A Week In Washington, D.C. On An $82,300 Salary

Occupation: Senior analyst
Industry: Corporate healthcare
Age: 24
Location: Washington, D.C.
Salary: $82,300 with $6,000 bonus.
Assets: HYSA: $11,000; other savings: $300; checking: $2,000; employee stock: $2,000; 529: $34,000; brokerage account: $11,900; retirement: $20,000 (company matches 5% over the course of the year).
Debt: $0
Paycheck amount (biweekly): $2,068
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: $1,450. I live with one roommate, M., in a two bed/two bath. She pays $100 more because she has the larger of the rooms and a bathroom directly attached to her bedroom.
Loan payments: $0
Renter’s insurance: $17.92
Utilities: $30-70 a month.
HYSA contributions: This varies month to month depending on expenses (I want to standardize it going forward) but I aim to contribute $200-$600 a month.
Donation: Standing $10.50 to the Human Rights Campaign.
Metro reload: $40 (this is dependent on how much I’m using the Metro each month but averages around here).
Apple iCloud storage: $2.99
HBO: $15.99
Netflix: I just got kicked off my parents’ account so mooching on my roommate’s for now.
ClassPass: $79
Spotify Premium with Hulu: $5.99 (just switched to a student account — used to be $10.99).
401(k) contribution: $411 biweekly (recently bumped up to 12% contributions) with 5% of bonus into 401(k).
Employee stock purchasing: Discontinued recently but used to be 5% biweekly.

Capital One Venture fee: $95
Chase Sapphire Preferred fee: $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?
Yes. Both my parents have their bachelor’s degrees and I went to a high school in the city that had a high graduation rate and an expectation that you attend a four-year college afterwards, either in or out of state. All throughout high school I dreamed of moving to the northeast and attending a small, private liberal arts college (I had romanticized views of what schools I wanted to go to, no thanks to books and movies) but my dad really urged me to consider in-state options to avoid taking on debt at such a young age. While he and my mom set up 529 accounts for both me and my brother when we were born, due to the exorbitant prices of private schools, the account wouldn’t have covered more than a semester if I had gone out of state/private. I was mostly only considering in-state/public options but because I was a really driven and studious high school student, I ended up receiving a full-ride offer to a private liberal arts college in the Mid-Atlantic so I was able to go out of state and graduate with no debt, which in hindsight was the best financial decision I could’ve made for myself at 18. I’m currently planning on going back to school to get my master’s and I plan to use my 529 account balance as well as work on campus as a TA or research assistant to help subsidize tuition (it’s a public school).

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My dad is a financial advisor so it feels like money was one of the first languages I learned. While I am super grateful for my dad for instilling financial literacy in both me and my younger brother, teaching us the importance of saving, avoiding debt, different types of investment vehicles etc., there were also signs he had many (some unsubstantiated) financial fears and insecurities, some of which he unintentionally passed onto me (more on that below). From the way he acted about money — like it was scarce — and not setting up budgeting habits, I could never tell if the situation was as dire as he portrayed it to be or not. It wasn’t until high school that I realized how comfortably upper middle class my family was.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started out babysitting when I was 12 and continued working the neighborhood family circuit throughout middle and high school. I got my first W2 job when I was 16, working in a local restaurant as a hostess. While my parents always supported me and my “needs,” I put this money toward my “wants” as well as growing my savings account.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Not really. I think a lot of people in my generation relate to the meme of playing Wii or Just Dance while their parents were figuring out how to pay bills during the Great Recession — my brother and me included. We knew there were financial struggles during that time (my family was a single-income family until then and my dad’s job is 100% commission-based and relies on people participating in the stock market) but it never affected how we lived day to day in a material way. A few years later my mom went back to work, which I know alleviated some of the pressure surrounding my family. When I was in college, I realized just how much of a range there was of levels of financial security. Going to a private school, the majority of my friends did not receive financial aid and their parents were able to pay out of pocket for four years of tuition. While I knew my family was not in the same boat, my parents made smart financial decisions and I never really had to worry about them or our family.

