last year’s diary

Occupation: UX Designer

Age: 29

Location: New York, NY

Salary: $130,385, paid biweekly

Additional Income: $150/night of teaching (once/week) and $50/hr for mentoring (about $5800 this year)

Paycheck Deductions

Paycheck before deductions: $5014.81 (paid biweekly)

401k: 12%, or $601.78 (I’m capped at this % due to my income)

ESPP: 10% of pre-raise income, or $487.07

HSA: $120.83/paycheck (plus employer contributes $23)

Health, Vision, Dental, and LTC Insurance: $48.92/paycheck

Paycheck after deductions/taxes: $2298/paycheck

Expenses

Rent: $1011 (I have 2 roommates in a 4 bedroom, rent total $3222. One roommate has 2 rooms (bedroom and music studio room). I have my own half-bath.)

Student Loan Payment: $0

Wifi: $25, split with roommates (total $75)

Electricity: ~$25-35, split with roommates (total $75-100)

Renter’s Insurance: $7, split with roommates (total $20.50)

Phone: $16 (tello with 2gb of data)

Hulu / Netflix: $0 – I use friend’s accounts as needed

Car Insurance: ~$550/6 months

Broadway Subscription: $120/year for seat filling subscription

Website: $150/year (tax deductible against my 1099 income)

NYC Parks Gym: $45/6 months (Gym has basic workout room and nightly classes)

Overall Financial Picture

Give an overall picture of what FIRE means to you and where you are on the path. Feel free to include as much or as little detail as you feel lends to the story of your financial picture and outlook.

Anticipated FI date, if known (or date retired if already FIREd): Unknown…when I’m around 55

FIRE Type: Family-friendly

Savings Rate: This is impossible to guess at, since I save for my retirement and my family’s. Raw numbers, I save about 70% of my income (spend $30k, make roughly $100k after taxes). However, only some of that is for retirement. I actually save probably 20-30% for retirement, and will retire at almost a normal age because of it.

FI Philosophy and Plan: I mostly aim for FI because of my familial obligations and desires. I have to provide for my mother (and potentially aunt and father) in their retirements. I also hope to have children one day, and as someone who is single approaching her 30s, that means planning for all possibilities.

Account #1 (e.g., 401k, savings account):



Old 401k Current 401k Current IRA Current HSA Current Brokerage Current Individual Stocks Current eREIT Current Savings $52,960.70

target date fund $53,363.13

3-fund 60/30/10 $20,162.71

VTSAX $9,850.30

VTSAX $81,271.73

mix of index funds $20,902.64

a lot of company stock because ESPP $8,216.44

Fundrise “Growth” $24,882.38

CapitalOne360

Asset #1 (e.g., home, car):None…I am assetless. My car could maybe sell for $3k? Meh.

Debt #1 (e.g., student loans, mortgage, cc debt): None.

How do you feel about your spending? Very frivolous, yet very low cost compared to salary, so I think I’ll end up alright.

DAY 1: Saturday, October 12

7:07 am – The movement of me waking up tells Luna, my pup, that it’s breakfast time, so even if I wanted to roll over and go back to bed, it’s too late.

7:45 am – I accidentally left my scarf at Marshall’s yesterday, but I called right away last night, and thankfully they were able to find it and set it aside for me. Checking out my seat-filling subscription website for show options near Marshall’s so I can justify heading 40 minutes south, I run into an option and text a friend about it to see if she’d want to go. While I wait to hear back, I book a show in midtown for tomorrow at 2pm. Tickets are roughly $5 on this site, and I use that money out of the balance I have on my account (currently at $144).

8:00 am – I spend the next hour looking up potential group costume ideas for my roommates, Luna, and me to do for our Halloween party this Friday, and learn that a lot of options are online-only, 7-10 day shipping, which means they’re not going to work for us. The boys (my roommates) really need to start finalizing decisions.

9:00 am – I whip up an omelet with tomatoes and mushrooms, and reheat some breakfast potatoes. I get dressed in a white sweater, dark wash jeans, and brown boots. I then pack a lunch (peanut butter sandwich, pretzels, and grapes), brush my teeth, use some under eye bag things, and comb my hair. I attempt some make up, but wash most of it off – one day I will figure this stuff out. A. texts me back that she would love to go to the show, so I book those tickets (balance down to $131).

