A Week In Seattle, WA, On A $145,000 Income

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.

Occupation: Consultant
Industry: Management Consulting
Age: 27
Location: Seattle, WA
Salary: $120,000 + $25,000 bonus
Paycheck Amount (Monthly): $7,371.93

Monthly Expenses
Mortgage & Taxes: $2,950
Student Loans: $0 (Grateful that my parents paid for college and grad school.)
Car Lease: $578 (I regret this, but it will go up next year.)
Utilities & HOA: $515
Cleaner: $130 every two weeks
Car Insurance: ~$130
Health Insurance: $200
Daycare: $1,900 (I pay half)
HBO: $15
Spotify: $7.50
Amazon Prime: ~$10
ClassPass: $119

7 a.m. — I wake up early today, because my SO, R., complained about his blanket being too warm last night and wanted to share mine — that didn't work too well. We decide to go back to two blankets going forward, but snuggle and have some fun. I peel myself out of bed and shower, then go downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal. I feed the dog, who seems a bit lazy, and then take her out to walk around the neighborhood. It's nice and sunny out today, so we walk a bit longer than usual.

8 a.m. — I kiss and hug R. and the dog goodbye and head to the office. When I arrive, I make myself tea with creamer and grab a Kind bar.

11 a.m. — The office manager is ordering lunch from a salad place today. I choose a Mexican-style salad with turkey and happily wait for it to arrive. (The cost is covered by work.) I check my calendar and find we have happy hour today! I ask R. to pick up my daughter, G., from daycare.

6:30 p.m. — I get home after happy hour and R. is cooking for him and G. — noodles, tofu, and veggies, which completes the carb-veggie-protein triad I insist on. I play with my daughter, ask her what she did with her dad in the last two days, and go walk the dog. I come back and do the dishes as R. and G. eat.

9 p.m. — G. is in bed, and I feel beat. I jump on an interview call for a bilingual education consulting gig. R. is in the process of trying to sell his condo, so I cover most of the household expenses, even though we've been living together for a while. He recently told me that he plans on quitting his job to explore some other options in life. I love him and want to support him, but I also have two dependents (aka, my dog and daughter), so I'm looking for ways to make more money. The interview goes well, and the hourly pay is about $150/hour. I am relieved but a little nervous at the same time, as my day job isn't exactly breezy. I finish work before going to bed.

7 a.m. — Slept well in my own blanket, but I wake up with some back pain. I tell R., and he hugs me while rubbing my back. I go downstairs to wake up G. I don't feel like having cereal, so I boil coconut milk to make steel-cut oats today.

9:30 a.m. — After dropping my daughter off at daycare, I drive 40 minutes to the escrow for my refinance before going back to work. (Toll is $3.50 each way, but I have a prepaid pass.) I jump right into a meeting and get some work done while I eat my leftover salad from yesterday.

3 p.m. — Finish work early and drive to my spinning class. I am early to class, so I browse at REI and call R. to ask him to pay for my parking. (He has an app that covers the $4.)

5:30 p.m. — Another busy Friday at daycare. I wait in line before a parking spot opens up, then snatch it and go pick up my daughter. We take her terrarium home. It has two green buds in it, and I ask her whether they're edible. She calls me silly and gives me a blueberry. We go home to pick up R. and then head to Costco together. We have dinner at Costco, sharing an açai bowl, chili, and two burgers ($20.88). Then we go grocery shopping and buy fruits, vegetables, a few pre-made heatable meals, salmon, oysters, smoked salmon, chicken, and wine ($181.43). R. has been very good about bringing lunch to work these days, and we eat out a lot less now. Even though my gas tank is half full, we fill it up anyway ($32.87). R. pays for everything.

7:50 a.m. — I slept well, and R. seems beat from going out last night. He purrs a bit like a cat. I wake up to find G. getting herself dressed already. I give her a Chobani and a nectarine cut up into pieces and also heat up a butter croissant for her with apricot cream cheese. Both my daughter and R. love Costco croissants, but they go bad pretty quickly. I make myself a ham-and-cheese one with Swiss and prosciutto and eat a nectarine with some black tea. G.'s bangs are getting long, so I trim them before I do her hair for ballet.

10 a.m. — I drop G. off at ballet class and walk with her friend's parents to get an orange mocha in a coffee shop nearby ($5.50). Then we walk to the market and each pick out something for our kids' friend's birthday party this afternoon. G. already gave the birthday boy a gift at school, so I pick out a little ceramic pig with wings ($6.60) for her to give him today. G. loves the pig and holds it all the way to the car after ballet. She wants one, too, but I ask her to use her own money that she has gathered from around the house. She thinks about it and moves on. $12.10

11:50 a.m. — R.'s friend is here, and they hang out in the garage to clean my car. I give them each a juice box, the only non-alcoholic beverage left at home, and make lunch. For lunch, I make brown rice with Japanese mushroom sauce, preheat the oven for pesto salmon, and cut and prep Brussels sprouts with G.

