Money Diary: A Freelance TV Producer On £0

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a day ago

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 30-year-old freelance TV producer, living in London. I've been working in the TV industry ever since I left uni and absolutely love what I do. I've always been freelance and have moved about a fair bit, but this is the first time I've found myself ocut of work for longer than a few weeks, with no contract or potential role lined up for the future. Last year was the best of my life: I married my husband E, we bought a beautiful flat in London and I was working on a shoot in the most beautiful, tropical location. So 2025 has felt a bit like coming down from a massive high. I've been out of work for months and it's been really stressful, as my savings are very quickly dwindling. The TV industry is really struggling right now and it's been hard to keep positive and motivated. Despite this, I'm aware I have a great life and am very grateful for all the amazing experiences I've had, and all the incredible people in my life."
Occupation: Freelance TV Producer
Industry: Film and Television
Age: 30
Location: London
Salary: Currently £0
Paycheque Amount: Currently £0
Number of housemates: One, my husband E.
Pronouns: she/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: Our mortgage is £2,443.14. Last year, I paid a greater share of this as I was earning more. This year, E has been paying more as I'm currently living off savings. I also have a mortgage on a flat I own outside of London, which I bought with savings when I was 27. I have a tenant whose rent covers the mortgage in full. So, although I'm not making a profit from the flat, it basically pays for itself. The mortgage on that flat is £1,295.
Loan payments: None currently.
Savings?: My personal savings are now down to £2,663. E has around £2,000, plus £800 in investments. When my most recent contract finished, I had £10,000 in savings. But they quickly depleted on paying the mortgage, bills, a financially irresponsible but absolutely amazing trip around Southeast Asia and general London living.
Pension? Currently not paying into a pension as unemployed. I think I have around £9,000 split between two pension pots, but I should really check this!
Utilities: Our water bill has gone up recently and is now £56. Our council tax is £77. Internet, gas and electricity are all with one provider and we pay £200 for these. We used to split bills evenly, but now that I'm not working E pays the lion's share.
All other monthly payments: £41.80 on British Gas insurance for the flat I own outside of London, £49.50 on my contact lenses, £27 for my mobile phone. Subscriptions: £10.99 for Netflix, which we split evenly.
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I went to university, taking out a student loan to pay for accommodation. My parents also generously gave me £400 a month to live off. At the time, it was more than enough for all my clothes, food and nights out. It just goes to show what hideously cheap booze I used to drink in those days!
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? My parents didn't really discuss finances with me. As a kid, I assumed we were rich as we lived in a nice house in a nice town and went on a lovely summer holiday every year. It was only once I got older that I realised my parents never really had much financial stability, as my dad is also a contract worker. They've also never put into a pension. They've since told me to learn from their mistakes, encouraging me to invest in property and to try and avoid debt.
If you have, when did you move out of your parents/guardians house?
I moved out for university at 18.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself? Does anyone else cover any aspects of your financial life?
I became fully financially responsible at 22, when I left university and moved to a new city where I knew no one, to start my first job in TV. Now that I'm married, I consider myself part of a team and know that E and I will always financially support each other when needed. I also know that my parents would take us in if the worst were to happen and would always try to help in any way they could.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was babysitting at 16, which I got so I could have more money for clothes, the cinema and Wagamama.
Do you worry about money now?
I worry about money a lot now, as the TV industry is really struggling. I've been out of work for a few months, and we have a ridiculously expensive mortgage.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income?
E's dad died when he was at university, so he inherited £50,000, which we put towards the deposit on our London home. My parents gifted us £12,000 for our wedding last year and E's mum gifted us £2,500. My grandma paid for my wedding dress and my uncle also gifted us £1,000 towards the wedding.
Day One
10:43 a.m. — I wake up bleary-eyed and check the time… and almost have a heart attack. How have I slept in this late?? Text my friend C who was making fun of me just yesterday for being able to sleep in late now.
11 a.m. — I forget E's on a work Zoom in the living room, and almost flash his entire team. Quickly grab my sports bra (we're painting our bedroom, so have moved some of the furniture into the living room for now) and get the hell outta there. Have Weetabix for breakfast as we can't afford the good stuff anymore.
