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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 trainee accountant on €33K living in Dublin. This week, an engineer on €65K living in Co Galway.
I’m currently living about 15km outside Galway city. I’ve struggled with spending and I find there’s usually “a lot of month left over at the end of the money “. I’ve tried to be more mindful this year and had even started to save €500 per month into a Revolut account. Unfortunately, I’ve had car trouble and had to rent a car that’s costing me €165 a week, so I’m struggling again.
My wife and I have joint savings that we have neither touched nor added to in the past two to three years. I put them in a Raisin Bank savings account this year to get the best interest rates, which are still fairly low at 2%. My mum is elderly and lives on her own, so I contribute to some of her bills.
Occupation: Senior process development engineer
Age: 46
Location: Galway
Salary: €65,000
Monthly pay (net): €3,528.85
Transport: I average about €150 a month on petrol
Rent: €510 for half of a mortgage. We’re on a tracker mortgage, so it’s great to have rates going in the right direction again
Phone bill: €35
Health insurance: N/a – covered by employer
Groceries: Variable – we’ve a SuperValu on our doorstep, so I don’t do a big weekly shop
After School and Breakfast clubs: €49.60 a week
Broadband: €120 (€70 for home plus I also pay €50 for my mothers broadband)
Savings account for son: €67.50
Phonewatch: €52.49
Sky TV for my mother’s house: €72.00
App for school lunch: €20.00
Extra curricular activities:
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6.30 am: I usually have the alarm set for 6 am and doze for a few minutes before getting up. I have a coffee and do a bit of work online, just planning out my day or week, both work and extracurricular activities my son might have or keeping active, etc. and send a few Teams messages or emails.
7.30 am: I have a shower before waking my son up at 8 am. Monday to Wednesday, I get him up and ready for school and then walk to school with him before driving to work. On Thursdays and Fridays, he’s in the breakfast club, and he’s in after school from Monday to Thursday. That all costs €49.60 per week, which isn’t bad for the service we get. Once school term ends, you’re talking about €120-€150 a week on various summer camps
8.30 am: I have porridge and toast, and my son has toast.
9.15 am: I arrive at work and clock in. I asked for flexibility when taking the job, and my employer has accommodated me.
1.00 pm: Time for lunch. Yesterday I got my ‘meal prep’ done (picked up enough ready meals to keep me going for the week!). It’s usually two for €11 or two for €12. Today it’s chicken curry.
4.40 pm: I try to put in an eight or eight-and-a-half-hour day regardless of start time, so I take a quick break. I grab something from the local petrol station: popcorn chicken, Club Energise and a bar. (€6.15)
6.00 pm: Motivation levels are low, so I clock out. I message my wife. We don’t need bread, milk or anything else, so I head straight home.
7.00 pm: I get my son off YouTube and we do a bit of arts and crafts and puzzles.
8.30 pm: Bedtime for my son. This usually takes about an hour between getting changed, reading, brushing teeth and eventually falling asleep.
10.00 pm: I’ve dozed off myself. I should tidy for a bit, but I end up doom scrolling for a half hour before getting into bed and falling asleep at 11pm.
Today’s total: €6.15
6.00 am: My wife is working from home today, so I use this as a chance to get into work early. I have a coffee before I go rather than getting a pricey one on the road, and grab some porridge from the press to bring with me.
6.45 am: Arrive at work.
11.00 am: I get tickets for Saturday’s Tipperary v Galway game in Limerick. I love sport, but I don’t get to too many matches nowadays. I grew up in Tipperary and have lived in Galway for 12 years, so I’ll be happy for whoever wins! Ironically, after being to one match all year (Clare v Tipperary in hurling), I’m going to two big ones this weekend: Lions v Argentina on Friday night, which I bought tickets to months ago at €140 each, and now the hurling on Saturday evening. Two adults plus one juvenile ticket costs me €85.00. I’m now overdrawn, but should be ok to not hit my overdraft limit by payday in 10 days’ time, which isn’t great but isn’t a disaster. I have an overdraft limit of approx. €640 that goes back to when I got an advance of my college grant about 25 years ago! Usually I’m overdrawn by the end of the month. In a bad month, I’m at my overdraft limit and using my credit card for day-to-day expenditure. In an exceptionally bad month, I’m doing this from around the 18th of the month, when I know the credit card bill won’t be due until the month after next. My all-time record is once being overdrawn the morning of payday before getting out of bed after paying the mortgage, clearing overdraft, paying the credit card and other direct debits.
1.00 pm: Lunch – pasta carbonara today.
4.30 pm: I check in with the garage about my car. The good news is the engine block is in. The bad news is they’re waiting for other bolts and washers. They suggest they’ll try to arrange a courtesy car. This might be due to the letter of complaint I sent them via the SIMI. They’ve now had my car for 57 days, during which time I’ve burnt over €1,600 in car hire. It’s been incredibly frustrating.
5.00 pm: I grab a bit to eat again at the local petrol station. (€7.90)
7.00 pm: I’m Teams messaging back and forth with a manager on an important document. I leave work after a 12.5-hour day. I stop off in Lidl on the way home to pick up porridge, protein milk and goodies for tomorrow’s school sports day. (€8.90)
Today’s total: €101.80
6.00 am: I get up and have a coffee before going for a 6k run.
7.30 am: I have a shower and get my son up. It’s his school sports day today, so I’m taking some time off to attend and help out a little with a tea break.
9.00 am: I attend sports day, drop off the goodies and help out during first break. I’m more in the way than anything, to be honest!
11.00 am: I leave and head into work.
1.30 pm: Lunchtime. Pasta carbonara again today from Clean Cut Meals. Gotta get the carbs!