1:30 p.m. — G. wakes up from her nap early, so we gather her borrowed books at home and head to the public library. We spend some time there and check out seven books: six for her and one for me. We're still early for the birthday party, so we make a stop at a Goodwill store. Thrift shopping is one of our favorite things to do together. We get four Barbies, two girl's sundresses, and a blue ceramic duck ($25.28). Then we head to the birthday party, which starts at 3. $25.28

5:30 p.m. — We get home completely beat, and R. is out at Home Depot for some guy stuff. We had a lot of food at the party, but G. wants something more to eat. I heat up frozen soy ramen with chicken and veggies from Costco for her. Not feeling like a real meal myself, I pour raw oysters into a plate and get myself a glass of Sauvignon blanc to go with them. After G. settles down for the night, R. and I snuggle on the couch and watch a family comedy movie on HBO that's just okay. Then we go to bed.

11:30 a.m. — After church, we get brunch at a family-friendly brunch spot, where we order coffees, juice, a scramble (with high vegetable content), pork chops, and a cinnamon roll. R. pays.

1 p.m. — I leave home to get some me time. I go to an Asian grocery store to get canned baby mushrooms and a chili sauce that R. likes ($33.23). I also get a red bean matcha latte at a boba shop ($6.50). Then I drive to the medical beauty spa. My treatment today is a PDO facelift, which I have prepaid for ($1,800). It should be effective for a year, but I might supplement with injectables in a few months. $39.73

6 p.m. — I make baby mushrooms with tofu and heat up brown rice for dinner. Afterward, I go to a candlelight yoga class. I get home a bit late and find the house cleaned up, toys put away, and both the dishwasher and washer running. I feel really grateful for R. and find him telling my daughter stories upstairs.

9 a.m. — I don't really feel like getting ready for the day, but I power through and get G. ready and drop her off. When I get to work, I pay for G.'s swim class ($90) and the cleaner this week ($130). The cleaner comes every two weeks, and it gives me comfort to see folded toilet paper ends. $90

11:45 a.m. — Get a sandwich before heading off to a meeting ($8.48). $8.48

5:45 p.m. — I decide to muster up my energy and make pita pizzas for all three of us. They get great reviews. I feel kind of tired, so I skip my usual Monday evening barre class and we get some laundry done instead. R. and I talk about expenses, his plan for his break, and my startup idea. I still feel tired, so I head to bed. Not before hugging my dog for a very long time first — she doesn't react much and acts like a fluffy pillow.

8:30 a.m. — After dropping off G. at daycare, I send an email to my ex to remind him that picture day is tomorrow. I bring steel-cut with chocolate and cherries to work and my own tea. When I get to the office, I work on an urgent client request immediately. Then I pay the tuition for my daughter's ballet next quarter ($230). I also research private elementary schools in the area and strategize next steps for her applications. The office manager orders a bunch of different sandwiches today, and I pick my usual: chicken pesto with roasted vegetables. I sign up for Pilates at 4. $230

2 p.m. — I remember my college reunion is coming up in June, and I signed us up and paid for on-campus housing already, so I book flights for the three of us before I ask for PTO. $769.80

3 p.m. — Home is so clean! I walk the dog for a long time, and her poop seems a bit dry. We meet the same golden retriever we met a couple days ago at a similar spot. After that, I walk to my Pilates class and pick up How to Change Your Mind for R. from the library on my way back home.

7 p.m. — R. and I grab teriyaki for dinner because I'm craving some kimchi fried rice today ($24.20). Then we get to our Toastmasters meeting. Afterward, R. asks whether I have stuff to do tonight, thinking he is initiating adult fun, and I say not at all. Then he decides it's the night for me to learn how to drive his stick-shift car. I protest fervently, claiming myself to be a simple woman with simple needs, and he brings up the fact that I said I wanted to learn at some point. I argue I was just trying to impress his friends. Then we find ourselves in the dark and mostly empty parking lot of Discovery Park. I pick it up very quickly and go to high gears. R. is impressed, and I feel pretty good and like I might actually drive it someday. $24.20

10 p.m. — We get home and have some adult fun before going to bed.

8 a.m. — After R. leaves for work, I walk the dog. Before heading to work, I decide to check out the beauty sale at Whole Foods. I try a few things until my left hand smells like my yoga studio. I buy a few toners and face masks ($53.07) and head to work. My ex sends me a birthday party invitation my daughter got. I have my daughter on weekends, so I'm the master of her social and extracurricular life. I want to have some weekend fun, too, but I primarily negotiate it with R. and use babysitters. R. and I will be going to a party on Friday, and R. has confirmed a sitter on UrbanSitter. I send a text to the mom of the birthday party to confirm our attendance and put it on my calendar. $53.07

6 p.m. — I head out to meet a friend for Chinese comfort food. The place is cash only, and I happen to have cash, so I pay for both of us ($45). Then we go to grab boba and matcha ice, and he pays ($8). $45

8:30 p.m. — I get home and R. leaves to go to soccer, so I chill before going out to my Wednesday night yoga class. I crave ginger ale after the class, so I buy a dozen cans and a coconut at Safeway before heading home ($13.96). R. opens the coconut, and it's gone bad. I get a little upset and want to get another one, but Whole Foods is closed now. R. says he will get me one when WF opens. We watch The Case Against Adnan Syed before going to bed. $13.96

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. For more money diaries, click here. Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here: r29.co/mdfaqs