Money Diary: A Digital Marketing Manager On 30k

This week: "I’m a 27-year-old digital marketing manager living in Bristol. I’ve lived here for almost five years now after moving here for my master's and then loving it so much I stayed. At first I lived with a fellow postgrad student and then eventually moved in with my boyfriend and another friend. We finally moved into our own flat a year ago. We still don’t own a flat and probably won’t for a while but we love the place we live in and it’s super central. My partner is training to become an actor, alongside some part-time marketing work, so has just moved to Cardiff to do a 12-month master's there. While he’s training I’m staying in the flat we started renting together. Thanks to a recent pay rise, I can stay at least for a few months to see how badly it dents my bank account! 

I think I’m a bit of a mix of spender and saver. The second I’ve had a drink, I’m definitely a big spender and all sense of money rationality goes out the window. Because I’m lucky enough to have some savings from my parents I definitely don’t feel the extreme pressure to save but recently I have started thinking about this a lot more as most of my friends have bought their own houses and I’m getting to the point where I would like to do the same."

Occupation: Digital marketing manager
Industry: Marketing
Age: 27
Location: Bristol
Salary: £30,000
Paycheque amount: £2,500
Number of housemates: None
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: £800 (I live in the flat that me and my boyfriend lived in together before he moved so it's more pricey than I would normally like to pay on rent but I can just about cover it).
Loan payments: Student loan £223, postgrad loan £180.
Savings? £5,000 personal savings and £20,000 from my family, which I can access but I'm saving to use for when I want to buy a flat or house. 
Pension? I pay £176 monthly into my pension. I went for the middle ground option of 6% contribution so I have more liquid cash now but also am contributing.
Utilities: £70 energy, £90 council tax, £50 Wi-Fi, £400 national insurance.
All other monthly payments: £15 phone (although work covers this), £25 gym. Subscriptions: £7 Hayu, £8 Disney, £10 Now TV, £6.99 iPhone storage, £0.99 ASOS Premier.

I did an English lit degree and then did a master's in social and cultural theory. My family helped me out massively both times, covering my rent. I used a loan for both degrees to fund the actual course and my general living costs. For my master's degree I was lucky that the £10,000 loan covered the course itself and then I had a couple of extra grand to cover the cost of living.

We didn't talk much about money in terms of how to save it. My parents always told me the value of getting a pension and putting into it from a young age, although I didn't fully understand why until I got a bit older. I still don't really fully understand taxes, to be honest.

I moved out 'officially' when I went to university at 19 but came back every summer in between terms to live there. I didn’t have a flat of my own that I paid rent on until I finished my master's at 23 and then started paying my own rent and fully moved out.

I became financially responsible for myself when I finished my master's at 23. I have a financial safety net in my parents as I know they could step in and help me if I had any chance of losing housing or if I lost my job. Also having a boyfriend means more costs are split, like travel costs on car trips and drinks and dinners out. 

During university I worked at my mum's business for a few months each summer for a basic salary. I then created my own Depop when I was doing my master's and started selling old clothes and using the money to buy vintage clothes cheap and sell them on at a profit. I managed to cover all my living costs (aside from rent, which my parents paid for) and managed to save £5k from it. When I finished my master's I got my first job as a digital marketing exec at a PR company focused on sustainable companies.

As the cost of living has become so expensive I definitely think about it more. Since living on my own, I've sat down and worked out my average weekly finances for the first time. Working out whether I'd be able to cover the cost of my rent and bills on my own meant I had to think about my monthly spending versus income for the first time. It's definitely harder now I have to cover the bills on my own and I do try to make small choices to save money that I didn't think about before, like cutting down on takeaways and trying to go to shops that are cheaper.

I did get an allowance until I went to university and then had my rent paid during that time.