Top College Basketball Picks Saturday, February 6th (2021

Edited to remove the tables because when I obsessively checked this post on my phone I couldn't read them?? Also I tried to, but was prevented from, editing the title. I know it looks sanctimonious but that's just one small part of my personality I swear. D:
❤️ Section 1: Assets and Debt
Total Net Worth: $30,875 - all equity.
Retirement Balance: $0 for me; $20,500 for my husband in the state pension program for teachers. (My partner, L, has been paying into the state teachers' pension system for 5 years. For most of my 20s, I either worked at very low-paying jobs, or supported myself and others on a teacher’s salary, so no retirement for me. My current job does not have a retirement program, but one of my goals for this year is to either start a Roth IRA or get a new job with a 401k match… or maybe both?)
Savings Account Balance: $23,733 We’re moving this summer to a city closer to our families, and are saving all we can for a down payment on a dreamy spot. After we move, some amount of what’s left over will go into a retirement fund, and the rest will stay in this HYSA as our emergency fund. For us, three months of expenses, including childcare, is about $18,000.
Checking Account Balance: $455
Credit Card Debt: n/a, pay off each month
Student Loan Debt: $80,000 for L’s undergrad and MAT. $18,000 for my undergrad and (unfinished) MAT. (My undergrad degrees were mostly covered by the Pell Grant, scholarships, and a $10,000 529 from my parents. L was a nontraditional student - didn’t start undergrad until he was 24 - so none of his was covered. Most of my debt is for a MAT program I dropped out of after one year. I was trying to find any way out of teaching at the time (it is demanding, all-consuming, and carceral at once) and thought a PhD would be my only route. When I got my current job I promptly left the program and any dreams of a PhD behind.)
Equity: $83,875 (This number is from an online equity calculator, and is for our house in a very popular neighborhood in a very popular city. Our outstanding debt on the house is $295,000. We put our whole savings down in 2019, which was $9,000 at the time.)
❤️ Section 2: Income
Monthly Take Home: My base pay is $65,000, and L’s is $45,000. I worked a side gig last year that totaled about $10k in additional compensation; all of it went to savings so we don't budget for it. My take home is $4096/month for my full time job, and my current side gig income (grant writing) is variable, between $300 and $600 a month. L’s take home is $2262/month. My health insurance is paid in full by work. L’s insurance and B’s come out of L’s paycheck, as does L’s retirement contribution.
Income Progression: I’ve been working since I was 15 years old, moved out for college at 18, and paid my own bills starting that year. I won’t include that money here though (it was like $12,000 a year as a college student, for reference). Income below starts when I graduated with two BAs that had nothing to do with teaching.
Year 1: $15,600 (part time ABA therapist, full time baby anarchist)
Year 2: $32,000 (year 1 teacher salary: I accepted a spot in Teach for America for this giant salary even though I thought it was an obnoxious neoliberal org. Yes, I was also obnoxious at the time.)
Year 3: $33,000 (teacher, step increase)
Year 4: $34,000 (teacher, step increase)
Year 5: $35,000 (teacher, step increase)
Year 6: $15,000 (community organizer; at the time this felt like a dream job)
Year 7: $20,000 (community organizer & cafe worker)
Year 8: $40,000 (back to teaching, felt rich; this includes a side hustle writing grants on the side for $50 an hour)
Year 9: $45,000 (left teaching for my current job, quit the grants side hustle)
Year 10: $55,000 (got a raise, got pregnant)
Year 11: $65,000 (got a raise and promotion, had a baby)
Year 12: $75,000 (was promoted again in January but waiting on the pay increase to hit, hopefully with backdating. This money diary doesn’t reflect this salary as it hasn’t been reflected in my check yet)
❤️ Section 3: Expenses
Mortgage/PMI/Insurance: $2,110
Retirement Contribution: n/a (L’s retirement is pulled out of his check before he receives it: it’s $169 a month. Right now, I don’t have a retirement contribution)
Savings Contribution: $1000 to main savings, $400 to sinking fund (This is a super aggressive goal for us and is only possible because our childcare costs are covered by work)
Debt Payments: n/a right now (We have student loans to the tune of $100k but haven’t been paying a dime since they were paused due to COVID. But then the other day I checked and saw they've gained interest? Should we be paying them then? WWJD? I legit don’t know.)
Electric: $130
Internet: $100
Cellphone: $65 (For L & I both. We are on a bigass family plan with 40 gajillion other people.)
Subscriptions: $45 ($10 Spotify; $10 Youtube music; $2.99 Apple data (Why?!); $22 NYT (for newspaper and cooking app); also have a split subscription to the New Yorker with bestie F but we paid for a yearly deal.)
Car Payment and Insurance: $150 for a car payment; $202 for insurance (Insurance covers both of our used cars and my dad’s used handicap van. Our car payment is for our used Honda. We only owe $6,850 on the car and I’m back and forth on whether to pay it off with savings)
Medical/Therapy: $0 (My therapist is $140 a session, and I just started seeing her again once a month, but this is reimbursed by work. I also get an inhaler at least twice a month - that’s reimbursed too, costs $60 total.)
Misfits Market: $120 (For a weekly box, which really helps us cut down on overall grocery cost)
Gym membership: $30 (For my intense local yoga studio’s app which is so great in the winter. We also run and bike a lot, as long as it’s warm enough)
Donations: $100 (We give monthly to our local Democratic Socialists of America; the Working Families Party; and a small, local org. I’m also on an organizing committee for that org. We’ll give them one big gift of at least $250 this year, probably in May. I support a couple organizations with grant writing and grant-finding support as much as I can, which usually amounts to a few hours a month.)
Childcare: $0 B goes to a very precious Montessori preschool, and we can walk him there. It’s pricey af ($1300/month). The other $200 is to account for some babysitting from my little sister when L or I have to work weird hours. For now, work reimburses this full amount as a COVID perk; if that changes, we will have to cut costs significantly.
House cleaner: $160 (They come twice a month and charge $80 each time.)
❤️ Section 4: Money Diary
NOTE: We are masked and afraid everywhere we go.
✨DAY 1: THURSDAY✨
4:20 am: Good morning world! I shuffle into the kitchen in my panties and my slippers to fill up the gooseneck kettle. I recently got into pour over coffee even though it’s quite a commitment. With a toddler, a full-time job, and a Libra sun, I don’t really have time for meditative morning routines. This lengthy, half-naked coffee regimen is my closest attempt. As soon as I get the coffee brewing, our 18 month old, B, starts making noise. I open the door and see he’s got his pacifier in his mouth and his pillow in his arms. He wants to lay with Dada. I help him get in the bed with my husband, L, as quietly as possible. Last week L was super sick and we thought for sure he had picked up COVID. Blessedly all of our tests came back negative, but on the heels of that, he started having major tooth pain and had to have an emergency tooth extraction, AND he got an ear infection as he was coming down from whatever virus he had. I hate it :(
I get dressed and do some chores while they snooze to ease L's morning. I start the diaper laundry (usually his job - we use cloth), put away the dishes, start the Eufy vacuum, and get B and L’s breakfasts together: sunbutter and a little bit of syrup on some banana pancakes I prepped earlier this week.
6:30 am: B and L are up! The hour before we take B to preschool is kind of a marathon. L eats with B (and supervises his syrup consumption) as I clean out some more dirty diapers, brush my teeth, make another cup of coffee, strip our sheets, spray my hair with water to refresh the curl, return a few group texts, and wash some breakfast dishes. Somewhere in here I also eat two boiled eggs with Everything But the Bagel seasoning, and a bunch of grapes.
I help L get B loaded up in the car, and just as they pull off, my parents Facetime me. They’re calling to see B but are polite enough to talk to me for a few minutes. They live a few hours away, and are divorced, but cohabitating. The full story is long and spiritual for me so I’ll spare you. Anyway, my mom and I talk for a while about this couch she thinks I should buy from one of her friends, but it’s two hours away and we’d have to rent a U-Haul, so I think we’ll pass. I do hate our current couch though. Please drop comfy toddler- and dog-friendly recommendations in the comments!
8:15 am: I set out to walk the dog and listen to the Daily’s recent update on the coronavirus. Donald G. McNeill, Jr., says we’re in this through the summer, which is a bummer on the personal and global front, but I suppose it could be worse??? Maybe?? As soon as they finish talking I switch over to You’re Wrong About. I’m deep in the Jessica Simpson series and highly recommend this pod for any other nerdy, lefty, kinda burnt out millennials, especially those of you that are queer or queer-adjacent. Once home, I take my whole operation onto the front porch to work, since the cleaner will be here soon and I don’t want to crowd her in this time of COVID. I LOVE a clean house and I love paying someone else to do the big stuff, which is a recent luxury for us.
11:00 am: I’ve been working steadily in my email and google docs for a couple hours now, and it’s COLD out here. The cleaner leaves and I am grateful to go back into the heat. I Venmo her $80 for the cleaning (included in monthly expenses). I take a break from work and check out the job boards. My current job is the best, and highest-paying, gig I’ve ever had, but I’m planning to leave some time this year for several reasons. The premier reason: I recently learned that I’m qualified for several positions that pay over $100k at similar organizations. With that kind of money we could pay off our student loans, help our families out more, make sizable donations, and L could explore a career outside of teaching without freaking about a slight cut in his pay for a few years as he finds his niche. Or - maybe he’ll get into Edtech somehow and we’ll join Resource Generation. Who knows.
12:30 pm: I have a quick break and pull together lunch: half a cheese quesadilla, a big bowl of Smitten Kitchen’s roasted tomato soup, and a LimonCello LaCroix. L is on his planning period and asks me to edit his most recent job application, and I oblige. Since we’re both job hunting, I ask him if I can buy a resume template and guide on Etsy. I have sworn off online shopping for the year to curb my impulse spending, but he says we’ll just count this one as his purchase. Great news because I hate the formatting of my resume from 2016 and don’t want to fix it myself! $9.95
3:30 pm: My Zooms are over, my inbox is at 0, and I put up my out of office message because I’m taking the day off tomorrow to work on my resume and do some things to prep our house for sale. My high-functioning anxiety created an ambitious backwards timeline for this process back in December, and that timeline currently runs my life. I work for a few more minutes to tie up loose ends, and then walk O to a nearby shop to buy my favorite candle, curbside-style. When I get there the owner gives me some percentage off because it’s slightly discolored from the sun. Huzzah! $27.25, marked down from $40
4:45 pm: My angel of a baby sister, J, who lives just a few blocks away and is in a pod with us, comes to hang out with B for an hour so L can rest. I head to my good friend D’s place for my investment overalls appointment. She's going to alter their awkward wide leg into more of a tapered, mom jean shape. I have a capsule wardrobe which means I’ll wear these babies at least once a week, and plus I get to pay my friend, so I’m fine with the extra expense. When I arrive, she and her partner have the fire pit going, and we drink a couple glasses of wine together, yet more than 6 feet apart. I learn they are planning to move to the same new city as us in the next couple of years and legit cry happy tears.
Afterwards, I head out to pick up dinner for tonight. We are getting burgers from L’s favorite place as a treat. On my way, the WOLF MOON appears over the water and my stomach does triple flips. Then I pick up our dinner: a veggie burger with eggplant jam and kale for me; a real-meat burger with mushrooms, bacon, swiss, carmelized onion, and horseradish mayo for L; and an appetizer plate with pretzels, pimento cheese, onion jam, pickles, and chips for B. Delicious and unhealthy. The total is $34.54.
6:30: Home and eating dinner. B loves his meal, especially the “chokes.” He calls pretzels “chokes” because when L first started feeding them to him, I worried aloud that he would choke every time. I just couldn’t stop thinking about how a pretzel almost took out George W. Bush. Turns out our toddler is better at chewing than George W. Bush.
After dinner, L gives B a bubble bath while I do my own, very minimal, bedtime routine. Then L and I lay down with B to put him to sleep. He has a floor bed, which is a Montessori thing I learned about on mom blogs. L is a very hot and talented woodworker, so he took my floor bed dream to the next level by building a lovely house-shaped frame. The top beam is wrapped in twinkle lights and fake ivy. It’s a nice place to sleep, and we pass out here all the time.
10:30 pm: L wakes me up and we wander to our own bed.
🌿 DAILY TOTAL: 71.74
✨ DAY 2: FRIDAY✨
4:15 am: Wake up and go look at the clock. Decide this is a silly time to get up on a day off, drink some water, and go lay back down. But once in bed all I can think about is how much I want to read the news, organize my resume, and update this money diary. This is the problem with falling asleep at toddler time. So I get up again at 4:45, make my coffee, read a New Yorker article about Biden’s pandemic response on my phone, and sit down to work on this diary.
6:00 am: L wakes up! He works on breakfast for himself and B and I start meal planning for the month. This is one of my best and most recent life hacks. I found that if I chart out our cooking, weekly takeout, and leftovers at the start of the month, we save lots of money and are so much less stressed about the labor that goes into feeding ourselves. I pull out Smitten Kitchen Every Day and use it to inspire the month’s meals. So quaint to cook from an actual BOOK.
6:45 am: B walks out of our room and announces that he drank my water off the side table. He’s so proud! And so ready to eat. While he eats breakfast, I snack on some grapes and, at B’s request, blast 7 Days A Week by They Might Be Giants. This is the consummate children’s song for any household that dreams of a self-determined world. Over the next hour I take B to school; make myself a real breakfast (a soy chorizo and egg taco); and browse TikTok. Eventually I find a series about this Gamestop situation by a smart Irish woman and L and I watch it together. When it’s over we feel like shrewd stock brokers ready to win money, and L gets to work teaching virtually.
I spend the morning painting our front door and our kitchen wall to prep our house to sell, and talking to my (other) little sister on the phone. She’s an HR person with a job that’s taken her far away from our family, and we don’t talk that often. It is so good to catch up on her life. After that I have a fun, day-off Zoom call with longtime bestie and coworker K. We drink coffee and talk about The Future.
12:30 pm: I make lunch (tomato soup with goat cheese on top, and a savory scone on the side) and get a text from another bestie, M, who offers me a little grant writing contract work this week. Yay! I love them and love working with them. Next, I order our groceries for the week. I get baking powder, eggs, cremini mushrooms, vegan sausage patties, oat milk, ginger root, shredded cheddar cheese, plantains, black beans, doggy bags, broccoli, vegan chicken strips, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, capers, ciabatta bread, grits, bananas, avocados, greek yogurt, and on impulse, a pineapple on sale (?!). Maybe B will love it. The total comes to $94.08.
1:15 pm: I do a brief power vinyasa class in B’s room and take a shower. It takes me approximately two Drake songs to shower and dry off, as I don’t have to wash my hair today and I never shave. I work on my resume until L and I leave to pick up B. On the way home we stop at the park to play, and then we all get in the car to pick up groceries.
6:30 pm: We get home later than planned and eat together: leftover tofu ramen for us and veggie lasagna for B, who is so sleepy that he hardly touches his lasagna. L gets him in the bath around 7:15 and I run through my evening routine. There’s a lot going on in the house - preschool lunch and clothes to put up, a mountain of laundry in our room, all of the groceries for the week waiting to be put away, and dinner dishes are languishing in the sink. L starts on chores while I get B dressed.
As I’m dressing B, my mom Facetimes and B shows her several of his board books. While we’re talking my dad texts me a heart emoji - he overheard B and my mom talking from his room. He lives with a disability and a painful illness, so he goes to bed very early. We hang up with my mom and record a video of B making “P” sounds and saying “I love you” to my dad, and send it over. This is the first time B’s ever said “I love you!” Huge news. We read books and fall asleep next to B.
