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WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal 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 development chemist on €63K living in Cork City. This week, a 25-year-old primary school teacher on €38K living in Dublin.
I am a 25-year-old primary school teacher in my third year of teaching. I went to college in Dublin and have worked here since. I spent the first year and a half of my career living with my parents, as I did through college, before moving out with two friends from college to rent in Dublin during the pandemic. Doubling my commute and expenses by doing so, but the mental health benefits and freedom are worth the price (sometimes).
I have applied for a career break for the next school year so I’ve been trying to save for the last while to fund a few months in South America with my partner. This is proving difficult while paying rent and bills in Dublin on a teacher’s income, making me think I should have saved more during lockdowns rather than blowing it on a few weeks long summer holidays as soon as the opportunity came last summer.
I always knew that money wasn’t great in teaching, but when my close friends from school are earning twice as much money as me in their jobs, it’s quite frustrating. For the hours that go into the job, aside from the contractual 30, there’s no bonuses, incentives or even opportunity to work harder for more/performances appraisals/overtime. And before we go into the provisions teachers can do at Easter and summer, or taking on a part-time job some evenings/weekends, we fall into that unfortunate tax bracket that doesn’t make half a wage worth the hours, particularly if it’s going to impact our performance in the profession. If someone has a better alternative to teach and make more money, I’m all ears.
Some will tell you teaching is a vocation and those that do it and do it well, it’s out of kindness and sort of guilt to do good for the faces sitting in front of them, not the joy we get from planning and preparation in our “own” time.
Anyhow, this is a rough week of expenditure for me, possibly living out of my debt as I totalled up my expenses for the week.
Occupation: Primary school teacher
Age: 25
Location: Dublin
Salary: €38,225
Monthly pay (net): €2,371.90
Transport: €80 for petrol
Rent: €700
Car insurance: €650 paid in full January
Household bills: €60
Phone bill: €15
Gym: €25
Health insurance: €55
Groceries: €180
Subscriptions: Netflix €15.99, Spotify €7.99, Amazon prime €9.53.
Savings: €120 credit union, €300 into savings account. Swimming classes I teach €120
Approx expenses: €1,150
7.00 am: Get up and make a breakfast of eggs, turkey sausages and coffee.
10.20 am: Cooked four chicken fillets for lunches this week. Chop them up and put them into paninis with mixed leaves, mayo and cheese.
12.20 pm: Lunchtime. Popped my pre-made panini into the George Foreman in the staffroom and it’s good to go.
3.00 pm: Took a trip to the gym after school and came home for dinner. My housemate was cooking as she does Mondays so we had a garlic crispy chicken dish with rice.
5.00 pm: Sat in and watched a movie (The Gentlemen – 10/10) on Netflix, while tipping away at schoolwork on laptops again.
Today’s total: €0.00
7.00 am: More eggs, turkey sausages and coffee.
10.20 am: Another day, another lunch prepped for work using Sunday’s shop. Chicken fillet paninis again.
12.20 pm: Where would I be without the George Foreman?
3.00 pm: I took an irregular visit to the doctor because I found a lump (always check it out if you’re not sure). I have VHI cover which includes three free video consultations a year I think, but I knew this needed a physical exam so I went to my GP. €60 for peace of mind is a small price to pay. Nothing out of the ordinary – my doctor referred me for an ultrasound to confirm what he thinks and, all going well, it’s nothing to be worried about.
3.30 pm: Trip to the gym with a friend, finished off with 20 minutes on the Stairmaster because we have no intention of wanting to walk tomorrow.
6.30 pm: I cook a prawn fried rice dish for myself and my housemates using the goods from Sunday’s shop in Lidl, plus rice and spices that are always plentiful in the house.
8.00 pm: My girlfriend comes over for the evening and we watch This Way Up on Netflix – definitely recommend, some quality Irish acting. We have some dark chocolate and tea and go to bed. No school work this evening.
Today’s total: €60.00
7.00 am: Yep. Eggs, turkey sausage and coffee again.
10.20 am: More prepped lunches and snacks for school. Roast chicken paninis don’t get old.
12.20 pm: See earlier entry on what I have for lunch.
1.00 pm: I find out we got hit with an astronomical electricity bill of nearly €400 today because we didn’t realise our contract ran out. We ring and got a contract renewed to give us 30% off the bill. It’s still a lot more expensive than usual, but then again, we were home a lot during Christmas and isolating with Covid. (€89.13)
3.30 pm: After hanging back in school to get a few plans and resources ready, I teach a few swimming classes on Wednesday evenings to add to my savings.
5.00 pm: I get half an hour of gym in before teaching another swimming class.
7.30 pm: My housemate cooks a really good katsu curry for dinner and then it’s winddown time with some TV for me while they do some schoolwork.
9.30 pm: Off to bed – 25 never sounded so boring.
Today’s total: €89.13
7.00 am: Breakfast? You guessed it.
8.30 am: Spend €7.50 on Lotto tickets after a morning discussion with my housemate about how the €19 million must be won this Saturday. If you’re reading this, I probably didn’t win.