Do you worry about money now?
Yes. One of the financial insecurities my dad passed onto me is never feeling like I have my sea legs when it comes to saving. While I know I am reasonably financially responsible, I also love traveling and have not put as much away into savings as I’ve wanted to in lieu of funding a few international trips these past few years. I know I make a decent salary for someone my age with my experience post-college but I have only ever lived in HCOL cities and sometimes I have an overwhelming sense that I’ll never be able to afford the things I want to afford (a hefty retirement account, travel, future children and childcare, 529 accounts etc.). I wage a daily battle in my head between feeling like I am and am not doing enough to set myself up for financial success. Going to grad school also means there is a high likelihood I will have to take out student loans, which has been a scary thought and one I am constantly working through.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
During college, my scholarship paid for my housing, expenses and a meal plan on campus so I did not have to rely on my parents or working to fund these expenses. My parents did help me pay for my flights to visit home as well as miscellaneous spending because they did not want me working during the school year until I was further along in my degree (I had a part-time job senior year at a local brewery and was able to become financially responsible thanks to those paychecks because my expenses were so low). After I graduated, I was financially sufficient for a year while I lived in the Midwest. At my dad’s suggestion, I moved back in with my parents about a year ago to save money for grad school, so they financially supported me and didn’t have me pay for rent or food. Since I left about six months ago, I’ve been financially independent once again; however, my parents have told me that they will help me with living expenses when I’m in grad school should I need it. I am tremendously grateful to them for their continued support and am very privileged to know that they would be my financial safety net if I ever needed them to be (as I likely will over the next two years).

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My parents set up a 529 account and investment account for me and my brother at birth (while I have not touched my part of them yet, I will be using them as I pursue my graduate studies). My parents also provided me with a sporadic allowance throughout college to cover miscellaneous expenses (~$1,000 a semester). I am also still on my parents’ health insurance and while I pay my own copays, they’ve covered larger procedural expenses. On my mom’s side, I will one day inherit a beach house in the northeast that will be split in equity between me and my 14 cousins/brother (currently estimated at $500,000).

9:30 a.m. — I take advantage of it being a weekend day and decide to sleep in as long as my body and the birds outside my window allow. My boyfriend, T., slept over at my apartment last night, after we met up with some of my friends for drinks and the best burrito bowls from a local food truck. We laze around in bed for a while, neither one of us wanting to break the lounging seal to officially start the day, until my friend, S., texts that she’s headed over to mine to pick me up. T. takes that as a sign to leave and heads out to meet friends to play pickleball. I brush up in the bathroom and do my normal and very simple morning skincare routine (Cetaphil moisturizer and La Roche-Posay sunscreen), put on my swimsuit under some jean shorts and a T-shirt, and meet S. to walk over to our friend N.’s house. S. and N. are both high school friends and S. is visiting from out of town so I’m excited to get to spend the day with her and N.!

10:30 a.m. — We make pancakes at N.’s for breakfast (N. making herself, S. and her roommate, H., regular pancakes and me making Trader Joe’s gluten-free ones that I brought from home. I was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago and strictly maintain a GF diet). We sit in their kitchen for a while trading dating horror stories we can now laugh about before heading up to the rooftop pool. Even though a heat wave is hitting D.C. next week, it’s absolutely perfect summer weather today and I soak up being outside.

3:15 p.m. — After a few glorious hours spent enjoying the sun and jumping in the pool to cool down, I say goodbye to S., N. and H. to walk home. I’m meeting someone who’s coming over to buy furniture I’m selling on Facebook Marketplace in advance of a cross-country move I’m making in a few weeks to go to grad school. I call my dad who lives in my hometown to chat on the walk and he asks me what safety precautions I’m taking with the Marketplace buyer. I reassure him that my roommate, M., is home, that I didn’t send my address until the person was on their way and that I insisted on meeting the person outside my apartment, and he seems satisfied with these measures. While he can be overprotective, I really do agree with him that you never know if who’s behind a social media account is the person who will show up to your front door.

4:15 p.m. — The furniture sale goes smoothly and I pocket $200! I pack up an overnight bag as well as some groceries I bought last week, and walk down to the metro to go to T.’s where I’m making him dinner. $2.20 (prepaid as part of monthly expenses).

6 p.m. — We sit and chat on his rooftop for a bit and paddle around in his pool before going downstairs to cook. We’re making sundried tomato and basil chicken meatballs over risotto. I found the recipe as part of a budget grocery shopping series I follow on Instagram and I've been blown away by how tasty this past week’s meals have been (and all for ~$50!). I currently have the chicken ick so T. is a saint and does the mixing and forming of the ground chicken into meatballs for me while I handle the vegetables and risotto on the stove. The meal is so delicious and I’m happy that even after seconds, there’s still leftovers I can bring home for lunches later this week.

