A project manager has come under fire after having to make ‘radical changes’ to her budget in order to buy a house despite earning a salary of £69,500.
Kate Donovan, 29, who is originally from Australia but living in London, appeared in the Our Money series for the i newspaper exploring how the public spend and save their money.
In the piece titled ‘How I live on a £69,500 salary while saving to buy a two-bedroom flat’, Kate explains the cutbacks she has made while saving for her first home.
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 tells journalist Rebecca Jones that of her current monthly income of £4,003 she has a goal of saving £1,500 after bills and a food shop while having £523 left to spend on treats and £375 put aside exclusively for holidays.
Project manager Kate Donovan, 29, has come under fire after admitting she was ‘struggling’ to save for a flat on a £69,500 wage in an interview with the i newspaper
Discussing the measures she has taken in order to up her monthly savings Ms Donovan says: ‘I cancelled my £150 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.’
However, readers were left baffled by the piece, taking to Twitter to complain that Miss Donovan could live ‘comfortably’ on that salary.
People have taken to Twitter in response to an article in iNews featuring project manager, Kate Donovan, who revealed the ‘cut backs’ she had to make in order to save for a home while earning a salary of £69,500
Kate (in 2013) has a monthly income of £4,003 and with a goal of saving £1,500 is still able to put aside £523 for ‘treats’
Unsympathetic, many were left baffled by Ms Donovan’s monthly outgoings particularly the £375 she has to spend on holidays
One wrote: ‘Genuinely though, if you can’t afford to save for a house with a £69,500 salary you’re doing something badly wrong.’
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 £350 PER MONTH on holidays r u being serious (sic)’
Another added: ‘£69,500 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 reporter Ms Jones has since responded to the influx of tweets with one of her own.
On Tuesday she wrote: ‘It seems my latest installment of ‘How I live On’ is causing a storm as the subject earns £69k.
With £375 a month to spend on holidays Ms Donovan has visited various locations. Pictured: A skiing snap taken in 2016
It seems that her highly successful career has enabled her to travel far and wide. Pictured: A snap taken in Port Vila in Vanuatu in 2015
Ms Donovan travelled to Goreme in Turkey in 2014 and captured this stunning shot
Before her promotion to project manager Ms Donovan was still a keen traveller. Pictured: A cliff side snap in 2013
‘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.’
Commenting on the story Jones said: ‘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 £9,000 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 spends an average of £350 a month on her food shop
Others questioned whether the article has been satirical struggling to believe anything other than a joke
Most Twitter users were in agreement that Ms Donovan should be able to live ‘comfortably’ on her wage while saving
‘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 £60,000 for a deposit on a one or two bedroom flat (as she has been told that she can borrow £320,000) 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 Donavan for a comment.