A Week In Central Maine On A $67,000 Salary

Occupation: Senior Account Executive
Industry: Advertising
Age: 29
Location: Central Maine
Salary: $67,000
Net Worth: $51,478.09 (Savings: $9,689.64, Mutual Fund: $1,624.91, Acorns Investment ("set & forget" investing app): $174.75, Car (paid off; KBB value): $2,694, 401(k): $40,000 minus Debt: $2,702.21). My boyfriend and I share expenses but keep separate accounts and assets.
Debt: $2,707.21 in student loans
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $1,652.14 (after pre-tax deductions)
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $0 as of this past July. I'm in a unique and very fortunate situation — I'm living with my boyfriend in a student residence at a college where he teaches. Our two-bedroom unit is free and includes all utilities. Prior to this, my rent was $900 for a room in a two-bedroom Boston apartment that I shared with a couple.
Student Loans: $154.57
Hulu/Spotify Premium: $9.99
Netflix: Free (boyfriend's)
Squarespace: $16
Google Cloud Storage: $1.99
Cell Phone: $27 (my dad refuses to let me pay my portion of our family plan, so I just pay the monthly payments for my actual device)
Gym: Free (on campus)
Cat Food/Litter: $83.20
401(k): 13% of my gross salary, $725.84 (incl. a 50% match on the first 6% of my contribution)
Health Savings Account: $346.22
Renters & Car Insurance: $132.47
Savings: $264.34 (at least) — 8% of my paychecks automatically go to my savings account, and I contribute more when I can.

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?
There was definitely an expectation for me to attend a four-year college. Both my parents have PhDs and always made school a big priority for my brother and me. They supported my interests and didn't push me into one field of study or career path over another, but did make it clear that they wanted me to attend college unless I had a really good reason not to. I ended up going to a smallish public college on the east coast, across the country from my family. My parents paid for a good portion of it and helped me take out student loans for the rest ($24,000).

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents didn't talk about money much with me or my brother. We had a general sense that there was a comfortable "enough" with my dad's salary, and we knew what my parents considered to be expensive or excessive when it came to clothes, school supplies, toys and games, restaurants, food, etc. As we got a little older (middle/high school), we discussed money a bit more in general terms because my brother and I both played expensive sports and my parents needed us to more fully understand what the financial implications were for our family. They supported us (with their time and their money), but expected us to stay honest about our desired level of commitment and be accountable for our part by taking practices and training very seriously. When I was getting ready to leave for college, my parents talked me through some personal finance details like how credit cards work, how my student loans would work, and general goals for budgeting.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was working retail at a Banana Republic at the mall. I got it the summer after my freshman year of college to support myself financially for spending money for concerts, clothes, movies, etc., and because I didn't have a full-time internship or other responsibilities, so I was pretty bored.

Did you worry about money growing up?
I rarely worried about money growing up. My parents made it clear that our concerns were getting good grades and excelling in our sports, and they kept any financial discussions mostly between themselves. We moved to a different city when I was in fourth grade, and our new neighborhood was very expensive, so I remember hearing a bit more about money then and wondering if we'd be okay, but I trusted my parents so I wasn't really concerned. I definitely felt a little guilt as I got older with doing such an expensive sport, but by the time I was really able to wrap my head around the cost and the investments my parents had made in it, I knew I wasn't going to continue it beyond high school and was setting my sights on college and becoming financially independent.

Do you worry about money now?
I don't worry about money now very much. I haven't done a great job of saving, but I am very privileged to have had a stable, good-paying job since college and a family that would chip in if I fell into a rough financial situation. I racked up some minor credit card debt that fluctuated between $1,000 and $3,000 for the second half of my twenties, but in the last six months, I paid that off and was able to build up an emergency fund, so I am feeling a lot better about being able to take care of myself if I lost my job or encountered a major expense. With me living rent-free right now, I'm hoping to have a great year for savings.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became mostly financially independent at 21 when I graduated college and got a salaried job. My dad still pays for my cell phone bill, but aside from that, I've been paying my own rent, utilities, grocery/food bills, entertainment costs, etc. since college. My parents have helped out a few times over the last nine years with generous contributions (getting one portion of my plane ticket home at the holidays, for example) and would definitely assist me financially if I needed it, but they respect my independence and my desire to remain independent.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I have not received passive or inherited income that I know of; I think my grandparents may have left my brother and I (and all our cousins) some inheritance, but my parents haven't disclosed or discussed that with me.