9:50 am – Grabbing my bag full of my lunch, a water bottle, and a backpack for Luna and throwing on my plaid blanket coat thing, I head outside with Luna and wait for my friend to meet us at 10 so we can head to the corn maze. She is a half hour late, so we meet up at 10:30 and head on our way.

12:00 pm – We arrive at the corn maze to see that the farm is much busier than we anticipated. We eat our lunch and dump our waters out (per request from the security at the entrance), and pay with cash since their credit card machines broke while we were in line. Because it’s so packed, I put Luna in her backpack. $30

12:30 pm – So while claiming to be a dog-friendly corn maze and apple picking farm, so far we have found 0 activities that allow dogs. We’re not even allowed to get wine or apple cider from the bar area. The place is absolutely packed with people, and is clearly more as a farm-y theme park for children than an outing with a dog (or as adults without children). We head back to the entrance and ask for a refund. After arguing that they have a dog park and that’s why they’re pet friendly and that their website never said any activities were dog friendly, they give us a refund. Clearly this farm, which had its animals in tiny depressing cages for show, has no idea what “dog friendly” means. -$30

1:00 pm – We stop at a lake on the way back to enjoy some nature and feel like we got something out of our three hour round trip adventure. We start taking pictures of the just-starting fall foliage and go a bit crazy. A. is going to school for opera singing, so she has learned pretty quickly how to take really good pictures, and I start to mimic her to try to get some good ones myself. I look slightly awkward in a lot of them, but really good in some. Of course Luna looks adorable in all of them. We sit and enjoy the sereneness of lake for a few more minutes before heading back home.

3:45 pm – After parking right across from my place, we walk to her place 15 minutes away to pick up some stuff and change for tonight. She offers me a skirt so we can match tonight at the show. I need to pull out the meat for tonight, so I run back while she preps milk and flour for the meal, and grabs some broccoli and a snack at the store.

4:30 pm – We start making the pork chops, mashed potatoes, and broccoli, and A. puts on Tarzan, because Disney. I make some quick nachos (chips with cheese melted on them, and some salsa), and A. eats her flaming hot cheetos because we’re starving and the meal has some more time to go. Once the meal is done, A. mixes some stuff into the fat of the pork chops and, magically, gravy begins to exist. We belt out some Phil Collins as we inhale our food.

6:20 pm – I get dressed in the corduroy skirt A. let me borrow with a red and white striped long-sleeve top, some black tights, my black boots, and my black fake-leather jacket. We head downtown via subway early to pick up my scarf. I have about $90 on my subway card, which I pay for per swipe since I don’t work in the city. I usually spend roughly $60/m on the subway.

7:00 pm – We get to Marshall’s and they can’t find my scarf. I’m devastated since they just told me they had it last night. They tell me they likely put it back on the floor to sell as merchandise, and to call the store to complain. We walk to the show as I call, and after I pick up the tickets, the manager tells me he’s found my scarf. We run back to the store (as in literally run) so as to make sure it doesn’t get lost again, and pick it up.

8:00 pm – Show time! We’re seeing When it Happens to You, which is about a mother’s journey through navigating her daughter’s rape. It’s very good, and does a good job throwing in some lighter moments to help balance out the dark topic. A. and I talk about it on the way home specifically about some of the topics it brings up about visibility and identity when it comes to having something so invisible and yet so a part of who you are now, as well as how others perceive you after they know.

10:15 pm – Hungry again, we grab some dollar pizza before A. heads home. $1

11:30 pm – I can barely keep my eyes open. I take Luna for a five minute potty break and then crash.

Total: $1

DAY 2: Sunday, October 13

8:00 am – The sunlight wakes me up, so I feed Luna before throwing on some pants to take her out for a walk. We have a lovely long stroll, running into some squirrels and other pups along the way.

10:00 am – I turn on Call The Midwife (I’m on season 4) while eating leftover omelette and potatoes from yesterday. It’s not quite enough, so I grab some baby carrots to snack on.

12:00 pm – I get ready to head out for the show I booked yesterday by putting on my red halter top, some jeans, and my “show shoes” (music note Toms). On my way out, one of my roommates wants to talk about the Halloween party we’re hosting, as if I hadn’t been begging the boys to talk for weeks now…so I delay myself and we talk through some things. He wants to do Star Wars costumes as our roommate group costume, so I’m like, “Great – done!” and head out for the subway.

