Ibiza countdown, peri-menopause, and a couples-only spa deal.
Welcome to Outgoings, a weekly series where we speak to Yonder members about their weekly outgoings. Real people, real money, real spending habits.
This week: a finance and data administrator on a three-month countdown to Ibiza, splitting her evenings between the dating apps and hotel search tabs: a bargain-hunting M&S shop that ended in two Hugo Spritz cans, a bomber jacket she talked herself out of three separate times, and a spa booking that turned out to be strictly for couples. Let's get into it.
Key facts
Diarist: 40, works as a finance and data administrator in local government
Location: Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (living alone)
Take-home: £2-4k
Biggest spend: £161.10 (spa break booking)
Smallest spend: £1.00 (baby wipes at Superdrug)
I'm 40 and work as a finance and data administrator in local government. I live in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire alone and (mostly) loving it! My take-home is somewhere in the £2-4k a month bracket, and I have a mortgage of just over £600 a month.
I'd describe myself as a 'procrastinator' when it comes to money. I mull over some purchases for days (sometimes weeks!) and do tend to leave items in my online shopping basket for consideration, but I do love a spontaneous M&S or Waitrose splurge. I’m preparing to go to Ibiza in October so am fully in wellness mode — I want to look and feel mentally and physically epic. Focusing on wellbeing is also helping me manage peri-menopause and the trials of online dating.
Take-home: £2-4k / month · Mortgage: ~£600 · Week total: £362.34 · Transactions: 18
Day 01 · Monday · Aylesbury — £8.70
I have quite a busy week coming up work-wise so mentally run through the week's tasks while having a coffee and listening to a podcast. I'm wfh today but will need to nip out at lunch for a Boots trip.
12:40 · £8.70 — Simple face cleanser, cotton wool pads and Radox Muscle Soak at Boots. Am waiting on a colleague to review a case study I've written this morning before I publish on our website, so decide to take my lunch break. My flat is in the town centre so I can always pop out to shops easily, which is a blessing and a curse. I head to Boots to pick up some essentials. I love a Boots trip, I always look around to see what new skincare and toiletries they have, but I stick to my favourites on this trip as I know they do the job.
Feeling: I always feel good spending on skincare and toiletries, it's part of my self-care routine, especially when I avoid the pricier options.
Bank Holiday weekend is coming up and I want to go away, so I look at some hotel options after work but get so overwhelmed with choice I retreat to my balcony to read my book instead.
Day 02 · Tuesday · Aylesbury — £12.45
Alarm goes off at 7.30am but I snooze it and enjoy the benefits of wfh. I have a lot of data to pull today that my boss requested yesterday, so make a start on that once I'm finally awake.
15:15 · £12.45 — Waitrose top-up shop. It's 3pm and I realise I haven't been outside or taken a proper lunch break yet, so head out to Waitrose. My friends take the mick because I mainly shop in Waitrose and M&S, but they're the nearest to my flat and so convenient. I confess it is a bit of an indulgence though. I pick up milk and squash plus a ready meal for dinner so I have something quick and easy after my reformer pilates and yoga classes this evening. I'm on my period so stock up on Bodyform. I was hoping to just use my stock from last month, but my body had other ideas.
Feeling: Pretty indifferent, except slightly miffed I have to spend my hard-earned cash on Bodyform.
Day 03 · Wednesday · Aylesbury — £186.15
It's my day working in the office today, so up a bit earlier to walk in. Looking forward to seeing my team and catching up on the gossip.
08:45 · £3.45 — Latte from the work cafe. Nothing can happen before my daily caffeine hit.
Feeling: Good. Coffee is life.
12:25 · £9.45 — Lunch from Sainsbury's. Come to a natural pause in my work day so go out to grab lunch. I am the worst person at bringing lunch into work. I can probably count on one hand the times I've actually done it. The office I'm in today has limited lunch options so I go over the road to the huge Sainsbury's. I love their whipped feta couscous salad and pretty much lived off it when I was in the office full time. Now I'm only in once a week it feels more of a treat. Also get crisps, fruit and a pack of wooden forks as there's never any cutlery in our work kitchen.
Feeling: Hungry, and slightly perturbed. How does lunch cost nearly £10?
14:45 · £1.85 — Tea from the work cafe. My very lovely colleague has bought us chocolate donuts from Greggs, so treat myself to a cuppa to go with it.
Feeling: Content.
17:15 · £1.00 — Baby wipes at Superdrug. Stop on the walk home to pick some up, they're so handy for freshening up and getting stains out of clothes. Do my usual look round at skincare and toiletries but nothing catches my eye this time.
Feeling: A bit smug I haven't succumbed to new skincare temptations.
17:25 · £9.20 — M&S top-up shop. Stop by my favourite shop to get a few bits for dinner. Briefly consider brioche rolls but save myself 50p opting for normal white baps. Also get a yellow-stickered salad for £1.50 — celebrate the bargains by treating myself to two Hugo Spritz cans for a fiver. I am obsessed.
Feeling: A bit boujie! Looking forward to my evening with my cocktail cans, looking at Bank Holiday weekend options.
22:30 · £161.10 — Spa break booking. Have another evening looking at potential Bank Holiday trips online. Finally find a hotel with a spa not too far away. Bit miffed as they do good-value spa packages but for couples only. The single tax at work.
Feeling: Wondering if I can up my online dating game so I can get a boyfriend to go to spas with. Purely for financial reasons, obviously.
A particularly beautiful faux leather funnel neck black bomber jacket caught my eye in M&S. I spent all winter looking for one exactly like this. It's £68 but I'm so tempted. I leave it in the shop and vow to consider whether I need it, and whether it fits with my existing wardrobe, before buying.
Day 04 · Thursday · Aylesbury — £0.00
Another wfh day, then a family visit to do and a reformer pilates class. Busy busy.
A very rare no-spend day. Worked from home, visited my great aunt and went to a killer reformer pilates class. Actually quite proud I've had a really nice day and spent nothing.
Day 05 · Friday · Aylesbury — £64.76
TGIF! One more work day to go. Unfortunately today is the busiest day of the month — quality checking all the data that comes through from our training providers. Plan to smash through it so I can finish dead on 5 and bask in the weekend.
14:15 · £4.00 — Toilet roll and a hair mask from Poundland. Realise I haven't been to lunch so head out. I stop at Poundland for one of adulting's most annoying tasks, buying toilet roll. Also buy a lush-smelling hair mask to make it a slightly more enjoyable transaction. It's only £1. The one I have currently, which I'm nearly out of, is nearly a tenner in Boots.
Feeling: Annoyed at having to spend money on something as dull as toilet roll, but impressed by the cheap hair mask find.
14:30 · £26.24 — M&S food shop. My fridge is scarily empty so head to M&S to stock up on essentials — coffee, fresh fruit, yoghurt, cheese, milk, chicken. I also buy my favourite pesto pasta salad for a quick lunch. Will definitely be wanting a wine after finishing work, my friend got me into white rioja and an £8 bottle finds its way into my basket. I gaze longingly at the faux leather bomber jacket as I leave.
Feeling: Relieved my fridge will be semi-full this weekend.
17:00 · £18.00 — Sent to a friend for a Ministry of Sound ticket. I agreed to go to Ministry of Sound in a few weeks' time with my friend for their 35th anniversary weekend. She got them on presale so they're a total bargain. It'll be a good Ibiza warm-up for me.
19:10 · £16.52 (including £1.30 tip) — Deliveroo. Friday is my takeout night. I order a chicken burrito, spicy rice and onion rings from a local grill. The spicy rice is epic and way cheaper than Nando's. I love London Eats on YouTube, and always tip drivers since I've been watching his content, if the food arrives fast and hot.
Day 06 · Saturday · Aylesbury — £58.13
It's the weekend! I have my volunteer shift for a local charity shop this morning, then planning to meet my mum for a catch-up this afternoon.
