A Week In New York On A $75,000 Salary

Occupation: Writer and editor
Industry: Media
Age: 29
Location: New York
Salary: $75,000 plus a variable freelance income
Assets: Savings: $2,200 (but that’s about to be pretty much completely wiped out when I pay my quarterly freelance taxes); 401(k) from old job: $6,300; Roth IRA: $13,800; Wells Fargo brokerage: $15,000.
Debt: $2,286 student loan (ancient, from undergrad).
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $2,237
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing Costs: $1,625 (since the time of writing it’s gone up to $1,717.50). I have one roommate in a two-bed/two-bath (so we each have our own bathrooms).
Loan Payments: $23 (income-based repayment with a super low interest rate, so I often just forget it’s there).
Gym: $23 (I really don’t use this enough tbh).
Productivity & Professional Tools: $112 (includes Photoshop, digital storage, and other non-entertainment subscriptions).
Archive/Genealogy/History Subscriptions: $28
Entertainment Subscriptions: $64 (streaming, Spotify, crosswords, Substack, Patreon, etc).
Internet: $20 (my half).
Phone Bill: $50
Roth IRA Contribution: $200 (but I often skip this because I don’t have enough in my account).

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?
My mom did a bachelor’s and a master’s, but my dad dropped out of college to pursue a career as a full-time artist. He didn’t regret this, but eventually ended up getting his bachelor’s as an adult (when I was a teenager). So there was certainly an expectation I’d go to college (especially given that I was a straight-A student) but there was always a freedom in knowing that alongside, after, or even instead of a degree, I’d be able to pursue any creative dreams I had, with my dad’s full approval. My family saved for my college, but it wasn’t enough to fully cover a private school’s tuition, so they encouraged me to apply to state schools. I knew realistically I would end up there, but I also applied to a few reaches out of state. Nobody was more surprised than me when I was awarded a full-ride academic merit scholarship to a prestigious out-of-state university. This was a huge weight off for my parents and allowed me to attend college free of charge and keep the money in my 529 for my master's, which I eventually did at a different private university. My parents paid for my basic living expenses during undergrad, although I began finding paid jobs as soon as I could to supplement that. When I was in grad school, the 529 helped subsidize my rent in addition to paying for tuition.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My financial situation growing up was a little confusing. I had some privileges that didn’t match up with the amount of money my parents seemed to make: in-home childcare from a nanny, expensive summer camps, tropical vacations. In retrospect, it was my mother’s parents paying for all of these things, so that her children could have the same standard of life that she had had growing up. I never really had a lot of explicit conversations about money. I think in my parents’ world, it wasn’t classy to talk about these things with kids, or really with anyone. Instead, my mom would hint at various important ways to make and save money. When I earned some money as a kid, she didn’t let me touch any of it, and told me she was putting it away in an IRA for me, so I learned what that was pretty early on. Likewise, my bat mitzvah money all went right into a savings account she set up for me (I later used it to buy a car in college). From middle school onwards, I had a debit card and credit card linked to her accounts so that she could help me build credit before college. She also was the devil on my shoulder to my father’s angel, pushing me towards stability and employment while my dad encouraged me to take creative leaps, freelance, spend money on things I enjoyed, and travel the world.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
Right around the time I should’ve gotten a job at a mall or a hot dog stand or something, I began making money as an online creator. I managed to make quite a bit of cash throughout high school this way, but ended up spending pretty much all of it on clothes. This was the beginning of my ongoing shopping problem.

Did you worry about money growing up?
My dad passed away last year after spending pretty much my entire life in and out of hospitals with chronic illnesses which severely affected his quality of life and ability to earn a living. My mother was an incredibly determined and loyal breadwinner and spouse who, at great cost to herself, prevented her children’s lives from being affected by their father’s significant medical debt, as well as various (non-medical) poor financial choices. I had the general idea that even if things got bad, Grandma and Grandpa could help us out (which was true); but I never really got the full picture of how bad things were for my parents at certain points, especially during the 2008 recession. Looking back, I was certainly sheltered, but I was also willfully incurious, happy to take my good middle-class life at face value and not inquire deeper into our situation or how I could help.

