Of prescriptions, home improvement & a nice meal: A spending diary

Okay, obviously I’m running quite far behind since these usually get posted on Saturdays. The weekend was spent finally making some progress on the patio — it’s been a debacle — and then yesterday my hands were so sore from power tools I could barely type.

Being a homeowner is greeeaaaat.

Anyhoo, on to the post.

For those who are new, my style of “spending” is a little convoluted. I have two checking accounts. I keep the majority of my money in the secondary account, transferring $250 a week into the main account. But I charge everything to the card to maximize rewards. As charges accrue, I transfer money out of the main account into the secondary one. Then I make a weekly payment on my credit card.

A tad confusing, perhaps, but it works for me. Anyway, here’s how spending went this week.

Thursday

Despite not going to sleep until 6 a.m., I was up at 8 a.m. Wide awake. Clearly I was cycling manic because I didn’t even feel especially tired.

I called my doctor’s office about refilling a med I take to help me sleep. I’d been having issues sleeping for most of the last week, but this was officially a crisis point.

I got through emails, then went to pick up the microwave and shower drain I’d won on the auction site the night before. In addition to my usual sunscreen, I used bug spray since I’ve been getting so many bites (and have a bit of an allergy to bites).

I stopped by Floor & Decor to try to finalize some of my tile choices. I lost track of time and even after more than half an hour there, I somehow came away less certain of what I wanted to do. Sigh.

I grabbed the auction items, came home, finished work and then took off to get those sleep meds. I still wasn’t feeling very tired, by the way. Eesh.

Unfortunately, I forgot to put on more bug spray and I managed to get a bite on my left calf while I was out. Siiiigh.

On the way to the pharmacy, I got some takeout with a gift card I have, so the cost of the meal ($10.53) got put into Saved Savings. I paid $3.49 for the sleep meds and one other prescription. I also grabbed some cinnamon bears ($1.49) on my way out.

By then, the new bug bite — and the three from the day before — were starting to really sting.

I came home, took a Zyrtec, put some steroid ointment on the bites, ate and tried to relax. But the bites were in places that were getting irritated while I was sitting down. And I was still manic anyway.

So I used the energy to replace the fixture in the hallway (with a sconce I’d won on the auction site for $6.35). Then I mounted the new towel ring in the master bathroom. Aaron videocalled during all this. He was getting ready to take his Python certification test the next day so we talked about that and other things. He was also finally over his pinkeye! So we agreed we’d see each other the next day.

I ended up chatting online with the husband of the couple from trivia. He and I have been bonding over/just generally chatting about home improvement. Like me, he’s looking to retile — but he’s brave enough to do it himself.

I called it a night, took the sleeping medication and passed out around 10:30 p.m.

Total spent: $17.51

Friday

I slept like the dead and woke up feeling refreshed. Thank god.

I had woken up a little late, so I spent most of the workday feeling like I was barely catching up on emails before more came in. I guess at least it made the day go quickly?

I saw a good deal on OfferUp for mosaic tile that would be good for my shower floor. So I went to the bank and took out $60.

Thank god I’d read a Home Depot review of the product though, because it alerted me to look for chipping. And almost every sheet had tile with a chip in it. Some blended into the marble theme. Others didn’t.

After he’d gone through three boxes, he said I could just take whatever I wanted. I went through and found ones with the least chips — the guy reminded me I could always cut out the bad ones and replace them with some from the other sheets — and ended up with a stack of 19. So I asked was he sure I was good to just take them? He shrugged and said if I wanted to give him something for it, that was great.

I gave him $20, so it was still quite a score!

It was the last day of a Raise sale offering an extra 7% off, and I was going to have to make a large purchase at Lowe’s soon for the patio project. So I bought $200 worth of gift cards for $183.10. If a purchase is $60 or more, I don’t take it out of weekly funds.

Aaron was taking his test at 3 p.m. so I wouldn’t know when we were meeting until he finished that. After work I ran out to Fry’s to pick up a prescription I’d had transferred — only to find that it wasn’t ready yet. It was supposed to have been ready the day before. Sigh.

While I was there I picked up $2 worth of cucumbers for some hummus I’d bought the week before.

Aaron called to say he’d passed. Yay! Especially impressive since he’d only started studying three weeks before. I guess pinkeye gave him a lot of downtime.

