WHAT IS 'MONEY DIARIES'?
"Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar." (from Refinery 29's site)While their target audience is Millennials, and I don't consider myself a member of that age group, I still thought this would be a fun exercise. And I definitely agree with their goal to make talking about money (spending, earning, all of that) easier and more open between women.
MY THOUGHTS ON 'MONEY DIARIES'
I have an annoying habit of reading everything with a critical eye. It's fucking annoying most of the time, but it also comes in handy. Here are some things I noticed about the Money Diaries I read on Refinery 29:- They were not consistent with the monthly bills they presented or included in each Diary
- No one had a kid or any childcare expenses
- No one reported paying or receiving child/tax benefits (other than paying into RRSP/TFSA)
- No one reported receiving or paying any spousal benefit (alimony/spousal support) ...so no divorced women represented?
- The "other" category of the weekly breakdown makes me laugh
I get what they are doing with Money Diaries, and I think they've got a great thing going. Much closer to many folks' experiences than those ridiculous articles titled something like "we make $400,000 per year and can't make ends meet", or "budget breakdown of a couple who makes $500,000 per year and feels average".
At any rate....
MY MONEY DIARY
Occupation: Executive Assistant (and sales & marketing admin)Industry: New home construction
Age: 39
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Treaty 6)
Salary: $61,700 (gross)
Paycheque amount (2x/month, net) : $1,700
Gender identity: Woman (she/her pronouns)
Full disclosure (and something I found interesting with the other Money Diaries I read): I am divorced and receive a monthly amount from my ex for "child support" that I did not show here. I also receive child benefits from the Government of Canada (also not shown). From the few Money Diaries I read, some women were married or in relationships, but I didn't find anyone with a kid. Hmm. Is that because of the millennial target? I know many millennials with kids so, that doesn't hold up. I guess I have to keep reading!
MONTHLY EXPENSES
Mortgage: $600 (My partner pays the mortgage and home insurance, but I e-transfer him $600/month to cover "my part")Insurance: $180 (car & life)
Home Utilities: ~$280 (electricity, water, gas)
Phone: $140 (mine, and my son's)
After school care: $100 (aka Grandma)
Netflix & Google subscriptions: $23 (my partner pays our internet)
Health benefits: $58 (comes directly off my pay)
Allowance for my son: $40
Donations: $50
Savings: $1000 (this includes TFSA, personal RRSP & RESP contributions, along with regular savings + emergency fund)
To note before we get started: This is not a "normal" week for me spending-wise. I bought a big gift for my Mom, and did all my "donating". Along with a few other larger and abnormal/one-off purchases means my spending was up.
DAY 1 (Friday)
5:30 am - The annoying alarm goes off. I hit snooze and tuck it under the covers. Dan gets out of bed shortly after.
6:00 am - The cute alarm goes off. I hit snooze.
6:40 am - Snoozing is done, it's time to get up. I roll over and sit on the edge of the bed to do my neck exercises. Dan brings a cup of coffee in for me when I'm about halfway through. Get dressed (burgundy pants, grey tank top), brush my teeth, pull my hair into a quick ponytail. Pack my breakfast (last frozen bagel) and lunch (leftover daal & homemade bread). Out the door at 7:05 am.
7:25 am - Arrive at work, put a pot of coffee on and empty the dishwasher.
7:40 am - Check my email and notice I have an overdue reminder from the library. I check online and I have fees to pay ($9.50). Fridays are really quiet in the office, so I putz around and work on my own projects for most of the morning.
12:40 pm - Lunchtime in the gym downstairs. We have a small fitness centre for staff use, which saves me from paying for a gym membership elsewhere.
1:40 pm - Back from lunch break and now I get to eat my lunch (at my desk). I almost never eat out. Bringing food from home keeps me on budget!
4:15 pm - Whoa, work sure sped by today! It's home time! Drove to the grocery store to pick up some flour to make pizza dough for dinner. Bulk Barn has suspended their "Bring Your Own Jar" program in some sort of ridiculous response to Covid-19 so I grab a paper bag from Superstore instead. Along with a red onion and salami. ($14.25)
5:05 pm - Home for the day, and I get started on dinner right away. Homemade dough is delicious, but very time and labour intensive.
