A week in the life of a primary school teacher on $112,601 who lives near Corny Point, South Australia

Welcome to Dollar Diaries! Graziher’s Dollar Diary series asks rural and regional Australian women to record a week in their financial lives. In this series, we find out what ordinary Australians are spending their hard-earned money on and what their biggest financial worries are. Plus, they share their best budgeting, savings and investing tips.

Anyone can write a Dollar Diary — if you submit your Dollar Diary and we publish it, you’ll receive a free one-year subscription (worth $79) to Graziher magazine.

This week, a primary school teacher who lives on a property near Corny Point, South Australia, drives 45 minutes to have dinner with a friend and stocks up on horse pellets. 

Occupation: Teacher
Industry: Education
Age: 34
Location: Corny Point, South Australia
Salary: $112,601
Net Worth: $30,000
Debt: $22,601 (HECS and car loan)
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $8470

Monthly Expenses

Car Loan: $486
Insurance: $73 + $62
Phone: $128
Spotify: $12

What’s the best piece of financial advice you’ve ever received?

To start investing as soon as you can!

What is your biggest money worry at the moment?

Not being able to save! The cost of living is hectic!

Do you have any savings and budgeting tips you’d like to share?

Begin investing as soon as you can!

Day 1

I begin the day the same way I always do — by going on a walk with my two beautiful Golden Retrievers (and sometimes my two cats tag along).

We head down the beach. We live on the Southern Yorke Peninsula, a cropping region with beautiful beaches in South Australia. I’m always so grateful to have this free exercise and stunning views right on our doorstop.

I head back home and have a simple breakky of yoghurt, muesli and berries. I then travel north for about 40 minutes to get to the town where I work as a primary school teacher. I generally pack lunch from home and today I had everything I needed, so no cost there. I had a mango for smoko and leftover sausages and slaw for lunch. Simple but delish!

My horse is due for new shoes which sets me back $140 but it’s well worth it! We are very lucky to have a talented farrier that comes down from another district. — $140 

When I finally get home, I fix myself lamb chops and salad. I try a new salad recipe — roasted pumpkin, cauliflower and chickpeas with pearl couscous, rocket, fetta and an amazing dressing. My partner D runs Merino sheep, so thankfully we have an ample supply of meat!

I’m not a night owl and I’m ready for bed very early, but given it’s harvest and I haven’t seen D properly in a few weeks, I decide to wait up so we can watch the latest episode of Yellowstone together.

Daily total: $140

Day 2

I go for a super quick walk today, then I head about 20 minutes inland to a gorgeous little Pilates studio in our nearest town. I feel so grateful to have this facility in our rural community. I generally buy a four class pass for $112, so one class ends up costing $28.

I then travel north for about 30 minutes to a larger town — of about 700 people — where my school is. I stop off at the local bakery for some delicious fresh bread (what a treat!) and grab a coffee while I’m there. — $11.

I also treat myself to a lunch made by the senior school home economics kids! — $15

I leave school early-ish to get to an amazing homewares/fashion store in town before it closes. I need to purchase a present for a practical student I’ve been mentoring, and while I’m there I pick up a Secret Santa present for a work colleague. —$56.90.

D is actually going to be home for dinner tonight (yay!) because he’s had a breakdown (big boo!) on his header. I decide to go home back through the little town where I did Pilates so I can go to the butcher and pick us up some steaks — steak cheers everyone up right? I pick up some other beef while I’m there. — $63.16

I was down to one sports bra and yesterday it broke! So, today I buy one online and hope it comes super quickly. I will probably have to sit out of tennis because of this! Once I find a brand I like, I’m quite loyal to it. I prefer to spend a bit more to have a quality garment/item that should hopefully last a bit longer. — $159

Daily total: $333.06

Day 3

It was payday yesterday, so some regular payments come out today including: a $150 repayment on a personal loan; $50 investing in an ETF using the app “Sharesies” (not getting in to investing earlier in my life is one of my greatest regrets!)
and a $243 repayment on my car loan. Another regret of mine is buying a new car right before our current cost of living crisis. — $443

I go for a nice long walk this morning, then jump on the exercise bike D and I just treated ourselves to for Christmas. I felt this was quite a splurge, but with the nearest gym, excluding the Pilates studio, being 40 minutes away, we decided to make the investment. What better to invest in than your health!

I make eggs for breakky, then head off to school. I take a packed lunch today — yoghurt for smoko and Wednesday night’s leftover lamb chops for lunch.

The local supermarket is about to be closed for a short time ahead of some exciting renovations, so I make sure to do a grocery shop after school. I don’t really need that much, yet I’m still amazed at how quickly the total grows. I generally try to limit my shops to one or two per week to try save myself from picking up random items we don’t really need! I try really hard to meal plan for the week and stick to it. — $56.80

I also go by the hardware store to buy some Weed n Feed for my lawn. I don’t end up getting that done on the weekend because we get rain! — $14.70

I can’t be bothered working my horse after a massive week, but I really need to. I play polocrosse, so keeping him fit is essential. I do a quick trot down the beach and like always I’m glad I did. D constantly remarks at how much energy I have after riding and says my horse has magical powers over me.

Daily total: $514.50

Day 4

Due to the lack of appropriate support in the bust region, I decide to give tennis a miss this weekend. It’s a shame but there’s nowhere to buy a replacement bra nearby. I’ll have to run more than one from now on. I decide to do Pilates instead. — $28

We have a weekend breakky of pancakes with fresh berries, then walk the dogs.

Polocrosse has already wound up for the first half of the season — we stop for a harvest break — which means I can really enjoy myself at a friend’s birthday and the staff Christmas show! The beauty of small town life means these two events are conveniently hosted at the same location in the same town where I work. D can’t reap because we’ve had some summer rain, so luckily for me I have a chauffeur! Afterwards, we drive a further 45 minutes north to have dinner with a friend who now lives in the city but is back for the weekend.We have a great time and spend $156 on snacks, drinks and dinner. — $156

Daily total: $184

Day 5

I finalise all my report comments and grades, then head out for a ride! A chilled day and I didn’t spend a cent!

Daily total: $0

Day 6

I have to take the day off work today to take one of my dogs to the vet, an hour long drive north east. I thought she had a grass seed stuck in her ear, but it turns out to be a fungal infection. I’ve spent thousands on my animals in the past couple years! Losing a horse was a costly — and heartbreaking — experience. —$382

I then head home where I spend hours making five different phone calls trying to locate a missing parcel with minimal success! This stresses me out greatly because the parcel contains face paint which I need in two nights time for the school play!

Given we’re both in our busiest times of the year, I use what’s left of today to meal prep for the week ahead to save time during the week. I like to think this saves us money as well, but at least once a week I end up throwing away food that’s gone bad. Not much though. I make sausage rolls, hedgehog slice, and banana and walnut loaf. I had everything I needed for these.

Daily total: $382

Day 7

I used up all my horse’s pellets over the weekend, so before heading home I stop by the local Nutrien for a bag. — $40.70

I’ve never sat down to crunch the numbers and work out what owning my horse costs per year, but I expect it would be quite significant. It’s worth every penny though because riding is a stress buster for me. I just switch off from the world and focus purely on my horse, it’s my way of practicing mindfulness. I always say ‘horses are expensive, but they’re cheaper than therapy’.

Daily total: $40.70

WEEKLY TOTAL: $1594.26 

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