Another money diary coming at you guys. This is my fifth money diary, you can read 1, 2, 3 and 4 all linked there if you’re super nosy like I am. I religiously read the Refinery29 money diaries and just love to have a snoop into what people buy, what they splash out on, how they save a little money here and there so that’s exactly what this will be!
This time, the week is the Saturday before payday to Friday after. I had a little bit of cash left over due to no big trips or too much shopping on my last pay check and a bit of an eBay sales-spree where I listed a whole bunch of stuff so I wasn’t struggling towards the end of the month like sometimes I am. I decided to save £50 of what I had left to put aside for my hair after I got paid because it is expensive and it can make the rest of the month a bit tight if I still want to save what I see is a good amount.
My total spend for this week was £149.19 with about £47 of this being ‘household’ and therefore split between us and from a different budget. About £100 from my own ‘disposable’ income. Feel free to ask my any questions in the comments and also check out my downloadable spending tracker spreadsheet if you want a hand controlling your own finances.
Saturday
Head out to Aldi for a big shop with my babe of a mother in law whilst the boys crack on with finalising our kitchen makeover which has been sucking most of our cash and effort for the past few months. Before and after blog post to come on this project soon. £46 *rounded up on Monzo* but this came out of our shared ‘house’ card where we also dipped into the round-ups pot for half the cash (end of the month probs but also a lifesaver when it comes to rounding up to the nearest pound because you save without knowing it!).
Bottomless brunch with my gorgeous little crew of blogger girls was kindly organised by Jess and it was complimentary at Bric at the Hilton hotel in Nottingham city centre. This was a great way for us all to catch up over some tasty granola and yoghurt or egg Benedict treats topped off with really delicious Prosecco.
Headed off to pick up some bits and bobs for my boyfriend from Primark £8 and a Doughnotts salted caramel doughnut £2.25. This goes on Splitwise – the app we use to pay each other back and split random bits and bobs like cinema trips and pints at the pub. Decide to get my nails done before heading home, have my student card and this makes it £22 for gel polish. Head back to chill at home, watch that amazing new Stephen Mulhearn Saturday night trash TV and eat pizza from our Aldi shop.
Sunday
We have friends over for brunch and eat waffles, berries and yoghurt from the big shop and drink Prosecco we’d previously bought so no cost for this! Finish up about 1-2pm and decide to check out what’s on at the cinema for that afternoon as there’s no jobs to do and we can just have a nice chilled afternoon.
I have the Natwest rewards account and you get cash back on household bills that you can trade in for cinema tickets, B&Q vouchers etc so grab a cinema ticket for £5 worth of cash back. Then, use my work perks thing called Medicash to grab another ticket. This and the 70p fee for booking online comes to £8.64 for us both to head to the cinema to see the new Seth Rogan and Charlize Theron film, Long Shot which was actually really good! Grab a chocolate bar each from Waitrose to snack on with the film, about 65p and get our free coffees for being MyWaitrose members.
Sell a bunch of stuff on eBay and have to shell out for the postage too of course but I think I make around £30 from selling some old clothes I didn’t wear anymore which is great!
Monday & Tuesday
No spend for two days because last couple of days before payday!
HIIT class on Monday morning, already included with my gym membership, take breakfast and lunch from home made from the Aldi big shop – apple and cinnamon porridge plus a falafel salad incase you’re interested! Same on Tuesday minus the gym, cous-cous and Quorn chicken salad for lunch and an egg bagel before I left for work.
Wednesday – Payday!
Sort out all my money by transferring my ‘disposable’ income onto my Starling card, topping up our food shopping card and transferring some cash into my holiday spending money fund. Throw myself into Christmas party planning when I get to work which is very early but it’s getting us a discount at our chosen venue because they weren’t actually ready with their festive menu yet – even budgeting at work when it’s not my cash!
Transfer my friend £30 for her birthday brunch booking in a week or so, really looking forward to this! Head to the gym after work but we’re really not feeling it so end up in a pub just down the road from the gym. Drinks £6.10 popped onto Splitwise. Chippy tea £2.60 for my half. No judgement please, chips and curry sauce were needed on this particular day!
Thursday
Today is a super boring one, a later payer on eBay finally pays and I post their tee – Post Office £1.32. My iTunes payment of £0.79 goes out of my Starling account for my iCloud storage. Yawn, I’m sorry.
Legs, Bums & Tums at the gym at 6pm and a sunny walk to get the bus home. Tea for one and I opt for the easiest cous-cous salad as usual and make another for my lunch tomorrow. I like to only buy lunch when I’m at work if it’s a treat and I’m meeting a friend or going to Street Food with my work babes because otherwise I think it’s a bit of a waste of money. Most of the time I take my lunch 4 out of 5 days, sometimes every day and this means I’m saving about £15-20 a week on shop bought meal deals etc.
Friday
Get a Brucey Bonus of a freelance invoice being paid so £100 into my savings to top it back up after all of the kitchen expenses and £50 into my ‘fun’ money pot which I know I’ll need because I have a hair appointment booked for the following Saturday.
Lunchtime errands of my library book return and then a run around the shops, £4.49 dry shampoo from Superdrug – saving 10% with student discount, £2.45 on fancy coconut milk from Sainsbury’s but this will be free when I get the cash back returned from Shopmium so I won’t count this. Also £1.10 for normal milk for home plus epic Nectar card points because of Sainsbury’s new 150 year campaign on this Bank Holiday weekend.
Nectar card points can be changed into Pizza Hut vouchers so there was no way I was letting these points get away. You would usually have to spend £150 to get 150 points so to spend a couple of quid and get 300, I was making the effort to do two separate transactions!
HIIT class at the gym after work, I’ve managed to do three classes this week and a bit of walking chucked in for good measure so feeling on it on the gym front. Chill out in front of Amazon Prime and New Amsterdam, my new fave drama and order some new Magnitone heads from Lookfantastic for £12.80 because they have a 20% off code on site which is a £3.20 saving. I have to buy these every 6 months as they’re a pack of two and last 3 months each so not a high price to pay for squeaky clean skin!