Do you worry about money now?
Absolutely. I have a shopping problem that I constantly fear will get out of hand. Money burns a hole in my pocket and gets away from me way too easily. I’m embarrassed by my lack of emergency fund, my minimal investments, and my immature lack of frugality. Like many Americans I seek comfort in the unlikely dream that I will experience a windfall or some financial miracle that will render me permanently comfortable. I want to own a house and have a family some day and, less than I worry about money in general, or my own earning potential, I worry I’ll never be able to live up to my mother’s standards of financial competence and responsibility.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
After undergrad I was completely independent, somehow paying for everything, including my apartment and my car, and still being able to save quite a bit, all on $40,000 a year. I really don’t know how that was possible. When I moved to NYC for grad school in 2020, I received tuition and rent assistance from my 529 plan, and after grad school I attempted a freelance career at my dad’s encouragement, found some success, and was independent again... right up until my dad died, and I ended up needing my rent paid by my mom for a humiliating few months while I got my shit together and finally got a real job. I’m now self-sufficient again, but I know that she would help me out again if I needed it.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My mom created a brokerage account for me when I was a kid, with a bit of Apple stock she bought in the 1990s. And like a character in an Austen or Dickens novel, I suppose have “expectations” — ie. I may inherit a lot of money later in my life — but it’s the sort of thing you don’t want to think about because by nature it involves the death of loved ones. While I didn’t receive any money directly when my dad died, some of it went (via my mom) to me to pay my rent for a few months.

9:30 a.m. — Wake up with my alarm feeling pretty terrible. I came down with a bad cold Monday afternoon while at my mom’s house, worked Tuesday (I have a remote job) feeling awful, took a sick day Wednesday and felt well enough to keep my flight home that evening, but I’m still not operating at 100% this morning. I log on for my 10 a.m. standup but keep the camera off. My fridge is looking pretty barren as usual. I have my last Chobani with the last of my granola for breakfast, and add both to my grocery list.

11:30 a.m. — Meetings are over for the day and now it’s time to get seriously heads-down on work. (I’ve been at this job for almost three months now so I’m definitely in full corporate-speak mode! Heads down!!!!) I head over to my corner coffee shop to fuel up with a cold brew. $5

1 p.m. — In between work tasks I try to coordinate seeing a Broadway show with my friend P., but even the cheapest tickets are $120 and neither of us really want to pay that much. Actually, that’s a lie. I’m always down to spend on exciting experiences even when I know I can’t really afford it, but P. is currently cracking down on such frivolities and probably saving both of us in the process. We agree to try for rush or lottery tickets on our next free day to save about half the price.

1:30 p.m. — Speaking of P.’s frivolities, he was the one who introduced me to an antiques auction site where I recently won a bid for a beautiful but completely unnecessary 19th-century document box. This will be an appropriate storage solution for my billets-doux. I pay the auction house’s invoice and try to think about when I’ll haul ass to Astoria to pick the damn thing up. $65.33

2:30 p.m. — I am hungry. I need some soup to burn off the rest of this cold. I go to a nearby Vietnamese place and get a huge thing of chicken pho to go. This will be enough for lunch and dinner for me. $16.28

2:45 p.m. — As I’m eating, a package arrives for me. It's a pair of sneakers I snagged on Poshmark for $85 plus shipping last week. I had been scouring secondhand sites for months (using the GEM app — not sponsored! I just love it!) for the perfect red sneakers in my size and I’m really happy with these.

4:30 p.m. — I got a fun new assignment at work which I’m excited about. I fire off an email to a potential source, and set up an interview for next week as my last task of the day. When I woke up, I wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling at the end of the day cold-wise so I didn’t make plans, but the pho seems to have done its job and I feel okay for a leisurely solo outing. I have in my calendar that there’s figure drawing at a neighborhood church tonight, so I go online and buy a ticket. $25