Because of the test, we got a late start, so it was around 6 p.m. before he got to my place.

We had planned to go to a local BBQ place I love to celebrate him passing the test — and our having known each other a whole year (which we were supposed to celebrate the week he got pinkeye). But by the time we were ready for dinner, it was the height of the dinner rush and it’s a popular place. So we decided to leave it til the next day.

Instead, we went to Chili’s, where Aaron paid (since I was going to cover the meal the next night, and it’s not a cheap place). He had wanted to go bowling, but it was already 8 p.m., I was beat and had to work in the morning. We agreed to wait until the next day for that too.

We came back to my place and passed out around 10:30 p.m.

Total: $245.10 ($62 out of weekly funds)

Saturday

I woke up at 8 a.m. and got to work. Aaron woke up and kept talking to me, keeping me from finishing emails as soon as I normally would.

But we did chat for a bit. Then I started taking off the metal frame from the back patio, so Mom and I could screen it in when she came the following week.

Aaron observed me wrestling with hex screws by hand and observed that there was probably a drill bit for that. D’oh!

Some more work came in, and he took off for his workout. I caught up on emails, dawdled a bit working on a few other things, and then ran to Lowe’s to get a hex bit for $4.32. But since I take all home improvement projects out of savings, it won’t come out of my weekly funds.

I was about halfway through getting all of the hex screws out when Aaron came back. I thanked him for the suggestion as it was significantly easier with the bit.

He started working with me, getting off the metal where I’d taken off all of the screws, then pointing out ones I had missed. But as we took the frame apart, I discovered that what I’d thought was metal covering wood for dividers partway down was just metal. So apparently Mom and I weren’t just going to screen in the patio. We would have to add wood to the frame.

When we got to the bottom of the frame, there were concrete screws/nails in the ground, which he pried the heads off for me, god love him, and made sure nothing was sticking out of the ground after the heads came off.

We also took the metal covers off the support posts — and found that the bottoms of the posts were all going bad. So apparently Mom and I would actually be redoing the entire frame.

I stopped off and on during the process to check and answer emails, but for the most part we were just out working for about two hours.

There was still a little work left to be done (including the last several concrete nails, but we called it a day. We both showered, I threw some laundry in the wash. It ended up being two loads, so $7 to the Washer/Dryer fund.

We were both planning on having drinks at dinner, so Aaron was supposed to pay for the Lyft to/from and I’d pay for the food. But when the time came, his phone was at 7%. So I ordered the Lyft each time ($12.87 and $13.94), and he offered to split the check. Which was nice because the restaurant (and its drinks) are not cheap.

I tipped generously because the server was great, so my half was $64.92. Ouch.

We came back, lay around chatting and then fell asleep around 10:30 p.m. thanks to all the physical labor.

Total spent: $76.24 ($7 out of weekly funds)

Sunday

We woke up a bit later than I intended, but I got through emails quickly while Aaron tackled the rest of the concrete nails and tore off a piece of wood hiding the last of the screws for the metal frame.

He had to leave at 11:30 a.m. because he was going flying. It had been a few months since he’d been able to book time, so he was excited to get back in the pilot’s seat.

I ran out to Fry’s to pick up the previously untransferred prescription ($29.26) and got a couple of things too ($9.99). I also stopped by Dollar Tree to pick up a couple of vases I’d use to hold up my hairbrushes in the new medicine cabinet. That was $2.17.

The rest of the day was spent alternating among working on a blog post, answering emails and researching patio frames. First, I was considering doing a rail look for the bottom of the patio because I liked the look. So I had to look into how that was done and what the materials would be. Ultimately, I decided it was too much work and money.

Then I had to research all of the materials Mom and I would need to screen in the patio a more basic way. I messaged my friend to get his opinion on a few things (like how far apart I could get away with putting the screws going into the concrete) and ultimately placed the order for $210.31 — after the gift cards were applied. Ouchie.

I eventually called it a night around 10 p.m. and was asleep mercifully quickly.

Total spent: $241.74 ($31.43 out of weekly funds)

Monday

I woke up with yet another new bite. Basically, I was getting at least one every day, so I finally gave up and took Aaron’s suggestion to get an indoor mosquito trap for $43.21.

My mom ordered me some fish oil supplements from Costco, so I sent her $26.39.

