A Week In Albany, NY, On A $47,000 Income

We're going on book tour for our new book, Money Diaries: Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Your Finances... and Everyone Else's. Grab your tickets here!

Calling all entrepreneurs: We want to hear from you! If you’re a freelancer or self-employed, we’d love to feature your Money Diary. Submit here.

Today, as part of Your Spending In Your State: a music therapist working in education who makes $40,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on apples from a farm.

Occupation: Board Certified Music Therapist
Industry: Education
Age: 26
Location: Albany, NY
Income: $30/hour for music therapy (about $40,000 annually) plus $7,000 for part-time nannying
Paycheck Amount (Monthly): ~$2,500 for music therapy plus $800 from nannying

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $450 for my half. (I split rent with my boyfriend.)
Student Loan Payment: $0 (I'm thankful that my degree was paid for by grants/scholarships and my parents' 529 plan.)
Mutual Fund Investments: $750
Roth IRA: $0 (but I plan to start contributing ASAP)
Phone: $30 (Virgin Mobile is the BEST.)
Internet: $65
Utilities: $0 (My boyfriend pays.)
Car Insurance: $73
Renter's Insurance: $16
Netflix: $0 (My sister pays.)
Spotify: $10
Hulu: $5
Improv Team Coaching: $10
Nonprofit Donation: $10
Adobe Creative Cloud: $20 (This is a gift to my boyfriend.)

9 a.m. — I groggily look at my phone for a few minutes before getting up to feed our foster cat and make coffee with my Aeropress and frozen waffles (classic). I research the possibility of replacing my computer's hard drive, weighing the DIY effort it'll take vs. getting a new laptop.

11 a.m. — My boyfriend, M., and I drive to Best Buy and talk to about five different customer service people before finding one who can actually find what I'm looking for. What's a $100 part replacement compared to $1,500+ for a new laptop? $100

12 p.m. — Grocery shopping! M. and I try our best to meal plan, but it's hard to figure out who should cook what and when during the week. We buy ingredients for a chicken marsala slow cooker meal, salami, cheese, fruits/veggies for my lunches, and my favorite sparkling water. M. pays today, and I finish our veggie chili leftovers from last week for lunch at home.

1 p.m. — Time for community yoga class at my favorite studio. Ironically, I rarely went when the studio was five minutes away, but since they moved 15 minutes away, I'm a regular! It's a fun and challenging class, and I come out feeling like spaghetti. I usually donate at least $10, but I'm low on cash today. I'll make up for it next time! $5

6 p.m. — I eat leftover steak for dinner and pack clementines, carrots, celery with peanut butter, and salami and cheese for lunch tomorrow. I almost always have to eat lunch in my car due to driving around for work, so it's finger food all the way!

11 p.m. — I shower, wash my hair (I've recently discovered the “squish to condish” and “plopping” methods for curly hair — lifesaving!), use vitamin A retinol cream and moisturizer on my face, and medicate the cat's ears (this cat is so high maintenance, but I love him) before sneaking into bed. As a med student on rotations, M. is usually asleep long before I am.

7 a.m. — I wake up from a crazy dream that's hard to shake, groggily make my Aeropress coffee and cereal, and feed the cat. My job involves seeing students at multiple schools, and I start my day today at a school 30 minutes away. I listen to the local NPR station — my knowledge of current events is directly related to my excessive driving!

11:45 a.m. — I eat the finger foods I packed last night and have a picnic in the park. I'm supposed to be seeing another student now, but there's a scheduling conflict, so I actually get a lunch time! Music therapy is all about facilitating therapeutic change as it relates to each client's individual goals, and in my case, I'm singing to the kids almost 100% of the time. Needless to say, I'm grateful for the unexpected break.

2 p.m. — It's my last session of the day and MY GUITAR SUDDENLY DEVELOPS A HUGE CRACK. I'm afraid of what a repair will cost... I lament to a friend, and then we talk about her upcoming visit to NYC in a month. All of my closest friends are scattered around the country, so I can't wait to spend a fun weekend with her!

6 p.m. — I arrive home from my second job as a nanny after picking up a couple of dresses left out for me by someone in my neighborhood. I'm part of a Facebook group/movement called “Buy Nothing,” and the idea is to be able to offer and ask for goods and services from within our community. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure :).

7 p.m. — M. has baked our favorite Newman's Own frozen pizza, and we plop in front of the couch for a few old episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I text with one of my BFFs on the west coast who says she's likely to elope within a year...can't wait to talk more about that when I see her over Thanksgiving!

10 p.m. — I pack lots of small snacks for lunch on-the-go tomorrow, shower (not washing hair tonight), put vitamin A retinol cream and moisturizer on my face, medicate the cat's ears, and head to bed.

7 a.m. — I wake up, make coffee, eat cereal, and spend waaayyy too long deciding what to wear. I've contemplated doing the capsule wardrobe thing, but I run into a road block when I think about how often my clothing needs to be washed when worn around children...there's no way I could wear the same top twice in a week!

11:30 a.m. — I'm rushing from school to school all day today, so there's no time to stop for lunch! I have to eat my carrots, oranges, nuts, salami, and cheese as I drive. I miss the camaraderie of interacting with adult humans during the workday.

6 p.m. — I pick up my birth control on the way home. This is my last month on my parent's insurance, and I just found out that my employer may be able to offer health insurance soon — a rarity in my small field. I respond to work emails while M. makes chicken sausage orzo with tomatoes and spinach. He's the best because he cooks when I desperately don't want to!

