A Week In Northern Virginia On A $195,000 Joint Income

Occupation: Capital markets officer
Industry: Finance
Age: 35
Location: Northern Virginia
Salary: $155,000 plus 10% annual bonus.
Joint Income/Financial Setup: $195,000. My husband, M., is currently in school and receiving GI Bill benefits, so his financial contribution is the monthly housing stipend coming from the VA. So far this year he has received roughly $17,000 in monthly housing stipends, and in the fall, we should receive roughly $2,400 per month. He is currently focused on finding a part-time student tech job in the field he is studying. Our finances are combined.
Assets: Joint checking: $3500; joint savings: $55,000 (split into our main emergency fund, a separate house emergency fund, a small emergency/ankle biter fund, and a travel fund); retirement: $430,000 (this is comprised of my 401(k), M.’s old TSP, both of our Roth IRAs, a small brokerage account, and the net present value of my pension. Roughly 75% of our retirement is in my name, with a quarter in M’s name); my son P.’s 529: $38,500; house value: roughly $504,000; vehicle: $7,600. We also own land in my home state worth $156,000 (we bought it in 2018 for $17,500 and it has appreciated a ridiculous amount since). 
Debt: Mortgage: $425,000.
Paycheck Amount (Semi-Monthly): $3,850 net, after 401(k), health insurance, DCA contribution, and FSA contribution.
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing Costs: Mortgage and escrow: $3172, HOA: $260
Electric: $139
Gas: $53
Internet: $70
Cell Phone: $200
Life Insurance: $70 (for both myself and M.).
Apple Music: $16.99
Disney+ & Hulu: $10.99,
Peacock: $1.99 (this was a promotion).
P.’s Tae Kwan Do Classes: $250
P.’s Before/After School Care: $699. I have a DCA that I fully fund, and will reimburse myself $500 a month when P. is in school from this.
P’s R29: $350
Charity: $150 — M. and I usually rotate giving between AFSP, Feeding America, The Trevor Project, and my alma mater.
Savings: I contribute 15% to my 401(k) pretax and receive a 6% match. Outside of that, how much we have leftover each month depends on M.’s school schedule and the size of his housing stipend. Best case, we can usually save between $1,000 and $2,000 per month.

Semi-Annual Expenses
Pest Control: $98 every three months.
Water: $210, quarterly.
Car Insurance: $400 every six months.

Annual Expenses
Umbrella Insurance: $200
Car tax: $270
Property Tax: $700-$800 (for our out-of-state land).
HOA Dues: $450 (for our out-of-state land).

Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Throughout my childhood, the expectation to go to college came solely from me. My success in school (former gifted kid, IYKYK), coupled with the fact that I would be the first person in my entire family, immediate and extended, to go to college, fed into a perceived “requirement” to do well enough to be accepted and graduate. My parents were encouraging in my academic ambitions, but neither one had gone to college and so they did not pressure me too much. My parents also did not save for my college and they were not in a financial position to help pay, so not only did I have the imaginary pressure of getting into college, but I had to figure out a way to pay for it myself. I was able to scrounge together enough scholarships to get a free ride at an out of state public school, where I earned two bachelor degrees in four years. A few years later I decided to pivot my career ambitions to finance (my undergrad degrees are both liberal arts degrees and I originally wanted to go into social work), and I got a master’s in finance. I took out roughly $50,000 in student loans to pay for it, and I paid off the loans in 2019.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My dad was in the military, so growing up we moved around a lot, which did a good job at hiding the struggles my parents were facing financially, at least from my perspective. Once my dad retired and we moved back to my parents’ home state, I was in high school and old enough to be a sounding board for my mom’s frustrations and fears with money, which was eye opening. My parents grew up poor and tended to spend everything and save nothing, which meant that when unexpected bills came, it would wipe the legs out from underneath them. My mom wanted to save money but my dad liked to spend as much as he made, which caused a lot of fights and stress. I learned financial literacy on my own, through reading and by using my parents as an example of what not to do. They are doing better now, but my dad wants to retire and they have no savings.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
When I was 12, I would babysit for some of the people my dad worked with for pocket change. When I turned 14, I was able to get my first part-time job at a bakery in the summer. At 15, I moved on to the one fast-food chain in my hometown, where I worked part time during the school year and full time in the summer until college. I also worked full time in college at the same fast-food chain, just in a different state.