1:20 pm – I arrive at the show and get my ticket. I spend the time before it starts looking at possibilities for costumes for either Rey or Leia. Target has some for $30, which seems like a good option.

2:00 pm – The show starts. It’s called Bella Bella about Bella Abzug. I know 0 things about this wonderful political woman, but spend the next hour and a half learning a lot about her.

4:00 pm – I’m back home after a quick subway ride, and reheat some pasta leftovers from a few days ago. Luna is eager to go out, so I quickly eat my food and off we go. On the walk, I see a text from my friend E. who has the slave girl costume for Leia and invites me over to pick it up (she’s about a 15min walk away). Luna and I head over, and we pick up the costume as well as some alcohol she has to contribute to the party. She also has a good suggestion of not providing so much alcohol and instead perhaps make a punch, buy some Coor’s Light, and suggest everyone else bring anything else they might want.

6:00 pm – Luna and I head back home with the outfit and alcohol. I turned Call the Midwife back on while I responded to some things online. I also start doing the costume search for Luna on Chewy and find a Chewbacca costume for $15. I add two bags of her dental treats she’s almost out of and some poop bags for Deanna (which she’ll pay me back for). I also queue up a few things I want from Target, Amazon, and Walmart for my Halloween costumes and party things, but hold off to see if I can find some different options a bit later tonight. $31.58

7:30 pm – I start putting up the decorations for Halloween, which includes taping my door with some “Danger” tape, hanging some Halloween (and some white Christmas) lights, putting in a black light bulb into our one lamp, and setting up the strobe light.

9:30 pm – I get back on my couch in PJs, and snuggle under the covers with my sweet, sweet puppy while watching another episode of Call the Midwife until bedtime.

Total: $31.58

DAY 3: Monday, October 14

4:00 am – I wake up to go pee. Go back to bed.

5:20 am – My alarm is set for 5:48 am, but for some reason I’m up early. I stay in bed until my alarm, and then get up and feed the pupper. While she eats, I put on a plaid dress/shirt (long in the back, short in the front), leggings, and my brown boots, then throw on my beautiful trench coat. Luna and I head for a short little walk in the dark (ugh, I hate winter 99% because of the lack of light, and it’s only October). Then I say goodbye to her with a dental treat, and put her in A.’s room so she has someone to cuddle with before heading out the door.

7:05 am – My new commute is 5 minutes longer than my old one, but I have yet to leave 5 minutes earlier, so I tend to get in a bit late. Which is to say, still at least 2 hours before my boss. I commute from New York to New Jersey, which can be a painful commute if I do it anytime during real commuting hours, so I always come in early and leave early.

7:10 am – Before I start working, I go back to the carts I set up last night. In the Target cart, I have a pair of fall boots (brown, to replace the broken ones I keep wearing) and winter boots (short, as I only have tall ones), hair dye, and a white shirt (because I still want to try to go for the classic Leia if I can) [$62.58], while in the Walmart cart I have a long white skirt (to go with the Leia outfit) and a black tube top (for my Fire Emblem costume for next week) [$18.98]. I should probably not get the boots, but I keep them in my cart anyway, and check out of both. I still need to finalize my Amazon order, but will do that later. $81.56

8:30 am – I take a break from work to get some breakfast from the cafeteria at work. My usual is cheesy scrambled eggs, tater tots, and bacon. I’m so healthy. $3.01

11:30 am – Before heading to lunch, I finalize the Amazon order. I would’ve loved the boys input on stuff, but neither have answered, so I just got a photobooth backdrop, some command strip clips to hold it up, some clips to hold up the lights, and some photo booth accessories (one third of $46.23). For myself, I get some things for my bathroom shelving unit and some socks ($12.30). $27.71

11:35 am – My boss asks to see the prototype I’ve been working on since Thursday, which of course I have barely done much on because it isn’t due until tomorrow, so I ask him if I can get lunch first and we can meet at noon. Lunch when I’m at work is always soup because it’s an easy choice. While I eat, I quickly throw together a prototype that he is subsequently impressed by, and crisis is averted. $2.03

2:15 pm – I head out of work early to pick up a table and chairs from Ikea for our living area ($212.18 split 3 ways). One of the employees helps me put it in my tiny Honda Civic, pointing out that I can put the seats down (what?!) for more storage room. As I drive home, I go over the George Washington Bridge, which costs $10.50 each time off my ez-pass for going through before 4pm. My ez-pass refills automatically when it gets below $15 to $90, and typically I spend about $75-100/month. Once I get home, A. helps me carry the table (okay, he does all the carrying, and I take care of all the doors) inside. $70.72