I caught up on emails and set to cleaning up a bit. Around noon, I colored my hair to cover the grays. Then found I’d missed a few spots and had to do that section again.

I checked in with Aaron who confirmed I could come over directly after work, so I headed out as soon as I finished for the day.

We chilled out until I had to leave for trivia a little before 6 p.m. It was just me and one other gal, and it was a rough night for our knowledge-set it seems. So we didn’t do well. But it was my vet friend I’ve been hanging out with, so it was nice to see her.

I bought a couple of happy hour items and tipped well, so I spent $`15.97. On the way back to Aaron’s, I stopped at Walgreens and picked up a couple of things I needed for $15.99.

I came back, and Aaron was on a phone call with an old friend. But he finished up before too long and we chatted until bedtime around 10.

Total spent: $101.56

Tuesday

I woke up at 7 a.m.and it took me a bit to get caught up on work. I lingered a little after that to see if Aaron had time to chill out. But he was in meetings.

So I took off and stopped at a tile shop that had been advertising good deals. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a deal on what I wanted, but they had a good price for my friend, who is also trying to find a good deal on marble-look tile. So I took a picture and sent it to him.

I got home, got caught up on emails and then headed out to Harbor Freight to pick up a set of masonry bits to drill into the patio concrete.

Unfortunately, when I got there, they told me that unless I were only drilling one or two holes, there was a high probability that the bit would overheat/break with a regular drill.

Luckily, they turned out to have a hammer drill for $3 less than the cost of a four-hour rental from Lowe’s, so that and the masonry bits were $30.37 after tax. Again, the cost was part of a home improvement project so it didn’t come out of weekly funds.

I stopped at Fry’s on my way home and spent $23.27 on, frankly, mostly munchies.

I got home and just generally relaxed since the next few days were going to be busy. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fall asleep until after midnight.

Total spent: $53.64 ($23.27 out of weekly funds)

Wednesday

I woke up earlier than I wanted, but at least this meant I was awake when Mom got to the house. (She’d kindly taken a Lyft so that I wouldn’t have to be at the airport at 7 a.m.)

She decided not to lay down right away since I was expecting Orkin guy to come around and do the bimonthly spraying. It’s not the cheapest at $84.36 a visit, but I haven’t had a single roach or other bug (other than mosquitos) in my house in the last 11 years. Worth it.

Aaron messaged around 11 a.m. to say he was going to come to my mechanic to have a tire repaired and his oil changed. Could he stay there while they did it?

I said it was fine — as long as he didn’t mind meeting Mom. He said he’d forgotten she was coming that day, but yeah that was fine. I let Mom know we’d have company before too long.

I picked him up from the mechanic at 12:30 p.m., and we came back here. He spent a good chunk of the time in meetings, which seems to be the leit motif of his job these days.

At 3 p.m. I dropped Aaron off to pick up his car, and Mom and I went shopping. Unlike me, she actually cooks and thus needed food to make herself meals. The total was $43.84. I paid since a) she paid for the plane ticket to see me and b) the food had to be bought because I keep none around.

We came home and I triple-checked my patio math to make absolutely sure I’d know what dimensions the lumber needed to be cut because I planned to pick it up the next day.

Then I watched an auction for a new shower trim kit. My current one has definitely seen better days. No one else wanted it, so I got it for $6.24 after buyer’s premium and sales tax.

I also realized that having two people and just one drill would make the project take far longer. So I found a cheap drill at Harbor Freight and decided to go get it the next day.

Then Mom and I started watching the latest two season of Archer. Because when I’m not putting her to work with home improvement projects, my main goal during her visits is to chat and catch her up on shows she likes. (She and her sweetie don’t have a TV.)

I was exhausted, so I went to bed at 10 p.m. and was asleep almost instantly.

Total spent:$43.84

Total spent: $779.63 ($286.61 out of weekly funds)

Okay, obviously a very large chunk of my spending was for the patio. But still owwwww. Also, the weekly funds spent was still pretty high. A lot of things — prescriptions, supplements, bug zappers, etc. — piled up. I guess not all weeks can be a win. But I’ve been having very few win weeks lately.

Related reading:

Of takeout, new shoes & OMG THOSE BUG BITES THO: A spending diary

Happy hours, tile places & yet more auctions: A spending diary