6:30 p.m. — I scarf the second serving of soup and then it’s off to figure drawing! This is my first time at a session in over a year and it’s nice to know I can still actually draw. It pleases me to be mediocre-to-competent at many things, like some kind of dollar-store zillennial Renaissance woman. The model is very handsome. I buy two peaches for a dollar at a fruit stand on the way home from drawing and then pick up some TP at the bodega. When I get home I am devastated to discover that the peach I thought was perfectly ripe was in fact overripe. I sadly salvage the few edible parts and eat them standing up at the sink. $8

9:45 p.m. — TV time. I watch Jeopardy most nights and track my score because I’m trying to get on the show soon. Tonight was actually the best I’ve ever done since I started tracking — Coryat $35,400! (Coryat is the total dollar value of the clues you get right, no Daily Double betting or Final Jeopardy.) Before bed, I FaceTime with my aunt for an hour to catch up, and then read my book for a while (Pride and Prejudice).

9:30 a.m. — I slept pretty well, or so it feels like. FitBit agrees, with a score of 77! I recently started wearing my FitBit again to track my sleep, even though the last time I wore it consistently it ended up only increasing my hypochondria instead of assuaging it. But my sleep quality has dropped recently due to stress from my new job, so I feel like it’s important to keep an eye on it. I will NOT be paying $8 a month for premium again, though. That’s how they GET YOU.

10 a.m. — Glad I had my camera on for the standup because I got unexpectedly called on to give an update of one of my projects, which is due to start shipping today. Seems like everything is tracking according to plan though.

10:30 a.m. — Scrambled eggs and challah toast for breakfast today. My mom made this breakfast for me nearly every day growing up!

12 p.m. — Coffeeshop time again, once the project has successfully been shipped. I completed a punch card here yesterday, so for my free coffee I simply must get a spendy iced oat milk latte instead of my regular cold brew. I manage to stay focused on work despite the abundance of dogs, babies, and neighborhood hangouts filling up the cafe.

2 p.m. — As the clumps of friends around me chatter away about their upcoming weekends, I realize I have no plans tonight and start to experience acute FOMO-panic. I fire off some texts and Hinge messages out of desperation. My neighborhood group chat saves me: We decide we’ll meet up at karaoke later. I also realize around now that it’s payday, and quickly pay off one of my revolving CC balances to the tune of $600, leaving me with just enough in my checking to pay rent in a few days.

2:30 p.m. — I arrive back home just in time to take a call from my agent and brainstorm a schedule for my upcoming book manuscript revisions. I have a lot of work to do — basically a full-scale rewrite — but there’s no way I’m getting any time off work, so I’ll have to fit it in around the day job. The thought exhausts me, but I’m trying to be optimistic about it. This book project only happened thanks to the encouragement of my dad back when I was writing the proposal, and it’s going to be dedicated to him. The thought of continuing to make him proud is a huge motivator. (The fact that I only get the rest of my advance money when it’s done is also a factor).

4 p.m. — I’ve been getting nice feedback on Slack about my project all day, but work has slowed down so I head out to refill my fridge. Walking there, I turn on my favorite podcast, which is two comedians talking about Formula 1. I dislike grocery shopping, so the experience is vastly livened up by a laugh-out-loud podcast, although this strategy only works if you don’t care if you look a little strange giggling in the soup aisle. In addition to actual groceries (yogurt, granola, cheese, mushrooms, carrots, tomato sauce, sweet potatoes) I pick up some pasta at the hot food bar and a pastel-can fancy fizzy drink (you know the type) to eat in the dining area once I’ve checked out. $55.37

5 p.m. — As soon as I close my work laptop, I open my personal one. First I finish reading a spicy story I left off halfway through before bed last night. It’s been a while since I read or wrote erotica consistently, but this story is so excellent it gets me thinking that I should probably start again. After watching the new episode of Taskmaster, I get up to wash my hair. As an indie music fanatic, showers are always soundtracked by a playlist of recently released songs. This week I’m really digging the new singles from Wolf Alice, Haute & Freddy, CMAT, and Getdown Services.

