Welcome to the “My 2 Cents Transaction” Series, a money diary log written by contributors of all different income levels, locations, and occupations. Each contributor will be logging their weekly expenses in either food, lifestyle, or activities/entertainment. This is not meant to flaunt what other people are doing or how much they are spending but to open the eyes of individuals about money and how to take control of your future finances. Thanks so much for reading as always & if you’d like to be an anonymous contributor feel free to email me at rachelmchow@gmail.com or message me on Insta/Twitter. xx Rae
Occupation: Marketing Manager Age: 24 Location: NYC Salary: $70K Total Spent This Week: $1,009.94
Monday: My Monday morning starts off like every rough Monday morning, I make myself my morning espresso at home($0!) and head to work. My roommate texts me a link to an event she is going to on Friday night. Naturally I tell her that I will think about buying my ticket. Thought complete and I buy the ticket for $20! My colleagues and I are thinking about what we should get for lunch. It's a beautiful day out but we're stuck in meetings so we cannot enjoy a nice lunch break. We walk to Luke's Lobster and I get myself a lobster roll and a side salad for $20.69. A little more than I like spending on lunch but I felt like it was a good day to treat myself. On my way back to the office I stop in Duane Reade and grab a Diet Coke for $2.43. Luke's Lobster was literally the best decision I made all day. After work, I go to my favorite gym class of the week at Equinox which is expensive but totally worth it! After the gym I make myself dinner with the food I took from home (TY Mom!). Total Spent: $43.12
Tuesday: Tuesday morning I had to be at work by 7am to set up for our conference. The first two Tuesdays of the month are always the worst for me as I have to get in super early! I rushed to make myself espresso before bolting out the door to the subway. The good thing about running conference is that I get free bagels, yay! By 9:30am I'm exhausted and my coworker and I decide that it's time to try out the new coffee place that opened up across the street. $4.66 later and I get a medium iced latte. Honestly, it wasn't terrible but I would have gotten a much better and bigger drink at Starbucks. I get over my expensive latte because it's employee appreciation week and my boss treats the office to lunch! There's nothing I love more than free meals *heart eyes emoji*. I don't leave work until after 6pm and I'm super bummed because I miss my workout class. My friend texts me as she's near my apartment and wants to get dinner. We go to Treadwell Park to enjoy some nice bar food and drinks. She orders a beer I obviously do not and I get a cool pink rosé sangria. We order a giant pretzel which was the size of my face to share with cheese and mustard sauce which was so delicious! We would have been fine with just that but I already ordered hot dogs which we're basically the size of my arm! I could only eat half of it which was fine because I need to cut back on calories anyways! $43.10 total spent which is not terrible for us. We make plans to go to happy hour on Thursday because we are both in need of a night of drinking. I head home and go to sleep because I am exhausted!! Total Spent: $47.76
Wednesday: Wednesday was just another day in the office! I saw I had back to back conference calls all morning so I ran across the street to the the new coffee shop again. Even though I've already had my morning espresso this was necessary. This time I get a medium iced vanilla latte and it's a little better but I should have gone to Starbucks instead $4.66. After spending 3 hours on my conference calls I remember that my other department is having their employee appreciation lunch today! Oh the perks of working for four different departments. I spend the rest of my day catching up on all of my work as I prepare for my big summer trip to Italy which is coming up in a few weeks. After work I finally make it to the gym for rooftop yoga and a 3 mile run. On my way home I remember I haven't gotten my eyebrows done in probably two weeks so I stop by my favorite Perfect Brows on First Ave and spend $16.54. I look like a whole new person! I go home and cook myself dinner and meal prep the next two days as I'm all out of free work lunches. Total Spent: $21.12
Thursday: I oversleep for work and absolutely do not feel like doing anything all day. I take my time getting ready and make myself an iced latte because I make the best espresso drinks thanks to my grandma's awesome stove top espresso maker. Despite the way I feel, I still go to work. All I can think about is my upcoming trip to Italy and how I haven't done an ounce of shopping. I go to Nordstrom Rack online because that is my jam! Plus they are offering 25% off. One thing leads to another and two hours later I have officially spent $638.49. I normally don't spend money like this anymore but I'm in a bind and everything is returnable. I'm secretly hoping nothing fits so I don't have to spend the money but it's necessary! My trip to Italy is free so it makes up for itself. After a number of unproductive hours I leave work to go home and change before my happy hour. At my job I have to dress very formally and I hate going out after in my work clothes. I take the subway down to the east village where I meet my friend for a drink. I have an unlimited metro card that I get pre-tax and taken directly from my paycheck and mailed to my house which makes my life so much