Money Diaries: A civil servant on €32K living in Dublin...
WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances.
Last time around, we heard from an accounting manager in Dublin earning €86K a year. This week, a civil servant on €32K living in Dublin. I do love shopping and if I am working in town I usually spend whatever extra cash I have on bits and pieces. This has become a bit of a habit, but I love hunting for a good deal. We put cash away in joint vaults on Revolut for things like Christmas, holidays, our apartments’ maintenance fee, car tax and insurance etc. This is usually about €600 and I budget around €200 each week for Leap card top-up, food shop, petrol, coffee out, etc.
4.00 pm: Clock out and race to catch the DART home. I use my Leap card again here which was topped up last week. 7.00 pm: Baby down so I get to tomorrow’s prep. Make lunch, make overnight oats, get our clothes ready for the morning, top up my Leap card with €10.10.00 pm: Bedtime for me. Some reading and light out 30 mins later.Tuesday 6.20 am: Up and get ready to go into work. Throw the breakfast and lunch into my bag and stop to play with the diggers and tractors that my son has accumulated at my feet. I hate leaving in the mornings.
8.30 am: I have my breakfast, which is shared with my son . Time to get dressed and get going. Still so sluggish.10.15 am: Still asleep as we get in the door and I make a coffee and down a pint of water and just sit.11.15 am: We are off to meet my cousin for brunch in a local café. 9.30 am: Off to a musical playgroup . Free tea and coffee for parents, which I avail of as caffeine is needed. The kids love it!
2.00 pm: We stop on a park bench and demolish a chicken wrap I had bought in Aldi earlier. My son has more fun picking the fillings out of the wrap than eating it. Tantrum thrown and I think it’s time to go. 8.15 am: Back in the door from crèche and only a few tears today when I was leaving. I know he will be fine once I am out of sight. Log onto work and have my breakfast while catching up on emails. Lots and lots of email.
8.00 pm: Wine, some Real Housewives until my partner joins me and we have some snacks and watch Happy Valley. It’s good!Saturday 8.30 am: I got the lie-on this morning. The boys have been up since about 7 am. The usual breakfast, a cup of tea and we get to playing – jigsaws, cars, hurls etc everything is out.
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