Of party tickets, workout shoes & glitter: A spending diary

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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

I woke up and got through emails just in time to get my lip wax. I have a prepaid package, so that particular one didn’t come out of weekly funds. However, I did tip $3.50.

Also, I was almost out of prepaid ones, so I bought another package for $107. It sounds like a lot, but that works out to $8.92 for each one which is about 32% off. So it was a solid, if pricey, purchase. Amounts over $60 don’t come out of my weekly funds.

I came home and got through the workday pretty peacefully. After work, I went and got another beauty service, which was $40 after tip. When I was getting the cash for that, I also withdrew $20 more for walking around money.

After that, I chilled out at home — it was a rest day from the gym — and let Josie climb all over me. She likes to lie against my torso and adorably purr and (less adorably) knead her sharp, sharp claws into my flesh. I’d been gone the prior evening, so she was extra insistent on snuggle time.

I called it a night around 9:30 p.m. but dawdled a bit. So I didn’t fall asleep until almost 11 p.m.

Total spent: $170.50 ($63.50 out of weekly funds)

Friday

I’d say TGIF, but I had my overtime weekend ahead of me.

Once again, the day went by pretty quickly — it’s our busy season right now — after which I got ready for a workout. Even though my legs felt a bit shaky.

I thought it might just be that I needed to eat, so I had a small snack and headed to the gym. I definitely had to push a little harder to get through the workout, but ironically that means I actually go faster on the elliptical machine because I’m exerting extra effort.

The first seven minutes were awful, but the rest actually went by without too much misery. So I guess it’s almost time to start increasing the duration. I want to get back up to 30 minutes.

I figure that starting diet and exercise on December 3rd, I could lose around six to eight pounds by the New Year’s Party. Which, since I’m only about 20 lbs over my old weight, would be a noticeable difference visually.

I hope. It had better.Because exercise is the worst, and the vague promise of better health is not enough to keep me elliptical-ing away..

I came home and rested and let Josie claw me up some more. It gave me the opportunity to use the Furminator, which helps keep down the number of hairballs she gets. (As an Amazon associate, I’m compensated for purchases through my links.)

I stayed up a bit late, since I can get a slightly later start on weekend shifts, but I fell asleep almost immediately.

Total spent: $0

Saturday

I woke up for an hour early in the morning but was finally able to fall back asleep for another couple of hours. So all in all I was pretty well-rested. Which unfortunately meant more gym.

I did at least have trivia to look forward to. It was even my free day* so I’d get to order real food at the restaurant!

Emails actually kept me decently busy until about noon, but in and among them I was able to catch up on my spending diary.

As gym time approached, my legs felt a little sluggish. So I lay down for a bit to rest them. Which was enough to get me to and through the workout.

When I came home, I started a load of laundry ($3.50 to the Washer/Dryer fund) and rested for trivia.

I got to the venue and got two tables pushed together. We ended up having a decent turnout with four other people coming. We did have an incident where one of the members — a guy I honestly hadn’t liked anyway — got his panties in a bunch and left. It was actually pretty funny, and we all laughed about it afterward.

The gal who hadn’t been to any events before seemed nice, and she’s since RSVPed to the next trivia we’re having there. So that’s heartening.

My food was $16.92 after tax and tip.

I came home and stayed up a bit late messaging, but fell asleep around 11:30 p.m.

Total spent: $20.42

*I’m trying to avoid using the BS shaming language of dieting like “cheat on my diet” so it’s a free day instead of a cheat day.

Sunday

I got up and got through emails before too long. Then I set out to finish the dang book review I’d been chipping away at for a while.

I really didn’t want to work out, but I realized that the impending week’s schedule meant Tuesday and Thursday had to be rest days. And I’m trying to only take two rest days a week. So I dragged myself to the gym — and even managed to add two minutes to my time — without dying! The 10 minutes in the massage chair was my reward.

I came home, answered emails and polished up the book review before letting myself veg out in front of the TV (in between emails). I messaged with a friend some and ended up getting on OKCupid and doing a tiny bit of swiping. I’m not ready to jump all the way back in yet.

I called it a night around 9:30 p.m and was asleep about an hour later.

Total spent: $0

Monday

I woke up to a fair number more emails than usual, so that kept me busy for the first part of the day. Then I messaged my vet friend about what we wanted to do that night — preferably something that would be relatively low-calorie since I planned to have my free day be the game night on Saturday.

She said she had to do some shopping around Phoenix/Scottsdale anyway. So I told her to just let me know when she finished, and we could find a place to have a drink. I figured I could spare 200 calories, especially since I worked out that day.

