and they say there’s no such thing like a free lunch…it is when you go out with your mom!
I was inspired by the various money diary posts I’ve seen around the internet to write one of my own. And boy was it a great way to see some of my terrible money spending habits (and this is me trying to be good)! I started on a random Thursday because that was just when I decided to start keeping track but I also didn’t want to make a big momentous start on a Monday just in case I ended up changing my habits knowing I had to hold myself accountable. So without further ado this is how I spent my money this past week (starting from the Thursday the week before)
Thursday
After reading some FIRE articles on a new blog I discover called Millennial Money I am motivated to move money from PayPal (where I earned some money from eBay as well as some affiliate earnings) to my bank account. I also move some money from my savings account to an investment account and buy some Vanguard index funds because they were down for the week. It’s so against my nature to buy when all the numbers are red but I know that’s the best way to buy “cheap” (and update, they went up later that week so now I feel happy about that decision). I need some new batteries for an old school camera so I purchase that on Amazon. Also while on Amazon I end up purchasing these gold hair pins on a whim (ack Amazon is such my Achilles heel when it comes to spending right now. I feel like I’m getting my “high” from buying on Amazon to replace the “high” I normally get from buying stuff for my closet—but I just better not go overboard). I blame too much Instagram browsing during Fashion Week and a recent blog post I read about pearl barrettes for this impulse splurge.
In the afternoon I’m browsing TheRealReal (a terrible terrible addiction/habit even though I’m not supposed to be shopping for my closet right now) when I see a pair of Veja sneakers pop-up on one of my saved feeds (and amazingly it’s my shoe size!!). I don’t hesitate to add it to my cart because with the 20% off code I get it for a total of $60 (retails for $168). Though this means that this sneaker might have to be my one addition to the closet for March (and it’s only Feb, oops). But since it’s shoes, there’s a chance I might return it if it doesn’t fit. But I definitely want to buy them because not only are they the ethical sneakers that I’ve been wanting to try for at least a year, but they’re also secondhand, half-off retail, and since I have some credit for selling things in January I spend $0 on it. {Update: I got them and they are super uncomfortable. The leather is super stiff and there’s hardly any cushioning. They’re quite possibly the most uncomfortable sneaker I’ve ever tried so they’re being returned asap.}
Total daily spend: $12.46 for the Amazon stuff
Friday
Today is an errands day and I go to the Post Office to mail something to my brother in law for my husband ($11.10). Then I go to Whole Foods for some grocery shopping. This is definitely one of the luxuries I haven’t given up yet despite my effort in working towards FIRE. I usually shop between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, with WF being the indulgence. And I must have gone shopping while hungry since I bought a lot more than just the basics. I got trail mix because it was on sale, some cheese because they had one of my faves (Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam) cut into halves so I wouldn’t have to purchase the whole disc, and a slice of cake facepalm. Also the pregnancy cravings don’t help. I also purchased a cake for my husband (since it’s his birthday tomorrow) and some extra frozen food to stock-up for when I can’t cook post c-section. But basically this is just a whole lotta justification for the larger than normal grocery bill of $92.03 (eek).
Total daily spend: $103.13
Saturday
It’s hubbys bday today so we go out for an all you can eat Korean bbq lunch with my mom and my mom pays. Score for a free lunch! After eating til busting, we need to walk around so we walk around the strip mall the restaurant is located in. We check out the Goodwill there and I’m always such a sucker for the book section. I can’t help myself and buy two Dr. Suess books for baby for 99 cents each (one of which is Cat In The Hat— such a classic, how could I not get it). Hubby wants a boba tea so we indulge and share one for $2.90. Then my mom wants to go to Burlington, which we’ve both never been to before, and I end up buying a Boppy breastfeeding pillow for $18.48. But I plan to return a $47.48 breastfeeding pillow I purchased earlier this month on Amazon so that’s a credit of $29 in my books. Finally we stop off at PetSmart to buy some much needed dog food for $55.
Total daily spend: $59.88 (not counting the Boppy nor the -$29 for the Amazon return)
Sunday
I stay home all day and putter around the house (which I find is the best way to not spend money, as long as I’m consciously not looking at my phone to shop). I succeed at spending no money today.
Total daily spend: $0
Monday
I was supposed to go to the doctor today but they cancel on me because she’s out sick. So instead I do errands like pick up dry cleaning ($6.50 and I don’t normally dry clean but this is something I borrowed) and do some more grocery shopping. This time I go to Trader Joe’s, stock up on some extra frozen meals to last us while I’m laid up recovering from the c-section (coming up in less than 2 weeks!!), and end up buying triple the amount of food compared to Friday’s Whole Food run but spend about the same amount of money ($101.08). I also return some things I purchased on Amazon at Amazon books (I love that I can just drop off my returns there and basically get a full refund from whatever I buy at Amazon) and get about $35 back to my card.
Total daily spend: $107.58 (not counting the returns)
Tuesday
I spend today at home working on the blog, tidying up the house, working on the baby’s room and dropping off some returns and stuff I sold on eBay. A very productive day with zero dollars spent. Whew!
Total daily spend: $0
Wednesday
I spend the morning investing in more index funds today because I see the numbers are down again. I invest in pretty small increments because I’m scared of getting burned by buying too many of one fund at once and then seeing the numbers go down. I feel like by spreading my buys I’m hedging my bets more. But I’m able to do this because the platform I’m currently using does not charge me for each trade (this tactic would not be worth it if each trade was say $4.95). I also decide to invest in some Vanguard bond ETFs because I see my current portfolio is basically made up of US large cap equity (ie all big US companies). Bonds don’t do nearly as well but it’s a way to diversify and spread out your risk (especially since 2019 is looking to be a rocky year). After reading this post and this article, I think I’ll be aiming for about a 25% or so bond allocation. Sorry if that was boring, but since this is my money diary I figured it was relevant.
Anyway I spend the rest of the day going to the bank and running small errands. I do buy some vitamins for my dog Ellie (the dachshund, who had a pretty serious back injury last year but now is fully recovered and I give her these vitamins as a preventative measure—plus her coat is looking way better these days). I’m also tempted to buy this cedar spray for my sweaters after reading Lee’s post here about taking care of her sweaters, but I’m going to wait until I’m ready to store my sweaters to purchase.
Daily spend: $28.11
So In Conclusion
Total Weekly Spend: $311.16
I’m so glad I did this little exercise for myself (even though I’m not too sure how much of a thrilling read it was for you guys lol—hope it wasn’t too mundane)! Even though I’m not shopping for my closet (except oops I did on the first day but really this is soooo much better than before), nor am I eating out, I can see that I do spend quite a bit on Amazon. I mixed in some needless purchases (the hair clips, which truth be told are a bit hard to use) along with essentials (batteries and vitamins) so I think I need to be better about sticking with just the essentials if I’m really going to try to cut down my expenses. This also means no more Whole Foods, or it’s going to at least have to be a very rare treat. I probably could do better with budgeting my grocery shopping in general (maybe it’s time to start scouring ads and clipping coupons for Safeway?). Anyway thanks for following along and I might do this just one more time post-pregnancy to see how things change later this year with baby (unless you guys really rather not read about it, in which case I guess I’d do it in my own notebook lol).
Anyone else track your expenses? And for those personal finance pros (or at least those more experienced at tracking spending than me), does my week spending look reasonable or excessive? (I have no idea since this is my first time doing this lol)