Mamamia’s What My Salary Gets Me asks Australians to record a week in their financial lives. Kind of like a sex diary but with money. So not like a sex diary at all. We still find out the best kept secrets though. We discover what women are really spending their hard-earned cash on. Nothing is too outrageous or too sacred. This week, a 32-year-old data analyst from Melbourne, Vic, shares her money diary.
Age: 32
Job: Data Analyst
Salary: $90k
Housing: Renting a large studio apartment.
Regular expenses (monthly):
Rent: $2000
Phone: $70
Gym: $140
Utilities: Roughly $60 on gas quarterly, $200 on electricity
Internet: $70
Stan: $10
Netflix: $10
Debt: $2000 on a credit card
Savings: $20,000
MM Confessions: The fashion items we’ve blown too much money on. Post continues after video.
Monday – Day One
I don’t rise until 7.15am which is late for me. I walk to the office, grabbing a coffee and avocado on toast on the way ($21.10). I’ve bought a tuna salad from home for my lunch but do buy a packet of cheese and crackers on my break ($6). After work, I walk home, stopping at Coles to grab some chicken breasts, vegies and other bits to see me through the week ($35).
Daily Total: $62.10
Tuesday – Day Two
I get up early and walk to the gym for a spin class. I grab a coffee on my way to the office ($4.10) then eat oats I already had at work and a banana from the company fruit bowl for my breakfast. Lunch is chicken and vegies bought from home, but I still end up buying two dresses on the Iconic ($55.98) – at least they were in the sale! Walk home, dinner from the previous day’s groceries, Netflix and bed.
Daily Total: $60.08
Wednesday – Day Three
Same deal – early morning gym and a coffee ($4.10). I’ve bought lunch with me today but I don’t fancy salad, so treat myself to a sandwich ($10). I feel sluggish all afternoon and remember why I normally try to have salad. I catch up with a friend after work. We share a bottle of white wine and sweet potato fries ($20, my share) then I Uber home as I don’t want to walk home in the dark ($12). I have a couple of slices of toast when I get in and go to bed.
Daily Total: $46.10
Thursday – Day Four
Gym, coffee, and vegemite toast ($11.10). For lunch, I eat the salad I left in the work fridge the day before. I snack on fruit and some almonds I have in my desk drawer. On my way home from work, I have a facial, which is free as it was a birthday gift I’ve only just got around to using. I have a friend’s birthday dinner on Saturday and we all chip in $20 to get her a cake and a gift. Dinner from groceries at home (although I stop at Coles to top up on vegies, $12).
Daily Total: $43.10
Friday – Day Five
Yay, it’s Friday. I sleep in today, knowing I have a very big Saturday ahead. Then it’s coffee ($4.10) and a busy day at work. It’s also pay day, so I immediately pay $100 off my credit card. I have oats and a banana for breakie and a shop-bought salad for lunch, $12.95. I have one glass of wine with a colleague after work ($11) and still walk home.
Daily Total: $28.05
Saturday – Day Six
I know the birthday party is going to be very boozy so I try to get in some self care beforehand – I sleep late and go for a run. Then grab a coffee ($4.10) and have scrambled eggs at home. I spend the day reading and watching Netflix, before getting ready for the birthday party. I get an Uber to the venue ($21) and buy a bottle of Prosecco as soon as I arrive, sharing it with friends ($45). My friends take it in turns to buy bottles of wine and we all share. I only buy one more drink after that, a cocktail for $17. A friend shouts our Uber home and I resist the urge to order a greasy takeaway.
Daily Total: $87.10
Sunday – Day Seven
I decide on a very chilled day. I buy a coffee ($4.10) and go for a walk. I buy a sandwich from the cafe ($10) then go home to read and watch Netflix. I have pasta for dinner and make a double portion so I have lunch sorted for the next day.
Daily Total: $14.10
Weekly Total: $340.63
Reflection:
This is how I spend when I’m enjoying life and not really worrying too much about it. I definitely have times where I rein it in a lot more and concentrate on saving, but right now I’m not putting that pressure on myself. I work hard, I’m newly single and child-free, so this is a good time for me to enjoy mid-week Prosecco and buying new dresses. I know walking my commute and bringing my lunch most days helps. I could be better at preparing breakfast and if I shopped smarter at Coles, I might not need so many mid-week top up shops. I’m slowly chipping away at the credit card debt. I used it specifically to pay for some expensive flights last year and haven’t spent a cent on it since, so I don’t feel bad about it.
Please note: The feature image used is a stock photo.
Mamamia’s What My Salary Gets Me series drops every Thursday. Want to share a week in the life of your bank account with us (anonymously of course, no judgement here)? Send us your Money Diary to submissions@mamamia.com.au
For more What My Salary Gets Me:
What My Salary Gets Me: A 30-year-old lawyer on $92,000, who owns an investment property.
What My Salary Gets Me: A 22-year-old disability worker who spends $1117.75 on pay day alone.
What My Salary Gets Me: A 29-year-old on $108,000 a year, with $455,000 in savings.
What My Salary Gets Me: The 36-year-old project manager who spent $3,795 in one week.
What My Salary Gets Me: A Sales Director on $120,000 a year, who refuses to cook.
What My Salary Gets Me: A 34-year-old on $21,400 a year, who has hardly any daily expenses.
Top Comments
It seems crazy to me that she has $20K in savings but is only chipping away at a $2000 credit card bill that she's had since last year? Why not just use your saving to pay it all off? There's no need to be paying credit card interest.
I thought the same thing. Maybe her 20K is tied up in a term deposit at the moment, that's the only reason I can think of.
Part of "shopping smarter at Coles" might be including the cost of food and household goods in your monthly budget! Again, another diary with a huge blind spot in the monthly break down.
I'm not sure these people are actually doing a weekly/fortnightly shop, though. Most of them have a couple of entries where they 'pop into the supermarket for stuff for tea and a few other things', and I suspect that is when they buy their Windex and loo paper etc.
Shopping for food and household goods should be considered a regular monthly expense, no? It's a recurring expenditure, the same as rent, utilities, gym and Netflix are (which everyone remembers to factor into their list). It's irrelevant whether shops are performed daily, weekly or monthly - what is relevant is the cumulative average outgoing cost.
If you don't consciously and deliberately include it when you're writing out a budget, it's not surprising when people wonder where their money is going each month.
I suspect it’s because rent, Netflix, gym, etc are all defined costs each month.
I’m in the ‘double income, no kids’ category & only budget for mortgage. Utilities, groceries, household goods I just pay when it comes up.
Some months we save quite a bit, other months we dip into savings a bit. Mortgage is the only thing we specifically set money aside for each week