Money Diary: A Junior Doctor In Manchester On 34k

This week: "I'm a 25-year-old junior doctor, living in Manchester and currently working in women’s health. I’ve lived alone for most of the year and I actually love the solace and contentment it brings. Living on my own has been a big adjustment both financially and socially but I'm slowly trying to rebuild my savings while maintaining an active social and dating life."

Occupation: Doctor
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 25
Location: Manchester
Salary: £34,000 base pay and £12,000 unsociable/additional hours pay.
Paycheque amount: £2,350 after pension deductions, student finance.
Number of housemates: Zero humans. Many scarily large spiders lurking in corners.
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: £795 rent for a two-bed house.
Loan payments: My student loan is usually just under £300 for both undergrad and postgrad loans. I pay my credit card off in full every month and use it sporadically when I remember I should be bettering my credit score.
Pension? I have an NHS pension so pay the 9.3% into this, which comes out of my paycheque each month.
Savings? £4,500 in an ISA, £3,200 in a Lifetime ISA. I have about £700 total in Monzo pots earmarked for my car insurance and Christmas presents. I usually aim to save £200-300 a month into the ISAs and £100 a month into the Monzo pots. I’ll put a bit more in if I do any locum shifts.
Utilities: £27.27 water, £119 energy, £125 council tax, £21 internet.
All other monthly expenses: £10 mobile phone SIM only. £20 gym, £20 contact lenses, £19.99 BMA (British Medical Association, the doctors' union) fees, £3.66 contents insurance, £18.99 road tax. Subscriptions: I use our Spotify family plan, split Amazon Prime annually with my brother and also use his Disney+.

I did a five-year undergraduate medical degree and an intercalated master's in the middle of this. I paid for it using student finance and the NHS bursary for my final two years of medicine. I also received a one-off, means-tested bursary from my university in first year.

Money was pretty tight most of my childhood as we were a single-parent family. I think I am quite thrifty as a result and I try to cook economically and love discount codes. We didn’t have lots of conversations about money except to say there was a lack of it so I suppose most of my learning was passive.

I moved out for university at 18 and haven’t really lived at home since, except briefly in lockdown.

I would say I became financially responsible aged 18 when I went to uni. I worked throughout uni, particularly in the holidays. However, I suppose I became truly financially responsible when I graduated and moved away last year.

I’ve had so many! I think my first job was as a waitress in a cafe aged 16 but I have worked in pubs and tutoring science since. I wanted to learn to drive so I needed a job to pay for lessons.

Yes I do. I am fortunate with my salary but living alone was a big financial commitment that I'm still adjusting to. I remind myself that it is worth it for my mental wellbeing, even though my other high expenses like GMC (General Medical Council) fees and travel can be a bit of a hit.

My dad gave me £5,000 for my master's degree. I have included this for posterity but I don’t really count it as he didn’t pay child support for years so in my head it’s more like a delayed payment.