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‍Current life situation: Just bought a home with my partner, which is a never-ending renovation project! So, I’m working on my house alongside my full-time PhD.

Income: £1690 per month (PhD funding from the Economic and Social Research Council)

Expenses: £740 per month

Savings: £240 per month (Emergency Fund, House Renovations, Holiday)

Sinking Funds: £570 (Including Groceries, Fun Money, Self-Care, Cat Care, Medical, Miscellaneous and Weddings)

Debt: £135 per month (split between a Monzo loan for my Invisalign, which I can increase the amount I pay each month and credit card payments)

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A Week of Spending

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Monday: I started the week with PhD work, meaning I spent nothing! Our bills did come out this day, which we split 50/50, as it was the 1st of the month but as this is already accounted for in a separate account, I don’t count it as ‘spending’. I stick to a pretty solid monthly budget, which is needed as a student who just bought a house and I have a LOT of sinking funds so pretty much everything I spend is accounted for.

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Tuesday: I drove the three-hour journey back to my hometown to house sit (and cat sit) for my dad while he was on holiday for the week. I needed to fill up on petrol before setting off (£38.72) but didn’t need to buy anything else this day.

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Wednesday: The first day of socialising! After another day of studying, I caught up with an old friend I hadn’t seen since school over a pub dinner (£19.50) and picked up some groceries for the week on my way home (£12.35).

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Thursday: I underestimated the food shopping I would need, so had to go out for a few more bits (£12), did a few hours of PhD work and then went over to my friends house for  another reunion! We stayed in for the night and ordered pizza, but my friend still hasn’t sent me his bank details so I haven’t paid for this yet (reminder if you\re reading this!).

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Friday: Surprise, surprise, another day of studying so absolutely nothing spent this day.

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Saturday: I went out for breakfast with friends (£15.77) which consisted of a lot of catching up so this took up quite a few hours! I picked up a few toiletries on my way home (£11.87) then chilled for the rest of the day.

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Sunday: The socialising continues - I travelled to my nans for a delicious roast dinner (more like lunch) and then went out with another friend to reunite over a couple of drinks (I had a lot of catching up to do while I was home) . My friend actually covered the bill for this, so I didn’t spend anything while I was out, or the whole day for that matter.

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Total spend for the week: £110.21

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*Names have been changed for anonymity purposes.

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