Did you worry about money growing up?
I did not actively worry about money until I was in high school and my mom began to open up to me about how bad things were. However, looking back on when I was younger, I had to have known subconsciously that things were not that great, since I knew not to ask for extras. We never went on vacation (moving around per military orders were our vacations/trips). We never went without food. When I was in college my dad quit his job suddenly and I had to help my mom with their mortgage and food for my brother and sister; for about six months, I sent my mom $500 per month, and worked extra shifts (and accumulated credit card debt) to pay for it.

Do you worry about money now?
All the time. My husband M. and I have worked very hard to get to the position we are now, but I do not think that I know financial peace, even though our only debt is our mortgage and we have healthy savings. I have been the breadwinner in our marriage since my husband left the military in 2022, and while I do not mind making most of the money, I have a lot of stress being the only one employed, especially with the labor market as it is right now. M. will be done with his program next spring, and his program has a stellar track record of almost 100% job placement, with starting positions around $80,000. I would like to think once he is settled into his new career, I will be able to let out the breath that I have been holding for the past few years, but I know my brain will just move the goal post and I will fixate on something else.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially independent when I moved out of state for college at 18. If M. and I ever found ourselves in dire financial straits, we would always have a place to stay at my parents’ house or M.’s parents’ house, but neither side of the family has the cash to assist monetarily, nor would we ask them to.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
No, for both myself and my husband.

7 a.m. — I wake up unusually rested for a Saturday and hop out of bed. I have been telling myself to get back on track with my running program for the last four weeks, and today appears to be the day I have the motivation to do so. I throw on some leggings and a tank, fill up a water bottle, and head out the door. According to the Nike Run Club app, today should be a 10k run, but since I have not run consistently in a month, I turn it into a neighborhood walkabout for 6.2 miles. I end up vibing as I listen to my running playlist and enjoy the cooler weather (it has been 95 for the last few days and the heat finally broke today). I text my husband M. asking him to make some bagel breakfast sandwiches with the last of our sourdough bagels in the last 20 minutes of my walk.

9:30 a.m. — I get home and the bagel sandwiches are already done; hell yeah! I have my sandwich with a side of coffee and get a quick shower after breakfast. After my shower, I grab a notepad and pen; this weekend is tax-free weekend and that means its school supply weekend. We also have a few other things we need to grab from the store and order online. Before we leave, I buy some dehumidifier bags for our closets, and a set of stairs and some treats for our dog, B. He is 13 and has begun showing his age recently with having trouble jumping on our bed. $77.44

12 p.m. — M., my 9-year-old son P., and I first stop by Costco to grab some Gatorades, sparkling waters, Clorox Wipes for P.’s school supply list, and check out the clothing. We get gas first ($31.20), then fight our way to one of the two remaining parking spots left in the lot. I find some running leggings and bike shorts, as well as some shorts for P. M. spots a 40-piece dish set, and we have a spirited debate in the middle of the aisle as to whether we should splurge and buy new dishes. The dishes we currently use are 15 years old and we purchased them when we moved in together. With all the uncertainty in the economy spiking my anxiety, I have found myself going down anti-consumption rabbit holes on YouTube, and I argue that the chips in our bowls do not make them unusable. M. argues that having pasta bowls would be a game changer. I acquiesce and we throw the set in our cart ($217.49 for the whole Costco shop). $248.69

1 p.m. — Next stop is Office Max for the rest of P.’s school supplies. I know that going to Walmart, Target, or Amazon would be cheaper but I have been on a mission to not purchase from those stores this year, and I refuse to fail now. P. finds some cute pencil erasers that are not on the supply list but they are fun enough to make it into the cart. I cringe at the register knowing I overspent but in the long run, I know the lack of impulse purchases so far this year has more than made up for the extra few dollars. $137.03

2 p.m. — We walk over to Ross, where I need a few things for my work wardrobe and to find P. a few new shirts and some underwear. I settle on flowy pants, a skirt, one pair of loafers, and underwear for myself. M. and P. find P. some shirts, shorts, and underwear, and P grabs sour gummy worms at the counter. $207.43

3 p.m. — We get home and M. gets to work tossing out the chipped bowls and arranging the dishes in the dishwasher to be washed before use. I refuse to let him get rid of our plates; they have no chips and they match the new plates (in color at least). I pack up P.’s backpack and triple check the school supply list; we will still need a few more things, which we will buy from the grocery store tomorrow. I take the tags off the new clothes and throw them in the washing machine. P. parks himself on the couch and plays Roblox while snacking on chips.

