Welcome to Money Diaries, where we ask real people how they spend and save their money during a seven-day period, tracking every last dollar. Anyone can write a Money Diary! Want to see yours here? Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n
Today: a senior manager at a bank who makes $156,000 a year.<\/p>\n
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Today on Money Diaries, a senior manager at a bank who makes $156,000 a year and spends some of her money this week on fancy cosmetics.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Refinery29 Australia<\/cite><\/p>\n Occupation:<\/strong> Senior manager Mortgage: <\/strong>$3041. I live alone in a two-bedroom unit that I own (thanks to a mortgage). I was so proud when I bought my apartment. I have completed a bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s degree. I also have a diploma in project management from TAFE. I am currently completing a PhD (part-time) but the cost of this study is supported by a scholarship and I pay the additional expenses. I put my bachelor\u2019s and diploma on HECS and received a scholarship for my master\u2019s and was able to pay the difference upfront. I paid back all my HECS a few years ago. It felt like a big pay rise when HECS stopped being taken out.<\/p>\n I grew up in a single-parent household and money was very tight. Money caused a lot of stress in our family. Growing up, there weren\u2019t conversations about money or how to effectively manage it.<\/p>\n I got my first job at 15 and it was washing the walls of a family friend\u2019s house. My first proper job was at Woolworths.<\/p>\n I worried a lot about money growing up \u2013 it caused a lot of stress and anxiety. I stopped asking for things at a young age. Both my brother and I managed to get scholarships to go to boarding schools for part of high school, which took some financial pressure off Mum. I remember during high school, teachers would provide us with some extras that we couldn\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n I still worry about money a lot, especially since the cost-of-living crisis started. While my mortgage hasn\u2019t been impacted yet, it will be next year. Other expenses have gone up, and it is hard to cover that as a single-income household. I\u2019ve had to cut back on some expenses, including some important ones like seeing a therapist regularly (which I know already was a privilege). Given how I grew up I think I will always worry about money, and financial stability is really important to me.<\/p>\n I feel like I became financially responsible for myself quite early on. Towards the end of high school I voluntarily became responsible for most of my expenses as I knew my mum wasn\u2019t in a position to cover them. Uni was really hard. I can remember people talking about how much they would spend on a night out and it would be my whole budget for a fortnight.<\/p>\n Even now, I feel uncomfortable about some of the conversations around the office about how much people spend on things. I don\u2019t have a financial safety net and it does cause some stress. I do sometimes feel jealous of friends who have families that help them out financially or act as a financial safety net for them.<\/p>\n I have. I received $15,000 from my father\u2019s estate and $500 from my grandmother\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n 6.30am<\/strong> \u2013 My alarm goes off. I turn it off and roll over and go back to sleep. Today is my study day. I work part-time (four days a week), which means I can dedicate one full day to uni (or at least that is what I am supposed to do). It has made a huge difference to my PhD progress but I do miss the extra income from working full-time.<\/p>\n 7.30am<\/strong> \u2013 I eventually wake up. I get up, make a cup of tea, get back into bed and cuddle the cat.<\/p>\n 8.30am<\/strong> \u2013 I finally get up, put a load of washing on, and shower. I feed the cat and cook breakfast (a poached egg, piece of toast, avocado, tomato and pepper) using ingredients that I have already. I pull two pre-made meals out of the freezer for lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n 9.30am<\/strong> \u2013 I finally turn the computer on and start editing my writing.<\/p>\n 10am<\/strong> \u2013 I put the kettle on for a cup of tea, hang out the washing and put another load on, make my tea and get back to uni work. An hour later I hang out the next load of washing and walk down to the supermarket to buy some milk. While at the supermarket I see porridge is on special ($6.25), so I buy some thinking I\u2019m running low. I get home and put the porridge away only to see I have a whole unopened box. I make a hot chocolate using the milk and mix from the cupboard, and settle down to some more uni work. $6.25<\/strong><\/p>\n 1pm<\/strong> \u2013 I take a break at 1pm for lunch. It is leftover mince and a piece of toast from the freezer. I cook the toast and reheat the mince. After lunch I lie down for a bit and cuddle with the cat. I fall asleep because the next thing I know, it is nearly 4pm.<\/p>\n 4pm<\/strong> \u2013 I play on my phone for a while before going and getting the washing. Then I watch a TV program on iView that is set in and around my home town (I am from another state). It reminds me of home. I look at what is for dinner as I couldn\u2019t tell when I pulled it out of the freezer. It turns out it is leftover beef curry and rice. I heat this up and feed the cat. I eat on the couch while watching Netflix (my brother has given me his login to use).<\/p>\n 7pm<\/strong> \u2013 After dinner I play with the cat and do another hour of uni work. I do a quick clean-up of the apartment and get ready for bed. Before going to bed I read a bit of the book Money with Jess <\/em>by Jessica Irvine. I also do my gratitude diary from the Resilience Project. It\u2019s a new habit that I\u2019m trying to build to help with my mental health.<\/p>\n Daily total: $6.25<\/strong><\/p>\n 6am<\/strong> \u2013 It is a workday but it\u2019s a work-from-home day. I wake up at 6am with the idea of going for a run before work. After looking at the alarm, which says it is four degrees, I decide to not run this morning but go at lunchtime. I get up, make a cup of tea and go back to bed till 7.30am.