This post contains affiliate links. I may be compensated for orders placed after using those links.
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 woke up and got through emails. Then I had to go to a doctor appointment. The copay was $25.
I came back and caught up on emails. This was supposed to be the day I got back on track with my diet, but my willpower was nowhere to be found. So when I went to pick up a prescription ($47), I picked up a bunch of junk food for the night too ($27.46).
I finished out the workday and noshed for the remainder of the evening. Then I finally got the dang stripped screw out of the shower knob, so I could take it and the remaining bit of shower fiberglass wall off in preparation for the tiling.
I still needed to go over the bathroom walls once more and wanted to paint the ceiling, but I figured I’d save that for Friday or Sunday. (Saturday, I had a board game MeetUp event and then allegedly a date. But those have been falling through lately.)
I started chatting with a guy who actually was pretty funny and fun to talk to. But given my luck lately, I didn’t trust much would come of it. Especially since he works twelve-hour shifts Friday to Sunday, so we couldn’t meet until Monday. Generally, guys have been super interested and then three to four days in, when I can finally set a meeting, they go quiet. Ugh.
I went to bed around 10 p.m. but didn’t fall asleep until at least 12:30 am. Blech.
Total spent: $99.46
Friday
I woke up groggy, but I got more clearheaded as I dealt with all the emails.
I did two loads of laundry, so $7 went to the Washer/Dryer fund. It has since been pointed out that I can probably cool it on this fund for a bit since I have a brand new dryer and more than enough (by at least $200, probably $300) to cover a new washer when the time comes.
So after next week’s spending diary (since I’m about a week ahead of any spending diary that gets published), I won’t be counting laundry for a while.
I got through the workday, but was pretty annoyed that I hadn’t been able to set up going-out plans for the night. Still, I was going on either a date the next night or (more likely, with my luck) going to a MeetUp event for a house party.
At this point, men are flaking and ghosting so often that it just makes sense to have a backup thing already chosen.
After work, I went and grabbed some teriyaki ($12.27). I came home, watched TV, munched and traded a couple messages with the guy from the night before.
I went to bed around 1 a.m.
Total spent: $19.27
Saturday
I woke up around 10 a.m. and just sorta putzed around. I really didn’t want to do much cleaning, but I did some nominal things.
I got advice from a Twitter follower about some neck cream that is supposed to work wonders. It’s quite pricey, so I decided to try the small size first (just about an ounce, but the person said it works quickly). There was a sale, one reason I decided to try it (so no saved savings), and I paid just $12.27.
I’m also running low on my overpriced hair stuff, which I love because it smells amazing. I initially felt bad about paying more than $30 a bottle — especially since I get a leave-in conditioner and an oil — but then I realized that perfume costs just as much if not more. And I don’t wear perfume. So I think it evens out.
Plus there was a sale, bringing the cost of each down under $30. I added in a couple more Rimmel lipsticks* for more color options, so the total was $69.23. Ouch. Amounts of $60 or more don’t come out of my weekly funds.
I was having a craving for Culver’s, which is rare. I got chicken tenders and fries for $12.90. And I stopped at DQ and got a Blizzard for $6.60. There was a $1 off coupon so $1 went to Saved Savings.
When I got home, my date for the evening hadn’t even opened my message trying to confirm we were still on. Lovely.
At 3ish I sent a second message saying that I’ve been having bad luck with things falling through, so if I didn’t hear from him by 5 I was making alternate plans. But that the plans were a party, so we could still potentially meet.
At 5 p.m. I RSVPed to the house party on MeetUp. Sigh.
I got to the party around 8, and… knew no one there. It’s not a group I’ve checked out often. But I found some people to chat with. And at 1 a.m. (about 3 hours after my last drink) I felt sober enough to drive home.
But I fell to chatting with some people and thus didn’t fall asleep until 3:30 a.m. Gah!
Total spent: $100.95 ($31.72 out of weekly funds)
*The Provacalips line has amazing staying power. And they’re only about $7 each. Highly recommend. (As an Amazon associate, I’m compensated for orders through my links.)
Sunday
Thanks to the late bedtime, I didn’t wake up until about 11. And with a little less than eight hours’ sleep, didn’t have a ton of energy. Yay chronic fatigue.
I had food cravings, which happens in general but especially when I don’t sleep enough, so I did a quick grocery store run and got $6.99 of food.
I mostly chilled out, though I did get a little cleaning done.
