Weekend Money Diary #1: Blogs and Family
I love tracking my expenses in a spreadsheet, but as an avid reader of the money diaries at Refinery29 and The Luxe Strategist, I thought it’d be fun to share my weekend spending in the same storytelling format for my #WeekendMoneyDiary segment.
FRIDAY
“Why doesn’t my office have summer Fridays?” I ask myself as I leave earlier than usual (5:40pm). My commute is typically one hour and 45 minutes via CitiBike and Port Authority, but today, Ari, my boyfriend, picks me up from an earlier bus stop to save me around 18 minutes. We usually have a hard time figuring out dinner plans, however, I’ve made the executive decision that we’ll be making something from Trader Joe’s.
I love Trader Joe’s frozen meals, it fools me into believing what I’m eating isn’t actually bad for me. Tonight, it’s a smorgasbord for dinner, we buy: frozen linguine with pesto and tomato, mushroom and truffle flatbread, tortilla chips and spinach and artichoke dip (TJ has the best!!). The total is $15.45, I Venmo Ari my half – $8.
We eat, then watch episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale second season. This episode was amazing and definitely much better than last week’s. I can’t decide if I’m Team Luke or Nick. Love them both… UGH.
Friday total= $8
SATURDAY
There’s nothing I love more than Saturday mornings! I meditate in bed using the Calm app, realizing that I’m quickly running out of free sessions. I’ve considered buying a subscription, but not before testing out Headspace. I don’t want to commit.
Saturdays are my long mile jog days. I put on my sneakers and attach Char, my German Shepherd, to my waist and hit the road. My Fitbit band is broken, which leaves me unable to track my time and miles. Although, based on my previous ones, this was probably around 3 1/2 to 4 miles. I feel great, and Char does too.
When I get home from my jog, my little sister is watching the Argentina v. Iceland game. I join her for a bit but then go into the other room and for a 30-minute yoga vinyasa flow YouTube video. My dad texts me during my workout and asks me to lend him money. This isn’t an unusual request; my parents live paycheck to paycheck and I’ve learned to save for moments like these. – $350
After my workout and shower, I decide to work on my blog and finally purchase a WordPress plan! I work on it for a couple of hours until my older sister, brother-in-law, and nephew come over. I show my sister the blog I’ve been working on and she’s impressed and inspired to finally start her own. – $43.20
Ari and I were invited to a friend’s house, her parents are away, and she has leftover booze from a party they hosted. Before heading to her house, we lay on his hammock and enjoy the sunset, which is nice since we don’t get to do things like this during the week.
After a few games of Jackbox.tv and one too many glasses of wine (I think I finished a bottle of wine) we leave our friend’s house. I’m craving fast-food, so I convince Ari to drive us to Wendy’s for French fries. Who doesn’t love fast-food fries??? COME ON! He pays because he ordered more food for himself – $6.17
Saturday total = $393.20
SUNDAY
It’s Father’s Day!! My body can never seem to let me sleep in on the weekends so while I’m a bit wine hungover, I wake up before 8am. My dad took the day off and since he’s still sleeping I decide to prepare breakfast. Though not before going on a quick 30-minute jog. I know myself, and if I put off working out, I won’t do it.
I’m back before he’s up and start making hash browns. I leave the eggs for the end. Once I’m done in the kitchen, I join him for breakfast in our indoor porch to watch the Mexico v. Germany match. We spend most of the morning and early afternoon watching back to back World Cup games.
Ari gets out of work earlier than expected (1:30pm) and he stops by on his way home. I ask to borrow his car for my grocery shopping, he says yes so I drop him off at home and return to mine to prepare a grocery list. On my way, I remember I have coupons for an Italian restaurant in town and ask the family what they want to eat. Pizza, fried seafood and buffalo wings.
I head out for my groceries and dinner. First stop is the farmer’s market and buy kale, pineapples, strawberries, lemons and sun-dried tomatoes. – $10.17
Target is next! I call the restaurant to place my order so it’s ready when I’m done. Somehow, I don’t overspend this time and manage to only buy what I came for — peanut butter, honey, chia seeds, almond milk, coke, and washcloths. I really want to buy a new Fitbit band, but I didn’t like their options. – $16.49
I pick up our dinner and head home. – $50.64
After dinner, I make this very simple quinoa and kale recipe for my week’s lunches. I’m okay with having the same meal every day during the week if it means I can splurge on the weekends with my loved ones.
Since I have Ari’s car, I pick him up to only to come back to my house for the rest of the night. I work on my blog while he applies to jobs. We cuddle before he leaves around 11pm.
Sunday total= $77.30
WEEKEND TOTAL= $478.50