
Mamamia’s What My Salary Gets Me series 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 32-year-old tradie shares her money diary.
Age: 32
Job: Tradie, civil construction
Income: $75,000 per year
Housing: I live in a shared apartment with one housemate. I have a slightly larger room and my share of the rent is $255 per week.
Watch: Simple Budgeting with a banana. Post continues below.
Regular expenses (monthly):
Rent: $1020
Health insurance: $35
Phone: $116
Savings: $1000
Credit Card: $7000
Assets: Car $3500
Netflix and Stan: $30
Spotify: $11 (family plan)
Monday - Day One
Today I finally paid off my $28,000 loan. I've been paying it off for seven years and the last payment was $500. Before moving into construction recently I was on a much smaller salary and took a long time to get my budgeting butt into gear.
In my job I work away, and I'm currently travelling all around QLD. I still pay rent but my expenses are low on the road and I only pay for food and leisure. Today I spent $10 on a coffee round, and $15 on lunch.
My boss bought us dinner today which is a huge bonus!
Daily total: $525
Tuesday - Day Two
Again, I only paid for my food today. I spent $15 on lunch but I repaid my boss' generosity and bought dinner. I got us sushi and it cost $35 for both of us.
It was hot today and you build up a strong thirst working on the tools so I took advantage of the servo deal, two Powerades for $5.
Daily total: $55
Wednesday - Day Three
I wanted a healthy lunch and dinner today so I grabbed some salad bowls and roast chicken from Coles, $18.50.