5:30 pm – I make some asparagus with mushrooms and cheese to go with some leftover pork chops and mashed potatoes. While I eat, I realize I forgot to add to the amazon order the bike rack we need to hang our bikes, so I place that order (half of $27.09). $13.55

6:00 pm – With the party coming up, I’ve been trying to be cleaner than normal. Even though I do a good job actually cleaning dirt and things, my room has clothes strewn about and shoes not put back in the bin. Organization is just really not my strong suit. As I’m cleaning, I decide to add 3 more items of clothing to my “to donate” pile, including the shirt I wore today, which felt like a weird fit all day.

7:30 pm – After cleaning up, my roommate L. and I discuss party stuff. He wants to do punch and that’s it for alcohol, and is shocked (just like A.) that having a party costs money. *Sigh*. He looks up a sangria punch recipe, and I make a grocery list for tomorrow so I can buy everything we need for it and other food and alcohol items.

8:30 pm – I settle into the couch and turn on Fire Emblem: Three Houses on the switch. I’m in the last month, and while I previously was pushing for certain relationships, I’ve decided that I’m tired of playing on easy, and rush to the ending.

11:30 pm – Luna, who has been fast asleep all evening after A. took her to tennis with him (which is about a 2.5 hr round-trip walk away with a pup), and I go for a potty break, and then I get ready for bed.

Total: $198.58

DAY 4: Tuesday, October 15

5:58 am – After snoozing my alarm for ten minutes, I roll out of bed and am freezing. It’s definitely sweater weather, so I throw on my biggest sweater with my maroon jean leggings and take the pup for a walk to test my outfit against the cold. Today she gets put into L.’s room as I head out the door.

7:05 am – In New Jersey, you can’t pump your own gas, so when I stop at the gas station to get a fill up, one of my regular gas attendants chats with me about how he doesn’t understand how I’m still single. *Siiiiiigggghhhh*. Even my gas attendant is talking to me about my love life! $19.01

8:10 am – Breakfast time! Breakfast cost is by weight, but I do try to get roughly the same amount each time. $2.93

11:30 am – So I know I said yesterday that I always get soup, but I have one exception and that’s when it’s mac’n’cheese day, which happens about once every other month. I get some of the mac’n’cheese with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, shrimp, and chicken. $7.35

1:00 pm – I head out of work early (ugh yes, again. This party is gonna kill me) to go do some shopping. It’s insanely hot, so I take off my giant sweater to reveal a wonderful baby blue t-shirt underneath. I pick up ingredients for a sangria punch, “non-dip” chips, and a bunch of veggies for a veggie platter from Aldi ($47.82), then 6 bottles of Pinot Grigio with some brandy and a case of Coor’s light from the liquor store ($86.28), and some odds and ends from the dollar store ($14.86). All split in three. $49.65

2:30 pm – Once I get home, I unpack the car from most things, park my car, and take Luna for a quick walk. Then get back to working (from home) around 3.

5:00 pm – I wrap up, and grab some dinner, the last of the pork chops, asparagus, and potatoes.

6:00 pm – With the party on Friday, we have a lot a lot a lot to do and not a lot of time. L. and A. work on putting the table and chairs together while I work on my nightstand. Several packages have come in – our backdrop and props from Amazon which I put together, Luna’s Chewbacca costume which fits perfectly, and the clips to hang things. I also bathe the pupper, who shook the whole time as if I were torturing her, so I give her an extra big treat when we’re done. The boys and I work on stuff until 10:30, not getting nearly as far as we wanted to, but exhausted.

10:30 pm – Tuna and I head out for our late night walk with a beautiful view of Yankee Stadium lit up, then head to bed.

Total: $78.94

DAY 5: Wednesday, October 16

7:00 am – Alarmless Wednesdays! I work from home, which means I get up when the sun wakes me up. I am so tired from yesterday that I stay in bed for a bit before heading out to the couch to start working. The Tunes loves sleeping in, so she curls up on a pillow and falls promptly back to sleep.

9:30 am – Luna is still asleep (now on my lap), so I force her awake to go to the bathroom, where we go for a nice walk along the park. Back in the apartment, she is now bouncing off the walls. Go figure.

