Money Diary: A Wedding Cake Designer On £0

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We're asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last penny.
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This week:"I'm a 42-year-old mum from Nottingham. I live with my partner and our three-year-old. I'm a business owner in the wedding industry but have been looking for employed work for over a year now, so I haven't committed to working with any clients this wedding season, as I thought I would have found a job by now. Currently my partner is paying the bills, I often sell clothes on Vinted, do surveys and product testing for some extra cash and do some ad hoc work or short notice weddings where I can to help towards our outgoings."
Occupation: Wedding Cake Designer
Industry: Wedding
Age: 42
Location: Nottingham
Salary: £0
Paycheque Amount: £0
Number of housemates: Two (partner G, daughter L).
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: None, as the house was purchased outright. I was very lucky to be able to do this (before I was with my partner).
Loan payments: None, I still have a student loan, but I'm not earning enough to repay this currently.
Savings?: I have some savings which are dwindling as I use them currently towards my day-to-day spending. I have around £30,000 across my savings and stocks and shares ISA and then £2,000 in my lifetime ISA. The stocks and shares ISA was performing really well but has taken a massive plunge since Trump got in power and the financial world has imploded! I'm hoping to use my investments towards a wedding and a deposit for a family home in the near future.
Pension?: I have pensions from previous jobs and I have a Lifetime ISA that I pay into when I feel able to. I worry about not having enough of an income when retired, as I didn't start contributing to work pensions until my late 20s. It didn't seem very important at the time but I wish I did all of the schemes offered now.
Utilities: £77.56 heating/hot water, £70 electric, £57.80 water, £23 internet.
All other monthly payments: £22.63 phone, £27.03 life insurance, £17.16 appliance insurance, £15 bank insurances, £140 council tax, £16.62 road tax, £150 nursery fees, £74.39 gym membership for me and my daughter, £5 therapy (I go weekly). I also usually spend about £70 a month on diesel and pay annually for car insurance, home insurance and road tax.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes, I did an undergraduate degree. I didn't pay tuition fees as my mum was on a low income. My mum gave me around £2,000 to pay for my first year's accommodation. I had saved some money specifically for uni and I had a part-time job throughout. I took out student loans but I mostly lived off my earnings and savings and was able to save my loans which I invested for a short time, then used towards a car and house deposit. More recently I did a few short courses that are master's level (that were free).
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money?
We didn't really talk about money growing up. I was aware we didn't have loads of it, but I never felt like we went without. My mum would save for anything she wanted and never had loans or got anything on finance. She would use a credit card for expensive purchases for the added protection and pay it off in full when it was due. I definitely took on her approach to money in this sense. I wish I had been taught about pensions and investing, but I have learned about these more recently and have set up a Junior S&S ISA for my daughter.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house? Although I lived away from home during uni, home was still home and I went home a lot as it wasn't far. I moved out of my home and into a council flat when I was about 23.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I became financially responsible for myself when I went to university at 19. Mum would help sometimes, but I paid my own bills and other expenses. Currently my partner covers the bills and gives me money for food shopping as it's me who mostly does this, but I dip into my savings for everything else.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was babysitting at 12. I was paid £5 a night. I always had my own money from this point as we didn't get pocket money.
Do you worry about money now?
I try not to worry about money but I know my savings won't last forever. We don't have enough for regular meals out and do a lot of 'free' days out and search for deals, but we have everything we need. I try to make sure we are stocked up with food and toiletries so ensure we have everything when funds are low.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
I got £25,000 from my mum's life insurance when she passed away almost 10 years ago and split this with my sibling. I also got around £10,000 when my grandma passed away a few years ago, which I wasn't expecting at all but has been a lifeline recently. I feel very lucky to have been gifted this money, but I'd rather have my mum and grandparents, so I almost feel guilty having this money too.
Day One
7:05 a.m. — Woke up with G and L in our bed so I'm squashed. Go to the bathroom and lie in her bed. I enjoy the quiet, check my phone and think about today's plans and what needs doing around the house.
8 a.m. — Throw on some clothes and drive to the local shop, pick up milk and other bits, £12.05. I then get cash from the cash machine to get fruit and veg from the market. I spend £13.30 on produce and £5 on flowers (feels frivolous buying flowers). I feel like I'm food shopping every other day lately and always trying to make our money stretch but still eat good quality food.
9:15 a.m. — Back home and I unpack the shopping. G puts some washing on and goes to the gym. L is upstairs watching TV whilst I sort the food out, then iron some clothes for us. L comes down and we have a cuddle, she asks for a snack and chills whilst I finish pottering about.
