A Week In New York On A $144,200 Salary

Occupation: Market research director
Industry: Media and entertainment
Age: 32
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $144,200 (this is base only. I do get a yearly bonus but it’s not guaranteed — this year I got around 10% but that’s not always the case).
Assets: Checking accounts: $1,133; non-HYSA savings account: $3,349 (I primarily keep money in this account to avoid paying a fee on my checking account. I don’t earn much interest on it but I like having money in a savings account that’s attached to my checking account so I can move money immediately if I need to); emergency fund (HYSA): $21,954; travel fund (HYSA): $3,003; investment accounts: $58,686; 401(k): $159,229; Roth IRA: $37,734; CD: $5,158.
Debt: $0
Paycheck amount (biweekly): $3,000 — this might seem low but in addition to taxes, I have other pre-tax deductions which I explain below.
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: $2,200. I live alone in a studio apartment in Manhattan that I’m renting.
Loan payments: $0 (I had a student loan that I officially paid off last year).
Electricity and gas: Ranges between $70 and $110 (usually higher in the winter because I get cold easily).
Internet: $47
Cell phone: $56
ClassPass: $82
DirecTV Stream: $0 (my sister pays).
Hulu: $6 (we have it free through our phone plan but I pay for the upgraded ad-free tier).
Groceries: $300
Hair: $200 (I usually get my hair done every other month but budget for it on a monthly basis).
Social club: $35
Fun stuff: $800-1,000 (eating out, activities, shows etc.; basically anything that’s not covered in any other category. This is a lot, I know. My boyfriend and I take turns paying for meals/activities so when it’s my turn, that would come out of this also).
Apartment cleaner: $75
Miscellaneous: $150 for toiletries, cleaning supplies etc. (I don’t always use this each month).
Roth IRA: $600
General investing: $400
Travel fund: $350
Emergency fund: $350
Pre-tax deductions: 401(k): $1,330; ESPP: $110; dental, medical and FSA: $226; commuter: $100-200 (this is the typical monthly amount).

Max: $149.99
Renter’s insurance: $63
Charity: $400 (usually done in a lump sum near the end of the year, when my work will match my giving).
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: $95

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?
Absolutely. My parents immigrated to the US in their 20s from an island in the Caribbean and they came to this country to be able to give themselves (and their future family) a better life. They believed that the way to do that was by getting an education and working hard and they instilled that in their children. I ended up choosing a major private university. I liked that school a lot and they have great programs for the areas I wanted to study but they also offered me a lot of scholarships. I also got scholarships from my high school, from the county and from organizations I was involved in. Because my parents were divorced by the time I went to college, I relied on a single-parent income from my mom, which was a lower household income which enabled me to get grants as well. With all the scholarships and grants I received, that basically covered tuition, room and board, meal plans and health insurance. I worked a part-time job for minimum wage throughout college (and two during my sophomore year) in order to pay for books, gas for my car, discretionary money for fun with my friends etc. My last year of college I worked as a resident advisor so I got free room and board and a meal plan out of that. I also continued to work my part-time job on campus and worked at an internship in my industry that I got paid for. The only loan I took out was to study abroad during my spring semester in my junior year since I wasn't able to work there (tuition and room and board was covered but I still needed money for other expenses). The loan was about $12,000 (with interest, it ended up being closer to $19,000). It was 100% worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
I don’t really remember having conversations about money growing up. I think I had a general sense of “spend less than you earn and saving is important.” Also that credit cards are bad and just a way to put people in debt. One of the first things I remember about finances was that my dad got me a pre-paid debit card around when I was 11 or 12. I don’t remember how I funded that, maybe he put money in and I supplemented it through birthday or Christmas money. But the understanding was that I could only spend what I had on that card and if there was no money, then there could be no spending. Also, my sister offered to add me as an authorized user to her credit card so I could start building up credit. I was probably around 14 when that happened. So I knew the concept of building credit was good but I didn’t really know why.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first official job was working at a movie theater the summer before starting college. I wanted to be able to make some money so I could save some spending money for college and I wouldn’t have to work my first year there. I ended up spending more than I expected in my freshman year of college due to some medical expenses so I did end up getting an on-campus part-time job during my second semester of freshman year. Before that, though, my parents owned a small business, which they opened when I was 8 years old. I had been helping out with that after school and on nights and weekends, cleaning, helping with maintenance and inventory. My mom would let me keep some of the money that we got in from those quarter toy capsule vending machines if I restocked it. But I never got officially paid for that until my parents divorced when I was 16. At that time, my dad was running the business (but my parents were fighting over it in court) and he “hired” me to work there. At the time, I thought it was his way of giving me a way to earn spending money with more flexibility (I could do my homework there) but in hindsight, he may have had more selfish reasons regarding how much money he would have to pay mom for custody.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes, in that my parents would verbalize that we were poor constantly: “We can’t do X because we’re poor” or tell me no to things I wanted. We never went on vacations and we rarely ate out. Compared to my friends at school, we clearly had less money. When I was around four, my dad lost his job (my mom was a stay-at-home mom at this time) and we lost our house and were on food stamps. Things were bad for the next few years but since I was so young, most of my knowledge of this is from hearing my parents and sisters talk about it, not that I really remember experiencing it. But our luck changed and my parents were able to scrape together enough money to open a small business when I was eight, which lifted us into middle class territory. From then on, I don’t ever really remember being worried about whether there would be food on the table or a roof over our heads. Also actions speak louder than words — I went to Catholic school for 12 years (not on scholarship), I had braces, I went to teen leadership conferences in Washington, D.C. and even one in central Europe. I think I also benefited from being the only child at home basically from the time I was 12.