8:15 p.m. — As per usual while showering I remembered 10,000 things I have to do. I respond to some Partiful invitations and make a new event on the app for a Formula 1 watch party I’m hosting soon. Then I stock up on some skincare I’m out of on Amazon (The Ordinary rosehip seed oil and Good Molecules toner, $27.09 total) and sign up for a yoga class for tomorrow ($25 drop-in fee). I really should have ClassPass, but this neighborhood studio isn’t on ClassPass and I’ve become very attached to it. Before walking over to karaoke I eat the remaining peach. Thank god it is perfectly ripe! I also have to log onto Slack for a few after-hours work tasks but get them over with quickly and head out. $52.09

9:15 p.m. — I am first to arrive at karaoke, so I save some seats for my friends. I’m on antibiotics for a really annoying recurring infection so I am going sober this week, it’ll save me money at least. I grab an NA Heineken and a plate of pierogies. $17.62

9:30 p.m. — My friends H. and S. arrive and we rock out to some karaoke. I do a Steely Dan tune, one of my go-tos. H. brings down the house with Jason Mraz. It’s so fun seeing what song everyone in the bar picks. The theme of the night seems to be throwbacks. Only one or two people out of dozens do a song released in the last five years!

11:15 p.m. — Home, PJs, bed. Jeopardy time. Not as good as last night, but a respectable $27,600 Coryat. The barometric pressure has plummeted and my hip really hurts, so I take some ibuprofen. Once the pain calms down I manage to write 300 words of the lead-up to a steamy scene. We’ll see if I get any further with it tomorrow. I end up going to bed around 2:45 a.m. after a lot of YouTube and reading Pride and Prejudice.

10:45 a.m. — I wake up luxuriously, sans alarm. I had a stressful dream that I traveled back in time, but forgot to bring my knitting projects with me, so I didn’t have anything to do during a weird Victorian church service... This probably reveals something about my intense fear of boredom. I watch TikTok in bed for a while and then finally get up and get ready for yoga.

12 p.m. — I grab a coffee on the way to yoga from my favorite bookstore/cafe near me. I always check the dollar books section just in case, but there’s nothing that catches my eye. $5

12:30 p.m. — Do you ever have a yoga teacher that is just unbelievably heads and shoulders above the rest? I hadn’t realized I’d booked a 75-minute class instead of my usual 60, but I absolutely don’t mind as this woman is AMAZING. By the end of the class I even feel empowered by her to do my first ever headstand!

2 p.m. — I had meant to grab something to eat on the way home, but thankfully for my standing in this Money Diary I actually completely forget. Outside my apartment someone is moving out and put a bunch of stuff on the curb. I grab four super cute cocktail glasses for free, score! When I get upstairs I put on a $1 classical LP I bought the other day (Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition) and make a delicious tuna melt with the cheddar I got yesterday at the grocery store.

3 p.m. — I have to do some work on one of the volunteer projects I run. We are doing a big announcement tomorrow across socials and email so I have to run around between my inbox, Canva, Slack, and Squarespace making sure everything is set to go, the site looks good, and my team has what they need. I am super nitpicky about design so end up (happily) spending a few hours fine-tuning our announcement graphics while getting feedback from the team. During waits for feedback I also manage to finish Pride and Prejudice, so I mark that off on my Goodreads.

5:30 p.m. — My knitting dream reminded me I haven’t actually done any knitting in a few days, so I work up a few rows of a long-suffering sweater sleeve while watching Star Trek. Odo is so swoon-worthy. Afterwards I wash dishes, have a Chobani with granola, and start a new book (A Room of One’s Own). I worry this Money Diary makes it seem like I don’t eat much. I definitely do! I just usually don’t have a very big appetite at all (I’m 5’1”) but I know I could always be eating much healthier in terms of my macros and protein and stuff.

