A Week In Melbourne As An Ex-Financier Recently Made Redundant

Occupation: Currently unemployed, previously an Executive Manager
Industry: Finance
Age: 34
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Pronouns: She/Her
Salary: Currently $0, $215,000 before being made redundant
Net Worth: Joint net worth with husband, $385,000 in super, $35,000 in shares, $2,005,000 in property (primary home & vacant land), $305,000 in cash, $45,000 in vehicles
Debt: $835,000 across the two properties
Paycheque Amount (Fortnightly): Currently $0

Rent and Loan Payments: $3,930 toward our primary residence, $0 toward our vacant land loan, as we made a year's worth of repayments on it when I received my redundancy.
Health Insurance: $676
Mobile and WiFi: $181
Apple Music: $19
Apple Storage: $15
YouTube Premium: $40

No.

Neither of our parents spoke about money growing up. We seemed quite comfortable when I was in primary school, but during high school, my parents' business went under, and money got a lot tighter. We moved into a very small house, my parents had their cars repossessed, and our lifestyle of after-school activities, holidays and even food completely changed, but it wasn't something that was discussed.

I got a job at McDonald's in grade 10. I had two driving forces: many of my friends worked there, so it was almost like a social activity, and I wanted to have some disposable income for food, clothes and DVDs.

Not until my parents lost their business. Once my parents had their cars repossessed, I started to understand that things were bad, but only once I was an adult did I really understand how bad it must have become.

Not to the extent I once did. Before my redundancy, my husband and I were living off half of our joint income for all our monthly expenses, and the other half was set aside for savings, investments, or holidays. We've both worked fairly stressful jobs for the last 10 years, but over the last few years, we've changed our approach to life and money. We've been prioritising spending money on experiences that bring us joy while we're at a stage in our lives that we can really enjoy them. Our goal is to "die with zero" (would really recommend that book!) As a result, we're pretty comfortable spending money and are confident that if we need to, we can always find ways to earn more.

We'd love to live a simpler, less stressful life, so volunteering for the redundancy was a no-brainer. The redundancy was scheduled 3 months before we had a 3-month trip planned, so we've decided that I'll start looking for work after that holiday. My intention is to find a job that has less responsibility (and less pay) than my last role. We're really aware of our privilege here, but we have sacrificed a lot (too much, particularly health-wise), to be in a position where we can step back and simplify our lives.

My husband (then boyfriend) and I moved out together at 17 and have been financially responsible since then. Our safety net is our properties.

No.

5:30am – My dogs wake me up (much earlier than I'd like to be awake) to go outside and have breakfast. I make a tea for myself and sit on the couch with my iPad to make a plan of attack for the day. I update my list for today and calendar for the week whilst I watch YouTube videos.  $0

8:15am – Time to get ready for the day. I shower, put on leggings and an oversized band tee. I do my skincare routine, which consists of a redness serum, a vitamin C serum, moisturiser and sunscreen. $0

9am – Walk time! I've tried to prioritise going for a 1.5-2-hour walk each day. I want to spend more time outside and increase my steps, and I've loved this routine. I walk to a park that's 45 minutes away, and enjoy the sunshine there for half an hour before I walk home. $0

12pm – Lunch time! I grab a risotto from the freezer. I generally do a freezer meal prep with a different recipe each week so that there's always a supply for lunches. $0

1pm – I spend the afternoon doing life admin. I run to Woolworths and grab fresh veggies and ingredients to make pasta for later in the week ($43.85). I pop into Kmart and grab some new dog bowls, some workout gear (ankle weights, a skipping rope, and bands), and a new measuring jug for the kitchen. When I get home, I make an order on 'Who gives a crap' for toilet paper & paper towels, which I do every few months ($96). I also received an email from Mecca about my last Beauty Loop box for the year, so I order a travel size of my daily moisturiser — the Glow Recipe Pink Juice — which I need a top up of ($36). I spend the rest of the afternoon outside in the garden until my husband gets home from work. $175.85

6:30pm – My husband and I make dinner together with the veggies I purchased earlier and the chicken schnitzel we bought on the weekend. We spend the rest of the night watching YouTube together. We love watching travel videos, but both have a heap of creators we enjoy. It's the only streaming service we have, so we do pay for premium for no ads, and for downloading videos (we travel often, so this is great for flights), but we can't believe how much our membership has increased in 2 years — we used to pay $25 for our family account, and now it's $40 per month! $0

9:30pm – Nighttime skin care routine, and into bed. $0

Daily Total: $175.85

5:15am – My dogs wake me up earlier than I'd like again (the sun starting to come up earlier is throwing our normal 6am routine out the window!) I get up, make a coffee, and feed my sourdough starter. $0