<\/p>\n 7.30am<\/strong> \u2013 I get up properly and get ready for the day. This includes making breakfast (a poached egg, a piece of toast, avo and tomato) from ingredients in the fridge. I take some frozen meals out for lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n 8am<\/strong> \u2013 I log on for work at 8am. Not starting the workweek on the same day as everyone else means that my first day of work can be quite stressful as I\u2019m trying to work out where projects are up to, if they\u2019ve progressed from last week and if new priorities have emerged.<\/p>\n 10am<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve caught up and [am] able to prioritise the morning\u2019s work. Around this time I go and try to make a chai latte but the chai mix in the cupboard has gone off. Instead I make myself a hot chocolate using ingredients that I have, and go back to work.<\/p>\n 12pm<\/strong> \u2013 After a team meeting via Zoom finishes, I head out for my run. After not running last week because of really long work hours and being cold, I\u2019m really feeling it today. However, after the run I feel much more calm and remember that exercise is essential for my mental health and that I should do it every day. I have a quick shower before starting back at work. The afternoon is lots of back-to-back meetings.<\/p>\n 2.20pm<\/strong> \u2013 Luckily, I have a small break and can quickly go and grab some lunch. One of the meals is a mystery, so I eat the meal that is mainly mince. It is quick and good. I finish the workday with more meetings, catching up on emails and working out what I need to do tomorrow.<\/p>\n 6.30pm<\/strong> \u2013 I log off. I look at the mystery meal and determine it is soup. I didn\u2019t really enjoy this meal when I made it and definitely didn\u2019t want to eat it now. I head to the supermarket for a few bits and pieces. I grab some cheese, olives, salad and half a roast chicken ($37.90). I come home, feed the cat and make dinner with some of the salad and roast chicken. $37.90<\/strong><\/p>\n 7.30pm<\/strong> \u2013 After dinner I call my mum and chat. I play with the cat and remember it is bin night. I change the kitty litter, clean out the fridge (I hate throwing out food but there is some in the fridge that needs to go out) and put the rubbish out. I come back in and spend some time with the cat before cleaning up. I watch TV and spend some time on a dating app, setting up a first date for Thursday.<\/p>\n 9pm<\/strong> \u2013 Before heading to bed I read some of my book, fill in my gratitude diary and plan my outfit for tomorrow. I turn off the light around 10pm.<\/p>\n Daily total: $37.90<\/strong><\/p>\n 4.40am<\/strong> \u2013 I hate the garbage trucks. After an hour of lying in bed I get up and make a cup of tea and go back to bed to read and cuddle with the cat. I get up again. This is an office day. Ideally I would get up and exercise before going to work, but it is winter and the mornings are cold and dark, and I don\u2019t like running in the dark (I tend to trip and fall over). When I have to go to the office during winter it is hard to exercise, get ready, commute and be there on time.<\/p>\n 7.20am<\/strong> \u2013 I get ready, have breakfast (porridge made from ingredients I already had), organise my lunch and leave. I take the train to the city ($4.71) and walk up to the office. I make a cup of tea, grab a banana and a mandarin from the free fruit in the office, and go to my desk. I log on and start work at 8.40am. $4.71<\/strong><\/p>\n 9am<\/strong> \u2013 Throughout the morning I follow up on some outstanding requests, prepare some documents and attend meetings.<\/p>\n 11am<\/strong> \u2013 I have another cup of tea and eat a banana. I attend a meeting and then head back to my desk to work. Then I go for a run at lunch. My office has great end-of-trip facilities that we can use which makes this possible. I don\u2019t like running in the middle of the day when I\u2019m in the office as there are lots of people around and sometimes people in the office make comments about having a long lunch. So I go for my run but I cut it short because I am feeling really anxious. I have a quick shower and go back to the office. I have lunch that I brought from home, so I eat it at my desk (chicken and salad).<\/p>\n 3.30pm<\/strong> \u2013 I continue to work until 3.30pm and then head home ($4.71). I have an important presentation to give from 5pm to 6pm and it is better to be home to do this as I work in an open-plan office and it can be quite noisy at that time with people leaving. $4.71<\/strong><\/p>\n
Industry:<\/strong> Banking
Age:<\/strong> 40
Location:<\/strong> Strathfield, Sydney
Salary:<\/strong> $156,000 (inclusive of super)
Net worth:<\/strong> $988,163 ($10,800 in savings \u2013 this was more but I had to pay a special levy for my unit; $227,363 in super \u2013 I do salary sacrifice each pay cycle and have done so for a few years; and a property estimated to be valued at $750,000).
Debt: <\/strong>$560,000 on my mortgage.
Pay cheque amount (monthly):<\/strong> $7710.27
Pronouns:<\/strong> She\/Her<\/p>\nMonthly expenses<\/h3>\n
Credit card: <\/strong>I also have a credit card but only use this for emergencies and try to pay this off in full each month. I shop around for credit cards and get one with zero per cent interest rates. Currently my credit card balance is $0.
Health insurance: <\/strong>$138
Pet insurance:<\/strong> $80.40
Gym<\/strong>: $80
Streaming services: <\/strong>$19.99 for Stan and Apple TV
Public transport:<\/strong> $120
Electricity<\/strong>: $60
Gas<\/strong>: $53 per month, paid quarterly
Water<\/strong>: $65 per month, paid quarterly
Internet<\/strong>: $65
Emergency fund<\/strong>: $867
Travel fund: <\/strong>$450
Strata levy<\/strong>: $345 per month, paid quarterly
Council rates: <\/strong>$440 per quarter
Netball fees: <\/strong>$110 per quarter<\/p>\nDid you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?<\/h3>\n
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent\/guardian(s) educate you about finances?<\/h3>\n
What was your first job?<\/h3>\n
Did you worry about money growing up?<\/h3>\n
Do you worry about money now?<\/h3>\n
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?<\/h3>\n
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?<\/h3>\n
Day 1<\/h3>\n
Day 2<\/h3>\n
Day 3<\/h3>\n