Money Diary: A 24-Year-Old Graduate Journalist On Universal Credit
Tags: Money, Saving, Universal Credit, Careers, Pandemic

By Anonymous

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we’re tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We’re asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last penny.

This week: “After finishing my undergraduate degree in 2018, I used the remains of my student loan to go travelling with my best friend until Christmas. Come February and I was working three jobs while living at my dad’s house rent-free in order to save money to move to London. I started a journalism master’s course in the capital in September last year and, luckily, the money I saved while working was enough to cover the fees. I received quite a big loan and grant from the Welsh government to live on. After graduating in July, I had a little of this money left and immediately tried to find a job. At first, I was applying for any job in the journalism industry but then I started looking for roles in publishing and marketing too. No luck. I eventually decided to take my CV around pubs, cafés and shops in my local area but I still haven’t heard back from any of them. I was quickly running out of money so, in late August, I registered for Universal Credit.

When I told my friends that I was going to be on the dole, some of them didn’t even know what that meant. There’s no shame in receiving UC. It’s not much money but I’m grateful that it’s just about enough to give me some peace of mind while I concentrate on filling in job applications. I’ve never been one to live lavishly: I do my food shop at Lidl, I like to buy clothes from secondhand shops, I have barely any online subscriptions and I choose the cheapest meal on the menu whenever I’m out.

However, my mental health has taken quite a bit of a toll during the pandemic and so I’ve been treating myself more than usual recently. I like to buy books and go to quirky little coffee shops in east London. I always sit outside and pretend I’m on a plaza in Madrid. It makes me happy. And so does wine — which I drink too much of.”

Industry: Journalism

Age: 24

Location: London

Salary: Unemployed

Paycheque amount: £840 (Universal Credit)

Number of housemates: Two. One of them is also unemployed so it’s quite nice being able to complain to each other about how frustrating the situation is.

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: £480

Loan payments: I don’t have to pay my university loan back yet.

Utilities: Around £40 for water, Wi-Fi, gas and electricity.

Transportation: Probably around £120 a month.

Phone bill: £36

Savings? I have £424 in a Monzo pot and £421 in a Lloyds savings account. I’m using the money in my Monzo pot at the moment — annoyingly — as my current HSBC account is in overdraft. I’m waiting for my UC payment to get out of it before using it again.

Other: Now TV £9.99, contact lenses £30. My new phone contract includes Spotify, thank God — I thought I’d have to cancel it. I did have to recently cancel my Amazon Prime and my subscription to The New York Times though.

Day One

10am: Get up earlier than my usual time of 10.30am (when the children in the primary school next to our flat have their noisy morning break) so feel quite proud of myself.



10.30am: I always have cereal for breakfast (normally a mixture of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and Coco Pops) but we don’t have any milk in the fridge. I run down to the corner shop to get some. The shop owner recognises me by now — even though I only moved into the new flat at the end of September — and I feel like part of the community. Last time, when I bought a G&T can, he even asked me about my evening. I buy half a litre of semi-skimmed milk for 60p.



11am: After breakfast and a short conversation with my flatmate in the kitchen, I make myself a big cup of tea and start writing a new cover letter for a job application. I try to apply for one job a day. It was hard to motivate myself to begin with but now that I’m receiving UC and have to fill in an online diary whenever I finish an application, I’m actually doing quite well. Seeing the list of jobs I’ve applied to in the diary makes me feel good.



1.30pm: Realise that I have barely any food in my cupboard so I have to leave the flat again to go to the shop. I go to Sainsbury’s this time because the corner shop doesn’t have everything I need. I know that I should go to Lidl because it’s a lot cheaper but it’s far and last time my arms ached for two days after carrying my bags home. I buy rice, tomato and mascarpone sauce, two tins of mackerel, bread and washing up detergent. I spend £7.80 in total, which is pretty good, I think!



2pm: I have rice with mackerel for lunch and another big cup of tea. I munch on dark chocolate digestive biscuits throughout the afternoon.