11:15 a.m. — I spend a few hours sending speculative emails and fruitlessly searching for jobs. Realise I forgot to cancel my free trial to Production Base and have been charged £77.99. I'm so mad at myself. Send them an email begging for a refund. They reply saying I can switch to a monthly subscription and then get a refund for the annual one. This whole mess ends up costing me £14.39.
2 p.m. — I do a workout in the living room with some dumbbells, as I cancelled my gym subscription to save money. Then make chicken wraps for E and I. Throw together a homemade salsa made up of sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, spring onion, red chili, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Recipe courtesy of my culinary hero, Em the Nutritionist. I use leftover chicken from a whole chicken we cooked a few days ago. We started doing this to save money and it honestly lasts so long.
3 p.m. — Spend another hour job hunting and then decide to make the most of the glorious weather and go on a walk. I end up walking all the way to Chelsea and back, which takes two hours. I talk to my mum on the phone for most of that time. At one point this really lovely girl stops me on the street to tell me I'm super pretty, which makes my day. Then I get home to a job rejection email, so swings and roundabouts…
5:30 p.m. — I was going to do a big grocery shop today but feel ravenous after that walk, so opt for a quick trip to Sainsbury's to buy an easy dinner instead. E works evenings so oven meal for one it is. I pay from our joint UW account, which we both put £100 on yesterday. We use this for groceries, meals out and all ad hoc joint expenses. The more we use it, the more money we get off our bills. Then we have an additional joint account that our bills and mortgage come out of. My half for some strawberries and an oven meal comes to £4.12.
6:15 p.m. — Have dinner in front of a film, do a bit of research for a meeting tomorrow and wash my hair.
11 p.m. — E gets home and we go to bed.
Total: £18.51
Day Two
8 a.m. — Wake up far earlier than I'm used to these days and get ready for a meeting. It feels so nice to leave the house in the morning with real purpose!
10 a.m. — I have a really good meeting with a Head of Production at a prolific film and TV company. They don't have any jobs going at the moment, but she says she'll send my CV round and let me know if they get any greenlights. I also bump into the MD of a sister company of theirs, who I met on Zoom on Friday! He's talking to someone but we say a quick hi and then he emails me later to say it was nice to bump into me. Really sweet of him to take the time to email me, especially considering how busy he is.
11:10 a.m. — Check my emails and I didn't get a job I'd applied to. I also have an email from someone at another production company I reached out to, saying they'd love to meet in case of any future greenlights. So that's good at least.
11:40 a.m. — I get the train back home. I realise my card was declined this morning, because the direct debit for my contact lenses has come out of my account today, as has the mortgage on the flat I own outside of London. This means I'm now overdrawn. I use our joint account to pay for my return journey (sorry E!) and then temporarily top up my current account from savings. I'll transfer it back once the rent arrives from my tenant. £1.05 for my half of the journey.
12 p.m. — Whilst E's working on our bedroom, I meal plan for the week and go to Sainsbury's for a big shop. Buy Weetabix, avocados, peppers, salmon, prawns, a whole small chicken, meatballs, bread, tuna, anchovies, Dolmio sauce, garlic powder and crisps. I pay on the joint account, and it comes to £15.23 for my half. This should cover all our breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the week.
1 p.m. — Make scrambled eggs for lunch for E and I. Slather on Siracha like there's no tomorrow.
1:55 p.m. — Our friends ask if we want to go to a silent disco at the Natural History Museum at the end of this month. I have ALWAYS wanted to attend one of these, so throw all financial responsibility out the window and say yes to partying with the dinosaurs. £40 for my ticket.
2:30 p.m. — I've been sucked into a depressing LinkedIn hole. My old boss texts to say she wants to have a chat regarding my writing, which sounds…promising? Hopefully! I met her for dinner last week and mentioned that I'd started writing and would love to be considered to write an episode of the show she currently works on. I've also spoken to an agent about this. It would honestly be an absolute dream come true if I could transition into screenwriting in the future.
3 p.m. — It's gorgeous outside so I go for a walk and call my cousin for company. See many cute dogs.
4 p.m. — Get home and put away laundry, clean the kitchen and tidy the house. Text another old boss of mine who's started a new role, and he suggests we have a Zoom next week.
5 p.m. — Get cosy on the sofa and write more of my spec script.