easier. We go to Goodnight Sonny because they have our fave margaritas with spicy salt around the rims and we know we're in for a good night! Plus they are $6 - how could we go wrong?! We get hungry so we split a Lobster roll and potato chips. Not as good as Luke's but after a few margaritas it's all good. Happy hour is ending so we find an extended happy hour nearby. I spend $43.20 and we head to Yuca bar. We continue drinking margaritas and order some appetizers since we love Spanish food and cannot resist. I spend $43.65. My friend lives nearby and has a rooftop that we can go to so on the way back we stop at a liquor store and I grab a bottle of rosé $13.05. We hang out on her roof for a few hours and watch the sunset. By this time I'm exhausted and just want to go home so I order an Uber. Obviously Uber gives the driver the wrong address and he cannot find me. Finally after 2:52 (I know because of the overage waiting fee I was charged!) I find the driver and we head uptown to my apartment which seems to take forever and cost me $14.13. I get super hungry and am super drunk so in true fashion I drunkenly order Chinese food. $19.91 because of a delivery minimum I swear! I get home and eat my Chinese food with the help of my roommates and pass out. What a freaking day I had! Total Spent: $772.43
Friday: I wake up super hungover and question why I thought it was a good idea to drink so much and how I'm going to get through the day and night. Obviously I always think of what's best in the present and do not think of the future consequences. I didn't feel like doing my hair so I put off washing it until later which turns into my hair going up and glasses on. There's nothing I hate more than wearing my hair up because I look like a boy but today it had to be done. I finally make it out of my apartment without coffee and I'm desperate. I finally get smart and go to Starbucks. I get my usual venti iced quad espresso and the breakfast sandwich looked so good I had to get it also $8.38. People think I'm crazy for drinking so much espresso but it's the only thing that gets me through the day. I struggle all day but I make it through! It wasn't as bad as I thought it was and now I'm ready for the night. Tonight we have an 80s themed roller party to go to in Brooklyn. Normally I would probably say no because I rarely go to Brooklyn but my roommate convinced me. I have most of my outfit planned but I need a shirt. I remember I have a gift card to H&M so I go there on my way home from the train $0. I also stop at Duane Reade to get hair srunchies. They only have a pack of 6 which are 4th of July themed. I basically spend $6.52 on two hair scrunchies but it's cool I'm feeling a lot better about my outfit now. I was planning on having my leftover Chinese food for dinner but my roommate texts me she is thinking of getting pizza. Obviously that is a great idea and we split a small pie and garlic bread, best decision ever for $9! We order an Uber to Brooklyn and pick up our other roomie from work and split three ways $10.26. We are all not up to drinking so we roller skate and take a few pictures. The night was actually a lot of fun and to my surprise I can roller skate! Well sort-of can. After the event is over we order an Uber back to the city and split again three ways $12.27. As we wait for the Uber we spot a raccoon and I realize I need to leave Brooklyn ASAP. We decide we want to get food on the way home and check out a small diner by our apartment that we've never been to. We get a few things and are so happy we found this place so close to us! $13.65. Total Spent: $60.08
Saturday: I had big plans to sleep in and go to the gym. One of those things happened! I would have gone to the gym but it was raining so hard I didn't feel like walking to Equinox. Instead I order breakfast and sit on my couch and indulge in an SVU marathon $10.02. It's my cousin's graduation party so I take the subway to my grandma's house(so I don't have to pay the ridiculous LIRR prices!). We have free food and booze all night and my night ends with me going to my parent's house and snuggling with my dog! Total Spent: $10.02
Sunday: I'm home on Long Island today so I go to my favorite hometown store TwentyFive A! My Nordstrom Rack package is set to arrive the day before I leave so I'm panicked and have to spend $225.57. It was necessary. It's Father's Day so I spend the day getting fed by both sides of my family. My aunt lives in New Jersey and offers to drop me back in the city on her way home. Super excited to again not spend money on the LIRR! After commuting and dealing with delays, cancellations and overcrowded trains I can't justify spending $10 and giving them my money. My aunt gives my leftover food and we head home. Total Spent: $225.57
At first I thought this was going to be the most boring submission yet but I see that I did not disappoint. After documenting everything I spent this week I suddenly feel like I should be in debt. I don't always spend this much money but with my trip coming up and my life being so stressful lately it just happened. Since I moved out and started paying rent I've been trying to be really good about what I spend money on. I'm used to my parents helping me pay my bills but since I moved out I've been on my own and it's really a learning experience for me. Luckily I have saved money and have credit cards that can help me for now. Obviously after reading what I just wrote I will need to be even more careful! More meal prepping, less drinking and more using my expensive gym membership!