A Week In Winnipeg, MB, On A $100,000 Salary

Occupation: Communications Director
Industry: Finance
Age: 28
Location: Winnipeg, MB
Salary: $90,000 plus commission and a bonus (This year will be between $10,000 and $15,000. Other years has been closer to $50,000.)
Paycheque Amount (2x/month): $2,948
Gender Identity: Woman

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $1,114 for a two-bedroom apartment (I live alone.)
Cable & Internet: $147.84
Phone: $0 (My phone is $110.02, but my company pays for it.)
Life Insurance & Critical Illness: $315.32 (I'm on 10-year terms for these policies. As I age, I can borrow against them at up to 98%.)
Car Insurance: $147
Hydro: $20 (on average)
Credit Card: $500 to $800 (I pay it off every month. The total amount usually depends on travel.)
RRSP: $686 (This was recently implemented at my work due to a huge push from yours truly. The total is matched by my employer.)
Savings: $1,000 (My savings are split between an RRSP and TFSA. At minimum, I put in $1,000. Some months, I go up to $3,000.)

8 a.m. — Wow, what an absolutely horrible sleep I had. I've been struggling with insomnia for about a year. No amount of meditation or melatonin seems to do the trick. Thank goodness it's Saturday, and I can nap later!

9 a.m. — I make coffee and take the dog for a walk. My dog is a rescue from Los Angeles. When I first got him about two-and-a-half years ago, he could barely walk due to a birth defect and subsequent neglect. We walk while I sip my coffee and chime in with funny memes on a work group chat. I also fend off odd requests from my eccentric boss.

11 a.m. — I want to fit in some cardio, but I've been working out incessantly lately, and the lack of sleep is hitting me. I have a standing appointment with my trainer on Saturdays, but he cancelled earlier in the week, and I'm taking it as a sign not to work out. I settle on walking around Ikea as my afternoon cardio. I buy a small pine dresser to fit inside my closet. $55.99

1 p.m. — I impulse-buy a bench/shoe rack/hook for my front entrance. With a dog and the winter months looming, this will be a helpful addition. Thank you, HomeSense! Shame on you, impulse control. $315.27

3 p.m. — I haven't eaten yet today, so I make cauliflower soup using ingredients I bought last week. I've jumped on the keto bandwagon (insert eye roll). I'm not a fan of fad diets, but I must admit, I've never seen results quite like this. I do a combo of keto and intermittent fasting.

4:30 p.m. — I eat my soup and walk the dog again, then do the positive self-talk required to tackle the Ikea dresser.

7 p.m. — I text with friends and a male who has been pursuing me for the last month or so. He wants to get together later, but I don't have it in me. I walk the dog and exchange texts with a different guy I was seeing (more on that later), then fall asleep around 11 p.m.

8 a.m. — I slept!!! I make coffee and walk the dog.

10 a.m. — My mom is coming with me to a few open houses today. I've been actively looking to buy a house for the past three months. I'm naturally indecisive, and that trait is rearing its ugly head during the house hunt.

11 a.m. — I hit up the gym in my building. I call it the dungeon because, well, it is. I do 30 minutes on the elliptical and an upper-body circuit.

1 p.m. — My mom comes over, and we go to a cute market for celery, mozzarella, sausages, onions, blackberries, and cream ($18.60). We head to the open house, but it's cancelled, so we find a place get a bunless burger and garden salad. We each get lattes to go. I treat! ($55 including tip) $73.60

5 p.m. — I spend the rest of the afternoon watching football, cleaning, and walking the dog.

9 p.m. — I turn down (another) offer from my current admirer. I've spent the better part of the day texting with the gentleman I was seeing up until a few weeks ago. He's married, which was unbeknownst to me while we were dating. The truth has been a hard pill to swallow, and it has definitely taught me that I shouldn't trust so naively.

