dailymoneydiary

[dailymoneydiary]

April 27th, 2022

8 am: Wake up to the lovely sounds of a squeaky toy!

8:30 am: Get a call from an unknown number and I got the job I interviewed for last week! Now I've got pre employment checks and I'll start May 10th!

9:00-10:00 am: Shower, breakfast, feed dogs

12:00: Head out to the grocery store as I need ingredients for No-Bake Cookies. Pick up sugar, butter, rolled oats, and peanut butter. $11.22

1:00 pm: Grab lunch as I am in no mood to eat any of the groceries I bought the day before. $11.11

3:00 pm: After cleaning the kitchen, J comes home and we discuss big events coming up

3:45 pm: I'm bored and need a wallflower plug refill for the house so I head to Bath & Body Works

4:00 pm: Stocked up on five refills and a mini body spray $29.95

4:30 pm: J and I go to TJ Maxx to wander (which is dangerous for us). End up spending a bit over $100 but J pays so I'm unsure

5:00 pm: Home and cooking dinner. Tonight's recipe is a homemade Costco Chicken Bake with chicken, ranch, mozzarella, and pizza dough. Verdict: not bad but dough is a little undercooked.

6:00 pm-9:00 pm: Work on my last final project for my class. I check my college's dashboard and got a disappointing grade on a final paper. Instantly click out of the website and eat a No-Bake as consolation.

9:30-10:00 pm: Get ready for bed. Last walk outside for the dogs and bedtime

My Total: $52.28

J's Total: Around $100

[dailymoneydiary]

April 26th, 2022

3 am: I'm still awake and not happy about it. Finals season has really screwed with my sleep schedule and I can't fall asleep.

4 am: Go to gas station with J to pick up milk as he wants cereal before he goes to work. He grabs chocolate milk for me and pays

4:35 am: Finally lay down after J leaves and the dogs settle down around me

10:00 am: Wake up time! Much later than I'm used to but I could tell my body needed it

11:15 am: Out the door to do some grocery shopping. I'm handling meal prep and shopping while I'm between jobs and have nothing else to do

11:30 am: Sam's Club. Pick up some pop, water, and energy drinks. Put on J's Sam's Club credit card ($88)

Noon: Fill gas tank at Sam's because of their cheaper prices. Again, on J's credit card as he offered. ($45)

12:15: Pick up dog food and two toys at TSC for our German Shepherd puppy. She loves to chew and needed some new stimulation. ($70)

1:00 pm: Done at Meijer's. Picked up enough food for lunches, dinners, and snacks for the next 8 days while also stocking up on body wash, deodorant, and a new loofah. Put on J's debit card ($164)

1:10 pm: Lowe's! I'm here to grab two moving boxes. I'm about to start my spring cleaning and already know I will be donating a lot of stuff to our local Goodwill. 2 large boxes puts me back $4.69

2:00 pm: Home and groceries put away. I screw around until J gets home and we zone out with a movie.

6:30 pm: Dinner. Toasted baguette with Boursin cheese and top sirloin pieces on top. Yum!

7:00 pm: Head out to get gas for J's car. He pays and I'm unsure of the total

7:30 pm: Back home for good. Feed the dogs, change into PJ's, and zone out for the rest of the night.

My Total: $4.69

J's Total: $367

[dailymoneydiary]

The Beginning

Hello there! I'm H, a 22 year old living in Michigan. This blog will be a daily money diary where I keep track of my life and spending habits. I do not have the best money habits and am struggling to figure out how to cut costs. I figured if I started being organized about it, it will get easier! Y'all might need a background as a baseline. The goal is to update daily and reflect each week on how I did and how I can do better!

Age: 22

Location: Michigan

Occupation: Student. I am finishing my second to last semester of my degree and will be graduating in December. I was working at a bank up until last week but quit to focus on finals and take a breather. School full time, working, taking care of the house, and having three dogs was taking a lot out of me.

Income: $0.00 an hour. It was $15 an hour but no longer lol.

Checking Account: $48.44

Savings Account: $187.63

Credit Card Debt: $6353.79 ouch. This comes from bad spending habits in 2021, buying a sectional when our couches were dying, and various household expenses. My first goal after getting my next job is paying this down.

Student Loans: $37,000 estimate. I am still in school so am not paying on these. I also plan on going to law school in 2023 or 2024 so this will grow

Other Income: I live with my boyfriend J who works full time. He makes around $27 an hour (not exactly sure) and covers a majority of our expenses. I plan on fully supporting us as a lawyer so he can go back to school and finish his engineering degree.

Expenses

Rent: $0. We live in a home owned by J's mother after her grandmother gave it to her in her will. This is super helpful and I am very grateful. We plan on buying a house next year and I think she is excited for us to leave lol

Utilities: Around $250 each month. Sometimes J pays it all and sometimes I pay half. This goes to J's mom as her name is on the utilities

CC payments: Average around $250 a month. I will be making minimum payments with J's help until I am employed again.

Netflix: $19.99. I pay for this and my family uses it with me

Peacock: $4.99

Apple Music: $4.99

Gym: $10

Sweepy (a cleaning app): $2.99

Any other payments: I pay tuition each semester which is around $2,800.00. I made my last payment three weeks ago which decimated my savings. I should not have to pay out of pocket next semester after federal loans but we will see.

Car Payment: $0. I drive a '99 Toyota that gets me from A to B

Car Insurance: $0. J pays this.

Internet: $0. J pays this.

Health Insurance: $0. Riding that sweet parents insurance until I'm 26

Phone: $0. Parents pay for this.

I am incredibly lucky to have J and my parents. I don't know how I would do it without them.

J and I struggle with budgeting and each time we set a budget something breaks on our cars or in the house which throws the budget out the window. Now that I am unemployed for a bit, I am taking charge of our finances. I am joint on his accounts and am getting the online log ins for them so I can keep track. He also has some CC and student loan debt so he has personal goals I need to work into the budget as well. It is a "our money" mindset but I hate spending his money. I cannot wait to be employed again.

We have three dogs who require food, vet visits, medicine, toys, and other needs. We do not budget for them but the typical spend per month is around $100. All three are big dogs and we try to buy quality food for them. We have timed it out where we typically only have to buy one bag a month (they all eat different foods) and they are healthy.

Okay that seems to be everything! See you tomorrow for the first update!