7:30 pm - We finally sit down to eat. Oops! Pizza is topped with the salami and onion, along with a bunch of stuff in my fridge. Trying to use up the last of the fresh spinach, but most of it is soggy now.
We watch the news, eat, then retire to our separate zones to read on the couch (me), and watch You Tube at the table (Dan).
?? pm - Fall asleep on the couch while reading.
1:01 am - Move to the bedroom. Listen to Get Booked podcast. Fall asleep again.
Daily Total: $23.75
DAY 2 (Saturday)
7:00 am - Blessed are the Saturdays when I get to sleep in until 7 am. Even more blessed am I when Dan gets up ahead of me and makes the coffee. We drink our coffee on the couch.
8:45 am - Dan makes breakfast for the two of us. Two eggs and toast. I jazz mine up with some beet and ginger kraut, Evoolution truffle salt, Fruits of Sherbrooked 4 pepper jelly, and basil from my almost dead plant.
After we eat I do some blog work while we listen to old time radio shows.
10:00 am - Dan heads to the Eco Station, while I get started on more baking! Today I'm going to attempt to make cinnamon buns for my Mom.
10:20 am - We're out of dish soap, so I take the time while my dough is rising to brush my teeth, get dressed and walk to our local grocer.
10:33 am - Arrive at Earth's General Store. Refill my dish soap container, and pick up some bulk tea. I also need veganaise. And they've got their seeds displayed right at the front door, so I pick up a couple of packets as well. ($28.70)
10:50 am - Back home, and it's time to work on the dough.
Did some reading and snacking while the cinnamon buns are cooking.
1:10 pm - The "cinnamon buns" are finally done cooking! I overfilled the pan, so there are some undercooked bits, but pretty good for my first try. And without a proper recipe.
We are having a very chill afternoon. Made another pot of coffee. Reading and watching videos. Pulled up my monthly donation chart, and this month it's YESS, so I sent $25.00 their way.
3:00 pm - I am getting restless reading, so I decide to head out to the library to return some (overdue) books. It has been snowing all day, so the drivers are nutso. I am feeling anxious, so I stop into Value Village for a little "retail therapy". It's been awhile. Because of the crappy weather, our local VV is practically empty, and I am able to slide right into a change room with my cart. There was a magical selection of blazers today (all too big), and gorgeous trousers (also too big). I ended up taking home a few ridiculous(ly awesome) button-up shirts, a pale pink sweatshirt, and a long, black velvet dress. ($41.95)
5:15 pm - Dan is already gone for the night when I get home. He is headed over to a friend's to play board games. I put away my VV scores, and sit down to a quiet dinner of leftover pizza. I do some prep work for tomorrow Accountability Club's meeting, and drink a non-alcoholic beer. Krista Lee texts me to make plans for transport and timing to get to the hockey game tonight. I have an hour to kill in the quiet house and I feel very spoiled for some reason!
7:15 pm - Krista Lee arrives, and we head off to Rogers Place. Parked in the Bell Tower parkade. Event night rate is $20, but Krista Lee pays. I pick up the snacks once we're inside. Fancy arena prices means two pops and a medium popcorn comes out to just under $20! ($19.50). It's a mostly boring game until the last period, where we get three goals, one on an empty net!
Daily Total: $115.15
DAY 3 (Sunday)
8:08 am - The time change last night ("spring forward") has me a little bit messed up this morning, but I figure I have plenty of time to get ready and drive over to Dirtbag Cafe for Accountability Club. When I punch it into the maps on my phone to get directions I get a rude surprise instead. They have changed their Sunday hours! I frantically text, email, call, and Instagram all the folks I know are coming, to change the location to Ritchie Transcend by my place.
8:38 am - I walk over to Transcend and order "the biggest drip coffee you've got" ($4.00).
11:00 am - Accountability Club wraps up, and it takes me an extra long time to walk home because the cedar waxwings are hanging out on my block and I just want to watch them flit around, and listen to them chat.
11:40 am - Lunchtime. I throw together a veggie burrito with eggs. Dan is washing the dishes. We get our shit together, and head out to Superstore.
