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WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on TheJournal.ie that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances.
We’re asking readers to keep a record of how much they earn, what they save if anything, and what they’re spending their money on over the course of one week.
Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? We’re looking for readers who will keep a money diary for a week. If you’re interested send a mail to money@thejournal.ie. We would love to hear from you.
Each money diary is submitted by readers just like you. When reading and commenting, bear in mind that their situation will not be relatable for everyone, it is simply an account of a week in their shoes, so let’s be kind.
Last time around, we heard from a primary school teacher living in Sligo trying to curb her spending. This week, a loan officer enjoys life in Wexford after a move from Dublin because of Covid.
Having lived in Dublin for the past five years, the pandemic has changed my situation so I am back home in the southeast working a mix of remotely and commuting to the office in Dublin. As I no longer pay Dublin rent, my savings have increased overall.
To put this in perspective, I have been saving regularly since I began working but had only accumulated close to €2,000 to put towards the ambition of owning a house or apartment. Since lockdown, I have almost saved triple this amount, which makes sense as I no longer need to dip into my savings for holidays or similar expenses.
Before the pandemic, I was previously very social and between nights out with my friends and going on dates, I find that the money I would have spent, is slowly accumulating in my current account.
Although I miss renting with my three friends, being out of Dublin certainly meant there were more outdoor activities and open areas to take advantage of, which would not have been within my 5K in Dublin.
Occupation: Loan Officer
Age: 31
Location: Wexford
Salary: €34,000
Monthly pay (net): Approximately 2,300 +/- Overtime & Weekends.
Transport: €175
Rent: €0
Upkeep: €200
Household bills: €50
Phone bill: €20
Health insurance: I don’t have it
Groceries: €420 +
Netflix: €7.00
Spotify: €9.99
Gym: On Hold
Car Loan: €165
***
7.15 am: As I am on the early shift this week my alarm rings an hour earlier than usual. We have a Team Meeting first thing which is painful but I guess it is motivation to be at my desk on time. Not having to commute today is great and there is no need to dress appropriately for the office, so 15 minutes allows time for a shower and to load up the laptop. I opt to skip breakfast.
8.45 am: As I have perfected my early shift routine, 15 minutes gives enough time to grab a coffee at a local petrol station and be back at the desk on time. They offer a loyalty scheme where you get your 7th coffee free, but I am three coffees shy. (€3.35).
12.30 pm: My lunch couldn’t have come sooner as I was beginning to fade away. I grab a sandwich and stretch the legs outside in the garden.
3.30 pm: Being on the early shift means more time for activities after work and combined with working from home, there is no commute. It really extends my day. The weather isn’t bad so after a quick banana, I head out for a jog. I vary between listening to podcasts and music, but as my concentrations levels are low, the music is turned on.
5.00 pm: My mam asks me to do the shopping. I strangely look forward to going to the shops these days and the chance of getting out of the house and interacting with society. There are a total of three shopping lists, each for a separate supermarket. To confuse things further, she has added the specific brand beside each product. She obviously has no faith in my shopping ability.
5.30 pm: I come across a great deal on cans of Guinness that I couldn’t walk past. I consider that 24 cans seems like a lot but opt to buy them anyway. I ensure that they are not the fixed widget 470ml cans before I proceed as they don’t quite fill the pint glass, something that annoys me. Half the enjoyment is the aesthetics.
I phone home to confirm one or two items before spending €165.00 across the shops. Of this, I separate out my things which comes to €52.00.
7.45 pm: Dinner is handed to me (yet another perk) and I flick through the TV stations.
9.00 pm: As I am commuting tomorrow, I opt to call it a day.
Today’s total: €55.35
06:15 am : The early shift starts somewhat earlier as I am commuting today. I am on the road straight after my shower. It is hard to know if I could commute when sectors normalise as I don’t think just over an hour door to door would be possible with an increase in traffic. I am happy to take advantage of the reduced traffic for now.
7.30 am: I am at my desk on time. A mystery colleague has left a post-it drawing on my desk, slagging my football team’s performance over the weekend. It’s good to have friendly banter in the office and I shrug off his comments – it’s air off a bird’s back. Apart from that, the day begins as normal.