7:25 p.m. — Make dinner: roast potatoes, honey roasted carrots and anchovy salmon. I know this sounds diabolical but trust me anchovies on salmon is a game changer. I save half for E to take to work tomorrow.
9 p.m. — Start to feel a bit down about the lack of jobs and how long I've been unemployed for. I have another meeting tomorrow just to network and get my name out there, but sometimes it just feels absolutely exhausting. Watch the new Mufasa film whilst eating strawberries to cheer myself up.
Total: £56.28
Day Three
7:45 a.m. — Up early again for a meeting in central.
8:45 a.m. — Get the train and Tube into central, and then potter around a bit to kill time as I've arrived way too early.
10 a.m. — Have a really good meeting at another prolific film and TV company. Sadly no jobs available, but good to network. I spend about five minutes side-eyeing this guy in the waiting room, thinking I know him personally, before realising he's a famous actor. He's quite obnoxious so that gave it away.
11:15 a.m. — I walk to the station rather than Tube it, as it's so lovely outside. Confirm that Zoom with my old boss, as well as a Zoom with the production company who emailed yesterday. The journey into central costs £8.90 in total.
12 p.m. — I was meant to be Zooming an agent today, but she's asked if we can rearrange to Monday. I spent time with E instead, who's very kindly cooked food so I don't have to! I send a few more speculative emails out and eat the leftover salmon as E doesn't want it.
3:10 p.m. — E's brother has been in London for work this morning, so we walk to meet him for a quick pint in the sunshine. It's glorious outside and I feel like I'm on holiday, if you ignore the stench of piss and fags. Got to love London! E buys me a glass of Prosecco.
5 p.m. — End up spending an hour trying to guess one woman's email address. The only good thing to come out of this is that it's now an acceptable time to have dinner. E made his famous prawn linguine whilst I was out, so I gratefully heat this up for dinner.
6:40 p.m. — Demolish another packet of crisps and binge watch rom-com after rom-com until E comes home. Realise that unemployed me watches a LOT of movies. I can't even pretend that I'm broadening my horizons as I've seen every single one of these films before. But sometimes a girl just needs a little James McAvoy/Chris Evans, okay?
11:55 p.m. — Bed.
Total: £8.90
Day Four
9:40 a.m. — Wake up to two more emails from exec producers, suggesting Zoom meetings. They preface by saying there are no jobs currently available at their companies, nor can they imagine that changing in the near future. Try and stay positive as I reply, saying I'd still love to meet.
10:20 a.m. — Eat Weetabix on the sofa and write more of my spec script. I'm using a free trial of Final Draft as I can't afford to buy it right now, which is quite useful as it gives me a set deadline to finish my script.
11:30 a.m. — Do some weight training in the living room, focussing on arms. Instantly feel like a superhero for bothering to work out.
12:15 p.m. — E puts the whole chicken in the air fryer, so that we can have chicken sandwiches for lunch. We fill a tub full of leftovers. Then I quickly wash my hair and get ready as I'm meeting a friend for a walk in the park. E ends up driving me there as I'm running late.
2:15 p.m. — Send my poor friend B on a wild goose chase as I get my location in the park completely wrong. How am I still so bad at directions even with Google Maps?! We have a lovely catch up and B really kindly buys me a drink. We walk around for over two hours, soaking up the sun, and make plans to meet up next week too. I catch the bus back home, which costs £1.75.
4:45 p.m. — Get home and I am CRAVING chocolate. I have my heart set on a brownie from this amazing coffee shop near us, but sadly it closes at 4 p.m. I need a few bits from Boots anyway so decide to walk to the shops and grab a chocolate bar on the way instead. I spend £23.56 stocking up some essential toiletries. This includes toothbrush heads, as it suddenly occurred to me I probably haven't changed mine in at least a year. That can't be good. I also splurge on a Tony's bar, which costs me £3.50.
5:15 p.m. — My mum calls as soon as I get home. She's in McDonald's and it instantly makes me want one. So I head back out and buy myself some fries for £2.19. An absolute bargain for happiness.
5:30 p.m. — I start (re)watching The OC. I forgot how brilliant and iconic the pilot episode is. I continue to have it on in the background whilst I work on my spec script.
8:15 p.m. — I suddenly realise I haven't had dinner, so quickly rustle up some chicken tacos and homemade guacamole. This is another Em the Nutritionist recipe, and one of my absolute favourites!
