Money Diary HR Manager In Kent On £55,000

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'm a 29-year-old HR manager living in Kent with my husband, M, and our 1-month-old, B. We moved here in March after selling our first home in southeast London. M and I have been together since 2017 and have lived together since 2018. I started parental leave in mid-May, ahead of the birth of our first baby at the end of May. I have been on full pay since then and am about to move onto 90% pay for the next chunk of my leave (I am planning on returning to work in January 2024).

I can be both a spender and a saver, depending on what is going on in our lives. With the purchase of our house and the birth of our first baby (and all the things you need for a baby), our savings have taken a big hit. So we are trying to build them back up. We also have a high interest rate on our new mortgage and are both very apprehensive about what the new rate will be when we come to remortgage in February 2025."

Occupation: HR manager
Industry: Retail
Age: 29
Location: Southeast
Salary: £55,000 + annual variable bonus of 10% of salary.
Paycheque amount: £694 weekly post-deductions.
Number of housemates: Two: my husband (M) and baby (B).
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: £989.60 per month for my half (this has increased recently due to moving and the interest increase).
Loan payments: I currently pay £184 a month to Student Finance via weekly salary deduction. This will reduce when I am on enhanced maternity leave pay.
Savings? £1,700 in my personal savings (lower after house purchase and baby).
Pension? I currently pay 6% of my base salary a month into my pension and my employer contributes 9%. When I joined this company over four and a half years ago, I merged my pension from my previous company. I currently have roughly £30,000 in my pension pot.
Utilities: We currently split all household bills 50/50. I pay half of each of the following amounts: £12.25 home insurance, £223 council tax, £80 gas and electric, £25 wi-fi, £41 TV licence, £51.32 critical illness and life insurance, £35 South East Water.
All other monthly payments: £38.62 phone contract, £15 charity donation, £0.79 iPhone storage, £89.99 (yearly) Sweat workout app. Subscriptions: We equally split: £16.99 Spotify, £9.99 Now TV, £6.99 Tesco delivery, £95 Amazon Prime annual membership.

Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?

Yes, I went to university and did a four-year sandwich degree, which included a year in industry. I had student and maintenance loans but these did not fully cover the cost of rent and living so I worked part-time in retail to top up the money. I have completed a Level 5 HR qualification since finishing university, which was paid for by my previous company.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?

My mum and dad taught me the value of money from a very young age; neither left school with any qualifications but my dad has his own business and my mum is very financially savvy. They taught me not to live beyond your means but they also taught me the importance of having a credit card and paying it off in full each month to build your credit score.

If you have, when did you move out of your parents'/guardians' house?

I moved out when I went to university at 19. I moved back after university and stayed there until I moved in with my now husband when I was 24. We moved into one of his parents' properties and they very generously let us pay heavily subsided rent. This enabled my husband and I to build our savings and buy our first property in 2021.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?

I would say when I moved out fully at age 24. Being on maternity leave, I am slightly reliant now on my husband and we are also incredibly lucky that our parents have helped a lot in terms of renovating and will be helping us with childcare one day a week each due to the crazy cost of nursery.

What was your first job and why did you get it?

My first job was in a local café when I was 16, just after I had finished my GCSEs. I turned 17 in the September of that year and took the job to fund my driving lessons.

Do you worry about money now?

I have only started to worry about money recently due to the increase in our mortgage, the rising cost of living and having a baby. When we lived in our previous property, we were on fixed energy costs and our mortgage was a lot lower so we were able to save a good amount of money each month. Now I wonder if we will ever be able to build our savings up again.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?

I was very lucky that my parents created a savings account for me, with the amount of £10,000, which was gifted to me in my early 20s. This was made up of money from them, and I would put in money I received from family at birthdays and Christmases, too. I used this to build upon for my half of the deposit on our first property.