How I Manage My Money: 34-year-old, on £1.7k a month, says state pension too low

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

Marnie Goddard, 34, lives in West Sussex with her husband Tom, 39, and Rupert, their four-year-old son. Marnie, who has taken out a number of loans to help her get by in the past, is not putting money into savings or an ISA at present. She is adding money to a work pension and does not think the state pension keeps up with rising living costs. Having rented all her adult life, Marnie would like to buy her own home. Her rental costs have risen every year since she moved into her latest home in 2021.

Monthly budget

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

My monthly income: “I take home £1,708 per month from my job in the accounts department at RSPCA Assured. I also make around £100 a month selling Dungeons & Dragons dice on Etsy. My husband works in airport security at Gatwick, so we have his income coming in too. We also receive £104 in child benefit each month.” Our monthly outgoings: “Our rent is £1,500 and I pay half of this each month; groceries, £500; council tax, £160; gas and electric, £120; water, £25; mobile phones, £60; broadband, £28; TV licence, £14.12; car insurance and road tax, £94; Creditspring loan repayment, £100. I’d say we spend between £50 to £100 on leisure activities and day trips per month. I don’t spend money on car fuel as my husband has a scheme for it at his workplace – the money for our fuel comes directly out of his salary.” (Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters)

Growing up in Worthing

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

“As a child I grew up with my mother in Worthing and life was tough for us financially. After my mum passed away when I was 10, I moved in with my grandparents and great-aunt. We weren’t wealthy but were comfortable. I went to college but never attended university. My dad passed away when I was 30.” (Photo: Getty/Moment RF)

The cost of living is too high

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

“I take home £1,708 per month working full-time in the accounts department of RSPCA Assured. Fortunately, my employer is very understanding and enables me to work while looking after my son at the same time. If this wasn’t the case, childcare costs would be a struggle. I think the cost of living and tax levels in the UK are both far too high. Our energy bills have trebled over the last few years. The cost of basics, including own-brand supermarket food, is so expensive and I always hunt for competitive prices on anything I have to get. We use Aldi to try and keep our food bills down. Even products without any VAT added are pricey. My son’s school shoes cost £40 this year.” (Photo: Ivan Westbrook/Getty)

Homeownership seems impossible

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

“We live in a two-bedroom rented flat in West Sussex. When we first moved in back in 2021 our rent was £1,295 a month, but this has increased every year. It’s now £1,500 a month, though the landlord initially wanted it to be higher. We’re paying over 15 per cent more each month for our rent than just a few years ago. I dread to think what will happen if our rent goes up again this year. I would absolutely love to own my own home one day, but at the moment that just seems impossible.” (Photo: Nuttawan Jayawan/Getty)

Relationship with money

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

“I’ve sometimes struggled with money and started taking out small loans a few years ago. I first took out a £500 loan with a firm called Creditspring, which I managed to pay off in about six months. There wasn’t any interest to pay on the loan, but there was a fixed membership fee to pay. I’ve taken out a few other small loans with Creditspring since, which usually help with things like birthdays, Christmas and nice treats for the family. At the moment, I’m repaying £100 per month to Creditspring. I have a current account which my salary goes into, but I am not putting money into designated savings accounts or ISAs at the moment. However, my husband and I are both contributing to our workplace pension each month. With the cost of living so high and always on the up, there is no way I would be able to survive on the state pension alone in later life.” (Photo: designer491/Getty/iStockphoto)

Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

Monthly budget, Growing up in Worthing, The cost of living is too high, Homeownership seems impossible, Relationship with money, Aims of financially independence now and in retirment

“I’m not especially motivated by money. From my perspective, so long as everyone is happy and my little boy has everything he needs, then that’s all I could hope for. In an ideal world, however, I would like to earn double what I do now so we can be financially independent now and in our retirement. In the future, we’d like to become homeowners and have a safety net of savings that we can fall back on if we need it. Securing the future of my son is my most important goal.” (Costs accurate at the time of first publication, March 2025) (Photo: Boy_Anupong/Getty)

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