I got a surprise $7k (net) "exceptional performance" bonus!! Work has felt so thankless and depressing since the latest reshuffle a few weeks ago that split up my entire team, so it was nice to hear my skip skip skip level empathize about that while sharing the bonus details.
Anyway, I decided to divide it into a few areas:
- 33% Roth IRA
- 40% sinking funds for estate planning (spouse and I still need to get wills written) and car maintenance/repairs/tags
- 27% to upgrade my 12-year-old desktop and 7-year-old laptop
High spend summer:
- Paid my last rent for the old apartment before moving to the new SF apartment!
- Traveling around Europe for vacation and a wedding, and while we’re eating out daily it’s still so much cheaper than the US. If things go south in November I’m seriously considering moving here with my husband (EU citizen).
- Planning to buy a couch for the new apartment, so starting to save up for that!
- Paid off $2000 of the credit card this month so my husband can max his Roth IRA (he usually pays CC while I pay rent).
I’m still in savings mode, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get to spend whatsoever, I do, I’m just always mindful about what I spend.
I purchased another Elta MD tinted sunscreen. It’s wonderful. It also faded some old dark blemishes.
Bought cherries, nectarines, strawberries, can’t wait to devour them. 😆
Gave to charity. Everything else went in to savings. 🥰
T
I love music but I have never been to a concert. For over 15 years I’ve tried seven times for 7 artists and was unsuccessful.
I bought my ticket in April. Front row seat. I was supposed to see an artist on my birthday but now I had to cancel - not by choice.
Got my refund today, donated half, will buy my sister breakfast and send my parents & uncle/aunt to a restaurant tonight so they can have a nice double date while I try not to cry into my pillow 🥲.
Edit: you all make a great point, no point in waiting. Thanks for the suggestions!
Thanks! My problem is I’m picky. I’m only paying to see an artist I truly love and have been a fan of for years/decades.
Funnily enough, this last celeb is the smallest compared to the others. [King of pop, a Beatle, Bruno Mars etc.]
I’ll end up like the little old lady in Titanic. Waiting 84 years. 😂
I’m currently on a career break but I have myself on a weekly allowance, where the week runs from Sunday through Saturday. Spending is tracked and unused balances can be saved or rolled over. :)
- Today I went to Costco to stock up on more sparkling waters, which were on sale. My mom and I burn through those so I buy multiple cases. I also got her some strawberries and some salads and ice cream from the food court. (All around $80)
- I have about another $80 left for this week, so I’m gonna treat myself to a spicy tuna poke bowl from a local place, and maybe a coffee on the way back from shipping out my old work computer (good riddance).
- My dad also reminded me I’m low on gas but I can probably make it till Sunday when my new spending week starts. 👀
Payday was Wednesday (which I LOVE!). Rent ($1300 for my share of a $2900 one bedroom) is due. This is the last month before our rent increase kicks in, sigh. Full total rent going up to $3085 but my boyfriend and I have yet to discuss the split on the increase. I don't think he wants to split the increase 50/50 since he makes more money and I do almost all of the cooking, cleaning, home admin. At this point in my life, I'm not going to "feel bad" for not being able to pay more but instead be grateful I have a boyfriend who understands the labor of maintaining a home while having a full-time job.
Other than that, I need to go grocery shopping (around $50) and I might be going out to Long Island for the weekend ($26 for the train... I think). Not the most exciting spend week, but this is the first month is a loooooong time where I was under budget so I'm happy to get ahead a little.
I spent some money on new running gear this week. I'm getting back into running. So some running shoe backups and looking to replace some clothing. The clothing will be returns though. It's not easy finding functional workout clothes that are basic these days.
I’m trying to save a bit more because my employer is not doing well financially. I’m hoping to take time off between jobs. So I need to save now in order to do that without triggering my anxiety. I’m so burned out. I go between being checked out and also being in the thick of it.
I don’t run but walk a lot, and I finally went to a running store to get fitted. Ended up in hokas and they really are way squishier than my ASICS! For 3x as much they better be. So far I’ve liked walking in them but I think they need a little more breaking in
I super heavily frontload my 401k and this is the first paycheck with my "reduced" contribution so it kinda feels like getting a raise lol. My take-home went up $700.
I'll be making two calls in the next few days that may end up being expensive:
* Contacting the oral surgeon to finally schedule an appt for taking my wisdom teeth out
* Contacting a trainer from my friend's gym (that she likes) who does personal training to see if we'd be a good fit and possibly start doing some private sessions
It was a high spend month. I think copilot said I was over by almost $1000!