8 p.m. — After eating and cleaning up his kitchen, T. and I sit down to watch an episode of the show we’re currently watching, Your Honor (starring Bryan Cranston, whom we both love). We finish the episode and wash up for bed. My skincare routine is very simple when I stay over at his and I use CeraVe face wash and moisturizer. We head to bed by 10:30 p.m.

7:45 a.m. — I wake up to the alarm after a sleepless few hours due to the East Coast’s projected heat wave hitting D.C. bright and early Monday morning! While T. gets ready for his in-person work day, I lounge in bed playing NYT games on my phone until he’s ready to go — I garnered inspiration for this sporadic habit from all the other Money Diary authors who included it in their routine. On our walk down to the metro, T. places an order for groceries to be delivered to his apartment tonight as we plan to barbecue some burgers and hang on his rooftop. We usually split food and other incurred expenses 50/50 since we make the same income-wise (unless one person is treating the other), but since I made dinner for him last night with my own groceries, T. pays for tonight’s. We hop on the metro, parting ways a few stops in as T. heads to his office (brick and mortar) and I continue on to my office (bedroom). $2.20 (prepaid).

8:55 a.m. — I get home right before 9 a.m. and throw on a business casual blouse and athletic shorts (my customary WFH uniform), wash my face and apply my moisturizer and sunscreen. Unless I have a more important talking meeting scheduled for the day, I usually get away with moisturizer and sunscreen and no makeup. I make my current fixation breakfast of GF blueberry toaster waffles with cottage cheese and peanut butter on top (don’t knock it till you try it) and an iced lavender latte (I have a Ninja coffee maker that makes espresso so I froth up some milk and lavender creamer, pour it over the espresso and it’s so good that it’s essentially curbed my coffee-buying habits). I eat while commencing the whole shindig: checking emails, preparing for the day’s meetings, hyping myself up for a project management certification test I’m currently studying for… The works.

1 p.m. — I eat lunch at my desk. It consists of my last portion of meal prepped mushroom and chickpea tacos with a jalapeño coleslaw. For the first half of lunch I call my mom who lives in my hometown and talk about my upcoming move for grad school. It’s exciting but anxiety-provoking stuff (especially finding reasonably priced housing, which is seeming more and more like an oxymoron). During the second half of my lunch, I attend a virtual panel event hosted by a business resource group at my company.

4:15 p.m. — I continue crunching away on my computer until my roommate gets home from work. We catch up about her trip this weekend, some college drama as we are washed up mid-twentysomethings and that’s what we like talking about, and my weekend activity spent kayaking on the Potomac.

5:30 p.m. — I log off after getting a late-in-the-afternoon fire drill email from my manager. This happens pretty frequently in my job — receiving ad hoc project work to complete on a tight turnaround.

5:40 p.m. — I throw on a swimsuit under some shorts and a T-shirt and pack a bag to head to T.’s for our barbecue/pool hang. We originally planned on doing it on my roof as I also have a grill but it’s been out of order for who knows how long, which is unfortunate now that it’s the most ideal rooftop grill weather. I brave the temperature that’s too quickly crawling into the high 90s and hop onto the metro, which luckily is air-conditioned. $2.20 (prepaid).

8 p.m. — Dinner is such a success! Even though it was the first time for both of us manning a grill, we knock it out of the park. Alongside the burgers, I mix up a mayo lemon dill sauce and T. air-fries some sweet potato fries. It is *chef's kiss*. After eating on the roof, we migrate over to his pool to watch the sunset as it frames the Washington Monument.

9:45 p.m. — I call my cousin, A. (who coincidentally works as a librarian at the grad school I’ll be attending) to chat about the surrounding area and pick her brain about housing. I have a bit of an existential crisis on the phone with her about going from making a salary for two years to no income to go back to school but she reassures me there are many ways to work on campus and help offset expenses being in a HCOL city, and generally that the learning experience will be worth it. After we chat, I finish filling out a teaching assistant application I started a few days ago. Because I’ll be attending a state school, I’m hoping to get either a student teaching or research position to help subsidize tuition as well as provide me with a monthly stipend (there were recent protests by student employees that helped them unionize and petition for higher salaries so I feel grateful to know there is a strong support network for student workers).