7 p.m. — I walk a few blocks to a bar for my friend D.’s birthday. On the way over I listen to the new singles from Wednesday, Alex G, and Yumi Zouma. I realize about halfway there that I’m a little cold in my Anthropologie dress and vintage leather jacket, and the temperature looks like it’ll just keep dropping, but it should be fine because the party is at a bar… At least that’s what I think, until I get there and realize their reserved tables are all OUTSIDE. I resign myself to being an icicle all night. Despite my persistent shivering, I end up having a great time. Pretty much the whole gang is there including H. and S. from last night. D. and his wife M. have brought pizzas and cannoli so I help myself (there’s dinner sorted) and I also get a virgin mojito. Later in the night I grab an NA beer as well. I tell H. that my alcohol purgatory ends Wednesday so we make plans for bar trivia that night at one of our usual spots. $17.57

11:30 p.m. — At the end of the night, D., M., H. and some others go off to a club for dancing. I bow out gracefully as I am super not a club person and am also eager to get out of the cold and into my cozy bed. In said bed, I do some last bits of work for my volunteer team and then settle in The Endless Scroll. My screentime app shuts off all social media apps at 1 a.m., and I pretty much always stick to it unless I’m literally in the middle of something important, so that’s when I open my erotica document. I get to 800 words, not quite my goal of 1000, but at least the characters are touching each other now. I get to sleep around 2:45 p.m.

9:15 a.m. — I had this genius plan that I would get up early to watch the Spanish GP and therefore give myself enough time to cook a dish for the potluck brunch I’m going to this morning. I’m slightly regretting this, but the race ends up being really great, although I do miss the most exciting bits at the end as I’m chopping and seasoning my sweet potato fries.

11:15 a.m. — I get dressed in one of my favorite Nooworks dresses. This time last year I was wearing black. I dressed in black for six months after my dad died, as I’ve long been interested in Victorian mourning traditions and it just seemed like the right thing to do, so I’m getting excited about breaking out my colorful summer wardrobe again. I take the train to brunch at the coworking space in Williamsburg that my friends run. It’s been months since I made it to one of these events because I always seem to have something else going on on Sundays, but I’m glad I came as there’s a huge delicious potluck spread on offer. I help myself to a bagel and cream cheese, coffee, muffins, scrambled eggs, fresh loquats, and some yogurt with berries. People seem to be digging the dish I brought which is always flattering. $2.90

12:30 p.m. — These brunches always have a series of lightning talks from attendees as one of the attractions and my friend T. taps me to do an impromptu one. I end up presenting about an article I recently published, giving a quick five-minute summary of a really fascinating historical event. One girl talks about her research into global agriculture, and then another girl explains the process behind some of her large-scale art installations. Afterwards I stick around to chat with everyone for a while longer. I’m glad I made some new friends at the event, I feel like it’s been ages since I met new people.

3 p.m. — I’m on my way to an afternoon Hinge date but I have a little over an hour to kill. Walking further into Williamsburg, I stop at the City Reliquary, a cute little local museum, and admire every square inch crammed with fascinating NYC artifacts, like bottles of river water and tickets to the World’s Fair. $8

3:30 — Still wandering, I look up “vintage” in Google Maps and am rewarded with the most adorable little thrift store full of secondhand clothes imported from Japan. I was obsessed with Japanese fashion, FRUiTS magazine and Harajuku girls in high school and it’s still a passion, so I can’t resist trying on some stuff that catches my eye. Two of the dresses are close in price and absolutely adorable. I take pictures of both and post them in a group chat for my friends to vote on, but they’re taking too long, so I look deep within my heart and choose the one I truly like better. After I walk out of the store with it I get a bunch of messages that all favor the same one, so it all worked out! $85.05

4:15 p.m. — Hinge date goes well — thrifting, dinner, ice cream, and hanging out in the park. No further comment — don’t want to jinx anything! He pays for dinner and I get my own ice cream ($8.11). I take the subway home ($2.90). $11.01

7:30 p.m. — Finally home and very tired. FitBit says I got less than five hours of sleep last night. I have a lot more I need to do tonight, mostly tidying up, and I also want to write, but I feel like there’s a real danger of falling asleep before 10 p.m. I call my mom for a short catchup call to hear about the yard sale she did this weekend.

9 p.m. — I get an email that a digital tool trial I signed up for the other week for is about to expire. I want to keep using it for now as the project I bought it for is still ongoing, so I sign up for a monthly plan at $11 a month. I also remember to send my volunteer team a message congratulating them on the successful launch today, which the notifications have been flowing in from social media about all day. $11

9:30 p.m. — I am succumbing to sleepiness. There will be no cleaning or writing tonight. I shower (playlist: one of Spotify’s personalized Daily Mixes with music by Divorce, Momma, and Lucius), brush teeth and do skincare and get back into bed… And of course THEN I’m suddenly awake. I alternate between TikTok and yet another book (Birnam Wood) until I’m feeling tired again, but it still takes forever to fall asleep.