5pm: I finish the cover letter I was working on and send it to the company, along with my CV. I note the job down in my online diary. Now I can relax, so I read the first chapter of 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez — it’s a bit of a rogue choice as I haven’t read anything so old — or written by a man — in a very long time, but my friend gave it to me to borrow so I may as well start it.



7pm: I have a date tonight with a guy I met on Hinge (this was before lockdown!) so I go to Tesco Express to get a bottle of sauvignon blanc to have a drink as I get ready. This will be our fourth date but I still like to have a little Dutch courage before any date, which is actually quite annoying as it means I spend money on both pre-drinks and pub drinks. The bottle of wine is £6.50 — I’d usually go for something cheaper but I fancy treating myself to a better quality wine.



9pm: The guy bailed on me because he was working until late and was too tired. I’m quite annoyed as this was the first time I’d initiated things and I’d even booked us a table (in good old Pizza Express, on an outside table right near the Thames). Also, is being too tired a valid excuse? I don’t even know anymore because I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have to work long hours. I feel a bit bitter and very sorry for myself so I go to Voodoo Ray’s on Dalston Kingsland High Street to get a slice of takeaway pizza. I also stop at the corner shop on the way back to the flat to get a packet of Pringles. Both cost me £5.50 but I don’t care because when I get back to the flat my flatmates are drinking and we share our wine. I stop asking myself if the guy likes me or not (and convincing myself that he doesn’t) and actually have a really good night in the end.



Total: £20.40

Day Two

12pm: I wake up really late as I drank more than expected last night and went to bed late. But it’s Saturday so I can cut myself some slack. My mum calls me and wants to know if I’ll be coming home soon as England is due to go on lockdown at the same time as Wales is due to come out of lockdown. I tell her I’ll have to think about it. I’m lucky that I have the option to leave London for a few weeks but I love my independence here and being around my flatmates.



1pm: My friend calls me and asks if I want to meet her and her boyfriend, and a few of their friends, in a pub in Shoreditch — (in keeping with the rule of six). It sounds like they’re planning to have an all-day sesh for Halloween. I say yes, even though I know I’ll probably end up spending quite a lot of money.



2.30pm: I’m wearing all beige and decide that I’m a beige cat. Not very original but I go to Party Party (a fancy dress shop) to buy some cat ears anyway. They cost me £4.39.



3pm: I arrive at the pub and the owner’s dog follows me to the table where my friends are sitting. I lean down to stroke him and he steals my cat ears! It takes me ages to get them back and they’re covered with his saliva. I wear them anyway as I don’t want them to go to waste. I buy two glasses of wine at the pub for £11.



5pm: We decide to queue to get into Box Park Shoreditch but, after an hour, they don’t let us in. At least we didn’t spend any money and we’ve been able to sober up a bit.



6pm: We’re starving so we walk down Brick Lane to find something to eat. We find a half-empty Indian restaurant — so plenty of room for all of us — and I pay £18 for an onion bhaji starter, a main (chicken tikka masala with rice), a side of garlic naan and half a bottle of wine. A bargain! And it was delicious too!



8pm: We go to a friend’s house (not sure if this was legal, I am so sorry) in Brixton. We buy some drinks in a Tesco Express on the way — two friends and I decide to share a bottle of gin between us. It costs me £5.



3am: I get an Uber home. I’m really drunk. I’ve spent £14 in total on transport today.



Total: £52.39

Day Three

10am: I wake up and am grossly hungover. The hangxiety is very bad.



11am: Head out to clear my head and when I’m far enough from home to turn back I realise I’ve left my mask at home. So I go into Superdrug to buy one for £2.99.



11.15am: After Superdrug, I pass a lot of cosy-looking pubs and cafés. I’m very hungry and feeling very sorry for myself (for the second time in three days) so I go into a pub to treat myself to some breakfast. I pay £7.50 for a sausage bap and a cup of tea. I justify the price by telling myself that I never eat breakfast out. Which is true to be honest.