10:30 p.m. — Although I’m usually tuckered out and ready for bed by this hour, I still have energy in the reserves so T. and I plop on the couch for another episode of Your Honor. We finish the episode, get ready for bed, have pre-bed zoomies and spend time tickling and wrestling with each other (oh, to be so comfortable in your relationship). Lights out by 11:30 p.m.

7:35 a.m. — T. and I wake up to my alarm — another gloriously hot and sticky day awaits D.C. today! Similar routine to yesterday: I decide to get a head start on work since I’ll be logging off a little early and check emails and IMs on my phone. It’s both a blessing and a curse having work communications so readily available but I try not to keep notifications turned on or check the apps unless I’m within work hours. (My boss does a good job emphasizing that we don’t work in the ER — very few things are important/timely enough to sacrifice personal time for, which I try to internalize as a recovering overachiever.)

8:20 a.m. — T. and I hop on the metro for our commutes ($2.20 prepaid). It strikes me how silly I look during rush hour not wearing any semblance of work clothes. It almost makes me want to pack a business casual outfit just to wear on the train to fit in with the professionals.

8:50 a.m. — I get home, do my basic skincare, pop some waffles in the toaster to satisfy my breakfast hankering, and log onto my computer.

12:15 p.m. — After a few morning meetings and projects to start, I pop out to the pharmacy to pick up an extra birth control pack to tide me over until my prescription refills next month. I’ve been skipping the placebo weeks the past few months, which means I’m cycling through my packs quicker than normal so I have to fill the prescription off-cycle. My Roman Empire is constantly thinking about the disappointing options on the market for birth control (I’ve tried pretty much everything under the sun and have made my way back to pills). I try to maintain hope that an improvement could be made in my reproductive lifetime. A gal can dream. My insurance doesn’t cover the cost of this standalone pack in full so I pay out of pocket. $13.04

1:45 p.m. — I reheat leftovers of my chicken meatballs over risotto dish for lunch. It’s one of those recipes where the flavors continue to marinate and get better over time. I eat while at my desk, listening in on my company’s virtual town hall presentation.

4 p.m. — After spending the last few hours wrapping up a project my manager needed by the end of the day and coordinating meetings for the next few days, I head out of my apartment and onto the metro to get to my afternoon Pilates class (booked through prepaid ClassPass subscription). While running is my preferred form of physical activity (and my most effective anxiety reliever), I love the way Pilates makes me feel. This week, given the heat, I decided to substitute my usual Tuesday night run for an indoor activity. $2.20 (prepaid).

5:15 p.m. — Since T. lives right next to the Pilates studio, I pop over there for a quick shower and change into what I can only hope will keep me cool enough for my evening festivities. I put on my most pared-down makeup, including Ilia brow filler and gel, Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk mascara (it’s such a game-changer for blue/light-colored eyes) and Charlotte Tilbury highlighter wand in Pinkgasm. I’m out the door by 5:35 p.m. and walk to my coworker’s apartment where I’m meeting him and a group of others for drinks and to meet his puppy before we head out to a baseball game. Even though I work remotely, I have a group of coworkers in the city whom I try to see semi-regularly — we sometimes get bonding activities subsidized by our company and chose tonight’s game for the occasion!

7 p.m. — After hanging out with the puppy (a 4-month-old golden retriever) and trading work gossip for a bit, we navigate over to the baseball stadium. First stop: $4 hot dogs for my coworkers and a GF alternative of three carnitas tacos for me, which are, unfortunately, not $4 ($18.69). We also buy drinks before heading to our nosebleed seats; I get a tall boy pineapple seltzer ($19.69). The tickets were only $9 (and paid for by my company) but the stadium makes its real money when you get hungry or thirsty while inside, which, like, who doesn’t. $38.38

9 p.m. — We spend the majority of the game chatting and it isn’t until the game ends (in a disappointing but not surprising loss) that I realize I've paid hardly any attention to the actual reason we're here. Oops! I love the experience of watching baseball live more than I like the sport itself. We leave and part ways outside the stadium. I consider hopping on the metro home but between the crowds and the heat and my urgent need for water, I decide to walk back to T.’s for another sleepover, an idea he welcomes. On my walk over, I pull the trigger on buying booze cruise tickets for a pirate ship-themed boat my friends and I want to do in a couple of weeks before I leave D.C. ($68.90 for my portion). At T.’s, I chug my water bottle, we chat about our days and a dreaded presentation for him being rescheduled to a day he’ll be on vacation later in the summer, watch another episode of Your Honor, and are asleep by 11:15 p.m. $68.90

7:35 a.m. — Another alarm, another day! This time I leave T. at his apartment (he has the day off) while I metro home ($2.20 prepaid). I realize I’ve almost depleted my blueberry waffles and cottage cheese stock and add that to a grocery list to grab tomorrow when I go shopping.