8:25 a.m. — I wake up before my alarm and am pleasantly rested. This rarely happens, but I think I can chalk it up to it being day three of a four-day weekend. I get up, feed the cats, and start making breakfast tacos. My boyfriend, F., who is still snoozing, okays me using the last two eggs all for myself. Score!

10 a.m. — I get dressed and head downstairs to meet my neighbor/colleague for tea and a planning session. This would be a good time to explain my living situation. F. is a professor, and this year, he got a special faculty in residence appointment, which means we get to live rent-free in an apartment in an off-campus dorm. As part of the program, we (and the other faculty in the building) are required to run some events and activities for the students and community. The actual professors also teach a special course for the dorm's residents. Though technically I'm not held to that same standard, I feel grateful and invested in the program, so I'm planning an event of my own and getting some help from the professor downstairs. We have tea, chat for a while, and work out some details for the event. She's significantly older than I am, but it's been hard for me to make friends since I moved here during COVID-19, and this morning's visit and conversation leaves me hopeful and happy.

11:03 a.m. — I head back to my apartment and am greeted by a beautiful sight — F. has tackled cleaning the apartment and vacuuming! We wrap up and get ready to take on a few other chores: tuning up our bikes and dropping his canoe off at a storage building on campus. Then, we head to a bike trail we've been wanting to try.

4:10 p.m. — The bike ride is fun and pretty easy until the very end when a big bump in the pavement catches me off guard and I wipe out. I have some road rash, a sore shoulder, and a bruised ego, but other than that I'm fine. F. helps me laugh it off and we drive back home for the final couple errands of the day.

5 p.m. — We do a BIG grocery trip. F. is surprised by the bill ($178.24), but this trip should last us a while and includes some less frequent purchases like toilet paper, paper towels, ketchup, and peanut butter. We're big on planning meals, so we stick mostly to the script for this trip: ingredients for grain-stuffed squash, salmon, potatoes, milk, almond + pea milk blend (I know, but it's delicious and has tons of protein!), lemons, salad dressing, Polar, pizza ingredients, salad greens, white beans, bread, apples, and fig bars. I also get root beer float ingredients, since I got a craving earlier and my mind's made up that it's happening for dessert tonight. F. answers by getting a carton of bakery cookie-brownies, which he plans to nuke and have a la mode. F. pays since he gets more rewards on his credit card for groceries, but I pay him back for half. $89.12

5:58 p.m. — Final stop is T.J. Maxx to return some clothes I bought last week. Their try-on rooms are closed right now, so I've been doing a fair bit of buying and returning since I never know if something will fit right. I get a refund of $126.57.

6:45 p.m. — We unload the car and start on dinner, which is salmon, green beans, and roasted potatoes. I make my root beer float for dessert and settle in to do a little work while rewatching Community. I got a job at the same college F. works at and I start in a couple of weeks, so I'm trying to chip away at some wrap-up tasks for my current job outside of the normal workweek because I know my last few workdays will be busy.

11:45 p.m. — After a few rounds of telling Netflix that yes, I am still watching Community, I realize how tired I am, and we brush our teeth and head to bed.

8:40 a.m. — My alarm goes off and the first thing I notice is part of my neck is stiff and sore. I'm not worried about being seriously injured from yesterday's fall, but take some ibuprofen to help while I loosen up.

9:15 a.m. — After lounging around on the couch checking my email and social media for a bit, I get up and start helping F. with breakfast. He makes breakfast tacos today with the addition of last night's leftover potatoes and I make our morning matchas. It's all absolutely delicious. An indulgent and slow-paced day off-type of breakfast.

10:45 a.m. — I allow myself a little more time to laze around then drag myself into the shower and off to campus to get my COVID-19 test. Anyone working or living on campus (which includes me) is required to get tested regularly throughout the term. The school pays for all of it and we get results back in 24-36 hours. F. and I are cautiously optimistic that the college's massive financial investment in COVID precautions, small-town location, and small student body will make it relatively easy to keep COVID cases down, but it's only a couple of weeks into the term so it's too soon to know.