09:00 · £3.79 — Protein shake. I've been waking up late the last few Saturdays and have got into a habit of buying a protein shake when I go out rather than eating breakfast at home. Really need to get organised (and potentially buy a blender to make my own shakes).
Feeling: Slightly annoyed at myself for waking up late again, but a protein shake is not the worst option for an on-the-go breakfast.
12:05 · £1.98 — Two cans of fruit juice from the local world foods store. My shift is over and I have a serious juice craving, so pop into the world foods store next door and pick up two Pulp+ juices, mango and lychee.
14:40 · £14.63 — Mocktails at Loungers. Meet my mum in the town centre. She has some shopping to do, then we go to the local Loungers bar for refreshing mocktails and sit in the sunshine. Almost like being on holiday.
15:30 · £5.75 — Waitrose. Pop in on the way home for vegetables for tonight's dinner and Magnum ice creams: heatwave essential.
20:00 · £7.99 — Now TV. I try to only pay for one TV subscription service at a time. I've exhausted Netflix and Disney+ so am giving Now TV a try. Loved the Katie Price documentary series, and also love that I can watch Only Fools and Horses on loop, even though I've seen every episode about a hundred times already.
23:00 · £23.99 — Amazon. My friend with benefits texts to arrange a date. We like keeping things interesting, so I got a little surprise from Amazon to add to the agenda for next time.
I need to stock up on creatine and collagen supplements for my pre-Ibiza training plan. I see some on offer when out shopping and make a mental note to check prices online to get the best deal.
Day 07 · Sunday · Aylesbury — £32.15
Sunday is my favourite day. It's the only day I don't set an alarm. I have a sound bath session booked today, so am looking forward to feeling zen and chilled after a busy week.
14:25 · £32.15 — M&S groceries. My stomach is audibly rumbling in my sound bath session, so head to M&S after for goodies. I feel cleansed from my sound bath so stock up on nourishment: chicken, salad, yoghurt, fresh bread, strawberries and an alcohol-free beer.
Feeling: Very zen and chilled, and excited to enjoy the sunshine for the rest of the day.
Did look at supplements on Amazon but not purchased yet, procrastination at work again. Gazed longingly again at the M&S jacket. It will be mine one day.
What the week says
Three things stayed with us after reading it.
The single tax. She'd already found the good-value hotel, done the maths on the Bank Holiday budget, and then found out the deal only existed for two people. "Bit miffed as they do good-value spa packages but for couples only, the single tax at work," she wrote, half-joking about upgrading her dating-app game purely so she'd have someone to bring. It's a cost that never shows up on a spreadsheet, but it's real: plenty of good deals simply aren't built for one.
The jacket that got away, three times. The same faux leather bomber jacket, spotted in the same M&S, got the same response on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday: wanted, considered, and left on the rail. It's the clearest "smaller version considered" in the whole diary, except in this case the smaller version was £68 spent on nothing at all.
A self-declared procrastinator who never hesitates in M&S. She describes her relationship with money as one where she'll leave a purchase in an online basket for weeks. In practice, her decisions in physical shops were fast and confident almost every time: the Hugo Spritz cans, the spa booking, the wine, the impulse M&S top-ups. The hesitation is real, but it's reserved almost entirely for the things she can put off; anything in front of her in a shop gets decided on the spot.
The reflections
Most defended: "The £23.99 Amazon purchase. Pleasure is important!"
Quietly taken back: "The £3.79 protein shake. I'm going off the taste, and I had ingredients at home to make something way tastier!"
Almost spent on, didn't: "The M&S bomber jacket! Also supplements."
Surprising: "The amount I spend on groceries, takeout, and food and drink out is a bit of a wake-up call! I definitely need to plan more, investigate cheaper options, and be more disciplined when I'm in the supermarket."
Outgoings is a weekly diary series from Yonder. Every Thursday, one anonymous member takes us through a week of their spending life. To write one, submit an application here.