12:00 pm - We do one "big" shop per week, making sure we have food for meals for the week, and grab any staples we've run out of. We always use a list, because I am notorious for impulse buying produce of all things. Today on the list: apples, bananas, onion, broccoli, cucumber, mushrooms, cabbage, coffee (if it's on sale), bagels, sale bread, english muffins, eggs, tomato sauce, beans, cookies, jam, noodles. I also pick up some Boursin cheese and a bag of popcorn as a gift for my mom. ($88.84)
1:00 pm - Home, unpack groceries, chill (nap) and read on the couch.
3:00 pm - I start getting antsy just sitting inside, so Dan suggest we go for a drive, maybe find somewhere to have a beer. We hit up Southgate Mall first so I can look into getting clip-ons sunglasses. They are out of stock, but order a set from the other store in town. I can pick them up on Wednesday night. Next is the Wine & Beyond, for a fun liquor, another gift for my Mom ($31.59)
Next stop is Mercer Tavern downtown. By the time we get there it's dinner time, so we order food with our beers. Dan pays.
7:00 pm - I decide I need to get out of the house. The sun is setting and it's so beautiful. My turnaround point is the local 7-11, where I stop and pick up some chocolaty snacks. ($11.53).
8:00 pm - Home and in for the night. Update my Instagram with some beautiful pictures I took of the sunset, blog work, reading, tea.
Daily Total: $135.96
DAY 4 (Monday)
(see day one for "morning routine")
HAHAHA, but seriously...
5:22 am - Annoying alarm goes off. Turn it off and hide it under the covers. Dan gets out of bed shortly after.
6:00 am - Proper alarm goes off, hit snooze until 6:30, when Dan comes in to the bedroom with a cup of coffee for me.
6:40 am - Sit up in bed and do my neck exercises. Get dressed, pack breakfast and lunch, brush teeth and hair, etc.
7:05 am - Out the door.
7:22 am - Arrive at work. Put on a pot of coffee and empty the dishwasher.
7:30 am to Noon - REGULAR WORK THINGS. I had a few meetings in the morning, finally got some work to do from my boss.
12:00 pm - Walked over to Save On Foods. Bought some more gifts for my Mom ($15.77) and a thank you card for work (reimbursed).
12:55 pm - Ate lunch at my desk. Today's it a bagel from home and some leftover dip that was in the fridge here. (Classy). Then back to work.
5:00 pm - Drive to Mom's to pick up Lucas.
Dinner is broccoli, tater tots and the weird tempeh concoction I threw together.
7:15 pm - The three of us head to Southgate Mall to pick up my clip on sunglasses from Bailey Nelson ($63)
8:00 pm - We stop at DQ for blizzards on our way home. My headache is much worse now, so I pass. Dan pays for him & Lucas.
8:15 pm - The gas light is taunting me, so we stop at the Esso. Dan pumps for me "so I don't have to smell the fumes". I'm a lucky lady. ($34.99)
8:30 pm - At home, Lucas works on his printing practice and I read an article in Alberta Views magazine. I am feeling very crummy, so the rest of the things on my to-do list will have to wait. That's pretty typical for Monday nights.
8:50 pm - Lucas decides to start looking for a very specific Lego piece downstairs. I've tidied up the kitchen, and circled the most important items for tomorrow's list, then get ready for bed.
9:10 pm - Lucas & I have a little chat in the bathroom and I give him some of my expensive face cream to try. And then I'm finally in bed! Got my heating pad all lined up. A book to read for a few minutes. No Instagram, as I am in a foul mood as it is and I don't need that nonsense tonight.
Daily Total: $113.76
DAY 5 (Tuesday)
5:30 am - WE'RE BACK HERE AGAIN AREN'T WE?!
6:30 am - Lucas is with me this week, which means we have to leave the house earlier in the morning. Which means I try to get out of bed a little bit earlier (ha haha ha). Dan opens Dude's door, brings me a coffee, then starts prompting both of us to get up. Lucas beats me in the getting ready game today.