1pm: When I get home I shower, get dressed and go on the Overground to Hampstead Heath to meet a friend. Walking round the Heath does wonders for my hangover. I like to come here often to walk and to people-watch. It makes me feel better if I’m feeling a little low. £2.40



5.30pm: It’s getting quite cold so my friend and I decide to have a hot chocolate and a cake in a café in Hampstead. It costs me about £6.80. We eavesdrop on people’s conversations and laugh a little too loudly when we hear a very middle-class woman tell her friend: “I put so much truffle oil in it — probably too much as it gave me a headache!” Afterwards we go to Marks & Spencer and my friend buys a fancy microwave meal for dinner but I resist the temptation. £2.40 home.



8pm: My mum calls again to ask if I’ve made a decision in regard to going home. She’s found a reasonably priced train ticket for me so I decide to buy it. I’ll be leaving London in a few days’ time. The ticket costs £45 — cheap given it’s so last minute.



8.30pm: I watch three episodes of Sex and the City. I’m on the sixth (and last) season and almost finished! Although it’s problematic and some of the characters are so annoying, it’s a very light-hearted and entertaining watch — exactly what I need right now. Also, I love Samantha and Smith so much.



Total: £67.09

Day Four

11am: I’ve started filling in a job application form but I feel distracted. There’s no point working if I can’t concentrate so I decide to go for a long walk. I take my tax return cheque with me to cash it in at an HSBC branch. I could do it on my app but at least this way I can justify the walk and it’ll be somewhat productive. I go around Clissold Park then down Amhurst Road to Hackney Central. I go back home through London Fields and then along the canal.



1.30pm: I buy a banana from Tesco Express on the way back to the flat because it’s almost lunchtime and I’m very hungry because of my walk. It costs me 25p.



2pm: I have lentil soup and bread for lunch, and snack on dark chocolate digestives again throughout the afternoon.



5pm: After finishing my job application form, I send it to the company and jot it down in my online diary. I feel quite restless and feel bad for eating so many digestives, so I decide to go for a run to London Fields. I want to run along the canal again but it’s dark and a little scary, so I run back to the flat the same way I came.



8pm: Shower and cook pasta with tomato and mascarpone sauce. I add in some mackerel and while it’s cooking, eat more mackerel straight from the tin. This one is covered in spicy jerk sauce which sounds disgusting but actually isn’t! I do need to cut down on the mackerel, though — I probably eat too much of it.



9pm: Watch Halloween H20: 20 Years Later with my flatmates. We decide that Jamie Lee Curtis is our new fashion icon: we like her shirt and cardigan combos and my flatmate says that she wants to cut her hair like hers.



Total: 25p

Day Five

11am: I get up and have breakfast while reading my New York Times newsletter — I read it every morning as I think it’s one of the best news sources. I feel very lazy today though and I can’t be bothered to do anything.



12pm: Now reading other newsletters (The Telegraph, Quartz Weekly Obsession and Tortoise Sensemaker) and scrolling on Twitter. I’ve bookmarked multiple articles that I want to read later in the day but probably won’t read until I’m really bored at 2am some time in the next month or so.



2pm: I force myself to start a new cover letter for a job application but after 10 minutes I decide to just read a bit more about the job description and the company. This is half procrastination and half really useful.



2.30pm: I have tomato and basil soup for lunch. Surprised that I’m not tired of soups yet but there are plenty of different flavours to choose from!



4pm: I take a break from the job application and finish reading a magazine I bought a few days ago. It’s called Lumin and a lot of its contributors are poets and writers based in Cardiff. I don’t feel guilty buying magazines, especially independently run ones that are created by small groups of talented creatives. It feels good to support artists and the arts in general.



6pm: Take the Overground to south London to meet the Hinge guy. It costs me £6.10 to get there and back but we go for a lovely walk around Tooting Common. I don’t mind walking in the dark, especially if I’m with someone else. Doing exercise is harder now but I hate the gym and I wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway.



8.30pm: On the way back to the flat I treat myself to a posh bottle of wine and a chocolate mousse from Marks & Spencer. It is my last night in London (for a couple of weeks) after all. The guy at the checkout asks me if he’s seen me before — is this his way of flirting with me? If so, it’s a nice little boost to my self-esteem. I spend £7 but the mousse was only 60p on offer — a bargain!