9 pm: I wake up and nudge L but he wants to keep sleeping. I go clean the dinner dishes, put away the food and reorganize the cabinets and fridge, and mop the kitchen floor while I listen to The Daily’s latest reporting on QAnon believers who are at once totally bananagrams and also remind me very much of my aunt. L wakes up at 9:30 because he and Y, my sister’s boyfriend, are gonna game. Cute! He finishes the laundry and I fold a few diapers to help out. Then we lay in bed together until game time, when I fall asleep.
🌿 DAILY TOTAL: 94.08
✨DAY 3: SATURDAY✨
5:40 am: Wake up at a ~*~weekend hour~*~!! Start my kettle, clean and moisturize my face, pull out the ingredients for waffles, and pick up around the house while I wait for it to boil. I try to read some, but get bored a few pages in. I’m currently reading How to Do Nothing and it’s good enough, but I think I need to chill on the nonfiction and read, like, saucy romance novels with hot bisexual leads. Send me your recs please!
Waffle time! This recipe is my go-to. I recommend whipping the egg whites first. B wakes up around 7:15 and helps me cook which is cute and very messy. He eats his waffle with honey, peanut butter, and grapes. L wakes up after him - he had a late night gaming!
8 am: I open yesterday’s mail and find an anti-abortion DVD from L’s grandma. It’s Abby Johnson’s “memoir.” Abby Johnson is an opportunistic right winger and documented liar who once moonlighted as a Planned Parenthood clinic manager. L is a preacher’s kid, so we’re not surprised to receive this from his grandma. For example: 10 years ago, when L and I were a couple years into our relationship, her Christmas gift to me was a book about how one can recover from being a slut by getting married and finding Jesus. This particular package really sends me over the edge, though. I decide to write them a short note later that states my own experience with abortion and sets a clear boundary on this kind of propaganda, and includes an article about Abby Johnson’s bullshit life. It’s unlikely this will change their minds - they are septuagenarian Southern Baptists, after all - but at least I’ll be in my integrity.
In the meantime, I group text L’s siblings, and they commiserate with us. His one sibling who is transitioning shares that grandma recently sent them a book about how to tell your gay friends they’re sinning. We agree that’s hilariously dense (and fucking rude) of her, and talk about how everyone under forty is a gay slut living their best life, so really it’s grandma’s loss. During this time I clean the kitchen, finish the waffles, and freeze them for B’s weekday breakfasts.
9:30 am: B asks to use the potty and does a great job peeing on his own! He’s geeked about it and is especially excited to have my parents on Facetime cheering him on. After that we head out on our morning walk. L takes B to the playground and I take O to the dog park nearby. She gets tired pretty quick and we all head to the thrift store. We need chairs for our hand-me-down kitchen table. The ones that came with it are awkwardly wide. L spots two sturdy ones that are just $5 each. Score! $10
11:30 am: B and L are both wiped out once we get home. They eat lunch and go to sleep. I clean up the kitchen, repot one of my plants, water our porch plants, and eat some leftover ramen for lunch. The Marie Antoinette episode of You’re Wrong About keeps me company all the while. 10/10 would recommend.
2 pm: B wakes up and eats some lunch. We watercolor together for a while (he on his big paper, I in my bullet journal), then walk down the street to the local high school while L preps potatoes for our fondue. The high school grounds are open on the weekends, and there’s an amphitheatre on site. B loves the echo in there.
4:30 pm: L joins us in the amphitheatre and together we drag B two blocks back home. I prep the fondue: brie, gouda, and more gouda with white wine. It ends up being a little clumpy but so delicious. My sister, J, and her boyfriend, Y arrive while I’m cooking. Y brings yummy baguettes from his bakery job for the dipping and we prep broccoli, green beans, and tempeh too. We sit down in our new chairs to eat and for the zillionth time I am so thankful we’ve been able to make a pod together this year. Fondue would be a terrifying proposition with anyone else, really.
While we eat, Y tells us he put in his two weeks at the bakery because their COVID protocols aren’t so tight and his coworkers are continuing to go to bars and out to eat. His plan for now is to get back on unemployment and find a virtual job sometime soon. Both he and my sister have worked food service their whole adult lives so the pandemic has been tough on them. Besides the fact that they’re delightful and perfect, this is one key reason we’re planning to move with them to our new city this summer: L and I will be able to easily afford the majority of the rent, deposits, and utilities on a pretty big, and centrally located, house. Living together will allow us to grow our savings and take our time looking for a Forever Home, and will allow J and Y to pay really low rent as my sister goes back to school full time and Y looks for a full-time job. I’m really looking forward to living with them and know it’ll be good for B, too. They leave around 7 pm and we put B to bed, this time without falling asleep ourselves!
8:30 pm: Turn on How I Met Your Mother in bed and the episodes are baaaaad bad. One entire episode casts sex workers as a punch line. Ick. L and I agree to find a new show, and fall asleep around 10.
11 pm - 2 am: B is up and between our two beds. Wahhhh.
🌿 DAILY TOTAL: 10
✨DAY 4: SUNDAY✨
6 am: Up and at ‘em! Discover I’m out of my fancy coffee and don’t want to emphasize the flavor of our grocery store beans with a slow pour, so make a french press instead. B wakes up too early so we watch toddlers together on TikTok while I drink my coffee, then read books while L makes us all eggs for breakfast. We head out for our morning walk around 9 am and stop at a coffee shop a few blocks away. I pick up Counter Culture’s Iridescent beans, buy an espresso brownie on a whim, and tip the cashier because she’s so sweet and tipping is good. The total is 23.03. L takes B to the playground and I drop my purchases and O back at the house before I head out for a run.
9:45 am: It’s 65 degrees and my run is glorious. I run to the water and pause Lil Yachty for a minute to take it all in. Once home I shower and put on a black LA Apparel catsuit and a marled black and white cocoon sweater from AA of the past (I like what I like!). We feed B lunch and then L puts him down while I clean up.
Around 11:30, J comes over after to watch B while we remove the storm windows from our whole house and clean the windows underneath as part of our work to prep the house for sale. We’re a solid team: L removes the storm windows and caulks all the gaps in the wood while I follow behind him and wash the windows inside and out. Our sweet neighbor catches us cleaning and offers to let us use her power washer for free next weekend to clean up the front of the house. I resolve to bake them some cookies.
2:30 pm: We are done with the window operation and it’s time for me to water all 57 plants in the house. Along the way, discover that I overwatered B’s hoya last week and it’s rotting. Noooo! I unpot it on the porch to dry the roots, but it’s raining so this might not work. There’s only one surefire solution: buy a replacement plant! I try to convince L we should go to the nursery, but he’s not so into it. I walk around dejectedly with a towel to clean up all the water I spilled, and Zelle J $70 for babysitting even though she insists she would do it for free. Next B, L, and I share a snack: crackers with goat cheese and harissa. Mmm. B skips the harissa but loves the goat cheese. Meanwhile I begin to stress about making dinner. We’d planned goddess bowls but L and I just aren’t feeling it after our marathon of house work. L requests Chinese and is suddenly more amenable to visiting the nursery, which is near our favorite Chinese takeout spot. Score!
5:00 pm: We leave the plant shop with a heartleaf philodendron for B’s room and a giant, lovely, perfect monstera deliciosa just because. The total comes to $53.24. Then we pick up our food: $33.08 including the tip. L ordered a large veggie lo mein to share with B and General Tso’s chicken, and I got family style tofu and vegetables. We start B’s bedtime routine at 6:30 and he’s out by 7:00 - early for him!
After he’s down, L preps his breakfast sandwiches for the week and I do some dishes. Then we take mutual advantage of the extra hour we have together. Even after 12 years it’s always so good with L. I fall asleep around 10 pm feeling blessed.
🌿 Daily total: 179.32
✨DAY 5: MONDAY✨
5 am: I make my pour over and get started on work first thing. I have a couple of deadlines this week and the side gig to balance so I’m already feeling pressed for time! I wrap up an entire grant report before 6 am and feel very accomplished. Then I pause work to start our breakfast, which is all pre-prepped, hallelujah. While L and B eat breakfast, I get dressed in a black turtleneck minidress, busted old tights, black ankle socks, and my Doc Martens.
I help L load up the car with B and all his gear, and tell L to be careful. Today is L’s first day back teaching in person since December, and we’re both nervous since COVID is still running wild in our red state. On the way to work he fills up his car for $18.33.
2:30 pm: After another grant report, seventy gajillion emails, forty Slack messages, and several hours of Zoom calls, I’m ready for a break. I finish eating the quinoa salad I prepped during Zoom call #2 and then eat a pear too. I see our Misfits box has been delivered. It’s $30 a week, and is included in our monthly expenses. I unpack it, clean the counters, wipe down the bathroom sinks, take O for a walk, and sit down to work on my side gig grant report, which is due Wednesday. I set a 30 minute timer because I don’t want to be too late picking up B.
4:25 pm: Worked longer than I meant to! Pack some snacks and pick up B. On the way home we get a giant bag of potting soil so I can repot those plants. It’s $18.52. Come home and engage in B’s favorite winter activity: pressing all the buttons in the turned-off car. Meanwhile, in another car across town, L picks up a big bag of Purina One, butter, maple syrup, and applesauce. That total is $28.64.
5:30 pm: The whole family is home and we kick it inside until it starts to get dark. L and I gather all the things and take the creatures out for a walk even though there’s a light, but very cold, rain happening. B is cranky and so are we, so the walk is quick.
We eat leftover Chinese food around 7 and start B’s bedtime routine. B falls asleep at 8 and I update this diary for a while, then go watch Ted Lasso in bed with L til about 9:30. It’s much better than How I Met Your Mother, for the record.
🌿 DAILY TOTAL: 65.51
✨Day 6: TUESDAY✨
3 am: B wakes up and needs a diaper change. I have the hardest time falling back asleep after: I can’t stop thinking about how I left B’s hoya out in the cold with its roots exposed most of the day yesterday and into tonight. But it’s too cold for me to get up again and pull it inside! So instead I toss and turn and hope it’s not dead yet.
6 am: L’s alarm wakes me up! No early morning reading and writing time for me. I get right up, make a giant pour over, and get breakfast together while L wakes up B. Then I actually sit down with them to eat: B and I both eat boiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning and some coconut milk yogurt, and L sips his coffee while his breakfast sandwich heats in the oven. I get dressed in my workout gear and walk the dog while L gets B ready for school. They leave, and I finally bring the hoya in, and start work, around 7:30. L buys coffee and snacks from the gas station on his way to work: $6.88.
9:30 am: I grab some crackers and peanut butter from the kitchen and notice a DMV bill on the fridge I’ve been meaning to pay, but don’t totally understand. I call them up and respond to emails while I sit on hold. Turns out I owe the DMV $10 for paying my Dad’s van insurance late. With the “processing fee” it comes to $11.17.
1:30 pm: Been on Zoom calls all morning, and decide to switch over to the side gig work for a bit. Meanwhile I eat that quinoa salad I prepped yesterday. At 2 pm, my longtime bestie and neighbor F comes over and we take O for a walk in the park together and have such a good conversation. While the context is (very) different, I’m reminded of the Toni Morrison quote when I think of F: “She’s a friend of my mind.” Such a gem, and such a smartie. At 3:30 I start a HIIT yoga class and it kicks my butt even though it’s only 20 minutes long. Afterwards, I shower and pick up B.
5:00 pm: L arrives home while B and I are playing, and we get in the car once more to check out a cute couch L scoped out on Facebook marketplace. It’s a sweet vintage brown velvet actually-for-real midcentury situation. Unfortunately we discover it’s also small and very uncomfortable. $200 not spent. Once home, my family goes for a walk and I make dinner - this grits and beans recipe from NYT cooking. It’s blessedly quick to pull together. Meanwhile D texts me and says my overalls are ready! YAY! She’s gonna drop them off in a couple of days. She says the total is $30. I include a tip and Venmo her $40.
7:00 pm: At bedtime, B cannot get enough of his books and we read All The World several times. He finally falls asleep around 8:20 and L and I eat dinner on the couch, with Ted Lasso. I drink a glass of red wine, which is a mistake: my anxiety spikes right after, my stomach hurts, and I can’t sleep. This is very upsetting as I want very much to be a wine mom. Does this happen to anyone else?
🌿 DAILY TOTAL: 58.05
✨DAY 7: WEDNESDAY✨
5:45 am: Wake up with B cuddled into my back - L moved him to our bed in the middle of the night after his second wake up. Get my coffee and breakfast together and sit down at my computer to work on the side gig grant while everyone's asleep. Then L and I manage the morning rush together. I eat sourdough toast, two scrambled eggs, and some pineapple along the way.
7:30 am: Take O out for a walk and on a whim decide to listen to one of my favorite easy-listening pods: A Beautiful Mess. Normally the two sisters and co-hosts, Elsie and Emma, chat about things like home decor or craft making or how to balance kids and work. This episode is about the host’s evangelical upbringing, though, and is a real raw and honest tear jerker. Pair it with this, one of my top reads of 2020: “What Does the White Evangelical Want?” It gets me thinking about L’s upbringing in the church. He and all his siblings are all agnostic now.
Finally sit down at my desk and debate taking Adderall. I used it regularly in college and for a few years after in order to Do All The Things. I try to stay away from it now - I’m not trying to live an impossible life any more - but I also really want to pick B up earlier than normal today, and that means I need to meet all my deadlines and make it through two Zoom calls with my direct reports by 3 pm. I decide to take 4 mg. Right after I take it, three different friends text me at once and then, suddenly, I’ve spent an hour catching up via text. Get to work for real around 9 am.
3:00 pm: Wrapped all my calls, answered all my emails, washed all the dishes, ate some lunch, and finished the side gig work! OK Adderall, you beautiful bitch. Spend a few more minutes tying up loose ends and then gather my things to pick B up from school. The plan today is to go “play basketball” in the park near his school because he is OBSESSED with balls, and I’m trying to do more magical things every day with him. It’s cold but I’m ready to brave it on his precious, curly-headed behalf.
At 4 pm J calls and asks to go pick him up with me. Hooray, things just got even more magical! We head to a different-than-usual park together and run around until B sits in, and then drinks from, a puddle. We panic and J googles “What happens if my baby drinks from a puddle?” The search returns lots of stories of babies eating muddy rocks and surviving, so we decide it’s ok.
5:00 pm Head home and L is back from work! We take the smols on a walk and I tell L that I think nighttime screentime is making me anxious. I’m a sensitive creature and I really don’t want to blame the wine. He’s very perfect so he helps me think through an alternate plan for this evening: hot tea and book reading in bed, and maybe sex, too! Fun.
Next, I head home with O to pot the plants we bought the other day, and L takes B to the playground. They get back around 6:30 and I am very excited to reveal my new plant placements. Everyone feigns interest except O. Then we eat leftovers together and B gets in bed around 7:30. L and I promptly fall asleep next to him and don’t wake up again til 11 pm. Guess our new nighttime routine will have to wait til tomorrow!
🌿 DAILY TOTAL: 0
❤️ Section 5: TOTALS
Total Expenses: $478.71
Food & Drink: $220.25
Fun & Entertainment: $0
Home & Health: $109.01
Clothes & Beauty: $40
Transport: $29.50
Other: $79.95
❤️ Section 6: REFLECTION
This week reflects a new normal for us, I think! We just set the goal of saving up for another down payment in December, and that’s when I swore off online shopping both to save money and to stop lining the pockets of evil billionaires like Bezos (no shade to anyone who uses Amazon, this is purely a personal goal & I’m not sure I can meet it). This self-imposed rule is helping me reign in my discretionary spending overall. L and I have only been living a two-income, middle class life for a few years, and my lifestyle creep was a little out of control in 2020. That said, I can and do still regularly justify spending money on things that make life more luxurious and beautiful - like a $40 candle or a totally unnecessary but very lovely plant.
