WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances. 

Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? 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. 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 charity policy coordinator on €36K living in Dublin. This week, a healthcare worker on €83K who is currently on maternity leave while expecting her first child. 

I live in Dublin with my partner. We’re expecting our first baby in the coming weeks. I’ve just started maternity leave and will most likely be off work for a year (depending on childcare availability). I’m fortunate to have full pay for the first 26 weeks of leave; we are currently saving to cover my outgoings for the unpaid and partially paid weeks.

We’ve been lucky to have a lot of baby things gifted and donated to us, but there are still quite a few things to buy. I’ve tried to limit it to things that I know we will definitely need and will last a while (e.g. car seat). We’ve been paying for any ‘big’ purchases from our savings, and topping up on smaller purchases week-to-week from current expenditure.

Occupation: Healthcare worker

Salary: Approx. €83,000

Monthly pay (net): €4,389

Transport: Approx. €30

Mortgage: €1,280 (my half)

Household bills: €210 (includes my half of house insurance, mortgage protection, local property tax, pet insurance, gas insurance, broadband/TV, bins, gas/electricity and fund for car insurance and motor tax)

Groceries: €250 (my half)

Subscriptions: Spotify (€13), Google storage (€2), professional memberships (€9), professional registrations (collected annually, but I save €60 monthly to cover), union membership (€56)

Car loan: €320 (my half)

Savings: Min. €650 (I also top up my savings with whatever I haven’t spent at the end of each fortnightly pay period)

8.30am: Our grocery shop gets delivered. It’s a little more expensive this week because I’ve ordered some extra ingredients to batch cook some dinners for when the baby is here, and we hadn’t ordered a shop for the previous fortnight so missed out on our vouchers. We use our joint credit card for groceries and other shared bills, and pay it off as we go; I pay my half from my current account. (€72.09)

1.30pm: I finish batch cooking some dinners to freeze and clean up after myself. I’m not especially hungry so have a light lunch, put some laundry out to dry and sit down with the dog for a quick break.

3.00pm: People keep asking me if I have finished the nursery. Given it has been operating as our home........

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