5:30 p.m. — I start on dinner: shoyu chicken thighs, rice, and steamed broccoli. We use the new plates, and I admit, I like them a lot more than the old plates. M. takes a victory lap. After dinner, M. puts away the leftover food and cleans up the kitchen, while P. swiffers the floor and gets a shower. I go upstairs and record today’s purchases, as well as update our net worth spreadsheet. I used to be an avid Mint user (RIP), but now I use a combination of the free version of EveryDollar for our budget and Excel to track the balances in our accounts. P. comes up to me after his shower and asks if I could buy some Robux for him; he hardly asks for anything, and so I try not to visibly cringe when I purchase pretend money for Roblox $4.99

9 p.m. — M. and I put P. to bed. Before bed P. comes up to me with a very serious look and says he thinks there is something wrong with his butt. He cannot stop farting. He laughs at my reaction and gives me a hug before climbing into his loft bed. Boys are so weird. Once P. is asleep, M. and I watch the newest episode of Dandadan and some Guy’s Grocery Games. I fall asleep before the final round and M. gently wakes me up to head up to bed around 11 p.m.

6 a.m. — I wake up annoyingly early and cannot seem to go back to sleep. I promised myself yesterday that I would try running today rather than walking, so I pull on my new bike shorts, a tank, and mentally prepare for the guided tempo run. I am running the Army 10 Miler in October and my training has been sporadic at best. In March I was able to run a (very slow) half marathon without much training, but I would very much like to go into the Army 10 Miler feeling prepared for once. After procrastination, I finally get out the door at 7:30 a.m.

8:30 a.m. — I get home and get started on making sourdough biscuits for biscuits and gravy. I end up using all but 30 grams of my sourdough starter, which I turn around and feed. My starter’s name is Lady Madoughna, and I am a firm believer that if you do not name your starter, you are not sourdoughing correctly.

10 a.m. — After breakfast, I get a quick shower before heading to pick up our weekly CSA bundle. Each Sunday I drive to the farmstand and pick up my weekly items market style, and each week I kick myself for not signing up for it sooner. I absolutely adore the quality of the produce and the people are wonderful. I paid $1,000 for 25 weeks of pick-ups a few months ago. After I choose my items (eggs, a watermelon, two Korean melons, six summer squash, four bell peppers, three cucumbers, one cantaloupe), I venture over to the CSA garden and cut a dozen flowers.

11:30 a.m. — I arrive home and grab the vase with last week’s flowers. I wash out the vase and replace the water, save the flowers that are still in good condition, and trim the new flowers. I put away the produce and grab a pen and paper to make a quick weekly dinner menu and grocery list.

12:30 p.m. — M., P., and I make our way to Aldi for our weekly grocery shop. Since we are beginning the week with a fair amount of leftovers that need to be eaten before our vacation next week, today’s list is short. We pick up milk, hamburger buns, kombucha, two packages of tomato basil sausages, the last of P.’s school supplies (four boxes of tissues and a three-pack of baby wipes), two packages of Southwest chicken, one bag of Red Bag Chicken, seasoned fries, and a few boxes of ice cream sandwiches; namely Snickers, Twix and M&M ice cream sandwiches. Choices were made). $77.28

1:30 p.m. — We arrive home and M. helps unload the car before he and P. head to PetSmart to find a rubber brush for B. to help remove excess fur during bath time (and look at snake stuff, since we promised P. we would get a snake when we get back from vacation). I unpack the groceries and get started on my weekly lunch meal prep. I get a sheet pan to which I add chopped onion and the six summer squash from the CSA, chopped, along with oil, salt, pepper, and garlic power. I roast the veggies for about 30 minutes. As that cooks in the oven, I dice up the cucumbers and bell peppers into one large Tupperware. I pack up the two packages of sausage, the cucumber/bell pepper mix, the roasted veggies, four guac cups (purchased last week), and four Chobani yogurts (already purchased) into a few lunch bags. $8.47

2:30 p.m. — With lunch prep done and the boys back from PetSmart, M. and I get started on our weekly house clean. I start laundry (bedding, towels, clothes), and do my weekly CPAP cleaning. After that, I dust and vacuum all rooms and hallways in the house. M. gives B. a bath (with his new brush), and gets started cleaning the bathrooms. I give P. a few math sheets to work on while he alternates between SpongeBob, Roblox, and various snacks he finds in the pantry and fridge.

5:30 p.m. — I finish all but the living room, which feels like a good time to pause and make dinner. I cook the two packages of Southwest chicken, and M. and I add the chicken to some leftover baked tomato and feta pasta. P., who did not like the pasta, eats chicken and rice.