11:00 am – Snacking on baby carrots isn’t filling me up, but I have negative desire to make anything, so I pop a bag of popcorn. I then grab my m&m and peanut mix and have some of that.

1:30 pm – My work meeting is kind of meh. I was supposed to be learning new things about a tool we’re using to design, but when I kept saying, “I know this part, can we dig a bit deeper,” he kept trying to explain the simple parts to me. *Sigh*. It’s fine – when we meet next week, hopefully we can progress to the harder stuff.

4:00 pm – It’s pouring down rain outside as I take Luna out in her little raincoat. She refuses to go beyond the scaffolding that covers our building, and takes some prodding to get to go to the bathroom.

4:30 pm – I start making fish, rice, and zucchini for dinner, but realize that I have some rice leftovers in the fridge already, so I use the leftover rice now, and turn the newly cooked rice into leftovers for later.

5:00 pm – Because I’m getting nervous about my ever-growing to-do list for the party, I start looking for a sub for an info session I was supposed to attend tonight, and a colleague, R., is able to jump in for me. I also scrub down my entire bathroom, which is mostly still dusty from the renovation from before we moved in, so it takes a bit. Then I start trying but failing to hang the photo booth backdrop until L. wakes up from his nap and comes to help me, getting some spider webbing up, and lighting up in the kitchen. I cut all of the veggies that I had bought Tuesday so that they’re ready for the veggie platter as soon as I get a platter dish.

8:20 pm – I plop down on the couch, exhausted. I still need to work on arranging my room tonight, and ideally decoration the bathroom but I need a break. I head downstairs to pick up our bike rack package.

9:00 pm – Somehow I’ve found myself in bed…I can barely keep my eyes open. I drift off around 9:30, having done none of the work I needed to get done.

Total: $0

DAY 6: Thursday, October 17

3:50 am – Of course, going to bed early means being wide awake in the middle of the night. I try going back to bed, but hop on my phone and switch between closing my eyes and scrolling through the apps until I finally crash at 6.

7:30 am – Wake up actually, and get out of bed. It’s cold. I move my car (yay alternate side parking), then get to work.

9:45 am – I heat up the leftovers from my mac n cheese I got Tuesday, and put on some PJ pants over my leggings because I’m freezing (I’m also still wearing my coat from when I went outside). I wish I was able to turn on my heat myself.

11:45 am – One roommate is singing in his room and the other is playing a computer game. I know I shouldn’t care since I’m working so can’t actually do anything for the party, but we have such a giant to-do list that I really wish they were chipping away at it rather than playing around.

1:30 pm – I reheat leftover fish, rice, and zucchini from yesterday. Nom nom.

2:00 pm – I know I know I should continue to work, but I’m panicking about the party tomorrow, so I put the laptop down and start doing all the things. I scrub the hallway floor and put down the bloody footprints, then I hang the lights and get some spider webbing on half the room.

3:30 pm – I take Luna out to go to the bathroom, and we move my car to the other side of the street so I don’t have to worry about it tomorrow. I get the case of beer that’s been sitting in my car and carry it back, hurting my forearm in the process (maybe pulled a muscle?). Boo!

4:15 pm – Back to work. I clean my entire room, which includes putting a ton of stuff into storage on top of my closet, roll out my rug (which is absolutely beautiful), and reorganizing my bookshelf a bit. L. helps me get my rug underneath my bed, and then helps me reach the corner of the room above the radiator to hang lights and a spider web there. I get the last corner done before some friends start arriving.

7:00 pm – E. arrives with some bowls and jugs that we can use for the sangria making plus her puppy Brooklyn while D. arrives with some beef and taco shells, a drill and drill parts, and her puppo Bella. The two dogs have never met, so we take some time to introduce them slowly to each other, and it’s a success! Both will be coming to the party tomorrow, so it’s good to get it out of the way now. E. heads out because she’s got things to do (her own party is Saturday).

8:00 pm – D. and I eat our tacos (beef and shells with cheese and lettuce), and then get to work hanging up the bike rack. It’s trickier than expected, because the stud finder is not working at all, so we just start poking holes in the wall until we find a stud. Obviously the right way to go about that…but whatever we finally get it hung. I get the last of the spider webbing onto the bike, fill it up with spiders, and we crash onto the couches.