12:30 p.m. — I make lunch for us all, pasta and cheese for L, tuna pasta salad for G, tinned sardines, salad and potato salad for myself. L tries a dairy-free strawberry yoghurt I got this morning but gives up on it so I eat it myself and give her some dried strawberries and a couple of shortbread biscuits. L is not a fan of most fresh fruit.
2:30 p.m. — We head to a fair. G pays for all but one of the rides for L, which I get, £3. Then go to the cemetery and leave some flowers for my mum and grandparents.
5:30 p.m. — Get home and put dinner on, a frozen Chinese chicken curry and some salmon I marinated earlier with ginger and teriyaki sauce. I also put some frozen vegetable spring rolls and wontons in the air fryer and cook some egg fried rice. After dinner, L asks for a coconut ice cream so I give her the last Raffaello from the freezer.
6:30 p.m. — Kitchen is tidy and I sit and scroll and have some mini pancakes topped with chocolate sauce. Ready to relax. G disappeared after he took the laundry off the line so his dinner is still out. Turns out he had a nap.
8:15 p.m. — L is asleep so I get ready for bed and watch Netflix until I fall asleep. G is in the lounge, probably watching football shows.
Total: £33.35
Day Two
7 a.m. — L wakes me to take her to the toilet then we both get in bed. She plays on her tablet and I pick up my phone and check my notifications. I reply to a couple on Vinted, a cheeky offer on our Tiba & Marl changing bag. I send a counteroffer but no response. I also message about a wedding dress I've bought (we're not engaged yet but we are actively wedding planning). G must have fallen asleep in front of the TV as he's not in our bed.
8 a.m. — I check flight prices for Zagreb. £241 for the three of us, but I still need to look at our budget before deciding. My friend has invited us to visit as she lives over there.
9 a.m. — We're all up. G sorts out his and L's breakfast and I put on a R&B Spotify playlist from the 90s for the vibes. Jodeci, D'Angelo, Angie Stone — perfect. Light some palo santo. Check the fridge, do a little tidy up in there and make a mental note of what needs using first. Make my breakfast — Greek yogurt, granola, and a Rooibos tea. G goes to the gym.
10:15 a.m. — Try and get ahead on the week with some meal prep — a Spice Tailor Biryani and a simple pasta dish as two lunch dishes. Soak some kidney beans and black beans for spicy bean burgers. Make a cake with L.
12 p.m. — My partner is back and he got some bits from Tesco. I didn't finish my tea and it's now cold. Dish up some pasta for L and G for lunch.
1:40 p.m. — After faffing, cleaning and tidying the house, L insists we make icing for the cakes — lemon icing and sprinkles. L and I then sit and eat cake and they're better than the last time we made them. G has vacuumed the house top to bottom.
2 p.m. — We're all out in the garden, sowing some seeds for flowers and having a good tidy up. The kids from next door come and play with L. Just as we're packing up to go in, my fiancé proposes. Totally out of the blue! The ring is beautiful, I'm shocked and I'm messy but ecstatic! Make a few calls and send some messages, a trickle of replies throughout the evening.
7 p.m. — We eat dinner and have some cake together. Speak to family and friends about the proposal.
8 p.m. — We all get ready for bed.
9 p.m. — In bed with a bottle of champagne. I'd been waiting for years to open this Laurent-Perrier champagne. Sit chatting for a while, taking champagne and ring pics and discussing wedding plans: we've already decided on a destination wedding and picked a venue, but haven't booked anything yet. Bit of Netflix and chill.
12 a.m. — Fall asleep.
Total: £0
Day Three
6:55 a.m. — Wake up squashed. L has made her way into our bed during the night yet again. I get up, pick up my phone and use the bathroom. Lots of notifications from family and friends about our engagement. I get a charge from Virgin Wine on PayPal so I look into this and send them an email. I must've unknowingly subscribed to something when I got three bottles for £12 with an email offer a while ago.
7:20 a.m. — L has found me and we sit and chat on her bed for a little bit, then go down for breakfast when my fiancé gets in the shower. I sort out her breakfast and put the dishes away and prepare our lunches. I put some washing on. Get an email from Virgin Wines and they refund me.
10:20 a.m. — Hang out the washing, then head to the gym. Check L into the childcare, go to reformer Pilates and get changed quickly after.
12:30 p.m. — Leave the gym and head to Derby for a fossil hunting activity. Meet my friend and her two kids there and the children all have a great time. We walk around the shopping centre for the dinosaur trail and stop off at Popeye's for lunch. Get a kids meal for L that I eat the leftovers of as I'm not hungry, £2.99. I also pay £1.25 for a little ride for the kids and £2 for parking.
