Money Diary: An Implementation Consultant On £52,500

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 mid-30s, married, mother-of-two living in the North West. I’ve lived in this area all my life and can’t imagine ever leaving. I was a teacher for a long time but have recently had a complete career change (following COVID and the arrival of our second child) and now work in education software. My work-life balance has changed dramatically as I work from home full-time, which is a world away from a busy school environment. We survived the horrors of nursery fees and were expecting to feel like lottery winners when the children started school, however this hasn’t been the reality. Extra-curricular activities are now taking over our lives, as well as having to pay for school lunches now that A is in the Juniors. Luckily, with my new job we no longer need to use wrap-around care at school, but this was also a big chunk to pay each month up until recently."

Occupation: Implementation Consultant
Industry: Education software
Age: 35
Location: North West
Salary: £52,500
Paycheque Amount: £3,110
Number of housemates: Three (husband Z, children A and B)
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: This may be an unconventional approach, but Z covers the vast majority of household bills with his salary, and we use mine for everything else. So ‘on paper’, I don’t pay anything towards the mortgage.
Loan payments: £206 towards my student loan. Currently have around £2,000 on a credit card which was used to book flights for our summer holiday.
Savings?: Because Z covers most bills, I am in control of our savings. It works better this way because I’m naturally more of a saver than him. We have just over £6k in an ISA and £1,500 spread across various Chase accounts. I also use Plum, which has been incredible as it builds up a nice little pot which you genuinely don’t notice leaving your account. There’s currently £350 in there, which I’ll probably put towards car hire for our summer holiday.
Utilities: Again, most covered by Z, but I pay the council tax which has just gone up to £283.
Pension? 4% my contribution and 4% employer. This currently has around £5,000 in, but I also have my teaching pension. I’m not able to touch this until retirement, but current calculations say I’ll be entitled to around £8,000 per year.
All other monthly payments: £359 car lease, £10 oven insurance, £22 children’s ISAs, £25 B’s football membership, £25 A’s netball membership, £25 A’s netball match subs, £50ish A’s school lunches (B is free), £85 swimming lessons, £354 to Z to cover his car payment. Subscriptions: £12.99 Disney+, £2.99 Apple storage.

Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes, I completed a three-year BA and took out a tuition fee loan and the full £3k maintenance loan per year to pay for my accommodation. My PGCE was the first year that fees increased to £9k, so this nine-month course cost the same as my entire undergraduate degree… excellent timing. I still owe £23,995.81(!) and have been paying this off since 2016. It’s not something I worry about, but must admit seeing that figure is a bit frightening.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
I was always ‘encouraged’ to put half of any birthday or Christmas money in savings, and this is something I’m trying to pass onto my own children, despite Z’s opinion that I’m being miserable. For us, this helped us with the deposit for our first house and so I want to do the same for our children. I was told never to get a credit card! We always had holidays and I was fortunate enough to be able to go on multiple foreign school trips. I knew that we were comfortable and that I didn’t need to worry, but it wasn’t a frivolous household.

If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house?
I moved out to go to university and then moved into a rented flat with Z during my second year. Apart from a couple of months between rentals where we moved in with Z’s parents, I’ve not moved home since.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I had multiple cars that were paid for between the ages of 17-30, and I had to actively campaign to pay for it myself after this. Not sure if it is a pride thing, but being a 30-something woman with a car paid for by family didn’t quite sit right! That being said, my siblings and my phone contracts are still paid for. All other aspects of our finances are covered between Z and me. 

What was your first job and why did you get it?
Alongside the odd babysitting job for family friends, my first ‘proper’ job was a waitress at a local pub. They then packed up and did a moonlight flit and left without paying our wages and we only found out when all the doors and windows were locked when we arrived for our shift!

Do you worry about money now?
Day to day, no. But I do worry in the sense that we’re always saving for something i.e. holiday. We save and then it gets spent. I’d love to have more of a general safety net. The advice I keep reading is to have at least three to six months expenses saved and I worry we’re nowhere near this! This would give me a bit more peace of mind.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I’ve received money when relatives have died, which has been spent on home improvements. We’ve also been lucky enough to be gifted some money on a couple of occasions when family members have sold their businesses — again, this money has gone on family holidays and general home improvements. Z also used some of this to pay off his credit card.