6 a.m. — Another lacklustre sleep. I wake up, only to remember that I'm staying home from work to get my internet fixed this morning, and I could've slept in. Oh well. I unload and reload my dishwasher, wash additional dishes, Swiffer, and have far too much coffee, all while listening The Daily podcast.

10:30 a.m. — I have internet again! I walk the dog, then I'm off to work.

12:30 p.m. — The morning flew by (because I only worked for an hour and a half). I prep my lunch in the staff kitchen: salad with cuke and avocado and leftover cauliflower soup with extra cheese. I rely on cheese to get me through this diet.

3 p.m. — Work is INSANE. My boss can be demanding, and I don't exactly work in the healthiest of environments. We joke that if we hired an HR person, they'd quit before the end of their first day.

3:30 p.m. — I find a small box of Smarties in our kitchen. Don't. Tell. Anyone.

4:30 p.m. — Yoga. I go once a week. It's a great contrast to my usual workouts, which are heavy on weights and cardio. I go with a friend who recently lost her husband. I don't know the right thing to say/do, so I try my best to be encouraging and participate in healing activities with her. We flow. Namaste.

7 p.m. — I walk and feed the dog. It's time to make human grub. I sauté onion, yellow pepper, and chorizo into a chorizo hash, sans potato, because, y'know, keto. I top it off with a fried egg and rapini.

8 p.m. — Then it's Monday Night Football and catching up with friends and internet shenanigans.

9:30 p.m. — I completely forgot that I'm supposed to go out for a friend's birthday tonight, another friend reminds me the drinks will be at...hell no. A girl's gotta sleep.

10 p.m. — I finish chatting with Married Dude. We're working on building/maintaining a friendship (I know, I know). I can't put into words what the draw is. I have never felt more understood and at ease with anyone.

6 a.m. — I'm up. I walk the dog, curl my hair, and put on makeup: brows (Benefit), mascara (Lancôme), bronzer (Benefit), and blush (Tarte).

10 a.m. — The fire alarm goes off at work. Our building is evacuated, and my colleagues and I wander down the street to Starbucks. I order a tall coconut milk latte and make eyes with a gentleman I often see in our building. $5.77

2 p.m. — I run to the drug store to fill my birth-control prescription. While I'm there, I grab two Burt's Bees lip balms and Bio-Oil. The birth control is free (thank you, universal healthcare and work benefits). $38.10

4 p.m — I'm about to go to the gym, when I realize I forgot my gym shoes. Luckily, I happen to have a pair of Vans in my office, so I skip cardio and settle into a 45-minute lower-body workout.

7 p.m. — I walk the dog and make a delicious chicken-bacon casserole. My order from J. Crew arrives: plaid dress pants and a sweater. I'm swimming in the sweater, but the pants look cute. I've always struggled to find clothes that fit my body type. (I joke that I'm giving the Kardashians a run for their money, but without surgical assistance.) I'm keeping the pants, plus they were on sale!

1:45 a.m. — I. AM. WIDE. AWAKE. I watch four episodes of Family Guy and get a bit emo thinking about Married Dude. Ugh, why do I care so much!? I'm still struggling to wrap my head around the realness I felt combined with the lies. I'm second-guessing my ability to be friends with someone who so unabashedly stole my trust and time.

6 a.m. — I'm up from my two-hour nap (today will be interesting). I do the yooj: shower, hair, makeup, get dressed, walk dog, listen to The Daily.

12 p.m. — As suspected, the morning kicked my ass. I'm working on large acquisitions, and I swear, I'm on calls with lawyers who are speaking a completely different language. I have an email exchange with my boss, which is like deciphering a riddle. I waste so much of my day trying to reason with someone who does not know reason. Ugh.