10pm: My flatmates and I start watching the election and stay up until 2am. I go to bed feeling quite confident that Biden will win.



Total: £13.10

Day Six

8am: I get up very early to pack to go home. I’m quite tired and am not too sure what exactly I’m packing but I don’t worry too much as I probably won’t see anyone while I’m home. All I’ll need is leggings and shoes that I don’t mind getting too muddy.



10am: Overground to Euston. It costs me £3.



10.30am: I feel bad for spending money on something I don’t really need but I really fancy a hot drink for the train journey so I buy a big cup of tea for £2.79.



2pm: The train stops in Crewe for an hour so I have time to run to a McDonald’s that’s just outside the station. I buy a Filet O’Fish meal for £5. I’d normally go for something with chicken in it but thought I’d pick something a little different for a change.



3pm: I almost miss my train because the Filet O’Fish was so good I lost track of time. My suitcase is also very heavy and my arm hurts.



5pm: My dad picks me up from the station and takes me home. It’s nice to see him after so long.



7pm: I’ve spent almost two hours cleaning my room and my brother’s room (he’s at university and won’t be coming home but he has a big desk so that’s where I’ll be working on my job applications for the next couple of weeks). It’s been very therapeutic and now I feel like it’s my space again.



8pm: My dad and I have pizza (chicken and peppers) and a glass of red wine each in front of the TV. We watch Green Book. My dad cries at the end, even though he’s seen it before.



Total: £10.79

Day Seven

10.30am: I get up around the same time as I’d normally get up in London. It’s a beautiful day and I feel very lucky that I can see lots of fields and mountains from my bedroom window. I go outside to take a picture — god, I feel like a tourist!



11am: I have Crunchy Nut Cornflakes for breakfast and a big cup of tea.



12pm: After I finish the job application I started the other day, I start a new one. It’s one I really want so I’ll have to force myself to spend more time on it than usual.



3pm: I’m stalking journalists and writers on Twitter and come across a girl that I think I met once at a Welsh language festival when I was about 12. She’s younger than me and is now an author (she’s only written one book but still). Instead of being jealous, I buy her book on Bookshop.org, apparently 90p of my purchase goes towards saving independent bookshops. I’m going to try to use this website now to buy books instead of Amazon. £8.99



3.30pm: Okay, I’m a tad jealous. I note “try to write a short story” on my to-do list on my phone.



5pm: My mum comes to visit me and we go for a walk with her dog along the country lanes. It’s very dark and quite spooky but we see and hear a lot of fireworks. I also see the stars very clearly, which is lovely.



8pm: I cook dinner for my dad and we eat together at the dining table. I’m a rubbish cook and so I only made pasta with mushrooms, spinach and pesto, but he’s easily pleased.



9pm: Watch four episodes of Emily in Paris in bed. So many French stereotypes and clichés but it’s highly addictive. I’m speaking to a guy on Tinder who’s watching it too, so at least we can bond over that. I write “brush up on my French” on my to-do list but I’m not sure when I’ll get around to doing it as I’m also trying to learn Portuguese on Duolingo.



Total: £8.99

The Breakdown

Food/Drink: £83.74

Entertainment: £8.99

Clothes/Beauty: £4.39

Travel: £72.90

Other: £2.99

Total: £173.01

Conclusion

“I’m quite shocked by how much I’ve spent this week but I think it’s a one-off since I bought a train ticket to go home. I haven’t been home in five months so it’ll be nice to see my family and be able to do stuff more freely here for a couple of weeks (since Wales is not on lockdown). I’ll also save quite a bit as I’ve realised TfL takes a lot of my money in London, and recently I’ve been treating myself more than usual to cups of tea and food while I’m out and about. When I go back to London that will have to stop. And I’ll have to buy fewer bottles of wine.”

R29 recommends you wear a mask, practice social distancing and keep yourself updated with the current COVID law and guidance on the government website. Refinery29 not condone the breaking of any laws. Refinery29’s Money Diaries are true seven day snapshots of women around the UK, we aim to provide truthful content to encourage healthy and positive conversations about finance