7 a.m. — Get up, dressed and presentable for the day. The kids are at a holiday club all week (conveniently run by Z, so no cost) and need packed lunches made. 

8:30 a.m. — Drop A and B off at holiday club and nip to Tesco on the way home to get a few bits we needed. Slip and fall into the chocolate aisle and can’t resist a bar of Cadbury Marvellous Creations too. Randomly also decide to pick up a few generic birthday cards for the inevitable children’s parties, can never have too many in stock, £14.40.

9:30 a.m. — Hang out washing as it’s a glorious day and then sit down at my desk to start work. Being able to put the washing machine on is probably the number one benefit of WFH, in my opinion and I refuse to believe anyone who says otherwise.

1 p.m. — I finally get a break and see the time. Realise I’m hungry and grab a 'girl lunch' of crisps, a cereal bar and a cold sausage roll (WFH has not done wonders for my eating habits).

2 p.m. — I need to go to London with work this week, so I book my train and hotel. Feel physically sick at the price of an open return, but need the flexibility. I book and pay for hotel room too, both of which I put on my credit card and will claim back on expenses.

4:30 p.m. — Last meeting finished, and see a missed call from Z. He’s finished for the day and taken the kids for a drink at a local pub with outdoor seating. I don’t take much convincing to go and meet them. Buy myself a drink when I arrive, £1.65.

5:15 p.m. — Buy another couple of drinks for friends who come and join us, £9.15.

6 p.m. — Head home as the children need feeding, as much as we’d love to stay and sit in the sunshine.

7:30 p.m. — Put kids to bed and try to resist that bar of chocolate in the cupboard.

7:345p.m. — Fail miserably. Open and devour the lot whilst Z watches football.

10 p.m. — Bed.

Total: £25.20

7:35 a.m. — Both children have a lie in! Since I'm WFH, we don’t set any alarms in the morning, which has been an incredible perk.

8:30 a.m. — Drop A and B off at holiday club and it looks like it’s going to be another glorious day for them playing outside.

9 a.m. — Plumber arrives to start work on our downstairs bathroom. This is the last room in the house to be done and we can’t wait. He thinks it will be a two-day job and the invoice for this work will likely be sent next week. We already know the fixtures we’ve ordered will come to £885 so just labour to be added on top. We will pay for this with the last of the money kindly gifted to us by a family member and feel like we’ve been very considerate with how we’ve chosen to use it (the temptation to book a mega holiday was strong!).

12:30 p.m. — A quick scroll leads to an ASOS purchase. Oops, £77.

1 p.m. — Wrap up the morning’s calls and drive to the train station. I will be able to expense the mileage and parking. I am still not used to the whole expenses thing and often feel guilty, but I guess that’s a hangover from 10 years in schools where budgets were tight and it was the norm to pay for work things out of your own pocket.

1:45 p.m. — Grab some lunch at Starbucks to eat on the train. Again, this will be expensed.

4 p.m. — Arrive in London and go to my hotel via Primark. Another mistake. Spend £68 on basics for the kids, some gym tops and a ‘cool’ jacket. I’ll decide if I’m cool enough when I get back home.

7p.m. — Really fancy a Thai so order Deliveroo to my hotel room. Defeated by a huge portion, but very tasty. This will be expensed.

8 p.m. — Work call with a new customer in Canada.

9:30 p.m. — Bit of aimless scrolling (trying not to be influenced, today’s impulse spending has been a bit out of control…) and early to bed ready for a long day in a workshop tomorrow.

7:45 a.m. — Take full advantage of a night in a hotel and have a lie in. Get ready and walk over to the co-working space we’re based in for the day.

8:30 a.m. — All meals and snacks are included here, so start the day strong with a big bowl of porridge and syrup and a delicious hot chocolate. My sweet tooth with undoubtedly be the death of me.

11 a.m. — Grab another hot chocolate during our mid-morning break.

12:30 p.m. — Break for lunch and head up to the canteen. The choice is either vegetarian lasagne or some sort of pork. I’m not veggie but go for the lasagne and it didn’t disappoint. Dessert is tiramisu and, not wanting to appear rude, I fill my boots. Yummy.

3 p.m. — Continue working our way through the day’s agenda and are interrupted by a knock on the meeting room door. A colleague turned 30 yesterday, so we organised a birthday cake and bubbles to be delivered. Again, it would be incredibly rude for me to say no, so have a large slice and glass of fizz to toast.