There are a couple of things not reflected in this diary that we regularly spend on: gifts (my achilles heel - for example, we spent three! thousand! dollars! on Christmas gifts in December), and medical bills. Both B and I had to visit the emergency room in 2020 and we are still getting random bills in the mail as our insurance company and the hospital duke it out. As I was editing this diary on Thursday, I received one for $787. Wahhhh. I think I’m gonna get on a payment plan, but even so that it will be over $200 a month.
Last thought: this process got me thinking in some detail about the contradiction of organizing for the fall of capitalism (and the rise of a more gentle and just economic system), yet believing everyone - including ourselves and our own families - deserve to live full and abundant lives. This means I compromise my own anti-capitalist values and beliefs every day, in big and small ways. Discuss?

I live with my boyfriend, W., but we do not combine finances. Additionally, I would like to put a content warning here at the top: I discuss tracking food and weight loss throughout this money diary.
Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance - $19,195 in two 401ks (current and former company) and $18,478 in a Roth IRA (my grandparents set this up and matched the money I made working in high school/college - I'm very grateful that they set this up for me!)
Equity - no equity currently, I rent and do not own a car
Checking account balance - currently ~$5,000 (I try to keep it around this amount)
Credit card debt - $0 (I pay it off every month)
Student loan debt - $9,500 remaining to pay off the loans for my BA in political science (here's hoping I finish it off this year!)
Stocks - $1,190 in stocks from my former company. I also have some miscellaneous other stocks that I was gifted when I was younger and I'm unclear on the value of them (my dad manages them for me)
Savings - $1,500 (it took a big hit while I was unemployed this past summer)
Section Two: Income
Income Progression:
High school (2012-2013) - I worked at a local office supply store making $7.50/hour. I did this for fun spending money a few days a week after school.
College (2014-2017) - I worked two on-campus jobs. The first was as a front desk person at the fitness center beginning at the end of my freshman year; I typically did ten hours a week at this job. The second was as an assistant in our career center, and I did this for the entirety of my senior year; I typically did five hours a week at this job. Both paid $8.50/hour.
Internship (2015-2017) - I studied abroad off-cycle from July to December in Australia, and was offered an internship doing recruitment and operations work at my mom's company after randomly meeting the COO in an elevator and impressing him in a brief conversation. What originally was going to be a five week internship went on to be part-time remote when I was at school, and full-time when I was home for the summer and on breaks. It paid $12/hour and introduced me to human resources and strategy & operations.
Company #1, Job #1 (2017-2018) - After graduating college, I moved to begin working in Washington DC as an associate at a healthcare firm making $40,000/year. I really enjoyed this work and my team, even though there were some times I had to work long hours. I was promoted to a senior associate role after my first six months, which came with a 10% raise.
Company #1, Job #2 (2018-2020) - I decided that, while I liked my role within the company, I wanted to gain client-facing experience. I applied for and moved into a analyst role in a different department at $52,000/year. I was excited about this role because I got to travel and train clients onsite one to three times a month and build up a lot of important business skills. About halfway through 2019, I was told that they wanted to pay me more because they felt my effort outpaced my seniority and was out of the blue bumped up to making $70,000/year. During this role, I was also eligible for up to a 10% bonus based on how my team did.
Unemployment (2020) - Due to COVID-19, my company took a big hit being in the healthcare space. The vast majority of my team was made redundant in June 2020. While a super stressful time, I did get some severance and used it as an opportunity to assess what I really wanted in my next role; I knew I liked being client-facing, but realized I wanted to get back to human resources in some way.
Company #2 (2020-present) - I took my current role as a senior advisory specialist in the fall. I was able to negotiate a $75,000/year salary and a 5% bonus. The work I do is very energizing and rewarding, and I'm hopeful I can stay here for a while and move up the ladder because I like what I do a lot!
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
I make $4380.90 each month after deductions. I get paid twice a month.
Deductions (per paycheck)
· Medical insurance: $29.50
· Dental insurance: $7.50
· Eye insurance: $2.75
· 401k contribution: $156.25 (I plan on increasing this after my student loans are paid off) + 4% company match
Side Gig Monthly Take Home:
I run a book blog on the side, and while I currently don't make any money off of it, publishers often send me advanced reader copies of books! I save a lot of money that way, because I am buying books constantly.
Section Three: Expenses
· Rent: $975 for my portion of the one bedroom apartment that I share with W. I pay slightly more than half because I make more money than he does. All utilities are included.
· Student loans: $500 is the minimum I pay per month because I want them paid off as soon as possible (the minimum monthly payment is about half that). I usually throw extra money towards them when I have a low spend month.
· WiFi and cable: $140.06, which is absolutely ridiculous and I keep saying I'm going to call Comcast and negotiate this down but get lazy and don't. Yell at me in the comments to do this!
· Netflix: $14.88 (I also let my best friend use this)
· Spotify: $9.99
· Hulu with live sports, HBO, Starz, and Showtime add-ons: W. pays
· Amazon Prime: W. pays
· Nail salon subscription: $40 (this is cheaper than the cost of a gel manicure and includes a free gel mani every month plus extra bonuses, which makes this very worth it despite sounding extravagant!)
· Care/of vitamin subscription: $70
· Boxing membership: $179 for unlimited classes
· WW: $15.11 (I'm on a six month deal currently)
· Fitbit Premium: $9.99
· iPhone payment plan: $31.20 (this will end in November for my iPhone 11. I am still on my parents' unlimited data phone plan and have been told I never have to leave, which is a total blessing!)
· Google storage: $2.12
· iCloud storage: $2.99
Additionally, I have an annual payment of approximately $2,750 for my life insurance policy; I have a blend of whole and term life. I am currently not making these payments, as my grandparents created a fund to pay the first several years of premiums as they felt it was important for me to get life insurance at a young age so it could start gaining cash value. I am incredibly grateful for this!
Day One - Tuesday 1/19
7am: My alarm goes off and I am still tired. W. and I cuddle for ten minutes or so before he gets up to make us coffee. We drink our coffee in bed while watching a few YouTube videos from our favorite content creators; the two of us are very into a video game that we play together and consume a lot of content around it.
8:30am: Time to get back into work! We both work from home right now, so we move into the living room together. My inbox is surprisingly empty after a long weekend, so I dive back in to a client request that I didn't finish before closing my laptop on Friday.
9:00am: I have a few morning meetings, so I take a few minutes to get ready. I throw in my contacts and brush my teeth, then get dressed from the waist up in a comfy gray Fortune Ivy sweater and hoop earrings. I make another cup of coffee to keep my energy up.
9:25am: I move into the bedroom to take my meetings. I have a bed tray for my laptop, which makes it feel more desk-like on my bed. I first have a meeting with another member of my team to discuss how we're dividing up a project that we're working on together, followed by two town hall meetings. At some point during my meetings, W. texts me that he ordered an energy drink powder that we've been meaning to try and Venmo requests me for my half ($23). I munch on the last four donut holes we have left over from the weekend for a snack during my meetings and make sure to log what I eat in my WW app.
1:00pm: Out of meetings and in need of a break. W. comes into the bedroom and asks me if I want to go out on a quick walk, which I happily agree to. I throw on Girlfriend Collective leggings, my lucky Rangers sweatshirt, ballet flats, and a freshly washed mask and we head out. After a good 20 minute walk, W. offers to pay for McDonald's for lunch, which is great but definitely not WW friendly. I get a 10 piece nuggets and large fries, and W. gets himself a few burgers. He pays and we take it home to eat on the couch and chat for a few minutes before I have to get on more work calls.
2:00pm: Time for more meetings and project work! I return to the bedroom and call into meetings for an hour, including a weekly meeting I facilitate, and then put my 800th rewatch of Grey's Anatomy on the TV in background while I work.
5:30pm: I log off of my laptop right on time for a Facetime date with my DC best friend, A. We met at my first job and have been close since the minute we met. She just moved into a new apartment and got a new job, so she gives me a tour of the new place and we catch up for about half an hour. After we hang up, I say hi to W. for a few minutes and then go hop in the shower. I do my usual skincare routine (a bevy of Ole Henriksen products, I swear by them) before throwing on comfy clothes and joining W. in the living room.
7:00pm: I throw the Rangers-Devils game on my iPad (I'm a diehard New York sports fan except for basketball) and text my hometown best friend, B., about absolutely nothing while W. plays a video game for a while. I'm not super hungry, so W. heats up leftover tuna casserole for dinner while I just cut up an orange. At some point we mute the hockey game to watch a few episodes of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, our first forray into the Housewives franchise which we've quickly become addicted to. We brush our teeth and make it to bed around 10:30pm.
Total: $23
Day Two - Wednesday, 1/20
7:00am: Usual morning routine: wake up, cuddle, coffee, and videos. I get out of bed to make the coffee this morning.
8:15am: I join W. for a quick morning shower before work starts for the day. I also do my weekly weigh in and I'm down almost another pound! The progress is slow, but that is also the healthy way to lose weight. I mark it down and log my coffee.
9:00am: I text with my mom about today's inauguration while I work. She wants to know if I can hear anything from my place, but besides the occasional sirens, there is no big fanfare yet. I set a reminder on my phone to turn on the news in a bit to listen.
10:45am: I finish up a difficult client request and send it off to their account team. W. gets me a lemon Pellegrino from the fridge for me to enjoy during my 11:00 meeting.
12:30pm: Out of my meetings and we have a new president!!! W. gives me a recap of Biden's speech and I find myself getting emotional after watching the video of Kamala getting sworn in. After wiping away the tears, I throw some chicken, buffalo sauce, and seasonings into our pressure cooker so we can have easy lunches: chicken sandwich and salad for W., chicken quesadilla for me so I can easily measure out how much of each food item I'm using. I log my food and we eat together during a quick fifteen minute break.
2:00pm: After changing out my water bottles (I like to drink out of reusable water bottles over drinking glasses, not really sure why) I remember why I don't like to use this one. I log on to the Hydroflask website and order a 21oz bottle with the sports cap lid ($28.58). I pick a color that's on sale because it's cheaper, find a coupon code for free shipping, and go through Rakuten so I can get 2% cash back. I also figure now is as good a time as any to get dressed since I have to be on camera for my afternoon meetings, so I throw on a camel and black polka dot Papermoon blouse and black Beyond Yoga leggings.
3:45pm: Weekly check in with my manager while I snack on a sliced cucumber. He and I discuss my 2020 review, which he literally had to do for me when I was less than a month in the role, and what my goals for 2021 are. I am setting my intentions on Friday, and I am very excited to think through what I want to accomplish this year. We discuss a few other projects and end a little earlier than expected. A friend of mine is streaming on Twitch, so I put his stream up on the TV while I work on a data project and gift a sub to a fellow viewer ($5.99). I see that someone has put a 4:30-5pm meeting on my calendar for tomorrow, so I have to cancel out of my 4:45 boxing class. Sigh.
5:45pm: I wrap up my work and head out to chat with W. for a bit. We decide to play our favorite video game for a while, so we log in and start playing in duos. We get a win in our very first game! After a while, our good friend N. joins us, so we switch to trios. At some point during what becomes a marathon gaming session, W. makes himself a frozen pizza and I drink the last two Stella Cidres we have in the fridge. Brush our teeth and head to bed around 11pm.
Total: $34.57
Day Three - Thursday 1/21
3:57am: I wake up for absolutely no reason. I hate when this happens. It takes me over an hour to fall back asleep.
7:00am: Usual morning routine, cut a little short for me to get ready for an 8:30 meeting.
10:00am: In desperate need of a break from my work, I log onto Etsy to pick out some cute candles for A. as a little housewarming gift. I have to text her for her new address, which kind of ruins the surprise, but I know how much she loves candles so I do it anyway ($32.86).
1:00pm: I get off of a client call that I shadowed with a member of my team. I have just decided on my focus area, hence why I am trying to get more exposure to the client work here. My teammate and I debrief and agree that I'll continue to shadow the calls that she does with this client so I can see the whole process through.
3:00pm: Out of another team meeting and exhausted from work. My 4:30 meeting cancels, and I'm bummed for a few minutes because I cancelled my boxing class to be in that meeting. But my mood turns around almost instantly - I got off the waitlist for the 6pm class! I text W. so he knows, and he asks if I can make him dinner before I go because he doesn't want to wait until I get back to eat. Fair enough. I agree and get back to work on my data project.
3:30pm: I get an email with the return label for my Fitbit. I've had it for a year and it randomly started giving me a rash on my wrist, so Fitbit is reimbursing me the total amount I paid for it. Customer service at its finest! I send the label to my Fedex store for pickup tomorrow, since I don't have a printer ($0.52).
5:30pm: I wrap up my work for the day and throw on Old Navy active leggings and a tank, tie back my hair, mask up, and head out the door to the boxing studio. It's endurance day and we do eight minute blocks instead of six, so I am dying by the time class is done. After class, I go to Target to pick up a few miscellaneous items we need: half & half, white vinegar, and chocolate peppermint stick Luna bars ($10.64). I mobile order and stop by Chipotle on the way home to grab a dinner of crispy chicken tacos and chips and guac ($16.23).
7:30pm: I stop by the concierge desk on my way back into the building to grab packages I have waiting and to catch up with my favorite concierge. She is a delight to talk to, but busy tonight, so I don't stay too long. Once home, I devour my tacos in about four minutes and then shower before putting on the Laker-Bucks on the iPad while W. plays video games. We migrate to the bedroom after halftime to finish it and are both exhausted that we fall asleep immediately after.
Total: $60.25
Day Four - Friday 1/22
7am: Usual morning routine. After watching two videos, W. announces that he isn't feeling well and is taking a day of PTO. I get him tucked comfy into bed with a movie and start my work day early. I put Grey's Anatomy on the TV while I work.
11am: I am hungry after powering through work all morning, so I place an order for a cheese pizza from Wiseguys ($21.99). A nice quick walk will feel good.
11:30am: I mask up and head out to pick up the pizza, stopping by CVS on the way to get a Red Bull for W., a Diet Coke for myself, and a bottle of Benadryl because I ran out ($27.27). I eat a slice of pizza while watching a bit of a Twitch stream before getting back to work. I also spend some time texting with B., as well as my older sister, C.
1:30pm: Back to back calls. When they're over, I check in on W., who unfortunately only feels worse. He decides to try and nap, and also informs me that he wanted to watch a Marvel movie so he added Disney+ to our Hulu subscription. He pays for that, but I'm happy we'll finally be able to watch those shows we've been missing out on!
4:30pm: Done with my projects and decide to call it a little early today. I appreciate that my manager doesn't particularly care if we stop early when all of our work is done, and I need to go to the Fedex store. I listen to one of my curated Spotify playlists (a lot of Halsey, Taylor Swift, Joan, and Flor are on this one) while I walk there to pick up the label I had printed. As I walk out of the store, several of my music friends start texting me - Halsey cancelled her summer tour. I am bummed because I was supposed to travel and go to several shows with friends. I make a mental note to start cancelling hotel reservations and request my Ticketmaster refunds tomorrow.
5:30pm: Manicure time! I've started doing gel manicures every other week because I have a horrible nail biting habit and this is the only way I can stop myself. I catch up with my favorite nail tech and the salon owners over a glass of sparkling rose. Today we do a nude-pink polish with black and white polka dots. When that's done, I also poke around at the beautiful jewelry they sell and pick out a pair or multicolored acrylic bow earrings. My subscription covers the manicure, so I only have to pay my tip (25% of the service cost) and for the earrings ($24.87). I text W. to let him know I'm on my way home and he asks if I can pick up NyQuil for him. I pop into CVS on the way home to get it ($16.94).