9 a.m. — I log onto my computer and kick off the day with some studying for my project management test followed by a few hours of meetings. Oh, the mundanity. The most redeeming part of my morning is that I solve the NYT Mini in 0:22, which is a new PR!

1 p.m. — It’s a sluggish day at the office and pretty evident that no one wants to be working today. I glare daggers at the lucky people in my apartment complex who I can see enjoying their days off on their sunny balconies, and force myself to refocus. For lunch I’m feeling peckish so I heat up some queso from Whole Foods and eat it with chips that are Mexican Street Corn-flavored. While it’s gratifying in the moment, it definitely does nothing to satiate me after an hour, and I go back into the kitchen to heat up the last of my leftover chicken meatballs and risotto.

5:30 p.m. — After having a really difficult time concentrating this afternoon and a meeting that runs over, I decide a run is exactly what I need to cure my case of the no-good-semi-bad day. T. meets me to ride a Capitol bike next to me on the run from mine to his so he can carry water for me as it’s pushing 92 degrees at this point. Our first date was actually him VOLUNTARILY biking alongside me on a 20-mile run in the rain while I was training for my first marathon, so this gesture makes me feel sappy and nostalgic. The run is exactly what I need to pull myself out of my funk.

6:30 p.m. — T.’s building management hosts a local jazz band on the roof and provides snacks and an open bar! We change into bathing suits and head up there to enjoy the live music. Neither of us is in the mood to drink (even though their signature Moscow mule cocktails look divine) so we split a Sprite.

7:45 p.m. — We swim for a little and bask in the setting sun before walking 20 feet to pick up fast-casual Korean bowls for dinner. I'm not in a meat mood this evening so I get my bowl with tofu, white rice, salad, cucumbers, carrots, kimchi, kale slaw, scallions, crispy garlic, roasted sesame seeds, a ginger-carrot sauce, and add an egg. $13.69

9 p.m. — After eating and showering back at T.’s apartment, we sit down to finish Your Honor. We really are not big TV people at all and usually spend our weeknights reading, doing puzzles or building Legos. In fact this is the only show we’ve successfully watched together but we’re both hooked and have to see how season 1 finishes. It leaves me with such a creepy, disturbed feeling that I ask T. to triple-check that his front door is locked. We’re asleep by 11 p.m.

5:45 a.m. — My body clock miraculously wakes me up without the 6 a.m. alarm I set in preparation for run club this morning. I change into my running clothes, fill my water bottle and leave T. sleeping to head out and grab a Capitol bike, which I ride to the start of run club on the Mall. $1.60

8 a.m. — Today’s workout is a fartlek (continuous running at fast paces followed by slower paces) — very hot and spicy! It always amazes me that a bunch of adults choose to show up to put themselves through high school track-style workouts at 6:30 a.m. I’m home by 8 a.m. thanks to the metro ($2 prepaid) and log on to check emails before hopping in the shower. It’s an everything shower today and I slather on the Osea Mega Moisture Duo after shaving and feel like a happy seal. I do my typical face routine (moisturizer and sunscreen). For breakfast, I chef up the last waffle with cottage cheese and peanut butter and substantiate that with a slice of Udi’s GF sourdough bread I keep in the freezer with some Trader Joe’s raspberry jam on top. In the name of switching things up, I opt for a hot lavender latte today as opposed to iced and use the remainder of my lavender creamer.