7 p.m. — After I put away the chicken and eat a sweet treat (Twix ice cream bar, 10/10 no notes), I finish cleaning the living room. M. does the dishes and mops the floors. P. takes a shower and heads into his room to read before bed.

9 p.m. — M. and I put P. to bed and head upstairs, where we take much-needed showers after a day of cleaning. We snuggle into bed and watch YouTube shorts until I cannot keep my eyes open any more.

5:15 a.m. — My alarm goes off and I am NOT ready for today. I begrudgingly drag myself out of bed and get ready for work. I put on the flowy pants I bought this weekend, a green top, and black flats. Once ready, I got downstairs to pack this week’s work food into my bag and I am out the door at 6:20 a.m. to make my bus. It is about a 20-minute ride to the nearest metro station to my office, and a 10-minute walk to the office from there. I use my preloaded metro card for the ride, which costs $2.25.

7 a.m. — I walk into the office and take a deep breath. My usually six-person team is down to three people today. My manager is out on vacation for one more day which means I am the de-facto supervisor. We have four roles that we alternate between on a weekly basis; I assign the last men standing their weekly roles based on their skillsets, and I take on the last two roles. Summer is usually a slow time for us but the last few days have been unusually busy, and the softer economic data on Friday really threw a wrench into things. I cross my fingers for a summer Monday as I login to my systems.

9 a.m. — With my critical morning tasks out of the way, I go to the kitchen and grab one of my yogurts as well as a cup of coffee and water. The coffee is not the greatest but I do not drink it for the taste; I drink it to feel alive.

11 a.m. — Thankfully today is slower, so I steal a few minutes to make my lunch. I take a large bowl I keep at work and pour half the chopped cucumbers and bell peppers into it. I warm up two sausages, cut them up then throw a guac cup into the mix. She’s not pretty but she’s tasty.

3:30 p.m. — Today was mercifully slow. I tell the last men standing to quietly and quickly GTFO as I finish up a few housekeeping items, before I leave just shy of 4 p.m. I walk to the metro station and decide to take the train rather than the bus home. I live two metro stops down, plus a 15-minute walk from the metro to my house. 

4:40 p.m. — I walk in the door to find M. and P. playing Pokémon Scarlett. M. gives a quick recap; when they woke up, they went for a walk around the neighborhood, before eating leftover biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Other than that, they have been “grinding” (P.’s words) M.’s team of Pokémon to get them to higher levels. P. also took a break and did some math sheets, and I hope some reading, too, but I have my doubts on the former. I kick off my shoes and head to the kitchen to make dinner. Tonight, we are having black bean burgers that I made and froze last month, with seasoned fries. It’s a quick meal which P. scarfs down before he and M. leave for P.’s tae kwan do class.

6:15 p.m. — I sit down for exactly 15 seconds before I hear a weird noise in the garage. Turns out as M. was backing out, he accidentally hit the garage door opener, and now the roof is scuffed. Luckily the damage is extremely minor, but now one of the garage door wheels is off the track. I run upstairs to grab our toolkit, and M. hammers the wheel back into place. We test the garage door which seems to be behaving normally, and M. and P. rush away so P. isn’t too late for his TKD class. I breathe a sigh of relief for my wallet.

6:45 p.m. — I check my email and I see that I have a message from my health insurance company. A few weeks ago, I took P. to get a bone density scan of his wrist, because he’s in the 10th percentile for height and weight. A week after, I received an EOB from my insurance company that tried to claim the provider was out of network and I would owe $226. After appealing, the insurance company tells me that the provider billed the wrong insurance company, and I needed to talk to the provider to cancel the first claim and submit a new claim through the correct company. I am immediately annoyed at the provider and make a note to have M. call the provider tomorrow and rectify their mistake.

7 p.m. — I head to the garage to check the tires on my bike and grab my lights to charge, since I will be biking into work tomorrow. Afterward, I go upstairs to pack my biking backpack with clothes for tomorrow and take a shower.

8 p.m. — M. and P. get back from tae kwan do. It’s our typical nightly routine time from there; M. on dishes, P. on Swiffer and shower time. We put P. to bed around 9 p.m., and then head upstairs to our room, where we watch YouTube shorts until I am almost asleep.

5:15 a.m. — My alarm goes off and I drag myself out of bed. I brush my teeth, throw in some contacts, and pull on some leggings and one of M.’s race shirts. I gather my backpack, helmet, water, and keys, and I am out the door and riding at 5:45 a.m.

