Money Talks: The pregnant senior copywriter saving up for her first child

Ever wondered what your salary and spending habits are like in comparison to your peers? Money Talks is a column by Her World that takes an honest look at how women spend their money. If you would like to submit a money diary anonymously, please email us at magherworld@sph.com.sg with the subject “Money Talks” in your email header, and one of our editors will get back to you.

In today’s column, we speak to a pregnant 30-year-old senior copywriter whose money is all going towards her medical expenses. Here’s a look at what she spent and a peek into how much it costs to prepare for a baby.

About The Diarist

Occupation: Senior Copywriter
Industry: Media & Advertising
Age: 30
Education level: Bachelor’s Degree 
Salary: Below $6,000

Average Monthly Expenses

Mortgage: $1,072 
Utilities and Cleaner: $50
Insurance: $450 
Investments: $1,000
Phone Bill: $40 
Subscriptions: $51.09 for HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Spotify and Lianhe Zaobao subscription for my dad
Transport: $100
Food: $150
Groceries: $250
Entertainment: Non-existent since I got pregnant and stopped having a social life 
Anything else: $60 goes to a part-time helper that I split half with my husband and $140 for my cat’s food and grooming sessions which totals up to $200
Savings: $200 though it used to be much more but my monthly expenses have increased since I got pregnant

Total expenditure for the month: $4,586.03

On her attitude towards money:

“I used to be really intimidated by personal finance (because it was in shambles), but once I got disciplined about saving I felt a lot more confident. I was also really proud of myself for starting to plan my future and I even started investing in my mid to late twenties. 

I did panic for a bit when I lost my job right after the circuit breaker. Thankfully, I had some savings to fall back on and I found another job pretty quickly. The Covid support grant from the government also helped to tide me over for a bit (which I paid it forward by donating some money after my finances stabilised!). Through that experience, I learnt that I could really cut down on my expenses if push comes to shove. And it further cemented my belief that I should always be saving for a rainy day, which makes me think twice about spending frivolously.

Other than the occasional overpriced coffee, bubble tea or cafe meal, I feel like I don’t really splurge on much. I’d much rather spend on experiences than items, so I don’t mind splurging a bit more (within my means, of course) on holidays, fine dining restaurants (only once a year!) and gadgets that’ll make my everyday life easier. For instance, I’d seldom spend more than $150 on an outfit (and even then I would sit on the purchase for a week before checking out my shopping cart), but I would gladly pay more than $500 for a Dyson vacuum."

On her lack of financial literacy as someone who comes from a low-income family:

“I come from a low-income family and have negative generational wealth to speak of, so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll probably be working till the day I die in my HDB flat. Growing up, I never had any conversations with my family about money. They were just as clueless because we had so little of it.

In fact, whatever I know about managing money, I learned from peers who are more financially savvy or well-to-do. Shoutout to my ex-boyfriend for teaching me to always buy in bulk if I can afford to and to pay more for a well-made item that will last, as opposed to buying a cheaper version that would cost more to replace. My younger self only cared about the number on the price tag and I think I ended up paying more for that. Also shoutout to my ex-boss for teaching me that the most valuable thing I can buy with money is time — I use that to justify my Grab rides. 

My family definitely thinks I can be more frugal but I also don’t want to be miserable while saving up. I don’t subscribe to keeping up with the Joneses and I always save before I spend — I think that’s good enough.”

On how pregnancy caused her to rethink her finances:

“Before pregnancy, I used to save 16% of my salary. Now I’d be lucky if I can save $200 per month. I’m re-calibrating at the moment because my medical expenses are throwing me off. Pre-pregnancy, my main medical expenses were for my dentist (I’m doing Invisalign) and my psychiatrist (I’m recovering from anxiety and depression). With this pregnancy, I’ve added on two more healthcare providers — my gynae and my ENT specialist (I got really bad nasal congestion during my first trimester). 

That said, I feel like I’m somewhat comfortable with my financial situation. Sure I’d still need to scrimp and save on certain things, and I still can’t afford to fly business class but I’m ok with that. I’m just glad that I’d be able to provide my child with certain things that I didn’t get in my own childhood (e.g. swimming lessons, overseas holidays, toys and gadgets).”