9:30 a.m. — I thought maybe I’d wake up early naturally and I do, around 7 a.m., but then I go back to sleep until my alarm. During standup, my dentist calls to confirm an appointment tomorrow. I tell them to cancel it and I’ll call back to reschedule. I actually got a cleaning when I was at the orthodontist last month, not a very intense one but I still feel clean enough to put off an expensive appointment for another few months.

11:30 a.m. — Morning meetings are done and I should clean but I am suddenly struck with a tummyache… Tempted to crawl back into bed but then I think of my roommate F. coming home from their weekend away and judging me hardcore for the state of the kitchen and living room. I pop some Tums and attack the dishes.

12 p.m. — I pay my rent a day late: $1,627.95 ($1,625 plus the transaction fee). We just renewed our lease, but since they sent us notification of an over-5% increase with less than 60 days notice after a year’s tenancy, I got them to agree to not institute the increase until July 1, so we got a bonus month at our original rent. I also negotiated them down from a $285 total increase to a $185 increase, meaning my half only is going up by $92.50… Still, that’s not nothing and I wish the unit was rent stabilized. (But seriously, you can negotiate with your landlords. They don’t want to have to find a new tenant!)

12:30 p.m. — I put on my minimal daily makeup (Neutrogena sunscreen, Glossier Boy Brow and mascara, RMS blush, Ilia lip tint) and walk to a coffee shop. I decide against actually getting coffee because my stomach is still unsettled, probably from the antibiotics, thankfully I’m done with the course now. I get an English breakfast tea with milk instead. One of my favorite Remi Wolf songs (“Cinderella”) is playing in the café, which seems like a good omen. In between work tasks I read some articles: one in Harper’s about Mark Twain and one in Vulture about the Dropout streaming service. $3.81

1 p.m. — I close 100 tabs. I have to do this every few days because they just pile up somehow. My stomach feels a lot better so I focus on work for a while, then move on to rotating between my 1000 non-day-job tasks. Along with follow-up volunteer stuff after yesterday’s launch, including drafting a statement of our org’s position on AI, I’m planning summer trips to Los Angeles and the UK, working on another (hobby/volunteer) magazine project which is currently taking submissions, and prepping materials for two history panels I’m hosting, one in a few months in NYC and another I’m organizing for a conference in Ireland in November. I get a random spam call which is disappointing. Every time I get a call for an unknown number I hope it’s for Jeopardy — I auditioned backin April — but so far no luck.

2:30 p.m. — I leave the coffee shop and pick up a deli sandwich around the corner. Usually the chicken parm at this place is great but this time I am disappointed, it’s not very good. I listen to a new episode of the F1 podcast while walking home. $7.40

3 p.m. — I have a 1:1 with my manager. I hold back from asking for more work. I have more than enough to do, especially given the fact that I have to start working on my book manuscript again literally TODAY, OR ELSE.

5 p.m. — I consider going for a jog but decide against it. I work a little bit on my erotica story and watch some TikTok. I realize I’ve watched an awful lot of TikTok today so far and my screentime limit hasn’t activated. I check the app and it turns out it hasn’t been syncing with my phone screentime for the last few days. Apparently yesterday I went nearly AN HOUR over my 35-minute limit. I actually PAID for this fancy screentime app and am kind of mad it let me sink so far into the exact depravity I downloaded it to avoid.

5:45 — I bought supplies to make Korean beef the other day but I ended up having Korean food last night on my date, so I look up a different skirt steak recipe, and then walk to a local grocer to get the stuff I’ll need (potatoes, lemon, bell peppers, parsley). $6.89

6 p.m. — I cook while listening to NPR and then eat dinner while watching Star Trek. I love cooking for other people but cooking for myself is such a chore. I wish I enjoyed it more. I might, if I had a dishwasher and garbage disposal, but then I probably wouldn’t live in NYC so there would be other things I’d be unhappy about.

