Of prescriptions, peanut butter & pirate parties: A spending diary

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 $240 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 got up and got through work before my dermatologist appointment.

The appointment ($25 copay) was thankfully brief. On the way home, I grabbed some groceries for $15.86.

The guy who said he was getting into town (finally) at 2:45 p.m. never messaged. Which I expected, the way my luck had been going, but it was still just sort of the last straw as far as what I could handle.

I messaged my friend Trivia Buddy (TB) and said we were going to a friend’s pirate-themed party Saturday. Day drinking seemed like it would definitely help me unwind. (And it did!)

I ordered some items off Amazon since I needed a top for my version of a pirate outfit. I ordered three tops to see which fit best. The one I ended up using came to $17.32

I snacked and rested after work and grumbled about my luck with men and just generally tried to make it to the weekend.

Total spent: $58.18

Friday

TGI-freakin’-F!

Thankfully it was a quiet workday because I was utterly fried.

Around noon, I was extremely hungry and ordered some DoorDash ($35.14 for two entrees).

The cost of my iCloud storage hit my account for $1.08.

After work, I chilled out before going to trivia. TB brought a gal he is seeing casually, and she’s awesome. We all agreed we need to go out drinking together.

It was a strong trivia day for us, and we came in second, meaning we got $15 bar cash to spread around. So I spent $10.81 on food and tip.

I dropped by my goth friend’s place to get a skirt I’d lent her (which would go both with my pirate outfit and with my outfit for the goth club the week after) and I borrowed a skull-patterned scarf for my hair.

I got home at 10:30 p.m. but ended up chatting for ages and then just couldn’t fall asleep. So I think I passed out finally around 2 a.m.

Total spent: $47.03

Saturday

As a result, I woke up at 11:43 a.m. Eek!

Did I mention the party started at 2 p.m.? Double eek!

But TB and I were both still waiting for our Amazon orders to show up. So I ran out to Party City and found a sword for $7.60.

At this point, I didn’t have time to eat my remaining food because I had to get ready for the party and, once my Amazon package showed up, I got ready and took off for TB’s so we could carpool there.

The party was… amazing.

This is actually a friend’s partner’s house, and they throw parties for the polyamory community. I’m not specifically looking for poly, but I knew TB wants to explore more now that he’s divorced (and yes, the gal he’s casually seeing has said it’s fine). And even if you’re not poly yourself, the partygoers are all incredibly welcoming and friendly.

Booze and food ran freely. And other than the fact that a few gals decided to take the host up on it being tops optional, it wasn’t any different from a normal party.

I sent the host $10 to help cover the cost of the food and drink.

TB and I took off around 11. I got home at midnight and passed out before too long.

Total spent: $17.60

Sunday

I woke up and chilled out for a bit before tackling another coat of paint in the bathroom. The tile guy was coming the next day, so I wanted the walls done before everything was put back up.

I got that done but quickly realized there was no way I was also doing the ceiling, which I’d hoped to also do. But it was a start.

My order of peanut butter — they don’t sell the brand I like here in Phoenix — shipped for $31.63.

A guy I’d talked to at the party (known henceforth as Pirate Party Guy, or PPG) messaged me. We chatted for a while and agreed to see each other the next day.

I ran to Safeway to pick up some prescriptions: $37.65 and $26.64. While I was there, I grabbed a couple snacks for $7.98.

I came home, had my DoorDash food and did some messaging on dating apps despite my doom and gloom outlook.

I called it a night around 10 p.m. and was asleep not too long after.

Total spent: $103.90

Monday

I got up and got through emails.

The tile guy called, saying he hadn’t realized when he scheduled the job that it would be Memorial Day. The shop he needed to get supplies from was closed. I said it was no problem, and I’d see him the next day.

I also placed an order with CVS for $11.59. Thanks to Extrabux and such, I saved $11, so that went into Saved Savings.

After work, I left for PPG’s place. We chatted a lot, and overall it was a nice time. Unfortunately, he lives in a pricey area, so when we went to grab some food, we ended up at a place where the only appealing menu item was expensive. My tab came to $36 after tip. Ouch. It was good but not that good.

I came home late and didn’t get to bed until midnight.

Total spent: $58.59

Tuesday

I woke up to knocking about 5 minutes before my alarm was going to go off. I guess the tile guy said 7 a.m., not 8. Argh.

So I spent the morning tired and slightly befuddled. It was pretty noise since they had to knock out things and cut cement backerboard and such.

The third person who’d RSVPed to trivia that night dropped out, so the remaining two of us agreed to try again next week. I was pretty beat, and I still had to go pick up some tile, now that the guy had figured out that I could still have a shower niche.

The tile came to $30.39, but the bathroom renovation costs aren’t coming out of weekly funds.

On my way home, I grabbed some groceries for $16.91.

I came home and collapsed blearily into a chair. I munched and watched TV and just generally chilled out.

I tried to get into bed at a reasonable hour, but it still ended up being closer to 11 and I had to be up before 7 a.m.

Total spent: $47.30 ($16.91 out of weekly funds)

Wednesday

I woke up before the tile guys got there but was exhausted. And I spent the rest of the day pretty tired. Normally, I’d have napped but the tilers were in and out of my bedroom and the guest room (where I’d stashed a number of the supplies I’d gotten for them).

The Netflix charge hit my account for $10.85. And Hulu charged me $3.23 for my Disney+ subscription.

I was famished when they left, but also far too tired to leave the house. So I ordered two more teriyaki chicken bowls through DoorDash for $38.60.

I texted the gals I was supposed to meet for trivia in Tempe (25 miles from me) to say I couldn’t manage it. But they said they’d be okay on their own.

I rested as much as possible and just tried to relax and watch TV. This time I made sure to pass out at a reasonable hour.

Total spent: $52.68

Total spent: $385.28 ($354.89 out of weekly funds)

Ouch ouch ouch. I comfort myself that 25% of the weekly funds were spent on medical (dermatologist copay and prescriptions). And another 9% was spent on a staple of my diet (peanut butter). But there’s still plenty of discretionary spending in there.

How is everyone else’s spending going these days?

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Of showerheads, beauty products & (of course) takeout: A spending diary

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