3:45 p.m. — Finish for the day and take the Tube back to Euston and head back up north. Try my best to do some work, but train wifi is as unreliable as ever. Notice out of the corner of my eye that the person I’m sat next to actually works for Network Rail (according to their email address) and contemplate mentioning it. I decide against it and instead have the conversation in my head.

6:46 p.m. — Arrive at my station and pay for parking (again this will be expensed). 

7:30 p.m. — Home to my babies (and Z). Have a quick shower and chat about how their days have been before tucking them up in bed.

8 p.m. — Notice that the new series of Handmaid’s Tale is out, so we binge two episodes before bed. Keep having to pause to remind ourselves what happened last series.

10 p.m. — Bed.

7 a.m. — Up, quick shower and get dressed. Sort the children out with breakfast and make their lunches before getting them ready.

8:30 a.m. — Drop them off at holiday club and head straight home.

9 a.m. — Log on and do the usual calendar, email and Slack catch up. Fridays are usually quite quiet, but I’ve got a couple of customer calls booked in that will take all morning. Hoping they are straightforward.

12 p.m. — Don’t get chance to have a break before lunch as both calls overran. Quickly tie up a few loose ends and sign off early because I accidentally damaged my laptop screen last week so have booked an appointment at Apple for this afternoon.

1 p.m. — Drive to the Apple store. My nearest one is over an hour away, so I’m really hoping they will be able to repair whilst I wait. Stop for petrol on the way, £20.

2:30 p.m. — The part I need isn’t in stock, so they will have to order it in. They then said it will take between seven to 10 days to repair?! I obviously need my laptop for work, so I'm not sure how I can schedule this in. They order the part and say they’ll call me when it arrives. I’ll decide what to do then, but it’s not ideal. The cost of this will (very generously) be covered by work despite me offering to pay myself.

3 p.m. — Z calls and asks me to pick up a pair of black football socks for him whilst I’m out, £3.99.

4:30 p.m. — Arrive home and make tea, the sun is still shining so I open the bifold doors whilst I cook. We had an extension five years ago (funded via a remortgage) and are forever grateful we decided to do it when we did. The cost of renovating would simply be out of reach for us now, with labour and material costs skyrocketing following the pandemic.

6 p.m. — Check my online banking to see that my TfL charge from yesterday has come out, £2.70. Also see that my expense claims have already been paid! They are settled fortnightly so that we never have to go a full month without being reimbursed. The difference between the public and private sector is not lost on me. 

7:45 p.m. — Z is out tonight, so I put the children to bed and settle myself onto the sofa for a quiet evening. He bought me some class credits for a local reformer Pilates studio for Mother’s Day, so I book a few sessions. I’ve only been going for a couple of months and am really enjoying it, but wish it wasn’t such an expensive hobby.

10 p.m. — Bed.

7 a.m. — Kids wake up and take themselves downstairs to watch TV. Z and I actually manage to fall back asleep for another 90 minutes — bliss!

8:30 a.m. — Peel ourselves out of bed and get ready for the day. The forecast looks great and so we arrange for some friends to come around this afternoon for drinks and food in the garden. 

9:45 a.m. — Drive to Pilates and Z takes the children to Costa whilst I have my class. He treats them to a drink and cake each, £13.70.

11 a.m. — Nip to Sainsbury's to get bits for this afternoon. Stock up on cheese, meats, various toppings for homemade pizzas, passata, fruit to make Pimms with etc. Wander through the crisp aisle and we can’t believe our eyes when we realise a bag of Kettle Chips costs £4.50 (!!!!). We decide to get the rest from Aldi instead, £37.75.

11:30 a.m. — Drive to Aldi and buy crisps (at a much more reasonable price), lemonade and Aldi’s version of Pimms, £15.13.

1 p.m. — Our friends arrive and we make the most of an afternoon in the sun. We were gifted a pizza oven for Christmas a couple of years ago and it remains one of the best presents we’ve ever had! Z has mastered the art, and we devour six pizzas between us. The Pimms goes down a little too easy and I feel quite unsteady when I go to help clear up…

7 p.m. — The sun disappears from the garden and so the day draws to an end. We tidy up, get the kids showered and in PJs and snuggle on the sofa.

8 p.m. — Kids up to bed, leaving Z and I plenty of time to raid the chocolate stash in peace.