8 p.m. — After eating, cleaning up, and a little more computer time (I really spend most of my waking hours fucking around online, it’s very blatant when writing it all out like this), I finally face the music and open up my massive 82,000-word manuscript document full of editor’s notes. I spend an hour working on revisions and it feels good just to get back into it and have it not be as scary as I thought. I’ll have to do between one and two hours of work per night on this for the rest of the summer, so I better get used to it.

9 p.m. — Treat time I think. I have no snacks in the house and probably should’ve gotten some when I was at the grocery store earlier but I was laser-focused on dinner. Having ice cream last night made me remember that ice cream is a thing that I can eat whenever I want because I’m an adult, so I go to the bodega and buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and a bag of Hal’s popcorn. At home I put the ice cream in the freezer for another day and inhale the popcorn. I also have a big spoonful of JIF peanut butter. $9.36

12:30 a.m. — Somehow it’s past midnight. I’ve gotten to 1,300 words in my erotica document, watched some Star Trek, and read a bit of Virginia Woolf. I get a burst of energy and spend half an hour working on sending out acceptances for the magazine project, organizing the editorial spreadsheet, and drafting some notes on our ad sales strategy for my collaborators to look over. I go to sleep around 2 a.m.

9:30 a.m. — Roll out of bed in time for standup and another meeting right after. I’m very grateful to have a job but sometimes I wish I was a cat or a 19th century socialite. After the meeting I put on Broken Bells’ classic After the Disco album and make toast and eggs.

12:30 p.m. — I still have this annoying stomach ache. I go into hypochondriac mode and google the side effects of the antibiotic, and reassure myself that it’ll definitely pass as it leaves my system. I head to the coffee shop and get another black tea, which calms it down, and work for a few hours. Why is the tea so much more expensive at this cafe than the other one!? $5.17

2 p.m. — Back home in time for a 1:1 with a higher-up, which goes okay. This is my first real corporate job since leaving the entertainment industry before the pandemic, and my first “big girl” job in media, and sometimes I worry my adventurous freelance spirit is permanently at odds with the hierarchical nature of a media company. I’d like to excel in this role and potentially move up within the company, but I still don’t have the hang of knowing when it’s time to push for my own ideas versus executing tasks from above without question.

4 p.m. — While I wait for any end-of-the-day slacks to come in, I finish A Room of One’s Own. Man, that was really good. I need to read Mrs. Dalloway next, to compare Woolf’s thoughts on novel-writing with how she actually put them into practice. 

5:30 p.m. — I am feeling a little lethargic so I decide to go on a run. It’s nice to be outside on a sunny day with so many other people exercising. I do laps around the park for about 15 minutes and then jog home. My new music playlist makes for a good running mix, especially with recent additions from Nilüfer Yanya, Quinnie, and Cafuné.

6:15 p.m. — Back home, I stir fry onion, mushrooms, and garlic and add canned tomato sauce for a not-terrible homemade sauce which I put on some pasta. I cook and eat while watching Star Trek and force myself to clean up right after I’m done instead of letting the pots sit around, because the other day my roommate cleaned one of my pots and I feel bad about it.

7:45 p.m. — I sit down with my book manuscript for an hour. Turns out A Room of One’s Own was the perfect text to prep with because now I’m full of ideas!

9:45 p.m. — After a catchup call with my mom, I finally give in to a craving and sign up for a seven-day trial of MGM+ so I can watch season 2 of SAS: Rogue Heroes. It’ll charge me $6.99 if I go past seven days but hopefully I can blast through the whole season by then. After eating some of the ice cream I bought last night, I make it through an episode and a half, dabble a little bit in my erotica document (1,500 words now!), and then call it a night after reading Birnam Wood for about 20 minutes.

9:20 a.m. — I wake up naturally 10 minutes before my alarm, which is annoying until I realize I hadn’t actually set my alarm at all. That could’ve been bad! I see that I lost yesterday’s LearnedLeague match. It’s a trivia game that I play every day (for the length of each six-week season) against people online. I used to be in the second-highest-ranked group, then I dropped down to the third highest, and this season I’m doing so poorly I might drop down to the fourth highest. This does not bode well for my Jeopardy chances. Have the questions gotten harder or have I gotten dumber?