12:12 p.m. — After my COVID test, I decide to check out a local specialty market that also (I think) has prepared foods. I saw it on Instagram and am hopeful it could become a good lunch or coffee spot. Sadly, it looks closed (like, permanently closed), but on the way, I stop at a beer and wine store that I'd heard might have F.'s and my favorite pumpkin beer. They do! Plus two variations of it. I grab the original and the nitro cans to try. It's not cheap, but it's a popular seasonal craft beer, so I'm not sure what I expected. $32.56

12:45 p.m. — I head back toward home and plan to stop at T.J. Maxx and the grocery store on the way. They're in the same shopping plaza, so it's pretty convenient. I buy a corner shelf stand for our entry that I've been eyeing, then grab the quinoa we forgot to get yesterday and some nectarines. Now it's time to stop procrastinating and actually get some work done... $53.83

2:30 p.m. — A bowl of leftover pasta and an hour of Mario Kart Double Dash later, I finally get down to work. I wasn't allowed to have video games as a kid, so F. and I set up his old system when we moved in. We started playing a bit and I'm definitely hooked.

4:16 p.m. — I had been planning on heading to the track to work out in a bit, but remember F. and I have a dorm staff meeting at 5, so I'll go afterward. In the meantime, I down a can of Pomegranate Polar and continue to slog through work. I really wish I hadn't sold my SodaStream when I moved, but at the time it seemed silly to wedge it into my already jam-packed car. I feel guilty about buying seltzer and wasting the aluminum, even though it's cheap and we donate the money earned from the can redemption to the local food bank.

6:05 p.m. — The meeting ends a bit later than expected. I change into gym clothes, hop on my bike, and head to the track on campus for my workout. I don't really feel like exercising, but it's nice out and I'm starting a new four-week phase of my program, so at least it'll feel fresh.

7:30 p.m. — F. runs while I do my workout and then we bike home together. Tonight's dinner menu is supposed to be stuffed acorn squash, but it's kinda late to start on those and eat them in one go, plus I've been craving Chinese, so F. suggests we get takeout from the place across the street and prep the squash stuff for tomorrow. I'm sold. He picks up the order while I start cooking, and we share one of the pumpkin beers while we eat. The takeout costs $28.35 and we split it, so my half is $14.18. $14.18

9 p.m. — I convince F. to play some Mario Kart. Then we flip on Community and snuggle with the cuddlier of the two cats. F. gives my neck a massage with his fancy muscle-massage-recovery gun thing. He's very into his fitness gadgets, but I'm not complaining — it's relaxing and I can feel my neck loosening up.

11:35 p.m. — I'm nodding off, time for bed. We brush our teeth and I mentally prepare myself for actually working full days for the rest of the week.

8:21 a.m. — My alarm goes off. I roll out of bed and feed the cats, then shoot a quick email to my boss to fill her in on a few updates from last week when she was on vacation. I feel sluggish and thirsty; Chinese takeout PLUS a beer might have been a bit much. F. makes us eggs and toast for breakfast and I make us matchas.

9:10 a.m. — I settle in at my desk with my matcha and get to work. Luckily, our dorm/apartment has two bedrooms, so I can have an office. I'm not sure how well this living arrangement would have worked, otherwise, with me working from home. F. has an office on campus and he goes there to work every day even when he's not teaching, but I think I'd go crazy if my only workspace options were the bedroom or the living room/kitchen, so I'm grateful for the dedicated space.

9:45 a.m. — I realize how much better my neck feels. Yay!

12:43 p.m. — Time for lunch — if I don't squeeze it in now, I'm stuck until 2! I throw together a salad with some of the leftover salmon from Sunday's dinner. Most of my coworkers have mentioned how they hate having to make lunch more often since quarantine, but I love it. I can still run out and grab takeout some days, but I've been eating healthier lunches (and saving money) this way. I also crush a Polar. My SodaStream guilt creeps back up. It's officially on my list to buy one in the near future, but I need to pump the brakes a tad on the spending… my new job means a pretty significant pay cut and I just paid off my credit cards a few months ago.

1:51 p.m. — I sneak in a few personal emails to coordinate a meet-up with one of my best friends in a couple of weeks. She recently moved to MA and is now only four hours away from me. She's my closest connection from my time back in VA, and I haven't seen her in almost a year, so I'm really looking forward to catching up in person and hopefully hanging out semi-regularly in the future. I also eat one of F.'s cookie brownies.

4:01 p.m. — Today is DRAGGING.

4:39 p.m. — Did I mention today is going by very slowly?

5:35 p.m. — Break to feed the cats, who have been walking across my screen and meowing in protest for 45 minutes already.