3:45 p.m. — Leave Derby and stop off at The Company Shop on the way home. So many tempting buys, but I restrain myself from buying too much, £10.80.
5:45 p.m. — Get home, unpack everything: gym kit, lunch boxes and shopping.
6:25 p.m. — G gets home from work as I'm starting dinner, lamb koftas, couscous, salad and houmous. Delicious. We all eat, chat about our days then G does most of the tidying up after dinner, whilst I call Ryanair about summer 2026 flights for our wedding. Thirty minutes later we give up as still no one has picked up.
7 p.m. — I book a table at Pizza Hut for tomorrow's lunch as my bestie is visiting (kids eat free). I get involved in the kitchen and we all have a bit of cake before G takes the little one to bed.
9 p.m. — Get ready for bed and relax watching YouTube vlogs. Forgot about the washing on the line, G takes it in.
Total: £17.04
Day Four
4:25 a.m. — L is in our bed with arms and legs all over so I get up, go to the bathroom and get in her bed, eventually fall asleep again.
7:10 a.m. — L wakes me to help her go to the toilet. We whisper sweet nothing's to each other, sincere 'I love yous' and 'you've got smelly trumps'. We both erupt laughing and talk about the day ahead. She gets back in her bed so I get back in mine and lay with G until he gets up.
10:30 a.m. — My fiancé(!) goes to work, I pack up some bits for the day, water, snacks, jackets and cake for my friend.
11 a.m. — My bestie arrives and we head to the planetarium in my car. I'm excited (paid for the tickets a few weeks ago).
1:10 p.m. — Arrive at Pizza Hut early for our table and we have to wait it out and keep the kids entertained. We all have the buffet. Another friend joins us too as we have a nice time having a catch up and a bit of wedding talk over the mayhem of the children. We all order from our phones, our share was £11.99.
4 p.m. — Arrive home and my bestie and her boys leave shortly after. Hang out the washing. Chill out with L, check socials and emails and sign up for a product testing that I will get a £15 gift card for doing.
6:30 p.m. — I make dinner. I'm stuffed so I won't eat but I guzzle a bottle of sparkling water. L asks for plain spaghetti but only eats two forkfuls. I get two deck chairs out of the shed and the oil lamps and light those to create a nice ambience outside. I pour G and I rum and ginger ales and we sit outside with L and some music.
9 p.m. — I put L in bed; she fell asleep on me outside. We feel drops of rain and G brings the washing in. I make us both a honey and ginger tea and we sit and chat inside for a while. We talk about the job interview I have next week and he helps me prepare.
10:30 p.m. — We both get ready for bed. I check my stocks and shares ISA, the interest seems to be going back up after a massive slump over the last few months. I'm hoping to pay my half of the wedding with the interest. We watch Black Mirror and I fall asleep halfway through.
Total: £11.99
Day Five
5 a.m. — I'm on the edge of the bed so I go into my daughter's room again. Check my email and see she's got into the school we were hoping for, yay! Flight prices are still high but we've found flights for the day before are much cheaper so I ask my friend if she doesn't mind having us an extra night. I wait for her reply. I text my brother 'happy birthday' and fall back to sleep.
7:45 a.m. — L wakes me up and she puts the TV on. I get back in my own bed and she follows me! Thought I might get a bit more sleep but no chance.
12 p.m. — Gym time! Check L into childcare and head to yoga. Shower, change. Collect L and we sit in the cafe and eat our lunches: I have a spicy bean burger, salad and the last bit of potato salad and a Koko yoghurt. L has soft cheese and crackers, carrot sticks, dried strawberries and a piece of Rice Krispies cake we made last week. We both drink water.
1:30 p.m. — Check little one back in for a party. Get a dirty chai latte from the cafe, free with a rewards code. Sit in the lounge, read the job spec and look at the company website. I also do some work on our wedding invitations on my laptop. We bought a template on Etsy so we're filling in the details.
3 p.m. — We head home via Heron Foods and pick up milk, cheese, cobs and a few other bits. Give in without hesitation to some items L has picked up. I don't feel like we got much, but still spent £16.40. Get home and unpack gym kit, lunch boxes, shopping and stick the dishwasher on. We try to use appliances during the day to make the most of our solar panels. Chill out with little one and play some games.
5:30 p.m. — Prepare dinner. I make sweet potato fries/wedges, chop up some lettuce and slice some cheese for our spicy bean burgers. G doesn't get home until later so L and I eat.