11.00 am: I had booked a hotel for myself and my partner over Christmas as a surprise. We had to reschedule for this weekend coming because of some earlier Covid outbreaks. The hotel charged my account today, the day before rent is due. . . (€180).
3.00 pm: After a short staff meeting I book in for a haircut after work given the weekend that’s in it. (€25)
6.00 pm: Myself and my two housemates decided to go to a restaurant in town for dinner. The restaurant tried to sit us at a sopping wet table with big holes in the gazebo so I said it to a different waitress passing and they gave us an €80 voucher when they saw me take a picture of the table (only to send to my friends to get a kick out of, the manager must have seen it in a different way). The meal comes to €82 and we leave €8 tip. I send on my housemate €2.30 for the €10 she added to the bill because that’s all I have left in my Revolut.
8.00 pm: We’re home and with no schoolwork to do for Friday, it’s 14 Peaks on Netflix before another 9.30 pm bedtime.
Today’s total: €214.80
7.00 am: Breakfast as usual.
9.00 am: The rent is due. My share works out at €715 after I pay the balance my housemate takes off for bins and WiFi.
2.30 pm: School is wrapped up for the week and I hang back to get ready for the week ahead.
4.00 pm: I meet my partner in the gym for the last session of the week.
6.00 pm: I go and top up the car with €25 fuel and go to Lidl to get some bits for dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast (blueberry and banana pancakes, shout out to Daniel Davey). Have steak in the freezer, so I just need a few other things to do with it - broccoli and garlic and thyme roast potatoes. Pick up coffee and a few other bits for the house, which total €20.99. We have dinner and make two gin sling cocktails with leftover alcohol from Christmas.
Today’s total: €760.99
12.00 pm: I drive us down to the hotel, which is only about an hour and a half away. I owe my partner about a year’s worth of driving as I only upgraded from motorbike to car recently and wasn’t very useful for lifts before that.
2.00 pm: My partner gets us lunch to balance out the dinner bits from last night. Spend a few hours before checking in around the shops. There’s a sale in Zara so for €19.98, I get myself two pairs of jeans. They’re dressy enough to wear out (until 8 pm) yet comfy enough for school. A win-win.
4.00 pm: Go to Tesco to pick up some bits for our night away. Popcorn and G&T pre mixes come to €18.70. Forgot to bring some of the leftover alcohol in the house. We spend an hour or so relaxing in the pool and using the facilities before we go for our meal.
7.30 pm: My partner gets us dinner and drinks because I have paid for the hotel. I get another drink afterwards (€7.70). Turns out, I have won €3 in the National Lotto. It’s not the €19 million, but it’s enough to pay the toll back home (or so I think).
Today’s total: €46.38
11.00 am: We have our breakfast in the hotel and check out. We go for a little walk around the grounds and grab a coffee and protein ball before heading back to Dublin. My partner gets our coffees and we call it square between that, lunch and dinner for the petrol money and shopping. At this point, I should note that she is also a teacher and we earn the same amount of money.
1.00 pm: Spend €2.70 for a bottle of VitHit for the road.
2.00 pm: €5 on the toll home because the machine logged my Volkswagen Polo as a heavy goods vehicle and didn’t register coins I put into the basket!
3.00 pm: Get home and decide to get my car ready for the NCT. €12.99 for a wash, €1 to fill the tyres with air. We then go to Aldi to do the weekly shop. €34.18 for me, send €3 on to my housemate for our dinner this evening – carbonara from scratch.
Today’s total: €55.87
***
What I learned:
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These depraved people traffickers know full well that no EU nation will allow a ship carrying hundreds of migrants crash onto rocks drowning and injuring hundreds of people….set the course and let it go. These traffickers should be shot on sight….
They must be brought to justice but once you put them down other dogs will happily step forward to fill the void. People are desperate and will continue to venture on such dangerous journeys until the motives driving them to go are addressed.
Of course they should not be allowed to crash onto rocks, but at the same allowing every one of these ghost ships to disembark it’s passengers in the EU, just compounds the problem and only encourages the smugglers. They should be intercepted and towed back to wherever they came from.
Because they know that the EU is a soft touch and that we want to commit cultural suicide.
Because they are desperate for some sort of life that everyone needs. Look on it as foreign aid for the less well off.
Well they should not mess up there own country, we don’t want there wars on our streets like in Hamburg a few weeks ago between Sunnis and Kurds.
How is it foreign aid if they end up living here and attaching themselves to European social welfare? These people are illegal trespassers and need to be treated as such. Those behind the trafficking need to be ruthlessly hunted down and arrested.
The days of Europe allowing in everyone and anyone with a sob story needs to be put to bed. We are not a global soup kitchen.
Cultural suicide?
Sounds very brehvik to me…
Yes, cultural suicide. They don’t just give up their own culture, customs and religious beliefs once they enter Europe, you know? The question is, is their culture, customs and religous beliefs compatible with ours?
Careful now Jay, your thin veil of prejudice is slipping
I think the culture in third world countries is greatly inferior to that of ours here in Western Europe.
Sue me.
Yes – what with all our wars, theft of language and religious suppression – we’re just so much better here in good old Europe.
Stunning.