7:30pm: W. and I have a quiet evening, bouncing between a few TV shows and basketball games. We call it an early night and go to bed before 10. Wild Friday!
Total: $91.07
Day Five - Saturday, 1/23
8:30am: I wake up feeling pretty well rested. W. is still sleeping, so I get out of bed quietly and head out to the living room. I answer a few work emails that came in last evening, including a stretch project to present some webinars later in the year! I used to facilitate webinars in an old role of mine, so I'm looking forward to flexing that muscle again. I also submit my Ticketmaster refund requests, cancel some hotel reservations, and peruse my favorite auction website. I spy my dream Louis Vuitton bag (Speedy 40 in canvas and leather) at what could be a steal. I do some mental math at what would be the max I would splurge on it and set a max bid. I'm currently winning and text B. with excitement.
9:45am: W. texts me that he's awake but still not feeling well. I crawl back into bed for some snuggles and ask him what he needs. He wants bagels, so I agree to go out to pick them up if he pays for them. He orders a BEC on an everything bagel for himself and a multigrain bagel with butter for me. I throw on black Girlfriend Collective leggings, a Halsey tee, and my Adidas superstars, grab my mask and jacket, and head out the door. It's a little chilly, but it feels good. It's a quick turnaround to get back with the bagels. W. and I eat them in bed while watching some Real Housewives.
12:00pm: We're still in bed. Oops. We transition into watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and W. orders us some Popeye's to eat throughout the day: 12 piece spicy chicken, biscuits, fries, mashed potatoes, and a large Diet Coke to split. We will heat up leftover Popeye's for lunch someday this week. I embrace the fact that this is not going to be a good WW week for me, and remind myself it's okay to be human and have some indulgent weekends. Progress, not perfection!
5:00pm: W. dials into his weekly virtual D&D session and I decide to solo queue my video game for the evening. I debate having some wine, but decide the fast food was probably enough for my stomach and that I don't need to add alcohol into the mix. W.'s session wraps up around 9:30, so we chat while I clean the apartment a bit before taking a quick shower. I towel dry my hair, toss on some weekly skincare (eye cream and a fancy serum that I'm not really sure what it does, it just makes my skin glowy) before settling into bed.
Total: $0
Day Six - Sunday 1/24
3:00am: I wake up congested as can be. I get two Benadryl and a Zicam from the bathroom, lay back down, and pray for sleep to come.
9:10am: Well, I guess sleep came. I missed the start of the booking window for upcoming boxing classes, but luckily there are still openings in all the classes I wanted. I'm trying to up my workouts, so I decide to try the Wednesday morning class as well. Maybe I'll like being a morning workout person?
11:00am: W. and I both decide to call our respective moms. My mom and I try to talk at least once a week on the phone (we also text every day, I just haven't mentioned it, whoops) and we catch up on random bits of each other's lives for about 45 minutes or so. I tell her about Halsey cancelling tour and we're a bit worried, as we're supposed to see Maroon 5 together later in the year after it got rescheduled from 2020. Hopefully by the fall we'll have herd immunity, though I'm not super positive that concerts will happen. I miss concerts :(
12:00pm: I do a bit of apartment maintenance: taking out the trash, breaking down boxes and taking them to recycling, wiping down the countertops, etc. W. comes out to the living room when his phone call ends and we try to decide what we want to do. W. is still not feeling great, which is worrying, but he has no COVID symptoms. He gets a quick telehealth appointment and is assured that he most likely has the cold/head flu thing that is going around and should stay home to not burden the healthcare system. The doctor assures him that me coming/going from the apartment shouldn't transmit whatever W. has and that while he should stay home until he is feeling better, as long as I'm sanitizing and showering often, I can leave. I'm guessing a lot of people are asking that question since the doctor told him that unprompted, and I'm relieved to know that I won't be unknowingly getting someone else sick.
1:00pm: W. and I decide to order Vocelli's for a late lunch/early dinner: bacon and cheddar pizza rolls and a build-your-own stromboli with bacon, spinach, and extra cheese. I have a GrubHub gift card from Christmas so we don't have to pay out of pocket for this meal. We play some video games together until the food gets here, then pause to eat and watch an episode of Shark Tank. When we finish eating, we go back to gaming because there isn't much else to do while W. is sick.
7:00pm: I move into the bedroom so we can watch the Rangers-Penguins game on my iPad while he plays a different video game and I scroll on my phone. My dad randomly calls me, and I'm worried something happened to my grandpa (he's my last living grandparent and lives alone). Luckily, Grandpa is fine and my dad was just jealous that I talked to my mom this morning while he was out running errands. He's adorable. We catch up for about ten minutes before he has to go. When 8:00 rolls around, we switch over to the Wizards-Spurs game since they're finally playing again and mute the hockey game. Both teams lose and I'm a sad sports fan. We brush our teeth and throw on some Futurama to fall asleep to.
Total: $0
Day Seven - Monday, 1/25
7:00am: Usual weekday wakeup routine. When it's time to get to work, W. decides he'll work from the bedroom so he can continue to rest. We order Starbucks (peppermint mochas for both of us, turkey and pesto panini for him, sprouted grain vegan bagel for me) on UberEats and split the cost because we wouldn't normally have it delivered ($14.87). I listen to calls while I work and get dressed in a bright color Girlfriend Collective set and black Forever 21 active tank to try and offset the dreary weather.
10:00am: Out of my first set of meetings and I run the laundry down to the laundry room ($3.25). I listen to a Twitch stream while I work and continuously check on the Louis Vuitton I'm bidding on. The auction ends tonight at 8pm and I'm still winning!
1:00pm: Still working through projects. I have been outbid past the maximum I set for myself on the Louis Vuitton, which is disappointing but I'm sure I'll get one eventually. I can still dream about it in the meanwhile :)
2:15pm: I take a quick break to package up my old Fitbit and place an order for a replacement. It ends up being free because of my full refund; the only cost is not having a tracker for a week or so. Could be worse! I make myself an energy drink using the powder that we ordered earlier this week to fuel my afternoon meetings with some non-coffee energy.
4:30pm: I throw on my sneakers and mask, grab my gym bag, and head off to boxing. After a few tough client requests today, throwing some punches feels amazing!
5:30pm: Out of class and off to Safeway and Target for some filler groceries. I did a big food shopping last Monday and we ended up doing a lot of takeout, so we don't need much. I get milk, yogurt, frozen berries, ciabatta rolls, frozen popcorn chicken, peanut butter pretzels, and two types of cereal. I text W. to let him know I'm on my way home ($23.70 for my half) and despite the drizzle, it is a refreshing walk.
6:30pm: Freshly showered and time to decide what to do for the evening. I find a movie, Collateral, by doing a reference search for a movie vibe that I loved (Inside Man, if you're curious) but am disappointed to find out it's not available on any streaming service. W. saves the day by telling me we actually own it on DVD but have never watched it, and lo and behold, it's buried in our giant plastic tub of DVDs. Movie night saved! We curl up on the couch and watch the movie with leftover Popeye's.
8:45pm: The movie is done and I'd give it a solid 4/5 stars. While discussing our favorite parts of the movie, we get into a random fight. I find myself getting heated for no reason, take a deep breath, and ask him to explain his side. W. has severe anxiety, and it turns out he had a few anxiety attacks during the movie so he wasn't articulating himself properly. We talk it out and he apologizes; he's made a lot of progress on dealing with his anxiety, but he has a long way to go. Not wanting to end the night on a bad note, we decide to stay up a little later than usual so we can watch some more Real Housewives and feel better by the time we go to bed. Asleep by 11:30.
Total: $41.82
Weekly Expenses:
Food + Drink: $118.71
Fun / Entertainment: $5.99
Home + Health: $68.06
Clothes + Beauty: $24.87
Transport: $0
Other: $33.38
Lastly, reflect on your diary!
This diary was very typical in some ways, and atypical in others. I normally cook a lot more, but with W. being sick I definitely used that as an excuse for takeout, hence why I'm following WW to try and lose weight! I think if I continue to be careful with my spending I can pay off my student loans this year and build my emergency fund back up, so I'm definitely buying less "fun" things in 2021… but if another Louis Vuitton comes around I'll probably bid on it :)

"WORK!" It really never ends. I understand the work I currently do is vitally important to the Army. I don't particularly enjoy my job when compared to the work of my last assignment. The chaos ebbs-and-flows, but it's the first nine-to-five job I have held in nearly twenty years. The world could be on fire, but it's not my problem when the minute hand strikes quitting time. That does not mean "work" is over. Work is really never over when you live in a house with six Christmas Trees. Work never ends!
"There are not enough days in the week." Most of FUckers have heard those words, and some of us have even uttered them in angst. I have a slightly different take, and I personally believe there are not enough days in the weekend. I absolutely treasure the free-time, between sporting events, I have on Saturday and Sunday. Sadly, my acronym creating superpower is semi-useless, and does nothing to extend the weekend. I just have to pray they are good. Dear Reader, this past weekend was superb!
I don't drink beer during the week. It's not because I don't enjoy it either. I have too much "work" to do, and my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a detriment. I drink fast. If something is "open," it is my sole purpose in life to drink it. This is not a problem with water or other non-alcoholic beverages. However, this superpower can quickly become problematic when I am drinking alcohol. Therefore, I limit my drinking to the weekends.
There have numerous occasions when sober Sloppy stumbles into the garage to find that drunk Sloppy had a brilliant idea.
Sobber Sloppy: What the fuck is that?
Sloppy Brain: Looks like the idiot started to build something last night?
Sobber Sloppy: Can we turn it into something? Just what the fuck was Drunk Sloppy thinking?
Sloppy Brain: Maybe it's upside down?
Turns it around
Sobber Sloppy: Fuck. That guy is brilliant. I can totally use one of these whatever-the-fuck-it-is things in the garage.
I have cleaned-up and repaired a lot of drunk Sloppy's blunders. Drunk Sloppy can be a real Sloppy person. This past week was hectic, and I honestly felt like I was traveling are supersonic speed. I crashed hard on Friday, and did something I rarely ever do on the weekend; I woke up early. I was out in the garage before 0800 on Saturday morning to watch ESPN College Gameday.
The ESPN College Gameday commentators were affirming my ESPN College Pick'Em predictions when the ruckus started. I could hear a muffled argument outside the garage. My better judgement told me it was none of my business, but I have a fondness for chaos and drama, and a deep desire to know more. I instinctively opened the garage door in an attempt to garner more understanding. Dear Reader, I was not disappointed.
Karen was screaming at Ken. This was not "typical" screaming either. This was the loudest screaming I have ever witnessed. I knew with unequivocal certainty that Ken was pleasuring her ham-wallet with a barrel cactus. It is the only rational reason for Karen to scream with such velocity. I know we live in different corners of this flying blueberry, but Dear Reader, I would not be surprised if you opened your garage door when you heard the ruckus.
I stumbled outside the garage to find that Ken was taking the verbal abuse like an apathetic champion. Ken was standing at the rear of Karen's car, and the Meow Mix laden stink-breathe was slowly removing the wrinkles out of the shirt Ken has been wearing for the last three days. It was a sight to behold. Karen had summoned her inner Carole Baskin, and it was only a matter of time before Ken would be hand-carved, and feed to an apex predator.
Sloppy Brain: Do something to remain unnoticed.
Grabs truck keys, and opens rear door of 4Runner. Returns inside garage.
Karen: YOU LEFT IT OPEN ALL NIGHT!
Muffled Crying!
Ken: I am sorry dear. We will get this fixed.
Karen: We? It's ruined. YOU RUINED IT. How are YOU going to fix this? YOU ARE GOING TO FIX THIS.
Ken: I will. I will get it fixed. Nothing is ruined.
I am now going to-and-from the 4Runner with random items and jostling things around inside. I then climb inside the 4Runner, and continue to do "stuff-and-things" so I can garner more understanding. I don't know why Karen is irate, but I was determined to know. She was about to achieve critical mass and explode. I have personally opened the door of a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED/Car Bomb), but I felt a greater sense of danger being this close to Karen as she verbally undressed Ken's manhood.
Sloppy continues to jostle items around inside the 4Runner.
Karen: YOU LEFT IT OPEN ALL NIGHT. ALL NIGHT KEN. IT. IS. RUINED.
Sloppy Brain: What the fuck is she...Oh! OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD.
Pause
Sloppy Brain: THIS IS AWESOME!
Going to sleep Friday night was not a hard task. It was enjoyable. The window beside my bed was slightly cracked, and the sound of pounding rain was pleasant on my ears. It started raining around nine, and it was a torrential downpour throughout the night. According to the National Weather Service, the rain continue throughout the evening, and only subsided around 0700.
Sloppy Brain: (Smile) Ken left the trunk of Karen's car open all night long. ALL-FUCKING-NIGHT!
I always back my car into the driveway. I always have. It appears that I also started a trend. Shortly after moving in, all my neighbors started backing their cars in the driveway. Everyone wants to be like Sloppy, Ken included. Well Dear Reader, there is a slight incline in Ken's driveway. The water filled the trunk of his car, and then proceeded down the path of least resistance. That path happened to be inside the entire car.
Karen: (SOBBING!) IT'S TOTALLY RUINED KEN. YOU RUINED MY CAR.
I was now Ken's time to jostle stuff-and-things. He disappeared into his garage and I was wondering if I was about to hear one, or two gunshots. After all, sharing-is-caring. I pondered Ken's intentions for a second, and then I see him return with a bucket. Ken then started scooping full buckets of water from the interior of his trunk. Dear Reader, they were FULL BUCKETS OF WATER!
I did my best to remain incognito, but the gig was up. The initial yelling was appealing. I needed to know. The follow-on screaming and crying was slightly funny, but watching Ken remove entire buckets of water from the interior of his car was absolutely comical. Dear Reader, I failed to contain my laughter.
Sloppy exits 4Runner with happy-tears-of-joy on his face. Sloppy was noticed.
There is an invisible force-field on our property line, but Karen came screaming towards me. Hippos! Hippos are the second largest land animal. They look like docile creatures, but they are extremely dangerous. This applies to Karen. She is undoubtedly the largest land animal in my housing development, and she too is a very dangerous.
Karen stampeded to my property line like a hippo. Her 20-inch (50cm) canines exposed. The smell of Fancy Feast did not recognize the invisible boundary. I felt like I had just been sprayed with Dollar Store perfume, but I was still giggling.
Karen: WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?
Sloppy: (Puzzled) Who? Me?
Karen: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS SO FUNNY?
Sloppy: I was just looking at a defeated Ken dump four buckets of water from the trunk of your car. It's pretty funny.
Looks to Ken
Sloppy: Thanks Ken. You just made my day brother!
Karen: The "neighborly" thing to do would have been to tell us.
Sloppy Brain: Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Angry Mode: Engaged!
Sloppy: Seriously? For starters, I did not know your trunk was open, and even if I did I...
Karen: YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TOLD US!
Sloppy: Do you know Tanya.
Karen: (Category-5 Tornado) WHO? WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH...
Sloppy: Your 49 year old man-child almost hit her daughter with a car. She has been to your door four fucking times and you guys never answer. She knows your home. You have four Ring cameras, and you know she is there. Yet, you never answer the door. WHY THE FUCK WOULD I BOTHER?
Karen: YOU ARE A HORRIBLE NEIGHBOR. A HORRIBLE PERSON.
Sloppy: Remember when you apologized for the drama? Remember when you wanted to be civil? Yet, you didn't return the three basketballs that went into your yard, and you had the audacity to demand my child walk two miles to the community basketball court instead of playing in my own backyard? I do. So, NO, I would not have told you. Even if I knew.
Ken now has passenger doors open and is removing smaller bucket loads of water.