11 a.m. — I run out to grab coffee before a big block of meetings starts at 11:30 a.m. I have a neighborhood rotation of three cafés and this is #3 — the best for grab-and-go coffee (versus sitting down to work) and also the only spot that has bagels. My stomach is feeling better so I get a cold brew with cream. $4.36

1 p.m. — I have been chasing a few reimbursements for work, so after I do my interview that I set up last week, I send some follow-up emails about that. It’s less than $50 total but still, that’s a lot of coffee shop visits! I also see that I sold some Anthropologie pants on Depop last night for $20 (I get like $18 of that), so I’ll have to run to the shipping center later today. One of my favorite indie brands, Fashion Brand Company, has released so many gorgeous new dresses lately and I want them all, but they’re all in the $150-$200 range, so I’m trying to sell some stuff I don’t wear anymore in order to justify making any new large purchases.

2 p.m. — There are some items on my to-do list that have been lingering for way too long. I call my doctor to get an insurance claim sorted out (I have to leave a message which is annoying) and send a few emails about my history events and various personal projects. After a few more hours of work, I order a transcript on rev.com of the interview I did earlier. Not sure if I can get this approved to be reimbursed but it’s worth it to not have to transcribe by hand. $5

4:30 p.m. — I run out to ship my Depop order at the local shipping center. They only charge me 50 cents for the envelope. $0.50

5:45 p.m. — I’m reading Wuthering Heights on my phone in bed when I hear people hanging out in the backyard of my building and am suddenly filled with envy of the first-floor tenants for their exclusive garden access. Determined to enjoy myself in the beautiful weather (it was so cold just days ago!!), I crawl out of my window onto the fire escape with a seltzer and Birnam Wood and read in the sun for a while.

6:30 p.m. — Having to tear myself away from the book is painful as it’s gotten to the really exciting climax, but I have to head out to walk to bar trivia with my friends, including H. and M. We used to go every week but haven’t in a while, and I’m excited to be back at our usual spot. I walk over, and when I get there I grab a round of beers for all of us and a bowl of pretzel bites. Back when we went every week we’d trade off who got rounds week to week, but I decide to just cover it this time even though I’m not sure when we’ll be back. I have a bunch of reward points in this spot’s loyalty program from when I came more often, so they only charge me for three beers instead of four. $32.66

9:30 p.m. — After trivia we walk a few blocks to a nearby favorite burger place. I get a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, and we hang out there for a while as we eat before splitting up to head home. $22.04

10:30 p.m. — I power through the ending of Birnam Wood as soon as I get home and immediately text my reaction to the friend that first recommended it to me. After another episode of Rogue Heroes I get in some Jeopardy ($25,200 Coryat) and then crack open Mrs. Dalloway and read for a bit before getting to sleep around 1:30 a.m.

“I think this was pretty typical for me, with the exception of the fact that I didn’t go into Manhattan at all and only took the train on one day out of seven. Usually it’s more than that, but I do live in a walkable neighborhood surrounded by friends, and this is proof! But randomly walking into a thrift store and spending $100 is something I do all too often. As someone that’s always doing something random and creative on my computer, by myself or with friends, I realize I spend a lot on digital tools, and EVERYTHING is subscription based — podcast hosting, Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Discord Nitro. That kind of bummed me out to realize. Also I usually don’t finish two books in one week, but the Money Diary really made me aware of how unproductively I spend my time so I think I read a little more than usual.”

“Looking back, I slept so poorly this week! I’ve been trying to be even better about getting eight hours, with no screens for at least 30 minutes before lights off, every night. Since the week of my diary, I’ve been working on my book revisions almost every day, which unfortunately means I still haven’t finished the erotica story that I got pretty far into. I also forgot to cancel my MGM+ subscription when I finished the show, so they did charge me $6.99, lol. Nothing ended up happening with that Hinge guy. I ended up getting day-of tickets to that show with P. for $70 a few weeks later. I STILL haven’t picked up that box!!!!!”