I chatted with my friend Andre who is the one who got me into the New Year’s Eve party that he’s helping coordinate. We’ve also been motivation buddies for workouts, as we’re both determined to look extra good at the party.

He said I should get some body glitter because people like to embellish on NYE. I was kind of skeptical, but I did a quick search and found out that there’s a body glitter called — wait for it — Unicorn Snot. (As an Amazon affiliate, I am compensated for purchases made through my links.)

And with a name like “Unicorn Snot” I felt the product was no longer optional. I chose the clear version, which was $16.28 .

I finished up work and hurried out to workout, so I could be showered by the time my friend was ready.

I messaged a little with one guy from the dating app.

The vet friend and I met up around 6:30 p.m. for a drink in midtown. Even just one cider was $8.15 after tax — ouch — so I paid $9.65 total. We chatted for an hour or so before I started feeling a bit weary. I hadn’t had the best sleep and had worked out and was working with fewer calories than usual.

I got home around 8:30 p.m. and messaged a bit before passing out around 10 p.m.

Total spent: $25.93

Tuesday

I woke up and got through emails, but more kept trickling in. So I was busy up until the electrician showed up to take a look, and I still had to answer some things even while he was here.

He confirmed that my electrical panel was dying, and it was going to be pricey. And my utility company would have to sign off on it, and apparently getting that booked could take six to 10 weeks.

So I put down a deposit. But when I messaged Andre, he said the amount sounded high. I forwarded him a copy of the estimate so he could have his electrician friend weigh in.

#FriendsAreFrugal

I finished work and lazed around a bit until getting ready for trivia. I left home a little early to pick a prescription ($42.55).

The trivia was at a place we hadn’t been before, but everyone liked it. And we got a total of six people, which is a great turnout for my group. So I’ll definitely schedule more events there.

We also got 1st place! The bar cash amount was low because a beer company was also giving away some items like nice glasses to winners. But we still basked in the triumph of winning.

I got a cider for $9.09 after tip.

When I came home, the body glitter had gotten there, so I tried it out and confirmed it was going to look great on New Year’s Eve.

What’s also nice is that once the gel dried (which happened pretty quickly) the glitter stayed put even when I ran a finger over it.

I messaged a little with some friends, then went to bed around 10 p.m.

Total spent: $51.64

Wednesday

I woke up with the realization that it was the last day for the cheapest price to the New Year’s Eve party. Admission was $35 and you could opt for unlimited tacos from a food truck for $10. I get drunk munchies, so I chose the $45 option.

I caught up on emails and then ordered Swiffer cloths. I actually rarely use them on the floor but they’re great for dusting.* I got a box of 52 Swiffer cloths for $14.38. (Once again, as an Amazon affiliate, I’m compensated for purchases made through my links.)

The workday passed pretty uneventfully, which meant that all too soon I had to go work out. Blech.

After the gym, I stopped by Fry’s to drop off a prescription. Then I stopped by CVS to use a coupon that was expiring. I paid $8.13, and $4.80 went into Saved Savings thanks to the coupon.

I also went to Big 5 to replace one of my two pairs of workout shoes. (You should always let shoes dry a full 24 hours before wearing them again. It lengthens their lifespan significantly.) I had a coupon for 20% off too, so the pair I got was only $19.10 with $4.38 going into Saved Savings.

After all that, I was a bit pooped, so I just rested for the evening.

At 7 p.m. I had to dose Josie with gabapentin for her vet visit in the morning. This required me to get her on my lap and relaxed then flip her on her back, push on both sides of her jaw a little so her mouth opened and then squirt a small syringe of liquid into her mouth. Understandably, she wasn’t a fan.

And I’d have to do it again right before taking her to the appointment. Whee.

But she did get adorably stoned. Or at least mellow with huge pupils.

I watched TV and tried to relax/rest. I called it a night around 9:30 p.m. and was asleep by 10.

* Yes, I know there are Swiffer dusters — I have one with an extender for my ceiling fans — but they’re more expensive, so regular cloths are better for general dusting

Total spent: $95.79 owwwwww

Total spent: $364.28 ($257.28 out of weekly funds)

Another high-spend week. Sigh. But the lip wax package will keep saving me money over the next year. And a fair amount of it was for basic needs — a prescription, new workout shoes, Swiffer, etc. — so I don’t feel too bad. Though it would be nice if the mundane expenses stopped piling up at the same time.

How is everyone else’s spending going?

Related reading:

Gift cards, Christmas presents and (blech) workouts: A spending diary

Of birthday gifts, pricey drinks and overtime: A spending diary