6 p.m. — I finally wrap up work for the day and eat a snack (buttered rye bread from the local bakery), then change into gym clothes. F. comes home from the office, and we talk for a bit before we head over to the athletic center. I hope I don't have to remind anyone to wear their mask (on their actual nose and mouth) this time. I will be super upset if a few people who think they're too good for the rules jeopardize campus and community safety and the sense of normalcy/freedom we have this term (and subsequently if the gym has to close). I realize how lucky we are to have access to a gym and I hope everyone else on campus realizes that, too.

8:45 p.m. — I only had to ask one persom to keep his mask on and he didn't object. F. and I throw the squash in the oven and chat about our days. I'm really hungry so I make a glass of chocolate milk to tide me over.

9:30 p.m. — F. and I eat our stuffed squash while watching Community. It's good (both the squash and the show).

10:30 p.m. — I play a full Mario tournament, clean up the kitchen a bit, and take a shower. I head to bed to read a book. The author is speaking on campus next week and I want to have finished it by then.

12 a.m. — I think I only read six pages before falling asleep.

4:45 a.m. — I wake up to pee, but also because of a weird dream. Unfortunate, but I fall back asleep easily.

7:51 a.m. — Ugh, another weird/bad dream! Not sure what's up; normally I sleep through the night and don't remember my dreams. I get up, feed the cats, and flop on the couch with a blanket to do my morning email/social catch-up routine.

8:38 a.m. — One of my cats is snuggled between my legs and I don't want to get up but… it's time. I'm hungry and need to tackle a big work email first thing this morning. I get up, pour a bowl of Life Cereal, and make a matcha.

8:57 a.m. — I sit down to work. It's kind of gloomy out, which weirdly helps me focus. Much needed today, after yesterday afternoon.

1:50 p.m. — Today has been jam-packed! I have some scheduled meetings, but other impromptu calls come up and fill in most of my morning and lunchtime. I sneak in a 30-minute call to an old college classmate to pick her brain about her job, as it's similar to what I'll be doing in my new one, but barely have a chance to take a pee break otherwise. I get up to throw another salmon salad together (this time supplemented with a slice of rye bread + fancy butter) and eat it at my desk. F. texts me saying he got word that there have been zero new COVID cases on campus in the last week, which is encouraging.

3:11 p.m. — If the cats had it their way, I'd spend twice as much each month on their food. They're constantly trying to convince me they're starved. They're not. I try to type while the bigger of the two paces back and forth across my desk and finally sits on my left hand/keyboard.

5:45 p.m. — I need a break. Decide to bike while it's light. Text F. my planned route just to be safe and head out.

6:43 p.m. — That was nice! Before this summer, I hadn't ridden a bike since my sophomore year of college, but I bought a secondhand road bike off of Facebook Marketplace in June hoping to do some casual riding and commuting. Turns out, I love it. Plus I've discovered Strava, which feeds my desire to track and analyze everything I do. Within days of the free trial, I decided to get the paid subscription for the year. It helps motivate me and keep track of where I've been/where I want to go (I guess figuratively, in a larger life sense, but also on the literal bike).

7 p.m. — F. comes home and he plays a computer game to unwind while I Instagram and play with the cats. I need to do some more work soon but I think I'll play a bit of Mario Kart first.

8:37 p.m. — I eat some pasta with sauce and start some green beans on the stove. Time to settle into more work while they cook.

10 p.m. — I've been pretty productive! I take a root beer float break, but this time I remember to make it in one of the glass steins F. has been keeping in the freezer. We've never used them. This is a perfect opportunity.

11:42 p.m. — I finally finish up work for the night. I feel accomplished, but tired. F. is stretching and watching The Wire. I lay down and snuggle with my cat to half-watch, half-doze.

12:28 a.m. — I wake up to F. putting a few dishes away. I stumble into the bathroom and we brush our teeth and head to bed.

7:47 a.m. — I wake up to the cats pawing me and begging for breakfast. F. is already up and in the shower. I tumble out of bed to feed the cats and immediately get back in bed.

8:10 a.m. — Okay I'm up. F. makes us matchas and I unload the dishwasher.

8:49 a.m. — I settle into work but with my laptop on the couch, still in PJs. It's a little easier mentally to transition into the workday vs. starting at my desk. Plus, the cats love the company.

9:25 a.m. — I toast a bit of bakery bread and eat it with fancy butter while making a second matcha.

12:20 p.m. — I'm supposed to be on a department lunch hour call, but haven't actually made or thought about lunch. I take my laptop into the kitchen with me, show my face for a few minutes, then turn off my video while I heat up a can of Amy's sweet potato chili soup. I throw the last chunk of bread into it and scarf it down before turning my video back on and chitchatting for a while with people.

