These diaries are a way for me to keep tabs on my spending to stay better aware of financial outflow. (Ideally, they’d also shame me into eating less takeout, but so far that hasn’t happened.) They’re also a peek into my life for those who care.
Oh, and don’t forget to enter to win $1,000 from Savings.com by August 16th. All you have to do is fill in your email address!
Thursday: I was nearly out of protein bars, so I ordered another batch. Since I have two a day (sometimes three if I’m still hungry after my dinner), I order six boxes per month. I used a discounted gift card I got from Raise, but I still “pay” for them out of the weekly funds.
I suppose it doesn’t make sense, since the charge on the card was paid off a few months ago, but paying back the card makes sense in my brain, which is what matters. Those were $79.60.
There wasn’t enough to cover that charge, which meant I had to start a new financial week (the previous one lasting 8 days).
In the evening I had a movie date to see Spider-Man Far From Home. I still had two passes from Mom (courtesy of MyCoke Rewards), so I used those to get us in. The money didn’t go into saved savings because the guy was going to pay for the tickets if I hadn’t had the passes.
I insisted on paying for the popcorn and his drink (I just sip water) because he’d paid for my drinks the last two times we went out. I turned out to have a $5 reward, which I redeemed. That brought the total down to $9.65, but I put $5 into saved savings because I was willing (if not eager) to spend the full $14.65.
Total spent: $94.25 — ouch!
Friday: I woke up to a late-night message from the guy I had a date with that night. He had been assigned a last minute paper to review, due Saturday, so he had to cancel. Added to the previous cancellations that week, that makes three cancellations in four days. All with good reasons, so I can’t even be mad at them. I can still be annoyed in general, though, which I thoroughly plan on doing.
It’s time to get back on my diet, so I decided to have a farewell to the ever-so-tasty bad food. I got Whoppers, (store brand) fig newtons, Swedish Fish (they were on sale for 99 cents), rainbow sherbet, hummus, and several frozen dinners. The total was $26.99. And yes, I made myself thoroughly sick off of the junk food. Here’s hoping that deters me for a while.
I saved $6.70 on frozen meals and a couple of other things, so that went into saved savings.
I munched while watching the new season of Veronica Mars on Hulu. So excited it’s back!
Total spent: $33.69
Saturday: I woke up at 7 a.m. Ugh. But at least I woke up on my own and not to an alarm. Being jarred out of sleep early in the morning is far worse than slowly waking up on your own, no matter how early it happens.
I waited an hour to start laundry out of consideration for the tenant. Though she wakes up even earlier than I do during the week (she starts work at 6 a.m.) so I doubt her system lets her sleep past 7 a.m.
I did two loads of laundry, so I transferred $5 into the washer/dryer fund.
Today was the day that I got rid of my gray roots (finally!) and trimmed up the ole hair. It’s pricey — though not as pricey as if I went to a salon — but worth it for my self esteem.
The only problem is that this means I’m going to have roots showing at FinCon, but I have my touch-up powder, which makes the grays basically imperceptible. And I didn’t want to wait another four weeks to get my hair done.
The salon was having a sale on haircuts, so I only paid $10 instead of $20, so my total was $40. That means $10 goes into saved savings.
I went on a date, paying $9.43 for the Uber there. The guy lost a few points but not at least offering to buy me a drink. But it’s 2019 and I can afford to pay my own way, so I can’t give him too much crap for it. I spent $15 after tip (yay well drinks).
Total spent: $79.43
Sunday: I did nothing of interest. I decided to officially start my diet on Monday, so I bought a few pieces of junk food as a last farewell to (good) food until my trip. I spent $5.99 at Fry’s and $3.09 at Dollar Tree. (Of that, $1.09 was for earplugs Mom had requested for FinCon. Man, but the dollar store has everything!)
I finished up the latest season of Veronica Mars (great binge fodder) and otherwise did nothing. I didn’t even work on the blog. All in all, a very restful day.
Total spent: $9.08
Monday: It was a quiet day, except for the news that something else is wrong with the guest house. (Bangs head on closest hard surface.) The shower handles — the one that controls the temperature/flow — have water leaking out of them whenever the shower is turned on.
One of the guys I’m seeing (movie date guy) used to be a plumber, so I texted him to see if I could get a diagnosis. Apparently, it’s a broken stem valve. He offered to fix it if I could wait until this day off. Bless him. I’m taking him out to a nice dinner as a thank you.
I’m buckling down for my FinCon diet, which also means getting serious about working out again. I managed to work out, so that’s one day down — and about 34 to go. Sigh.
The ex-plumber had already planned to come over to hang out, so he did just that. The stem valve still has to wait until Thursday. Instead, we got some food (his treat) and watched a movie. The takeout wasn’t great for my diet, but at least it wasn’t greasy fast food. That’s… something.
Total spent: $0
Tuesday: Another quiet day. The yard guy came and took care of the weeds out front. Plus a couple that had popped up out back (despite the thorough spraying of a pre-emergent by a different yard guy). Total was $60, which was a decent deal to begin with, but the guy actually dug out the weed to get at the roots. So it was an extra good deal.
