'I ditched Uni and became a voice actor instead - now I earn up to £20K a month'

'I ditched Uni and became a voice actor instead - now I earn up to £20K a month' Emily Jardine, 37, has worked with huge brands like Coca-Cola, Vodafone, and Whatsapp A woman who ditched university to become a successful voice actor earning £114,000 a year has revealed how she manages her money. Emily Jardine, 37, a voice actor and coach, decided not to go to university and instead pursue of her acting and music passions. But she managed to work her way up and earned £114,000 last year - and has done adverts for the likes of Coca-Cola and Milka. The nature of her job means some months she can bring in as much £20,000, whilst other months are around £5,000. Despite this, Emily likes having a "buffer" and keeps her bills relatively low, paying £1,100 a month for her mortgage and roughly £460 for her bills. She admits she "won't necessarily look at the price tag" when treating herself but only does so a few times a year - making sure her savings don't dip below £6,000. So far, Emily has around £10,000 in her savings - and says this would usually be more but she has had to recently pay for her wedding. She would usually save around £8,000 every six months, but in the last six months Emily has only saved £2,000 because of the wedding and house construction costs. Emily, from Reading, told Talk to the Press: "I like having a buffer - I don't tend to spend loads of money and I've always been good with money. "I just want to be comfy and happy. We have our home, we love our home and we built the studio next to it. The only real difference from when I earned less is that the numbers are bigger. "I've always thought about what I'd have to pay out each month and what that would mean. Despite having disposable income, I am careful with my money. "I manage my money carefully and plan in advance - we like deals in our house. If I think my income might dip in the following month or so, I will take on additional clients or mark myself as available with agencies that I generally keep my availability more limited with. I try to balance and mitigate finances at all times." When starting her voiceover work, initially Emily was only earning a few hundred pounds a year and continued working admin roles to pay her bills. She said: "At first in 2012 I would do jobs for free, which isn't great, but I would do it and then eventually clients would ask for me again and I started getting paid. "And that grew and grew and grew, and suddenly I was doing huge jobs for companies like Vodafone and Milka chocolate. I was then doing Coca-Cola, and just all of these massive, massive brands. It was amazing." When it comes to buying things, Emily revealed she gets "antsy" if she spends too much money. She added: "If I really want a particular outfit I won't necessarily look at the price tag. "Recently we were in Gran Canaria and we booked a huge suite for five days and we spent a fair bit for what it was. But I have no intention of doing that again soon. "I impulse buy once every couple of months - the next big thing is making Christmas special. Last year, I bought 30 presents including a mini fridge. One thing I do for myself every month is I have flowers delivered to my door from myself to myself. "It's normal for voiceover artists to be quiet across summer and it's been quite challenging. My earnings for these last three months are naturally lower, so I've been extra cautious for the last three months. Hopefully, by Christmas I can afford to treat my family again." For savings, Emily likes to make sure she does not slip below a certain amount. She said: "I put away literally everything that I don't spend. "At the moment it's £10k and it would be more if not for the wedding. I don't like going below a certain amount. If I start to hit below £5k or £6k then I start to panic a little a bit." Emily's goal is to hopefully employ someone to eventually help her with the workload. She said: "It would be things like getting a new kitchen or a new bathroom, and being able to hire someone to take the workload off me. "I would love to be able to get into a position where I can have more free time by outsourcing more of the editing." Bills: Mortgage: £1,100 Gas and electric: £300 Phone: £40 Virgin media: £40 Water: £87 Council tax: £200