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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 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: "Last September I finally got a permanent job, which is so hard to come by in my industry, after a year and a half of monthly contracts and freelancing. I was an apprentice for 18 months before, hence why I’m qualified but have no university degree. Honestly, doing an apprenticeship was one of the best decisions of my life as I was able to get experience, build up my contacts and earn money while learning the craft.
Saying that, I am so bad with money. You’d think starting in the world of work at 18 would make me more responsible and yet here we are… I think because I’ve been earning good money for my age for a while, I just spend, spend, spend and it’s starting to catch up with me, in terms of credit card debt and generally having no money for half the month.
I’m lucky that I can live with my mum and travel in for work, as living in London would not be cheap. I live in Zone 5 which is still quite far out in terms of London, but in terms of the rest of the country, counts as London. In the future I’m thinking about buying a shared-ownership property in the same town as my mum, so this is why I’ve started taking my finances a bit more seriously this year. Also, things can be a bit strained at home sometimes as my older brother hasn’t worked for nearly three years, so it's me and Mum holding the burden of the bills.
I recently got a Monzo account and it’s been so good in helping me calculate how much I spend; I advise anyone who’s bad with money to get one or something similar. Although, as you read on, you may see it’s not helping me as much as it should be because I spend money willy-nilly..."
Industry: Journalism
Age: 22
Location: London/Essex
Salary: £33,600
Paycheque amount: £2,162
Number of housemates: Two: Mum and older brother
Age: 22
Location: London/Essex
Salary: £33,600
Paycheque amount: £2,162
Number of housemates: Two: Mum and older brother
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £300 rent to my mum for everything
Loan payments: Around £250 a month on five credit cards with around £4,250 on them (I know) but I have no university loans or anything so...winning?
Transportation: No idea as I tend to do PAYG on Oyster and I use Uber A LOT.
Phone bill: £200 (again, I know). This includes my phone, my mum’s phone and my Apple watch.
Savings? Who is she?
Other: £7.99 Netflix, £10 Apple Music, £10 ActionAid, £7 Centrepoint
Loan payments: Around £250 a month on five credit cards with around £4,250 on them (I know) but I have no university loans or anything so...winning?
Transportation: No idea as I tend to do PAYG on Oyster and I use Uber A LOT.
Phone bill: £200 (again, I know). This includes my phone, my mum’s phone and my Apple watch.
Savings? Who is she?
Other: £7.99 Netflix, £10 Apple Music, £10 ActionAid, £7 Centrepoint
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