Money Diary: A Corporate Finance Adviser On £75,000

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last penny.

This week: “I am a 29-year-old corporate finance advisor working in consultancy in London. I have been working for five years. I love saving and investing and I'm always on the lookout to grow my pot of money. I try to live below my means and have a frugal lifestyle but I still do remind myself to enjoy myself and to live my “rich life” as described by Ramit Sethi. I do work a lot, so I constantly focus on having a healthy lifestyle to minimise the impact from staying up late and sitting down all day! I also love learning new things such as languages and sports to keep my life interesting."

Occupation: Corporate finance adviser 
Industry: Financial Services 
Age: 29
Location: London
Salary: £75,000 + bonus (have not been very good recently, unfortunately). 
Paycheque Amount: £4,650
Number of housemates: Five housemates
Pronouns: She/her 

Housing costs: £1,000.
Loan payments: No loan payments.
Savings?: Approximately a £100,000, where 20% is in a stock and shares ISA and the rest is across a Cash ISA, fixed rate deposits, regular-saving accounts and easy access bank accounts.
Pension? I have a pension and pays 5% into it where my employer matches 3%.  
Utilities: Utilities are included in rent.
All other monthly payments: £10 for SIM only, £45 for gym membership. No other subscriptions — avoid, avoid, avoid.  

Did you participate in any form of higher education?
Yes, I completed my bachelor’s in accounting and finance in the UK and my parents paid for it.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Money was talked a lot about in our household. My parents were very frugal and were good at saving money. They also shared with us the investments they made. They have both made and lost money. My parents encouraged us to save and invest our money at a young age. My first investment that my mother recommended actually lost money, but I guess we had to start from somewhere! 

If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house?
I moved out when I came to the UK to study when I was 18 years old. 

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I became financially responsible when I turned 24. This was when I started my very first job at an accounting firm. 

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My very first job was as an auditor. It was my dream to qualify as a chartered accountant and work for a large corporation in London. When I first stepped into Canary Wharf, I vowed to work there upon graduation and was very happy I made it. 

Do you worry about money now?
Yes and no. I feel like I am at a stage where I feel more comfortable, but I worry about money for the future especially with London being so expensive. I worry if it is enough to buy a home and start a family especially with the living cost constantly going up. I worry about childcare costs and providing a comfortable life to my children.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
No.

6 a.m. — My alarm rings. This is pretty early for me. I usually wake up at 7 a.m. but late last night my client sent over some comments and I was too tired to solve them so I decided to head to office earlier today in order to get a head start. 

6:30 a.m. — After freshening up, I am out the door and get the bus to work, £1.75. I love where I live because I can get the bus to work!

7:15 a.m. — I head to my desk and heat up some oats for breakfast. I love something warm in the morning! I also get an energy bar and a banana from the kitchen pantry. 

7:30 a.m. — Power on my laptop and go through the email from the client. It was not as straightforward as I thought. I put on a pop song playlist from YouTube and concentrate on finishing the comments.

12:30 p.m. — All this brain power is making me hungry so I quickly heat up the rice with pan-fried chicken and veggies I brought in. I usually meal prep on Sunday for lunch for the week. I also add some kimchi on the side! Very economical and also ensures I am eating the nutrients I need.

5:30 p.m. — I’ve managed to solve them and breathe a sigh of relief. I realise I am feeling stiff so start stretching. This is not good as I can feel my back ache creeping in. I mentally note that I need to go for a swim soon. Swimming really helps with back ache. Does wonders really! 

6:30 p.m. — Time to leave work. On the way home, I quickly arrange dinner with my friend in the next few days. I have got a voucher to spend, so I want to treat her as she has been a really good friend to me. Bus fare is £1.75.

7:45 p.m. — I quickly whip up a noodle dish for dinner! A one pot/pan dish is my favourite! Less cleaning and quick! I made my own meatballs by rolling some coriander, mincemeat and seasonings together! 

9:30 p.m. — Checked my emails and realised I have work call tomorrow at 9am and there is a file required to be shared to the client straight after the call. I quickly sit down at my desk and sort it out. It is not a hard one, but I am starting to feel tired. 

10:30 p.m. — I completed it, so I start to wind down for bed by watching an episode of Friends. 

11:30 p.m. — Lights off.

6:45 a.m. — My alarm rings and I'm conscious I have a work call at 9 a.m. I promptly leave for the office. 

7:15 a.m. — On the bus, £1.75. I get a reminder that my tennis centre opens its bookings today! I check the website, but the listing is not up. Made a mental note to look at lessons later.

8:15 a.m. — I quickly make my usual oat breakfast and quickly check over the work I did last night. I continue working throughout the day and have my usual lunch. 

4 p.m. — I check the weather and see that the weather on the weekend will be lovely. I quickly drop a text to my friend whether she is up for a parkrun. I have signed up for a 5km run in July and whilst I am currently doing strength training, my stamina for running is ter-ri-ble! She agrees immediately — whoopie! 

6:30 p.m. — Feeling happy as my project is almost finalised. It has been a long ride but one more email to go! 

6:45 p.m. — Quickly head over to a Japanese udon restaurant for dinner with friends as there is a buy-one-get-one-free offer! Dinner comes to £6.50. My friends and I always love a good deal. We eat and catch up on our day.

8:30 p.m. — We decide to part ways and I take the bus home, £1.75.

9:30 p.m. — I freshen up and wind down for bed. 

11 p.m. — Realise I forgot to book my tennis lessons today and quickly navigate to the website! The intermediate class is already full which is a shame, but their beginners still has space. I quickly sign up and the classes are £170 for 12 lessons, starting next month. Feeling satisfied, I head to bed. 