Here are her expenses for the week:

Day 1

Credit: H&M

1/7

12:00pm: There aren’t a lot of affordable food choices around my office, which is why I loathe WFO days. For lunch, I got a fish soup with rice and added vegetables from the overpriced food court. - $7.20 

4:00pm: I hadn’t planned on shopping, but my belly showed quite early and I’ve definitely put on quite a bit of weight. My old clothes don’t fit me anymore, and the maternity wear I got in the first trimester looked rather unflattering on me. I had a friend who callously told me that I looked “damn ugly” in them and I had a mini-meltdown because my self-esteem was at an all-time low with this new body. I figured it was worth spending on new maternity clothes to make me look and feel better. I checked out two outfits from H&M’s maternity line that’s been sitting in my cart for two weeks. - $107.92

Daily total: $115.12 

Day 2

Credit: Mos Burger

2/7

12:00pm: Baby wants a cheeseburger. Baby gets a cheeseburger, fries, and iced milk tea. - $9.20

3:00pm: Damn the baby is ravenous today. Got myself a slice of cake for tea. - $1.80 

Daily total: $11 

Day 3

Credit: Yoga Movement

3/7

2:00pm: I’m going on a babymoon soon and was advised by my gynae to wear compression socks for the plane ride. Found a pair that was on 50% off on Shopee! - $20.39

7:00pm: Went for my first prenatal yoga class. It’s also my first exercise class in… four months. I used to be moderately active and worked out three times a week, but nausea and fatigue in the first trimester has drained the life out of me. I needed to get back on track with my physical fitness because I’ve read that it really helps with easing delivery, so I pulled out my credit card and bought a pack of 10 classes. I also needed to purchase a pair of anti-slip socks for the class. - $417

Daily total: $437.39

Day 4

Credit: 123rf

4/7

10:00am: This is my follow-up appointment with my ENT specialist. At the previous appointment, he did a scope and found that the insides of my nose are swollen to the point where they’re blocking my nasal passage. The good news is that there’s a simple procedure to eliminate the swollen nodules. The bad news is, he can’t do it for me right now because he didn’t want to risk putting me under anaesthesia while I’m pregnant. I got prescribed more nasal sprays and a vitamin D supplement to get the swelling under control. - $450.47 

11:00am: I had lunch at home, but a craving for chwee kueh struck. I dropped by a nearby food court to satisfy my craving and had a freshly-squeezed orange juice for vitamin C. - $7


Daily total: $457.47

Day 5

Credit: 123rf

5/7

11:30am: It’s my monthly gynae appointment. The ultrasound revealed that the baby is growing well in the womb — a little too well. In fact, it’s measuring a week ahead. The gynae prescribed me some iron supplements because an earlier blood test showed that my blood count was rather low. I was warned that it may cause constipation. Oh the joys of pregnancy. - $203.30 

12:15pm: My husband and I usually treat ourselves to a nice meal after our monthly gynae appointment. It’s usually nothing fancy but I wanted to go to P.S. Cafe for some truffle fries. I knew he was going to complain about the price so I told him it was my treat. - $72.60 

1:45pm: It’s a WFH day and I’ve over-extended my lunch break. I decided to Grab back home instead of taking public transport. - $12.80 

Daily total: $288.70

Day 6

6/7

10:00am: Somehow three out of four of my medical appointments just happened to be squeezed into this week. Today, it’s my psychiatrist. I was weaned off my anti-depressants more than a month ago, and this appointment is for my psych to assess how I’m doing. It appears that I’m dealing well without medication and it’s been months since I graduated from therapy. He happily informed me that I’ve recovered (yay!) and gave me some advice on post-natal depression. I don’t have to see my psychiatrist anymore for now but was told to go back if my postnatal blues last more than a week. - $294.25

11:30am: I had some time to while away before meeting my friends for brunch. Despite eating breakfast before heading out, I was feeling peckish again. I walked past a chwee kueh stall and had a strong compulsion to stop for some. I washed it down with the limited-edition strawberry mulberry noir tea from Heytea because I now have no impulse control. It’s overpriced and overhyped, I regretted it immensely. - $9.40

1:00pm: Met my friends at a cafe for brunch. We split the bill evenly. - $50

Daily total: $353.65

 

Day 7

Credit: 123rf

7/7

4:00pm: Our part-time helper comes once a week to help with general house cleaning. My husband and I used to do this ourselves, but since I got pregnant it’s gotten really tiring for me. Plus our weekends are now occupied with getting the nursery ready, so we decided to outsource this. - $35

7:00pm: Had a family dinner with my family and in-laws. We cooked, and the total grocery bill came up to $153 for 7 people. This was split between my husband and I. - $76.50 

Daily total: $111.50