1:05 p.m. — I run downstairs and across the street between meetings to the bakery to pick up a loaf. Today, we go with a classic white boule. It's massive and I have to cut it in half to store it. I love having fresh bread so much that I might start meal planning around it, especially as we get into the colder months…. chili is already on my mind. $5

2:05 p.m. — I eat the second-to-last of F.'s supermarket cookie brownies. Dang it, they're good.

3:32 p.m. — I multitask during my all-company meeting and download a plant tracking app I read about. I meticulously photograph and add all my plants to the app and decide to get the three-month subscription for the paid version so I can take advantage of the extra features I'm interested in. I love houseplants (like every other millennial woman in America right now) and just got some over the last few weeks for the new place. I had to part with most of my old ones from VA when I moved, but a few made the trip with me and two of those are still alive! $17.99

4:33 p.m. — I'm meeting my downstairs neighbor/colleague/new friend (the professor I'm planning the event with) just before 5 to walk to a dorm event at the river. It'll be the first official in-person chance we've had to meet the residents — it's pretty hard to get to know faces and names via Zoom calls. I throw on real clothes (I've been in gym clothes all day) and finish up some work tasks before heading out. F. is teaching his afternoon lab, so he'll meet us there.

5:45 p.m. — I buy an espresso bean ice cream cone from a vendor at the riverside farmers market because I'm hungry and I love ice cream. $4

6:45 p.m. — F. and I head home and I whip up some tuna melts on the bread I got this morning. We eat them while watching Community.

9:24 p.m. — I get into bed to do a little work. F. and I got into a dumb argument after we settled back into relax mode, and I'm not mad at him but definitely need some distance for a bit. I finish my work and pick up my Kindle but get distracted by my furrowed brow and decide tonight's the night (less than a week from my 30th birthday) to buy my first anti-wrinkle product. I've never taken much care of skin and spend a lot of time outdoors, but in the last year, my eyebrow furrow has really started to bother me. I do a little research and purchase some Neutrogena cream from Amazon. I also get the cat toothbrush and toothpaste set that's been sitting in my cart for a week. I guess it's time to step up the personal care regimens for both myself and my dependents. $28

10:45 p.m. — I join F. back in the living room to read and half-watch The Wire with him. I fall asleep on the couch and drag myself to brush my teeth and head to bed an hour later. Sometime shortly after, I wake up to F. pulling me closer to spoon me. It's a nice feeling after our spat earlier.

8:06 a.m. — My alarm goes off and I feel sooooo tired, but I really can't snooze today. I have to get my COVID test before my 9:15 meeting. I roll out of bed, feed the cats, put on jeans and a sweatshirt (it's feeling dangerously close to fall here!), and drive to campus.

9:14 a.m. — I slide into my desk chair a minute before my first of many back-to-back meetings today. Luckily, the morning goes quickly and everyone's in a happy Friday mood. With my last day at this company rapidly approaching, I try not to lose focus and do my best for my coworkers' sakes.

9:56 a.m. — An email notification lets me know that my credit card was charged $58 for the first month of a weekly dance class I signed up for at a studio about 20 minutes away. I used to take adult classes regularly in VA, but hadn't found an outlet for dance here (and COVID didn't help with that). I'm excited to start again and hope this studio is good. I can drop it at any time, so I figure I'll try it for a while and see if I like it. $58

12:51 p.m. — I get a meal stipend to use on campus as part of the residence program (even though I'm not actually faculty!), so I decide to head over to one of the more vegetarian-friendly dining halls and get takeout. My real motivation is to pick up a package at the mail center — I ordered some clothes from ModCloth last week and am impatient to try them on.

1:40 p.m. — I get some decent tofu with rice and broccoli from the dining hall, but my package hasn't processed by the mail center yet, so I can't pick it up. I text F. to see if he can grab it for me later.

3:17 p.m. — Meetings for the day are done, but I'm feeling incredibly unmotivated and sleepy. F. texts me to see if I'm down for a bbq at his colleague's house tomorrow evening. We were just over there last weekend for dinner, but I'm not complaining! I'll take social interaction where I can these days, even if it's repetitive.

4:59 p.m. — Alright, I'm calling it. I have a little more work to do but I'd rather spread it over the next couple days than force myself to do it now. I schedule my COVID tests for the next two weeks and answer an email from my soon-to-be-boss at my new job about whether I want a work phone number or want to use my personal phone for work (I can expense my phone bill, so I definitely pick the latter!). Then I change into gym clothes and head to campus to meet F. for a workout.