6:20 a.m. — I arrive at work, where I lock my bike up in the bike parking underneath my building. My building has a gym with a locker room (and free towels!), which I use to take a shower and get ready for work. I get to my desk right at 7 a.m. My boss is back, as is the rest of my team, thankfully. I give my boss a quick recap of the days she missed (Wednesday and Monday meh, Thursday and Friday AHHHH), and grab my coffee, water, and yogurt before things get going.

12:30 p.m. — The day is flying by. I take a few minutes to grab my lunch (repeat of yesterday), and reply to a text from M. He and P. went to IHOP for breakfast, and he tells me he tried to call the imaging center but ended up on perma hold. He had to hang up to get B. ready to go to his annual vet visit, and asks me to try calling them if I have a spare minute. $31.29

3:30 p.m. — I finish up most of the day’s tasks and step off the desk to try and call the billing department of the imaging center. I also end up on hold but eventually get the option to leave a message, which I do. I also see a text from M. about B.’s vet appointment. He’s slowing down but he still has a lot of life left and the only suggestion she has is to investigate senior dog food. I google senior dog foods as I wait for the arrival of two colleagues from another city. $702.27

6 p.m. — The two colleagues arrive and I and a few local colleagues walk over to a nearby tapas restaurant for dinner. I have two glasses of wine, multiple tapas, and far too much olive oil cake. The office pays.

8:30 p.m. — We say our goodbyes (the colleagues will be in the office tomorrow where we will give them an overview of our Systems and procedures), and I go down to the gym to get changed to bike home. Except, I forgot the gym locks at 8 p.m. I call one of my colleagues from the dinner who happens to also be my work bestie and she gives me a ride to my house. For the whole ride to my place I am kicking myself about the gym being locked, and she is telling me “I told you so,” since she has been telling me not to bike to work on dinner nights.

8:45 p.m. — I get home, immediately hug P., and ask him to tell me about his day. He loves IHOP and tells me the new location they went to had better vibes. M. and I do P.’s bedtime routine, then we head upstairs, where I get a shower and pass out almost instantaneously.

5:10 a.m. — I am EXHAUSTED but I need to get out of bed and get ready early enough to walk to the metro, get into work, and put on my makeup (which was trapped in my biking backpack in the locked gym last night). I get ready and am out the door by 6:10 a.m. to walk to the metro station. I get to my building, throw on some makeup and even have time to grab my coffee, water, and yogurt before 7 a.m.

10 a.m. — It’s a busy day with showing the out-of-town colleagues our day-to-day. M. texts me that he and P. are going to the trampoline park. $28

12 p.m. — Lunchtime; the office orders pizza since we have guests, and I eat two pieces along with a little bit of salad. The colleagues bid us farewell shortly after lunch, and once they leave, I sneak out to try and call the imaging center again, where I have luck reaching a person. After some light arguing with the woman on the phone who insisted they billed the procedure correctly, she says she will re-forward to the billing department to try again. I have a funny feeling they won’t follow through, so I make a note to call again after vacation.

4 p.m. — After a few afternoon meetings, the day is finally done. My work bestie gives me her car keys so I can load up my biking stuff and bike into her car; we have a client dinner tonight and thus I won’t be able to bike home tonight either. After carefully loading my stuff into her car, I head back to the office to wait for our clients to arrive. We usually have one client dinner a month, but this month we have two in a row. I am too old for this, but alas, here I am.

5:30 p.m. — The clients arrive and we walk over to a seafood restaurant down from the office. I order a few spicy margaritas and eat as much sushi as I can stuff into my mouth, along with half a filet of arctic char and tres leches crème brûlée. The office pays. I see a text from M. that he and P. are getting Wendy’s for dinner (they can only eat so many leftovers before losing their minds). $28.05

9 p.m. — Work bestie drops me off again, with my bike and biking stuff, because she is literally a saint. I lug all my things inside, and have just enough time to give P. a big ol’ hug and do the last of his nighttime routine. I empty my bag, repack it so I can bike to work tomorrow, and have a shower. I collapse into bed and snuggle into M., where I fall asleep after the third YouTube short. M. wakes me up so I can put my CPAP mask on and I quickly go back to sleep.

5:15 a.m. — I drag myself out of bed, don my biking gear, and I am out the door by 5:45 a.m. I get to the office at 6:20 a.m., shower, and I am at my desk with my coffee and yogurt at 7 a.m.

1 p.m. — Thursdays are the busiest days of the week and today is no exception. I finally have a second to heat up lunch; half of the roasted squash and onions, and two sausages with a guac packet. Eat at my desk, per the usual.

