Linda Kelly

I’m currently on placement in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co. Louth which is about an hour’s drive away from Dublin. I take the bus to placement and the weekly ticket for five return journeys (€37.50), which I pay for with my Leap Card.

I typically have lunch in the hospital, which is actually quite affordable. The hospital canteen in Drogheda serves a wide variety of dishes which change every day. Today I get the cottage pie with some extra vegetables (€3.50), with a can of Diet Coke (€1.50).

On return to Dublin, it’s time to do some groceries. Some of the popular grocery shops in the city centre are Lidl, Tesco and Dunnes. I typically do my main grocery shop in Lidl on a Monday evening to prepare me for the rest of the week, and then pick up a few bits and pieces as I need them throughout the week. I won’t bore you with the details of my grocery list but the total comes to €30.

After making dinner at home, it’s time for laundry. There are laundry and drying services on site in the student accommodation village where I live, which comes to €6.70 for a single load of laundry to be washed and dried.

Total: €79.20

Having bought my weekly transport ticket the previous day, I like to gaslight myself into thinking that the rest of my weekly transport to placement is 'free'  so I can just tap my Leap Card on the bus without having to pay anything additional.

At placement, I decide to buy a sandwich from the hospital deli (€2.70) with a small iced latte (€1.80) for lunch.

After placement, I head to RCSI to get a gym session in. Membership in the RCSI gym is free for students which is a huge saving, and is a fantastic asset especially considering how modern and well-equipped the gym is.

After going to the gym, I head down to the Student Union’s (SU) office. They’re selling tickets to the annual college ball, which is always one of the highlights in the RCSI social calendar. Tickets to the event are €85.

Total: €89.50

It’s raining this morning, so instead of walking to get the bus to Drogheda, I decide to get another bus to the bus stop. The '90-minute fare' is a fantastic incentive for students in Dublin whereby you can get multiple buses or different modes of transport within a 90-minute period for the pretty nifty price of €1.

They have chicken curry and chips on the menu for lunch this afternoon in hospital, which I simply can’t refuse. A plate of this with a diet coke brings my lunch bill to €5.

It’s Valentine’s Day today so after placement, I meet my boyfriend for dinner in the city centre. We go to one of my favourite restaurants in the city, Mad Egg, which does the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. We get two chicken burgers with fries and share a cheesecake for dessert. The bill comes to €48.

Total: €54

Today, I’ve actually brought lunch with me to hospital but I buy a small cappuccino in the hospital’s Starbucks just to get me through the morning (€3.50).

My friend is selling raffle tickets for a society fundraiser so I buy one to support. It’s a fundraiser for the Paediatrics Society, with all funds going to the one children’s hospitals in Dublin where I was actually on placement last year, so I know how important and worthy a cause this is (€2.50)

After placement, I head to RCSI for musical rehearsals. We’re planning to put our rendition of '9 to 5: The Musical' to the stage. Rehearsals are always the highlight of my week, and afterwards, the cast decide to take a trip to one of the local pubs beside RCSI for a team-building event. Knowing that I still have to get up early for placement the following morning, I only get one cocktail (€8.50).

Total: €14.50

Finally, it's Friday! I’m actually running a bit late this morning so decide to grab breakfast on the walk to the bus stop to catch the bus to placement. I head into a local convenience store to buy a protein bar and bottle of orange juice (€5.50).

This morning we have lectures until noon, but then we’re free to go home so instead of getting lunch at the hospital I decide to head home early. I grab a few groceries in Dunnes Stores on the way back to make some chicken fajitas (€10) which I cook at home.

I use Friday afternoons as an opportunity to catch up on study, but after a few hours at the books, I’m ready for a well-deserved break. It’s my friend’s birthday so we head to the cinema to watch the new reboot 'Mean Girls which is one of my favourite films on all time, and the new version definitely doesn’t disappoint. A student ticket to watch the film is €12, and I decide to buy a medium popcorn and drink there, which comes to another €10.

Total: €37

My friends and I have organised a trip to Howth to try and make the most of our weekend. We get the Dart out, which is only €1 with a student Leap Card. We spend the day walking the cliffs, admiring the scenery and basking in the sun. It’s unusually warm for February so we decide to get an ice-cream from the local shop which comes to €2.50 before taking a quick dip in the sea.

After drying off, we decide to head for dinner. We decide to get some fish and chips as a take-away (€15). We watch the sun set and then decide to head back into town, which is another €1 fare on the dart. To finish up our Saturday night, we decide to go to a local cocktail bar and order a few drinks. I get two cocktails as there’s a deal (€20).

Total: €39.50

My Sundays are usually spent trying to prepare for the week ahead, whilst still trying to enjoy what’s left of the weekend. I head to the gym in RCSI for an early morning work-out. I’m pretty hungry afterwards but I promised myself I’d spend a few hours in the library this afternoon, so I run to the local Tesco Express to grab their lunch deal, which comprises of a wrap, packet of crisps and drink (€4.50).

I spend two hours in the library trying to revise some of the topics that I’ve come across in placement during the week and plan out my schedule for the week ahead. I leave at about 4pm, and swing by Lidl on my way home to pick up some ingredients for dinner this evening. I decide to buy some peppers, onions, noodles and chicken breasts (€8.50), and then make myself a stir fry at home.

I’ve my final year OSCEs coming up in about a month’s time so I find myself browsing the Internet for helpful tips that evening. I come across an online education platform to help medical students prepare for exactly this, so decide to buy a month’s subscription, which comes to €15. I decide then that maybe my bank account’s had enough this week so decide to head to bed to stop myself from spending any more money.

Total: €28.00