A Week In San Francisco, CA, On A $118,000 Salary

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Occupation: Senior Accountant
Industry: Tech
Age: 30
Location: San Francisco, CA
Salary: $118,000
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $2,707.88
Gender Identity: Woman

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $700 (I share a large bedroom with my boyfriend in a three-bedroom apartment with two additional roommates.)
Student Loans: $573
Gym Membership: $175 (my work reimburses $40)
Spotify Premium Family Plan: $2.50
Family Cell Phone Plan: $120 (I pay for my parents)
Savings: $200
401(k): $1,770

7:45 a.m. — It's Monday, and I wake up feeling terrible. I must have slept weird because my neck hurts when I move it. I drink a 21-ounce bottle of water, take my vitamins, then get ready for the day. I make a smoothie with kale, banana, pineapple, lemon, ginger, and chia seeds before I head to work. I walk to work and usually walk unplugged and take the time to enjoy being outside and the city.

9:15 a.m. — I arrive at work and make a cup of green tea with a slice of lemon. I used to drink two to three cups of coffee a day, but since switching to a less stressful job, I don't need to be as caffeinated. This month, I quit coffee cold turkey during the work week and have been drinking tea instead. Haven't been missing it so far!

10:15 a.m. — My neck is still killing me, so I take an ibuprofen. I've been trying to do intermittent fasting during the week, but decide to eat something so that I'm not taking meds on an empty stomach. Luckily, my work has a lot of snacks, so I raid the snack closet for some pita chips and hummus.

12 p.m. — Lunch time! Like most tech companies in San Francisco, my work provides free lunch. On most days, we get to order an individual meal from a menu, and it is delivered by noon. Today, I ordered red curry with salmon, which is one of my favorite menu items. I grab a La Croix from the fridge. I browse the internet while I eat, and order a cute top from Abercrombie & Fitch that is on sale. Wow, the last time I bought something from there was in high school. $20.83

1:30 p.m. — Feeling a bit of a food coma, so I fill up a cup of kombucha from my work's kegerator, hoping the tea will wake me up.

3:30 p.m. — My stomach starts grumbling for a snack, so I drink the smoothie that I made this morning.

5 p.m. — My neck still hurts, so I decide to skip the gym. I walk to meet my boyfriend, T., at a mall nearby. We window shop to get our "exercise" in, and I pick up the top that I ordered from Abercrombie. We pass by a bakery with excellent cheese tarts. Amazingly, there is no line, so I buy two cheese tarts for us to share. I end up eating both of them. $7.60

8 p.m. — We get home and eat tortilla soup that I made on Sunday. I made a big batch of about six servings. Since T. and I both get free lunches at work, we only really need to worry about dinner. On Sundays, I will usually prep four dinners for the both of us for the week.

9 p.m. — I see an email for a flight deal to Barcelona. T. and I have been trying to take one international vacation every year. We are budget conscious, so we only book trips if there is a sale. After some mulling, we book the tickets! I charge both of our tickets on my card ($800), but he Venmos me for his half. We spend the next couple hours researching other cities to visit while there. $400

11 p.m. — I start getting ready for bed. I am on the Korean 10-step skincare routine bandwagon and probably have more products than I need. I recently made a Google Sheet listing out all my products, along with their benefits and product conflicts, to analyze if I need to add or remove anything. My nighttime routine takes about 10 minutes. I keep my jade roller in the freezer. I'm not sure if it really does anything, but it feels nice. I insist that T. allow me to jade roll his face for a second. He obliges while rolling his eyes.

7:30 a.m. — My neck pain is gone! I check my emails and see that I received a deal alert for an InstantPot on Amazon. I have been waiting for a sale to buy one. I order the InstantPot ($47.99) along with other items that have been in my cart: a reusable shopping bag ($8.87) and self-tanning spray ($22.85). I use self-tanner during the warmer months, and a bottle will usually last me three months. I drink my water, take my vitamins, get ready for work, and make a smoothie. $79.71

9:40 a.m. — Today is a lighter work day, so I arrive later than I normally would. I head to the kitchen to make a cup of green tea with a slice of lemon.

12 p.m. — On Tuesdays, we have catered lunches, which are better than the individual lunches we order. I make a plate of grilled chicken thighs, grilled veggies, and steak salad. I eat my lunch while listening to our weekly All-Hands Meeting. I think it's cool that my company updates us on what's happening, even though a lot of the topics discussed are engineering or data-related, which are mostly over my head.

