Talking about money in France is still a taboo. However, it is a fascinating topic… and feminist, in some respects! In Settling the Accounts, people of all kinds examine their balance sheets, tell us about their financial organization as a couple or alone and their relationship with money. Today it was Elsa * who agreed to analyze her accounts for us.
- First name :Elsa*
- Age : 28 years
- Occupation : doctor of general medicine
- Net salary before withholding tax : Elsa works as a freelancer and therefore earns between 7,000 and 8,000 euros gross, or between 3,000 and 4,000 euros per month once contributions have been paid.
- Net salary after withholding tax : no withholding tax
- People (or animals) living under the same roof : her boyfriend and the cats in their care
- Place of life : T2 apartment in the city center of Bordeaux (Gironde)
Elsa’s situation and income
At 28, Elsa is doctor of general medicine. He works three days a week insidea general practice where he replaces doctors on their day off.
“I sign contracts of a few months, which we renew regularly. »
She works too one day a week and one public holiday a month until midnight-1am in an emergency room.
“I see patients who come for minor trauma or other reasons that don’t require infusions or hospitalization. I love my job and I like to keep a foot in the public hospital in addition to my studies. »
Elsa lives with her partner in a T2 apartment of 50 m2 in the center of Bordeauxof which they have been tenants for a year. “We have a purchasing plan for next year. »
For her work as a general practitioner – in the office and in the hospital – Elsa receives a net salary ranging between 3,000 and 4,000 euros per month. What he knows is very comfortable:
“I earn very well, I am aware that I am one of the people with the highest incomesand I have the opportunity to do a job that I like.
Me though many responsibilities and a significant mental load. I regularly think about my patients outside of my working hours and regularly work nights and weekends. »
Elsa’s relationship with money and her financial organization
Elsa grew up in a CSP+ family where she has never lacked anything. However, his parents taught him to be careful.
“They instilled in me that everything costs a little too much for what it is, and therefore that we shouldn’t make ‘useless’ expenses. Not too many trips or restaurants. »
Today the young woman has a little more fun and even if she did “tendency to be spendthrift”, she tries “spend your money with political conscience”.
“I don’t mind paying more for local grocery stores or restaurants that work locally rather than supplying big polluting corporations. »
If she happens to be overdrawn, it’s because she “she was too ambitious with the transfer of her ‘savings’ to her Livret A”.
Regarding their financial organization, Elsa and her partner each have a current account and they share the costs related to the apartment 50/50 (rent, electricity, internet, etc.).
«But for everyday life we don’t do the math and I often pay more for things because I earn two or three times more than my boyfriend. »
Elsa’s expenses
The apartment that Elsa occupies in the center of Bordeaux with her boyfriend has a rent €800 per month. She strictly pays half of it (€400), just like electricity and Internet bills (€100 monthly).
The doctor also has to pay every month €235 to repay a student loan which he had contracted in 2017 to buy a car.
Its biggest expense is taxes. Every month, Elsa has to pay 850 euros in income tax.
Elsa pays too €400 per month for insurance (car, home and life insurance). “I’m spending my mutual and professional insurance on business expenses. »
Your telephone subscription amounts to €20 per month and spends on average €100 monthly transport costs. “This is what I pay in gas and tolls. »
Elsa’s food budget is consistent: average €600 per month for her and her boyfriend. If the price is so high it’s because goes to the zero waste supermarket to make your large purchases. “But every now and then I have to go to the convenience store in town to supplement. I clearly prefer quality, but it’s true that prices have increased so much in the last year that I’m a little more careful. »
However, she does not count any costs for her so-called “feminine” expenses.
“I spend very little on makeup, €50 a year to break everything because I don’t wear much makeup. I spend a little more on cosmetics because I buy organic or 0 waste, so quite expensive, but my boyfriend also uses them, so it’s not specifically feminine.
I don’t have a period with my current contraceptive (hormonal IUD), which suits me perfectly. I have had permanent hair removal which is partially effective: I therefore leave the remaining hairs in place, they no longer cost me anything. »
Elsa and her partner are a foster family of cats at an association, which bears the following costs: €100 per month for a mother and her four kittens.
“The association provides kibble and waste. We have all the equipment, but for a matter of logistics and to be able to choose the one we prefer, we also buy the litter. We also provide food and sometimes breast milk when we have kittens. »
Elsa’s leisure expenses
Even if this budget is “very variable”Elsa estimates the cost approximately €450 per month for free time.
This expense includes climbing and pole dancing lessons (€150 monthly), as well as going out to the cinema or with friends.
“I go out about twice a week for dinner/aperitifs in the city with friends.
I travel every chance I get. It makes up a big part of my leisure budget. I systematically work during all school holidays to replace my colleagues who have children, but in exchange I take holidays whenever I want for the rest of the time. I saved for two years to take a three month trip this winter. You could say it’s my latest folly. »
As for the clothing budget, it is approx €50 per month.
“I prefer thrift stores or Vinted. I buy a new one when I need a specific item that wears out (like activewear). »
Elsa’s savings and future plans
When he has paid all these expenses, Elsa has savings of around €700. But actually, the latter “It varies greatly depending on the additional expenses of the month”.
“I put aside up to 2 thousand euros in the months when I work a lot and don’t have time to dedicate. For example, I saved 20,000 euros in a year and a half because I was planning a long tripand verse €300 per month on life insuranceas well as €300 on a retirement savings plan. These automatic withdrawals “force” me to save money. When you return from your trip, you will have to save a lot of money to try to buy an apartment. »
Elsa doesn’t have any expenses that she particularly wants to reduce. There are even some that she would like to increase, moving from an online bank to a cooperative bank, and getting started regular contributions to associations whose causes are close to his heart : Planned Parenthood, Doctors Without Borders and Greenpeace.
Today, they say Elsa “happy in his daily life”. In addition to the real estate purchase project, plans to start his own medical practice within two to three years, “if politicians haven’t destroyed liberal medicine by then, but that’s another story”.
Thanks to Elsa* for opening her accounts for us!
* The name has been changed.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