8.45 am: I keep a box of Weetabix in my drawer and help myself to a bowl using the communal office milk. As I don’t drink coffee or tea, I view milk usage in the same way. Not sure if my colleagues agree. My friends are on opposite shifts to me so I spend my break scrolling through Instagram before returning to my desk.
12:30 pm: The canteen has remained open, although with a reduced menu. It is subsidised so I get the full dinner. (€4.95)
4:00 pm: On my way home I stop for some petrol and as my phone credit is due to expire, I top up too. (€60.50)
5:30 pm: Feeling somewhat exhausted from the busy workday, I find myself slouched on the couch watching quiz shows. It is hard to stay motivated all the time.
7:30 pm: After dinner, I decide to go for a walk. I throw on a podcast and head towards the beach. There are a few people swimming and judging by their reactions the water is cold. I myself reserve my swimming for hotter climates and I think getting into the Irish Sea is a form of torture.
9:30 pm: I flick through the TV and find an easy watch movie before going to bed.
Today’s total: €65.45
9:00 am: My alarm goes off at a reasonable hour as I am on Annual Leave today. We have been encouraged to take our AL so I opted for Wednesday to break up the week. My plan for the day is to try to recreate what a normal annual leave day would be like in Dublin.
9:45 am: Work out time. I bought weights years ago which have been sitting in the garage unused. It’s a poor substitute for the gym but it’s better than nothing. I notice my protein powder is low and put it on the list.
11:30 am: Now that I am showered and my exercise is done for the day, I scroll through social media, check a few websites and order the protein (€35.00).
12:30 pm: In Dublin, I would usually head to a pub for lunch, and enjoy a pint while reading the paper. I do my best to recreate this at home. I set up a space in the living room and put on a classic GAA match to create a sense of atmosphere. In fairness, the cold can of Guinness goes down well and complements my toasted sandwich – they go down too well.
6:00 pm: My mother comes home to give me the guilt trip as to how I’ve spent my day off. It feels like I’m back in school. For all the benefits of living at home, the freedom to act at my discretion is not one of them. I get out of the house and go for a walk to clear my head.
8:00 pm: In my giddy state, I return home with a bunch of flowers, as an apology to my mother. She is delighted and all is forgiven. There is some leftover dinner which I help myself to before collapsing in bed. It really close to being the perfect day off and just what I needed to relax. (€6.99)
Today’s total: €41.99
7.15 am: Working from home again starts with my usual routine. I am five minutes late for the Team meeting, and not feeling too fresh.
8.45 am: I raid the presses for some cereal and some toast. My groggy state makes sense as I see that I had three cans of Guinness yesterday, a lot for a school night and for someone who doesn’t drink often.
3.30 pm: My shift finally ends and I head up to my bedroom. Covid has given us all an opportunity to try new hobbies and mine is singing. I have always felt I have a good singing voice but never had the courage to try. It wouldn’t be perceived well amongst my circle of friends, so I have never acted on my thoughts until now. I do impressions of famous voices (my personal favourite is Morgan Freeman), so have good control over my voice and can hold a tune very well. I have been following YouTube videos and am considering signing up for an online class for greater motivation. My goal is to be able to participate in a singing during a wedding, so hopefully I will be ready when my friends tie the knot.
6.00 pm: I hear movement downstairs so stop the singing practice. I am asked what time dinner will be ready, so I must have made a few promises last night during my apology. I don’t mind cooking and it is something to do. I stick on a podcast while I prepare the chicken and pasta feast. It goes down well.
7:30 pm: There are champions league games tonight so I watch the build up with my brother who has come over for the evening. I usually would stream the games in Dublin, but having the sports channels at home is great.
10:00 pm: As I get ready for bed I realise that I have not left the house once today. This is sometimes common when working from home and I make a mental note to be more active this weekend.
Today’s total: €0.00
6:15 am: I am up and ready for the last early start of the week. I am excited for the weekend as I have arranged a second date with someone I have met online. I had heard mixed reviews from virtual dates and initially thought it would have been awkward. The first date turned out to be quite fun in fact and I am looking forward to my chats again with her.
7.30 am: I am at my desk on time. Another post-it drawing on my desk, this time wishing my football team good luck from the day before… unfortunately they lost last night.
