What I Spent This Week as a Business to Business Manager Making £40K

Ever wondered how others really manage their money?

In the A Week in My Wallet series, we share it all, because talking about money shouldn't be off-limits.

Every week, an anonymous member shares a week of their spending: no names, no filters, just honest stories about life's everyday financial choices.

Ready to join the conversation and help make money talk less taboo? Share your own story via our form here.

Savings (amount + purpose, if you'd like to share):

• I have £23.5k in a Lifetime ISA I am saving in to eventually buy my first house. This includes savings from my Junior ISA that my parents saved into for me when I was younger. I now add £300 per month to get my £1k annual bonus.
• I am building my emergency fund to 3 months salary which would be around £6.6k (I am currently at £2.7k), I try to put £350 in each month but ideally want to increase this on months that I can. If I'm consistent, I should have the money together by the end of 2026. About a year and a half ago, I started putting money into Monzo Saving Pots for expenses that kept coming up regularly that I'd never thought to save for. It's been life changing for my finances.
• I put £215 + round ups each month in a Vegas Savings pot ready for my friend's wedding in August (currently at £2.1k).
• I put £50 each month into a Christmas savings pot so I don't have to worry about it when the time comes (aiming for £500 by the time Black Friday comes around when I buy most of my gifts).
• I put £50 aside each month in a birthdays and any gifts I need to buy. If I don't use it, it rolls over to the next month. Lots of wedding engagements at the moment, so it's nearly always getting used and not rolled over but I'm glad I account for the spending.
• I put £30 aside each month for the Dentist. I probably go twice a year but it would always be a financial hit when it came so in deciding to account for this in my monthly budget, I can withdraw the funds when the time comes!
• When we were 26, my friendship group begin putting £20 a month side for a 30th birthday girls trip. We're 28 now so have a few more years of saving to go but already have over £400 each saved.

Monthly Take-Home Pay (after tax): £2,375.65

‍Do you share expenses with someone? Yes

What is your overall monthly budget?

• Rent & Bills £350 to my partner who owns the house
• Mobile phone £30
• Gym membership £88
• EV charging £50
• My half of the food bill £200

Amount left each month after essentials (to spend, save or invest): £800

Dependents (if any): None

My Relationship with Money

Growing up, did your parents or guardians educate you around money?‍

Growing I had a very traditional upbringing. My mum had odd part-time work, but nothing substantial enough to contribute to the household bills, however she did the vast majority all of the unpaid labour - cooking, cleaning, laundry, food shopping, childcare - the list goes on!!

My dad always supported our family of 4 financially and has helped my sister and I throughout our "big life moments" e.g first car, university, saving for our first homes and now weddings. I know that I am extremely lucky and privileged to be in this position. When I was younger, I've abused their generosity by maxing out my £3k student overdraft or booking holidays I couldn't afford, only to ask for some money the night before I'm due to fly... I'm glad to have outgrown that phase and inherited a great work ethic from my dad.

Whilst I'm in a financially good position, I worry I'll never be able to provide my children with the same lifestyle I had growing up.

What was your first job and why did you get it?‍

My first job was working in the supply chain office of a fish factory. My dad got me the job between leaving school and starting college, it was immensely well paid for my age as it was 5 days a week 8-4pm!! I spent a lot of it as soon as it came in and barely had any money saved at the end of summer.

I remember my parents immediately asking for £20 per week rent and me thinking this was unfair considering I'd lived there free of charge for years (lol!) and buying my mum a bottle of her favourite perfume with my first ever wages.

Did you worry about money growing up?‍

I barely ever had to worry about money growing up, I was shielded from a lot of my parent's money worries and have recently discovered that they sometime went without so that my sister and I could go on school trips or they could save for our futures.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?‍

I become totally financially responsible for myself when I left uni at 22 years old. I moved straight into my partner's (now fiancee) home. He never charged me to live there, I just bought the food and toiletry shopping as he knew how poor my finances were as graduating uni coincided with me going overdrawn on a £3k student overdaft and I had no job. Thankfully I'm in a much better place now financially. I have no overdraft, credit cards, Klarna or debts aside from my student loan as I know it would be far too tempting for me.