So this weekend I’m going to try not to spend too much money! My boyfriend is making me dinner tonight and I plan to do some work this weekend so I don’t expect too much spending
This week I paid for an Immediate Care visit ($20) and then the antibiotics to treat what they diagnosed me with ($11). I also had some furniture delivered to my house so I tipped the movers ($50 split between 2).
Tonight I’m going to a concert with a friend (tickets paid already) and we’ll get dinner first and probably a drink there ($50-$60). Tomorrow we will go to a local arts festival if the weather holds out (suggested donation $5-10 per person) but otherwise keep it low key. On Sunday my Zoom book club is getting together for brunch for the first time in years ($30-$40). And I’ll get groceries in there somewhere!
- $30 on a DDR dance pad to play Stepmania at home. I just got the bug like crazy after having DDR on the ps2 20 years ago.
- $20 on some amber glass soap pumps I wanted to hit the minimum for free shipping on amazon
- $40 on gas
- $38 on accidentally letting my TP subscription run....the longest interval is still too short for us and we do not have a lot of space for storage.
- $18 for two car washes
- $1,380 for rent
- $800 to Roth IRAs
- $80 probably for lunch out after husband plays service music for a funeral.
- $8 for me bc I plan to sit at Starbucks while the service happens
- hoping to keep groceries under $100 this week. Will buy some snacks to prep for a road trip next week.
- being realistic, we spend ~$100 a week eating out.
$60 on new sports bras, $2500 on a new refrigerator. I swear I just bought my fridge but turns out it was 10 years old. My washer and dryer best not get any ideas.
Getting my skin check with my dermatologist ($115) and a dozen Montreal-style bagels from my favorite shop ($24). Other than that I’ll be saving for a month of unpaid time off. I got a job offer and am going to put in my 2 weeks notice to get a break before I start! For the rest of this summer I want to sleep in, read books, bake bread, and hang out with my dog.
Double paycheck week, so the beautiful spouse and I will have a money date to divvy up the spoils. Grocery run, debt service, and paying all the bills that are already budgeted for.
There was a surge of random money coming in this week though. $35 refund check from the old car insurance apparently, though I switched a year ago, an SREC, $200 trip delay check from Chase and uh... kind of embarrassed about this... $850 in BTC in my Coinbase account I'd forgotten about. It was *not* $850 last time I was in there, it was like $90. Score I guess? 🤷♂️
All of this paycheck was evenly split between my HYSA and brokerage. I decided to check on my progress towards my goal net worth amount and I'm on target to actually be a bit over by the end of the year!
Felt good about my savings rate for the month of June - I think I struck a good balance of shopping, hanging out with friends, and paying for travel expenses while still being able to have cash saved.
Since I had some fun money leftover I got some boba ($7). Bought a game off the Steam summer sale ($3.99). Ordered painting supplies for a party I’m hosting (~$40). Also had a coupon for household items I’ve been wanting for a while, like a basting brush, flour container, stainless steel cooking pan (~$45). Once my paycheck is fully processed i’ll be sending $500 to my Roth IRA and about ~$100 to the HYSA.
As usual for the past few months, I’m aiming to scrimp as reasonably as I can without making myself unhappy lmao.
Going to a wedding this weekend so lot of money spent on gifts, Uber and all that. I will need to take my kitty for a vet visit and not excited about that bill;/
This is my first week back to work after a 2 week vacation and I found out this afternoon that I’m getting a 15% merit increase! I knew something was coming but didn’t have the number and this is more than I was expecting. And I work at a nonprofit, so it really came as a surprise. I’ve been limiting spending this week after vacation, and I won’t actually see the increase until the end of July, but will definitely be treating myself to a little treat after work today :)
I'm on PTO part of this week, so it's nice to see the paycheck hit when I'm not working haha.
I've spent on:
* Dental fees. I had to get a root canal + crown, which insurance only covered a small portion of. My HSA was able to cover the majority of the remaining balance, but I still had to pay for a few hundred out of pocket. (Will wait for my HSA balance to top up before requesting a reimbursement later this year for it.)
* Household supplies: Most are on my Amazon subscribe & save, but I have an incoming delivery with cleaners and magnesium.
* Also ordered some sew on snap buttons so I could do some minor adjustments to some clothing pieces, a yukihara pan, and a sleeping mask!
I bought options for clothes for my work trip. I'm still waiting on their arrival so I can try stuff on. I'm worried because I'm less than 6 months postpartum and losing weight intentionally, so I'm hoping to have a couple of pants that fit.
I'm still figuring out shirts: my waist measurement had me outside of the brand's size range, but I was wearing a top from that brand (so, I was on Athleta's web site and couldn't find a size with my waist, but I was wearing Athleta pants and a top in size large). I'll probably have to suck it up and go in store.