Drive to Grandma's to drop off Lucas. Drive to work. Start a pot of coffee, empty the dishwasher. Just the regular routine.
11:30 am - We have a Sales Rally this afternoon, so I try and take my break earlier, so I don't get swamped by the team when I'm trying to eat my food. There are other people in the gym, so I choose to go for a walk again. No errands to run today, so I take an easy route through the neighbourhood. It's cold out, but a lovely sunny day for a walk. I see a guy running shorts because #yeg.
12:30 pm - Back at my desk. Heat up my lunch. Leftovers again today. Broccoli!
1:00 pm - Sales Rally. Shared my insider tip for the ridiculous run on toilet paper that is happening right now (which is ridiculous and pointless and stop just stop).
2:00 pm - Back at my desk, back to work.
4:50 pm - Jody & I have an interesting conversation about the whole Covid-19-toilet-paper-thing before I head out to pick up Lucas from Mom's.
On the drive home I put on Yo Quiero Dinero and Dude says "no".
5:42 pm - Home. Start making dinner. Tonight it's "veggie stir fry". I cut into one of the brand new onions we bought on the weekend, and the inside is completely rotten. Looks like it froze at one point. It's mostly salvageable, and the rest goes in the compost.
6:50 pm - We finally sit down to eat. No TV news tonight, just chatting.
7:10 pm - No TV means no lingering around the table. We finish up, clean up, and Lucas goes to take a shower. I make a GIF for my Accountability Club, and upload the PDF worksheets to WhatsApp.
8:15 pm - I boil water and make hot chocolate for Lucas and "decaf mochas" for Dan & I. We sit around the table in silence. Lucas does his printing practice (15 minutes) for the day. When he's finished he's telling me about what he'd like to build in Automation next. He is slightly obsessed with the totally awesome red car on the cover of my "Hot Pockets" folder.
9:00 pm - It is finally bedtime, and I am so grateful for a teenager that I can trust to do his own thing. I of course forgot to take a shower earlier, so it's my turn now. While the water heats up I look for songs online that have a chorus that is ~20 seconds.
Intention is to read in bed for a bit, but Dan tells me that Alanis Morrisette is doing a 25 year Anniversary Tour this year for Jagged Little Pill so I hit that rabbit hole instead. Fall asleep listening to Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel... album.
Daily Total: $0 (finally!)
DAY 6 (Wednesday)
5:30 am - DEAR GOD WHY WON'T YOU STOP?!
Morning routines are so boring.
I sing loudly to alternative rock music on the drive to Grandma's. (I realize now that I have been calling her both "Mom" and "Grandma" throughout this diary. They are the same person).
I get 6/9 answers right playing along with No Time to Google.
7:30 am - YOU GUESSED IT!
8:14 am - I make another bad GIF and save it for later.
9:13 am - I send an embarrassing text to my boss.
10:05 am - I am on my 4th (?) cup of coffee and just finished my breakfast. A plain bagel with peanut butter, purloined cinnamon from the cupboard, salt.
12:05 pm - Kim & I go for a VERY COLD AND WINDY walk through the neighbourhood. Then we eat the leftovers (noodles, veg, pineapple) I brought for lunch.
Finalists are announced for a client experience award in our industry and we're on the list. I MAKE ANOTHER GIF.
5:00 pm - It's finally home time, which is good because there is a blizzard outside and it feels like I have been literally running around for the past 2 hours. I have spent $0 today. Is this the most boring Money Diary ever? I mean, it's at least top 5...
5:45 pm - Wednesday dinner is soup and garlic toast/grilled cheese. We have no cheese in the house (I am so embarrassed) so it was garlic toast for all. Here's a hot money saving tip for you. Buy the sale bread, cut it up, and throw it in the freezer. You save some money, and have ready to go bread for your cheese toast.
News is all Covid-19 all the time, and I really wish they would mention climate change JUST ONE TIME! (p.s. the W.H.O. has now declared it as a pandemic...cue more panic).
7:50 pm - All of a sudden it's 8, but I jumped on Instagram "for just a minute" and we all know how that goes. I was thinking of going for a walk, but it's cold out and I'm already cold. And also I would probably just buy a snack, so I'm saving money this way!
