What I Spent This Week as a Development Officer & Etsy shop owner Making £39K

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.

Monthly Take-Home Pay (after tax): £2,368.55

Do you share expenses with someone? Yes, I live with my partner who runs his own business.

Household Income (if shared): £85,000

What is your overall monthly budget?

• ‍‍Rent: £1,000
• Bills (including energy bills, council tax, water, phone bill): £250
• Subscriptions (political party membership, TV Licence, Spotify subscription, Omaze monthly draw, Microsoft, Lingodeer language app): £90
• Transport: £175 – inclusive of work commute and social travelling, seeing my friends and visiting family
• Groceries & Essentials: £250
• Investment Contributions: £232.31 in my pension as salary sacrifice

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

£250 savings (from my PAYE job) and any Etsy shop profits after covering material expenses (packaging, filament, shipping labels etc.)

Dependents (if any): 0

My Relationship with Money

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

Money was a constant worry – I remember at one point my mum was working three part-time jobs just to keep the mortgage paid as my dad got made redundant several times in the space of five years. Experiencing this financial insecurity growing up has made me conscious of the importance of saving and made me less risk-averse, which I am now re-educating myself on.

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

I worked in a local amusement park from the age of 17 on a casual contract. My school friend who also worked there put a flyer through the door when they were advertising for their winter intake, and I applied. I worked there two days a week throughout college, which covered my car expenses (college was an hour drive each way) and full-time during the term breaks during university.

Did you worry about money growing up?

Until I was a teenager, there was never enough money – my parents had never saved, so when my dad went through the period of multiple redundancies there was nothing to fall back on. When my parents divorced and my mum remarried, there was more stability as my stepdad had always been a big saver. This taught me a lot about how financial security is a choice you make and it's your responsibility to build it.

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

24 – I was lucky enough to be able to live with my mum rent-free when I was completing my Master's. After graduating, I moved out and have been entirely financially responsible for myself ever since.

Do you worry about money now?

I've always worried about money, but haven't let it dictate my career choices – I am passionate about the arts and creativity, sectors which notoriously don't pay very well. Until I moved in with my partner in October, the most rent I'd paid in London was £650 which enabled me to have a lower-paying job which I loved and still manage to see friends, attend weddings and buy birthday presents, though room-hopping wasn't particularly stable for myself or my finances.

In my 20s my attitude to money was very experiential, but now I'm older, earning more and building a life with my partner, I have a clear vision of what I need my money to do. After a pay rise earlier this year, I have been working hard to build an emergency fund and am next looking to start investing in a Stocks & Shares ISA. Female Invest is teaching me a lot about how I can make my money work better for the life I want to build.

What is your biggest money regret?

Not saving an emergency fund sooner – the room-hopping for the last six years has been a drain on my finances, even though the rooms themselves have always been quite cheap for London – but the instability it's given me has also made it difficult for me to be certain of a future I'm saving for. I wish I'd even just set aside £50 more a month in a no-access savings account so that I had better security now.

What financial goals are you working towards?

I want to have £4,500 in my emergency fund before the end of this year and start investing £150 a month in a Stocks & Shares ISA.

The Etsy shop has only been open since October and we're selling lower-margin items at the moment, which is why our savings are at £2,000. The goal for this year is to get our profits to £6,000 through higher-margin listings, to eventually put towards a house deposit.

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

My friend T is a real inspiration to me – she has worked so incredibly hard to save enough for a house deposit and she bought her own place last summer. She's taught me a lot about the emotions tied to spending and how to fight these impulses.

As someone who used to spend on experiences, with her wisdom and guidance I am much more disciplined with my spending and am also actively seeking ways to grow my income.

Reflections on My Spending Habits:

I think the biggest takeaway was how expensive a day out to the park can be – I'm really trying hard to choose activities that won't cost too much, but seeing how much I paid for picnic food, perhaps a trip to a cafe followed by a walk in the park would have been better!

I also spotted I bought cookies for the office and then bought a separate snack for myself, which is silly. Food seems to be the place I'm leaking money the most and planning food shops more intentionally will help me get more in control of my spending.

What I Spent In A Week

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Day 1: Monday - £16.40

• £7.20 — TFL travel charge

• £6.35 — Lunch (meal deal & a bag of cookies for the office)

• £2.85 — Snack from Pret

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Day 2: Tuesday - £34.01

• £7.20 — TFL travel charge

• £3.95 — Supermarket meal deal

• £1.99 — Croissant from Pret

• £2.88 — Coffee from work cafe

• £8.00 — IKEA plant mister (my last one broke and there's a heat wave coming)

• £9.99 — Book

Day 3: Wednesday - £0

£0 — I worked from home this day so didn't spend any money, result!

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‍Day 4: Thursday - £104.14

• £7.20 — TFL travel charge

• £3.95 — Supermarket meal deal

• £12.99 — Spotify subscription

• £80.00 — Opera tickets (my partner and I both have birthdays in June so this is our treat. We paid the under-35 special rate for last-minute tickets, which were released today – £40 each down from £315 each)

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Day 5: Friday - £1,031.84

• £16.84 — Supermarket shop top up

• £15.00 — Drinks at the pub

• £1,000.00 — Rent due

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Day 6: Saturday - £53.10

• £40.00 — Picnic shop

• £10.00 — Donation to cousin's charity bake sale

• £3.10 — TFL travel charge

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Day 7: Sunday - £0

Stayed in after a lovely picnic yesterday. Read the book I bought earlier in the week which I am loving, packed Etsy orders and watched the F1 race in the evening.

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‍Total Weekly Spend: £1,239.49

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