12:30 pm: It is subsidised dinner again for lunch. (€4.95) I spend my lunch thinking of solid conversation topics for my date. We decided last time to keep it to 40 minutes. In hindsight, this was a great call as we had run out of topics to discuss. By the end of the call were somehow embarrassingly debating which was the superior of biscuit or cake (biscuit all the way).
4:15 pm: I decided to stop for petrol on the way home and grab some cookies and milk (€44.20).
5:00 pm: As I haven’t much else to do so I pretend that I am going on an in-person date. I have my music playing to get me in the mood and get in a good mindset. I’m loving Damian Dempsey at the moment so sing along to that.
8:20 pm: The time has come. I sit down 10 minutes to gather my nerves. Equipped with a perfectly poured pint of Guinness, we took off where we left. Laura, who looks a Million Dollars, is remotely attending college in University of Limerick. It was interesting to hear how different it must be to attend college during the pandemic, in comparison to my college experience. We have other general chats and the date goes really well. We even decide to extend the call past the 40 minutes which has to be a good sign. Overall I’m pretty thrilled.
9:30 pm: Still enough day left to watch a movie. After a frustrating fifteen minutes of trying to choose a movie, I go with the tried and tested, Batman.
Today’s total: €49.15
9:30 am: I go for my morning run and listen to sports podcast on Brian O’Driscoll. I have always been a big fan, even more so after he retweeted me, one of my many claims to fame.
11:30 am: During Lockdown I started, which I hope to be, a side earner. I am buying sports memorabilia and collectable items online and hope they hold their value so that they can be sold at a profit in years to come. I buy a signed pair of predator boots and some old editions of Match Magazine. Hopefully my efforts pay off and the second mouse gets the cheese. (€268.78)
2:00 pm: It’s a fine day so I opt to potter around in the garden. I eventually get the lawn mower going after consulting a Youtube video. I am used to electric lawn mowers but there is far more grass to be cut than previously in Dublin. I try to listen to music but it’s far too loud to enjoy.
6:30 pm: We decide to have a night in and order take away. In comparison to Dublin, the choice is sparse, but everyone likes pizza. I foot the bill this time (€28.00)
8:00 pm: There is not much to do but stick on Netflix. I can never seem to find anything good to watch so opt to revert to the TV stations. I text one of my friends and arrange a kick about for tomorrow.
11:00 pm: I hit the bed after a semi productive day.
Today’s total: €276.78
10:00 am: I finally get up having scrolled through various social media for a good hour. After breakfast, I have a workout session in my garage.
2:00 pm: I meet up with my friend who I haven’t seen in a good while. With restrictions easing slightly, it is great to be able to meet outdoors. We head to the local GAA club to practice kicking points. I want to stay fit for when football returns. We do some hand passing drills before wagering who can kick the furthest free. No surprises there as I specialise in hand passes and shoulders in the back and he is a more skilful player. He wins the bet and I hand over a fiver (€5.00)
4.30 pm: I walk home and drop into the petrol station for a drink and a bar. €4.15
6:00 pm: I have dinner and settle down to relax for the evening. Between watching TV and scrolling on my phone, the weekend comes to an end.
Today’s total: €9:15
***
What I learned –
I’m surprised that my weekly spending is high after one week.
I really hope my investments in sports memorabilia pay off or I will be left with a lot of expensive and quite useless items. In future, I will limit my spending to a fixed amount per month.
Not having to pay rent has made the biggest financial impact on my life and I am grateful to have this option. My return to Dublin is something I need to consider carefully.
I think I will deactivate my Netflix account. I rarely can find something I am interested in and most of the time just watch TV.
Working from home versus commuting not only saves travel costs but also has a real positive impact on my day and activities. Fingers crossed this remains an option post-Covid.
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Well that’s what happens when you run a public health system on the brink of collapse for 9 years. Soon as there’s unforeseen extra load placed on it, you’re in trouble.
@Unconvertible Rebel: Get a grip. Government doing a fantastic job, look across the water both ways.
@Unconvertible Rebel: Bit of a difference between an extra load and a global pandemic. Health services all over the world are struggling to deal with this issue
@Unconvertible Rebel: Ah stop, I agree our public health service was under performing but nobody could have imagine a health emergency of these proportions.