I just remembered that I haven't done all my "donating" for the month yet, so I quickly send $20.00 to How Not to Travel Like A Basic Bitch. (I don't consider this a donation, I consider it paying for her time and energy to put out quality content).
8:15 pm - Lucas Troll comes up from the COLD basement to do his printing practice and have a hot chocolate and Lotus covered cinnamon bun. Weeknights go by so fast...
He shows me all the funny memes he finds on the internet, and I show him the logo I just created. I'm trying to pick a font to go with, and it's so hard! Thankfully all the fonts I find are free, so I can try them all until I find one I really love.
9:00 pm - I give Lucas a big hug as send off to bed. He's getting so tall. I owe him an allowance this week.
9:30 pm - Dan & I head to bed. Why does it take so long for me to get into bed? Gotta find my hat, and my heating pad, and my socks, and my headphones, and then I forgot my night guard, and and and. By the time I actually make it into bed, I'm even more tired from all the work it took to get there. I wear lots of clothes tonight so I don't steal all the blankets again. (Spoiler Alert: it doesn't work).
Daily Total: $20.00
DAY 7 (WE FINALLY MADE IT!)
GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS FOLKS?!?!!!!
4:00 am - Ooh la la a change in the schedule! Don't get too excited though. I wake up early because I once again have managed to somehow steal and then deposit all the blankets on the floor. I try to redistribute them as best I can.
6:20 am to 6:56 am - Standard morning routine. Packing lunches, brushing teeth, getting dressed. Dan is home from work today, so he sees us off. Lucas is such a doofus and I love him so much.
7:30 am and on - Worked on our organization's COVID-19 response. Drank a lot of coffee. (A lot). Ate my bagel. Checked my bank balance. Utility bills coming out this week. Also, pay day soon. I'm in good shape.
12:00 pm - I've really been enjoying my brisk walks this week. Normally I like to get sweaty in the gym, but there is something to be said about getting outside. I stopped at the convenience store at the end of our street to pick up some snacks. Everyone at the office is having a day let me tell you, so I thought a salty snack would be nice. AND I GOT FREE SNACKS TOO! He gave me some of my choices for free, because they were past their best before date! WIN OF THE WEEK! ($9.00)
Lunch is leftover noodles again!
5:00 pm - Home time. Pick up Lucas at my Mom's. Dan got dinner started, so I can focus on getting ready for my meeting tonight. Pay Lucas his allowance before I forget again ($20).
6:35 pm - Head over to Olga's home for the Fruits of Sherbrooke board meeting.
9:00 pm - Meeting is done. By the time I get home, Lucas is already in bed. I peek my head in to say goodnight. Dan & I have a quick decompress as I unpack my meeting stuff. Then it's bed time for us too.
Daily Total: $29
MY THOUGHTS ON MY MONEY DIARIES
Cause that's what y'all are sticking around now for right. My precious thoughts! ;-)THIS WAS SO AMAZING EVERYONE SHOULD DO THIS!!!!!!!! Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Okay. On Day One I was like "this is silly, this is dumb, no one cares, no one is going to read this". And then by Day Three I was more like "I am obsessed with this and I want to tell everyone to do it and I want to do it every year or every quarter or something, more I need more of this in my life".
Most of my weeks up until this one have been much "leaner". Meaning, I spent way more this week than normal. Meaning, this is 100% not a typical week in my life. But that doesn't matter. It helped me really see where I spend my money, and why I spend money. I got to see my values in action! I got to see where I still need a little help. I checked my damn bank balance almost everyday and I have never been able to do that for more than 1 day in a row!
Dudes, my dudes. I don't want to get dramatic or anything but this was a fricken life changing exercise.
You don't need a blog to do this, but I would recommend getting into the details even if you're writing it in a notebook. These details - news at dinner, my annoying alarm clock - are what make the diary a diary. The money part is what I'm tracking, but I also love seeing my right-now-life in black and white.
I would love to hear from you if you've done something like this before, or if you are thinking about trying it out now!
xo
Lisa
FURTHER READING
Refinery 29's Money Diaries in Canada
Polly Barks Money Diary
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