Europe has been at peace for over half a century, is pretty secular and theft of languages? You’re speaking English.
We have over 20 million people unemployed in Europe. A lot of them are non EU immigrants as is(Souce: http://www.euractiv.com/sections/social-europe-jobs/non-eu-citizens-twice-likely-be-unemployed-303834).
Where will these people work? Its not like we have a shortage of unskilled labour. Where will live? Will they need healthcare? Education? Language lessons? Welfare? Who shall pay for it all?
We are not running a global soup kitchen here.
Ok Jay ok….. I’ve had a look through the other comments you’ve made on here and it’s obvious that you are not anti-immigration. You’re quite simply anti everyone else.
There’s no talking to people who have decided that everything is wrong with any given issue.
He raises valid points though Tony, who will cater to these individuals and their needs in Europe and who will pay for it? Futhermore what of the countless millions that will follow them, where are they to go?
Care to deal with the points that I made? Stop bringing up Breivik and trying to smear me. You wouldn’t have the balls to do that to my face, so don’t do it online. Deal with the topic at hand.
Searching through my posts. You’re an odd character.
I agree there are serious issues with migration, but the simplicity of “send them back” as a solution? That just doesn’t work.
These days a lot of these boats are filled with Syria refugees. To even call them migrants is inaccurate.
What doesn’t sit well about it all is a whole mess of double standards. Tens of thousands of Syrian people dead, tons of illegal irish in America yet we still talk of send them back?
Immigration as a lot of challenges and I can’t say I know what the solutions are, but it’s not to create resentment between nations.
I made the point that e made a similar claim. I would make the same point to your face, nothing to do with balls.
I’ve no wish to get into flaming, I just don’t see any reasonable solution being offered.
If “send them back” is your only offering then you’ve as much to offer as me in terms of solutions. Immigration is a fact, and wasn’t an issue during the boom.
What country did you live in during the boom? It was a huge issue. As for solutions. How about this. An immigration policy that benefits the country and natives, not only the immigrants. An immigration policy that prioritises skilled migrants and entrepreneurs, but also keeps out the unskilled, uneducated or those that came for the mooch. All “language schools” closed. Those that undertook sham marriages for residency to be deported along with failed asylum seekers. Instead of dishing out citizenship like confetti at them.
How’s about that for starters?
I lived in a country that BENEFITTED from migrants during the boom (this one).
Very little of your suggestions address people who are fleeing places where there have been thousands of deaths. Personally, I think you’re right with closing loopholes; I don’t think anyone should have to pay for those who’s only intention is to take advantage.
Maybe you should have started with that rather than agreeing with “cultural suicide”.
I’ll send 3 of them over to your gaff later, Tony. Assume you’ll be cool with it.
A homeless man died only a few meters from our national parliament. The problem of homelessness is growing by the day.
The Knights of Columbanus, who dish out Christmas lunches every year to the needy, said the numbers coming to them has doubled in the last three years.
We have enough deprived people of our own to cope with than to import even more
We spent €635 million on foreign aid last year. How much of that could have been used to alleviate the homeless situation at home?
This was always bound to occur with foreign leaders and governments being toppled on Europe’s doorstep.
Its a tragic situation which will undoubtedly warrant multiple tactics and answers to remedy but a zero tolerance policy surely must be adopted similar to that which Australia has succesfully used to stem the flow and reduce drownings. When boats are being towed back to their port of origin these desperate souls and the others waiting will realize its a pointless endeavour, thus removing the carrot the traffickers are only too delighted to dangle in front of them. Otherwise where do you draw the line? At what point should Europe stop accepting responsibility and demand the Islamic countries of the region like Iran, Qatar, SA do their part?
The UN and EU should also be establishing safe areas with the essentials and the things they desiee (security, housing, schools, hospitals etc) in the countries where these migrants originate to lessen the temptation to travel.
It looks good for TDs and MPS and euro minsters to take them in but how many are they taking into there posh areas they dump them on working and middle class areas and then forget about them and who pays for this joe public as always.
Couldnt agree more. Id love to see Aodhain O R take in the Roma and Asylum seekers he has such a fetish for and put them in housing right next to his own. Unfortunately that will never happen. The government like to take these people in to look good, and then they f*ck them out to the working class suburbs far away from their cosy D4 houses next to the HQ of their propaganda station RTE.
Meanwhile in “working class land”, the local Spar have employment contracts with agencies in India, the local Lidl have employment contracts with agencies in Eastern Europe. The school places are set to prioritise “diverse” children. The local housing is set to prioritise “diverse” families. (just look at the story a few weeks ago on the journal where Irish families were being evicted to essentially make way for immigrant families)
Vice did a good documentary about these boats landing in Lampedusa.
The elite and bankers want us all to be drowned in debt (the way we are right now) and living in poverty. It’s working. Wake up sheep. Heck the Chinese believe this is the year of the sheep.
Sink it at sea…
174,000 make it to Italy, a couple of thousand die. 95+% success rate, don’t expect people to stop coming for a while!! Money well spent really…
Man the torpedos!
Extreme right and ill informed comments here are the majority thus far. Worrying, especially for a nation who largely enjoy free movement.
have your say