7:30am – I complete my morning routine — shower, skincare & getting dressed. I have some Vegemite toast for breakfast and plan my day. I also update my budget in an Excel document by reviewing the transactions on our various accounts and cards, and update them in my tracker. I've found that manually reviewing them has made me more conscious of how much we spend, particularly on caffeine and eating out, so we're trying to rein that in at the moment. $0

9:30am – I've decided that in addition to my sourdough loaf, I want to make a lasagna over the weekend, so I head to Woolworths. I buy lasagna ingredients, food for a cheese platter, more veggies, energy drinks, and pizza bases ($144.74). I drop off some packages at the post office for some clothes I've sold on eBay. Once I get home, I go for a 45-minute walk around the neighbourhood. $144.74

12pm – Lunch time! Today I cook some chicken tenders in the air fryer, and pair them with a pre-made continental pasta. Not the healthiest, but a quick and easy one to make. $0

4pm – My husband pops out to Woolworths to grab the lasagna sheets I forgot (whoops) and some salt-and-vinegar chips ($14.30). $14.30

6pm – We cook dinner, and I purchase tickets for an upcoming tiny home expo ($42.66). We're considering putting a tiny home on our land, so we're really keen to check it out! After dinner, we sit down to watch YouTube together- this time, some Living Big in a Tiny House episodes. $42.66

10pm – Shower, skincare, then bedtime. $0

Daily Total: $201.70

9am – I had a lovely sleep-in this morning, thanks to my husband getting up with the dogs. We enjoy a homemade coffee together, and then it's time to get ready for the day. We're in autumn, but it's going to be 32 degrees today so the shorts get pulled out for the first time this year. $0

10:30am – We drive about 30 minutes to go to a local caravan centre. Whilst considering a small home for our vacant land, we've also been considering whether we should get a caravan. We spend 90 minutes going through the many display models they have, and start to get a feel for the design and size that would work for us. Neither of our vehicles is capable of towing, so after we wrap up there, we head to our local Toyota dealership to look at vehicles that would be. We both feel very overwhelmed and are looking forward to doing more research. $0

1:30pm – We hadn't intended to visit the car dealership, so we decided to stop in at the shops for lunch while we were out. My husband gets a wrap from Guzman & Gomez ($15.30), and I get fried rice from a Vietnamese shop ($21.24). We pop into JB Hi-Fi to pick up an Oura Ring. I've been using an Ultra Human Ring for the last 8 months after being an early Oura Ring user, but last month the ring died for the second time. I had just received my refund warranty back ($609.99), so I was hoping to make the switch back. Unfortunately, they only had black in store, so we left empty-handed. On the way home, we stop in at our local Bubble Tea, and I grab a Passionfruit Punch ($7.89). $44.43

4pm – We are babysitting my 2-year-old niece tonight. We play chasey with blocks and cars, and read books for a few hours. My sister has brought over all her food, too, so we have the easy job of heating it up and plating it for her. $0

8pm – Our niece has been fed, bathed, and put to bed — success! We cook some noodles and veggies for a quick and easy meal, and settle in to watch some more Tiny House videos on YouTube. $0

10pm – I do my nighttime skincare routine, and it's lights out. $0

Daily Total: $44.43

6am –Wake-up time. I take the dogs out and feed them, and check on my niece. She's still fast asleep. I start heating up the oven to cook up the sourdough loaf I prepared the other day. $0

8am – My niece wakes up in a great mood and plays by herself while we prepare breakfast. She has Rice Bubbles and fruit, while my husband and I enjoy Vegemite toast on our fresh loaf. Afterwards, it's back to play time. $0

11am – My sister picks up my niece, and my husband and I head to the shops. We visit a butcher about 25 minutes away and pick up steaks, schnitzels, and chicken breasts, which are our weekly staples. This time, we also grab some rissoles ($82.09). While there, we head to Woolworths for taco ingredients and vegetables to go alongside the meat we've bought. We grab some Coke Zero, too ($64.79). $146.88

1pm – Lunch time. We make sandwiches using the fresh bread and salami from last week's shop. After lunch, I finally get started on making the lasagna I've been thinking about all week. It's a Recipe Tin Eats recipe and takes about 5 hours, including prepping, slow-cooking the meat, and packing up. I prep some veggies for the week ahead, and clean up all the mess I've made. $0

6:30pm – We have steak with veggies for dinner, and afterwards I sit down to do a few things on my iPad. I buy my Oura ring ($798.15) and pay for the yearly membership ($109.99). This is nearly $300 extra than the Ultra Human ring, but I think it's worth it. I also buy 5x prepaid Australia Post satchels, and some unpaid satchels, to stock up for the eBay selling I've been doing ($67.50). I check Amazon and see the dog treats we buy are on sale, so I buy some. ($26.55). $1,002.19

