a minute while my partner wraps up on his work.
8.00 pm: Time for a bath, and into pyjamas.
9.00 pm: We watch Hamilton on my partner’s Disney+ free trial but both fall asleep on the couch before it end.
12.00 am: Bed.
Today’s total: €0.00
Saturday
7.30 am: I get up to let the dogs out and bring them back up to bed with us as a “treat”. We sometimes do this on weekends where we want a bit longer to sleep in.
9.00 am: Time to get up. My partner and I clean our bedroom first thing – a lot of laundry has piled up from the busy week and late nights. We continue downstairs and tackle the chores. I have one of Thursday’s donuts (still fresh!) and coffee as we go.
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11.30 am: I order groceries for the week from Lidl through Buymie. This way I don’t have to go shopping. I book the delivery to arrive at 9pm when we’re finished all of our errands today. €67 on groceries, €13 Buymie fees and €8 tip = €88.
12.00 pm: We load up the car with bathroom fittings for our renovation project and drive out to site, with a stop off in Woodies to buy sealant and paint swatches on the way (€60.93). I can’t resist popping into the pet shop next door and grab some new toys and treats for the dogs (€28.70).
1.00 pm: We arrive on site and I test paint samples on the wall and take measurements for furniture while my partner tests windows for leaks and seals the culprit areas.
5.00 pm: We head home, stopping off for a burrito on the way. We share just the one which my partner pays for at around €9.
7.00 pm: Back at home, we feed the dogs and let them tear into their new toys. It’s not long before stuffing litters the living room floor. My partner makes us a couscous salad for dinner. We had both planned to go to the gym in the evening but are too tired after the busy week and the renovation work.
9.00 pm: Our grocery order arrives and I pick at crispbread and hummus with a cup of soup. We spend the rest of the evening wedding planning and watch The Woman Across The Street From The Girl In The Window on Netflix.
12.30 am: We’ve both fallen asleep on the couch again, and get ourselves up to go to bed.
Today’s total: €177.63
Sunday
8.00 am: My partner gets up to feed the dogs, and I get back to responding to wedding coordinators and venues over email.
9.30 am: Significant other makes homemade hash browns, drawing on the weekly shop supplies. This is my absolute favoured breakfast and often reserved for the weekends when we have a bit more time.
11.00 am: Back to the renovation site, we check to see if yesterday’s leaks are fixed, and how the paint colour samples have dried. I’m unhappy with all of them, but have brought more leftover trial pots from home to test. Fifteen or so new colours later, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for and get frustrated by clearly having an image in my head of colours that do not exist. We drop in the new shower cabin, tray and sink and spend time discussing how to configure the bathroom layout. We discuss some work we have to conduct on the exterior that will set me back about €10k, but we’ll tackle this over spring and summer.
2.00 pm: Heading back home and eagerly pop into McDonalds to try the McPlant for the first time. We share a McPlant meal with an extra Diet Coke (€11.40). When we get those cravings for bad food we prefer to share one than have two separate as it feels less guilty.
4.00 pm: My partner heads out for an evening workshop he’s running, so I take the dogs to the local park for a runaround. They missed us while we were out today so they’re full of energy. We toss sticks around and loop the football pitch until I see that our most hyperactive pup is huffing and puffing – she’s the hardest to satisfy energetically, so once she’s finally tired, it’s time to go home.
6.00 pm: I toy with the idea of heading to the gym, but again, I’m just wiped, and distracted thinking about all the work I have to get done this week – personally and professionally. I do a quick workout in VR, run a bath and get into pyjamas, deciding I won’t be leaving the house again.
8.00 pm: My partner is home and we’re both on our laptops working with acoustic music on Spotify playing on a background speaker. I cover off a couple hours of prep for starting the new working week as I’m rammed in meetings from the get-go tomorrow. I tell myself if I do the work now, I won’t have to get up and start early tomorrow but I know I’ll probably start early anyway. I’m satisfied after a few slides drafted for the morning, and a couple of completed emails scheduled to send in the AM. Neither of us are too hungry, so we pick at olives, hummus and pitta with tea.
10.00 pm: Switching off the work account, I pivot to make a call on those paint shades that have been driving me crazy, since the painter wants to start on Tuesday. I choose colours online, unseen in person, and send the hex codes on to the contractor hoping for the best with the gamble, and just delighted I can stop thinking about it for now.
11.30 pm: Lights out and bed, thankfully slightly earlier than normal tonight, as we’re both wiped.
Today’s total: €11.40
Weekly subtotal: €820.03
***
What I learned –
- Looking back on the week, I feel this is reasonably typical of expenses, bar a birthday gift for my mom which definitely isn’t the usual, making up the bulk of my spending. I do love to be able to treat her, as I feel she sacrificed a lot to be able to keep things as stable as possible for us as children, and I always try to share my success with my family through gifts, holidays or picking up expenses. I’m happier to spend more on others than myself.
- Every week I’m out another €100 – €150 on things related to the renovation, but this is obviously a short-term, atypical category of expense that I know is an investment which will bring returns once I can rent it out or sell it on. Generally, truth is that during the week I tend to be too busy to spend much money on leisure items or experiences, which I guess is a good thing, and with the pandemic, I’m spending less on meals out and pubs at the weekend and am more likely to toss €30 at a takeaway here and there.
- I definitely didn’t hit my fitness goals this week, as I try to have at least three gym or intense exercise sessions a week; feeling swamped with work, wedding planning and renovating, when I have a spare couple hours, I find myself just wanting to sit on the sofa in front of the TV and snuggle up with the pooches. The number of times myself and my partner fell asleep in front of the TV tells me we’ve probably both been burning the candle at both ends (he’s working four projects concurrently at the moment), and I’d like to get into a better routine getting to bed at a reasonable hour, while not letting work spill into the evenings so I can have proper leisure time.
- I’ve also noticed how my diet deteriorated over the course of the week (well, the whole week wasn’t great to be honest) – when I’m under pressure, I opt for quick things, but when we both have a bit more time we manage to get home cooked hot meals in – this is not only more enjoyable, but tends to be cheaper than burritos and donuts on the go or ready meals.
- Overall, I’m proud of the security I’ve built up for myself. My fear of losing stability keeps me from veering into excess, or taking my foot off the gas when it comes to my professional progression – I will probably always overwork, because I always want to overachieve and advance. Working hard, getting further ahead, making investments and living relatively frugally gives me a confidence that I can look after myself for life and help my family if ever needed. This vision of security makes me happier than anything I could buy, or any other way I could spend my time.