10:30 a.m. — I churn out a few deliverables for my manager in anticipation of a monthly financial review coming up and the person who usually takes the lead on this work being out on PTO. Although I came into this role with a public health background, I’ve genuinely really enjoyed learning more about the financial/profit side of healthcare business. As I’m waiting for my draft to come back from my manager, my cousin P. FaceTimes me. I come from a large family with a bunch of cousins (shout-out Northeastern Irish Catholics) but P. is the same age as me and we operate more like sisters than cousins. We talk every one or two weeks and today she calls me to tell me — very urgently — that a coffee company we love in the small coastal town where we grew up spending summers just dropped some super cute merch. I decide to splurge a little and buy us matching T-shirts. I pay for P.’s since her birthday is in a week — I hadn’t known what to get her so this comes at a perfect time! $87

1:15 p.m. — My fresh food situation is quite dire at this point so I throw together a protein smoothie with oat milk, frozen berries, peanut butter and my favorite vanilla chai protein powder. While it’s not the best smoothie I’ve ever made, it helps me get rid of some milk and fruit that are on their last legs and need to go. I also snack on a slice of GF lemon pound cake that I brought with me from the best GF bakery at home. It’s been sitting in my freezer for a few months now and I’ve been chipping away at it, already sad for the inevitable day when it will be gone.

5 p.m. — My afternoon is luckily pretty slow and I log out of my corporate computer right at 5 p.m. to log onto my personal laptop and join my Spanish lesson. I studied abroad in Mexico during college and almost minored in Spanish but felt like I lost much of my fluency postgrad since I wasn’t keeping up with using it. About four months ago, I started taking one-on-one Spanish lessons with my teacher N., who’s from the same town in Mexico I lived in. It’s been one of the best self-improvement things I’ve done! I eventually want to move to Central or South America for an extended period of time after grad school, and I view these lessons as an investment in that future. N. and I meet once a week for 45 minutes on Zoom. Today, we catch up about my vacation abroad and her recent birthday and she has me reading and translating a parable. I paid for this lesson before I left for my trip but at the end of class I book next week’s lesson. $12.85

6:05 p.m. — After wrapping up Spanish, I jot down a grocery list and head out to Trader Joe’s first before hitting up Whole Foods for the few things I can’t find at TJs (this always seems to happen). While walking and shopping, I call one of my best friends, E., to catch up. I lived in the Midwest straight out of college for a year and had such an amazing community there, and now have a group of people who have been added to my ever-growing list of long-distance friends. E. and I talk about our past few weeks and my upcoming trip to visit, and I leave the call feeling so fulfilled and grateful that I have such strong relationships with people who don’t live near me. At the grocery stores, I pick up Greek yogurt, black beans, ground chicken, chicken breast, raspberries, carrots, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, corn tortillas, limes, jalapeños, coleslaw, bananas, buffalo sauce, GF mac and cheese, coconut milk, ginger, BF banana bread mix, chips, and no cottage cheese or waffles (they were out). $71.15

7:30 p.m. — I get home from the grocery store and get started on tonight’s dinner: the last recipe from the aforementioned meal series, which is a spicy tofu rice bowl with cucumber salad. It takes me about 30 minutes and turns out perfectly spicy, savory and super delicious. I pop open a can of lemon lime Olipop to drink alongside.

8 p.m. — My roommate, M., got home while I was cooking and we sit down to eat and watch the Olympic swim trials continue. As a former swimmer, and teammate to one of the swimmers who just qualified for the Olympics, M. is totally geeking out over them. It gets me all excited for the games to start later this summer!

9 p.m. — The busyness of the day starts to wear on me and I wash up for bed, tonight using my regular face wash and moisturizer and adding prescription retinol and Paula’s Choice under-eye cream, which I use one or two times a week. I climb into bed and start reading Cleopatra and Frankenstein, which a friend recommended to me and finally became available on Libby. I currently have two other books I’m reading but neither of them is inspiring me at the moment so I’m happy to crack open this new one. It starts off really strong and is very witty and already tragic. Before I know it, it’s 10:30 p.m. and I decide I’m tired enough and fall asleep.

8:15 a.m. — I sleep in a little because I don’t have to commute more than two feet from my bed to my desk this morning. I do the NYT Mini and after I am decidedly awake enough, I do my skincare routine, same ole, same ole. T. and I are texting and decide to go to an ’80s-themed BBQ festival (lot goin’ on there) that’s being held downtown tomorrow. What sells it for him is the unlimited BBQ samples you get to eat; for me it’s the chance to watch a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. I buy the tickets and he venmos me for his half. Because they were sadly out of my preferred cottage cheese brand at WF, I decide to shake things up for breakfast with Greek yogurt, peanut butter, honey and raspberries, topped with homemade granola my mom makes and sends me every few months (it’s better than any store-bought granola I’ve had and definitely good enough to be sold, and my dad keeps trying to convince her to start her own business with it). I log onto work by 8:45 a.m. $22.25

1 p.m. — I have a few mid-morning meetings that keep me busy throughout the first part of the day. I heat up a lunch of leftovers from my delicious tofu rice bowl and eat at my desk.