8:30pm – I head to bed a little earlier tonight, intending to go to sleep after showering and skincare, but instead I watch TikToks and end up going to bed only a little early. $0

Daily Total: $1,149.07

6:30am –  My husband is in the office today, so he got up with the dogs, and I enjoyed some extra time in bed. I get up slowly, get dressed, and have some Vegemite toast for breakfast. $0

11:30am – I have an earlier lunch today, eating the lasagna and vegetables I made up yesterday. It tastes so good! Afterwards, I sit down on the couch to do a couple of hours of reading. I'm reading Wild Love by Elsie Silver, who I usually love, but I'm finding this one a bit more difficult to get through. $0

2pm – I decide to do a 30-minute Pilates class through Apple Fitness, using a 30-day free trial that we are about halfway through. I feel great afterwards, and am definitely considering purchasing the subscription when the trial ends. $0

3pm – Our Who Gives a Crap order has arrived, so I put that away, and clean our bathrooms and floors. I get a notification on my phone that our health insurance has come out of our account for the month ($675.78), which reminds me that I want to look for better deals. Instead, I photograph some of the clothes I've recently decluttered from my wardrobe, and I pop them on eBay. $675.78

5pm – Time to start prepping chicken tacos for dinner. I cut up the chicken and let it marinate while I start prepping the tomato, cucumber, and guac to go alongside it. My husband gets home and sits with me while I cook dinner, and then we sit down to enjoy it together. $0

8pm – After watching some YouTube, I pick up my book again, and read until I head upstairs at 9pm. I do my normal nighttime routine and fall asleep before 10pm. $0

Daily Total: $675.78

5:15am – Early wake-up after a bad night's sleep. I take it slow this morning — chilling on the couch, reading, and playing on my phone. $0

8am – I do another 30-minute Pilates class. This one was challenging, and I feel exhausted after it. I shower and get ready for the day. $0

10am – I'm feeling a little more human after a shower and a homemade smoothie. I sit down and update our budget with the last couple of days' spending. My husband is in the office again today, and he stops in at the market to see if the 'Pepperoni guy' is there. We love his meats, but he's been missing from the market for the last few weeks, so we're all out. My husband checks in with someone who works there, who says he's taking a break from the markets. They give him his business name, so I order 3 large pepperonis from him online ($71.19, includes $10 shipping). I spend the rest of my morning continuing with photographing clothes and putting them on eBay. $71.19

1:30pm – I sit down for a little bit of afternoon admin. My husband's birthday is coming up, so I buy him some shirts from his favourite clothing brand ($177.46) and his favourite perfume in a travel set from Myer ($234). I pack up 6 (!) eBay orders I've received in the last 24 hours, and then take them to the post office. While I'm out, I grab some chocolate from Woolworths ($9). $420.46

4pm – I head out on a 45-minute walk while it's a little cooler in the afternoon. I get home, have a long shower, and enjoy a hair wash followed by a blow-dry. $0

6:30pm – My husband has cooked up chicken schnitzel with corn and broccolini for dinner, so we enjoy that. I talk a big game about an early bedtime, as he's heading out to his weekly cricket game with friends. Instead, I watch TV on the couch and head up to bed with him when he gets home at 10pm. $0

Daily Total: $492.37

5:30am – Up with the dogs after another average sleep. I think the weather warming up is throwing me off overnight. $0

7:30am – Time to get the day started. I do a 45-minute step class, then a shower, a quick straighten, and a hair curl. I make a smoothie for breakfast and start the day's laundry. $0

12pm – Today, I have a lasagna from the freezer. I pop the second load in the dryer, and put a load of towels on next. After that, I make some sourdough crackers and chocolate chip muffins, and then clean the kitchen. I listen to a non-fiction audiobook called What's Your Dream, which I'm really enjoying. $0

3pm – I get ready to go out with a friend. My husband has offered to pick us up and drive us home tonight, so once ready, I catch the train into the city ($4.60). $4.60

5pm – Our first stop of the night is a bar where I order a large glass of wine ($20.36). I can't believe the price when I update my budget the next day! We're running a little late for our dinner and theatre plans, so we grab an Uber, which I pay for ($10.65). My friend pays for my dinner and more wine, since I bought the tickets for the show a few months ago. $31.01

7:30pm – Showtime! I grab 2 wines on the way in ($28) — we are really treating ourselves tonight. $28

9:30pm – The show was great, and I feel like I saved money since I didn't buy the merch I was eyeing off. We grab a soft drink downstairs ($5) while we wait for my husband to pick us up. $5

10:45pm – Home, showered, and in bed. Feeling grateful for great friendships and my wonderful husband. $0

Daily Total: $68.61