My last pregnancy really messed up my core, and I'm in physical therapy for it. I bought a pelvic floor exerciser that'll take the guesswork out of kegels.
I'm getting some summer toys for my toddler, and a new hot/cold temperature duckie for the baby. The toddler has decided that the temperature duckie we have is his, and I could have many conversations about sharing and safety and being kind, or I could spend $3.19 on a new one for the baby and not have bath time subject to the whims of a 2.5 year old, while focusing the kindness/sharing/safety talks on bigger things.
I had dinner with some old friends last night. It was very good to see them. But man dining out in NYC, at any kind of semi-nice place, will run you at least $100pp these days. We had Italian, one drink each, and split a couple of desserts, and the check was $108 after tax/tip each. Back to my meal prep train rip
I did also pick up some Chinese takeout for hubs because he has a crazy day today and won’t have time to figure out lunch. $40.
I have to pick up a hostess gift for a friend we’re seeing over the weekend. They’re a chef, and I don’t want to drink so I don’t want to bring wine. I’m thinking flowers and a couple blocks of that stupidly expensive but insanely good butter Eric Ripert uses at Le Bernadin. Guessing this will be $75 total.
We’re making a trip to New Haven CT next week to see a cancer specialist! Husband has requested NH style pizza while we’re there, haha.
>We’re making a trip to New Haven CT next week to see a cancer specialist! Husband has requested NH style pizza while we’re there, haha.
Yes, definitely check out Pepe's!
It’s some small batch cultured butter that I don’t remember the name of but Murray’s Cheeses in NYC used to carry it. I just went and they don’t seem to have it anymore though 😔 I got a different kind of small batch cultured butter, excited to try this one!
Murray’s also has the one that Dominique Ansel uses lol https://nymag.com/strategist/article/dominique-ansel-favorite-things.html
I spent so much this month. I got a new phone, and then bought plane tickets home for a family get together in September. Bought items off Amazon and stuff we needed but still. Ouch. Crazy watching the paycheck roll in, and then roll right out to various things (rent, investments, sinking funds, paying off the credit card in full for the month).
Currently job searching, so saving, BUT caveat: I did just get back from a trip with family to Montreal and am approaching a trip to Europe with friends — both are coming out of my HYSA specifically for travel. And while I generally have a lot of anxiety around money, I feel ok cleaning out the travel account (I have a strong emergency fund that I’ll lean on when I’m back, if I’m still on the market. Man, I hope I’m not on the market though).
Spent $70 today on Uber trips to/from the doctor’s office. I have low white blood cell count so I was referred to an oncology/hematology office but their only open appointment slots were at offices far away from me.
I would have just waited for an open slot closer to me except I told my mom and she FREAKED OUT about me being referred to a “cancer specialist”. She is spiraling and keeps telling me to “take it seriously”. Honestly, she’s giving me secondhand anxiety. My primary care doctor said it’s probably nothing but wants to do her due diligence by having a hematologist check me over. I’m hoping it’s something obvious and fixable like low copper or whatever.
I also hate that I have no idea how much $$ this visit cost. The office said they didn’t think I had any copay but I think I will get a bill since I have a high deductible plan and they are specialists and ran extra tests. Though who knows. 🙃 Why is our healthcare system like this.
Thank you! I hope so too. While I’m not stressing, I’m spending too much thinking about whether I should have brought up X extremely minor symptom from Y weeks ago during my meeting.
Spent a lot on food this past month so going to try and reel it in this next month. It’s tough though since it’s finally going to be nice weather.
No plans on major purchases, however, I may be signing up for a yoga teacher training in which case I’ll need to take some money from my savings to fund!
I'm putting a down payment on a cruise around the UK with my family and parents in July 2025. This is likely to be their last big trip and while it's not my preference to travel Europe this way, it's easiest for everyone. It will cost a pretty penny but I've been saving and am looking forward to it.
It's a high spend week for me so all of our excess money from paychecks is going toward that. Our son started oral immunotherapy for a severe allergy this week, which involved the program start up costs ($225). We had two dental appointments between the 4 of us, meaning two copays ($94 total). We found out that my front teeth, that I broke off at age 6, are needing replaced again after nearly 15 years since the last procedure as the crowns have slipped, opening what's left of them to infection ($4,000). And this just happens to coincide with the one week per month we have a cleaning lady come to do the house ($220).
Finally got paid after a long time without a paycheck (started new job and missed the cutoff for my paycheck to be approved on the 15th, so I’m being paid for the last 3 weeks) and it feels so good. Gonna pay off my credit card, put some into my TFSA, and start saving for a new laptop :)
I paid off the remaining balance on my credit cards and am officially debt free! I had an almost $30k balance on my credit cards at the start of 2023, along with a car loan and student loans. Now everything is officially paid off. I’m still in shock but so happy! Now I’m focusing on paying for personal and house stuff I’ve been putting off while I was paying off my debt.
