Money diaries – Shiru
By Shiru, from China, studying Banking Innovation and Risk Analytics MSc
Year of Study: Postgraduate
Accommodation: Private student accommodation
Part-time Jobs: Student Ambassador
Day one – Monday
Monday was quite chill for me. I had two lectures, starting at 10am and 2pm, so I spent the morning slowly easing myself into the new week. To wake myself up properly, I made myself a latte while checking that I had downloaded all my lecture materials for the day (£0).
Since I had a two-hour lunch break, I packed a ham sandwich and some mango to enjoy on the Meadows with my friends, one of my favourite spots near the Main Library when the weather is nice. But this is Edinburgh, so you can never really trust the weather for more than five minutes. Right around lunchtime, it started absolutely pouring down, so we moved to the Business School Café instead. I grabbed a chocolatey cappuccino (£4) and a small bag of crisps (£1.50), then spent the rest of the break chatting with friends and going over some materials for the afternoon lecture.
In the evening, I headed to Sainsbury’s to pick up a bag of Italian-style salad (£1.50), then went home and steamed two homemade beef baozi that I’d made and frozen the week before. Eastern food with a western salad was definitely a slightly random combination, but honestly one of my favourite lazy student dinners.
Total: £7
Day two – Tuesday
Tuesday was definitely the most chaotic day of the week for me. I was on campus from 9am to 5pm, which honestly felt exhausting by the end of the day. After a full day of lectures and tutorials, I really needed something to recharge me.
As a massive foodie, my friends and I decided to treat ourselves after such a long day, so we headed to a Malaysian restaurant called Nanyang Malaysian Restaurant, located at Quartermile, for dinner (£20). Honestly, nothing fixes a stressful university day faster than good food and complaining about assignments together.
Total: £20
Day three – Wednesday
I had one tutorial at 9am and society activities at 5pm, so there was quite a big gap in the middle of my day. I started the morning with a homemade latte as usual. Since I had a long break before heading to society, I decided to go for a run to Portobello Beach, which is about a 6km round trip from my flat. It’s one of my favourite ways to clear my head after a busy Tuesday.
When I got home, I took a quick shower and made lunch for myself. Since that day’s society session was the last one of the semester, I also thought it would be nice to bring along some desserts to celebrate everyone’s commitment and hard work throughout the semester.
Total: £0
Day four – Thursday
I had no classes from Thursday onwards (wow, finally!). Thursdays usually felt like my reset or catch-up day after a busy start to the week. I normally let myself have a slower morning and properly rest after a few intense days on campus.
In the afternoon, I spent most of my time revising lecture notes and working through assignments. It wasn’t the most exciting day of the week, but having quieter days like this really helped me recover from busy classes and keep everything on track before the weekend.
Total: £0
Day five – Friday
Friday was a big day for me because it was grocery shopping day. I usually do my weekly food shop on Fridays since Morrisons has a 20% discount on seafood, which honestly feels like a lifesaver sometimes. As someone who grew up in a coastal city, I genuinely can’t live without seafood, so this is probably the one area where I refuse to compromise too much while budgeting.
I stormed to Morrisons early in the morning, around 9am, to grab fresh seafood and stock up on food for the week ahead before everything got too busy (Well, I was more worried about all the good seafood selling out). Depending on what I bought, it usually costs around £40 to properly fill up my fridge.
Total: £40
Day six – Saturday
Saturday was probably my favourite day of the week because it was swimming day! Before heading to the pool, my friend and I randomly decided to try out a newly opened independent café called Starter Culture, on Argyle Place, for a coffee (£3.50). It completely made our morning, the wooden interior was super cosy, the staff were really friendly, and the coffee was genuinely amazing.
After that, we took the bus to the Royal Commonwealth Pool (£2.40) and spent around two hours swimming (£8.50). It was such a nice way to properly switch off after a busy week of classes and assignments.
Total: £14.40
Day seven – Sunday
This Sunday was surprisingly sunny and warm. I spent some time lying on the grass near my flat, just enjoying the sunshine, clearing my mind, and mentally preparing myself for another busy Monday and Tuesday ahead.
After having lunch at home, I spent the afternoon looking back over this week’s lecture materials to make sure I fully understood everything before moving on to next week’s content. I also used the time to finish up a few assignments so I wouldn’t end up panicking later in the week.
Total: £ 0
Weekly cost: £81.40
Other costs
Rent (includes gas, water, internet, gym): £1,060 per month
Phone bills: I use the Lebara 5GB monthly plan, which includes 5GB UK data, 1000 UK minutes, 1000 UK texts, and 100 international minutes. The original price of the plan is £5, but I used a 50% off promotional code that I found on Xiaohongshu (Chinese social media), so it only costs me £2.50 per month. Personally, I do not use my phone very much when I am outside, except for Google Maps and messaging friends on WhatsApp, so 5GB of data is enough for me.
