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 asking readers to keep a record of how much they earn, what they save if anything, and what they’re spending their money on over the course of one 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 a head chef on €43K living and working in Dublin and saving towards starting their own business. This week, a follow-up diary from a fintech worker on €65K living in Dublin. 

This is a follow-up to my beer-soaked, concert-filled Money Diary last year.

I’m happy to report that life is good! I’m still a feckless child, but things are going in the right direction. I got a promotion and a nice pay bump in work at the start of the year, which has more than offset, for me, the rise in the cost of living, thankfully. It’s also allowed me to ramp up my savings a bit. 

In terms of my 2026 savings goals, it’s all up in the air at the minute. Provisionally, I’m aiming to bank €16,000 this year – €10,000 into my savings account and €6,000 for my pension. I intend to make a ~€10,000 Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) to max out my pension contributions and I’ll get ~€4,000 back to me in January as a sweet, sweet tax refund… when did I become the old guy obsessed with the tax benefits of pensions?

I say ‘provisionally’ here as my partner and I are looking into buying a place of our own. We’re in no major rush and are both enjoying our current situation. However, we have our approval-in-principle in the back pocket and an ever-increasing deposit, so we are ready to pounce if a property that ticks all our boxes comes on the market.

In the hunt for a couple of extra euros, I have the bulk of my savings sitting across Trade Republic and Trading212 (as uninvested funds, zero risk – I don’t like risk) to avail of their current 2.25% and 3.5% respective interest rates. This will work out at about €1,500 for the year. I also continue to engage in risk-free matched/spread betting (although far, far away from my bank statements considering the mortgage approval process). On course for around €3,500 this year. Better in my pocket than with the bookies.

Monthly pay (net): €3,900

Rent: €800 – very, very thankful for a very, very nice rate

Gas electricity: €100 – I top up my meters by €50 every month. It builds up during the summer to give me and my BER-exempt palace a buffer in the winter

Bins: €22.50 – on a completely unrelated note, the Panda is my least favourite kind of bear

Transport: €75-ish – Leap Card costs for my couple of days in the office each week

Phone bill: €15 – why isn’t everyone on Tesco pay-as-you-go?

Gym: €30 – this is included as part of my GAA club membership. I have not darkened the door of our gym in many a month

Health dental insurance: €350 – have taken this out for myself and my partner. Paid as a benefit-in-kind by my employer so it’s really only costing me the extra €175-ish in income tax. As far as I understand, I’ll be able to claim back €400 relief in my tax return next year, plus it will allow me to make a bigger AVC

Pension: €271 – 5% of my salary, the maximum which my employer will match, and then I will make the big AVC at the start of next year (house deposit/renovations/furnishing dependent)

Groceries: €150 – relatively low as I continue to lean heavily on the office kitchen (how many protein bars can one man eat?) and packing my freezer with stuff from the reduced section of my local supermarket

Subscriptions: Spotify Duo (€18.99), Revolut Premium (€7.50), the42.ie (€3.50), Second Captains (€6.15)

Mammy: €216.67 (€50 per week) –........

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