Karen: MY CAR IS RUINED, AND YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Sloppy: YES. I THINK THIS IS FUNNY
Pause
Sloppy: Alexa! Play "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Amazon Alexa: Here's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival on Amazon Music.
Sloppy: Alexa. Volume 10.
Loud, Loud. Loud Music Starts. Sloppy Starts Singing!
Someone told me long ago There's a calm before the storm I know, it's been comin' for some time When it's over, so they say It'll rain a sunny day I know, shinin' down like water
I want to know, have you ever seen the rain? I want to know, have you ever seen the rain? Comin' down on a sunny day
Yesterday, and days before Sun is cold and rain is hard
Sloppy: (Summoned Innner Fogerty) I WANT TO KNOW. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN...
Male Hippo Rushes Over
Ken: DO YOU THINK THAT'S APPROPRIATE?
Sloppy Brain: It's early, but you are on a roll. Don't quit now!
Sloppy: My apologies. You're right. That song was not appropriate.
Karen: YOU ARE JUST A HORRIBLE PERSON!
Sloppy: Alexa! Play "Who'll Stop The Rain."
Alexa: Here's "Who'll Stop The Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
More Loud Music!
Long as I remember the rain been comin' down Clouds of mystery pourin' confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun. And I wonder still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
I went down Virginia seekin' shelter from the storm
Ken: You're a real asshole Sloppy.
Karen: I CAN NOT WAIT FOR YOU TO MOVE!
Sloppy: Alex. Repeat that song.
Alexa: I'll repeat the song.
Song Starts Again!!!
Sloppy: Long as I remember. The rain been comin'...
Ken: (Looks at Karen) We aren't gonna get anywhere with him. I'LL FIX THE CAR.
Sloppy: (Karen's Voice) But it's ruined Ken. You ruined it.
Hippos storm away!
Dear Reader, I know I went a bit too far. I don't feel bad though. They are burden on me, as I have become a burden on them. The thing I am most thankful for is Creedence Clearwater Revival. I mean two songs about rain? They first asking, "Have You Ever Seen The Rain," and then turnaround and ask "Who'll Stop the Rain." They need to get their shit together. Guess I am happy that one artist produced two fitting songs, and my scatter-brain managed to instantly recall them due to the dire importance of the situation. Saturday was GREAT (Getting Rain Equals Automobile Turbulence).
Cheers,
Sloppy

Section Zero: Thank you in advance for reading! I love Money Diaries and I've written them before but this is my first time submitting/posting. Sorry it's kinda long, but I'm personally nosey so I included details that I would want to know as a reader. Maybe I went overboard tho lol. Also this is a throwaway for the MD subreddit.
Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: ~$23k. I’ve never not contributed to my 401k, but in the past my nominations were way smaller (3-4%) and my previous employers didn’t match as generously. This job is the first time I’ve contributed double digits (specific figures noted below).
Equity if you're a homeowner: None yet; planning to move to the East Coast and buy there in 2 years.
HYSA: $17k (emergency fund)
Acorns: $5.5k
Twine: $20k (this is a shared account with my BF where we both contribute; this balance is mostly his and will go towards a combo of our engagement + wedding)
Brokerage: $260k (inheritance)
Coinbase: $2.1k; I loosely keep up with the crypto world and keep a few long term investments in here.
Checking account balance: ~$2k at any given time for recurring payments. I usually pay for everything else through my credit card (Chase Sapphire) to get dem points!
Credit card debt: $0, pay off each month
Student loan debt: $0, paid off. I graduated with ~$24k in loans for a Bachelors in PMarketing from a private university. I had about half of my tuition covered by scholarships and grants, my parents paid what they could, and I took out loans for the rest. For two years I paid the loans off monthly, then my family received an inheritance which my parents gave me a part of to pay off the loans.
Section Two: Income
\*I don’t combine finances with my bf but we live together (going on 2.5 years now) which definitely impacts my expenses. He makes* $82k per year. Other than rent, we don’t split anything evenly. He’ll pay a few times, then I will. You’ll see this in my diary.\**
Income Progression (post college only): I've been working for 4 years & my starting salary was $45k. I worked in social media for 3 years, then switched to ops in January 2020.
2016 - Social Media Coordinator, Midwest: $45k + OT, brought me to $50k ish
Industry: corporate retail
2017 - Account Executive, California: $58k
Industry: social media/consumer tech (agency)
2018 - Social Media Specialist, Midwest: $55k
Industry: corporate retail
2020 - Marketing Ops Analyst, Midwest: $80k + bonus
Industry: tech
Main Job Monthly Take Home: $3930/mo
Monthly Deductions
401k: $1332/mo (13% + 6% match)
Health insurance (medical & dental): $97; this is going to go down a bit in the new year because I just switched plans. Vision is covered by my employer.
FSA: $79.14; also going to go down, switching to an HSA where my company contributes $750 so I won’t be adding as much of my own money
ESPP: $266.68
Disability: $7.56
Side Gig Monthly Take Home
$0. This is actually the first time in awhile that I’m not freelancing on the side. I’ve held a mix of social media/digital marketing side gigs throughout the years, but since I’ve transitioned into operations that isn’t my strength or focus area right now. In the beginning of the year (Jan-March) I was freelancing for my previous employer until they filled my role, at a rate of $75/hr, so that will go on my taxes but I didn’t include it in my income figure because it isn’t current… maybe I should though? Haha. I made a few grand and put it all in savings
Any Other Income Here
My paternal side of the family is selling property overseas, and when the sale is complete I will receive ~$50k from the proceeds. This will go into investments/long term savings.
I also receive a lot of random gifts, bonuses and reimbursements through work, some with monetary value and some without. I don’t really consider it “income” but it counts for something I suppose… not sure where else to add it. We don’t typically receive notice of these in advance so there’s no way to really plan for it, but over the past year I’ve received:
$540 for holiday-time meals
$100 for family meal when the pandemic hit
$500 to create a home office
$250 for noise cancelling headphones
Random gift cards (Uber eats, Starbucks, Visa etc)
Holiday gift packages
I also received roughly ~$1100 in payout of my accrued PTO when my company switched to unlimited earlier this year. I had only been with the company for a few months at that point so didn’t have a ton saved up.
Section Three: Expenses
Rent / Mortgage / HOA fees: $850/month. T pays $950, because he pays for the parking spot. Our rent + parking is $1800 total, for a 2 bed 1 bath in the Lakeview area (~1200 sq ft). No washedryer in unit but it is free in the basement. Small porch and backyard. It’s not the most updated place ever but the second bedroom allows me to have my own office and overall gets the job done lol.
Renters / home insurance: $7.50/mo ($15/mo through Lemonade; my bf pays and I reimburse him for my share every 6 months)
Savings contribution: Whatever is leftover at the end of the month goes to a HYSA or Acorns/other investment apps.
Donations: I don’t donate regularly on a monthly basis, but I have donated ~$750 this year to various causes (Lebanese Red Cross, my alma mater for giving day, animal shelters I’ve adopted from, etc). My company matches up to $5k in donations, so I’ve been able to double my impact which is nice. My company also gives time off to volunteer, and I’ve logged 60 hours of volunteer time since January.
Electric/Wifi/Cable/Landline: T pays
Cellphone: on my mom’s family plan
Subscriptions
Book of the Month: $14.99/mo
Netflix/Hulu/HBO Max: We have profiles via T’s dad’s account.
Amazon: Use my mom’s account when I need to, which isn’t often.
Spotify: $9.99/month
Gym membership: Work pays; Melissa Wood Health ($9.99/mo) and Peloton app ($12.99/mo)
Pet expenses: ~$100/mo for my share for 3 animals (one dog, two cats). Some months are higher than others, like when they get their annual shots, but I would guess it evens out to about this much. My dog just went on a new medication which is $37/month. We’re in the process of switching all pets over to raw food, which increases their food expense.
Car payment / insurance: None, don’t have a car.
Regular therapy: None right now, BUT this is something I need to get serious about in 2021. I had a few sessions with a therapist earlier in the year but she was just not my vibe, and the thought of having to repeat and unload my traumas multiple times until I found the right therapist put me off the whole process. If you have any recs in Chicago on the north side lmk!
~~
Day 1 (Sunday)
9:55 am: Good morning, world! Roll out of bed, put on a pot of coffee and join my boyfriend T on the couch. He’s playing video games so I scroll through social media and my email. I see that Overtone is running a 20% off promo, so I get a dark red coloring conditioner for my hair. I love this brand for non-permanent hair color that doesn’t strip or dry out my hair like salon coloring does, and it’s fun to play around with different shades. With tax and shipping it comes to $34.63.
11 am: We really want pancakes but don’t have ingredients so we take a walk to Whole Foods for mix. It comes out to $3.86 but T pays. We get home and I do a quick 18 minute Melissa Wood video while T prepares the pancakes. When I get out of the shower, the pancakes are ready - perfect timing!
1 pm: We dial into a Zoom birthday celebration for T’s grandmother, who is turning 90! She is in a nursing home on the east coast (where he is from) and the family has only been able to do 20 minute drive-by visits due to the pandemic, so this means a lot to her. We spend about an hour on the call, then start our Sunday chores. I clean the bathroom and do the dishes while T vacuums. Then I grab my laptop to get a jump start on work for the week, with Red Zone on in the background so I can keep tabs on my Fantasy players.
4 pm: Wrap up my work for the afternoon, heat up some food (leftovers from Persian takeout the other night. If you like Greek/mediterranean food, I highly suggest you try Persian!!) and watch a Her Atlas YouTube video while I eat. I have wanted to visit Japan for years, and that’s going to be mine and T’s big, yearly international trip once it’s safe to travel again. Last year we did Spain.
7 pm: The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing, reading (I’m currently on Obama’s new book), snacking and watching Gilmore Girls...aka my favorite type of Sunday. My mom got us the Bonne Maman advent calendar this year and we’ve been doing a cheese and cracker appetizer with each day’s jam. Today’s is a pineapple preserve. T and I spend some time looking up recipes to make for the week and decide on two Half Baked Harvest recipes. T places a Whole Foods delivery order for the items we need; it comes out to $45 and he pays. Head to bed around 10 pm.
Daily total: $34.63
Day 2 (Monday)
7:45 am: Top of the morning! I wouldn’t usually be excited for a Monday, but this is my last full 5-day work week of 2020 - woo hoo! I fix my coffee, feed the cats and get started on my morning routine. I wash my face with Cerave cleanser, followed by Klairs toner, Melano CC spot treatment and Supergoop sunscreen. My company has a very meeting-heavy culture and I’m on camera all day long, so I typically do a light makeup routine of tinted moisturizer, blush, eyebrow gel and mascara. Even though we’re working from home, it does wonders for my confidence to feel put together on camera. Not everyone’s vibe, but it works for me. Leggings forever, though!
12:15 pm: Quick break for lunch after a busy morning of meetings, spreadsheet work and deck building. I was supposed to have my quarterly skip level this morning but it got moved to Thursday, which is fine cus it gives me more time to prep. Lunch is a “harvest bowl”: roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash, sauerkraut, avocado scrambled eggs and furikake seasoning on top. We’re running low on the seasoning so I add it to mine and T’s shared iCloud note for Trader Joe’s items.
5 pm: Now that it’s pitch black and I’m tired and cold, I decide to take my last bit of work from the couch under a blanket. My mom calls me and we chat for a bit. Wrap up around 6:30 and opt to skip working out. Daylight savings zaps my motivation.
7 pm: Dinner is our Bonne Maman jam app (strawberry rhubarb) with crackers, leftover butternut squash gnocchi soup that we made late last week, and Trader Joe’s chocolate covered banana slices for dessert. Watch Gilmore Girls then move to bed to read Obama. Lights out around 10:15.
Daily total: $0
Day 3 (Tuesday)
8:15 am: I had horrible insomnia last night so I sleep in a bit. I tried melatonin, CBD, meditation...nothing worked. I know it’s because of my stressful work projects coming up. I get up, put on coffee and pray these next 8 working days go by fast! Repeat the same morning routine.
9:30 am: Get an email from our team EA with information on our Adopt-a-Family for this year and donation options. I venmo her $50.
10 am: Breakfast time! I make a green “juice” in my Vitamix (water blended with apple, pear, cucumber, lemon, spinach, and ginger), more coffee and some Seven Sundays muesli with coconut milk.
1 pm: Lunch break; I make the same harvest bowl as yesterday and use up all the roasted veggies, which makes me happy cus I love getting rid of leftovers and freeing up fridge space. I also make a chocolate macaroon David’s Tea.
2 pm: Check my personal email and see a 20% off coupon from Bombas, so I order merino wool socks for T and my mom as stocking stuffers. After shipping and tax it comes to $34.80. I also receive some forms from the DC embassy of the country where my relatives are selling property, but it’s all in the local language so I forward them the email so they can translate it for me.
5 pm: Spend the afternoon working on an audit project and presenting a new process I created to one of our teams. I serve as an admin for an external software we use in marketing, and one aspect of my role is optimizing how teams use that software and establishing infrastructure to scale. The presentation goes really well! Also get an email from HR saying everyone is getting a $50 giftcard of their choice for the holidays; I browse the options and choose Nordstrom.
5:45 pm: Quick abs and arms Melissa Wood workout, shower, then back to work...on the couch this time, though. My alma mater has a basketball game tonight so I turn that on in the background. They are stomping on the competition, so I don’t have to pay attention too closely. I love non stressful, easy-win games lol.
6:30 pm: A random Amazon package shows up, and I can’t for the life of me remember ordering anything. I open it up to find a ring light as a holiday gift from our team’s VP! This is actually perfect bc it’s going to be gray and gloomy in Chicago for the foreseeable future. I set it to charge so I can use it for tomorrow’s video calls.
7:30 pm: Dinner time! T made a Half Baked Harvest Asian noodles recipe. I wrap up work and we turn on Gilmore Girls. After an episode, I do my night routine and move to bed to read Obama. Night routine consists of Simple micellar water, Cerave cleanser, Klairs toner, prescription retinol (0.05% tretinoin), Cosrx moisturizer and The Ordinary squalane oil as the cherry on top. Lights off at 10 pm ish.
Daily total: $84.80
Day 4 (Wednesday)
8 am: Made it halfway through the week! I’m woken up by Karen, our Roomba vacuum. My insomnia was a bit more mellow last night. I couldn’t fall asleep for awhile but I think I ended up getting a solid 6 hours or so of shuteye, which is more than I can say for the night before. I’ll take it!
9 am: Today is going to be spent on my audit project, working in a spreadsheet all day…. Ugh. But on the bright side, my boss messages our team saying we have permission to expense lunch or wine for extra motivation! Wine for me, please.
12:30 pm: I’m making better progress on my audit project than I thought I would, so I decide to run a couple lunch errands with T. It feels so nice to get outside and step away from my screens for a bit. It’s also 50 degrees and sunny (this is cause for celebration in Chicago in December)! First we stop by the vet to pick up a refill of the dog’s meds. The med price recently went up so I make a mental note to call CVS to see if they can fill a generic for cheaper. Next stop is Whole Foods for my motivation wine, and also a few items we forgot in T’s order from earlier in the week. We get salmon, feta cheese, beets, coffee creamer, eggs, pepper jack and Olly sleep gummies. It comes to $61.80 and I pay. I also get my wine which comes to $22.15 but that goes on my company card.
4:30 pm: I finish my audit work! Another coworker on the project is a bit behind on her portion though so I offer to help...not out of the woods yet. I decide I deserve a spreadsheet break and have a bit of time before a call with colleagues in Singapore, so I do a 20 minute Melissa Wood workout. I was really skeptical of home exercise when lockdown first started, but I’ve grown to love it! It’s nice being able to squeeze movement in without having to schlep to the gym. After the workout, it’s back to my office to get some audit work done before my call.