11:00 pm – D. and Bella head home, and Luna and I follow for a bit so she can go to the bathroom before we head to bed.

Total: $0

DAY 7: Friday, October 18

7:00 am – Party day! Also, definitely getting my period soon. Blahhhh. Working is hard today because of the party, but I try to power through by working in my room rather than the living room.

7:50 am – Luna asks to go potty, so we head out. It’s chilly this morning, which I guess is good for a Halloween party.

9:30 am – I check on my orders to make sure they’re still coming today, and learn that the Walmart skirt isn’t coming until next Thursday. That’s not helpful at all! I contact customer service to see if they can just cancel it, but since it’s been processed, I’ll just have to return it after it comes in. D. is gonna see if she has a white skirt, but I guess I’ll likely just do the slave girl costume tonight (or wear white pants…we’ll see).

11:00 am – Not wanting to cook with our stove newly cleaned for the party (and knowing I’ll have to clean it again before the party anyway), I make nachos for breakfast (chips, rice, cheese, and salsa). I usually make eggs and potatoes for breakfast, but to be honest this week has been just so stressful (but fun and awesome), so it’s been a little hard to want to cook first thing in the morning.

12:00 pm – The boys haven’t started doing anything yet, and since I’m working I can’t just take over their tasks. I warned them when we scheduled a party on a Friday that I literally would not be able to help out the day of…and yet here we are. I finally suggest to L. that he might start on the sangria if we want the fruit to soak into the punch by tonight, and he gets started, which prompts A. to start as well.

12:30 pm – I should not have put the candy out yet, because I am eating it essentially non-stop.

3:00 pm – I wrap up work and get started on party stuff. I clean the entire apartment, I get out all the food, set up drinks…somewhere in the mix I took Luna out for a potty break, though not a real walk since party time will be stimulating enough.

6:00 pm – Because I don’t want my entire diet today to be candy, I make some zucchini, fish, and leftover rice (yes, again! I’m not very original when it comes to cooking. I like things that take no thought). After I finish eating, I get into my Leia slave girl costume, which includes some arm and neck bands, and really cute earrings. My very straight, very male roommate A. braids my hair. I then get Luna into her Chewbacca costume.

8:15 pm – No one is at the party yet. Oh noooo is it gonnna be a fail?

9:00 pm – Okay, there are lots of people at the party. And it’s awesome. The photobooth is a huge hit. I socialize with all my friends who came, but it feels a bit like I can’t have a long conversation with anyone since as hostess, I have to continually make my rounds. Everyone is loving the sangria punch, we seem to be doing a perfect job at keeping food stocked without having to go buy more or have too much in the apartment, and everyone also has great access to drinks as needed (both alcoholic and non).

2:30 pm – The last person leaves the most amazing party ever, and, after taking Luna out one more time, I crash into my bed. I’d say overall, we had about 50-60 people show. Absolutely crazy!

Total: $0

DAY 8: Saturday, October 19

7:00 am – Get up with the sun and scrub down the entire party. It surprisingly only takes about 2 hours to clean everything, including cleaning all of the solo cups so we can reuse them rather than throw them out. I save the tiny bit of sangria that’s left by straining out all the fruit and bottling it up in an empty wine bottle.

9:00 am – After I’m done cleaning, I get into my Ginny Weasley costume, which consists of a white button down, a gray sweater, a gray skirt, a Gryffindor tie, and a cape (which I attached a Harry Potter emblem tot). Because my hair was braided yesterday, I have to use a straightener to make my hair look more like Ginny than Hermione, especially since our pup who was gonna be Hermione is sick and will be substituted by a stuffed animal today for the pet parade.

10:20 am – We meet up with E. (dressed as Luna Loveood) and K. (dressed as Snape) with baby Brooklyn, who is dressed as Ron, and head down on the subway.

11:15 am – We register for the parade (it’s so cheap I just pay the $10 for all of us) and check out some of the booths. One of Luna’s puppies that she had while in foster care before I adopted her is a therapy dog, and I really feel like Luna would make a great therapy dog as well, though I doubt my schedule would allow it. I grab a flyer. $10

2:00 pm – The parade was super fun, and the dog costumes are soooooooo cute! We leave early because we’re all exhausted, plus we still have E. and K.’s party tonight that they need to prep for, so we head back uptown. I play on my phone in bed for a bit before taking a 2 hour nap.