When I was 26 I started to take my pension a bit more seriously by upping my voluntary contribution gradually from 5% to 10% from annual payrises and being okay with sacrificing for now. I've recently began to take my emergency fund savings and investing more seriously in preparation for eventually having a career break for future children (all being well!)

Do you worry about money now?‍

I worry that with my current savings, I'm a couple of expensive mistakes away from starting all over again. I also worry that I won't be able to give my future children the lifestyle my parents gave me.

What is your biggest money regret?‍

My biggest money regret is taking out a car on PCP. I have lots of friends who do this so it was very normalised to me as something I thought everyone does, but I think it's something I needed to do to know it's not the way to go. I was paying £300 per month for 4 years and the interest was a crazy 10% - looking back I couldn't afford that car on my £22k salary and a bank wouldn't have lended me the money for the car due to affordability so that should have been a warning sign.

What financial goals are you working towards?

• Building my emergency fund up to 3 months salary (about £6.6k for me) and I'm currently at £2.7k. The F*** You calculator tells me I'm 11 months away hitting my goal by saving £350 a month!
• I want to learn more about how to invest, the benefits of investing and investing a bigger proportion of my income into my Stocks & Share ISA before eventually diversifying into bonds etc

Who is your financial role model (if any), and why?‍

My dad is my financial role model. Growing up he was 1 of 4 brothers from a seriously deprived part of England on free school meals. His parents were never financially savvy and went through bankruptcy in his adult life due to their lack of financial education. With no real role models to follow, my dad worked his way up the corporate ladder, learned how to look after his money whilst growing and supporting his family. He is one of the best people I know and I am incredibly lucky to call him my dad.

Reflections on My Spending Habits:

I spend a lot of money on my monthly gym membership, fitness classes and trainers etc! However this isn't usually so crazy every month, as I usually only buy 1 or 2 pairs of workout trainers a year, compete in 1 competition a year too and stick to my gym membership rather than paying for classes outside of this.I spend around 3-4 hours a week working out, it's good for me and very social so I guess it's a form of investing in yourself.

What I Spent in a Week

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Day 1 – Monday:  £184.60
£6.80 at Tesco on food for tea
£16 on some period pants from M&S - if you know, you know!!
Withdrew £72.80 from my Vinted account to put into my Vegas saving pots
£1 round up to MoneyBox Stocks & Shares ISA
£88 Gym membership direct debit‍

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Day 2 – Tuesday: £6.07
£6.07 at McDonalds on some post work nuggets - I need to stop this‍

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Day 3 – Wednesday: £16.39
Pod Point Electric Vehicle Charging - £10
3 x McDonalds Coffees on a pre-working from home morning work - £5.39
Bottle of water - £1‍

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Day 4 – Thursday: £134.78
Window cleaner - £10
Laser Hair Removal Session - £76.80
New Apple Watch Strap from Amazon as my other is holding on for dear life - £7.98
R.A.D Global Trainers from Vinted - £92.44 (bought used without tags as I thought £130 was ridiculous on their website!! I always try to find something on Vinted before purchasing full price)
My half of a CrossFit competition entrance fee - £40‍

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Day 5 – Friday: £9.60
My half of some essentials to restock my mum's fridge and some flowers as she's coming back from holiday - £9.60‍

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Day 6 – Saturday: £23.70
Drinks at my friend's afternoon tea baby shower - £8.40
Drinks and snacks for the theatre (Miss Saigon) - £12.30
Bridge Toll to get to the theatre - £3‍

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Day 7 – Sunday: £61.83
Mat pilates class - £5
Stocked Subscription, we recently started this to help us eat healthier more diverse meals and we love it - £56.83

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Total Weekly Spend: £436.97

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