In the evening, I used the auction site to bid on a showerhead I really liked. I want a nicer new one to accentuate what will be my nicely tiled shower.*
It was a little more than I had hoped to pay for a new one, but I hadn’t seen this particular model very often in the past. So I spent $50.23 after buyer’s premium and tax. But it retails for $159, so still not a bad deal. I’m not taking amounts for my remodel out of weekly funds.
I rested until about 9:30 and then got ready for bed. I was asleep around 10:30, thankfully.
Total spent: $57.22
* Update: The tile guys finished the shower stall and bathroom floor. But there’s an issue (because of course there is) with one wall bowing, which I need to address before we can put the bathroom back together. But I swear I really will have a triumphant before/after post before too much longer!
Monday
I woke up and got through emails. Then caught up on secondary duties and messaged with my friends for a bit.
I had to go back to the gym after a two-week lapse (and the one week I did before that was after a multiple-month lapse), so I was dreading it.
I took a break around noon to go pick up the showerhead. Yay!
Then I came home and waited for my brain to start trying to bargain its way out of the workout. Which it very much tried to do. Sigh.
But I put on sunscreen and headed resolutely (if self-pityingly) to the gym.
After that, I got ready and left for a board game event. I ordered some food there ($14.54), but I missed getting in on any of the first round of games and started to have a bit of a headache.
A guy I’d talked to briefly and who’d then gone quiet messaged to say that he was sorry for going quiet. He had broken up with his live-in girlfriend recently, and since he’d ended it (and since they had to finish out a lease that didn’t end until July 31st), he’d felt guilty and deleted the app for a bit.
He’d decided to escape the tense atmosphere at home with a two-day stay at a local hotel and was inviting me for a drink and chat. And… meh, why not?
We had a couple drinks — cider, so I could drive safely after 90ish minutes — and I headed home. He was actually fun to talk to, so hopefully I see him again. I had to fill up the car, which was a wine-inducing $55.63.
I came home and got ready for bed. But I wasn’t asleep until about midnight.
Total spent: $70.17
Tuesday
I woke up and got through emails then lay back down for a bit.
I had been in a lot of pain, so I had to get an extra massage. She could only fit me in midday, but luckily almost nothing came in while I was gone. I paid $75 for the massage with tip. Amounts of more than $60 don’t come out of my weekly funds.
On the way home, I grabbed some cherries that were on sale. The total was $4.41. Num!
After that, I came home, finished out the workday and relaxed.
I went to bed early to try to get caught up on my rest.
Total spent: $79.41 ($4.41 out of weekly funds)
Wednesday
I did almost literally nothing this day. Like, since I got behind on this spending diary, I genuinely don’t remember anything that happened.
Apparently, I didn’t spend any money, partially because trivia didn’t have any RSVPs and thus got cancelled.
So presumably I just chilled out at home.
At least it was cheap, I guess?
Total spent: $0
Total spent: $426.48 ($282.25 out of weekly funds)
Ouch, not a cheap week. I comfort myself that almost 20% of weekly spending was just from filling up the car. Another 16.6% was for a prescription.
And out of overall spending about 17.6% was a necessary massage (I was getting headaches because my neck was so bad). And while the overpriced hair products were 16% of spending, one will last me at least three to four months — probably closer to five or six. The other will last me… probably years since I’m still working on the travel-size version I bought last summer.
So all in all, a pricey week, but nothing too extravagant as far as what I spent on.
Overpriced hair products are your prerogative. You earned the money and you budget well, save for retirement and give to charity — so why NOT spend something on yourself?
Like other readers, I am looking forward to seeing photos of your completed project.
Donna Freedman recently posted…How I got $50 worth of free food.
I look forward to there BEING a completed project, eesh. And yes, since I can afford it, I shouldn’t fret too much.
I would love to see a kind of roundup post on products like hair products, lip products, face stuff, etc. I saw in the other post something about lipsticks or lip glosses and just beauty related things in general. I’ve been on a beauty/skincare kick (hello 35) so I would like some tips to look halfway decent. I love to see what other people use
Haha, okay I can do that! And yeah, the mid-30s are definitely when I started caring more about skincare and such.
No need to feel guilty about going for the hair products you love. Frankly we all deserve to pamper ourselves sometimes 🙂
Carla Corelli recently posted…The 10 Stages of Healing After Narcissistic Abuse: What to Expect and How to Cope
True, if we’re lucky enough to be able to afford it, an indulgence is good for the soul! (And I’m off to read your latest post because I’m pretty sure my dad had NPD.)
Ah we are kindred spirits then 🙂 Joking apart, if he did I am truly sorry – it cannot have been fun growing up with such a parent. Sending you a big hug xxx
Carla Corelli recently posted…Perinatal Depression: What You Need to Know