How Much One NYC Woman Spends Over Valentine's Day Weekend

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• FEB 15, 2016 5:00 PM
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Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. Each week, we ask a millennial woman how she spends her hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last cent. (Thanks, New York mag, for the inspiration.) 

This week, a New York City copywriter celebrating Valentine's Day with cheap Broadway tickets, pizza, and edibles. 

 

Industry: Media
Location: Astoria, Queens
Salary: $43,000
Age: 28
Roommates: 1

Monthly ExpensesRent & utilities: $1,000
New gym membership: $40/month
Monthly MTA card: $116.50

Day One:

8:45 a.m. — Breakfast of avocado toast from groceries I had at home. $0

9 a.m. — Coffee from Queens Kickshaw to combat the Super Bowl hangover. A coffee on the go is a rare indulgence for me now. For about two years, I was an idiot who bought a coffee every morning on my way to work, effectively pouring hundreds of dollars of year down the drain. I wish I could smack 24-year-old me sometimes. $5.50

10:30 a.m. — Second cup of coffee, free from the office. $0
12:35 p.m. — Snack on a free pierogi and kielbasa in the office, because saying no to free food is really never an option. $0
2 p.m. — I use my lunch break to brave Times Square and buy tickets for an off-Broadway show for my boyfriend's Valentine's Day present. He's a theater nerd, and I have a feeling he will love it; plus, we realized early on that we would rather spend money on experiences that physical gifts. Doubly pumped that $30 tickets for under-30s are available, so the tickets end up being $64 instead of $160 — discount win!

3 p.m. — Late lunch from home: roasted sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and beets, with quinoa and some leftover avocado from breakfast, topped with massive amounts of Sriracha. I also snag a free tea from the office kitchen to warm up. $0
7:30 p.m. — I have a serious case of the Mondays, and all I really want is a burger. Instead, I make my roommate's famous cheap meal, the "hot sauce burrito": vegetarian refried beans, sour cream, and massive amounts of hot sauce. It's the best greasy-food satisfaction for zero dollars. I also snack on leftover brie and crackers we got for the Super Bowl party and a glass of the Rioja that's already open, because the most important night of TV (re: The Bachelor) deserves a little something. $0

Total: $69.50

Day Two:

8:30 a.m. — Avocado toast and oatmeal for breakfast at home. $0

10:30 a.m. — Free coffee from the office — proud of myself for being good today. $0
12:30 p.m. — The same lunch from yesterday with more Sriracha. I'm afraid the Brussels sprouts are getting smelly and making me an office pariah. $0

2 p.m. — Feeling antsy in the office, so I step out for a couple of sweets at Le Pain Quotidian and sit in Bryant Park for a second. $4
6:45 p.m. — I pick up shampoo and a cheap nail polish to sway myself away from the Valentine's Day mani/pedi I so desperately want. Saving ~$25 feels better anyway. $8.25

7:15 p.m. — Dinner at home, and again not in the mood to cook, so it's instant ramen with an egg on top (don't judge, my "recipe" is delicious) and leftover chocolate babka from an event last week. $0

Total: $12.25

Day Three:

8:45 a.m. — Toast with a schmear of cream cheese and oatmeal. Killing the at-home breakfast this week. $0 

10:30 a.m. — Also killing the week of free food at the office: free coffee and a yogurt parfait left over from a meeting. $0 

1:15 p.m. — Lunch in the office. More veggies and quinoa. I'm impressed that the big batch I made on Sunday has lasted this long. While I eat, I purchase my ordination documents because I'm marrying my two dear friends in a couple of months. $57.99
7:30 p.m. — Laundry time. I'm one of the few people I know who actually does their laundry instead of drop-off, but hey, it save me a few bucks. $5.25
7:45 p.m. — Pick up a few groceries for the week (kale, eggs, sausages). $13.23
8:15 p.m. — Dinner tonight is sautéed kale and sausage that I picked up from the store. $0 
Total: $76.47

Day Four:

8:45 a.m. — Oatmeal and hard-boiled egg at home. $0
1 p.m. — Team lunch today at Aureole in Midtown, hurray! Fancy lunch for free. $0

6:30 p.m. — My boyfriend got a free screening of the movie Deadpool through work, so I rush to Times Square after work. We snack on free popcorn while watching (me gawking at) Ryan Reynolds. $0
8:30 p.m. — We're starving and I'm dying for a burger, so we go to Shake Shack. He pays. It's a little bit of a dance of "who pays" this far into the relationship (six months). He makes double (well, more like triple in reality) what I make and offers to pay all the time. I pay for what I can, because it makes me feel guilty to have him pay for me every time. Now that the honeymoon phase is starting to faze out, though, we're much more comfortable not spending a ton on dates — the relationship version of Netflix and chill! $0

Total: $0 (!!!)

Day Five:

8:30 a.m. — Oatmeal and hard-boiled egg at home. $0 
12:45 p.m. — The very last of my quinoa-and-veggies big batch for sad desk lunch. Somehow still tasty five days later! $0

5:45 p.m. — A long week deserves a drink, so boyfriend and I meet some friends at Birreria at Eataly (or whatever the Alps pop-up is called, it's pretty). I buy a round of mulled wine thinking it'll warm us up (it doesn't); he buys a round of beer. $25

9:25 p.m. — I hail us a cab from Union Square because we're late to our Valentine's Day dinner reservation and the L train sucks. $7.35

9:30 p.m. — We have a lovely meal at Hearth (get the pastas and the meatballs!). He pays. $0

12 a.m. — We're exhausted and need to crash, so I pay for the cab ride home. Seems only fair.$28.15

Total: $60.50

Day Six:

12 p.m. — We sleep in, thankfully, and decide to make breakfast at home (a rarity). We make kale, eggs, and coffee and have leftover bagels. $0
1:30 p.m. — I finally sign up for my neighborhood gym, after six weeks of excuses and shopping around for the best deal. It's with an annual fee, but at least no initiation fee.$99.99

6:30 p.m. — After a day of being lazy and cuddling, we decide we should venture out for food. It's 0 degrees, hurray. Still, a bowl of ramen at Tamashii Ramen was exactly what we needed. I pay for dinner. $63.83
8 p.m. — Pit stop at Astoria Bier & Cheese, boyfriend buys beer to take home. $0
11:15 p.m. — The rest of our night is fueled by sex, romance, and edibles (I picked these up over Christmas when I was in Colorado). When the munchies hit, I realize I have zero snacks in the house, so we eat leftover sausage and Gouda. It's delicious. $0

Total: $163.82

Day Seven:

11:30 a.m. — It's Valentine's Day! We try our usual brunch place, but it's packed, so instead we try Butcher Bar. BBQ is made better with a cute boyfriend. He pays. $0

2 p.m. — We go to the off-Broadway show I bought tickets for early in the week. Smart Peopleis fantastic.

4:30 p.m. — After the show, we go grab a beer at Beer Culture, where we had one of our first dates. He buys one round. $0
6:30 p.m. — I say we should do something extra-romantic and cheesy for the night, because the whole weekend has been so sweet. We decide that our version of romance is pizza. We get two pizzas and wine at B Side Pizza; the pizzas come in the shape of a heart. Boyfriend pays, even though I beg him to split. $0
8:30 p.m. — I put that cute pink-hearted undie set I bought last week to good use. $0
Total: $0

 

The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend — to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day.