WELCOME TO HOW I Spend My Money, a series on The Journal that looks at how people in Ireland really handle their finances.
Last time around, we heard from an architect on €67K. This week, a business owner is earning €36K in Dublin. I have two housemates, one is a Ukrainian refugee, such a lovely guy and brings in €800 tax-free. He started in service jobs, but after encouragement, is now doing an IT conversion course for data analytics. Working his way up is an inspiration and his stories are a daily lesson in humility and gratitude for our lives in Ireland. I rent out the other room through a rent a room with €14,000 a year tax-free. This works if you own and live in the house.
Another tip, use EBS current bank account for your salary and then Revolut for your day-to-day banking, no fees for both and get all the services you need.Salary: €36,260 – €12,000 from the business, €24,260 from room rentals and parking spotMortgage: €206 12.00 pm: Start work on creating content. Love some reels and enjoy learning more skills on this topic. Small business Instagram tips pages are especially helpful. Many, many takes happen! But sure that’s all part of the fun. Still, cringe watching them back but definitely getting better.
4.30 pm: Done for the day – the benefit of being your own boss! Grab my book and hit the balcony with some tea. Wanted to cut down on my expenses so I started going to the library. Currently reading Setting the Table by Danny Meyer. It’s an easy read, learning about hospitality and the origin story of some famous great restaurants.
9.00 am: Cycle into a free shared office space for startups. We have a new intern starting remotely today so jump on a call with her at 10 am to introduce her to the wonderful world of Sales CRM which is the project she’ll be working on.11. 30am: Meant to go to a client meeting but was rescheduled. Check in instead on the intern through WhatsApp, few guides and tips given. I then work on outreach to new sales prospects, check through new applicants for our open jobs also.
7.30 pm: Head off for tennis game for 8 pm on my trusty bike. 20 mins cycle beside a beautiful canal with no cars, the dream. Love the amount of green I see on this cycle and the serenity. 10.30 am: Chasing unpaid invoices by clients – the least favourite part of my job! That and filling out forms for supplier lists. One of our job offers was rejected. It annoys me a bit but Ireland is at full employment, these things happen. They write a lovely decline email so we agree to stay in touch if they’re open to future work on the side. Go back through job applications and arrange more interviews.
6.00 pm: Make an avocado smoothie and get my tennis bag repacked. I rarely play twice in a day but this time it makes sense as the evening is more social at a lower level. Grab my bike and on the court for 7 pm. 12.30 pm: Take out my packed lunch. Tuna sandwiches with fruit. Scroll through football transfer updates and news sites. I have another client meeting at 2 pm so get my notes ready for that.
5.15 pm: Wrap up work and settle down to read my book in the shared office space on their couch. I’m meeting the lads in Bunsen Burger for catch ups at 7 pm, pre-pints. 12.45 pm: We arrive early for the gig, wanting to get a good spot. We are by far the oldest fans there, mostly teenagers and their parents. Not many people gathered which is surprising. Cian Ducrot is due to go onstage at 1pm but turns out at 1.30 pm, plenty of chats in between. He does a stormer of a set, three songs only though before his next gig.
9.00 pm: I settle down to begin my new Netflix addiction of Dark. It’s German language, a mix of Stranger Things and Lost. Three episodes fly by and I go to bed thinking of how the storyline fits together. It’s well worth a watch.Saturday 8.00 am: Wake up and have nothing to rush off to, love that feeling. I’m due to go to the library to bring back my books, which will be overdue by Monday. I get a cup of green tea and sit back into bed to finish Setting The Table by Danny Meyer.
5.45 pm: I won! Can’t believe it, epic game. We were due to start at 4 pm and play for an hour but it was so good, we ended up playing for an hour and 45 minutes. The courts were empty. A great mental and physical endurance test. My opponent is a lovely guy, we have such banter and slagging while playing, turns out we have a few things in common. I took up tennis a year ago and this is the best I’ve ever played, equivalent in our tennis league of Monaghan beating Kerry.