1:15 p.m. — The caterers start packing up the lunch around 1:30, and there is always so much leftover. I once asked them if the leftovers get donated, but they said it just gets thrown away. Since being exposed to the tech companies in the Bay Area and seeing how much waste is created by them (bottled beverages, packaged snacks, food, etc), I have become anti-waste. I pack up two boxes of leftovers to take home for me, T., and my roommates. My roommates always appreciate it when I bring leftovers home because they don't get free food at work, and I feel better knowing that the food didn't go to waste.

2:30 p.m. — It is a slow day at work, so I do some online continuing education to keep my CPA license active. The course is $149, but my work will reimburse me for it. I drink my smoothie while working through the course.

5:15 p.m. — I have a gym class at 6:15, so I start heading home. Even though my walk to work is only 15 minutes, the walk home is terrible because it's at the top of a hill (hello, SF!). I make it home, sweaty. I quickly change into workout clothes, make a pre-workout drink, and walk to the gym. T. and I usually go to the gym together, but he's busy with work today so I go by myself.

7:45 p.m. — I get home from the gym, and T. is still working. I warm up two bowls of tortilla soup for us. I eat while flipping back and forth between watching Chopped and the Shark's hockey game.

11 p.m. — I get sucked into too much TV. I get ready for bed and do my nighttime skincare routine.

7:30 a.m. — I wake up early and decide to say hello to all of my plants while drinking my water and vitamins. I've recently turned into a crazy plant lady and believe that talking to them makes them grow happier. I get ready for the day. My roommate asked me to help eat her cucumbers, so I throw one into my smoothie. I pack a small container of the grilled veggies from yesterday's catered lunch.

9:15 a.m. — I arrive at work and head into the kitchen. I make a green tea with lemon and also grab a handful of strawberries that look like they're on their last leg.

11:45 a.m. — I ordered a salmon salad for lunch today, but I don't like the salad base that comes with it. I compost the salad and eat the salmon with the leftover grilled veggies from yesterday's lunch instead.

2:45 p.m. — I head to the kitchen for my daily kombucha fix and spot my InstantPot out of the corner of my eye. It's here! I get my packages delivered to work because they will get stolen if they are delivered to my apartment building. My coworker comments on my shopping, but I defend myself with the fact that it was on sale.

3:45 p.m. — I get hungry so I drink my green smoothie.

5:15 p.m. — The walk home today is especially torturous as I walk up the hill with my huge InstantPot package. I get ready to go to the gym. T. and I make pre-workout shakes to drink beforehand and walk a mile to the gym.

7:45 p.m. — I come home and see that my roommates are drinking wine — I want to join, but have to call my parents. I quickly make a plate of food from yesterday's lunch leftovers and head to my room to call them. They had asked me to give them a heads up whenever I go to Europe since they have never been and would like to go with me (My parents don't speak English well, so they would feel more comfortable traveling with me). After some stressful chatting about logistics, they decide to join us. I book their tickets ($880). Still stressed after getting off the phone, I take some CBD oil, hoping to relieve the anxiety. This will be my first time traveling with my parents as an adult, which should be interesting. I thank T. for being understanding and then go to the dining room to see if my roommates are still drinking. Unfortunately, they aren't. $880

9 p.m. — I eat two spoonfuls of pistachio gelato straight from the pint while watching HGTV.

12:20 a.m. — I haven't gone to sleep yet and realize that the Sephora VIB sale starts today. I stock up on essentials (makeup primer, hyaluronic acid, rose hip seed oil, niacinamide serum, and vitamin c serum) and these skin brightening dots that I've never tried before. I save 15% through the sale and also use eBates to get 3% cash back. $131.39

7:45 a.m. — My alarm goes off but I snooze. I'm tired from staying up so late the night before. I force myself to drink my water and take my vitamins. As I'm getting ready, I realize that I'm out of facial sunscreen, so I order some on Amazon. I make a smoothie and head out. $35.27

9:45 a.m. — I arrive at work and make my usual green tea with a slice of lemon. I vent to my work bff about my anxiety about the upcoming trip with my parents, and she vents to me about her current stress. We agree to get boba tomorrow to as a pick-me-up.

12 p.m. — I order the tea leaf salad for lunch. It's pretty good, but they only gave me like an ounce of tofu as protein. I grab a hard-boiled egg from the fridge to add to my salad.

2:30 p.m. — I drink a cup of kombucha and wish there was a higher alcohol content. Is it the weekend yet?

3:50 p.m. — I drink my green smoothie.

5:30 p.m. — I was invited to a happy hour, but decide to skip it to save money. I head home with the intention of going to the gym and end up vegging out for 30 minutes. I warm up a bowl of tortilla soup while splitting a bottle of wine with my roommate, E. We drink and talk about random things for a couple hours.

