Home Compare Savings Accounts Money Diaries: How a mum and dad of three on a single income spend their salary

Money Diaries: How a mum and dad of three kids on a single income manage their money

This week we take a look at how a mum and dad with three kids renting on one income spend their salary in a week.

on 08 Jun 2021

Money Diaries: How a mum and dad of three kids on a single income manage their money

Have you ever wanted to find out how a total stranger spends their money? Same. Savings.com.au’s money diaries asks Australians to record a week in the life of their bank account. We want to know exactly what you spend your money on, how much you earn, save, if you invest and what your money goals are.

Industry: My partner works in mining as a heavy machine operator and I work from home running a business directory that supports women across Australia. I do not draw an income though at this stage.

Salary: $1,680.00 per week after tax

Age: My partner is 33 and I’m 35

Where do you live? Rockingham, Western Australia

Housing: Renting

Debt: Car loan $28,000 and we have $1,500 owing on Zip

Assets: Nil - only household items

Regular weekly expenses:

Power - $45.00
Gym - $34 per week for the both of us
Rent - $320
Gas - $30
Water usage - $10
NBN - $23
Mobiles - $69
Child support - $399, for two children under 13
Trailer rego - $12
Contents insurance - $34
Car loan - $118
Car insurance - $17.50
Business investing - $50
Car rego - $19
Dog food - $40 for two large dogs
Dog ﬂea/worm treatment - $23
Food/nappies/formula etc $200
Fuel $100
Vape $10
Mice for our pet snake - $5

Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market

Deposit amount

Compare

Provider	Base interest rate	Max interest rate	Total interest earned	Introductory Term	Minimum Amount	Maximum Amount	Account Keeping Fees	Min. Monthly Deposit	Min. Opening Deposit	Linked account required	ATM Access	EFTPOS Facility	as ofAugust 21, 2024

	4.40^%_p.a.	Intro rate for 4 monthsthen 4.40% p.a. 5.75^%_p.a.	^$980	4	^$0	^$250,000	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED	High Interest Savings Account (< $250k) Bonus rate for the first 4 months from account opening No account keeping fees No minimum balance
FEATURED High Interest Savings Account (< $250k) Bonus rate for the first 4 months from account opening No account keeping fees No minimum balance More details
	4.75^%_p.a.	Intro rate for 4 monthsthen 4.75% p.a. 5.35^%_p.a.	^$1,001	4	^$0	^$249,999	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED	Savings Account (Amounts < $250k) A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace
FEATURED Savings Account (Amounts < $250k) A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace More details
	2.85^%_p.a.	Intro rate for 4 monthsthen 2.85% p.a. 3.55^%_p.a.	^$621	4	^$0	^$49,999	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED	Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000) For deposit amounts $0 - $49,999 New ING personal savings customers receive an introductory bonus 0.50% p.a. variable kick starter rate for the first 4 months on balances up to $500,000. Reverts to variable ongoing rate. T&Cs apply.
FEATURED Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000) For deposit amounts $0 - $49,999 New ING personal savings customers receive an introductory bonus 0.50% p.a. variable kick starter rate for the first 4 months on balances up to $500,000. Reverts to variable ongoing rate. T&Cs apply. More details
	–	5.50^%_p.a.	^$1,128		^$0	^$100,000	0	0	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
FEATURED*Rate varies on savings amount	Save Account (<$100,000) Deposit $500 per month to get bonus interest 5.50% p.a. available on total savings up to $100k. 5.00% p.a. applies to savings between $100k-250K. Tiered bonus rates apply. (TMDs at ubank.com.au)
FEATURED*Rate varies on savings amount Save Account (<$100,000) Deposit $500 per month to get bonus interest 5.50% p.a. available on total savings up to $100k. 5.00% p.a. applies to savings between $100k-250K. Tiered bonus rates apply. (TMDs at ubank.com.au) More details
	Bonus rate of 4.95%Conditions apply. 0.55^%_p.a.	5.50^%_p.a.	^$1,128		^$0	^$100,000	0	1000	0	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	$product[$field["value"]]	More details
	Savings Maximiser (<$100k) Deposit at least $1,000+ each month from an external source Make 5 or more eligible transactions Grow your savings balance each month
Savings Maximiser (<$100k) Deposit at least $1,000+ each month from an external source Make 5 or more eligible transactions Grow your savings balance each month More details

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Product Features

A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking
No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties
Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace

Total interest earned$1,001

4.75 % Base interest rate

5.35 % Max interest rate

Intro rate for

then

4.75%

More details

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

All products with a link to a product provider’s website have a commercial marketing relationship between us and these providers. These products may appear prominently and first within the search tables regardless of their attributes and may include products marked as promoted, featured or sponsored. The link to a product provider’s website will allow you to get more information or apply for the product. By de-selecting “Show online partners only” additional non-commercialised products may be displayed and re-sorted at the top of the table. For more information on how we’ve selected these “Sponsored”, “Featured” and “Promoted” products, the products we compare, how we make money, and other important information about our service, please click here. Rates correct as of August 21, 2024. View disclaimer.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Save

How much of your income do you save and what are you saving for?

