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Investigates Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates Daft.ie Property Allianz Home The 42 Sport TG4 Entertainment The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories spending and saving Money Diaries A marketing manager on €63K living in Dublin This week, our reader feels lucky to be able to save on rent while living at home with family after living abroad. 8.01pm, 9 Nov 2025 Share options WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances. Are you a spender, a saver or a splurger? We’re looking for readers who will keep a money diary for a week. If you’re interested send a mail to money@thejournal.ie. We would love to hear from you. Each money diary is submitted by readers just like you. When reading and commenting, bear in mind that their situation will not be relatable for everyone, it is simply an account of a week in their shoes, so let’s be kind. Last time around, we heard from an investment banker on £75K who moved to London last year. This week, a marketing manager on €63K living in Dublin. I’m in my 30s and currently living in Dublin with my parents. After living abroad for a few years, I moved back to Ireland earlier this year and back into my family home as the cost of rent in Dublin is crazy. It’s been nice to be around family again after living away. I am very lucky to be able to save on rent at the moment. I do have a decent pot of savings built up now (approx €70k) and aim to save around €1,000 per month. I am currently only on a temporary work contract, so I’m not too sure what will happen when that ends, so for now, I’m just saving for the future. In my spare time I like to travel, catch up with friends over dinner or coffee. I enjoy doing yoga classes on the weekends, as well as running, and also like to practice hobbies such as art. Occupation: Marketing manager Location: Dublin Salary: €63,000 (plus bonus up to €10k) Monthly pay (net): €3,300 (I get paid x13 times per year) Monthly expenses Transport: €25 – I walk as much as possible and don’t own a car Rent: €300 – I pay my parents this amount each month (very appreciative of how privileged my situation is) Household bills: €0 (covered in rent) Phone bill: €20 Health insurance: €0 (covered by my employer) Groceries: €50/100 – living at home means I buy very little groceries Subscriptions: €10 gym (subsidised by my employer), €200 monthly community studio membership payment Pension: €290 7.00 am: I get up and get ready for work. I’m in the office today, usually on Mondays I can work from home but today I need to be there for an in-person meeting. Advertisement 9.00 am: I’m at the desk catching up on emails and prepping for the day. I have breakfast that I prepped the night before while at my desk. 12.00 am: Lunch time – I have lunch with my team in our canteen. We’re very lucky that our company subsidizes lunches so it’s always very cheap. It’s €3 today for chicken and salad 3.00 pm: Busy afternoon of meetings. 6.30 pm: Finally finishing up for the day after a very busy Monday. I put some music on and get going on my walk home. 7.45 pm: I make myself go out for a short run, then home to shower and have dinner. 9.30 pm: I make some oats for the morning, tidy up a bit and do a few quick tasks at home. I do some holiday planning for an upcoming trip, before going to bed at around 11pm. Today’s total: €3.00 7.00 am: I get up and get ready for work. 7.50 am: I did a wardrobe clearout over the weekend and sold something on Vinted so I pack that up to post while I’m out today. 12.30 pm: After a busy morning, I head to the canteen for lunch with some colleagues (€3). I also go out to the post office to send my packages. No cost for postage as the buyer pays on Vinted. 5.00 pm: The rest of the afternoon is spent between meetings and work, then I go to an evening gym class and head home. I stop in the pharmacy on the way home to pick up my prescription – no charge. 7.00 pm: I get home and have dinner. Fajitas tonight – I am not the chef in my house as you can tell, and I am very thankful for that as I really don’t like cooking. 8.00 pm: I shower, clean up and do a few tasks at home before relaxing in front of the TV for a while. While checking my bank balance, I see my monthly bank charge has come out (€8), as well as another bill for €8. While scrolling my phone I see a Go Fund Me page for an old work colleague, so I donate €25. I’m asleep by about 11pm. Today’s total: €44.00 6.45 am: Up a bit earlier today as I have a meeting in the office at 8.30am. I get ready and head off around 7.30am. On my way to work, I get a message that my phone balance is low so I top up by €20. 