9:30 p.m. — Feeling buzzed, I lay down on my bed. I end up passing out without taking off any of my makeup. Ugh. Thankfully, the only makeup I wear to work is cream blush, eyeliner, and mascara so it's not SO terrible.

7:45 a.m. — I wake up, drink my water, and take my vitamins. It's Friday, so I put more effort into getting ready in case anything comes up after work. I pick an outfit that's cuter than usual and curl my hair. I go into the kitchen to make a smoothie and see my other roommate, N. We discuss the health of her new fiddle leaf tree that I propagated for her. She thinks it's not doing well, and I tell her that she just needs to talk to it.

9:50 a.m. — I arrive at work and immediately get a calendar notification for a meeting in 10 minutes. Whoops, totally forgot. I run to the kitchen to make my green tea with lemon and a small piece of cheese because I'm extra hungry today. I head off to my meeting.

12 p.m. — On Fridays, we get catered lunches, and we're allowed to invite guests to come join us for lunch, so my roommate N. is here. She works a block away. Today's menu is "build your own burrito bowl." Again, there is a lot of food leftover, so N. requests that I bring home some salad, roasted veggies, chicken, and carnitas.

1:45 p.m. — OMG, I ate way too much and have major food coma. I grab some kombucha to perk me up.

4 p.m. — It's 4 on a Friday, and let's be honest, work productivity is getting pretty low. I head into the kitchen to make myself a drink, but no one else seems to be drinking yet. Not wanting to drink by myself, I make a pitcher of sangria with some wine, orange juice, rum, and some of the oranges and pears that will probably go bad over the weekend anyway. I send a slack to the office channel, and people trickle into the kitchen for drinks. T. meets me at work for drinks. We stay for a couple hours and head home with lunch leftovers in tow.

7:45 p.m. — I wake up from a 30 minute nap, and I'm energized to go out. T. and N. are already drinking in the kitchen. I have one pre-game drink and a corn dog from the freezer. We Uber to meet some friends at a bar, and T. pays for the Uber. The bar turned their back alley into party equipped with a DJ and lots of tequila. N. buys the first round of drinks, and later on in the night I buy another round ($43). N. has a bit too much to drink, so we head home around 11. T. pays for the Uber again. $43

11 p.m. — We get home and have the munchies. We raid the fridge for leftovers that I brought home today, and some that are still leftover from Tuesday. My friend C. comes over because we are still down to go out. We end up having too many more drinks at my apartment and decide to stay in to drink and chat instead. I fall asleep around 1.

10:30 a.m. — T. and I wake up and make from breakfast at home. Toast, eggs, bacon, and coffee.

1:30 p.m. — T. and I missed our Saturday workout class, so we decide to do a short hike at Land's End to still be active for the day. T. pays for the Uber there. After the hike, we walk a mile to a burger place we find on Yelp. We eat half of our food and take the rest home. T. pays for lunch ($30) and the Uber home.

6 p.m. — I walk to Trader Joe's to buy ingredients for tom kha (which will be our dinners next week), some snacks, a bottle of tequila, and a bottle of scotch. I pay for the groceries. T. and I have an agreement where I pay for groceries and he pays for Ubers. I get home and make about four servings of tom kha. I don't make as much food for next week since I'll be flying home to visit my mom for Mother's Day. $67.62

8 p.m. — We eat our leftover burgers for dinner. We stay in tonight instead of going out. I give myself a gel manicure while T. and I watch Black Panther. I rarely ever pay for manis and pedis since I am really good at doing them myself. My gel manis usually last me two weeks.

12 p.m. — T. and I make toast, eggs, cheese, and coffee for breakfast at home again.

3:30 p.m. — T. and I go to an Urban Air Market. I don't go with the intent of buying anything, but it's been something I've wanted to check out. Plus, it's outdoors (any excuse to be outside!) and it's within walking distance to our dinner reservation. We walk around looking at all the booths while I'm gushing over every dog that walks by. I end up buying sunglasses that are on sale for $99 (originally $395). I've been wearing the same pair for blue lens Ray Ban aviators for over five years, so I figured it was okay to add a different style to my arsenal. $109

5:30 p.m. — We walk a mile to dinner. T. and I don't really like spending a lot of money on food, but we figured that since we live in a city with so many great restaurants, we should have dinner at a nice place once a month. We order a starter, two entrees, and a glass of wine. The food is amazing and priced well — we will definitely come back. Dinner comes out to $105 before tip, and T. pays. T. and I take turns paying when we go out, so we figure it all evens out in the end.

9 p.m. — I spend the rest of the day lounging around and giving myself a facial scrub and mask.