‘People say London’s expensive but I pay £1,100 a month and get a pool and cinema’

Young man reading something on his laptop

To take part in How I Spend It, please use the form below or email [email protected]. As a thank you, published diarists will receive a £50 Amazon voucher. All our subjects are genuine but anonymous.

I’ve been living in London for three years now, and contrary to what you may think, it’s not too expensive if you know the right places. I’m planning on living here for a couple more years, but I wouldn’t start a family in the capital because of the unaffordable house prices.

I live with two housemates in Woolwich, south London, on the river. My rent is £1,100 a month but the flat comes with a pool, spa, gym and cinema. I’ve been here for 18 months and the landlord hasn’t increased the rent which has helped keep it reasonable.

I earn £65,000 as a software developer, which I’ve done since I left school. I opted for an apprenticeship rather than university, which was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It means I’m debt-free and had a head-start on my career.

I’m currently in the “fintech” sector but have worked in all sorts of industries – the new court system for the UK, aerospace, rail and research.

I love my job and I can definitely get by on this salary, but part of me would like to earn more money. You only really get proper pay rises when you jump ship, and I know I could earn up to £80,000 if I did.

I’ve been saving ever since I’ve worked full-time and have built up various pots of money. I’ve got £26,500 in a Nutmeg Lifetime Isa and £42,000 in a stocks and shares Isa. I’ve also an Isa with Trading212, which means I can choose which stocks I want. I’ve invested £20,000 that way so far.

Most of this will eventually help me get on the property ladder. But as I don’t envision this happening until I’m in my 30s, the money can sit there gaining interest.

I’ve always been money driven, working in a restaurant on the weekends while I was at school. I haven’t had to financially depend on my parents since I’ve had a job and what’s amazing is that I can now help them out. I bought my mum a holiday, my dad a hearing aid and replaced their broken oven.

It feels amazing to be in this position, especially as we didn’t have very much money growing up.

After tax and pension contributions, I’m left with £3,845 a month. I put £1,000 into my savings, at least. Once I’ve paid bills and for groceries I have roughly £1,200 to spend. I rarely need all of this, unless I’m booking a holiday, so I can usually put another £400 into savings.

Once a week I volunteer as a special constable. We have the same powers as normal police officers, but we’re volunteers. Not only is it such a rewarding role, it also means I get free travel across London – which is a huge saving.

Story Continues

Total spent so far: £

Day 1

I’ve been back in Bath and stayed with my boyfriend for the weekend, who lives in Bristol – only a ten-minute train ride away.

We found a lovely cidery just outside of the city to enjoy a pint and some chips in the sun, which cost £8. For dinner we go for Sri Lankan food, which came to £18, and then hop on e-scooters, costing £5, to whizz over to Clifton to watch the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. These scooters are always tempting as they are just so convenient, especially in Bristol which is hilly.

Pints and a few fairground rides at the fiesta cost £29 – a glorious evening.

Total: £60

Day 2

It’s a Monday which means I work from home and I’ve got a big project to work on.

After work I head back to London – I bought my train ticket in advance. In the evening, I use the pool in my apartment and the steam room – perfect as my legs are a bit sore.

My life is so busy on the weekends so I enjoy having Mondays and Tuesdays to relax. I get a takeaway, which costs £9.91, and watch TV.

My only other cost is milk, for £1.65, to have on my cereal the next morning.

Total: £11.56

Day 3

I’m in the office today and take meal I prepared from the week before. I find it so much healthier to cook food at home, as well as much cheaper. I also try to buy organic for some things if the price difference isn’t massive.

I then use these portions to have lunch at work. I see people at work spend £10 for their lunch and it adds up so quickly if you’re doing that three times a week. There’s also the toll on your health from all the extra salt, sugar and processed foods.

A few bits for dinner costs me £7.28 on the way home.

Total: £7.28

Day 4

I also work from home on Wednesdays, which breaks up the week nicely. On my lunch break I went for a 7km run along the river, after five minutes the route gets a lot more rural and green with fewer people. I’m training for a 10k race at the end of September so I try to get out twice a week.

I did a shop at Sainsbury’s to last me the next couple of days (£27.43) and also bought a bread roll from M&S for an afternoon snack (75p).

Total £28.18

Day 5

After a day in the office, I was really keen to socialise and get a pint but none of my friends were around. So I head home, went to the gym and then got a takeaway.

With my blue light card, I get 20pc off at Popeyes, a fried chicken restaurant, so dinner costs me £9.43. It’s very unlike me to get a takeaway more than once in a week.

As my travel costs are free, going into the office doesn’t hit my bank account.

Total: £9.43

Day 6

I rarely work from home on a Friday but decided to treat myself today. My work offers a good degree of flexibility.

It turned out to be a fairly stressful day but I managed to run out and get my hair cut at lunch, which cost £18.

After work, my boyfriend and I pop to Tesco for a few bits (£8) and then head out for the evening. We’ve got a double date with some friends, who we meet at a cocktail bar in Soho. I spend £40 there – drinks are quite expensive – then we head to Flat Iron. Steak and wine there costs £30 – somehow cheaper than my cocktails.

To finish the night off we have a couple of more drinks in a pub in Shoreditch, where I spend £14. We didn’t want it to be a late evening, as I’ve got a festival the next day.

Total: £110

Day 7

I’m up fairly early today as I’m going to a day festival in Gunnersbury Park in West London. I bought my ticket about a month ago but it cost £60 – day festivals aren’t cheap.

My boyfriend and I have a big breakfast of hash browns, bacon, eggs and beans. I generally just have cereal for breakfast but some weekends I love a fry up.

We have a civilised start to the day ahead of the festival and go to the pool, steam room and hot tub.

It’s a long day at the festival so my friends and I buy alcohol from Tesco (£10) to make “journey juice” – a drink for the Tube ride over.

The drinks in the festival are quite expensive and I spend around £40. It’s house music and really good fun.

On the way home I grab a kebab for £9 – it’s a post-night out classic for a reason.

Total: £59

Total for the week: £285.45

As told to Maya Wilson Autzen

Please note that by submitting your content to us, you are consenting to The Telegraph processing your personal data where required by law. For further details, please see our Privacy Notice.

View Comments