6:30 pm: Call is over so it’s Motivation Wine time! I pop open the bottle to breathe while I shower, then pour a glass for more audit work. T prepares dinner, which is a Half Baked Harvest artichoke salmon recipe. If you’re thinking “this chick never cooks,” you thought right lol. T does most of the cooking and I do most of the cleaning. He also tends to do more of the dog duties, while I handle the cats. We find our balance.
9 pm: T and I finish Gilmore Girls! This was my third time watching the entire series; we chat about the ending and his thoughts. I tell him we have to watch the Netflix revival next, even though it sucks. We head to bed around 10:30.
Daily total: $61.80
Day 5 (Thursday)
8 am: No insomnia last night!! I knocked right out and slept a solid 10 hours, so I’m feeling GOOD. Coffee, feed cats, skincare, muesli, the usual.
9 am: I dial into our Chicago office winter town hall meeting and keep it on in the background while catching up on email. A local nonprofit founder is the guest speaker, and during the call he makes an announcement that the Chicago office will be receiving free copies of his new book! I’ve actually done a lot of volunteer work with this nonprofit and the founder has an awesome backstory, so I’m excited to read the book.
11:30 am: Coming up for air from a very productive morning! I had my rescheduled skip level chat - my VP confirmed I’ll go up for promotion in the next round and said I’m all around #killingit, which is always nice to hear. I also had a session with my mentee who is a college student interning at my company; we did a LinkedIn workshop and got her profile to the All Star level! Being a mentor is new for me and it’s harder than I thought, but she was more engaged than usual so I’m happy with today’s meeting. I check my email to see I sold something on Poshmark, so I send the label to Fedex to print, which costs $0.15. I’ll make a whopping $11 on my sale. Drop the package in a USPS drop box on my way back.
5:30 pm: Wrapping up early for once this week! I had a presentation this afternoon that went awesome; my boss said it’s a huge win and wants to make sure I get it in front of our SVPs. After work I go for a 4 mile run by the lake. Arrive home to another random package, which ends up being my company’s 2020 ugly Christmas sweater and a mask. Sweet!
9 pm: Since it’s been a hectic week, I decide to treat T and I to a fancy take out meal for tomorrow night from our favorite sushi spot in the city. They require advanced ordering and scheduled pick up so I place the order $95 platter for 2 + a fuji apple crisp dessert for 7 pm pick up tomorrow evening. With fees and tip it comes to $138.40. This is actually a very good deal; anytime we’ve eaten in the actual restaurant it’s at least $200+.
Daily total: $138.55
Day 6 (Friday)
8 am: TGIF! T and I usually do a neighborhood coffee date on Fridays, barring any crappy weather. We bundle up and take the dog with us to Coffee & Tea Exchange - they have the best seasonal lattes. I get a gingerbread cheesecake latte and T gets a fancy hot chocolate (he’s not a coffee drinker, which is CRAZY to me!). With tip it's $10.10; I pay.
9 am: T makes us pancakes for breakfast bc #Friday, but then 30 mins later I get a surprise donut delivery from work! Regretting all those pancakes now. I text our neighbors to see if they want any and they do, so I leave them on their back porch.
10:30 am: Dial into a department all hands and chat with our Chicago hub slack channel on the side. I work on a distributed team, meaning we’re spread across the country. I’m the only person in Chicago, so it’s nice to have a connection to local coworkers since I can’t go into the office.
12:30 pm: Virtual holiday party time! We play ‘Never Have I Ever’ which is fun; I learn a lot of silly facts about my team and especially my boss.
6:30 pm: Drowning in preparation for my global project kicking off on Monday, but break to go pick up my bougie sushi order. We get home, I eat, then I get back online for a couple hours to get to a better stopping point.
9:30 pm: Call it quits for the day and join T on the couch for our alma mater’s basketball game. This one isn’t as much as a blowout as the other night, keeping the faith though!
10:30 pm: We lose the game. :( Put on “Meet Me in St. Louis” to lift our spirits with some jolly showtunes. T insists I let him help me with my audit project, so I tell him to go for it. He stays up til midnight working on it. I fall asleep watching the movie.
Daily total: $10.10
Day 7 (Saturday)
10:15 am: Saturday, best day! I slept for 10+ hours so I’m feeling great. Put on coffee and join T on the couch to read my book. T makes us spinach pepper jack omelettes, and helps me with my work project again. He’s a gem. At 1:30 pm we put on T’s cousin’s Zoom wedding.
2:30 pm: After the wedding, I order T’s final Christmas present, which are a pair of boots from Thursdays he hinted at. With tax it comes to $211. After that I do a Nicki Minaj full body strength workout on Peloton, which kicks my butt but is so fun.
4 pm: We go on a Target run for some household items; I’m also looking for things to spend my FSA balance on. T buys an Instant Pot air fryer attachment and snacks. I get a pair of 5 lb dumbbells (my Peloton workout earlier made me realize I need more variety lol), 3 Christmas cards (for my mom, for T and T’s parents), hand soap, trash bags for $60. I also buy condoms, 2 face cleansers and body lotion using my FSA card.
5:30 pm: I head downtown to a friend’s apartment to hang out. She lives in Streeterville, land of the expensive parking - I pay $15 for the evening. She makes us dinner, and we watch Elf and Gossip Girl. Random combo. She sends me home with a bunch of leftovers.
9:30 pm: Back home, dick around on my phone while T plays Assassin’s Creed. At 10:30 we turn on SNL, bc Timothee Chalamet is hosting and I love him (much to T’s dismay lol). After that we head to bed, watch an episode of Broad City, and fall asleep.
Daily total: $286
~~
WEEKLY TOTAL: $615.88
Food + Drink: $210.30
Home + Health: $60
Clothes + Beauty + Gifts: $280.43
Transport: $15
Other: $50.15
This was a fairly normal week for me, other than the Christmas gifts. T and I do takeout once per week and I typically pay since he tends to cover groceries; this takeout meal was a tad more expensive than usual but that expense itself is standard. I hope you all enjoyed reading!

Is New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau too tough for the toughest job in sports?
Article pasted below for convenience but give Ian a click. Really well done article. I'm being won over to the Thibs hire.
​
IT WAS THE summer of 2000, and to New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, it felt about 104 degrees in the shade. He decided to move summer league workouts from his Westchester base to Fairfield University, home to an air-conditioned gym. He also decided to let assistant Tom Thibodeau run the young Knicks through two practices in one day, never a great idea.
As Van Gundy recalls it, the first practice was scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon, with part two from 4 to 6 p.m. "By the time Thibs left them off in the first practice, it was 3:15," Van Gundy says. "He tells the players, 'Get off your feet. Get some rest. Get something to eat.' I'm like, 'Tom, it's 3:15. They've only got 45 minutes.'"
Two decades removed from what his former boss and longtime confidant called "the longest summer league practice ever," Tom Thibodeau returns to the Knicks as a tough guy in a tough market facing the toughest job in American sports. He was hired to save the Knicks from themselves, and his success or failure might ride on the answer to this simple question:
Is he too tough for his own good?
Yes, Thibodeau nailed down 100 NBA victories faster than any head coach before him, and yes, his career regular-season winning percentage (.589) entering the Knicks' season opener Wednesday night at Indiana ranks him ahead of the likes of Van Gundy, Doc Rivers, Larry Brown and Red Holzman. But as Van Gundy is fond of saying about sports executives itching to make changes, if they can't get you on results, they will get you on relationships.
That's what happened in Chicago, where Thibodeau made five straight playoff appearances and won 65% of his games, and in Minnesota, where he ended the franchise's 13-year playoff drought in his second season. After firing Thibodeau in 2015, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf ripped him for his refusal to engage the front office in an uninhibited exchange of ideas; management had battled the coach over the heavy minutes he assigned his top players. Before firing Thibs as coach and president in 2019, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor feuded with him over whether to honor Jimmy Butler's trade demand; Butler was dealt to Philadelphia after famously setting a preseason practice ablaze with a verbal thrashing of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and GM Scott Layden before doubling down for a national audience via ESPN's Rachel Nichols.
Now Thibs gets to work for -- two gulps -- James Dolan. It would seem a tweak or three in approach is necessary.
Especially considering that previous owners weren't alone in their discontent. Last year, Towns told WCCO in Minneapolis that Thibodeau's replacement, Ryan Saunders, was a coach who would "allow me to use all my talent" and who would maintain "a family atmosphere," and that subjecting rookies to Thibodeau's all-basketball, all-the-time culture would have been "a disrespect and a slap in the face to their development. And I want to make sure that they develop not only as players but as human beings and men."
That sounds like potential trouble for a 62-year-old coach with a young team, a coach now being asked to develop and recruit talent in a city that hasn't seen an NBA championship in nearly half a century.
Has Thibodeau learned any lesson that can be applied to the nurturing of the Knicks? Did he discover in his 18-month exile, while paying visits to Rivers and Steve Kerr and other coaches to study their methods, that he should soften his seemingly joyless pursuit of victory to make it all work in New York?
"I don't think you can choreograph your personality," says Bill Parcells, a lifelong Knicks fan from New Jersey who won Super Bowls with the 1986 and 1990 Giants, and who still stands as the ultimate New York market hard-ass. Parcells, who attended his first Knicks game 70 years ago, says he has liked Thibodeau from afar "because he gets guys to do things." He usually gets them to play hard.
"I think you have to be what you are," Parcells says. "I've seen a lot of New York coaches come and go, and there can't be anything phony about you. New York is a great place that will accept you if you're not phony, even if you were a jerk like I was at that time."
Despite his sideline disposition, Parcells knew when to end his spirited sparring matches with reporters, sit down with them and share informative and humorous tales that earned him the benefit of the doubt when needed. He also knew when a Giant required a lift.
"Putting the arm around the guy is important," Parcells says, "because the players have to see a human side of you."
Tom Thibodeau is on his third NBA head coaching job. If he has that human side tucked in his hip pocket, now is the time to show it.
John Lucas III goes back a long way with Thibodeau, including stints in Houston, Chicago and Minnesota. Brian Kersey/UPI/Newscom
IN THE TWO decades since Yankees manager Joe Torre won his fourth World Series ring in five years with a calm and gentle touch, only two coaches leading pro men's teams that carry the New York name have won championships: Tom Coughlin (with the 2007 and 2011 Giants) and Joe Girardi (with the 2009 Yankees). Both were asked by people close to them to lighten up before they won their titles, and both conceded publicly that their change in approach was a difference-maker.
Charles Way, a former running back who was then the Giants' director of player development, was among the club officials (owner John Mara was another) who told the draconian Coughlin that he had to reach the team on a personal level. Way advised the coach he should "let the players see you the way you are with your grandchildren," and soon enough, Coughlin was canceling practice, taking his team bowling, establishing a leadership council in his locker room and, ultimately, beating the 18-0 Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
Jason Zillo, a longtime Yankees PR official, was among the club officials (GM Brian Cashman was another) who told the irritable and inflexible Girardi that he should follow Coughlin's lead. Soon enough, Girardi was canceling a workout, taking his team to a billiards tournament, projecting a more candid and accessible vibe and, ultimately, beating the Phillies in six games to win the World Series.
You can't make a tough job tougher in New York. That's what Coughlin and Girardi were doing before they wised up. And they weren't working for James Dolan.
At least Thibodeau, like Parcells, knows the market. He grew up in a New Britain, Connecticut, family of seven, the son of a Knicks fan. Tom Sr. sang in the church choir and passed down a serious set of pipes to young Tom. Mike Krzyzewski, who had Thibs on his 2016 Olympic staff, said his baritone voice would've made him a perfect overnight radio host.
Thibodeau used it instead to bark orders at student-athletes from Salem State to Harvard, and then at pros from Bill Musselman's Timberwolves to the Jerry Tarkanian/John Lucas Spurs to the Lucas Sixers in Philly, where Thibodeau tutored a high school phenom named Kobe Bryant. Thibs then made it to his dream team in New York, where he won a job by lying to the head coach about his technical skills with video. "Best lie ever told to me," says Van Gundy, who quickly realized he would have been foolish to waste Thibs in the video room with those close-but-no-cigar Knicks teams of the '90s.
"It makes me laugh when people question his ability to connect with players," Van Gundy says. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' I watched him connect with divergent personalities from Charlie Ward to Larry Johnson to Patrick Ewing to [Latrell] Sprewell to [Marcus] Camby. He can connect with anyone because he's so invested in them becoming the best they can be."
Van Gundy and Thibodeau have known each other 35 years, with Jeff in the role of the younger big brother. Van Gundy saw Thibodeau help his Knicks set a league record by keeping 33 consecutive opponents south of 100 points in 2000-01. He saw Thibs fly back and forth to China while turning Yao Ming into an imposing offensive force in the post when they worked together in Houston. From a distance, he saw Thibs assemble a Belichickian defense for Rivers when the Celtics won it all in 2008.
"Everyone wants an anecdote, a story about this or that, and yet what separates coaches and players is the consistency of their greatness," Van Gundy says. "How many days are you great? There is not one day I worked with Tom that I ever thought, 'Man, he didn't bring it today.'"
The fact that he brings it as intensely as he does -- along with box scores showing his best players logging an alarming number of minutes -- either fuels the Thibodeau perception or frames the Thibodeau reality that he drives teams into the ground. "I think the media and some management teams want cuddly," Van Gundy says. "While I find Tom, personally, as soft and cuddly as a teddy bear, I don't think people see him that way. They don't want gruff, and in games Tom can appear to be gruff."
"Appear to be gruff" is one way of putting it, not that the style didn't work. Derrick Rose was the league's youngest MVP under Thibodeau in Chicago. The Bulls owned the league's best records in his first two seasons, and as a rookie who won 62 games, Thibs was named NBA Coach of the Year. Players he allegedly wore down to a nub in Chicago either played for him again or wanted to. The Roses and Butlers and Luol Dengs and Joakim Noahs still swear by him.
"The Knicks are in good hands," Noah commented on Instagram after Thibodeau was hired.
"This isn't about everybody always lighting a campfire and singing 'Kumbaya,'" Van Gundy says. "When you're a head coach, it's about driving people and teams to have more success than they would have on their own.
"When you look at the Knicks right now, the best attribute they have on their roster is Tom."
SOMETIMES IT'S FUNNY watching the NBA coaches who didn't play in the league, or even in a major college conference, scream at NBA players. Tom Thibodeau was a 6-foot-2 power forward at Salem State with barely enough foot speed to cover your grandpa. On a certain level, the sight of a Division III grinder ripping into an NBA All-Star is no less absurd than the sound of a columnist who topped out at junior high ball questioning an NBA coach's schemes.
It makes sense to go outside the small college fraternity to get a fresh perspective on one of its members. The son of a former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick, John Lucas III played major college ball at Baylor and Oklahoma State before spending eight seasons in the league, including two with Thibodeau in Houston, two with him in Chicago and one with him in Minnesota, before becoming his development coach there. Lucas was also a young ball boy for his old man and Thibodeau in San Antonio and Philadelphia, making him one of basketball's leading Thibs-ologists.
Lucas says he was amazed at how often Thibodeau could call out the opponent's play before its point guard shouted an instruction or held up a certain number of fingers. "He's one of the greatest advance scouts ever to do it," Lucas says.
In Houston 15 years ago, the 5-foot-11 Lucas, then a rookie, ran smack into Thibodeau's blunt method of teaching.
"Who do you think you are?" Thibs asked.
"Man, I'm Allen Iverson," Lucas said. "I play like AI."
"Are you s---ting me?" Thibs responded. "You know who you should watch more of? Dana Barros."