After the yard guy left, I worked out and then finished my shift.
A friend came over for an hour or so. We chatted and caught up on each other’s lives — we really only hang out once every three or four weeks — and then he took off.
Total spent: $60
Wednesday: I worked and, begrudgingly, worked out. I have to keep at it if I want to get in better shape for FinCon.
I went to therapy ($25), where my therapist is still tickled by my Tinder adventures. He thinks it’s great that I’m having fun.
On the way home, I stopped to get some more frozen dinners as I was running low and right by the store. The total was $15.28 with $5 in saved savings. This leaves me with $2.72 in checking and some Walgreens expenses coming up tomorrow. So much for a long financial week. At least I made it through seven days, especially given how pricey some of them were.
Total spent: $45.28
Total spent: $321.73
Ouchie. The amount spent is over the amount I transfer in each week ($280) because I had leftover money from the previous week.
The protein bars were obviously the biggest expense. But the haircut/color and the yard work didn’t help. Altogether those three alone were $179.60. Luckily the cut/color and yard work only need to get done every other month. That helps a bit.
Donna Freedman says
Expenses ebb and flow. I’m trying to focus on the $0 spend days vs. the ones where I stock upon delicious and unhealthy foods; how am I to resist Kroger’s recent sale on Private Selection ice cream for $2.99, especially when I have coupons? Now we are soooo set for treats.
Seriously, though: Entire weeks can go by during which I don’t spend any cash, mainly because I don’t leave the house. Staying out of the store is easier for me than for many people, though, because we buy in bulk and even if I do need something my partner will get it for me on his way back from getting the mail/visiting his mom/whatever.
Can’t believe that FinCon is so close…Guess I better start working on the presentation, huh?
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Abigail says
I can spend an entire day or two in the house, but it’s less common now that Tim isn’t around to run errands for me. Not that he was doing a ton of that by the end. It’s definitely easier to stay out of stores when you’re all stocked up. I’m hoping to stay out of the grocery store for a full week now that I’ve loaded up on frozen meals and other sundries. It could definitely help the grocery bill this coming month.
margaret says
You just need to plan more
Go for a walk instead of shopping.
Linda G says
Mean and uncalled for.
Abigail says
Meh, I don’t think it was all that mean, though I appreciate you coming to my defense. I do need to plan better. Or overcome cravings more. One of the two. (Probably the latter.)
Donna Freedman says
Agreed.
Donna Freedman recently posted…7 free financial resources.
Abigail says
I do need to plan my shopping better, but a lot of it had to do with cravings, which can’t be planned for. They can, however, be overcome which is what I need to work on. As for taking a walk, it’s 106-113 on any given day here. (We’re having a “cool” weekend where it’ll only get up to 102.) So a walk is a no-go.
Savvy History says
I have still never done this (track my spending down to the penny for a week). Your post is inspiring me! I probably have more “ouch days” than I would think. The other day we went out and spent $35 at a restaurant for the first time in a while. We also wrote a $6000 check for a roof. What would I make of that day? I don’t think anyone would want to read about it:)
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Abigail says
$6,000 is definitely an ouch day. I had a few spending diaries where days had a couple of hundred dollars of repairs in them, but never something in the thousands, thank goodness.
Elise at Financial Fitness Fanatic says
I also am loving following along about these Tinder dates. Adam and I always joke that we feel it was unfair Tinder wasn’t around before we started dating. I sometimes steal my friends’ phones and swipe for them just to feel like I’m not missing out entirely. 😉
You are so diligent with your tracking! I’m also proud of you for getting in those workouts- begrudgingly or not, any day you work AND workout is a tough day indeed. What kinds of workouts are you doing? I strongly believe we can find a workout that you find enjoyable, maybe you just need to keep experimenting with different things?
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Abigail says
I do “walking” videos which are really aerobics in disguise. True, some of the steps are walking in place, but there are also kicks, knee lifts, kickbacks, etc. So really the instructor is just being sneaky! But seriously, it’s an excellent workout and one I can sustainably do (if begrudgingly, as you pointed out) so I stick with those. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed working out, and I’ve tried yoga, jogging, this, elliptical machines, treadmills, bikes, etc. I enjoy HAVING worked out, though.
Glad you’re able to participate in the Tinder culture, even if it’s a bit vicarious. It’s definitely an interesting experience!
Done by Forty says
Honestly this all seems pretty frugal to me, friend. Dating can definitely add some expenses, for sure: driving, parking, eating & drinking out, activities, it all adds up. But at least it’s fun!
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Abigail says
So far it’s fun anyway, with the exception of one bad date where he lied and/or bragged (depending on whether you believed him) throughout the entire date. But other than that, all good experiences. Then again, I go in with very low expectations, which may be the key to a good experience with online dating.
Teinegurl says
I enjoy the spending diaries as well. At least your building up your social group so that’s good like knowing a plumber to help with leaks lol I don’t know if that counts as frugal hack but ill take it.
Abigail says
Glad you’re enjoying the diaries. And yep, knowing someone handy is definitely paying off. He’s a sweetheart for being so helpful. Now if only he’d let me take him to dinner to say thank you…