As a fan of the Refinery 29 Money Diaries, I’ve been wanting to track my spending for a week. However, I never got around to doing a money diary until I randomly decided to start tracking last Thursday.
So, if you’re nosy and/or interested in where I threw money at last week, please keep reading.
MONEY DIARY: Thursday 8/2/18
7 a.m. – Dropped off my wireless mouse for my sister-in-law. She’s a teacher and needed one for her class. I rarely use mine and offered it to her. After dropping it off, I stopped by Dunkin Donuts to pick up a large iced coffee with vanilla and one cream, because it’s cheap and decent. – $2.61
7:20 a.m. – I stopped by Whole Foods before work to hit up their hot food bar. Currently, I’m intermittent fasting and only eating lunch and an early dinner. So, I need a filling and wholesome breakfast to tie me over until 6pm. I opted for my scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon. – $4.62
9 a.m – While taking a break from work and emails, I scroll through some IG stories and noticed that today is the 21st first birthday of a young lady that goes to my church. She posted her Venmo and CashApp name in case someone want to “be a blessing” for fun. So, I sent her $21 via Cash App. It was very random, but felt good to do. – $21
1:30 p.m – Got a notification that Abobe took out their monthly payment for my Photoshop subscription. I kicked myself, because I mainly use Adobe at work now and not at home. So, I’ve been meaning to cancel that subscription for well months now. – $9.99
4:15 p.m – Finished my work early for the day. So, I left early for the day. I stopped by Moe’s to pick up a chicken bowl and a cup of queso, which was bit much. However, a chicken bowl is my go-to fast healthy meal to eat at home while decompressing from work – $12.87
6:30 p.m – After eating, I went to Target to return a top I bought the previous day, because I thought it was on clearance but wasn’t. While there, I picked up some flea spray for my dogs and Q-Tips. It always feel great to leave Target after spending less that $10 – $9.86
6:45 p.m. – Final stop of the day was Home Depot for more flea spray for carpets and upholstery. – $13.50
MONEY DIARY: Friday 8/3/18
7:30 a.m – I let my sister borrow my car for a doctor’s appointment. So, I stopped at the restaurant in my office building for a veggie omelet breakfast, comes with breakfast potatoes and toast. – $7.64
8:45 a.m – The iced coffee machine was out at the restaurant…again. So, I asked my co-worker could she stop and pick me up on her way in, which she did. Another day, another iced coffee from Dunkins. I PayPal her the price and little extra – $4
10:30 a.m – T-mobile sent me an email thanking me for payment of cell phone bill, which means they withdrew my scheduled payment – $65.50
4:30 p.m – I was too tired to cook and to Chick-fi-la to grab a chicken sandwich. When I’m about to turn into the parking lot, my BF calls and asks me to bring him something to eat before he goes to work. So, I made it 2 deluxe chicken sandwich combos. Luckily, I was in and out of the drive-thru in less than 10 minutes.- $14.60
4:45 p.m – My gas was low and I knew the light would be coming on any minute. So, I stopped and put a enough gas to get me to my BFs house and back. I felt like I had enough to get there and stop for gas after dropping off his food.
5:40- p.m – After getting gas, I heard on the radio the portion of the interstate I take to his house closed down due to a nasty accident. After finding a detour, I took me almost an hour to get to his house, because it was rush hour on a Friday. I was so over this day and went straight home and stayed there for the rest of the day.
MONEY DIARY: Saturday 8/4/18
6:30 a.m – No matter the day of the week, I’m always up no later than 6:30 am. I got up and went grocery shopping to pick up some stuff breakfast and Sunday dinner. I got eggs, bacon, a roast for Sunday dinner, and some other necessities – $36.13
7 a.m – After leaving the grocery store, I stopped by their gas station to refuel from the previous day’s gas guzzling adventure. – $20.09
10 a.m – I stopped by landlord’s bank to deposit the rent money. When I move later this year, I’m really going to miss this inexpensive rent with my sister – $645
1 p.m – Since I’m saving up to move, I decided to transfer $150 to my savings account. Removing it from my banking and putting it in my savings removes the chances that I spend some of it. – $150
4:15 p.m – I spent most of the afternoon catching up on shows saved on my DVR before leaving for Saturday night church service. I serve on Saturday night, which is like a nice round of cardio, because I’m always walking around. On the way, I swing by Chick-fi-la again for a chick strip meal. I just needed something I could eat while driving that wasn’t too messy. This will be my last CFL for awhile. – $7.13
MONEY DIARY: Sunday 8/5/18
I literally went no where and spent most of the day in front of the TV watching ID channel. That evening, I cooked the roast and roasted some green beans with garlic. So good – $0
MONEY DIARY: Monday 8/6/18
6 a.m – I had enough time to make breakfast before work, which was just some organic smoked sausage and large cup of iced coffee and almond creamer. Just a way that helps me eat better and save money.
4 p.m – My manager took a personal day and I finished all my work for the day. So, I decided to leave work early and head home. Since it’s Monday, I stopped by Moe’s Southwest grill to get me and my sister each a $5 bowl. It’s a Monday tradition for me and decided to start including her. Since the bowl is filled with fresh ingredients and veggies, it’s a good healthy option. – $10.93
MONEY DIARY: Tuesday 8/7/2018
6 a.m – Despite going to bed later than I prefer, I woke up early enough to make breakfast to take to work. I made some hashbrowns and scrambled some eggs with cheese and spinach to put on top of the hashbrowns. At the last minute, I decide to heat up a piece of the same sausage from the previous morning.
6:45 a.m – I’ve been on a serious iced coffee high, but ran out of my favorite Almond Breeze french vanilla creamer. So, on my way to pick my sister up from work, I stopped by Kroger to pick up a creamer to keep at work. However, I ended up buying a new creamer I haven’t tried before, but it’s not almond creamer. Instead, I opted for an organic creamer, but it’s still french vanilla flavor. While there, I decided to also buy a big bottle of Starbucks unsweetened Cold Brew to keep at work, too. – $9.22
5:30 p.m – After a decent day at work, I head home, because I’m starving. I heat up some of the leftover roast and green beans from Sunday, which was delicious AF! Although I try not to eat carbs late in the day, my sister made some mashed potatoes that looked too good to not get a couple of tablespoons.
9:30 p.m – Was out of things to wear to work. So, I finally did my laundry, but my dryer is still on the fritz and I decided against buying a new one since I’m moving. So, I went to the laundromat down the street, which dried everything 3x times faster. – $2.50
MONEY DIARY: Wednesday 8/8/2018
6:30 a.m Despite having iced coffee at home AND work, I stopped by DD to get my regular large cup of iced coffee. I didn’t get much rest the previous night and I woke up a little late. Therefore, I felt like treating myself. Also, while on my way, I realized that I was extra bloated and decided to fast off food for the day. *fingers crossed* – $2.61
6:30 p.m – After dropping my sister off at work, I stopped by Kroger to pick up a container of baby formula to take to my brother. He’ll pay me back on Friday. While there, the hunger was too much to bear. So, I grabbed some pork chops and sweet potatoes to cook for dinner and saute some spinach that I already have at home. After dinner, I watched and purged some shows off the DVR before heading to bed at 9- $39.86
MONEY DIARY – Final Cost
In all last week, I spent over a $1000, but the majority of that was for rent and savings. The remaining $340+ was mainly spent on food and gas. I feel like the next time I do this, I will pick a week that doesn’t involve spending the majority on monthly bills and between paydays. However, I would like to track my spending habits more, because I think it wold be beneficial to money management.
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