$380-Got my car detailed for the first time ever. It was much needed. My car sits on the street most of the time since I work from home. It didn’t help that I left it sitting under a tree for two weeks in the hot summer sun.
$285-Paid to get a sink faucet replaced. The old faucet still worked but had a lot of hard water build-up that I made worse when trying to clean it. It looked horrible. Happy it’s now replaced and looks so much better!
It’s a saving / bills week so nothing too fun. My work is closed all next week for summer holiday though!!
My husband and I pay for a really nice gym which goes on one of my credit cards so will pay that off ($350), pay my student loan ($617), and then paid some of a credit card we used for unexpected car repairs ($500 of the total $3000 🤪). My brokerage / retirement account contributions will process next week as well ($500).
I’m out of a few supplements so will refill those (~$120) and then put the rest in savings.
I just harvested the garlic i planted last fall! Very cool to see the whole plant's life cycle. I would recommend planting several if you have the space bc the yeild is low. And look into curing/storage before you pick thdm.
I bought some dupe perfume on Oakcha on sale (fingers crossed) and a bubble tea after work – otherwise just a grocery run, maybe coffee with a friend. Mental health has been \~absolute trash so hoping if I spend the weekend going on some walks, crafting, resting, cooking myself yummy nourishing things, and working on some therapy exercises I'll feel a bit better next week.
I also heard that I was put forward for a promotion – should find out in the next few weeks if it's moving ahead. Fingers crossed!
$30 on therapy but trying to keep it a low spend weekend. I finally had a month where I was ahead of my savings goal, and it feels really good! Next month is a 3 paycheck month for me, so I'm hoping to continue to save. I feel like I'm going to have some big life expenses in the next 1-2 years between possibly getting married and having a baby. I'd like to have $10k saved for both!
Purchasing a few comfy cute clothes from Aerie (there’s a sale!) and saving the rest. I did get an extra $800 back from work (refund from spending on an international work trip recently) so I’ll put that straight onto my credit card!!
- We’re paying off Capital One credit card bill in full. Partner and I have two trips (next month and in November) and charged airplane tix on that card for points.
- Transferring a big chunk of money towards our travel sinking fund.
- Going to a sauna after work today (already paid for with a gift card) and probably getting dinner after!
- Running low on basics (toilet paper, meal prep basics, etc) and planning a trip to Costco tomorrow. Expecting to spend ~$300.
- Our senior dog has a follow-up vet appt tomorrow for some new meds he’s been on. Expecting to at least get 80% of that bill reimbursed by pet insurance.
Not my payday, but its been a bit of a wild week:
- Paid half of the principal on my final undergrad loan
- Paid half of the principal on my largest grad school loan
- 2 separate camping trips
- new SUP for those camping trips
- Sabrina Carpenter tickets
- (split) dinner out with my husband for our anniversary
ETA: - REI trip for new hiking pants because apparently mine have lots of holes + a new forest pass
- (For Saturday) Need to pick up camping food
Currently avoiding a Costco run because of traffic, but I might just push that off til next week.
The frustrating thing about getting paid “early” is that the payslip is available on the actual payday, not sooner. So I don’t know if the larger than usual paycheck is because of a one-off thing that might be happening this paycheck or next, or if I did something wrong in recalculating my various pre and post tax deductions.
I got a surprise $7k (net) "exceptional performance" bonus!! Work has felt so thankless and depressing since the latest reshuffle a few weeks ago that split up my entire team, so it was nice to hear my skip skip skip level empathize about that while sharing the bonus details. Anyway, I decided to divide it into a few areas: - 33% Roth IRA - 40% sinking funds for estate planning (spouse and I still need to get wills written) and car maintenance/repairs/tags - 27% to upgrade my 12-year-old desktop and 7-year-old laptop
Wow- that is an awesome surprise! Nice work!!
Thank you! ❤️
That's so exciting! Congrats! Sounds like you had good rapport with your old team, but hope your new team finds stability and a fun dynamic ✨
That’s a nice surprise! Yay!
Oh this is a good reminder that I need to account for the cost of my estate and trust plan! Meeting with a second potential attorney on Monday.
High spend summer: - Paid my last rent for the old apartment before moving to the new SF apartment! - Traveling around Europe for vacation and a wedding, and while we’re eating out daily it’s still so much cheaper than the US. If things go south in November I’m seriously considering moving here with my husband (EU citizen). - Planning to buy a couch for the new apartment, so starting to save up for that! - Paid off $2000 of the credit card this month so my husband can max his Roth IRA (he usually pays CC while I pay rent).
I’m still in savings mode, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get to spend whatsoever, I do, I’m just always mindful about what I spend. I purchased another Elta MD tinted sunscreen. It’s wonderful. It also faded some old dark blemishes. Bought cherries, nectarines, strawberries, can’t wait to devour them. 😆 Gave to charity. Everything else went in to savings. 🥰 T
I love music but I have never been to a concert. For over 15 years I’ve tried seven times for 7 artists and was unsuccessful. I bought my ticket in April. Front row seat. I was supposed to see an artist on my birthday but now I had to cancel - not by choice. Got my refund today, donated half, will buy my sister breakfast and send my parents & uncle/aunt to a restaurant tonight so they can have a nice double date while I try not to cry into my pillow 🥲. Edit: you all make a great point, no point in waiting. Thanks for the suggestions!
Oh my lord!!! Do not wait for an artist you like! Live music is magic in itself. The fact that it’s live is what makes its special
Yes, all of this! I have a concert buddy who invites me to all kinds of random shows and we always have a blast. Go see a cheap local band at least!
Oh bummer! I hope you get to go to a concert soon. What about putting on a live album or concert film for some of the same vibe tonight?
That’s so sad! I hope you get another chance soon! Can you go see a smaller show? It sounds like the one you had planned was a big one
Thanks! My problem is I’m picky. I’m only paying to see an artist I truly love and have been a fan of for years/decades. Funnily enough, this last celeb is the smallest compared to the others. [King of pop, a Beatle, Bruno Mars etc.] I’ll end up like the little old lady in Titanic. Waiting 84 years. 😂
I’m currently on a career break but I have myself on a weekly allowance, where the week runs from Sunday through Saturday. Spending is tracked and unused balances can be saved or rolled over. :) - Today I went to Costco to stock up on more sparkling waters, which were on sale. My mom and I burn through those so I buy multiple cases. I also got her some strawberries and some salads and ice cream from the food court. (All around $80) - I have about another $80 left for this week, so I’m gonna treat myself to a spicy tuna poke bowl from a local place, and maybe a coffee on the way back from shipping out my old work computer (good riddance). - My dad also reminded me I’m low on gas but I can probably make it till Sunday when my new spending week starts. 👀
Payday was Wednesday (which I LOVE!). Rent ($1300 for my share of a $2900 one bedroom) is due. This is the last month before our rent increase kicks in, sigh. Full total rent going up to $3085 but my boyfriend and I have yet to discuss the split on the increase. I don't think he wants to split the increase 50/50 since he makes more money and I do almost all of the cooking, cleaning, home admin. At this point in my life, I'm not going to "feel bad" for not being able to pay more but instead be grateful I have a boyfriend who understands the labor of maintaining a home while having a full-time job. Other than that, I need to go grocery shopping (around $50) and I might be going out to Long Island for the weekend ($26 for the train... I think). Not the most exciting spend week, but this is the first month is a loooooong time where I was under budget so I'm happy to get ahead a little.
I spent some money on new running gear this week. I'm getting back into running. So some running shoe backups and looking to replace some clothing. The clothing will be returns though. It's not easy finding functional workout clothes that are basic these days. I’m trying to save a bit more because my employer is not doing well financially. I’m hoping to take time off between jobs. So I need to save now in order to do that without triggering my anxiety. I’m so burned out. I go between being checked out and also being in the thick of it.
I don’t run but walk a lot, and I finally went to a running store to get fitted. Ended up in hokas and they really are way squishier than my ASICS! For 3x as much they better be. So far I’ve liked walking in them but I think they need a little more breaking in
I super heavily frontload my 401k and this is the first paycheck with my "reduced" contribution so it kinda feels like getting a raise lol. My take-home went up $700. I'll be making two calls in the next few days that may end up being expensive: * Contacting the oral surgeon to finally schedule an appt for taking my wisdom teeth out * Contacting a trainer from my friend's gym (that she likes) who does personal training to see if we'd be a good fit and possibly start doing some private sessions
It was a high spend month. I think copilot said I was over by almost $1000! So this weekend I’m going to try not to spend too much money! My boyfriend is making me dinner tonight and I plan to do some work this weekend so I don’t expect too much spending
For a second I was so charmed by "copilot", a cute new gender neutral term for partner ... and then I remembered abt the app 💀
Bah! I’m totally stealing copilot for my partner!
I call mine my "hydrohomie"
This week I paid for an Immediate Care visit ($20) and then the antibiotics to treat what they diagnosed me with ($11). I also had some furniture delivered to my house so I tipped the movers ($50 split between 2). Tonight I’m going to a concert with a friend (tickets paid already) and we’ll get dinner first and probably a drink there ($50-$60). Tomorrow we will go to a local arts festival if the weather holds out (suggested donation $5-10 per person) but otherwise keep it low key. On Sunday my Zoom book club is getting together for brunch for the first time in years ($30-$40). And I’ll get groceries in there somewhere!
- $30 on a DDR dance pad to play Stepmania at home. I just got the bug like crazy after having DDR on the ps2 20 years ago. - $20 on some amber glass soap pumps I wanted to hit the minimum for free shipping on amazon - $40 on gas - $38 on accidentally letting my TP subscription run....the longest interval is still too short for us and we do not have a lot of space for storage. - $18 for two car washes - $1,380 for rent - $800 to Roth IRAs - $80 probably for lunch out after husband plays service music for a funeral. - $8 for me bc I plan to sit at Starbucks while the service happens - hoping to keep groceries under $100 this week. Will buy some snacks to prep for a road trip next week. - being realistic, we spend ~$100 a week eating out.
$60 on new sports bras, $2500 on a new refrigerator. I swear I just bought my fridge but turns out it was 10 years old. My washer and dryer best not get any ideas.
I swear they conspire...
Getting my skin check with my dermatologist ($115) and a dozen Montreal-style bagels from my favorite shop ($24). Other than that I’ll be saving for a month of unpaid time off. I got a job offer and am going to put in my 2 weeks notice to get a break before I start! For the rest of this summer I want to sleep in, read books, bake bread, and hang out with my dog.
I had to google Montreal style bagels and wow those sound great!
Montreal bagels are the BEST
Congrats on the new job and the break between jobs! That time will be so worth it!
Double paycheck week, so the beautiful spouse and I will have a money date to divvy up the spoils. Grocery run, debt service, and paying all the bills that are already budgeted for. There was a surge of random money coming in this week though. $35 refund check from the old car insurance apparently, though I switched a year ago, an SREC, $200 trip delay check from Chase and uh... kind of embarrassed about this... $850 in BTC in my Coinbase account I'd forgotten about. It was *not* $850 last time I was in there, it was like $90. Score I guess? 🤷♂️
All of this paycheck was evenly split between my HYSA and brokerage. I decided to check on my progress towards my goal net worth amount and I'm on target to actually be a bit over by the end of the year!
Felt good about my savings rate for the month of June - I think I struck a good balance of shopping, hanging out with friends, and paying for travel expenses while still being able to have cash saved. Since I had some fun money leftover I got some boba ($7). Bought a game off the Steam summer sale ($3.99). Ordered painting supplies for a party I’m hosting (~$40). Also had a coupon for household items I’ve been wanting for a while, like a basting brush, flour container, stainless steel cooking pan (~$45). Once my paycheck is fully processed i’ll be sending $500 to my Roth IRA and about ~$100 to the HYSA. As usual for the past few months, I’m aiming to scrimp as reasonably as I can without making myself unhappy lmao.
Going to a wedding this weekend so lot of money spent on gifts, Uber and all that. I will need to take my kitty for a vet visit and not excited about that bill;/
650$ at the vet for my dog for annual exams and vaccines, meds, seizure assessment and kinked tail.
This is my first week back to work after a 2 week vacation and I found out this afternoon that I’m getting a 15% merit increase! I knew something was coming but didn’t have the number and this is more than I was expecting. And I work at a nonprofit, so it really came as a surprise. I’ve been limiting spending this week after vacation, and I won’t actually see the increase until the end of July, but will definitely be treating myself to a little treat after work today :)
15% merit increase!? That’s amazing. Most I’ve gotten from a merit increase was probably 4%. Congrats!!
I'm on PTO part of this week, so it's nice to see the paycheck hit when I'm not working haha. I've spent on: * Dental fees. I had to get a root canal + crown, which insurance only covered a small portion of. My HSA was able to cover the majority of the remaining balance, but I still had to pay for a few hundred out of pocket. (Will wait for my HSA balance to top up before requesting a reimbursement later this year for it.) * Household supplies: Most are on my Amazon subscribe & save, but I have an incoming delivery with cleaners and magnesium. * Also ordered some sew on snap buttons so I could do some minor adjustments to some clothing pieces, a yukihara pan, and a sleeping mask!
Payday while on PTO is such a small pleasure lol
I bought options for clothes for my work trip. I'm still waiting on their arrival so I can try stuff on. I'm worried because I'm less than 6 months postpartum and losing weight intentionally, so I'm hoping to have a couple of pants that fit. I'm still figuring out shirts: my waist measurement had me outside of the brand's size range, but I was wearing a top from that brand (so, I was on Athleta's web site and couldn't find a size with my waist, but I was wearing Athleta pants and a top in size large). I'll probably have to suck it up and go in store. My last pregnancy really messed up my core, and I'm in physical therapy for it. I bought a pelvic floor exerciser that'll take the guesswork out of kegels. I'm getting some summer toys for my toddler, and a new hot/cold temperature duckie for the baby. The toddler has decided that the temperature duckie we have is his, and I could have many conversations about sharing and safety and being kind, or I could spend $3.19 on a new one for the baby and not have bath time subject to the whims of a 2.5 year old, while focusing the kindness/sharing/safety talks on bigger things.
I had dinner with some old friends last night. It was very good to see them. But man dining out in NYC, at any kind of semi-nice place, will run you at least $100pp these days. We had Italian, one drink each, and split a couple of desserts, and the check was $108 after tax/tip each. Back to my meal prep train rip I did also pick up some Chinese takeout for hubs because he has a crazy day today and won’t have time to figure out lunch. $40. I have to pick up a hostess gift for a friend we’re seeing over the weekend. They’re a chef, and I don’t want to drink so I don’t want to bring wine. I’m thinking flowers and a couple blocks of that stupidly expensive but insanely good butter Eric Ripert uses at Le Bernadin. Guessing this will be $75 total. We’re making a trip to New Haven CT next week to see a cancer specialist! Husband has requested NH style pizza while we’re there, haha.
>We’re making a trip to New Haven CT next week to see a cancer specialist! Husband has requested NH style pizza while we’re there, haha. Yes, definitely check out Pepe's!
Yay thanks for the rec!
My Wife, who grew up there, love’s Pepe’s. I am not impressed.
TIL NH has their own pizza style!
Flowers is a great host gift! I don’t know if you need the butter too.
Hahaha I low key want to have it and this is a great excuse 😅
Tell me more about this butter!
It’s some small batch cultured butter that I don’t remember the name of but Murray’s Cheeses in NYC used to carry it. I just went and they don’t seem to have it anymore though 😔 I got a different kind of small batch cultured butter, excited to try this one! Murray’s also has the one that Dominique Ansel uses lol https://nymag.com/strategist/article/dominique-ansel-favorite-things.html
I spent so much this month. I got a new phone, and then bought plane tickets home for a family get together in September. Bought items off Amazon and stuff we needed but still. Ouch. Crazy watching the paycheck roll in, and then roll right out to various things (rent, investments, sinking funds, paying off the credit card in full for the month).
Currently job searching, so saving, BUT caveat: I did just get back from a trip with family to Montreal and am approaching a trip to Europe with friends — both are coming out of my HYSA specifically for travel. And while I generally have a lot of anxiety around money, I feel ok cleaning out the travel account (I have a strong emergency fund that I’ll lean on when I’m back, if I’m still on the market. Man, I hope I’m not on the market though).
Spent $70 today on Uber trips to/from the doctor’s office. I have low white blood cell count so I was referred to an oncology/hematology office but their only open appointment slots were at offices far away from me. I would have just waited for an open slot closer to me except I told my mom and she FREAKED OUT about me being referred to a “cancer specialist”. She is spiraling and keeps telling me to “take it seriously”. Honestly, she’s giving me secondhand anxiety. My primary care doctor said it’s probably nothing but wants to do her due diligence by having a hematologist check me over. I’m hoping it’s something obvious and fixable like low copper or whatever. I also hate that I have no idea how much $$ this visit cost. The office said they didn’t think I had any copay but I think I will get a bill since I have a high deductible plan and they are specialists and ran extra tests. Though who knows. 🙃 Why is our healthcare system like this.
Hope it’s nothing serious. 💕
Thank you for the kind thoughts. ❤️
That’s a lot to go through, and I’m hoping for a positive outcome and peace of mind. ❤️
Thank you! I hope so too. While I’m not stressing, I’m spending too much thinking about whether I should have brought up X extremely minor symptom from Y weeks ago during my meeting.
Spent a lot on food this past month so going to try and reel it in this next month. It’s tough though since it’s finally going to be nice weather. No plans on major purchases, however, I may be signing up for a yoga teacher training in which case I’ll need to take some money from my savings to fund!
I'm putting a down payment on a cruise around the UK with my family and parents in July 2025. This is likely to be their last big trip and while it's not my preference to travel Europe this way, it's easiest for everyone. It will cost a pretty penny but I've been saving and am looking forward to it.
Spent $1.5k on misc baby stuff. It’s getting very real!
Going to see Maria Bamford and the venue has a two drink minimum. Probably shopping for work and going out to eat.
It's a high spend week for me so all of our excess money from paychecks is going toward that. Our son started oral immunotherapy for a severe allergy this week, which involved the program start up costs ($225). We had two dental appointments between the 4 of us, meaning two copays ($94 total). We found out that my front teeth, that I broke off at age 6, are needing replaced again after nearly 15 years since the last procedure as the crowns have slipped, opening what's left of them to infection ($4,000). And this just happens to coincide with the one week per month we have a cleaning lady come to do the house ($220).
It is a pay day and I'm spending on bills, scrimping on groceries, splurging on the hair salon and a day trip, and saving toward a new car.
Finally got paid after a long time without a paycheck (started new job and missed the cutoff for my paycheck to be approved on the 15th, so I’m being paid for the last 3 weeks) and it feels so good. Gonna pay off my credit card, put some into my TFSA, and start saving for a new laptop :)
I paid off the remaining balance on my credit cards and am officially debt free! I had an almost $30k balance on my credit cards at the start of 2023, along with a car loan and student loans. Now everything is officially paid off. I’m still in shock but so happy! Now I’m focusing on paying for personal and house stuff I’ve been putting off while I was paying off my debt. $380-Got my car detailed for the first time ever. It was much needed. My car sits on the street most of the time since I work from home. It didn’t help that I left it sitting under a tree for two weeks in the hot summer sun. $285-Paid to get a sink faucet replaced. The old faucet still worked but had a lot of hard water build-up that I made worse when trying to clean it. It looked horrible. Happy it’s now replaced and looks so much better!
It’s a saving / bills week so nothing too fun. My work is closed all next week for summer holiday though!! My husband and I pay for a really nice gym which goes on one of my credit cards so will pay that off ($350), pay my student loan ($617), and then paid some of a credit card we used for unexpected car repairs ($500 of the total $3000 🤪). My brokerage / retirement account contributions will process next week as well ($500). I’m out of a few supplements so will refill those (~$120) and then put the rest in savings.
Wow ! I’ve never heard of a job that closes for a summer holiday (aside from teaching). That’s great!
My payday is next Friday but I purchased garlic to plant in my garden that will arrive in mid September.
I just harvested the garlic i planted last fall! Very cool to see the whole plant's life cycle. I would recommend planting several if you have the space bc the yeild is low. And look into curing/storage before you pick thdm.
I bought some dupe perfume on Oakcha on sale (fingers crossed) and a bubble tea after work – otherwise just a grocery run, maybe coffee with a friend. Mental health has been \~absolute trash so hoping if I spend the weekend going on some walks, crafting, resting, cooking myself yummy nourishing things, and working on some therapy exercises I'll feel a bit better next week. I also heard that I was put forward for a promotion – should find out in the next few weeks if it's moving ahead. Fingers crossed!
$30 on therapy but trying to keep it a low spend weekend. I finally had a month where I was ahead of my savings goal, and it feels really good! Next month is a 3 paycheck month for me, so I'm hoping to continue to save. I feel like I'm going to have some big life expenses in the next 1-2 years between possibly getting married and having a baby. I'd like to have $10k saved for both!
Purchasing a few comfy cute clothes from Aerie (there’s a sale!) and saving the rest. I did get an extra $800 back from work (refund from spending on an international work trip recently) so I’ll put that straight onto my credit card!!
[удалено]
Microblading is the best thing I ever did, I hope you love it!
- We’re paying off Capital One credit card bill in full. Partner and I have two trips (next month and in November) and charged airplane tix on that card for points. - Transferring a big chunk of money towards our travel sinking fund. - Going to a sauna after work today (already paid for with a gift card) and probably getting dinner after! - Running low on basics (toilet paper, meal prep basics, etc) and planning a trip to Costco tomorrow. Expecting to spend ~$300. - Our senior dog has a follow-up vet appt tomorrow for some new meds he’s been on. Expecting to at least get 80% of that bill reimbursed by pet insurance.
Not my payday, but its been a bit of a wild week: - Paid half of the principal on my final undergrad loan - Paid half of the principal on my largest grad school loan - 2 separate camping trips - new SUP for those camping trips - Sabrina Carpenter tickets - (split) dinner out with my husband for our anniversary ETA: - REI trip for new hiking pants because apparently mine have lots of holes + a new forest pass - (For Saturday) Need to pick up camping food Currently avoiding a Costco run because of traffic, but I might just push that off til next week.
The frustrating thing about getting paid “early” is that the payslip is available on the actual payday, not sooner. So I don’t know if the larger than usual paycheck is because of a one-off thing that might be happening this paycheck or next, or if I did something wrong in recalculating my various pre and post tax deductions.