4 p.m. — I have back-to-back meetings the last few hours of the day, including a client call which goes well. I wash my dishes and prep my desk for Friday, and I am on my bike and heading home by 4:40 p.m.

5:10 p.m. — Home! I snuggle P. for a few minutes and he tells me about his day with dad (riding bikes in the morning, grinding Pokémon in the afternoon, with a few math sheets sprinkled in) before he goes to his room to get ready for tae kwan do. On Thursdays he has one regular class and he has been learning to help teach the class after his. I take a few minutes to catch up with M.; this week we have felt like two ships passing in the night between work and P.’s tae kwan do classes. I can’t wait until vacation next week when we can spend some real time together. I hop in the shower and pack my bag for Friday.

6 p.m. — I eat the leftovers M. can’t eat anymore (the last of the pasta with some chicken). Afterward, I jump on our computer so I can make P. his own Nintendo account; he is trying to do some sort of Pokémon side quest and when we first got his Switch, we never made him an account. There is a 50-cent charge to create a kid’s account; fine I guess. $0.50

7:30 p.m. — P. and M. are back from tae kwan do so I warm up the last of the leftovers for them for dinner; P. eats chicken and leftover mac and cheese I took home from dinner last night, while M. finishes off the shoyu chicken and rice. After dinner, it’s chores and P.’s shower time.

9 p.m. — P.’s nighttime routine, then upstairs to snuggle with M. until I can’t stay awake anymore.

5:15 a.m. — One more day of work before vacation. I can do this. Bike to work, shower, then coffee and yogurt before 7 a.m.

11 a.m. — Today is dragging, but I am thankful for the lull ahead of my time off. I complete my timecard with my vacation time for next week and set my OOO message before 10 a.m, and now it’s lunchtime; I warm up the last of my meal prep and head back to my desk.

12 p.m. — Ok, today is now unbearably slow. I tell my boss I’m going to leave a few hours early, and resave my timecard with the extra time off. Afterwards, I walk down to the Apple Store. Teams meetings that I usually take on my work phone have been cutting out, and I think it might be my headphones. I buy another pair, hoping that solves the problem; if it doesn’t, that means it’s the phone itself with the issue, in which case I will have to reach out to my IT department for an upgrade. $20.14

1 p.m. — It’s the phone. I send a quick email to get the ball rolling on an upgrade so that it will arrive after I get back from vacation. Twenty minutes later, the upgrade is ordered and I go back to reading the paper.

2:30 p.m. — I’m out of here. There is no better feeling than flying down a hill on the WO&D Trail, wind in my face, on the Friday before a week off.

3 p.m. — I get home, turn off my work phone, and throw it into a drawer in my office desk. After a shower, I go ahead and order Friday dinner, aka pizza. One large pizza, half cheese-only for P. and pepperoni for M. and me, along with some cheese sticks and cherry cola. We start a movie (Thor Ragnarok; we’re making our way through the Marvel Universe at P.’s request), and pause when the pizza arrives 30 minutes later. After pizza, we head back to the couch to finish the movie. $44.45

7 p.m. — I head upstairs to do our travel documents before our Monday flight. We are going to Aruba, and so I need to fill out the forms for our ED cards. It’s a $20 fee for each of us. The cards are processed quickly and I get the forms straight away to my inbox. $60

8 p.m. — You know the drill; chores and shower time for P. After P. heads to bed, M. and I head downstairs where we watch an episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution and a few reruns of The Office before heading to bed.

Weekly Total $$ Spent: $1676.03
Food & Drink: $181.07
Entertainment: $33.49
Home & Health: $1142.70
Clothes & Beauty $207.43
Transportation $31.20
Other $80.14

“This week had a ton of one-off expenses, between the back to school shopping, B.’s vet appointment and stairs, and the vacation charges. Outside of those expenditures, I would say this week’s spending was pretty typical for us, but WHEW, those one-offs added up! It can be hard to look at these one-off expenses when we’re in the middle of summer when M. isn’t in school, but they were all expenses I budgeted for in prior months. It was also a pretty atypical week work-wise; usually I am home between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and have much more family time. In that same vein, I am happy to report our Aruba vacation was a blast, and M., P. and I got some much-needed time to reconnect. I would say my biggest take away from this diary was to make sure I am making the most of my time with M. and P., so these weeks where I have more work obligations don’t feel so taxing. Also obligatory note: our dog, B., is very well loved despite few mentions — he gets a few mini walks a day, and spends most of his time either being my shadow or sleeping under our bed.”

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