7:30 p.m. — F. and I arrive home and I immediately try on my new clothes (which F. was able to pick up for me) while he starts making pizza for dinner. He helps me decide on the keepers, but honestly, it's not too hard — a few of them fit like a dream and the others are super unflattering or just not my style. I'm excited to have a couple of new things to wear once I actually start going to an office again a few days a week at the new job. I don't normally care about clothes at all, but I have been basically wearing gym clothes or a t-shirt and jeans every day since mid-March, so I'm looking forward to a little more opportunity to put on real clothes. I already paid for all of these and will get a refund for the ones I'm returning when I mail them back.

9:10 p.m. — I eat my pizza and it's DELICIOUS. We use store-bought dough and I always put red sauce, mushrooms, red onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, mozzarella, and goat cheese on mine. Normally there's some broccoli involved, but the bunch we bought last week went moldy. F. and I sit down to watch a documentary I heard about during a work call about an artificial intelligence program built to master an ancient Chinese board game. This isn't normally something that would intrigue me, but it piqued my interest today so we're giving it a shot.

12 a.m. — The documentary is good, but it was over two hours long so it's late and I'm tired. I leave kitchen cleanup for tomorrow, brush my teeth, and head to bed.

7:14 a.m. — The cats are pawing at the bedroom door for breakfast, so I begrudgingly get up and feed them. I get back in bed and spend some time on social media and reading emails, then decide I'm ready to be up around 8. I proclaim to F. that I'm making apple pancakes and head into the kitchen.

9 a.m. — F. and I being up at this hour on a Saturday with nowhere to go and breakfast made is a rarity, but I'm okay with it. I play a round of Mario Kart after I eat and once I'm done, F. decides he wants to play too, so we do another round. We play with the cats for a bit.

11:41 a.m. — Time to clean up the kitchen and do some chores. After F. generously took one for the team last week and did everything, I take the lead on vacuuming, dishes, and taking out the trash. F. dusts and starts the laundry and we decide to leave the kitchen counters messy for now since he has plans to bake some cookies later. I also get a surge of productivity and hang a photo I've been wanting to get on the wall, disassemble and store F.'s little desk that we don't have a good spot for, and hang up my new clothes.

1:21 p.m. — I'm getting a haircut in less than an hour, so I hop in the shower. I love it when they shampoo my hair because it feels amazing, but I generally am cheap and in a hurry when I get my haircut, so I come in with it freshly washed. This will be a new salon for me and my first haircut in Maine, so I hope it goes well… I'm not a picky client — I have straight hair and spend zero time styling it, so I just need it shorter and slightly layered to break up the bluntness.

2:42 p.m. — I'm a sucker and let the stylist shampoo my hair anyway. It feels amazing and is totally worth it. I'm not sure it even cost extra honestly, and at $45 for the cut, I'm okay with it if it did. My stylist did exactly what I wanted and didn't make me chit chat a lot, which sounds mean but I love a relaxing 30 minutes of someone playing with my hair without me having to talk or think, so I appreciate her just letting me have that. I tip 20%. Next up, I have a reservation at the college's art museum. I've never been, so I booked a timed visit for myself today. Normally, it's open to the public, but this term, it's open for the college faculty, staff, and students only. I have 15 minutes to kill before my entry window starts and I'm feeling a little sleepy, so I head home to make a matcha. $54

3:16 p.m. — I make my way toward the museum with my stomach all warm and full from the matcha. I also see F. for a bit — he had gone to the grocery store and unpacked everything already. He spent $108, so my half will be $54. He got the special blended milk, salad fixings for our friend's gathering tonight, kombucha, cheese, pasta, mushrooms, tomatoes, pita bread, hummus, frozen tuna steaks and cod filets, and fig bars. $54

5:13 p.m. — My solo museum trip is really cool. There is a lot more art packed in here than I thought there would be and I have the place to myself. I call my mom afterward to chat since I'd missed a call from her earlier. I get home and F.'s got the last batch of cookies in the oven. Once they're done, we head to dinner about 20 minutes away.

9:35 p.m. — Home from dinner — I'm wiped, but it was a fun evening. One of F.'s coworkers has two little boys, and they were really feeling board games tonight so I taught them to play Clue. F. and I turn on The Wire and I inevitably pass out not long after.

11:15 p.m. — Both yawning, we decide not to fight the relatively early bedtime and call it a night.