“I try not to overstretch myself financially”

To mark Talk Money Week, OT has launched the My money diary series, speaking with optometrists in a range of roles about their approach to budgeting and gathering insight on how optometry as a profession is valued. 

Here a locum optometrist discusses her monthly budget, misconceptions about locum pay and valuing time rather than money.

“When I was completing my pre-reg in 2005, I was living at home and was paid £9500 for the year. Then I moved into my first newly qualified role and my salary was £24,000. I was still living at home, so my bills were really low. At the time, it felt like a dizzying amount of money. 

“I remember I spent £40 on a leather purse as a celebration. It seemed like a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a purse. My dad was fuming when he found out how much it cost. But 20 years on I still have that purse, so it has lasted all that time. 

“A couple of years ago, I found out that I was massively undercharging people. I was looking for work with an agency and realised that the rates they were charging were quite a lot more than I was asking for. It can be quite difficult to know how much to charge as a locum. We don't talk about finances very much, because it is a very closed-off topic. There can be an inequality – I was charging less than everyone else but I was definitely not a worse optometrist. It can be frustrating when you find out that the guy who is in the next room is charging £50 more per day. 

“There can be a regional divide in terms of what locums are paid. I have friends who work as locums in the Midlands, and they are paid less because there is an oversupply of optometrists with people graduating from Aston University. I get the impression that around the university towns, the wages are not quite as good.

I don’t need a big house, a fancy car or lots of designer clothes. I feel really content with what I have

“The first thing that I do when I have an invoice paid is take out a third into a separate account to pay my tax. The last thing I want to do is get to the point where my tax needs to be paid and I have nothing saved up. 

“I’ve always been quite conscious of not going into debt. Our parents drummed into us that debt is bad, and I’ve tried to follow their advice. My mum was on benefits for a time when I was little and my dad worked very hard so she could go back and get an education. We didn’t necessarily have a lot of money. I learned from my parents that money is precious and you need to look after it so it can look after you.

“I’m very fortunate in that I got to a point where I could reduce my hours to work four days a week. Within those four days, I earn enough to be able to live my life. For me, time is more important than money. I’m not someone who likes to have lots of fancy things or trinkets. But I do spend money on hobbies and travel. 

“There’s this impression among optometrists, particularly newly qualified optometrists, that becoming a locum will make you rich. But that’s not how it works. Each month I have to save for my tax bill. Your clinic might be cancelled or you might become sick and take time off. You’re not paid for that. I think it balances out. 

“I think our profession is undervalued. I can remember doing my work experience at an optometry practice in 1999. The director sat me down and told me how much optometrists and dispensing opticians can expect to earn. At the time, for an optometrist, he said you could expect to earn between £60,000 and £80,000 per year. That is around the same salary that an optometrist receives now. Our wages have not changed in 25 years. 

“When I started working as an optometrist, the GOS sight test fee was around £18. Now it is around £23. I think optometry is undervalued by the NHS and by society as well, considering the responsibility that we have. We are looking after the nation’s sight.

“My biggest financial regret is not starting a pension earlier. I only started to save for my pension at the age of 35. When I started working, I thought I had a whole lifetime to think about saving for retirement – there was no urgency to it. But then I started reading books about finance and learned about the magic of compound interest. I felt really silly for having missed out on all of that time. My advice to anyone who is newly-qualified is to start saving for retirement. 

“I try not to overstretch myself financially. My mortgage is comparatively small. I could have bought a much bigger house, but our house is completely adequate for our needs. If I had a bigger house, we wouldn’t be able to take as many holidays and I would be more worried if I had a day off sick. 

“It sounds really boring, but living within your means is so important. It gives me a feeling of security and comfort to know that I have a little bit of a buffer. I don’t need a big house, a fancy car or lots of designer clothes. I feel really content with what I have.”