1 p.m. — I eat my leftovers cold, because I'm one of those people. I book a rental car for a solo trip to Boston at the end of the month (I put down a $33.87 deposit to reserve the car). I've never travelled alone, and I'm sparing no expense. I bought myself a ticket to a Celtics game, which is almost the same price as my rent. I also take a look at my travel miles and have enough to fly my mom and I to San Diego for the holidays. I book the flights because YOLO (is that still cool?) and get back to work. $33.87

2 p.m. — I get a chemical peel at a plastic surgeon's office. LISTEN: peels have been the best skin-related decision of my life. Birth control mishaps and general skin imperfections, like discolouration from zits, left my complexion looking off. Chemical peels have changed my life. I go about once a month. They're usually $99/peel, however, I got a three-for-one deal, so I have a reserve of peels to last me until 2020.

5 p.m. — I take my Freddy-Krueger-lookin' ass to the gym and do 45 mins of cardio, plus an abs circuit.

6 p.m. — I make a quick stop for groceries on the way home. I have serious dog guilt. I'm always in a rush to get home to him. I pick up almond milk, chicken broth, organic peanut butter, heavy cream, stir-fry beef, ground chicken, broccoli, rapini, peppers, asparagus, avocados, green onions, coffee, SkinnyPop, toilet paper, and far too much cheese. I also get a coupon for 5 cents off per litre of gas (small victories). $106.01

7:30 p.m. — I take my pup for an extra-long walk to try to eliminate some of the guilt. I eat leftovers again, because I'm teetering on hangry. Married Dude texts me a photo of a watch he's considering purchasing. It's beautiful. It inspires me to check out sales as well. I browse The Bay app and find a pair of earrings my grandmother would love. I have 10 items in my cart, so I whittle it down and happen to have a 20% off discount. I end up ordering three pairs of "I'm single" underwear, a sheer-ish black funnel neck top, a toque (because Canada!), and the earrings for my grandma. I don't qualify for free shipping, but I don't care. I watch The Real Housewives, sip my nighttime tea, resist the urge to respond to Married Dude, and fall asleep by 10 p.m. $81.09

6 a.m. — I slept like a baby. I listen to The Daily in bed and move on to the same old. I add a little extra makeup today, because I don't want to scare my coworkers, post-peel.

11:30 a.m. — I'm meeting a former colleague for pho. I miss him so much, and the current staff at my office all seem to have the palates of young children. The thought of eating a hotdog multiple times a week makes me feel ill. I cover lunch, because I need a favour from him. He agrees to come to my office next week to meet with our legal team to assist with a lawsuit. I really need to make more of an effort to stay in contact with people that are important to me. $36

2 p.m. — I'm in a funk today. I just stepped away from my desk to shed a few tears in the washroom. The never-ending pressure of my job, my commitment to excessive diet and exercise, and recent emotional turmoil are proving too much to handle. I text Married Dude and tell him that I'm trying my very best to be friends, but I'm reminded every day that there was nothing friendly about the way he treated me.

4:30 p.m. — I rush home to hang out with the pup. I'm skipping the gym and meeting a friend for (much-needed) drinks. I also text my admirer and make plans for next week! My earlier sob-fest was therapeutic and eye-opening.

7 p.m. — I meet my friend at a great cocktail lounge right between our places. This is exactly what I need today. When I get drunk, I get generous, and the drinks are on me! $215.04 (including, what I can only imagine is a very good tip)

11:50 p.m. — I more than indulged in tequila. Yikes. I send questionable texts to questionable men (none of whom are married) and call it a night. Tomorrow is going to hurt.

6 a.m. — I'm not 21 anymore, and this is painful. I chug water and coffee and pray that I can hold it together. TGIF.

10 a.m. — It ain't happening today. I sit at my desk and flip through real estate listings. This is all my brain can handle.

12 p.m. — I head out for lunch with my colleagues and get a chicken quesadilla ($20). I do not regret my non-keto decision. We stop for ice cream on the way back to the office. My diet is already ruined for the day, so I indulge ($4.50). $24.50

2 p.m. — I'm crashing and definitely skipping the gym.

5 p.m. — I walk the dog and snack on popcorn. I have a session with my trainer first thing in the morning, so I go to bed early.