@Unconvertible Rebel: no country in the world has been able to cope with it
@Unconvertible Rebel: a ridiculous comment. You can’t run a health service for a pandemic that might happen every hundred years. It’s not feasible and definitely not necessary.
@Unconvertible Rebel: oh ,just go away please -I am sick and tired of the same old BS being trotted out here every day – If you have nothing positive to say just keep quiet .
@Unconvertible Rebel: There’s no hospital system in the world that would have the capicity we’ll need in the coming weeks. By the way, our health system has been unslder resourced for much longer than 9 years, not sure where you’re getting that time frame from!
@Unconvertible Rebel: my sentiments exactly, as much as they appear to be doing all they can, there has been fundamental problems that have gone unsolved in the HSE for years which has then caused this enormous pressure on the service. I wonder statistically speaking if you contract serious complications with covid-19 in which areas of the country are you most likely to die, such as it is with heart attacks etc due to lack of services and resources? Morbid but true.
@Unconvertible Rebel: Look if you’re going to use this epidemic to score political points the *least* you could do is actually expand on the topic in some kind of meaningful or useful way.
For example, as a country we are in the Top 10 worldwide in terms of spending per capita on health. As such we don’t have a spending (ie political) issue, we have a management (ie civil-service) issue. So the reality is it doesn’t really matter who gets elected in terms of our health service since our civil service is entrenched in their position like it’s the Somme and the year is 1916.
And if you ask a politician what they think they can do about this they will just stare at you as if you just asked them to fly. So not only does the actual problem get almost no recognition, it’s further compounded by the fact that our health service is treated like a political football come election time. Unless we solve these structural blockers actual reform is borderline impossible. You might as well be trying to learn how to fly.
@Breda Kelly: Ablab alamas Canadian eh?
@Tony Lyons: much like the Who and its Chinese masters you seem to overlook Taiwan
@Unconvertible Rebel: Sit down in a dark room you fool.
@Breda Kelly: me ass doing a great job
@Unconvertible Rebel: clown
@Breda Kelly: another North-South polist among us. Shameful.
@Breda Kelly: I’m don’t seem to be buying into this government doing a great job.. the government are simple taking orders from the health professionals. And why is Leo Varadkar posing for photos. Seems every opportunity is a photo shoot for them..
@Unconvertible Rebel: Sinn Fein troll. You are doing more damage to the party with your rubbish on herd than their elected members singing IRA songs drunk in bars.
@Paul O’Sullivan: oh look, another brand new faceless twitter account calling anyone who isnt singing leos praises SF trolls.
the spin unit is back
@Breda Kelly: per percentage of population, the UK are faring both better and worse than us in Ireland, so it’s a fairly uninformed argument that they are faring much worse than us. Better In UK: 0.0449% as of population who are infected as to Ireland’s 0.0714%. However, deaths in UK 0.00354% compared to Ireland’s 0.00176%. Median age in Ireland is 36.5years while in the UK it is 40years, so you should statistically see more deaths there than here as a % of population. What I’d love to compare are the number of beds and ICU beds, ventilators and testing kits
@John O Brien: the sign of a good leader is listening to the experts. Look at the 2 countries either side of us!
@Irene Mc Hugh: Irene it would be very boring here if people cannot say what they want. Be more open minded to a variety of comments & opinions. Adds variety.
If u can’t take it deactivate your account.
@Declan Edward: you haven’t taken into account that we had tested I’ve twice as many per head on the positive numbers
@johnny onion eye: didn’t take it into account! We’re pretty much on the same playing field so. I did expect UKs numbers to be much worse considering that 83% live in urban areas compared to Ireland’s 63%.
@Breda Kelly: delays in carrying out testing and test results government claim shortage of supply yes other countries dont have same problems.
Yes doing amazing job alright
@Unconvertible Rebel: shut up with your pander you can see the whole world is suffering. Please stop with wrongful propaganda. God bless
@Maria: Dustin would look good in comparison to those two as apes
@Declan Edward: I’m sorry Declan but you can’t draw meaningful comparisons with the U.K. in terms of the numbers of infected. They aren’t testing serious numbers of people. Proportionately, Ireland is testing far more people. The U.K. stats are internationally accepted as unreliable. Moreover, where deaths occur outside of the hospital environment due to Covid they are not included in the U.K. figures at the moment as I understand it.