7 p.m. — M. and I head to the local ice cream shop to celebrate our friend's birthday. He and all his friends are medical students, and by now I'm used to being around 100% medicine talk at social gatherings. I get a scoop of “Stoney's Dream” in a chocolate-covered waffle bowl. (I didn't realize until now that so many of the ice cream flavors at this place are psychedelically named, haha.) M pays :).

9:30 p.m. — I shower, exfoliate, put Vitamin A retinol cream and moisturizer on face, take care of the cat, and sneak into bed. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to spend my birthday tomorrow...

8 a.m. — I wake up SO grateful that there's no school today due to a holiday! M. has left me cute and loving birthday sticky notes all around the bathroom mirror, as well as a framed, self-made caricature of us. Be still, my heart! I make coffee, eat yogurt and granola, and decide to go to a new yoga class this morning. Namaste! $15

10:45 a.m. — Yoga was incredibly challenging and fun, and I decide to continue the self-care festivities by shopping at a nearby consignment store. I come away with a work-appropriate dress and tunic for the new season. $30

12 p.m. — I eat leftover orzo, paint my toenails, and watch Netflix while doing most of the dishes. If there's anything worse than doing chores on your birthday, it's walking around a messy house on your birthday. I call my grandpa's assisted living home and, incredibly, he's available to talk with me on the phone!

6 p.m. — I saw my nannying kiddo today, and I talk to another long-distance friend as I drive home. M. and I open presents from his parents (his birthday is only three days after mine) and go out to eat at a Mediterranean place I've been meaning to try. M. pays, and the moussaka is amazing!! We get baklava to go so he can light a candle on it for me :). I call my parents later and thank them for their gift card and donation to the cat rescue organization I volunteer for.

10 p.m. — Oh yeah, I have work tomorrow...I quickly go over my session plans and songs before taking care of the cat and showering. I check Facebook (how can you not on your birthday?) and notice that my fundraiser for the cat rescue was much more successful than I expected! I'm so happy with today.

7 p.m. — I'm up and feeling mysteriously joyous about the day, given that I'm not a morning person. I pack the same little snacks for lunch and squeeze in yoga by watching my favorite YouTube channel, Yoga with Adriene. I think I love her videos the best because she's a fellow native Texan!

11:30 a.m. — I facilitated very fun morning individual and group sessions (my middle schoolers are the best), and now I have to drive to another town before returning to this same school in the afternoon. I eat my little packed snacks in the car with the windows down, enjoying this weather.

2 p.m. — I'm done with music therapy for the day, and instead of going to the library to write my session notes like I usually do, I go buy a birthday gift for M. I walk away with a birthday card, a new anatomy-themed game for him (already gave him the Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, but I couldn't resist this), and an on-sale necklace for me. $42

6 p.m. — I fill up on gas after my nanny job, get a free drink from the gas station, and reheat leftovers from last night's moussaka (still incredible). M. comes home and we snuggle for 20 minutes before I leave for my improv team practice. I love the improv theatre community so much, and we always have a blast! $25

11 p.m. — My hair is washed, curl cream is in, retinol cream and moisturizer are applied, cat is cared for, and it's time for sleep.

7:30 p.m. — I'm out of the house earlier than usual today because of a client who's only available on Friday mornings (hooray). I make coffee, eat a small Greek yogurt cup, and pack a kid's Clif bar for on-the-go breakfast later, plus my finger foods for on-the-go lunches.

12:45 p.m. — I have 15 minutes to eat my salami, cheese, carrots, and pretzel sticks in a school parking lot before my last two sessions. I desperately need an energy recharge!

3 p.m. — It's "Food Friday" with the kiddo I nanny, so we pick a recipe to make (no-bake cookies) and head to the grocery store to buy ingredients. It's adorable how he tries to be helpful. I pay with my card but will get reimbursed later. He has a lot of fun putting the cookies together, and I'm proud of him for not sneaking bites before they're done...unlike me ;). ($8.50 expensed)

6 p.m. — I forgot to put our chicken marsala in the Crock-Pot this morning, so M. did it when he got home around 2. Apparently, the marsala sauce I thought we had in the fridge was actually *masala* sauce, so it's going to be an interesting dish...good thing his friends invited us out to an Indian restaurant tonight! We split the bill. $18

10 p.m. — I write M.'s card and wrap his gift while he showers, then take my turn and we head to bed...it's his birthday tomorrow!

9:30 a.m. — After getting up at 5 a.m. to feed the cat (because otherwise, he bodyslams the door), M. and I head out to the best local brunch place with four of our friends. I order a mimosa carafe for the table and we all enjoy the first morning of fall. $44

11 a.m. — Apple picking time! The farm is PACKED and we wait in a long line to get hot apple cider and cider donuts before walking to the pick-your-own section. The half-bushel bags get super heavy after a while...can this count as exercise? We have lots of fun posing for pictures and making bad apple puns. $11

5 p.m. — The chicken marsala/masala dish is...different, to say the least. It is so like me to mess up something easy like that! M., the cat, and I spend the rest of the evening snuggling on the couch and watching a movie.

11 p.m. — I shower and wash my hair, follow with leave-in conditioner, put on retinol cream and moisturizer, and head to bed.

Have a Money Diary you'd like to share? Right now, in addition to our ongoing diaries, we're looking for potential diarists along the following theme:

Your Spending In Your State: We want to run one Money Diary from a different state each week. Want to rep your state? Submit here! In particular, we're looking for diaries from Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Mississippi.

Have you been working for at least 8 years and seen your salary increase or fluctuate? If so, fill out this form for a chance to be featured on our Salary Story series!

Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here: r29.co/mdfaqs