7:30 a.m. — I don’t have calls this morning so I wake up slightly later and get the bus to work, £1.75.

8:55 a.m. — This morning I decide to have a multigrain drink which has many different kinds of grains like black bean, soybean, barley, black and white sesame seed etc. It is supposed to be healthy (and it tastes healthy if you know what I mean). I supplement it with a banana and orange from the office pantry.

9:05 a.m. — I begin shooting off emails for work.

11:30 a.m. — I have been having lunch at my desk for the last couple of days and feel the need to socialise. I message my friend in another department for lunch. 

12:30 p.m. — Q didn’t bring lunch, so I join her for a walk to a supermarket to get a sandwich. 

1:30 p.m. — We part ways and head straight back to work. My project lead tells me to me to take it easy as I have been working hard and there is nothing urgent to do for now. 

4:30 p.m. — Feeling extremely tired, I head home early. It’s been a while since I walked out of the office in the light. Feeling like I should continue to always appreciate life and not take it for granted as the days are slipping away. On the bus, I book a swimming session at my local pool for later in the evening, £1.75.

6:30 p.m. — I walk over to my local pool and swim, £6.15.

8 p.m. — Feeling all relaxed, I head home and made dinner. Noodles again with homemade meatballs. 

9:30 p.m. — Feeling relaxed and tired, I go to bed promptly.

6:50 a.m. — I wake up early this morning to go to the gym. I walk over to my local gym and lift some weights. I am glad that I feel stronger afterwards, but the gym was packed and I wonder if I should come earlier next time. 

8:20 a.m. — I arrive home after my gym session and quickly make a cup of tea and some fruit for breakfast. 

9 a.m. — Working from home today. I start work and a colleague of mine is looking for a volunteer for another project. I volunteer as I really want to work with this colleague. 

12 p.m. — At lunch time, I realise I have run out of food and decide to have curry instant noodles. Don’t give me the side eyes! I do crave them once in a while. Whilst having lunch, I ring my dad and chat to him about my week and his. 

1 p.m. — I head back to work. Nothing too intense today and I log off on time. 

6:30 p.m. — My friend, K who I was supposed to take out for dinner tonight messages me to say she can’t make it anymore as she was stuck at work! I quickly ring another friend, J and ask if she would like to join me. Luckily, she is available. I get ready and take the tube to the restaurant, £2.90.

7:30 p.m. — I meet J at the restaurant which looks fancier that I thought!  We order three mains to share. We chat about life as usual as we eat. 

9:30 p.m. — The bill came and after the voucher, my part was £7.50. We part ways and I head home, £1.75 for the bus.

10:30 p.m. — Once home, I promptly prepare to go to bed as I have my parkrun tomorrow. 

7 a.m. — I wake up early as I want to speak to my parents before my parkrun. 

8 a.m. — I meet my friend, C at the bus stop and we head to the park together, £1.75. We catch up beforehand but she is a frequent runner, so I tell her to just leave me if I slow her down.

9:15 a.m. — I start regretting signing up for this run! So out of breath!  

9:30 a.m. — Just as I wanted to give up, an older lady who has been running mostly behind me starts to overtake. I just kept telling myself if she can do it, I can do it. I just make sure I am a few steps behind her. 

9:45 a.m. — I finish it! I thought I was going to take an hour. I go looking for my friend before I really do pass out. 

10:45 a.m. — C and I part ways at the bus stop as I want to go grocery shopping, £3. I arrive at the local farmer’s market to do my shop, £25.

12 p.m. — Arrive home. I struggle to walk up the stairs because my knees are in pain. This is what happens when you push yourself too much! 

2 p.m. — I spend the rest of the day reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and doing household chores. 

6 p.m. — I make kimchi stew and rice with some vegetable for dinner. The market had really nice strawberries today so that is my dessert. 

8 p.m. — I continue watching my Netflix series.

10:30 p.m. — Have an early night.

9 a.m. — Unfortunately, my knee is not feeling all that better however, I decide to still head to church on the bus, £1.75.

10 a.m. — Service ends and I chat to friends.

1 p.m. — We all go out to have pizza for lunch, £10.

2:30 p.m. — Conscious about my knee, I excuse myself after lunch and head home and rest, £1.75.

5:30 p.m. — I start to prep for my lunch for next week. I make fried rice. 

6 p.m. — Once my lunch for the week is prepped, I heat up my leftover kimchi stew from yesterday for dinner. As there wasn't much, I make a spring onion pancake alongside it! 

9 p.m. — After dinner, I wind down and started getting ready for bed and promptly fall sleep after a couple of episodes of Netflix. 

7 a.m. — I get up as usual and head into the office and have my usual oats breakfast, £1.75. Fortunately, my knee is feeling better but still not great. 

9 a.m. — I'm kept occupied with work, but it is less intense day and I'm able to have lunch on time. 

12 p.m. — When I walk in the office kitchen, I see some people from other departments I know having lunch, so I decide to join them! 

6 p.m. — Overall today is less intense and my workload was more manageable, so I promptly pack up my things and leave to get the bus, £1.75. On my way home, I bought myself some Häagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream to cheer me up, £3.50.

7:30 p.m. — I quickly whip up some congee for dinner. Feeling frustrated with my knee and I think it is bringing my mood down a little. 

8:30 p.m. — After dinner, I refresh myself and wind down with more Netflix.

10:30 p.m. — Lights out. 

"I think overall this is my least spenny week without any clothes or entertainment shopping. I did have a big one-off payment for my tennis lessons though. I usually do a one or two piece clothes shop and a play here and there every quarter. I do try to live frugally so I don’t think I can cut anymore otherwise I would be a bore!"