Inside the lavish life of Australian millennial who says she can’t save despite $122,000 salary

Kate Donovan boasts a lifestyle rich in overseas holidays, fancy dinners and drinks with friends, and enjoys a salary well above the average for her age.

But the Australian, who now lives in London, says she’s found it difficult to save for a house on her $122,200 annual income, despite being able to set aside more than $660 a month just for holidays.

The 29-year-old’s social media accounts are awash with lavish getaway snaps, including her atop rock formations in Goreme, Turkey, and aboard the back of a jet boat with friends.

Kate Donovan (pictured) boasts a lifestyle rich in overseas holidaying, fancy dinners and drinks with friends, and enjoys a salary well over the average for her age group 

In one snap, Ms Donovan (third from left) enjoys a class of wine from an idyllic lakeside establishment in Prague

The 29-year-old’s social media accounts are awash with lavish getaway snaps, including her atop rock formations in Goreme, Turkey (pictured) 

Among her impressive holiday portfolio are photos taken along the picturesque Italian coastline, and her rugged up during a visit to the rocky mountains where hot air balloons can be seen floating through the sky in the background.  

Ms Donovan was fortunate enough to afford a trip to Vanuatu’s Port Vila, from which she shared a harbourside photo of a row of colourful boats to her social media.

In several images the keen adventurer can be seen hitting the slopes, suggesting a trip to the snow is a regular item on her calendar.

She also wears a dress and fascinator for what appears to be an outing at the horse races with some of her girlfriends.

Ms Donovan (second from right) looks to have enjoyed a girls getaway to New York in a selfie shared to Instagram

Among her impressive holiday portfolio are photos taken along the picturesque Italian coastline (pictured) 

She also features aboard the back of a jet boat with friends for a sunny day out on the water

Despite what appears to be quite a life of luxury, the project manager claims she’s had to make ‘radical changes’ to her budget in order to save for a house. 

The average salary for women in the UK, as of July 2018, is just shy of $45,000AUD – far less than half Ms Donovan’s annual earnings.

She earns almost double the average for London-based employees too, which currently sits at just over $62,000.

The average annual income for people in their twenties in the UK is about $40,700, which Ms Donovan earns almost three times over.

In several images the keen adventurer can be seen hitting the slopes, suggesting a trip to the snow is a regular item on her calendar 

She also wears a dress and fascinator for what appears to be an outing at the horse races with some of her girlfriends 

She detailed the exact ways she’d had to ‘tighten her belt’ in order to save up for a two-bedroom flat in a recent Our Money series for the i newspaper.

Ms Donovan worked her way up to Project Manager at property company Lendlease after securing a degree in civil engineering at the University of Queensland. 

She said out of her current monthly income of $7,081, she had a goal of saving $2,656 after bills and a food shop.

Not wanting to go completely without the finer things in life, she set aside a cheeky $926 a month to spend on ‘treats’ and an extra $664 for her travel budget. 

Ms Donovan was fortunate enough to afford a trip to Vanuatu’s Port Vila, from which she shared a harbourside photo of a row of colourful boats to her social media 

Despite what appears to be quite a life of luxury, the project manager (pictured) claims she’s had to make ‘radical changes’ to her budget in order to save for a house 

Discussing the measures she has taken in order to up her monthly savings Ms Donovan said: ‘I cancelled my $266 per month gym membership and started going running instead.

‘I’ve also reduced how often I take taxis. Now, when I do take one, I link it to a specific credit card so I can track how much I spend per month.’

Readers were left baffled by the piece and took to Twitter to argue Ms Donovan could live more than ‘comfortably’ on her hefty salary.

One wrote: ‘Genuinely though, if you can’t afford to save for a house with a $123,047 salary you’re doing something badly wrong.’ 

The average salary for women in the UK, as of July 2018, is just shy of $45,000AUD – far less than half Ms Donovan’s annual earnings

The average annual income for people in their twenties in the UK is about $40,700, which Ms Donovan earns almost three times over 

 

Readers were left baffled by her budgeting and took to Twitter to argue Ms Donovan could live more than ‘comfortably’ on her hefty salary 

KATE’S MONTHLY BREAKDOWN  

Rent and bills: $1,470

Pension contributions: $468

Travel: $195

Mobile phone bill: $18

Sports club: $71

Food: $620

Holidays: $664

Treats: $926

Savings: $2,656

Total: $6,160

Agreeing another added: ‘Her ‘left overs’ for a week is more than I have to live on!’

Many were left baffled by her travelling budget with one tweeting: ‘Easily, luxuriously, with enough left over to spend $620 PER MONTH on holidays r u being serious (sic)’

Another added: ‘$123,065 a year?! F***ing hell, I’ve got no hope if she’s struggling to save up for a 2 bedroom flat’

Others questioned whether the article was satirical, struggling to believe it could be anything other than a joke.

In a tweet one commented: ‘Someone help me out here, is this actually a parody? I mean, I hope this isn’t real, but how ‘not real’ is it?’ 

‘Please tell me this is a joke. Please. I’ve got nuffin left. (sic)’ said another.  

The author of the article responded to the influx of critical tweets with one of her own.

She wrote: ‘It seems my latest installment of ‘How I live On’ is causing a storm as the subject earns $123k.

‘To clarify, in this series we speak to people on a range of incomes, including single income families and pensioners. Kate is on a higher than average salary.’ 

‘We launched the How I Live On series to build a snapshot of people’s finances across the UK.

‘As part of the series we have interviewed a pensioner living on less than $15,940 that can’t afford to turn the heating on as well as a family of four using an overdraft to survive on one salary.

Ms Donovan (pictured) said out of her current monthly income of $7,081, she had a goal of saving $2,656 after bills and a food shop

Ms Donovan said she cancelled her $266 a month gym membership and started going running instead as part of her money-saving regime

‘We feel it is important to understand how people on different salaries – high and low – are managing their money. 

‘This case study comes from the former bracket. Her earnings are indeed well above average, however the reality of the housing market in London means that she needs to save around $106,260 for a deposit on a one or two bedroom flat (as she has been told that she can borrow $568,821) and she is choosing to do so by cutting back her spending as much as she can.

‘We are keen to hear from anyone that would like to share their financial story.’

MailOnline has contacted Ms Donovan for a comment.

TIPS FOR MILLENNIALS BUYING THEIR FIRST HOME IN LONDON

An estate agents says millennials have give up on phone upgrades and city breaks or risk being priced out of the London housing ladder.

Research has suggested that ‘relatively small changes’ could see young adults save enough for the capital city’s average deposit of $113,344 in five years – but only with a bit of help from the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Among the recommendations is preparing your daily lunch at home instead of buying sandwiches from the high street, which could save $4,562 annually.

Estate agents Strutt & Parker also suggests that cutting out one night on the town each week could see potential homeowners save up to $10,626 a year.

Refusing a mobile phone upgrade could save $273 annually, while resisting the temptation of a takeaway could lead to yearly savings of $4,675.

Avoiding a yearly city break to a foreign country would help aspiring buyers save another $1,240 towards a deposit on a home.

Stephanie McMahon, head of research, said analysis showed that giving up on these luxuries could help buyers achieve their dream within half a decade.

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk