Welcome to Money Diaries, where we’re tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We’re asking women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.
Today: a Finance Director who has a joint income of $305,000 and spends some of her money this week on baby clothes.
Occupation: Finance Director
Industry: Retail
Age: 30
Location: Atlanta, GA
My Salary: $110,000 + 10% cash bonus + 10% equity bonus
Husband’s Salary: $195,000 + 30% Bonus
My Paycheck Amount (biweekly): $2,950
Husband’s Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $4,900
Additional Income: $1,900/month from our rental unit over our garage
Monthly Expenses
Mortgage (includes taxes and insurance): $3,950
Loans: $0
Gym/Peleton: $240
Au Pair Stipend: $200/week
401(k): 8% of both our paychecks (~$550,000 total in both accounts)
Investments: $2,500-$3,500 (~$150,000 total between multiple accounts)
Savings: ~$190K in cash currently (no set amount, we add whatever is extra from the month)
Healthcare: $600
Netflix and Disney+: $20
Internet/Cable: $190
Utilities: ~$350
Day One
5:45 a.m. — Wake up, shower, get dressed for the day. Full disclosure: I am a skincare junkie and spend way too much on products but I had really bad acne when I was younger (I did Accutane twice) and now that I am in my 30s and it has finally leveled off, I tend to go a little overboard, My morning routine is: Elemis cleanser, Pixi Glow tonic, Skinceuticals C E Ferulic, Peter Thomas Roth glycolic moisturizer, sunscreen, then makeup. I always try to wear minimal makeup and still look put together because I work on an all-male team and feel weird when I wear a ton of makeup.
6:20 a.m. — Wake up our 19-month-old twins and get breakfast ready for everyone. I typically batch prep meals for the kids on the weekends to make my life easier in the mornings and the au pair’s life easier during the day. Today they have three-ingredient pancakes, strawberries, and oatmeal bites with milk. I always have a smoothie with greens, fruit, and protein powder to drink in the car and my husband takes a yogurt and fruit. I usually leave around 7:45 but I have a presentation to our business partners today and I want to get in early to make sure I have everything together.
7:30 a.m. — In the office prepping for the day. I am in finance and we are in the middle of our budget season, so my hours have been a little bit crazy. Added into the madness of this current phase in our lives is that my husband is a consultant and travels Tuesday through Thursday every week.
10:30 a.m. — I run to Starbucks in the lobby of our building before my presentation at 11. The presentation goes well and after a few more meetings I grab lunch that I brought from home. $3.40
4 p.m. — I take a break and remember that the twins need some new pajamas because most of their current selection is too small. I go overboard on Hanna Andersson and spend $154.67 on an assortment of baby clothes. $154.67
5 p.m. — My team knows that I have to be gone every day by 5 even during budgets because our au pair can only be responsible for the kids 10 hours a day maximum (45 hours/week max) and my husband is usually traveling, so I am out the door to head home. I get home, change into comfortable clothes, and play outside with the kids while I pop a frozen meal into the Instant Pot for dinner — some kind of chickpea and tomato recipe that we haven’t tried before.
6:45 p.m. — When my husband gets home, we head inside and eat dinner and then head up for bedtime routine at 7:30. My husband does bedtime and baths when he is home, so I jump on the Peloton for a 45-minute workout. I rinse off in the shower, do my nighttime skin routine: double cleanse with Elemis balm and normal cleanser, toner, Retinol, and Sunday Riley oil, then throw a load of laundry to wash and straighten the house a bit since our bi-weekly cleaning guy is coming tomorrow and I try to not have stuff everywhere to make his life a bit easier.
9 p.m. — Watch some TV with my husband and we both work for around another 1.5 hours then we head to bed around 10:45 since he has a 6 a.m. flight tomorrow.
Daily Total: $158.07
Day Two
4:45 a.m. — I get up and make sure my husband has everything he needs for his work trip and decide to do a 30-minute workout since I am already awake. Same morning routine, wake up kids at 6:30 and feed everyone breakfast. Today they have yogurt with apple and pear and I grab my smoothie to go.
8 a.m. — At my desk cranking through budget meetings and reviews. Our housekeeper Venmo requests me $150 when he is finished cleaning. $150
1 p.m. — I scarf down lunch at my desk as usual and see that a bill from our IVF clinic for our upcoming embryo transfer for $4,760 came through to my email. The twins are IVF babies and we are doing another transfer in a few weeks. The twins were a (very pleasant) surprise after struggling with infertility for three years, five IUIs, and two rounds of IVF. My husband and I always wanted a big family and feel very lucky that we have the means for fertility treatments. In total, we will have spent about $42,000 on fertility treatments over the past four years because neither of our employers covered anything related to infertility $4,760
4 p.m. — I leave work early and run to Costco for our one large weekly grocery run. I get organic fruits and vegetables, organic chicken breasts, salmon, eggs, milk, cheese, tortillas, wine, sparkling water, diapers, wipes and a bunch of other random things that somehow equals me spending $295. We try to buy most of our produce and meats here because per ounce it is the cheapest and also we think the quality is better than most other places. $295
5:20 p.m. — Get home, play with the kiddos and throw together some bean and squash quesadillas for the kids and a glass of scotch for me. Generally, when my husband is traveling, I throw together something quick for the girls and make myself a salad from whatever is in the fridge.
7:20 p.m. — Bath and bedtime routine for the twins and then I head back downstairs to start cranking through some more work. I put a Netflix documentary on in the background.
11:20 p.m. — Realize it is 11:20 and finally head to bed after eating a rice cake with peanut butter.
Daily Total: $5,455
Day Three
5:45 a.m. — Same morning routine. I make waffles and almond butter for the kids and smoothie and coffee for me. Out the door and in the office by 8.
10 a.m. — We rent out the two-bedroom apartment over our garage to two college students and one of them calls to tell me that he thinks the kitchen faucet is finally broken after limping along for two months now. I order a new faucet and promise to send my husband to fix it as soon as he is back in town. Side note about the apartment: when we bought our house a year and a half ago we went a little over what we wanted to spend, but it was a multi-family house with more than enough room for us to grow into (five-bed/three-bath main house and a two-bed/two-bath apartment). As a compromise, we decided to rent the apartment out for a few years until we eventually turn the house into a single-family. $160
2 p.m. — After a zillion meetings to review budget decks, I realize I haven’t eaten and settle on a very questionable apple from Friday and some free popcorn leftover from a meeting. Our cafeteria closes at 1:30 and I don’t have the energy to go out for lunch.
5:40 p.m. — Finally head home and throw chicken and rice into the Instant Pot. I walk with the kids over to a park close to our house for about an hour before going home and eating dinner and then doing the same bath/books/bedtime routine.
8 p.m. — Everyone else is asleep and I can log back on to work. Hooray (sarcasm). I get distracted and order Augustinus Bader Rich Cream. I justify said purchase because I know my skin is about to freak out when we start the meds for our upcoming embryo transfer. $265
9:30 p.m. — I finally get to a reasonable stopping point and do a quick Peloton workout. I then shower, do nighttime skincare routine, and go to bed around 10:45 after skyping my husband.
Daily Total: $425
Day Four
5:45 a.m. — Same morning routine as always. I’m STRUGGLING today, but hubby comes home later tonight and it’s almost the weekend. I work from home on Thursdays, so I do a shortened version of my normal morning skincare/getting ready routine and make a non-frozen breakfast for everyone. Oatmeal, eggs, turkey bacon, and coffee for me.
9 a.m. — The au pair comes downstairs and takes the kids to music class a few blocks away while I start working. I keep working until around 2 and then take a break and play in the yard with the babies when they wake up from their nap.
6 p.m. — I finish for the day when the husband gets home. We walk to the Mexican restaurant close to our house to celebrate him coming home. We get a bunch of stuff to share and my husband and I get a few margaritas. $97.40
7:45 p.m. — Husband does bath/books bedtime with the twins while I get back on to do more work. I book airline tickets for skiing in March with my extended family. Since the twins fly for free and there is a ridiculous sale on Delta, I go ahead and get two business class tickets. A note about this vacation: my parents pay for a house every year for our whole family (my parents, my brother, and our spouses + kids). Everyone buys their own airfare and lift tickets and my parents get the house and usually all of the meals while we are there. I head to bed after working until around 11. $1,950
Daily Total: $2,047.40
Day Five
5:45 a.m. — FRIDAY. Hooray. I do a 30-minute Peloton ride and then shower, get dressed and hang out with the babies and husband for a bit before I leave a little early. My husband packs lunch for me, makes coffee, and feeds the twins like he does every Friday.
7:20 a.m. — I’m in the office early today because its Friday and I like to head out by 4-4:30 on Fridays.
1 p.m. — I go out to lunch with an old coworker who is looking to come back to the company. I have salmon, salad, and sparkling water, and he pays.
4:45 p.m. — Pack up and head home for the weekend. Finally. Change into jeans and walk over to a brewery that is pretty close to our house to meet some friends with kids close to the same age as ours. We all order a bunch of stuff to share and probably too many beers and then split the bill down the middle. $109.50
7:30 p.m. — We all do books/bedtime together. My husband and I try to watch a movie but end up making it about 12 minutes before both falling asleep.
Daily Total: $109.50
Day Six
6:30 a.m. — Twins are up and hungry so my husband takes them downstairs to feed them and lets them watch 15-30 minutes of Sesame Street while I get a little more sleep. Bless him.
9 a.m. — I wake up and we all get dressed to head out to the aquarium. We got season passes this year because it is about 2.5 miles from our house, the kids love it, and it’s easy for the au pair to take them during the week. The season pass we have was 750 dollars for the year.
1 p.m. — After the aquarium and playing around the nearby park, we leave to get a late lunch since the twins are entering meltdown territory. We grab Chik-fil-A for the kids and head home so they can take a nap. I do a zillion loads of laundry and straighten up the house while they nap. $37.28
3 p.m. — Twins are back up and we spend the afternoon playing inside. I make salmon and a Costco bagged salad for a fast dinner and the twins eat some salmon with sweet potato nuggets for their dinner. Usual 7:45 bath/books/bedtime routine. One baby looks like she is getting a runny nose. Cue internal panic since it’s flu season and we just got over two pretty bad cases of RSV.
8 p.m. — Some of our childless friends come over before they go out and we all split a few bottles of wine and some cheese and crackers. When they leave, my husband and I watch some trash TV and then go to bed around midnight.
Daily Total: $37.28
Day Seven
7 a.m. — I get up and go to a barre class that I wish I had more time for during the week but usually just end up going once a week. $25
8 a.m. — Husband and kids meet me after barre and we grab a coffee and brunch at a spot that we love right near my barre studio. $39
1 p.m. — I do a big batch meal prep for the next week and freeze two dinners (chicken tinga and coconut tandoori chicken) while the kids nap and hubby cleans up outside of the house.
3 p.m. — We alternate between playing outside in the backyard and playing in the babies playroom which is their favorite spot in the house all afternoon/ evening and then all come in to have dinner around 6:45.
7:45 — I do bedtime/books/bath with the twins while my husband logs on and does some work for next week. I go downstairs to join him and start cranking through emails that came through over the weekend after the babies are asleep. We hang out and relax until around 10 and head to bed before the next week starts.
Daily Total: $64
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