3 p.m. — I take an afternoon work break when the person I’ve been messaging on Facebook Marketplace lets me know they’re on their way over to buy my coffee maker. While I’m so sad to part with it, I also know I don’t have space to travel with it across the country and am glad it’s going to live a new life here in D.C. 

5:05 p.m. — After logging off work at my normal time, I make myself go for a walk in the sultry summer air of 95 degrees. The boob sweat is too real too quickly and I so wish I had just walked out of my house in a bathing suit top/sports bra. I talk on the phone with a long-distance friend from college, S., who is going through a breakup. I went through a college relationship breakup a year ago, right before I started dating T., so I hope that I’m able to provide a good listening ear and relevant advice. We also catch up about life and the grad school grind (she’s been in grad school for the past two years and still has two more to go).

6:30 p.m. — Back at my apartment, I start making dinner for tonight and a meal prep for next week of baked black bean sweet potato tacos with chipotle sauce, which I top with jalapeño and cilantro. They turn out so crunchy and satisfying. I dip them in my leftover queso and start episode two of the new Bridgerton season while I eat. It’s been a hard season for me to get into as I’m super impartial to season two and the Queen Charlotte spinoff.

8:20 p.m. — After eating, I pull out my roommate’s watercolor set and some mixed-media papers because I have to make a card for my good friend from college, K., for her birthday. I realized, after a billion years spending money on birthday/celebration/greeting cards, I wanted to learn how to make my own to save some money. It’s been a fun hobby to get into! I look up some inspiration on Pinterest, get painting and am super happy with the results.

9:30 p.m. — I shower, put some light makeup on and get dressed, wearing a new Skims shirt I just got, mini skirt and these Ganni-Dolce Vita-Steve Madden dupe red sandals I’m in love with but never have an occasion to wear. I call an Uber to pick up friends on the way and head to K.’s birthday pregame (and Venmo request my friends for their split of the ride). $6

11:15 p.m. — I hang at K.’s for a while, catching up with other college friends and sipping on a seltzer. After the candles have been blown out and K. takes a birthday shot, people start to rally to head out to the bars. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow and knew going out tonight was not in my cards. Luckily, M. is here and in the same headspace so I call us a Lyft to head home (and Venmo request her for her split). $6

12 a.m. — I take my makeup off, guzzle a water bottle, lay out my running clothes for a morning run club and climb into bed. Knowing tomorrow is a hair wash day, I brush some oil through my hair (I do this one or two times a week and notice a difference in how much softer my hair is) and continue reading Cleopatra and Frankenstein until I fall asleep.

6 a.m. — I wake up to the lovely sounds of a neighbor blowing their leaves but force myself back to sleep for an hour. After re-waking up at 7 a.m., I put on my running clothes, apply copious amounts of sunscreen, fill up a handheld water bottle and add a hydration tablet, and get in my pre-run fuel of an apple mango fruit pouch from TJ’s (yes, the kind that kids eat — it’s good for some quickly digested sugar and frankly tastes delicious). I jog over to where the run club starts at 8 a.m. at a coffee shop and meet up with a friend and the run group — today’s group is 60+ people big and we have a long run on deck!

9:30 a.m. — It’s shaping up to be the hottest day of an already hot week and the run felt slightly brutal from the suffocating heat/humidity combo (especially since the first two miles were a continuous uphill battle). Still, I feel mentally, physically and socially satisfied after it’s over, and I say goodbye to my running friends and run/walk home to shower. For a quick replenishment, I make myself the same yogurt combo as the past few days.

10:50 a.m. — I’m out the door with a bag packed full of alternate outfit options because I know I’ll want multiple choices for the day and also because I know it’s likely I’ll sweat through whatever I have on. It’s a “three shirt type of day,” as T. calls it. I metro to his. $2 (prepaid).