12.00 pm: I’m really feeling tired this week. I go for lunch with colleagues, again lucky to have subsidised lunches at €3. 5.00 pm: After another hectic day, I go to the gym and feel much better after. 6.00 pm: I have a nail appointment (€30) before walking home. Getting my nails done each month is something I could save on if I wanted, but I like feeling put together. 7.45 pm: I get home and ready to crash. I shower and have some dinner. I catch up on this week’s episode of Great British Bake Off! Today’s total: €53.00 7.00 am: Up and at it for the last day in the office this week. I’m very glad the weekend is almost here. It’s nice and bright on my walk to work this morning which is nice. 12.30 pm: I’m starving – I go have some lunch with colleagues (€3) and get back to work pretty quickly. It’s a pretty busy and chaotic day at the office so now I’m really wishing it to be the weekend. 5.30 pm: I pack up and head home. 6.30 pm: Home and have dinner with the family – it’s salmon tonight. I shower and have a chill evening watching some TV – an episode of the latest series of Dragons Den. Related Reads Money Diaries: An investment banker on £112K who moved to London last year Money Diaries: A PR manager on €44K living in Co Cork Money Diaries: A governance assistant manager on €71K living in Munster 10.00 pm: I head to bed and do a bit of online browsing in bed. I have recently run out of a lot of my skincare products so I decide to bite the bullet and order a restock of all my products as there’s 20% off. Total comes to €238 – which I know is ridiculous money to be spending on cosmetics, but I do really value good skincare and the products last a long time so I only need to restock every three to four months or more. Today’s total: €241.00 7.30 am: Finally Friday! I am working from home today and wake up in a great mood. 12.30 pm: I make myself some lunch – soup that was in the fridge and bread. 2.30 pm: I have a dentist appointment so I make my way there. It’s a routine clean, which costs me €84. Unfortunately, I’m not entitled to the free PRSI check as I hadn’t been working in Ireland for the last few years. I might be able to claim part though my health insurance. I also sold a top on Vinted earlier so I go to the post office while I’m out (sold for €10). 4.00 pm: I come home and get back to work for another while. I still have so much to get though, it feels like the workload is never ending these days. 7.00 pm: I have some pasta for dinner, watch some tv and head to bed at around 11pm. Today’s total: €84.00 9.00 am: I get up.I’ve had a terrible sleep so feeling a bit like I’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. The weather is horrible out and I really don’t want to go running, but I really should. 10.30 am: I was on the phone to a friend who lives abroad so only leave for my run at 10.30am. 12.30 pm: I get home, shower and have some late breakfast and get ready to go to town. I meet my partner and we do some shopping. We are both hungry so go get a light lunch which he pays for. 4.45 pm: We stay in town until around 4.30pm, didn’t end up buying anything. Got the bus home. (€2) 6.30 pm: We make some homemade pizzas and watch a movie for the evening. Today’s total: €2.00 10.00 am: Have a very lazy morning. I book tickets to a show over Christmas for my partner and I – €170 for two tickets. 12.00 pm: I make my way to the local community art studio and spend a few hours there, I take the bus (€2). While I’m there, I pop out to get a snack. (€1.50) 4.30 pm: I take the bus home. (€2) 5.30 pm: I have dinner and catch up with the family, then clean up and get things organised for the week. 7.00 pm: I take a shower and then get my laptop to look online for a dress for a friends wedding. I order one (€270), as well as shoes to match (€58). I did try to find something second hand or rent, but I really couldn’t find anything I liked. Today’s total: €502.00 Weekly subtotal: €929.00 What I learned – This was a pretty non-eventful week in my life. My weekdays are very repetitive and I would really like to try start doing more in the evenings I feel like my day to day spending is quite good in that I save on things like transport, impulse buys such as coffee etc. However, I do tend to often make some sizeable purchases without thinking about how I could try save more I would like to get into investing so open to any suggestions from readers of where to start! Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Support The Journal TheJournal.ie reader Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Money Diaries: A marketing manager on €63K living in Dublin”. 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