The coach was only trying to give a small scoring guard a realistic path to a meaningful career. "Managing your expectations without killing your dream," Lucas says. "That's what he's so good at."
The former NBA veteran has a Thibodeau work-ethic anecdote; they all do. "Basketball is his life, he never got married," Lucas says. "I'm with the Bulls and I come into the gym with D-Rose at 10:30 at night, and Thibs is in there breaking down film from four years ago. He's breaking down every pick-and-roll this team ran in a playoff series. We all left after practice, went home, had dinner, decompressed, and then me and Derrick go back in there at 10:30 and he's still there."
Lucas believes the Thibodeau Bulls, who were eliminated by LeBron James three times in five years, would have won a title had Rose not blown out his knee. In the end, Lucas says, "I don't think Thibs has to tweak anything when it comes to player relationships. Every player I know who played for him loves him. Thibs wants you to put your hard hat on and come to work. It's not Club Med.
"People in the league don't look at him the way people in the media look at him."
Karl-Anthony Towns wasn't thrilled with Thibodeau's style of player development. AP Photo/Jim Mone
IS THIS THIBODEAU angle really just a media thing? Butler's agent, Bernie Lee, says his client "would endorse Thibs for anything under the sun" despite their Minnesota meltdown. Agent Bill Duffy, who has had clients with Thibs all over the place (including Rajon Rondo in Boston, Yao in Houston, Noah in Chicago, Zach LaVine in Minnesota and now RJ Barrett in New York), says none of his guys had issues with Thibodeau's brand of coaching. "If you just don't want to be pushed to the hilt," Duffy says, "Thibs is not your cup of tea."
Of course, an athlete saying he doesn't want to work for Thibodeau is not tantamount to an athlete conceding he doesn't want to work hard. The Athletic conducted an anonymous poll last year of 127 NBA players that asked them 16 questions, including this one: Which coach, aside from your own, would you not want to play for? Thibodeau was the runaway winneloser at 34.6%, receiving 18 votes from the 52 respondents. (He was the only coach to receive more than a dozen votes.) Another question -- Which coach, aside from your own, would you want to play for? -- was answered by 121 players, who named 22 coaches in all. Tom Thibodeau did not receive a single vote.
That makes him an interesting hire for a franchise desperate to upgrade its roster. The Knicks, who had one of the league's youngest teams last season, finished a preseason victory over Cleveland last week with five players on the court ranging in age from 20 to 22. They have won one playoff series in 20 years, and Las Vegas oddsmakers project them to win 22.5 games in this 72-game season.
The Knicks looked surprisingly good in four preseason games against two lousy opponents, the Pistons and the Cavaliers; on cue, Thibodeau still appeared annoyed in a Saturday night rout of the Cavs with his team raining down threes and leading by nearly 50 points. He knows that even with the additions of first-round picks Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley, it's a lean roster filled with shooters who generally struggle from 3-point range. An inexperienced front office led by Leon Rose (former agent to Thibs and Towns, believe it or not) and William "World Wide Wes" Wesley has been charged with fixing yet another Knicks mess.
Thibodeau's chief assignment in what he called his dream job is incredibly difficult to pull off but simple to explain -- develop young talent now so major free agents want to sign up later. The Knicks have tried for too long to skip past the player development part in the megastar chase, and that's one reason LeBron James never signed up to play in his favorite arena, Madison Square Garden, and partly why Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are playing in Brooklyn.
Thibodeau just used the Giannis Antetokounmpo supermax signing in Milwaukee as a chance to remind management (already!) that the Knicks must aggressively pursue a franchise player, that organizations "have to make [deals] happen" and that "sitting back and waiting sometimes is not a good thing." Leon Rose did not use his significant cap space to sign a significant free agent in his first offseason, so it would be interesting to hear his response after a dose of truth serum.
Can Thibodeau reverse the trend of swings and misses in free agency by molding his young players into playoff-level pieces, by embracing new player wellness trends and by becoming more user-friendly along the way?
When interviewed about his firings in Chicago and Minnesota, Thibodeau has often been quicker to talk about his accomplishments than he is to cite his mistakes and the specific lessons learned from them. In a May appearance on The Woj Pod, Thibodeau did concede to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that he often asks himself, "What can I do better?" Without citing a particular planned change, Thibs added, "Is there a better way to do something, and what were the mistakes that you made, and how can you improve and learn from your mistakes? I think we all learn probably more from our mistakes than we do our successes."
The Knicks declined to make their new coach available for a one-on-one interview for this story, and Thibodeau declined to respond to emailed questions about what he might have learned from his relationship with Towns and whether he planned on showing a more human side in New York. Towns also declined an interview request on the subject of Thibodeau.
But this much is clear: New York represents an opportunity for Thibs to grow with his new team. And after Dolan turned the Garden into a dark and forbidding place, carrying on unnecessary battles with media outlets and retired fan favorites, no American sports arena needs a dose of humanity more than the world's most famous arena.
As the Knicks were closing in on Thibodeau over the summer, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins, a Thibs admirer from their time on Boston's 2008 title team, said the former Celtics assistant should "look himself in the mirror and say, 'You know what, the game has changed. I'm going to lighten up at practice. I'm learning on the fly. This is a new generation. This is not the old-school generation. I've got to have a different approach.'"
Jeff Van Gundy, the last man to lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals (in 1999), says he wants his former assistant to share more of his personality and encyclopedic knowledge of the game. Van Gundy says he gave Thibodeau a piece of advice, something along the lines of what Charles Way told Tom Coughlin and what Jason Zillo told Joe Girardi: "He should be more open with the media. I understand why you'd want to keep information close to the vest, but I also think you're speaking to the fans, through the media, especially given the hard times they're going through. Just show who you are.
"Tom loves the Knicks, and I think it's great to show that. I don't think one thing has to change in his core values. ... It's such a hell of a story. I want him to say, 'I know we can't shoot, but I grew up rooting for the New York Knicks, and now I'm coaching them.' On opening night, I want Tom to sit there and say, 'Man, you've come a long way from New Britain.'"
Perhaps Van Gundy's advice has already made a difference. During his introductory news conference, Thibodeau allowed that he did find time between his Minnesota firing and New York hiring to take a couple of vacations. "I know people don't think I do that," he said through a thin smile. "But I got away and laid on the beach in Miami for a couple of weeks, so that was fun." It turns out Thibs actually loves going to the beach.
Not much, but it was a start. Now comes the hard part -- building a champion from scratch.
Sometime over the next, oh, four to seven years, Tom Thibodeau just might be the one to finally end the Knicks' title drought. Thibs has a chance to ride in an epic ticker-tape parade before heading back to the beach -- just as long as he doesn't bury his head in the sand.

First, I'm sorry this is so long. Second - please be nice. We have debt, bad habits, and are Catholic. So if any of those things are going to get you spun up, just skip this one.
Section One: Assets and Debt Use this section to explain your current financial picture at large.
Everything here is joint – “M” and I have been married 22 years and we’ve had “smashed money” that whole time (and really for about a year before that).
Retirement Balance (and how you got there): Approximately $500,000 in a variety of IRAs and current 401(k)s.
Equity if you're a homeowner (and how much you put down and how you accumulated that payment). Bought our house in 2001 for $239,000 with 20% down (some aggressive saving and a gift from each of our parents). We refinanced, took some cash out for some home repairs, and reduced it to a 15-year loan in 2009 – our current equity would be about $195,000, but similar homes in the neighborhood are listed at $475,000-$525,000, so if we ever sell, we’re probably coming out ahead.
Savings account balance: $6,000
Checking account balance: $6,500
Credit card debt (and how you accumulated it): I hope you’re sitting down. Approximately $40,000. Yes, you read that right. How we accumulated it? The house is 90 years old and constantly falling apart, so we’ve had to charge things that needed to be done (some we wanted to have done, but some – like the time our oil burner stopped working in December – were needs). We had two dogs with numerous medical issues – I don’t want to calculate what they cost me, but they each had surgeries that were about $5,000 (each), plus other chronic and acute medical issues. And yes…for a while, we were doing and buying things we probably shouldn’t have (not bad things, just vacations, clothes, and non-essential home improvements) So…when I’m 100 and greeting people at Wal-Mart, I’ll at least have some good memories. That said, I can’t tell you the last time I used credit – if we can’t afford to pay cash, we don’t do it (and I say that fully realizing most people would feel that I shouldn’t do anything).
Student loan debt (for what degree): None – my husband went to the military and then to work after high school and I went back to community college later in life and paid as I went.
Anything else that's applicable to you: If my ex-husband dies before me, I’ll have about $6,000 in a money market that he must have forgotten about. When we divorced, he was supposed to liquidate all those accounts and give me half. He was an accountant and a SOB, so I never knew exactly what we had, but what I got seemed accurate (it paid for furniture, my wedding to M and part of this house, so I was OK with it). Lo and behold, a couple years ago, I found out we still have this money market account in both names. I tried to find him so we could liquidate/split it, but he’s missing. I get the statements here now, and the good part is he’s older than me, so I’m holding out hope he predeceases me and it will be mine.
Section Two: Income
Income Progression: I've been working in my field for a year and a half, my starting salary was $100,000. I did a salary story with the entire progression – long story short, I’ve made more, and I’ve made less, but this is probably about the average of the last five years.
My husband has been at his job for 14 years – he started there making around $75,000 and now makes $110,000. They usually give him a $10,000 bonus at the end of the year, but are always crying poverty if people ask for a raise. Prior to that, he worked for a company that paid very well and he had a 15-minute commute, but he got out one step ahead of their bankruptcy.
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
Me: $5,152
J: $6,230
Side Gig Monthly Take Home:
M is paid $1,300/month by our parish for serving as Youth Minister.
Any Other Monthly Income: $16.00
I get quarterly dividends on stock I was given when I was born (I may not have been born into money, but apparently my grandparents had friends who thought this was a good baby gift). The last few were around $50, so I divided by 3.
Section Three: Expenses
Rent / Mortgage / HOA fees (please specify how you split it if living with a partner): $3,043, which includes the property taxes and homeowner's insurance
Savings contribution: $500/month without fail (my bank transfers $100 if we get over $500 in, so once each paycheck and once when we put the church check in). More if I feel the savings needs a boost.
Debt payments:

• Credit card #1: $350/month (this is about twice the minimum)
• Credit card #2: $375/month (minimum payment)
• Credit card #3: $200/month (minimum payment - this is the next one getting whacked when #1 is paid off)

Donations: OK – anyone who isn’t screaming because I owe $40K is going to start now.

• $300/month to the church in the “collection basket” (it’s electronic, but same diff)
• $100/month to the church building fund (last year of a five-year pledge, thankfully – if I hadn’t promised to pay it, I wouldn’t)
• $25/month to Habitat for Humanity
• $20/month to Citymeals on Wheels
• ~$50/month to various other charities
• ~$100/month in food for the church food drive (we don’t have a food pantry, but collect food every week and anyone from the neighborhood can come take some. The rest is donated to several food pantries and soup kitchens in the Diocese).
• As far as volunteer hours, M and I both teach Religious Ed. I'm on the Parish Council and co-social media manager of the parish (basically, I schedule Facebook). M also videotapes the 5:00 Mass and the children’s worship message each week and uploads it to the parish YouTube channel.

Electric: $110
Gas (stove/hot water): $50
Oil: $250/month in the winter
Wifi/Cable: $179
Cellphone: $252 for both of us (I get mine expensed except $26 for my phone payment)
Subscriptions:

• $.99/month for iCloud Storage
• $545/month for life insurance for both of us, plus $202 quarterly for the life insurance policies we took out when we bought the house
• $17/month for NY Times online
• $10.86/month for Ring video doorbell
• $12.99/month for Netflix
• $9.99/month for Spotify (I think M gets reimbursed for this, because he has it for Youth Ministry)
• $119/year for Amazon Prime (yes, I know, I am an awful person)

Car payment / insurance: $295/month for my car (leased). My husband is driving a 10-year old car that is paid off. $128/month for auto insurance
Lawn care: $50/month
Commuting: Now that we’re in COVID times, I’ve been buying a 10-trip off peak railroad ticket every five days for $78.75. Pre-COVID, M and I each bought a monthly ticket for $270, and I took the subway most days for an additional $100/month. I fill up the car about once a month (~$36) and M fills his about every other week (~$70/month)
Saturday, September 26, 2020
7:45 am: Up and at ‘em! I get up, get coffee, check emails and social media and start the day.
8:00 am: M leaves the house for a long list of errands, the payment for which will be shown below. I put in a load of laundry and discover…a leak! There is a large pipe between our powder room sink (which I used when I woke up) and the outside world that runs through the basement and is apparently leaking. Yay whee. If you get one thing from this diary, let it be these words of wisdom – don’t buy an old house! No beautiful feature is worth the aggravation! I get the water (I hope it’s water) cleaned up, a load of laundry in, take a shower, do some picking up around the house, get dressed in a Rangers t-shirt and cut off distressed jeans, do my makeup (Olay microsculpting serum and Miracle Blur over the bottom of my face, pink, gray, and violet eyeshadows, a swipe of foundation under my eyes, black eyeliner, black mascara, and dark brown eye pencil. This is standard everyday makeup for me and will be repeated each day. I put volumizing mousse in my hair and blow dry it (also routine).
In the meantime, M gets a haircut ($30 including tip), sets up the video equipment at church, goes to CVS for passport photos that he needs for an application ($18.87), and goes to the religious goods store for a book of the Liturgy of the Hours ($42.31). He is starting formation for the diaconate (the process of becoming a Deacon in the Catholic Church) today, and they said he’ll need that book. He also needs the photos for his application, and he stops at the bank for two money orders – one to send with the background check request and one for his high school transcript ($26). On the way home, he picks up breakfast (brunch?) for us – classic New York BEC, SPK (bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll with salt, pepper and ketchup) for him and egg whites, turkey and swiss cheese on a whole wheat wrap for me ($10.78), as well as cigs for him and vape cartridges for me ($36).
The washing machine isn’t causing any additional leakage, so I move the wash to the dryer and start moving the winter clothes from the portable closet in front of the leaking pipe upstairs (they’re not wet, but we’re going to have to move the closet when the plumber comes).
After eating the egg sandwiches, we get changed for deacon class – I look like a good church lady in black slacks, a black and white flowered shirt with a black tank underneath, and black sandals with a chunky 2.5” heel. M goes with the classic golf shirt and dockers. While we’re getting changed, he mentions he needs new underwear, so I whip out the phone and order him some ($18.64).
6:30 pm: Home from deacon class and Mass and the groceries show up! I ordered them yesterday, but I don’t think the charge went through till today, so here goes. Asparagus, broccoli, celery, bananas, cucumber, lime, grape tomatoes, peaches, carrots, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, zucchini, frozen burgers, ground turkey, chicken breasts, whole chicken, fried chicken and a pot pie for J’s lunches, yogurt, sugar free pumpkin spice creamer (YES! I’ve been looking for it for weeks!), milk, heavy cream, OJ, k-cups, frozen green beans, cauliflower rice, stuffing mix, microwave rice, cake mix (the good ones were on sale), chicken broth, potato chips, and trash bags. Spent $154.95 including delivery, saved $14.50 (very low for me), tipped the delivery guy $10.
7:00 pm: After putting away all that food, what do we do? If you guessed order dinner, you’d be right! I don’t cook on Saturday unless we’re having company. We order from a new taco place – three each and “Mexican wings”. The wings were meh, but the tacos ranged from good to outstanding. $53.78 including tip. After dinner, M starts post-production of the Mass video and I do some laundry, watch the NASCAR race and the hockey game, and play games on my iPad. Remember, you’ll be old someday too!