11:45 a.m. — After meeting him at his apartment, T. preorders bagels for us and a coffee for me from our newly discovered favorite breakfast place in the city. There are multiple locations and one just over a mile away from his so we head out on Capitol bikes ($1.65). This deli has the BEST yucca cheese bread that can be used as a substitute for any of their bagel sandwiches. It’s the most satisfying texture of any bagel sandwich I’ve ever had. T. and I get the same sandwich, his on an everything bagel and mine on yucca bread: It has bacon, eggs, American and cheddar cheeses, and spicy honey. This is our third weekend in a row we’ve had them and I’m just happy I didn’t discover them any earlier because they very quickly would have gone into the monthly expense category on my budget. I also get a honey oat latte. T. treats! $1.65

12:30 p.m. — We eat our bagels at the deli and hop on Capitol bikes to ride back to T.’s. $1.40

12:35 p.m. — On our way home we stop for some electrolytes because we are in dire need of some hydration for the afternoon ahead. I buy us Gatorades. After we get back to T.’s, we change into bathing suits, grab sunscreen and water and go up to the pool. It seems like every resident of the building has had the same idea because there aren’t any open lounge chairs. We end up floating around in the pool for over an hour like a pair of sunbathing hippos. It is absolute perfection. $5.81

2:30 p.m. — Begrudgingly but because we already bought the tickets for it and I refuse to abide by the sunk cost principle here, we leave the pool to change (this is outfit #4 of the day if you’re counting along) and take the metro to the BBQ festival downtown. $2 (prepaid).

3 p.m. — BBQ + 105 degrees + a bunch of people who have been standing around in said 105 degrees for hours eating said BBQ is a wild combination. I unfortunately have no appetite for meat at this point in the day but we’re able to grab some free samples from promoting brands at the festival before the main event: the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Qualifier. What. An. Experience. My mind and body are blown away by what I saw happen on that stage, the least of which involved the winner stuffing down 38 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Needless to say, competitive eating is no joke. T. wins a T-shirt that he gifts to me — I’ll definitely cherish it forever.

4:15 p.m. — We’re both feeling decidedly nauseous from observing the contest and the heat so hop on the metro to head back to T.’s and beeline it straight up to the pool. $2 (prepaid).

7 p.m. — The rest of the afternoon is ideally lackadaisical and my favorite type of Saturday in D.C. We shower and change yet again before leaving to try out a new Puerto Rican restaurant in T.’s neighborhood. We went to PR back in April on our first trip together and had the most amazing and special time there! While a lot of the local food is fried ( = gluten), I lived my best life off rice and beans (my favorite food group). The restaurant is a close walk from T.’s apartment and super cute and well decorated. We both get drinks (I get a guava mojito-type drink and T. gets a frozen piña colada that we both decide we like more), I order rice and beans (still feeling a bit queasy from the heat) and T. gets a sandwich with roast pork, beef, ham, Swiss cheese, grilled onions and mayo ketchup. It smells divine. I pay for our dinner. $57.10

8 p.m. — We walk up the street to join T.’s friends who are pregaming. While college-age me might not agree, I’ve realized in postgrad years that I love the pace of mid-to-late 20-year-olds’ pregames where you casually sip on a seltzer or two and play games. I mooch off someone else’s High Noon while we play Buzzed and have a fun time getting to know T.’s friends better.

9:45 p.m. — While we initially planned on going to a late-night event being held at some of the Smithsonian museums, we decide to forgo it due to rumors of long lines and head to a nearby rooftop bar that has the most postcard view of the Capitol. T. gives me his card to pay for drinks and I get us dirty Shirleys. It feels adult and yet…not?

11:15 p.m. — We enjoy the overpriced bar drinks and pretty views before hopping in an Uber (one of T.’s friends offers to pay) and making our way to another bar. This one has games! It also has a photo booth (which I’m a sucker for) so T. and I go in and become a cliché taking super cute but sickly sweet photos that immediately become my lock screen (the technology has definitely advanced and you can now email photos to yourself almost immediately). I find a long-forgotten Visa gift card in my wallet that I use to pay for the pics. $6 (covered by gift card).

12:30 a.m. — Neither one of us in the mood to drink anymore and a wave of exhaustion hits us both at the same time so after hanging out with T.'s friends for a little while longer, we leave them to continue their bar crawl and I call an Uber home. Once home and washed up, I eat some of my leftover Korean bowl to satisfy my drunchies and we hit the hay. $12

Weekly Total $$ Spent: $418.82
Food & Drink: $186.13
Entertainment: $104.00
Home & Health: $13.04
Clothes & Beauty $87.00
Transportation $28.65
Other $0.00