In our How I Manage My Money series, we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.

This week we speak to Chris Minton, 22, who lives in West Sussex and works as a theatre technician for a council. Chris purchased his first flat at the age of 21 and wants to be able to pick and choose the work he does from the age of 40. He thinks the state pension will be means-tested when he is older.

My monthly income: I take home £1,938 from my full-time job as a theatre technician. I also make between £200 and £300 a month doing freelance theatre technician work, but this is variable. 

My monthly outgoings: Mortgage: £600; service charge for flat, £67.50; council tax, £120; groceries, £225; electric, £50; water, £30; broadband, £30; mobile, £16; Apple iCloud storage, £3; insurance policies, including for contents, my mobile and car, £47; petrol, £100; TV licence, £36 as I’m in the first six months of paying it, then it will drop; money into investments, minimum of £150, money into cash emergency fund, £150; workplace pension, £160; takeaways, £40; going out and entertainment, £60; ad hoc items, £50. 

I grew up in Worthing with my family. My mum works in childcare and my dad is a taxi driver, but previously ran a butcher’s shop before it closed. When I was younger, my parents got into debt and had to enter into a debt management plan to clear it. This experience taught me a lot about money and is a big part of the reason I am careful with it.

I decided not to go to university. I looked into going to drama schools that do courses for the technical side of theatre but had a feeling it wasn’t for me. I got a minimum wage job at a theatre instead and have gone on from there.

I am glad I have avoided student debt. If I had gone to university, I would not own a flat or have a mortgage now. I think a lot of people going to university don’t realise what they are getting into financially.

I work full-time as a theatre technician, taking home £1,938 a month. I don’t always work a standard nine-to-five, so to occupy my time, I started a TikTok channel (@intentional.finance) last year. I talk about my own experiences with money and budgeting on it. I want to get the message out there that it’s good to have a reason to spend money rather than just spend it for the sake of it.

I managed to buy my own home at the age of 21. The cost of renting in the area I’m in would have been more expensive than my mortgage.

I purchased a one-bedroom flat in West Sussex last year for £135,000. I put down a 10% deposit using a Lifetime Isa and took out a 40-year mortgage. The interest rate on my mortgage is 5.81 per cent. I plan to start making overpayments on my mortgage as soon as I can and get it paid off faster. I’d like to buy a bigger home once I’ve settled down with someone. I’d probably keep the flat and rent it out to diversify my income.

By the age of 40, I don’t want to have to be working a full-time job if I don’t want to. I want to be able to choose what I want to do for work by that point. Hopefully financial education will be a part of my work at that stage. I’m a very active person so I couldn’t not work at all, but I’d like it to have a purpose and be on my own terms. When I have a family, I also don’t want to have to be constantly worrying about money.

I haven’t sat down and worked out how much I will need in my savings and investments by the time I’m 40. But I plan to boost my savings and investments, diversify my income streams and start making money from social media.

I have £2,000 in a Trading 212 stocks and shares Isa, £5,000 in a cash emergency fund and about £1,000 in sinking funds. Before I purchased my flat, I had about £30,000 saved up.

I add £160 to my defined benefit workplace pension, which my employer, a council, adds a generous monthly contribution to. It’s a good pension scheme and I wouldn’t opt out of it, but my focus is currently on my stocks and shares Isa. From a tax perspective, I prefer the way my stocks and shares Isa works.

I don’t think the state pension will exist in its current form by the time I’m older. I imagine some form of means-testing will be attached to it. If I had to, I think I could survive solely on the state pension alone in later life. I do think the state pension system should operate more like the old Child Trust Fund system.

I’m quite happy having a modest income to live on. I hate sitting around and doing nothing, so I can’t see myself stopping work. I just want it to be optional by the age of 40 and be able to help out and treat family, friends and charities.

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