We save $50 per week and we're currently saving for a house.

Do you have a budget?

Yes, I use excel spreadsheets to budget.

What money habits are you especially proud of?

Supporting three children financially and being able to keep my small business going.

Spend

What do you spend most of your money on?

Most of our money goes towards child support and rent. We only just manage to get by and have one car to share between us after paying the child support and rent.

Do you make spending decisions carefully or are you a bit loose with the purse strings?

Very carefully, we have no room for error.

Do you have any money habits you aren’t especially proud of?

Smoking but my partner has nearly kicked that one in the butt.

What’s your favourite thing to spend money on?

Dining out together and having quality time with the kids. We would love to buy a boat.

Invest

How do you invest?

I invest into my business, this was my side hustle when I was working full-time. I invested a lot of time and money into it before I became a full-time mum.

Now I’m still doing as much as I can and I hope to grow the business to earn an income. I love seeing women grow and fulfill their dreams!

How much is sitting in your super and do you regularly contribute to it?

We do not contribute to superannuation. This has recently been split and the majority given to my partners ex wife. We also used some of our superannuation to get through COVID as my new job fell through.

How did you learn about money and investing?

I manage our finances, my mum was a bookkeeper and she did Excel spreadsheets and business studies at TAFE, and a lot of her family worked in real estate.

We are close to being able to buy a house again. Both me and my partner had a house each when we met and sold them both in early 2020 so we can buy a house together.

A week in the life of my bank account

This is what we have spent in one week outside our weekly budget, we pay our bills monthly, this was not one of those weeks.

Monday - Day One

We have a three-month-old and we want to refresh our first aid skills, so we spent $220 on an infant and children’s first aid course for both of us. We’re doing the course this Friday at my cousin’s place with ten other people.

Daily spend: $220

Tuesday - Day Two

Spent a bit of cash on diesel for our Nissan Patrol, our fortnightly top-up, main tank and sub tank. We always keep an eye on Fuel Watch to see where has the cheapest diesel.

Daily spend: $128.77

Wednesday - Day Three

My partner flies home today so we spend $23.90 on KFC for lunch on our way home from the airport.

Spend $39.95 on kids clothes from Big W for all three kids because we’re heading into winter so we stock up on jumpers and trackies, just from the cheap tables.

Need some groceries for dinner tonight so I pop into Woolworths and spend $22.28.

Daily Spend: $86.13

Thursday - Day Four

My monthly gym and creche membership comes out of my account today which sets me back $109.50.

Daily spend: 109.50

Friday - Day Five

Time for our weekly grocery shop which sets us back $172.14.

Then we spend $17.60 at Hungry Jacks on two dinner meals. We then take this to the local beach car park and enjoy the view before going home and unpacking the groceries.

Daily spend: $189.74

Saturday - Day Six

It’s finally the weekend, so I pick up two bottles of wine ($25) from BWS to relax at home with tonight. Also needed to pick up some more groceries for tonight’s dinner ($14). Luckily my partner is a better cook than me as he has chef qualifications so he’s in charge of dinner!

It’s our eldest child's birthday (turning 7!) so we let the two other boys pick out a new Xbox game each as a present. End up spending $80 at EB Games. We only get the kids every third weekend.

Daily spend: $119.99

Sunday - Day Seven

Spend $20 on mice for our pet snake, he only needs feeding once a month, so we feed him four mice in one sitting.

Daily spend: $20

Weekly spend: $745.36

Do you want to record a week in your financial life (anonymously of course)? Send in your submissions to emma.duffy@savings.com.au

Read more Money Saving Tips Money Diaries

Emma Duffy

Emma Duffy is Editor at Your Investment Property Magazine, which is part of the InfoChoice Media Group. In this role, she manages a team of journalists and expert contributors committed to keeping readers informed about the latest home loan and finance news and trends, as well as providing in-depth property guides. She is also a Assistant Editor at Savings.com.au which she joined shortly after its launch in early 2019.

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Money Diaries: How a mum and dad of three kids on a single income manage their money

High Interest Savings Account (< $250k)

High Interest Savings Account (< $250k)

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Savings Account (Amounts < $250k)

Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000)

Savings Accelerator (Amounts < $50000)

Save Account (<$100,000)

Save Account (<$100,000)

Savings Maximiser (<$100k)

Savings Maximiser (<$100k)

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