11:30 p.m. — E gets home, we hang out for a bit and then go to bed.
Total: £29.25
Day Five
10:15 a.m. — Get up and have a slow morning, working on my spec script with my headphones in whilst E plays video games. He heads to the gym and I briefly consider doing a workout, but then think better of it and finish off the Tony's chocolate instead.
1 p.m. — I heat up leftover chicken tacos for lunch for me and E.
2 p.m. — We head into central for a date! E's mum bought us a pottery experience for his birthday, and we have an absolute blast making clay vases on a pottery wheel, decorating, and painting them. We take a bottle of Prosecco a friend brought over last week, as it's BYOB. Return trip into central costs me £8.90.
6 p.m. — We trip and fall into Flat Iron. We both get steak, beef dripping fries and peppercorn sauce, and share an aubergine side. E also gets a beer. My half comes to £27 and we pay on the UW card. The food was phenomenal and today felt like a special date day, so we tell ourselves it's fine. Check my emails and I've secured two more work meetings.
7:55 p.m. — We cuddle up and watch Children of Men, which is good but not the masterpiece Reddit told me it would be.
12:30 a.m. — Hang out for a bit and then go to bed.
Total: £35.90
Day Six
9 a.m. — Wake up and quickly get ready, as we're driving down South to our friends A and G's house. It's G's birthday and we're surprising him!
10 a.m. — We signed up to an app yesterday, where you can rent your car out. We have our first customer, someone who happens to live on our road, who wants to use the car over the bank holiday weekend. The app tells us we'll earn £80 from this. Absolutely buzzing!
11:50 a.m. — G is thoroughly surprised. We hang out for a bit, get acquainted with their friends' gorgeous new dog, then head to this stunning garden centre for lunch. It feels peak early 30s and I'm here for it. I get the 'hipster brunch' which is a delicious concoction of sourdough, avo, poached eggs, halloumi, bacon and chilli jam. E pays for both our meals on the UW card. My share comes to £15.90.
1 p.m. — We go for a coastal walk in the sunshine. Feeling very grateful for this weather.
5 p.m. — Back to A and G's house for drinks in the garden. A couple more of their friends arrive for dinner. They've cooked up an absolute feast for us, including lasagne, homemade focaccia and three different types of salad. It is all absolutely incredible. We have an awesome time and are very sad to leave around 10:30 p.m. — though taking leftovers home definitely makes us feel better.
12:10 a.m. — Get back home and quickly get ready for bed before passing out.
Total: £15.90
Day Seven
8:30 a.m. — Wake up earlier than I'd like, as I'm heading to Brighton today. E's brother (B) is running a race and as E is working, I'm representing the London contingency.
10:30 a.m. — Get the train to Brighton to meet E's family. A return ticket costs £23.04 with my 26-30 railcard. It expires soon and it's honestly going to be devastating having to pay full train fare for the first time in my life. To try and save money, I bring the leftover focaccia for lunch. It tastes even better the next day.
12:30 p.m. — We battle through the mayhem to try and catch a glimpse of B running. Despite my sister-in-law's best attempts to use her daughter's pram as a battering ram, it's really slow going and we end up missing B. We head to the finish line to catch him instead. It's a great atmosphere and we have a blast cheering everyone on. We chill out in the sunshine for a bit afterwards.
5:09 p.m. — Catch the train back to London. Feel proud of myself for resisting the temptation to get food out. Feel a little light-headed and realise I caught the sun.
6:30 p.m. — Back home and ravenous. I eat leftover lasagne from yesterday, plus a homemade cookie A made. I'm absolutely shattered, so collapse in front of The OC for the rest of the evening. I have two Zoom meetings tomorrow so also do a little bit of prep for them. But let's be honest, mostly I just watch The OC.
Total: £23.04
The Breakdown
Conclusion
"I think I did really well keeping costs low this week, whilst also enjoying life and socialising with friends. I did splurge on the silent disco tickets and that feels like a one-off whilst I'm unemployed, so hopefully next week's costs will be the same if not lower. The only cost I'm annoyed about is the wasted subscription, but we live and learn! Also… life update. I've just been offered a three-month contract doing script work on a returning series. This will be £1,000 per week for 12 weeks. Yay!"