7:30 p.m. — Bathtime for L. I let her splash around for a while, whilst I tidy the bedrooms and sort myself out for bed. Give her a wash, get her pyjamas on and put cartoons on for her whilst I have a shower.
9:30 p.m. — Chill with G in bed, talk about our days and fall asleep watching Netflix again.
Total: £0
Day Six
7:20 a.m. — Get up with L, go and sit in the lounge and let G sleep in peace. It looks like it will be a beautiful day; it's so sunny already. L cries because I'm not putting the TV on to CBeebies. Have a look at some galleries that a photographer we like has emailed us and reach out to book a video call with him.
9:30 a.m. — Postman arrives with a bezel for my Frame TV. Found this on Facebook marketplace, my friend picked it up for me close to where she lives and she posted it to us.
10 a.m. — Get me and L ready, G goes to work. I pack L's lunch and water for us both.
11:30 a.m. — Head to the gym and pick up my wedding dress and Sweaty Betty gym top from the Inpost lockers. So excited! Drop little one off to childcare and have a peek at the dress. Do my yoga class, then pick up L and head home.
1:20 p.m. — Get home, unpack and take a quick shower. Try on the dress. It's stunning and it fits well! I'm saying yes to the dress!
1:30 p.m. — Scroll on Instagram and remember a book I wanted — The Flavour Thesaurus. Do a Google search and it comes up for £5.03 so I buy it. £8.30 with p&p.
2:30 p.m. — Head to a park and take L's scooter. Check my emails and I've received an enquiry for a wedding cake, I immediately respond!
4 p.m. — Arrive at my aunt's place, drop L off and go to the product testing. Pop to the shop for some chocolate, Comfort and pizza rolls, £10.06.
6:45 p.m. — After being at my aunt's place for a while, I decide I'm not cooking this evening and pick up Chinese food on our way home, £14.70. L falls asleep on the way home so I clean her up and put her in her bed. I set up the washing machine and eat in front of the TV as I'm too hungry to wait for G. I pay my friend for the bezel she picked up for me but send her a bit extra, £25.
7:50 p.m. — G is home, we have a chat and he eats and I go back to watch TV. It feels good that L is sleeping already. We book outgoing flights for Croatia and hope the return flights go down again. G pays.
11:30 p.m. — Forgot about the washing, so hang it all on the clothes horse inside, then go to bed.
Total: £58.06
Day Seven
6:30 a.m. — Woken by L, we hang out until she's ready for breakfast.
9 a.m. — We go down for breakfast and L has her favourite cereals. I have toast and start tidying up things that have been left out of place over the week.
11:30 a.m. — G takes L with him to the supermarket and I get ready in peace. My hair takes a while to blow-dry and straighten.
1:30 p.m. — Arrive at a Thai restaurant for lunch. The in-laws (who live out of town) are treating us as an engagement celebration. We all have a really delicious lunch and some desserts. We all have a catch-up and talk about wedding plans as we haven't seen each other in a while.
4 p.m. — We're all back at ours and I get out some bubbly. We have a toast and they give us a lovely card. A couple of G's mates arrive and they go to a DJ EZ gig. I take my MIL upstairs and show her my wedding dress and I try it on. She agrees that it's beautiful too — it was originally about £2,000! My MIL says she would like to buy my veil and shoes. I feel a bit funny about it so we'll see!
6:30 p.m. — Everyone has left and L and I just relax for a while as it's been a hectic day. Neither of us are hungry so I make cheese and crackers and L has some milk before bedtime.
9 p.m. — She's asleep. I go and take the cups and plates downstairs and put the dishwasher on. It's my 43 rd birthday tomorrow, what a week to end the year. Lots to reflect on and loads to look forward to! We have a good life together and I keep that sentiment close to me even though we don't have plenty of money.
The Breakdown
Conclusion
"As it was half term, there were more outings than usual, but I had paid for most of these in advance. I usually set a meal plan at the beginning of the week, too, but didn't do this and ended up having an unplanned takeaway and quite a bit of food still in the fridge at the end of the week. I'm not surprised that food is my biggest expense. I try to be a savvy spender/saver and buy the best quality, healthiest foods I can afford. I would also usually spend more time searching for paid work opportunities, but as I look after L during school holidays, this isn't prioritised. I'm already a conscious spender, but don't record my spending, so this highlighted what I actually spend and on what. As we work towards planning our wedding, I think we may try and have budgets for different things and record our spending, especially for wedding stuff. Also, I hope to be working very soon, so this will have a positive impact on our overall income as a family."

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