Welcome to Money Diaries, where we tackle the ever-present taboo that is money. We ask real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we track every last dollar.
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Today: a program manager who makes $132,000 a year and spends some of her money this week on a secondhand fridge.
Occupation: Program Manager
Industry: Fintech
Age: 30
Location: Randwick, Sydney
Salary: $132,000
Net Worth: $316, 874 ($54,499 in my personal savings account, $57,978 in a joint savings account with my husband, $108,822 in super, $84,816 in shares (mostly in Australian ETFs), $2,001 in my maternity fund, $577 in my everyday account, $2,179 in a joint spending account (rent/groceries/utilities come from here), $4,921 in a Raiz account (I'm hoping to get this to $5,000, then I'll move it into my maternity fund), $594 in crypto ($363 in Bitcoin and $231 in ETH), and $481 on a prepaid Qantas card which is used for everyday spending.)
Debt: $26.99 on my credit card. I'll pay it off before it's due.
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $7,339
Pronouns: She/Her
Industry: Fintech
Age: 30
Location: Randwick, Sydney
Salary: $132,000
Net Worth: $316, 874 ($54,499 in my personal savings account, $57,978 in a joint savings account with my husband, $108,822 in super, $84,816 in shares (mostly in Australian ETFs), $2,001 in my maternity fund, $577 in my everyday account, $2,179 in a joint spending account (rent/groceries/utilities come from here), $4,921 in a Raiz account (I'm hoping to get this to $5,000, then I'll move it into my maternity fund), $594 in crypto ($363 in Bitcoin and $231 in ETH), and $481 on a prepaid Qantas card which is used for everyday spending.)
Debt: $26.99 on my credit card. I'll pay it off before it's due.
Paycheque Amount (Monthly): $7,339
Pronouns: She/Her
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Monthly Expenses
Rent: $2,607, which is changing to $2,824/month from May. I rent a two-bedroom apartment in Randwick with my husband.
Personal Trainer: $408
Charities: $93 ($31 each to Greenpeace, Bush Heritage Australia, and Seeing Eye Dogs Australia)
Google Storage: $24.99/year
Joint Account: $2,200 (For rent, utilities, groceries and subscriptions)
Qantas Card: $500 (I use this to pay for everyday items like transport and food)
Raiz Maintenence Fee: $3.50
New York Times Subscription: $2. I'll probably cancel it when it goes up to the regular pricing.
Personal Trainer: $408
Charities: $93 ($31 each to Greenpeace, Bush Heritage Australia, and Seeing Eye Dogs Australia)
Google Storage: $24.99/year
Joint Account: $2,200 (For rent, utilities, groceries and subscriptions)
Qantas Card: $500 (I use this to pay for everyday items like transport and food)
Raiz Maintenence Fee: $3.50
New York Times Subscription: $2. I'll probably cancel it when it goes up to the regular pricing.
Shared Expenses (Out Of The Joint Account, Split 50/50 With My Husband)
Spotify: $18.99
Netflix: $10.99
Disney+: $34.99/year
Apple TV/Binge: Husband pays separately
Stan/Amazon Prime: My brothers pay for these and we share accounts. I give them Disney access.
Health Insurance: $414.17 (Pregnancy cover is no joke)
Home & Contents Insurance: $114.74
Car Insurance: $82.32
Electricity: $56 (Averaged out from the last year. Looks like this is about to go up heaps so we'll need to change providers).
Gas: $42.98 (As above, averaged out from the last year)
Internet: $99
Netflix: $10.99
Disney+: $34.99/year
Apple TV/Binge: Husband pays separately
Stan/Amazon Prime: My brothers pay for these and we share accounts. I give them Disney access.
Health Insurance: $414.17 (Pregnancy cover is no joke)
Home & Contents Insurance: $114.74
Car Insurance: $82.32
Electricity: $56 (Averaged out from the last year. Looks like this is about to go up heaps so we'll need to change providers).
Gas: $42.98 (As above, averaged out from the last year)
Internet: $99
Savings Contributions
Joint Savings: $2,000
Maternity Savings: $1,000
Personal Savings: $500
Maternity Savings: $1,000
Personal Savings: $500
Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
I got a Bachelor of Interior and Spatial Design which I have not used in any way. My parents paid for my university, with the agreement that I would pay for any subjects I failed. They also took advantage of paying upfront and getting a discount (which I don't think is offered by universities anymore).
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
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My dad was an actuary so money was always a big part of day-to-day conversations, as well as shares. I didn't get pocket money as a kid, but my parents deposited money into a savings account for me (and my brothers) and also invested in shares on our behalf. I got access to the bank account when I got to high school and managed to spend an insane amount of money (for a 12-year-old) in a short amount of time on dumb things like $5 coffees and hot chips. My parents were able to catch this and have a discussion with me about the consequences of my spending choices.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I got a job shelving books at the library when I could (I guess at 14 and 9 months?). It was an easy after-school job with a guaranteed pay rise on my birthday each year. I also had a really good superfund, which I'm still with today. I also tutored some kids, babysat and umpired netball. I didn't get pocket money growing up, so this was for spending money on things I wanted.
Did you worry about money growing up?
No, we were very well off. I never missed out on any activities, we had regular holidays and my parents were able to take advantage of discounts by paying upfront for big items (like braces and university fees). My dad retired at 45 and was able to continue making money on the share market. The only time there was any money stress was in 2008 after the market crash. Money was quite tight and my dad ended up going back to work for a year or two. I didn't really understand the impact at the time, but tensions were really tight in our household.
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Do you worry about money now?
No. I have a great, well-paying job with good benefits that I like, as does my husband. If needed, I could get help from my family. We're in the process of starting a family (I'm six months pregnant), so I've been a bit more concerned with savings and the cost of me not working for a period of time. We'd also like to buy a house soonish (next year or two), but we're concerned about the cost, given the rising interest rates and the places we want to live. I think in the future, we may also need to support my in-laws, so we should probably start making some moves/having some conversations about what that looks like with them.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
26. I moved out of home with my husband (then boyfriend) into our current apartment. Before that, I was living at home. I paid a nominal amount each month as rent/board, but didn't need to contribute to household costs.
Yes, I have a financial safety net. We have a fair chunk of savings, but because we are looking to buy a house, we need to figure out what our safety net looks like once we buy.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
Yes, I received an inheritance of $60,000 in 2005 when my grandfather died.
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Day 1
7:30am — Wake up and scroll a bit on my phone. Have a tea and some cereal and catch up on newsletters from the weekend. I also put away the clothes that we had left out drying overnight. It’s nice to start the week with no laundry.
9:00am — Start work. I love working from home. Check-in on emails and slack before a meeting at 10am. I am doing a presentation on Wednesday, so I make the slide deck for it and send it out to a few people to make sure I haven’t missed anything.
12:00pm — Lunch time. I have a cheese, tomato and kale pesto toasted sandwich. It’s delicious, but the tomato absolutely scalds my mouth. I also cut up sweet potatoes into chips and leave them out to dry for dinner. I find this makes them crispier when baked! Lie on the couch and scroll until I get a call from a nutrition and exercise service I’ve been referred to by my midwife for my pregnancy. It’s free and this call is a check-in to see how I’m going and to think about any goals I want to achieve during my pregnancy or post-pregnancy. It’s a nice service because if you’re worried about anything, they can set you up with diet or exercise plans. Great if you’re struggling with either.
1:00pm — Back to work for the afternoon. Working from home means I often cook dinner/meals while working as I can check on things. I was going to make a mousaka as we got a ton of eggplants on the weekend, but realise we don’t have all the ingredients. Tell my husband I can pick him up if he meets me at Aldi this evening.
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4:00pm — 1:1 with my boss. We catch up on our weekends and goals for the week. It’s a nice time to reset and work through any challenges I may be having. She’s the best boss I’ve ever had.
5:00pm — Work out with my trainer on Zoom. Usually, I don’t do Mondays but I had to move some stuff around. I’m super stiff today and I’ve twinged my back, so I spend most of this session stretching and chatting. My trainer is actually a friend from high school, so it’s nice to catch up during the week. He’s also been great while I’ve been pregnant and we decide what we do each session based on what my body is feeling — today is stretching!
5:45pm — Head to Aldi to pick up some things! We get crushed tomatoes, cornflakes, pasta, bread, yoghurt, beef mince, cheese, muesli (with no coconut as I hate it) and bread. My husband discovers that Aldi has baby items as part of their special buys. We get a baby blanket and a jacket that will make baby look like a little blue bear. $92.95 on the joint account. $92.95
6:30pm — Head home and make dinner — pan-fried zucchini and barramundi, sweet potato chips and some leftover mac and cheese. Watch Taskmaster while eating dinner.
8:30pm — Head to bed as I’m exhausted, but alas, pregnancy insomnia hits. Why am I so exhausted during the day but as soon as I hit the pillow I’m wide awake? Manage to get to sleep at 10ish.
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Daily Total: $92.95
Day 2
7:00am — Wake up and scroll. Head out to the kitchen and make breakfast for myself and my husband — toast with Vegemite, tomato and boiled eggs (I'm looking forward to when I can have runny eggs again!). We have breakfast, tea and coffee on the couch and do the Wordle together as well as Framed (a movie version). My husband is a freak at it and gets so many of the movies in the first frame.
8:00am — We are getting our carpets cleaned today, so I start packing up the apartment as best as possible. I put the plants on the balcony, furniture on the beds, and do a quick vacuum. I also have a quick cold shower as I’m already feeling the effects of the heat today and need to feel up to work.
9:00am — Onto work. Today is quite meeting free which is good. I have some boring admin consolidation work I need to get done that is easier without constant breaks.
10:30am — The carpet cleaner gets here and does his work. He is able to work around most of the furniture, but my husband helps him move our couch. I don’t think we’ve moved it in the five years since we moved in — it’s disgusting under there. Quick vacuum and then clean. The two bedrooms and our lounge/dining room comes to $180 (from the joint account), which is pretty good value, I think! $180
12:00pm — Lunch time. It’s super hot and I’m not doing well, fading fast. I cut up some nectarines to have with muesli and yoghurt for lunch. Before I eat, I also cut up the eggplant, salt it and let it drain in a colander. I start to make the moussaka meat filling but can’t find the garlic we got on the weekend. Have a mini tantrum and ask my husband to go get some from down the road. While he’s out, I start on the sauce — onion, beef mince, tomato paste, tomatoes, spices and beef stock.
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12:45pm — My husband comes back with the garlic and some eggs ($22.98 — garlic is expensive!) and also a banana smoothie (he pays) as a surprise for me. I quickly mince the garlic and add it to the beef mix but turn it off as I have a meeting. $22.98
1:20pm — Meeting finishes so it's back to the meat sauce. Add the rest of the garlic in and set it to simmer. Dry off all the eggplant slices and set them to bake in the oven. I also research and message some sellers on Facebook Marketplace as we need a dryer and a larger fridge for when baby comes. My top dryer choice comes back to me and says we can come to pick it up on Saturday!
2:00pm — Our real estate agent has sent someone to check our smoke alarm, safety switch and blinds as we have just resigned our lease. Everything is fine, however, someone will need to come by later in the week to install a new smoke alarm as ours is due to expire in a couple of months.
2:30pm — I’m faded. The heat today has killed me. I go lie on my bed and try to nap through the worst of it.
4:00pm — Last meeting of the day. The updates today are more to do with other people’s work so I can listen in and continue with my work. Manage to finish my project by the end of the day — success!
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5:30pm — Now that we've secured a dryer, we need to secure a car to get it. I think the petrol station down the road might offer a ute hire, so we walk down to check. They don’t. Head across the road to Bunnings to buy some straps and see if they have a trolley to lift it. We buy the straps ($14) but hold off on the trolley as it’s $90 and then we’d have to store it. It looks like we can hire one from Kennards Hire (as well as a ute!), so we'll just sort it out tomorrow. $14
6:30pm — Back home and make dinner. I cook some zucchini and end up having it with leftover mac and cheese. My husband has leftover curry. I was going to make the moussaka but decided that it would be better to just prep it and leave it in the fridge. I’ll make the bechamel sauce and cook it for dinner tomorrow. My husband cleans up. We usually split the dinner chores this way.
7:30pm — My sweet husband runs me a bath, lights loads of candles and puts on spa music to relax me. He’s very paranoid about me having too hot baths with the baby, so it’s quite chilly. I add some extra hot water and some epsom salts to soothe my aching body — my back, legs, and swollen feet.
8:30pm — Disaster strikes! My dryer looks like it might be snatched out from under me! The seller messages me to say she’s had lots of requests and someone has offered more money. I think they’re moving on the weekend and need it gone ASAP. We can’t get there until Saturday, but I offer to match the other buyer and pay $50 more. She agrees and we make a plan. The dryer will be $850, but considering new ones are about $1,500 and it’s only a year old, I still think good value. A seller also messaged me back about a fridge and luckily it’s in the same area as the dryer, so we'll just pick that up on Saturday morning too. It should be $400.
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9:00pm — I head to bed. My active brain strikes again, but I just scroll and hope I fall asleep soon. My husband comes to bed and I ask him to turn the fan down a bit. He turns it down one point (it's a Dyson fan) and five minutes later, I need to vomit. I think I just got hit with a horrible wave of heat stroke. I have a big glass of cold water and head back to bed with the fan on the previous setting. Manage to fall asleep around 11pm, which is very late for me.
Daily Total: $216.98
Day 3
7:00am — Wake up and scroll for a bit. My husband comes back to bed and we cuddle before getting up. I make tea and some muesli with nectarine and yoghurt for breakfast. I also make my husband Vegemite and tomato on toast as he is horrible at eating while he’s at work, so if he can at least start the day off right, that’s something.
8:00am — General clean up. Put away dishes from last night, make the bed, and get the grocery box back, ready to give to the fruit and veg people. Then I sign on at 8:30am to listen to the company all-hands meeting.
9:00am — Work starts for real. Pretty meeting-heavy day today.
10:30am — Work out with my trainer. I'm feeling better today, so I do more bodyweight exercises while I can — lunges, squats, planks, rows and core/pelvic floor holds. Finish off with some foam rolling, then back to work.
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12:00pm — Lunch time. Sign up for Uber Carshare and verify my identity. I don’t need it now, but it’s a backup if I need to hire a car in a hurry next time. Call Kennards Hire to ask about utes and book one and a trolley for Saturday all day ($139). My grocery box has also arrived, so I unpack that. Then I make myself a cheese, tomato and kale pesto toastie. The grocery box includes another huge bunch of kale. I’m not a fan, so will need to figure out how to use it so it doesn’t go to waste. $139
1:00pm — Back to work. I have meetings/presentations for the next 2.5 hours, then I have the rest of the afternoon to do some actual work.
3:00pm — I need a snack, so I have a tea and a Tim Tam, as well as a pack of chilli and lime corn chips we got as a sample with the grocery order.
5:30pm — I finish work and do some general cleanup. We use a service called Recycle Smart that picks up two free bags to recycle every two months, booked for tomorrow. They've just started collecting soft plastics, so I set out all I’ve collected and a bag of clothes (mostly socks and underwear) that are too holey to be worn. I also give them a pair of my old sports shoes to collect. While I'm in the mood, I take out our garbage, recycling and compost. I cut up and steam some pumpkin and sweet potato to be used tomorrow to make some muffins and make a bechamel sauce to finish off the moussaka.
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7:30pm — Dinner time, and this moussaka is one of the most delicious things I’ve made in a while — RecipeTin Eats strikes again. Watch Taskmaster while I eat and squirm as my baby has decided to spend this evening moving a lot — it’s very uncomfortable. Hopefully, he chills out a bit before bed.
9:30pm — I want to go to bed, but baby is still in an uncomfortable position. I Google how to get him to move and end up doing a weird belly dance with my hands above my head. It sort of helps, but not a lot. Decide to see if lying down with a body pillow will help. Act like I’m going to sleep and maybe I will. Eventually fall asleep around 11.
Daily Total: $139
Day 4
7:00am — Wake up and see my husband is up already. He is going for a walk, but I stay in bed scrolling and reading newsletters that came in overnight. They’re my way of catching up with news, and I prefer them over traditional media/social media. My favourites are Shit You Should Care About, After School, Embedded and The Melt. I also subscribe to a bunch of Vox ones and economic/media/tech ones like Noahpinion, Future Party, Casey Newton and Rex Woodbury.
8:00am — Get up and make breakfast — Corn Flakes with banana, and tea. Sit on the balcony with my husband to eat, do the Wordle and play Framed.
8:30am — My calves are super tight, so I use my foam roller to roll them out. While I do that, I sort out my finances on my phone as I got paid a couple of days ago. Auto transfers have already gone out for rent, household bills, groceries, charity donations and shared savings (covered in monthly expenses), so today, I transfer money over for maternity leave savings, pay off my credit card ($670 from joint account for shared costs, $797.68 for own costs) and pay my own savings. I usually also transfer $500 to my Qantas Frequent Flyer card as I use that as my 'spending money' each month (which covers food, transport, meals, etc.). But because I spent barely anything last month, I don't need to. Until January this year, I was putting extra money into my super but I pulled it back and diverted it to my maternity savings as I need a bit of a buffer to 'pay' myself when I'm on unpaid leave. Plus I had already reached my super goal of $100,000. $1,467.68
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9:00am — Work time! I spend about 30 minutes at my desk before it becomes uncomfortable, so I head to the couch. I’m doing research/deep thinking this morning, so it's very couch friendly. Back to my desk for a meeting at 11am.
12:00pm — I heat up some of the moussaka for lunch and use the pumpkin and sweet potato I steamed yesterday to make some muffins. I vaguely follow a recipe but also add chia seeds and rolled oats. Muffins are super forgiving so I always play a bit fast and loose. A friend needs to borrow my vacuum, so I run downstairs to give it to her when she drops by.
1:00pm — Back to work. I sip on some lemon iced tea I made.
2:15pm — Head to the hospital for my haematologist appointment. Blood clots are a risk in pregnancy, and because I had two clots in 2020, I’m at a higher risk (side effects of the pill are no joke). I’ve been on blood thinners, so I need to see a doctor for my whole pregnancy. The appointment is super quick so we only have to pay for 30 minutes of hospital parking — $5.80 from the joint account. $5.80
3:00pm — On the way home, we stop by the petrol station and get petrol and milk ($53.67 on the joint account). I also get out $850 cash (plus a $6 ATM fee) as we are actually going to get the dryer tonight instead of during the weekend. Head home and finish working for the day. $903.67
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5:30pm — We go to pick up the dryer with our friend who reckons it will fit in his car. While waiting for our friend to arrive, I book into a restaurant for my husband's birthday next week and give my credit card for a holding deposit. I don’t think I’ve been charged though.
6:45pm — We are overly optimistic about the size of the dryer and the car. It does not fit. Never fear, UberXL is here! Hire an Uber to take the dryer and my husband back to our place ($63.17). Not the first time we’ve done this, and honestly, it’s never been an issue with the drivers. $63.17
7:30pm — With the dryer in our garage (we’ll take it up to the apartment on Saturday), we head to the pub for dinner. There is a 30 minute wait on food, so we hotfoot it out of there and head to the Chargrill Charlie’s across the road for burgers and chips (my husband pays). Head back home to eat and watch TV.
9:30pm — Head to bed. Not super tired yet, but spend time lying together and playing music for the baby. Fall asleep at about 10:30pm.
Daily Total: $2,440.32
Day 5
7:00am — Wake up and scroll in bed. At around 7:20am, I get up and make a tea and have a banana for breakfast. Read my newsletters. This morning, it's Dirty, The Split, Future Party and After School. Pop two pumpkin muffins in my bag in case I get hungry later.
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8:15am — Left a bit late today and the buses are all full. Manage to get on one and tap with my Qantas card. On the way to work, I stop by the ATM to get out $400 (joint account) to pay for the fridge tomorrow, then head into the office. $400
9:15am — Get into the office and get straight to work. Another meeting-free morning so I can smash out some more work. I eat my two muffins for fuel.
11:30am — My office provides lunch if you come in. Today, it’s Betty’s Burgers! It’s delivered super early, so I guess I’m eating early. Have my burger and fries and a can of Solo from the office fridge. Chat with colleagues in the kitchen while we all eat together.
12:30pm — Back to work but because I’m in the office, I end up chatting with people for ages instead of working. I guess that’s the culture part of being in the office? Get through quite a lot of my project. There's only a small bit left to finish on Monday.
3:15pm — We have a monthly meeting I coordinate from 3:45pm, so I spend the 30 minutes before setting up and doing technical prep — making sure videos can be heard, microphones are working, the meeting can be recorded, all that. Immediately following the meeting is a social, which is Pride based this month. I help set out some snacks, cupcakes and drinks for people to have during and after the presentation.
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5:30pm — Home time. I’m feeling quite stiff, so I'm keen to get home and sit on the couch with pillows. Walk to the bus stop and tap on with my Qantas card ($7.86 for the bus this morning and this evening). $7.86
6:30pm — I get home and my husband runs me a bath. I sit and relax while he clears everything out of our laundry in preparation for the big move tomorrow. We have about 1,000 reusable bags. What do you do with this many bags?
8:00pm — Heat up some moussaka for dinner and watch the new episode of The Mandalorian. Get ready and head to bed at around 9:30pm, asleep by 10.
Daily Total: $407.86
Day 6
6:30am — Wake up before my alarm and cuddle with my husband. Get out of bed at about 6:45am and make breakfast (muesli, pear and yoghurt) and tea. We eat sitting on the balcony discussing logistics for today and the best way to tie knots. Clean up everything and move the miscellaneous things sitting on top of the fridge before heading out to pick up the new fridge.
7:15am — Head to Kennards Hire to pick up the ute and trolley, then head to where we are picking up the fridge. We park nearby for free.
9:00am — Meet my brother there and between my husband, brother and the guy selling the fridge, we manage to get the fridge on the ute and strapped down. The fridge is way fancier than I thought, so it's money well spent. Takes about 40 minutes to get the fridge all sorted, then we drive back to our place.
10:00am — We take the fridge upstairs, empty the old two, move them out of the way, clean out the gunk under both of them, then finally move the new one into place and fill it up. My brother and husband then do a couple more trips up and down the stairs: one fridge down, one dryer up, the second fridge down. Load one of the fridges into the ute as we’ll take it to my brother's place. We'll recycle the other fridge at a later date. Go back upstairs for a break of water, snacks and lying on the floor.
12:00pm — Head out to my brother's place. It’s about a 45-minute drive. We take tolls, otherwise, it'd be an extra 30 minutes. Spend about 15 minutes taking the fridge up to his apartment, then we head back to drop the ute off. Stop on the way to fill the ute up with petrol ($13.73). Because we returned the equipment earlier than booked, we actually get a refund even with all the toll roads we took today (+$4.33). Head back home. $13.73
2:30pm — We’re home now and do a quick vacuum of the apartment as well as a mop as it's a bit dirty from moving everything. I have some water and a muffin, then a quick shower and fall into bed for a nap.
5:30pm — I wake up slightly disoriented but feeling so much better. Head out to the couch where my husband is watching TV. I join him and scroll on my phone and catch up on a couple of Binging With Babish videos. I also do some idle Googling for storage options for the laundry now that it’s empty so it doesn’t turn into a chaos room again.
6:30pm — We walk down the road to our local pub. I get a chicken and leek pie with peas and mash, and my husband gets a cheeseburger. I also order some potato scallops because they’re new on the menu and the nostalgia hits me. My husband gets a glass of prosecco and gets me a Shirley Temple. It’s delicious, but my god, so sugary. It all adds up to $71.75 on the joint account. The pie is incredible, but I shouldn’t have ordered the scallops — after eating a couple, I remember that I don't do well with deep-fried foods. We get a sparkling water for me and another glass of prosecco for him, and also a sneaky banana split (he pays). Then we walk home. $71.75
8:30pm — So tired. Head to bed and scroll mindlessly, then put my phone down and fall asleep at 9:30pm.
Daily Total: $85.48
Day 7
7:00am — I wake up but I’m not super rested. I was pretty uncomfortable last night (too hot, my back hurt, my belly hurt), so I take my time this morning. I hit 28 weeks yesterday and the advice is to keep track of your baby’s movements from now on. I spend time lying in bed with my husband counting kicks. Slowly get up and make banana pancakes and move things back into the laundry. I’ll need to get some storage solutions today, but it’s much better than before already.
9:00am — Eat my banana pancakes with yoghurt and maple syrup while watching some of Lawrence of Arabia. Put on a load of whites into the wash to go while I’m out.
10:30am — I head out to my seamstress in Kograh. I have a wedding next week and my friend gave me the material for a saree, so I just need someone to make the blouse. It cost $180 to make (including the lining) which I paid for in my last fitting. The top looks great — I paid extra to have it as a corset back because I didn’t know how big my boobs/belly would be. I'm very glad I did as I have really popped in the last two weeks. Head back home after.
11:30am — Get home and my father-in-law and brother-in-law are here. They’ve dropped off some children’s furniture from when my husband was a child — a chest of drawers, a toy box and a rocking horse elephant. They leave and my husband cleans everything down and airs it out. I put the white load into the dryer to try it out and put on a load of darks. Then I start reorganising the kitchen as there are some cupboards I can no longer reach.
2:30pm — It’s super hot so we have snacks for lunch — two packets of chips and a Tim Tam. Exhaustion hits me again so I try for a nap.
5:30pm — Wake up, and my Fitbit says I managed to sleep for 1.5 hours — good! My back and neck are killing me, so I run a bath and pile in the epsom salts. We were going to go out for dinner, but both of us are exhausted, so my husband orders some Thai (he pays).
7:00pm — I get out of the bath and eat some Thai food — vegetarian pad see ew, satay chicken and roti. I also have two pieces of toast with Vegemite as I'm feeling a bit sick. I also have a bottle of Sprite that's leftover from some previous takeout order. Watch Taskmaster while I eat.
8:00pm — My mother calls, so we chat for about 30 minutes and catcg up on things. Then I start to get ready for the week and for bed. Put away the laundry and any stray clothes. I make an iced tea ready for tomorrow. My husband steams his clothes and gets his coffee ready for the morning. We sit and enjoy the last 20 minutes of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace before heading to bed.
9:30pm — In bed, we do Framed and Wordle, then scroll our phones a bit before putting them down to head to sleep. Turns out I scrolled for longer than a bit as I fall asleep at 10:30pm.
Daily Total: $0
Anything else you'd like to add or flag?
I didn't really buy any groceries this week. We usually spend about $150/month on fruit and veggies, and $155/month on meat. They're not included in the monthly expenses, as those timings are more a guideline — we buy when we need it.
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