11:00 pm: I go to the basement to pick up laundry and remember I wanted to order a new garden flag (this isn’t as random as it sounds – all my seasonal decorations are stored in the basement). I have had a cart set up for days with two garden flags ($6.99 each) and four magnetic mailbox covers for my parents for Christmas ($11.99 each) – they’ve talked about having a different one for each season, and I saw them when I was looking for a garden flag. Total with tax and free shipping: $61.94. I love Christmas and generally spend way too much on gifts so I’m trying to start shopping before December and at least spread out the pain. We went to a crafts fair a few weeks ago and I picked up a few things and now I’ve got this done – go me!!
12:30 pm: The hockey game is over (2 OT!) and I go to bed. M is napping waiting for his video production to finish.
Daily Total: $463.27
Sunday, September 27
7:00 am: The alarm goes off – ugh. It’s the first day of Religious Ed (virtual, but I have to do a 9:45 zoom with my 4th graders). Coffee, social media, shower, dress, makeup. Put on a black eyelet dress because we’re going back to church today so M can videotape First Communion. Do the usual makeup/hair thing.
10:30 am: My 4th graders are great and we’re ready to roll (M has on a shirt and tie in honor of the First Communion), and we’re off to Mass. Drop off the food I bought for our food pantry last week and help him video. Of course, the kids are adorable!
12:00 noon: We’re starving after church, so we stop at our favorite local pizza place on the way home. Get a variety of slices for $22.62, including a tip (we’re getting it to go, but I’m tipping everywhere, because I know restaurants have been hurt badly by the pandemic. These folks are in NYC and still haven’t opened inside dining.)
1:30 pm: Ate, ran more laundry, changed into the jeans I wore yesterday and a Yankees t-shirt and call the nail place. Of all my expenses, nails are probably the most non-negotiable – I’ve been getting my nails done for 40 years, and when I couldn’t do so during the lockdown, I was miserable. They can take me right away, which makes me happy.
3:00 pm: All 20 nails done – gel on the fingers and a regular pedicure with callus removal ($75 plus $15 tip = $90). I went with an autumn theme and got copper on the fingers and bronze toes – the nail polish looked in the jar like it would match the toes, but it doesn’t. Stop at CVS for eye cream (Olay for tired eyes) and mascara (L’Oreal Voluminous) - $27 with coupons. M asked me to pick up cigs on the way home, so I do, as well as vape cartridges, which I don’t technically need yet, but it will save a trip later in the week ($36).
3:30 pm: While at the nail place, I saw that one of our favorite local restaurants had a fire, which consumed an entire block of restaurants and small businesses. The Chamber of Commerce is doing a GoFundMe, and I donate $25 to the cause - $28.75 including the charge. I also notice that the weekly charge for my church donation went through ($75).
11:30 pm: Took a quick nap (the highlight of my week every week), put some fall decorations out, had our family Zoom call, laundry, got the end of the winter clothes moved upstairs, had dinner (roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus), made an apple crisp (I’m not a huge dessert person but M is and I like making desserts, so it works), watched baseball, football, the NASCAR race, and basketball, and took a quick shower. Bring a Light & Fit Toasted Coconut Vanilla yogurt (the best!) to bed, finish my book (“Next Stop, Chancey”) and find the next in the series on my iPad – I’ve read them all before, but I’m in the mood for something cozy, especially after reading about the Current Occupant’s taxes – ugh!) , and turn off the lights around midnight.
Daily Total: $279.37
Monday, September 28
6:45 am: I work from home M/W/F and so I can sleep in. Relatively speaking, anyway. Get dressed in a sleeveless top and shorts (despite the fall decorations, fall nails, and roast chicken/apple crisp, it feels rather summery out there), do makeup, have some coffee and scroll through emails/socials, move yet another load of laundry (I’m trying to get it all done before the plumber comes), find the number for the plumber and give it to M to call, get the trash out, and boil some eggs for breakfast this week. I’m sitting in front of the computer by 8:15, which is ok (technically, my hours are 8:30-5:30 – it’s usually more like 8:30-6:00, and on WFH days, starting at 7:30 is not unheard of). M drops off the car at the shop – I think I forgot to mention this, but he mentioned yesterday that when he was driving around Saturday, there was a grinding noise when he backed up. More joy to come, I’m sure.
9:45 am: I hear M on the phone with the garage – apparently, they can get a used part and do the job for $450. Not great, but it’s better than it might have been! He works from home basically every day except when he has to see customers, but thankfully we’re separated enough that we can hear each other but it’s not intrusive.
10:30 am: Between cursing at people on the phone, M calls the plumber and I grab some cheese and more coffee! I’d tell you about my job, but honestly, it’s not worth talking about. Basically, I go to meetings, take notes on meetings, and send follow-ups (I do other things, but that’s most of it). When I get off my 11:00 am meeting, I’ll find out when the plumber is coming. You guys are getting a much more exciting week than I expected!
12:30 pm: What a miserable day – it seems like everyone is annoyed! Take a break to eat a slice of leftover pizza and a Diet Coke (M finishes some rotisserie chicken from last week). He says the plumber may come today to look at the situation but can’t do the work till tomorrow.
6:00 pm: Keep my head down and get some work done in the afternoon and knock off for the day. Run downstairs and make dinner – “tacos” with strips of beef grilled with Korean barbecue sauce, shredded cabbage, cheddar cheese, pineapple salsa, cucumber slices, and lime inside warmed tortillas. Delicious, if I say so myself!
7:30 pm: I get on a Zoom faith sharing meeting and M gets on a Zoom religious ed class.
11:59 pm: Contemplated Sunday’s Gospel with my small group, watched Tampa Bay win the Stanley Cup, took a shower and set clothes out for tomorrow, and off to bed. M picked up the car after Religious Ed.
Daily Total: $450.00
Tuesday, September 29
5:45 am: Ugh. Up and out – I’m wearing a green dress with a black jacket and have black slingbacks in my bag. I have to walk 30 short blocks and five long blocks once I get off the train, so I’m traveling light. I used to take the subway to my office, but since COVID, I try to limit that as much as possible.
7:45 am: Off the railroad and walk uptown. I actually don’t mind the walk, because when I WFH, I walk very little – at the beginning of the lockdown, I had a nice walking routine, but lately the work seems to start the minute I wake up, so walking to work takes care of getting in those STEPS! I forgot my boiled eggs and I’m starving, so I end up buying an egg sandwich. $5.43
12:30 pm: Because I only go to the city twice a week and I have to walk uptown with all my work stuff, I don’t bring lunch often (pre-pandemic, I used to bring breakfast and lunch every day, but I also took the subway). Decide to run to Pret and my boss and co-worker both ask me to pick something up. Of course, no one (including me) has anything but a $20, so they both say they’ll get me next time. I get my favorite chicken parm wrap and a Diet Coke. $32
12:45 pm: I look at my personal email and discover that J’s car registration needs to be renewed. Hop on the DMV website and take care of that. $158.50. I also realize I never took out the sausages for tonight’s dinner and call M to ask him to do so. He mentions the plumber has still not shown up.
5:45 pm: Leave a little early to get to the Fed Ex office and make my train home. I’m a little later than I’d like to be and it’s raining, so I get the subway, which is thankfully empty, reasonably clean, and quick. $2.75
7:15 pm: M picks me up at the train station and mentions that he was so busy working that he didn’t take the sausages out. He asks me what I want to eat and we end up at Wendy’s. Cheeseburger, fries, and (surprise, surprise) a Diet Coke. He gets the same thing, but bigger. $19.75
11:30 pm: Avoid the debate by watching the Yankees pound the Indians. Usual routine (plus ironing a shirt for J, because he has to go to a customer tomorrow) and off to sleep. I’m up to Book 3 in the Chancey series, for those keeping score.
Daily Total: $218.43
Wednesday, September 29
5:30 am: Double ugh. Woke up to use the bathroom and couldn’t get back to sleep, so here we are. Get dressed (long-sleeved Yankees t-shirt, straight leg jeans), do the face, have some coffee, and try to avoid the fact that my boss sent me an email at 11:00 pm last night looking for changes to a document, which I said I would do today. Get the trash out, pick up a little around the house, and get to work by 7:00. OH, and despite the lack of plumber and his lack of general motivation, M moved the plastic closet…in front of the washing machine! Glad I bought him underwear, because I won’t be doing laundry any time soon. Now I’m wondering if he looked at the menu (I am an obsessive meal planner and post it on the fridge weekly) and that’s why he didn’t take the sausages out – he’s avoiding zoodles! He can run but he can’t hide – I have zucchini and I’m going to spiralize it sooner or later!
8:00 am: The document my boss needed is out, the agenda for our 9:00 am meeting is done, the morning emails are sorted (for now), and I got a link to our parish survey up on the Facebook page, so I make an egg and cheese on a tortilla and eat at my desk.
12:50 pm: Wednesday is conference call hell – I have recurring calls every Wednesday at 9:00, 10:30, and 11:30, and the added fun today of a 10:00. There’s also a webinar every Wednesday that I try to tune into. Grab some chips and a Diet Coke and go check it out.
2:15 pm: Still no damn plumber, but I’ll let M worry about that when he’s home tomorrow. My garden flags arrived, so that’s good. Hoping to get out and put the pumpkin one out before it gets dark, but the way today is going, that might not actually happen. However, I realize I never put dinner in the crockpot. Luckily, it only takes 3-4 hours on high, so I take care of that. It’s Tuscan Chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. By 2:30, I’m back at my desk with another Diet Coke and hard at it. Nightmares of rescheduling meetings, missing documents, etc.
6:45 pm: Still at my desk! OK, I took some time to send an email to the parish webmaster about the survey, update this, and read the R29 money diary of the day. But overall, I’ve been working with no apparent end in sight – I could easily be here all night, but I won’t be because (a) I’m falling asleep at my desk and (b) I have a 7:30 Religious Ed teachers meeting. Hopefully I won’t fall asleep during that. Make a list of things for my boss and I to review tomorrow and finish prepping dinner.
7:15 pm: Dinner was delicious – we had the chicken with rice for M and cauliflower rice for me, sautéed broccoli, and a basic salad (bagged spring mix, cherry tomatoes, cucumber). Now off to Zoom!
11:45 pm: The Yankees game is still on, but I’m showered, my clothes are set out for tomorrow, and I’m fading. Turn off the light and hope for a win.
Daily Total: $0.00 (bet you didn’t see that coming!)
Thursday, October 1
5:45 am: You know it…ugh. Get up, coffee, very quick scroll through the Yankees score/e-mail/social media. Get dressed in a black v-neck sweater, black and gray plaid skirt, and black jacket (not the same one I wore the other day). Am grateful the skirt fits – I gained some weight and am trying to resist buying clothes. Make sure I have the right shoes in my bag – I’m wearing high-heeled gray suede Mary Janes today.
8:15 am: At my desk and ready to go – I remembered to bring 2 hard-boiled eggs today, which I eat with coffee while looking through emails.
12:30 pm: Call after call after call, but I have a half-hour to eat. Run to the fancy buffet place that just re-opened for 2 meatballs, brussels sprouts, broccoli, salad, and the inevitable Diet Coke ($15.75). Manage to eat before my 1:00 pm call – go me!
3:30 pm: Leave to go to a job site and pick something up that has to be shipped to Italy. Something that's almost as tall as me, but thankfully not heavy. Taxi down there because I’m in a hurry and I can get reimbursed ($14.04, including tip), expensed.
4:00 pm: I get a cab to the Fed Ex office – thankfully the first one I see is a minivan, so I fit in just fine ($12.74, including tip), expensed.
5:30 pm: Well, that was harder than it needed to be – the Fed Ex office I went to didn’t have a box that would fit the item, so they suggested another Fed Ex office about 6 blocks away, so I had to walk through midtown Manhattan carrying an object almost as tall as me (it's 5' long and I'm 5'3" tall) while dodging oblivious people. Thankfully, the other office had my box, and they were super-sweet and helpful, but it took them forever to get it done. Bought the box and bubble wrap, which will be expensed (I brought the Fed Ex label, but I don’t remember the account number) ($43.54). Get a nice early train home, though!
6:45 pm: Wow, we’re eating when I’m usually getting the train! Cheeseburgers, tots (tater for J, cauliflower for me), green beans, and vinegar coleslaw with the end of the shredded cabbage. Get the kitchen cleaned and the dishwasher run and settle in to watch the Jets – I’m not holding out much hope, but you never know!
11:30 pm: I’ve showered, set out clothes for me and M (he’s seeing customers tomorrow), I prepped for Youth Group, which I’m leading because he’ll be working, and the Jets are winning, so I decide it’s time to sleep. Up to Book 5 of the Chancey series. I find series usually go downhill after about the third or fourth book, but I’m not sure what I feel like reading, so here we are. OH, at some point M must have gone to the convenience store, because there are vape cartridges on the table ($36).
Daily Total: $122.07; $70.32 expensed
Friday, October 02, 2020
6:00 am: Wake up, grab coffee, find out the Jets lost after all, do the morning e-mail/social media scroll. Leaving early to deal with that work errand has left me with a ton of stuff to do, so I get dressed (long-sleeved v-neck gray t-shirt, white tank because the v-neck is halfway to my belly button, dark wash skinny jeans), put out the trash, peel two hard-boiled eggs, and head to my desk.
12:30 pm: As always, call after call after call. Plus a bit of aggravation when my boss asks me at 10:30 for an agenda for the 11:00 call, which I sent him at about 7:30, and which he returns at 10:59 with the formatting looking like nothing on earth. Yay whee! And a project was mentioned that he forgot to tell me I’d do. So in case I thought I’d have nothing to do (that never happens on Fridays), that’s not happening. Anyway, between calls, I run downstairs for the lunch of champions – a Hot Pocket and a Diet Coke. Just that kind of day.
6:15 pm: Realize I have to run Youth Group at 7 and I haven’t even done my haimakeup. Get that done, heat up some frozen cauliflower rice/broccoli/cheese combination and add some leftover chicken. With a green salad on the side, surprisingly yummy.
8:15 pm: I am not a good youth leader…couldn’t get anyone talking about the subject of the day, which I thought would be a good one. I did make them laugh a few times, so that’s something.
M is going to have some expenses because he went to see customers today, but I don’t know what they are and his company will reimburse him, so I’m just leaving them out.
Daily Total: $0.00
This is the Week That Was:
Food + Drink: $326.06
Fun / Entertainment: $108 (if people can put drugs in as entertainment, I’m putting our nicotine in)
Home + Health: $61.94
Clothes + Beauty: $165.64
Transport: $638.03 (some of it will be expensed)
Other: $234.47
Lastly, reflect on your diary! How do you feel about your spending? Was this a normal week for you? Has this inspired you to make changes or has it given you a “wow I’m doing pretty good” confidence boost? Is there anything you’re actively working on? No need to answer any or all these questions but just use this space to write any thoughts you have!
This was a fairly normal week except for the car breaking and needing to be registered – we're saving some now that we WFH more because M will not bring food from home, but I used to bring breakfast and lunch at least four days a week. I know we should make changes, but I also know we don’t want to – honestly, if you looked at the way I lived 15 years ago, I’ve made a lot of changes already. We’re working on the credit cards – I’ve gotten rid of several already (paid off, not just moved balances around) and we don’t use them at all anymore (I can honestly say I don’t remember the last thing I charged). The bad news is that M’s car is on its last legs, and so I see car payments in our future. Hopefully, he’ll get something used – we have my car when we want to look good going somewhere (mine isn’t super-fancy, it just wasn’t hit by a bus and full of stuff for his job).
OH, and the plumber still hasn’t shown up! But that will be for next week’s expenses.