Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today: a finance executive who makes $100,000
Occupation: finance executive
Age: 33
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $100,000 (approx. $3,846 per pay period)
Day One
With a finance degree and a lot of luck, I‘ve made it to the top of my corporate ladder, so to speak. As a result, I’ve been able to pay off my debt and manage to budget through the day-to-day costs of living in NYC. Now, I’m taking steps toward reaching my real dream of starting a small business. For now, it’s only a side project, but I’m hoping to make it my full-time gig soon! For now, I’m making enough to cover credit card processing fees (a necessity of doing business in the modern world), and I’m lucky enough to have enough understanding of merchant accounts, credit cards, and interchange rates for the ins and outs of accounting for my brand. Like today—after work, I grab a bite to eat then look into whether I’m using the best payment processor for my needs. Besides dinner, my spending for the day was made up of coffee before work, another absolute must.
Total: $18.50
Day Two
After another typical workday, I put on my business owner hat once more. I know how pricey New York real estate can be, but I hadn’t realized just how much I was dreading having to find a space to work on my brand as it grows. I spent way too much time searching—a whole order of chicken katsu worth—before stumbling upon a brilliant idea. Instead of purchasing a full-fledged space upfront, I can look into self storage in New York instead. That way, I can keep my inventory from clogging up my already cramped apartment without using up all my profits before I have to.
Total: $27.50
Day Three
Today‘s a chaotic day at work, so I skip lunch in lieu of another cup of coffee from the break room. Thank god I got my morning latte on the way here! To compensate for my hectic to-do list, I stay at the office an extra couple of hours, then head home. I’m wiped, so I eat a quick protein bar and head right to bed.
Total: $6.50
Day Four
It’s another hectic day but I manage to get out only an hour later than my normal schedule. I stop for a hot dog on the way home—something quick and easy—and let myself take a break with Netflix for the night. The way this week’s been going, I’ll need the energy!
Total: $11.50
Day Five
I’m heading into work a little later than usual today, after my bi-weekly therapy appointment. Unsurprisingly, he chides me for my poor work-life balance as of late—I don’t tell him that I’ll be cramming again today to make up for this appointment. After a wild Friday night of paperwork, I head home and order in, ordering a literal extra for lunch tomorrow.
Total: $47
Day Six
After the chaos of this workweek, my apartment is in shambles. So, after responding to a few work emails from bed, I make my way through each room and take care of the “care tasks” it needs. I eat last night’s leftovers for lunch and get a drip coffee from around the corner rather than my usual latte.
Total: $3.50
Day Seven
I finish off my week knee-deep in business work since I’ve had to put it off the past few days. After paying for a domain and hosting, I work on putting together a temporary website, at least until we’re established enough to warrant a professional web designer. It’s nothing too fancy, but I’m happy with the results and order a celebratory pizza to mark the occasion.
Total: $22
Total for the week: $136.50