Do you worry about money now?
I probably worry more than I need to and I’m just generally a worrier. I worry more about future things. In my day-to-day right now, I’m not generally concerned about how I’ll be able to pay my rent or buy food, even though living in New York City is so expensive (and it’s only getting more expensive). I’m not the strictest budgeter but I know how much I should be spending and when I’ve spent too much. I worry about if I’m doing too much “living in the now” and not prioritizing enough for my future. I mostly worry about future things like getting married or buying a house or even having kids — which I’m not sure I want, but haven’t fully ruled it out — because I don’t see how I can afford that. My boyfriend and I have started to have serious conversations about getting married and I already find myself panicking about how we’d be able to afford a wedding in NYC. Is it legitimate panic or am I panicking over nothing? Probably both. For my salary, I constantly feel like I’m not saving and investing enough. Working in my industry starts out very low paying and it wasn’t until about five years ago when I switched jobs that I felt like I could start saving and investing more. I feel like I waited too late and should’ve started doing more when I was much younger. And like I should be doing more to play catch-up.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I’d say around 24. My first two jobs out of college were low-paying temporary jobs, where I had to take on a second job in order to pay my rent. During that first year and a half, my mom paid for my student loan and my sister paid for my cell phone bill. Once I got a full-time, permanent job, I took over those bills. I should also say that my dad continued to pay for my car insurance until I was about 26 years old. After my parents got divorced, he bought me a used car (16-year-old me was thrilled but I think there were some financial implications here and he was trying to give my mom less money in the divorce). Within a year, he had all but disappeared from my life, though he would continue to email me the updated insurance card or drop it off at the business (which my mom officially took ownership of after their fight in court). Very odd, I know, but I think this was his way of “showing that he cared” and was “providing”, even though I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen him since I was 18 years old. If something happened now, I could rely on my savings and cash out my (non-retirement) investments. I’d probably start there before turning to my siblings but I know they would help me out financially as much as they could and even offer me a place to stay while I got back on my feet. My boyfriend would definitely be a financial safety net for me, too.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
When my mom passed away, she had some investments that were transferred to me and my siblings. My portion ended up being around $15,000, which I’ve kept invested. This was very surprising to me because my mom always said she “had no money” so I didn’t expect anything at all. My dad also opened a custodial account with investments for me when I was a child and when he resurfaced sometime during COVID-19, he gave me all the information for them so I could take them over as an adult. This is about $6,000, which I still have invested. When we sell my mom’s business, which we haven’t yet, I will get a portion of the income from that but that might not be for another couple of years. I anticipate that will be in the low five-figure range.