10 p.m. — Bed.

7 a.m. — Kids get up and go straight downstairs to make themselves breakfast, whilst Z and I have another 30 minutes in bed.

8:30 a.m. — We’re all up and dressed and A reminds me that her school shoes have been hurting her. I suspect she’s outgrown them (again) so we plan to drive into town to get their feet measured. If her feet have indeed grown, this will be the third pair of shoes she’s had since September.

10:30 a.m. — Drive 30 minutes into town to the nearest Clarks shoe shop. I know there are other places to get children’s feet measured, but for some reason I only trust Clarks to do it properly. As feared/expected, A has gone up half a size but B has remained the same. Small win. Although I like getting their feet measured here, I begrudge paying £50 for a pair of school shoes that only last a few months, so make a note of their sizes and decide to order a pair online when we get home.

11 a.m. — A has definitely inherited her mother’s shopping gene and asks to have a look in Primark. She sees a cream zip up hoody she likes, so we get that, £4.50. Also have a wander around Boots and buy some hyaluronic acid serum to replace the one that has just run out. I need all the help I can get, £4.

12 p.m. — Remember that B needs some PE shorts to wear to school rather than joggers, now the weather is warming up. Nip into Matalan but leave empty handed.

12:30 p.m. — Pass a big Tesco on the way home and decide to look here. Plenty of choice — so much so, B ends up with four pairs of shorts for school and summer, £18.

1 p.m. — Even though we only went to the supermarket yesterday, unbelievably we have nothing for tea. The kids and I stop off at Aldi and do a top-up shop, £47.24.

3 p.m. — Browse online for some school shoes for A. Settle on a pair from Next, with delivery this comes to £30.95. Also make the fatal mistake of going through all her other shoes to check sizes. Converse, two pairs of trainers and her summer sandals are all now too small. I photograph them and get the nicest ones listed on Vinted in the hope of clawing back some of the cost that is inevitably coming my way.

7 p.m. — A slow afternoon at home, with plenty of playing in the garden for A & B and general house chores for me. We’re all tired, so won’t be a late one tonight.

9 p.m. — Bed.

7 a.m. — Back to school, so everyone is up and dressed bright and early. Toast all round for breakfast and school bags ready at the door. In the past, we would have been in the car on our way to nursery by 7:15 a.m. so I could get to school myself and prepare for the day ahead, so these slower mornings are something to savour.

8:30 a.m. — Set off to school and wave them both off at the gate.

9 a.m. — Back home and have a quick 15 minute whizz round to tidy up. I find it hard to settle into work if I know there are bits like this that need doing.

9:30 a.m. — Usual email/Slack update and check my calendar for the day. Seems like a quiet day ahead, so I get my head down into some system configuration for a customer.

12 p.m. — Manage to get loads done so have a quick break for lunch. Receive a notification from Apple to say the part needed for my laptop repair is now in stock, so decide I’ll make the trip to drop it off tomorrow. I’ve got a few days off so am hoping it can all tie in nicely.

3 p.m. — Wrap up for the day and head off to collect the kids from school. Although I work full time, we are completely flexible and are able to set our own hours. As long as our work is done, nobody is checking. Most of the time I’m able to do all school drop offs and pick-ups and still manage to keep my customers happy! 

5 p.m. — Quick tea of pasta and garlic bread and head out to A’s netball practice. 90 minutes on a Monday evening means it’s often a bit of a rush to get home, eat tea and out the door again.

7:30 p.m. — Home, quick shower for the kids and straight to bed. We will try and do some reading and homework in the morning!

10 p.m. — Bed for us too.

"Oh, wow that’s a lot of money. Although a lot of my spending this week was work expenses that I received back almost immediately, the remaining total is a lot for one person to spend in seven days. Work costs aside, I do often feel like it just costs money to run a family and there’s often not much I can do to avoid spending. Since keeping this diary, I’ve had an email to say that the monthly cost for L’s netball is increasing to £30/month and I’ve also had to pay their next instalment for swimming which was £85. I don’t always feel like I have much choice in what/when I spend. That being said, I definitely had the choice to not spend £77 on ASOS and £68 in Primark, so perhaps I need to start being a bit more mindful when I’m scrolling or have some free time when travelling for work! Food is another big category, and we could track that a bit better. All in all, I enjoyed keeping this diary and found it really insightful."