A Week In Brooklyn On A $91k Salary

Industry: Marketing
Location: Brooklyn
Salary: $91,000
Age: 32
Roommates: 0 Monthly Expenses:
Rent: $1,100
Utilities/Phone: $378.40
Home Cleaning: $100

Day One

8 a.m. — Read an article last night on tips for a healthier morning. So, I get up and heat up some water and put lemon juice in it to spike my metabolism. 8:45 a.m. — Refill my Metrocard with my Benny card, which I contribute pre-tax dollars to through work. Technically not free, but feels like it! 9:12 a.m. — Get to work. Fill a bowl of Early Bird granola (which I left here last week) and add some free milk from the office. 12 p.m. — Coworkers convince me to go to a sushi spot for lunch. Buy a $12 roll and then see a Teas' Tea. Didn't think twice about how much it would be. Brings my total to over $15. Way too pricey for lunchtime. $15.79 1:30 p.m. — Transfer $171.37 left over from last week to my savings account, plus an extra $27 for my weekly 52-week savings project. I'm halfway through the "challenge," which I found on Pinterest. By the end of a year, I will have saved $1,378. $198.37

3:20 p.m. — Need a mental break. Go to Paper Source and buy my mom a birthday card. Why are cards so expensive these days? $4.90

4 p.m. — Craving a snack. And need stamps. Go to CVS for both. $11 7 p.m. — Decide to take a Physique 57 class with a friend. They're expensive AF, but worth it. $31.98 8:30 p.m. — We treat ourselves to sushi at Tomo. Somehow ends up being pricey and we didn't even drink alcohol. It comes to $45, but I used my boyfriend's AmEx, since they didn't take Mastercard. He said not to worry about it.

Total: $262.04

Day 2

7:30 a.m. — Make myself hot tea while getting ready. 9 a.m. — Attend a morning work event and get free breakfast. So fun to network in the a.m. with smart individuals. 1 p.m. — Lunch meeting. I have a reuben sandwich and a beer. We work on a deal and the person I meet with pays. Very kind of him. 7 p.m. — I go over to my best friend's house for dinner in Williamsburg. She picked up wine and ordered in pasta and pizza (so healthy, I know, but it's "Treat Yourself Tuesday"). She wouldn't let me give her any money for dinner. 9 p.m. — Take an Uber home to my boyfriend's place. $8 10:30 p.m. — Check my bank account. I got charged my monthly Drybar membership fee. Ugh. Canceling it next month. $78.38 Total: $86.38

Day 3

8:30 a.m. — Pull out money to pay my cleaning lady. My family visiting early next week, so I want to make sure everything is clean and perfect. $80 for cleaning lady, $10 to put into my laundry card. $90 9:40 a.m. — Rushing to do errands before work. Grabbed coffee on the go at Birch. $4.25 10 a.m. — Granola with milk and tea at the office. 2 p.m. — I get Mexican food for lunch. Guac is extra, as usual. $1.50 extra, in this case. $9.50

4 p.m. — Coffee break with some coworkers. This is a splurge and I know I should stop. As my friend calls it, it's a "pretentious latte." $4.63

6 p.m. — Go to a work event that has some light snacks. 8 p.m. — My neighbor invites me over for dinner. Nothing crazy — Rice-A-Roni and veggies left over from her dinner the night before. Total: $108.38

Day 4

7 a.m. — I go work out, but forget my water bottle, so I had to buy water. Such a waste of money. $2 8:30 a.m. — I pick up some Fage yogurt, coffee, and other groceries for the rest of the week. $32

10 a.m. — My mom tells me about a fraud charge she caught on her card. I've been putting it off, but I finally sign up for Lifelock. Better safe than sorry. $10.88/month 12:30 p.m. — Sweetgreen for lunch. $11

4 p.m. — Snack time! Duane Reade again. $2.38

6:30 p.m. — My nails are chipping, so I get a quick mani. And I can't go to the salon without a 15-minute massage. #splurge $32

8:30 p.m. — Nothing in the fridge. I order schnitzel from 12 Chairs. $21.91

Total: $112.17

Day 5

9 a.m. — Granola and tea for breakfast (from groceries I bought yesterday). 1 p.m. — I walk over to a new lunch spot and get some noodles. $10.29 7 p.m. — I decide to stay in and be lazy. Make myself a bowl of pasta with a ton of butter and watch TV. Weekend, for the win!

Total: $10.29

Day 6

10 a.m. — The BF is working, so I have the day to myself. I go get my hair done early, since it's tough getting a later appointment. I have a membership at Drybar (which I paid earlier this week), so I only pay tip. $8

11:15 p.m. — I have brunch plans, but I walk by a delicious looking bakery and get a croissant. $1.70 12:30 p.m. — Brunch with friends at Good in the West Village. $24.60

2 p.m. — We head to the Whitney Museum. I'm a member, so I don't pay an entrance fee. I end up buying a book for my boyfriend at the members' rate. $24.45

4:30 p.m. — I pick up some stuff from the tailor. Hate these kinds of bills, but it's stuff that needed to get fixed. $58

5 p.m. — I walk around the West Village. I'm going on a trip in a few weeks and splurge on a cute romper at the Everything but Water pop-up. Closed my eyes and handed over my credit card. I'll deal with the guilt later. $156.78 6:30 p.m. — I stop in to Vin sur Vingt, a wine bar, to get a glass of wine and read a book. $20.42 7:30 p.m. — It's my friend's birthday, so I buy a card from the sale section of a cute shop near my apartment. $2.18

8 p.m. — Feeling lazy and take an Uber to my boyfriend's house. $7.61

8:30 p.m. — I order dinner on Seamless from two different places. I'm craving pasta and the BF wants something healthy. I don't even care how bad I'm being...it's the weekend. I pay for our dinners, since he doesn't have a Seamless account, and we eat and watch Concussion, the Will Smith movie. $44.45

Total: $348.19 (Yikes! Expensive Saturday!)

Day 7

9:30 a.m. — Wake up with the BF and he makes me breakfast. Fried egg sandwich. We eat in bed and watch the rest of Concussion, which we started last night. 12:30 p.m. — We motivate and venture out in the cold to a place in the Gowanus for lunch called Little Neck. He pays. 3:30 p.m. — We go take a fun class at Gotham Archery. The lady at the front desk awkwardly asks who is paying. I point to the BF (we've been together four years and this isn't awkward, but had it been a first date, I would've been beet red). 5:30 p.m. — We decide to grab drinks and play some games at Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club. I treat us. $56

8 p.m. — We go to dinner and then drinks at a cute spot called Franny's. He treats again. Total: $56