
Mamamia’s What My Salary Gets Me asks Australians to record a week in their financial lives. Kind of like a sex diary but with money. So not like a sex diary at all. We still find out the best-kept secrets though. We discover what women are really spending their hard-earned cash on. Nothing is too outrageous or too sacred.This week, a mum of one, who works two days a week shares her money diary.
Income:
Annual income from teaching two days per week: $37,825.
Side hustle, writing: $50-$100 per fortnight, less since COVID.
Watch: Simple Budgeting with a Banana. Post continues below.
Expenses:
Mortgage: $1600 per fortnight (My partner and I pay this together and since I earn considerably less than my husband he pays two thirds of it. So I pay $400 a fortnight).
Phone: $100 per fortnight
Transport: $50 per fortnight (I am really lucky car that it is really fuel efficient)
Groceries: $600 per fortnight (I pay half of this and try to pay for extras we need as we need them)
Utilities: $312 per fortnight (I pay half of this)
Netflix: $10 per month (which would be $5 a fortnight)
Audible: $15 per month ($7.50 a fortnight)
Day care: $120 per fortnight.
Extra Expenses: $175
Savings: Anything I take from writing per week, depending on how many stories I write are picked up. On my part time wage, I don’t always get to save. My husband does a much better job at that.
Debt: We have a mortgage and both of us have HECS debts we’re paying. We also have an investment property.
Monday - Day One
Since today is my day at home with my son, we try to keep it a slow one. After playing with blocks for more hours than any adult finds enjoyable, I clean my house and fight the urge to bundle my son into the car to get lunch.
Instead I make a coffee with the pods we brought in bulk (because our Caffitaly pods are sparse right now). I make lunch for my son, which he doesn’t eat because he’s really embracing being a toddler, and put him down for a nap.