3.00 pm: A quiet workday turns into full-blown crisis mode.
5.00 pm: I leave work. I grab something on the way home – chicken drumstick and a bar of chocolate (€5.40). I get €20 from the ATM as I need cash for tomorrow (€10 for a sports and social event at work and €5 for soccer tomorrow evening).
6.00 pm: I cut the grass and get some weeding done in between throwing a frisbee around with my son. The good weather has finally returned, so ready to make the most of it.
9.00 pm: Bedtime.
10.30 pm: I end up dozing off and wake up around 10.45 pm in time to drag myself into my own bed.
Today’s total: €25.40
6.00 am: I get up, hang clothes out on the washing line, pack my son’s school bag and pack his swimming bag for later.
6.30 am: Credit card bill arrives, and it’s a whopper (€1,475.25) due to home insurance (€687.11) and car rental (€659.72). The rest is swimming lessons (€90), tolls (€10.43), Google subscription (€1.99). Payment isn’t due until 12 July, but I usually pay it off on payday to help budget for the month ahead. For the first four months of the year, I’d been putting €500 a month into a Revolut account with the intention of doing a course. I’ve now shelved those plans and had to dip in to cover some of the car breakdown costs, so there’s only €800 left and realistically, I’ll have to dip into that to help cover it
7.00 am: Arrive at work.
9.15 am: I hand over €10.00 cash for a sports and social club event at work, already accounted for above.
1.00 pm: Lunch – spag bol from Clean Cut Meals. I follow up on the car. They promise me a courtesy car for tomorrow.
4.00 pm: I was in early, so I take the opportunity to make the most of the good weather and leave work.
5.00 pm: Bring my son to swimming lessons. I grab a Lucozade from the vending machine (€2.40). After my son is finished, he gets a bar (€1.70).
7.30 pm: I go to the shop and pick up a banana, water, milk and a drink for my son. I recycle some bottles, so the balance is €5.05.
9.00 pm: Football on the Astroturf. It’s sweltering hot, but it’s a great run out and good for my mental health. We throw €5 in the kitty, and that covers the rental from the GAA club. Best value purchase all week.
Today’s total: €9.15
6.00 am: I get up, hang clothes out on the washing line, and pack my son’s school bag. I head into work.
10.00 am: First break. I have porridge and a coffee. I’m pleased to have managed to get through the week without buying a coffee. I call into the dealer. They’re waiting to get the courtesy car back from another customer and say they’ll ring me in half an hour.
12.30 pm: I call in again. They still don’t have the car, but are confident that they’ll have it in an hour. I finally return my rental car. They ring shortly after and say they have the car. I’m relieved to say the least. My own car could take another while, but it’s mostly covered under warranty and I’m no longer haemorrhaging money on car rental. I was worried I’d have to dip into the joint savings if it dragged on or the engine repair wasn’t covered under warranty, but I should be ok now.
1.30 pm: I finish up at work and pick up the rental car. I grab something to eat – chicken balls, a protein bar and a Coke (€10.60). I fill up with petrol, which I put on my fuel card. The direct debit won’t come out until next week, so no money on petrol this week.
3.30 pm: Head for Dublin with the wife to watch the Lions v Argentina match. I pick up some snacks and drinks for the journey. (€11.83)
5.00 pm: It wouldn’t be a trip to Dublin without a stop at Enfield. I get €20.00 from the ATM to get a programme later.
7.00 pm: Traffic is crazy due to the match and a Zach Bryan (no, me neither) concert in the Phoenix Park. I grab a bottle of water in Tesco before the match (€2.25). My wife ends up buying the match programme.
8.45 pm: Grab some food at half time: hot dog, chips and a drink, which we share. (€17.55)
10.00 pm: Disappointing result as Argentina win. The match had its moments, but it definitely was worth the price of the tickets. We head for home.
11.30 pm: We stop again in Enfield. I get a coffee and a bar to keep me awake for the drive home. (€7.20)
2.00 am: Get home and crawl into bed.
Today’s total: €69.43
7.15 am: I have a lie in today! I get up and go for a 5k run. On the way back, I go to SuperValu and get €40 out for birthday presents for a birthday party for two boys in my son’s class. I get two birthday cards and a drink. (€7.65)
8.30 am: Wake my son up. It’s another busy day. We have breakfast, get dressed and brush teeth.
10.00 am: Me and my son get a haircut. €50 for both of us. I put it on the credit card as I’m now a bit nervous about hitting my overdraft limit before payday next Friday.
11.00 am: I drop him at the party and run a few errands, including picking up a prescription (€5.86). I fill up with my fuel card and spend yesterday’s ATM money on a car wash.
1.00 pm: I pick my son up and we head home and pack up. The three of us all head for Limerick for the hurling match.
4.00 pm: We arrive way too early and get food from a chip van (€27). My wife is, again, on programme buying duties.
6.15 pm: We go to the match. A least today I’m on the winning side! My wife, being a Galway woman, isn’t best pleased, but we’re still talking. I’d sneakily put my son in a blue and yellow Barcelona away top for the soccer-themed birthday party earlier, which he was happy to keep on even if he was cheering for Galway. He’s not too upset either way. We get ice creams after (€9). We head on to my mother’s house in Tipperary.
Today’s total: €139.51
9.00 am: I have a genuine lie-in today, and my son wakes me up.
11.00 am: Swimming with my son in the pool in the nearby town. I forgot goggles and swim caps when packing yesterday, so I have to buy them. Total comes to €26.00.
1.30 pm: We all go to lunch. It’s a carvery. I pay for myself and my son (€23.00).
Today’s total: €49.00
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What I learned –
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