Money Diary: A Police Community Support Officer In North Wales On 23.5k
Last Updated 18 July 2020, 6:00
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Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period – and we're tracking every last penny.
This week: "I'm 23, I live in north Wales and last summer I completed my master's degree and went into policing, by accident really. It's not something I ever imagined myself doing but I've been working as a police community support officer since October 2019. At first the responsibility completely terrified me (and still does slightly) but knowing that I am helping people at a difficult time in their lives is very rewarding. Prior to this I worked in a supermarket for four years, so the jump from earning £8 p/h to earning a salary has been a very welcome change!
After university, I moved back in with my parents in north Wales. It's not ideal but I'm lucky I can do this while I save for a house. When I moved out, they thought I was gone forever and tried to replace me with a puppy. Well HA, I'm back and now I have the dog too! (Joking, they love having me there...no, really, I do a lot of washing.)"
Industry: Policing
Age: 23
Location: North Wales
Salary: £23.5k
Paycheque amount: £1.5k after tax, NI, pension, Unison membership and master's student loan deductions. I'm not at the threshold to pay my undergraduate loan yet.
Number of housemates: Two (my mum and dad).
Age: 23
Location: North Wales
Salary: £23.5k
Paycheque amount: £1.5k after tax, NI, pension, Unison membership and master's student loan deductions. I'm not at the threshold to pay my undergraduate loan yet.
Number of housemates: Two (my mum and dad).
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: £150, which I split between Mum and Dad as they split the bills between each other.
Loan payments: None. I save up in the year and then try to pay for bigger expenses like car insurance outright.
Utilities: Included in board.
Transportation: Around £50 per month petrol.
Phone bill: £10.
Savings? I have five savings accounts, this might be excessive but it works for me as I know exactly what this money is for. £350 in a LISA for a house deposit. I put £50 in everyday savings for a holiday (this is normally £100 per month, however I'm not anticipating a holiday this year, so I've reduced it as there's already a good amount in there and I'll just use this for next year's holiday instead). I put £50 in another savings account for car maintenance and annual insurance, which is around £350 so saving £600 per year is usually enough. Then I put £50 in an ISA for emergency savings. I've reached my target of three months' savings so now I'm just topping it up so that I'm ~extra~ secure, in case I need to buy a new car or something. Which I probably will next year because mine is making some questionable noises and is 12 years old! I also have another ISA which has £7k in it, which I just put the odd £20 in here and there because I'm not entirely sure what to use this money for. I think when it's time to renew I'll put some in my house deposit LISA and then leave a couple of grand out and that can be my 'furniture' savings pot. How many savings pots is too many?
Other: £5 Spotify. Also, I'm thinking of starting a small handmade business! So I've probably spent around £50 this month buying small quantities of product to start generating ideas and testing the products out. Watch this space!
Housing costs: £150, which I split between Mum and Dad as they split the bills between each other.
Loan payments: None. I save up in the year and then try to pay for bigger expenses like car insurance outright.
Utilities: Included in board.
Transportation: Around £50 per month petrol.
Phone bill: £10.
Savings? I have five savings accounts, this might be excessive but it works for me as I know exactly what this money is for. £350 in a LISA for a house deposit. I put £50 in everyday savings for a holiday (this is normally £100 per month, however I'm not anticipating a holiday this year, so I've reduced it as there's already a good amount in there and I'll just use this for next year's holiday instead). I put £50 in another savings account for car maintenance and annual insurance, which is around £350 so saving £600 per year is usually enough. Then I put £50 in an ISA for emergency savings. I've reached my target of three months' savings so now I'm just topping it up so that I'm ~extra~ secure, in case I need to buy a new car or something. Which I probably will next year because mine is making some questionable noises and is 12 years old! I also have another ISA which has £7k in it, which I just put the odd £20 in here and there because I'm not entirely sure what to use this money for. I think when it's time to renew I'll put some in my house deposit LISA and then leave a couple of grand out and that can be my 'furniture' savings pot. How many savings pots is too many?
Other: £5 Spotify. Also, I'm thinking of starting a small handmade business! So I've probably spent around £50 this month buying small quantities of product to start generating ideas and testing the products out. Watch this space!
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