9 a.m. — Wake up, still a little tired. I got home late from a trip last night and didn’t sleep very well. I’m working from home today. Spend the morning catching up on work and personal email.

10:30 a.m. — Meet with my manager virtually for a one-on-one to catch up on what I missed over the last week (I was out of office) and to discuss upcoming summer projects. There’s one assignment I need to get done today but everything else is preparing for upcoming meetings and familiarizing myself with some new KPIs we will be using.

12 p.m. — Make breakfast (yes, super late, I know) of cream of wheat and oatmeal. I know it’s a weird combo but I love it. I’ve been trying to find a new pair of comfortable walking shoes and have tried a bunch of different brands. I’m deciding between keeping a pair of Allbirds and a pair of Asics but I think I need to go up half a size in both so that’s what I’m trying to do now. I order the larger size of Asics online and some bug spray for the summer. For the Allbirds shoes, I decide it will be easier to just go exchange them in store. I’ll do that another day this week. $148.07

1 p.m. — Half pay attention to a weekly (sometimes biweekly) call I’m on. Since I was out of office the past few days, I have nothing to add to this meeting. In the meantime, I respond to a few text messages. First, my boyfriend, R., updates me on the result of his doctor’s appointment — he hasn’t been feeling well lately and went to a specialist for further insight. Secondly, my friend recently got engaged (as in last week recently). I had texted to congratulate her and now she’s asking me about my relationship and if I’m happy and if I think R. is the one (answers: yes, I’m happy and yes, I think he is but I don’t want to jinx it lol). Thirdly, a former coworker turned friend reached out to me while I was away last week about a job that’s available at her company and wanted to see if I’m interested. I ask her more about what the job entails and the salary and she says she’ll look into it and follow up with me later.

2p.m. — Use my lunch hour to meet with my dietitian. I’ve struggled with an eating disorder and it was particularly rampant last year after my mom’s unexpected cancer diagnosis and subsequent passing four months later. Per the recommendation of my therapist, I ended up participating in a virtual intensive outpatient program for eating disorders last fall and have continued working with a dietitian after the program. Having the accountability and coaching of a dietitian has been very helpful for me. We talk a lot about body image this session, especially because I have some anxiety about reverting to unhealthy habits as I prepare for a friend’s wedding in the fall. The appointment is covered fully and directly by my insurance so no out-of-pocket costs for me.

3 p.m. — Another meeting. I’m about to take the lead on a project we are working on with another team, which is the first real project I’ve been on since I’ve been back. (For context, I took short-term leave recently to deal with the mental health effects surrounding my mom’s passing, depression and general burnout, and returned to work not too long ago.)

3:30 p.m. — Knock out the assignment my manager gave me earlier today. I will admit, this has been a lighter work day.

4:30 p.m. — Eat a leftover salad from Trader Joe’s that I bought yesterday. Then I call R. to check in. He stayed home sick from work so I want to see how he's doing and just chat.

4:45 p.m. — Decide to place a Whole Foods order for pickup. Spend 30 minutes or so placing the order of staples like spinach, bananas, chicken, egg whites, apples, kombucha, yogurt, as well as some splurges like ice cream and cookie dough. I then eat a protein bar since the salad wasn’t that big or filling. $77.91

5:30 p.m. — Hop on a Zoom call with a mentor of mine. She lives in a different state and usually we chat every six weeks or so but I haven’t talked to her since I’ve been back to work. It’s great catching up and she says she’ll send me a four-day itinerary of things to do for an upcoming trip that R. and I are going on.

7 p.m. — Go for a walk to Central Park for 45 minutes before going to Whole Foods to pick up my groceries. It’s such a nice day out! Better enjoy it before it gets too hot this summer. While I walk, I listen to the audiobook for the book one of my book clubs selected for this month (Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager).

8:30 p.m. — Back home. After putting away groceries and starting to cook (I’m making an orzo pasta salad with chicken that I’ve made before, which I found from this Instagram chef, @broccyourbody), I call one of my best friends, A., who I realized I hadn’t talked to in three weeks. We catch up for about 45 minutes. R. calls, letting me know he’s about to go to sleep so we chat for about 20 minutes before he does. After I end the calls, I continue to listen to my audiobook. I’m about 50% through with seven days to go before the book is due back to the library. Yikes! Hope I can do it.

10:30 p.m. — After I finish cooking, I sit down to watch a couple of episodes of Sex and the City while I eat. This is my first time watching the series and I’m really enjoying it. I think I connect with it much more than I would’ve if I had watched it when I was younger and didn’t live in NYC. It is strange to me that the three ladies (minus Samantha) are supposed to be my age! They always seem so much older to me. Also, maybe it’s an unpopular opinion, but I really dislike Carrie as a character. She is the worst!

11:30 p.m. — Scroll though my phone for a bit, looking at shoes, scrolling Instagram, planning out workout classes for the rest of the week and responding to some text messages (my other book club sent out a message with a poll for potential books for next month).

12:30 a.m. — Getting ready for bed and bedtime. A little later than I should’ve considering I have to go into the office tomorrow so I might regret this but oh well, it is what it is at this point.

8:15 a.m. — Alarm goes off. Ugh. Still tired so I laze around in bed for another 10 minutes before a sudden urge to go to the bathroom hits me. Morning routine of shower, brush teeth, vitamins, makeup, fix my hair and get dressed.

9:15 a.m. — Pack my lunch (the salad that I put together last night) and grab some yogurt and nuts for a snack, too. I toast two protein waffles to eat at work for breakfast.

9:30 a.m. — Head out the door to grab the subway to get to work. It’s a nice day out, like low 70, but I’m already sweating because my apartment doesn’t have central air and it’s already so hot inside. Fan myself with a mask while I wait for my subway (which I pay for through my pre-tax commuter benefits — I have a separate debit card for this). I seem to be the only one sweating this much and it’s times like these when I wonder why I even bother putting on makeup. $2.90

10 a.m. — Trains run smoothly and I arrive at work. I put my lunch in the kitchen and run into my deskmate. I wanted to surprise him when I got there but he’s beaten me to it. I haven’t seen him in person in a couple of months so we chat as we walk to our desks. I also pop into my manager’s office to say hi in person. I mention how hot I am and she graciously lets me borrow her portable fan.

11 a.m. — First meeting of the day. While waiting for my team lead to arrive, we talk about the announced Traitors season 3 cast (we all collectively get a good laugh at Zac Efron’s brother being notable only for being Zac Efron’s brother).

12:05 p.m. — Meeting isn’t fully over but we get kicked out of the conference room so my team lead says he will follow up with any other questions via email. It’s good timing because I need to rush to another meeting.

1:10 p.m. — There’s a company book swap today so I pop by. I unfortunately forgot to bring books to swap, ugh. I was so focused on making sure my bag was light today because I planned to walk home after work. The host says I should still take some books and I grab a couple, including I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by Emily Nussbaum. I end up staying longer than I anticipated because I get into conversation with other attendees about books we like.

2 p.m. — Back at my desk and eat my lunch while prepping for my next two meetings.

5:30 p.m. — After asking a coworker for a project they recently worked on so I can reference it for future work, I decide it’s time to go home. I am prepared to walk: I wore my new, comfy Dr. Scholl’s Time Off sneakers — I highly recommend them! I leave the building but then go back inside to grab my spare umbrella since the weather forecast says it might rain at 6 p.m. Rather be safe than sorry!

6:40 p.m. — Home! The walk took me 65 minutes — a few minutes longer than Google Maps predicted because I got stopped at a few lights but yay for no rain! During the walk, I talk to R. for a few minutes and snack on some mixed nuts but mostly listen to my audiobook.

7:30 p.m. — Eat dinner (same salad as lunch — I’m lazy when it comes to cooking. I meal prep and then I’m totally fine eating the same thing for days if that means I don’t have to cook again) and watch some more episodes of SATC. I spend the rest of the evening responding to texts, doing Duolingo and Wordle, and scrolling on Reddit. End up in bed around midnight.

9 a.m. — Alarm goes off — it’s a WFH day again. I feel exhausted. It took me a while to get to sleep so I probably fell asleep closer to 1 a.m. I think the first day back in the office drained me more than I expected. I grab my laptop and bring it into bed with me while I respond to some emails and then scroll Reddit.

10:30 a.m. — Get up and get ready to actually start my day out of bed. Brush teeth, wash face, take vitamins (realize I’m short on probiotics so I make a note to order some later). Make breakfast (cream of wheat/oatmeal mix again), take out the trash and recycling.

11 a.m. — Back-to-back meetings again. Answer a request that came in this morning.

2:30 p.m. — Using this as my lunch hour. I have some Old Navy Super Cash I’ve been meaning to use so I order 13 items — mostly activewear, since I’ve been getting back into a workout routine since March. I even get a workout dress! That’s stepping out of my comfort zone a little, so we’ll see if I like it. My Super Cash discounts take off $90, yay! I budgeted $400 for new clothes/shoes purchases when I got my bonus a couple of months ago so this will come out of that money I saved. $142.84

3:15 p.m. — Book an appointment with my regular hairstylist to get box braids (I put down a $50 deposit for the appointment; it will be around $200). I should’ve done this a couple of weeks ago but between work and travel, it did not happen. I usually have to book three weeks in advance to get the slot that I want; since I waited so long, the only available appointment is three weeks away on a day I had already made plans for, oops. I’ll have to reschedule those plans since I need to get my hair done this month. $50

3:20 p.m. — I was going to go to the post office to mail something to my sister who lives abroad but it has started to rain pretty heavily. I decide I’ll wait and instead go downstairs to check my mail and get my packages.

3:30 p.m. — Time for another meeting! When we first started dating, R. commented on how meeting-heavy my work schedule is. I didn’t really recognize it until I started writing this diary.

4 p.m. — A very late lunch (meal-prepped salad) and finish up some work things.

5:25 p.m. — Rush out the door to head via bus and subway to meet a new mentor of mine. I recently joined a program where I was matched with someone who works in the type of role I’m interested in and this is our first time meeting in person. Where we are meeting is very close to the Allbirds store so I’m going to try to pop in there beforehand. $2.90

7:30 p.m. — Meeting with the new mentor is great! They give me a lot of good things to think about regarding my future goals and some advice for networking. We snack on chips and guac (they pay). I feel fairly inspired leaving and decide to walk back home (a 45-minute walk). I also pop into Levain Bakery, one of the best cookie spots in NYC, to buy cookies to add to the package I’m going to mail my sister tomorrow. I buy two for her (chocolate chip walnut and dark chocolate peanut butter) and one for me (choc chip walnut). $15.75

8:30 p.m. — Take a shower and wash my hair. Do a brief bathroom clean (clean sink and toilet).

9:30 p.m. — I’m starting to get hungry but want to save my last portion of the salad for tomorrow so I make a bagelwich with eggs and arugula.

10 p.m. — Spend the rest of the evening with the TV on in the background but not really paying attention while I do Duolingo, Wordle, catch up on Reddit, browse shoes I might consider buying and look into making another hair appointment. Get ready for bed around midnight and asleep by 12:30 a.m.

8:30 a.m. — Wake up in a panic from a terrible dream about R. and me being on a dating show and engaged and he ends up no-showing at the part where we’re supposed to get married. He leaves me a 10-minute voicemail about why he can’t go through with it. I also dreamt that a classmate who I haven’t spoken to in nearly 25 years was there and was supporting me through it. Dreams are weird sometimes. I text R. and he immediately calls to reassure me that it was just a dream.

9:15 a.m. — Can’t get back to sleep so decide to get up and get started with the day. Brush teeth, wash face, change into at-home lounge clothes. Start work.

11:30 a.m. — Meet virtually with my therapist. I had to cancel earlier in the week since I was out of town but she was able to fit me in today. Fridays are usually fairly quiet for me in the summer so I was able to make it work. We spent most of the time talking about my transition back to work. Therapy is covered fully by my insurance.

12:15 p.m. — Feeling a little bummed after the session and call R. to check in. He manages to cheer me up! He’s feeling somewhat better but one of the side effects of the antibiotics he’s taking to recover from his sinus infection is making him nauseous. I suggest that he take probiotics to help bring more good bacteria into his body. He asks me which one I take but it’s specifically for women so I tell him I’ll check to see if there’s a comparable “man” version. I find one on Amazon and order it to be delivered to him. It will be there by tomorrow. $25.75

1 p.m. — Grab a late breakfast (isn’t it still breakfast if it’s the first meal of the day?) of overnight oats and a banana. Then I head to the post office to mail my sister’s package. I packed it in an Amazon box I had but I’m unsure if it's the most cost-effective option. The post office attendant is kind enough to price the box out for me and then give me the comparable cost if I had used a priority flat rate box. Turns out my box is cheaper but mailing internationally is just expensive. I’m sure I’ve racked up some sister goodwill today. $77.30

1:45 p.m. — Send and respond to emails and answer questions in Slack.

3:45 p.m. — Get a reminder about a mixer in a couple of weeks from a professional organization I’m in. This feels like a sign, especially after talking to my new mentor yesterday about needing to network more. I buy a ticket. $44.52

5:30 p.m. — Go to a boxing class in my neighborhood. It’s less than a 10-minute walk from my apartment and it’s a great workout. I have ClassPass so I’m able to book the class through my membership but I have to pay to rent boxing gloves. This is my fifth time going to this class so I’m starting to think that I should probably buy my own pair of gloves; if I go often enough, it will pay for itself. $3

7:45 p.m. — After a shower and lazing around, R. and I video chat. We discuss if I should go over to his place but ultimately decide no: he needs to rest and since I have been on a bad streak of getting sick this year (three times already), I’m not sure my immune system wants a challenge right now.

9 p.m. — I ate the last of the salad earlier in the day so I make a quick dinner of noodles, egg, shrimp and arugula. Spend the rest of the night watching TV, listening to my audiobook, doing Duolingo and Wordle, responding to texts and reading Reddit. Head to bed around 1 a.m.

9:23 a.m. — Wake up, look at the clock and figure I can sleep a bit longer. It was a little too warm in my apartment last night and I didn’t sleep great. I’m thinking I’ll sleep for another 30 minutes but don’t set an alarm.

11:15 a.m. — Joke is on me! Thirty minutes turned into nearly two hours and I hastily get out of bed and do my morning routine, sans shower. My sister who is abroad and I planned to chat before our larger family group chat at noon but now we won’t have that much time.

12 p.m. — Hop on the family video chat. We usually do this every three weeks or so but since one of my siblings will be out of town next weekend, we are doing it a week early.

3 p.m. — Group chat still going. My family can talk, lol. I make a bagelwich with egg, bacon and arugula while we talk. We spend a lot of time talking about the family business and what our Christmas plans should be. Last Christmas was tough because it was the first one without my mom and Christmas was a big holiday for her. I don’t think any of us want a repeat of last year so we’re thinking this is a good year to start a new tradition of traveling to a fun destination for the holidays.

3:28 p.m. — Finally off. I told my friend S. that I would meet her for a walk in Central Park since it’s such a nice day out so I text her that I’m done and will walk over to meet her around 4 p.m.

4:05 p.m. — Nearly walk right into S. at our agreed meeting spot. S. is one of my closest friends in NYC and we haven’t seen each other in nearly six weeks. We spend the next couple of hours catching up, walking around the park and visiting a couple of bookstores in the neighborhood. We walk about 12,000 steps and at this point I’m hungry and since we are very close to the bus I would take to get home, we part for the afternoon. The OMNY card reader on the bus is out of service so I don’t end up paying.

7:30 p.m. — Home, shower and cook a meal of stuff in my freezer: Trader Joe’s chicken fried rice and frozen mixed vegetables. I video chat with R. for a while. We talk about if we should try to set S. up with one of his single friends since S. said she was open to it. He then sends me a Reddit thread about one of our favorite shows that he thinks I will like… One of my love languages, haha.

9:30 p.m. — I realize this is the first Saturday night that I’ve been home alone in a very long time. Usually R. and I spend the weekend together but it’s nice to have some time alone after the busy weekend I had when I was out of town last week. I sit down to watch a few episodes of SATC with a glass of wine and a cupcake I got from work on Wednesday. I’m finally at the part where Big marries Natasha. If I hadn’t known about this already, I would’ve been shocked. Also, John Slattery is in this for a couple of episodes? I loved him in Mad Men and I didn’t realize he has been a silver fox since 1999.

12 a.m. — Get ready for bed. Then I book another hair appointment for a wash, deep condition and trim ahead of my box braid appointment. I’m not the best at maintaining my hair so paying for a professional to give it some TLC is well worth it for me (and why I have such a big hair budget). I’m trying out a new studio near R.’s place so we’ll see how it goes. I don’t have to put down a deposit but it will cost $100 (before tip) on the day. Afterwards I finish an ep of SpongeBob (this thing airs nonstop) and go to bed.

10:30 a.m. — Wake up. Lie in bed for the next couple of hours wasting time on social media. Do Duolingo and Wordle. Respond to texts from family and friends.

12:30 p.m. — Decide that I finally need to get up to eat something and get ready to go. I eat a yogurt with nuts. I put on some early 2000s music — I heard “My Way” by Limp Bizkit during the boxing class on Friday and now I can’t get it out of my head so I listen to that and go down a rabbit hole of early 2000s songs. I end up dancing around my apartment and waste too much time. Now I’m rushing to get out the door to meet my friend, M.

2:10 p.m. — I take the subway but my music distraction has made me about 20 minutes late. Oops. I text M. that I’m running late. $2.90

2:50 p.m. — I get off the subway and M. texts me that the free pop-up we were trying to go to has a line around the entire city block (avenue, actually, and NYC avenues are long). Neither of us is keen to wait that long for a 10-minute experience. We decide to meet outside the subway to figure out what to do instead. We start walking and ultimately end up near the High Line and walk north towards Hudson Yards. We get drinks at a Spanish restaurant (Little Spain) in the mall there — I get a frozen sangria that’s delicious but STRONG. I am a lightweight. M. gets a beer. We split the bill and I pay the full tip since my drink was more expensive. $19.65

5:15 p.m. — We walk over a couple avenues and say goodbye when M. comes to her subway station. We plan to meet in a couple of weeks for a tour we’ve been wanting to do for a while. I have to walk another avenue to get to my train station but pass a Target on the way and decide to pop in to get some groceries for this week’s meal prep.

5:30 p.m. — This sangria is hitting me and ngl I’m a little tipsy now. I call R. to say hi. And also just talk to someone since I’m tipsy, haha. I walk around Target getting distracted by candles — thankfully R. talks me out of buying one. I have sooo many candles already. I grab groceries including spinach, bananas, chickpeas, wheat thins, chicken thighs, parmesan cheese, caesar dressing, cookie dough and overnight oats. $38.26

6 p.m. — I have a craving for Cava (fast casual Mediterranean food) and luckily there is one about a five-minute walk from where I am. Usually I would talk myself out of buying food out since I have leftovers from last night but the craving (and being tipsy) wins out. Cava here I come. I get a chicken bowl with rice, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled onions and pickles. $14.45

6:45 p.m. — Arrive home after a quick subway ride. $2.90

7 p.m. — Take a shower, then eat the Cava bowl while watching two episodes of SATC. These two episodes in early season 3 haven’t aged well, yikes. But in exciting news, I am finally introduced to Aidan! After one episode I like him better than Big but Reddit alerts me that he also sucks.

9 p.m. — R. video chats me. He’s feeling better after a nap and thinks he’s on the upswing but is still pretty tired. We chat for about 15 minutes.

9:30 p.m. — I can’t stand my suitcase in my hallway anymore and finally unpack. It only took six days! I feel like either I unpack immediately or it takes forever for me to do it. There’s no middle ground. I’m listening to music while I do this and tidy up. I move things from my dining table back to their proper spot, put dishes away, clean the stove and sink, sweep the kitchen, and take out the trash and recycling.

11 p.m. — Spend the rest of the night reading, figuring out my workout classes for the week, going on Reddit and texting with friends. I consider booking a boxing class during lunchtime tomorrow since I don’t have any meetings but decide to hold off booking until the morning in case anything comes up. Still listening to 2000s jams, too. I get ready for bed around midnight and am asleep around 1:30 a.m.

9 a.m. — Alarm goes off. Case of the Mondays and I take off my alarm and snooze for another 15 minutes.

9:15 a.m. — Get up, change into shorts and a T-shirt. Brush teeth, wash face. Check work email — my manager has put a meeting in at noon, which means I can’t go to the boxing class during lunch anymore. Meanwhile, my friend N. texts and tells me that the noon instructor is really good (since I had mentioned to her I was going to try to go to that class last night). I’m so annoyed that I’m missing it. Oh well.

12:45 p.m. — Finally time for a break. It has been a busy work morning between meetings and emails. I had time to make a quick oatmeal/cream of wheat mix for breakfast. My next meeting is at 2 p.m. so I figure I’ll take this time to meal prep. I saw this kale pasta caesar salad that looked great on Instagram so that’s what I’m going to make, with added chicken for extra protein.

2:30 p.m. — Eat leftover chicken fried rice from Saturday for lunch. I’m not feeling fully satisfied after I’m finished so I grab some wheat thins.

5 p.m. — After meetings and work for the rest of the afternoon, I get ready to leave for the evening. I’m going to take the subway to Brooklyn for my weekly therapy appointment (this is the usual schedule). Before that, I want to return a pair of pants that I didn’t like the fit of — I bought them a couple of weeks ago at a store near my therapist’s office. I leave about 20 minutes earlier than I normally would in order to accomplish this. $2.90

6 p.m. — Return the pants and pick up a pack of socks. I love to wear my clothes until they are ripped and falling apart and socks are no different. I’ve found holes in at least three pairs during the past month. And being honest, I lose a side of a sock constantly. It is the bane of my existence — when I do laundry, why do I always come back down one sock? All this to say, I figure it's a worthwhile impulse purchase. The socks are cheaper than the pants so I still get $10 back to my credit card.

7:15 p.m. — Heading home after therapy via the subway — I love when it comes within one or two minutes of arriving at the station. $2.90

8:45 p.m. — I’m feeling a little melancholy and I can’t really suss out why. It occurs to me that I didn’t get out today other than going to therapy (and I wasn’t outside that long) and that I should be better at getting out for a longer period of time on days I work from home. I eat the kale caesar pasta salad I meal prepped earlier — it’s pretty good, minus the pasta which is a little hard (probably kept it on too long).

9:30 p.m. — R. calls — he’s feeling a lot better and actually thinks he’ll go to work tomorrow. We talk about when we’ll see each other next since it has been two weeks — the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other, besides the holidays, I think. We both have busy weeks, him having to catch up on work and a project for an upcoming event in three weeks and I’m starting an improv class tomorrow (I’m very excited about it!). We decide we’ll aim for Thursday night and then Saturday since I will be in the neighborhood for my hair appointment.

10:30 p.m. — I realize that my audiobook from the library (Last Time I Lied) is going to expire tomorrow morning and I have a little over two hours left to go. AHHH! I can’t renew it because there’s a waiting list so I’ll just have to finish it tonight. I quickly do Duolingo and Wordle then commit to listening while I get ready for bed.

12:45 a.m. — Omg that book took me for a ride. I was disappointed at first but then there was a curveball at the very end that I liked. I am so curious to see what my book club thinks about it! Lights out just after 1 a.m.