@John O Brien: Another person who thinks, conveniently, that the Govt are taking orders from civil servants. The legal of ignorance amongst a cohort of certain Journal commentators about how democratic Government works is illuminating. The Govt takes advice from civil and public servants. Advice. All key decisions are taken by Government and nobody else. They are them accountable for those decisions. The Govt don’t follow “orders” from the unelected. They are not SF for goodness sake.
Harris telling us the HSE is under pressure! Yes Simon we’ve been telling you that for years now!
@Colette Kearns: I remember visiting hospitals be in the 1970s when religious orders were in charge. Everything was spotless. You could smell the antiseptic in the air. There wasn’t any huge waiting lists. A first world health service at time when we were economically poor. It seems like our liberal “progression” has regressed our health system to that of a 3rd world nation. Bring back the nuns!
@Colette Kearns: thanks Colette for your intelligent input to the unforeseen problem Ireland and the whole world are experiencing at this moment in time. When this is all over run for the elections and you can show us all the expert you are while running the health service in this country.
@John Devaney: Yeah, I used to live it when they beat the snot out of us when they ran the schools. But sure at least they were spotless schools
@Colette Kearns: maybe you should run the health service so?. We can all complain. Unfortunately the HSE isn’t a quick fix. Increase in funding has been allocated in the last few budgets, but it is once of those areas that every country find it hard to run effectively.
@John Devaney: no. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. My grandmothers used to say that you only go into hospital to die. Nuns or no nuns, we didn’t have a wonderful health system. There was a very recent modern push to reform it, by which I mean shake off the abusive practices that other countries had successfully reformed from 1964 onwards. You were far too young to realise how many women were literally crippled by an outdated system; nor how many men died before their time. Oh, and the clean smell of antiseptic was applied by enslaved pregnant women, conned into believing they deserved to work for a pittance, while their children were being starved in orphanages. Stop sniffing the air and support the health service staff working in this century.
@John Devaney: in the 1970s DOBwas bearly out of short pants
@John Devaney: Was that when you were out pulling women? Looking back is great, the good times ehhh…. except medicine has moved on quite a bit, costs a fortune and we can treat way more illnesses…..
@Steve O’Reilly: BS very few developed countries in Europe have a similar shambles of a health service as ours.
@John Devaney: that’s a common misconception. Hospitals nowadays are just as clean. Its the superbugs you can’t see due to decades of over prescribing which are the problem in controlling infections.
@John Devaney: leave them where they are. That was the time where u would be two weeks in hospital if u were having your appendix out.
@Colette Kearns: Very true. Its what happens when you initiative something to Death. The money can spread over far far too much and not enough Butter. Scale back protect the core services.
Will you all stop bashing Unconvertible Rebel..and look at the photo…Leo will want to practice what he preaches…He is NOT 2 metres away
@brian reid: I see that. It might be the camera angle, it’s hard to judge with foreshortening. They certainly don’t look as if they’re 2 metres apart. We can’t tell but let’s assume for the sake of thinking it through that they have both been tested recently and aren’t carriers, because they have essential roles.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Silly statement..( they have been tested )does not stop them from catching it in the future…this virus does not distinguish what job you do..
@brian reid: no fear he wont go near her.
@Paul O’Sullivan: maybe she would just to let him see what he is missing
This has publicity stunt wrote all over it. How in the midst of the worse pandemic we have seen in our lifetime is he going round smiling in these pictures like its something to be proud of. I really dont understand this man at the best of times in the riddles and smoke screens but these pics are like a bloody advert!
@Christine Hanway: reminds me a bit of when he saw what way the wind was blowing & jumped on the Repeal bandwagon. Everything is calculated PR opportunity with him
@Christine Hanway: did he not advise us to NOT make any non essential journeys? Did he not advise us to stay at home where possible? Was this really an essential journey, did both himself and Harris really have to be there? Another photo opportunity and a chance for them to tell us how wonderful they are.
His ego is out of control!!!
Very hygienic, park your ar#e on the treatment couch. The hired help will deal with it.
Government doing a good job. We are lucky we are not in the UK or the US. EU overlords doing sod all for anyone.
have your say