5:00 pm – I wake up and fiddle on my phone looking at the photos from last night and this morning until about 5:45 when I get dressed in a green sweater and pumpkin leggings for E’s party. Luna wears her pumpkin handkerchief. I pack up most of the stuff E let me borrow, plus the extra sangria and some beer for the party.

9:30 pm – E’s party is great, but I am so exhausted and in pain that I head out early. I head back home (it’s about a 15-20 minute walk depending on how much sniffing and marking Luna does), and hang out in bed for a while. My friend, T., brought me some weed for my pen last night (one indica, one sativa), so I venmo him. I share my pen with basically everyone, so this’ll last me roughly 6 months. $90

11:30 – Zzz.

Total: $100

DAY 9: Sunday, October 20

7:50 am – After what feels like an insanely productive week (finishing Fire Emblem, planning and hosting a party, going to more things), I veg on the couch for the morning. This includes playing on my computer and my phone, and then starting a new game of Fire Emblem on the maddening level. I get to the first battle (mock battle), but after 3 tries of someone dying (which I guess would be fine since they don’t permanently die, but I’m a perfectionist so I start over anyway), I give up and get ready to go to K’s for pumpkin carving. I put on a cute Bambi three-quarter sleeve shirt and some brown leggings.

12:15 pm – L. helps me load in pumpkins to my car, and Luna and I head to Brooklyn, which takes about an hour. It starts to rain, which I knew, and yet somehow didn’t grab an umbrella and am wearing Toms…sometimes I’m super smart and sometimes I’m super not :-P. Parking is super easy, and K comes out with a grocery cart to help me with my pumpkins.

3:30 pm – We have finished a total of 5 pumpkins. My two were an owl and a couple of bats, while K did a cat, a witch, and a bat. Super cute, super messy, and super fun. K turns on the TV and we watch some Halloween baking show. After the most indecisiveness, we decide on ordering sushi – I’m super basic and get a California roll and a Philly roll, and we split edamame and gyoza. $12

5:00 pm – K had baked some pumpkin bread, so we decide to take the pups out so she can run to the store and get some icing to put on it. We carry my pumpkins to my car, but her pup pulls on the leash and the bat pumpkin goes smashing to the ground! We pick up the loose pieces and think it might be salvageable, so we put it in my car anyway. She gets the icing while I take the pups back inside. We eat the pumpkin bread with icing while sipping on mulled cider and watching Queer Eye. Honestly a perfect fall evening.

7:00 pm – Luna and I head home, driving in the dark and the rain. By some absolute miracle, as soon as I pull onto my street, someone pulls out of a parking spot, and I don’t have to spend anytime looking. Because it’s still pouring rain, I leave the pumpkins in the car, and make Luna run to the door.

8:00 pm – I’m determined to do better this time on the mock battle for Fire Emblem, so I put in a bulkier character who will be able to take more damage (probably should’ve done that in the beginning, but had no idea the competition was going to be 8 levels above me). I’m able to finish the battle this time, but I do question my sanity playing at this level for the whole game.

10:00 pm – My roommate, who owns the switch, is intrigued by this tough first battle, so he starts his own maddening level and I watch him play a bit, but he doesn’t quite make it to the battle before bedtime. We both have to wake up early tomorrow, so head to bed around 11:30.

Total: $12

Week Total: $422.64

Food and drink/drugs: $118.32

Entertainment: $80.60 (Halloween Party)

Home and Health: $96.57

Clothes and Beauty: $81.56

Transport: $19.01

Other: $26.58 (Luna stuff)

Reflections:

Was this a normal week for you? Absolutely not. Throwing my first party is crazy! And I purposefully included 2 weekends just to prove I do actually see shows (and normally spend a lot of morning time entering lotteries!). That being said, I do tend to keep super busy, so that’s normal.

How do you feel about your spending this week? I think it was an expensive week, but it included some big heavy hitters happening at once (halloween, new-apartment-stuff, fall boots), while ignoring some other heavy hitters (groceries! ez-pass or concert ticket deductions).

Anything you’re going to change or do differently because of the diary?Doing this reflection a few weeks later (#procrastinator)…I’ve returned the Walmart and Target orders. This isn’t my first money diary, and it seems I have a trend of returning a lot of the stuff I order online. I’m just a bad judge of clothes/shoes ordered online. I should probably stop this.