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Hey guys, welcome to the first of a month’s worth of spending diaries for February’s mini series which focuses on finances. I’m a little nervous about sharing this as it really details what I get up to each day which, despite sharing a lot of my life online already, still feels quite personal. There’s no filter to pretty it up or, flattering lighting to share it with… it really is just here, bare-faced in front of you.

My budget for the month is €1650 which must cover everything from bills to rent to general life living everyday stuff. I’m usually pretty good with sticking to a budget so it’ll be interesting to see if I manage to do it this month. My leftover income is mostly spent on socialising which you’ll probably notice by the end of the 4 weeks! I’ve also included everything I ate as I get asked about my diet quite a bit so thought why not add it in!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on my spending habbits/diet; are they very different to yours? Are you surprised by anything? Comment to let us know x

Monday:

8.30am I’m off to a slow start this morning, Saturday night was a late one that ended at some stage Sunday morning so I’m still feeling the effect of that (old age ya’ll). I get up, make coffee, clean the kitchen, do some laundry and do an hour of admin (replying to DMs, e-mails from brands and watsapps from my agent about potential work). I pay my half of my the Netflix subscription (€7)

11.30am I get myself out the door to post the weekend’s depop sale (€68.20) and walk Stanley

1pm Realise I’ve had no breakfast so make porridge with banana, honey and oat milk. Still feel hungry after it so have two Dutch breads with butter

1.30pm Start creating next week’s events post

4.30pm Stop for a Prep Co, too lazy to make anything so this is perfect for a late light lunch. Continue working on the events post.

6.30pm I take a break from doing the events post and use the time to outfit plan for the week, this helps me feel organised for the week ahead, I usually do it  on Sundays but I was too wrecked yesterday. Sean makes dinner which was noodles made with coconut milk, veg, kimchi and a fried egg on top, t’was delicious

8pm Wash up after dinner and return to creating the events post

10.30pm Watch Netflix for an hour with a cup of tea and a vegan magnum.

11.30pm Feel hungry so have a late-night snack of rice, smoked salmon, pickled courgettes and a fried egg

12.30am Bed time

Total: €75.20

Tuesday:

8am Up, make coffee, do an hour of admin

9am Yoga Class

10am Back from yoga, wash hair, have breakfast of porridge, banana, oat milk and honey. Hover the house

11.45am Do beauty Tuesday’s the run out the door to do a food shop (split with Sean my part comes to €45)

1.30pm Get started on my valentines events posts (enjoy lunch of a veg wrap while working)

4.30pm Take a break to bring Stanley for a walk

5.15pm Return to working on the valentines post

7pm Finish the valentines post and go back to working on next week’s events post

8.15pm Dinner of fish curry (made by Sean, of course) before I finish the evening reading while simultaneously snuggling Stanley and a hot water bottle… bliss

12.30am Bedtime

Total: €45

Wednesday:

8am Up, make coffee, do an hour of admin

9.30am Get ready for the day (shower, hair, make up, pack my bag etc)

10.30am Have breakfast of brown bread, smoked salmon and two boiled eggs

11.15am Do a Q&A as part of my blogging mini series on my stories then some more admin

12.30pm Get Sean to help me with an outfit pic then run for the bus

2pm Get the bus (€2.25) to The Brow Artists for a follow up appointment which is kindly complimentary, I tip the girl (€10)

3pm Walk through Rathmines to go to the charity shops, I’m doing a month of charity shopped looks in April so I want to get some new bits for that. In one charity shop I find faux leather Urban Outfitters leggings, a pure cashmere M&S jumper, a vintage handbag, printed vintage trousers and a scarf for (€33) which I think sets a good omen for today’s venture but in all of the rest I visit I only find one jumpsuit I like (€3.50)

5.15pm I walk into town petting every dog I see, I pop in to a stationary store to get new dividers for my accountancy folder (€7.25) and pop in to Govinda’s for a small plate of food which consists of paneer, rice and some sort of mild curried veg (€7.45)

6pm Go to my first wine tasting evening, bring a bottle of red (€16), spend the evening enjoying a new experience in new company which ends with food together, I get hake kiev with purée peas and spring onion… the sharing starters are meat so I just have bread (€34)

10.30pm Go to Bruxelles to catch The Zodiac Sessions, have two drinks there (€12.60) then realise we’ve missed the last bus home.

1.30am The guys I’m with try to convince me to go to The George but I’m wrecked and can’t afford to spend more money so I grab a taxi home (€11)

Total: €137.05

Thursday:

9am Start the day with coffee and admin, have a banana on a slice of brown bread for breakfast

10.30am Shower and get ready for the day

12.30pm Start filming for today’s A Day In Dublin video then get the bus into town (€2.25)

2pm Press lunch with Christian Louboutin In Glovers Alley to celebrate the launch of their limited edition Valentine’s Day gift sets. I had a hake main with three different types of beetroot, a glass of white and a coconut rice pudding for dessert, it was all absolutely divine

4pm Get the luas to Smithfield (€2.50) to to a cocktail making class in the Jameson Distillery with Sean, we got tickets to it as a gift so saved them for a date night

7pm Arrive at Lilliputs In Stoneybatter and enjoy the must amazing tapas-style meal and a gorgeous bottle of red, one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. We had mussels and gorgeous spiced cauliflower, deep fried olives, cheesy potato croquets and some of the most amazing garlic bread I’ve ever tasted (I’d been here before so knew I was in for a treat). We share a beautiful pound cake dessert. The meal is complimentary as they invited us in, this happens only about 6 times a year so it’s a lovely treat

9.30pm I leave the tip (€15) and Sean pays for the taxi we order so we call it even

9.45pm Arrive home to a playful Stanley and listen to music while catching up on work before retiring to bed

1am Bed time

Total: €19.75

Friday:

8.30am My rent comes out (€433), I start my day the usual way by making fresh coffee for Sean and I and, letting Stanley out to the toilet, doing some admin

10.30am Ass & Abs class in the gym, I usually go to 4 classes a week but have been feeling really down this week so could only motivate myself to get to two

11.15am Home, shower, put a wash on, have breakfast of scrambled eggs, vegi sausages, Ballymaloe and brown bread.

12.30pm Take Stanley for a walk, post a depop package (€5.80)

1.30pm Home, hang the washing out, put another load on and do a chatty stories around my current skincare routine

2.45pm Start working on editing yesterdays video and catching up with more admin (have an apple as a snack)

5pm Eat some leftover fish curry and get started on January’s food post

9pm Finish the food post and sit down to a delicious prawn green curry with rice that Cathal made.

10pm Wash up, put on face masks with Cathal and his boyfriend and watch a movie (Before Sunrise, I wasn’t really in to it, too slow) and have a magnum and two glasses of white wine.

1am Bed time