A Week In Washington, D.C., On A $60,000 Salary

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Occupation: Content Coordinator
Industry: Tech
Age: 24
Location: Washington, D.C.
Salary: $60,000

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $1,800
Student Loans: $140
Internet: $50
Electric: $50
Netflix: $12 (shared with my family)
Spotify: $16 (shared with my family)
Metrocard: $150 (deducted pre-tax from my paycheck)

8:15 a.m. — Allergy season is upon us, and I seem to have a cold. I just started a new job, have been traveling every weekend, and all this change is catching up to me. My nose is running like a bathhouse faucet. On my walk to the metro, I feel weak and light-headed. I berate myself for not bringing a water bottle and duck into a salad place in search of a refreshment. Coconut water! Hydration nation. The dizzies fade. $3.29

9:30 a.m. — Breakfast is yogurt and berries, a cold mini bagel with hummus as there are no toasters in our kitchenette, and a London fog. My office provides free tea, so I craft the London fog from Earl Grey and foam some milk I brought from home with the best $6 wand, which I bought at Ikea years ago. The key is hot milk!

12 p.m. — Lunch is leftover rice, yu choy, and a fried egg. I am sickly and my appetite is poor, so this simple meal is perfect.

6:30 p.m. — A GORGEOUS day is upon us: 70 and sunny and a tad humid — ya gurl is in her element. I can feel my stuffy nose clearing by the second. Still, it can only help to make some immune-boosting chicken soup, so I head to Trader Joe's. I catch up with my good friend D. on the phone. She just banged this steamy Calvin Klein model, and we review his Instagram profile for reference. TJ's is a zoo this time of day, but having D. on the phone with me makes the whole experience less grueling. $42.95

6:45 p.m. — Ever since getting an IUD, my periods have gotten lighter, but longer by way of mild-but-enough-to-call-for-panty-liners spotting. I pop into CVS for the Always brand liners packed in individual hot pink and purple wraps. Those receipts, though. $6.29

8 p.m. — Dinner is chicken soup and rice for the goddamn soul. Lemon is the secret sauce! I have a ginger citron tea before bed for good measure.

9 a.m. — Breakfast is yet another DIY London fog and a mini bagel with onion and chives cream cheese and lox. I never skip breakfast.

10:09 a.m. — I decide to WFH because I was a disgusting tap of snot yesterday stuffing my nose with tissues in the office. My poor coworkers. Today, I decided to spare them my sniffles, but wouldn't you know I feel better already. As it's a slow day, I devote some time to my hobby and hustle by trying out online photo print services. Zno has a Mother's Day sale and 8x10 fine art prints are $3.60 each - UM!? IS THIS REAL OR SCAM!? I order four. $20.90

12:45 p.m. — Lunch is more chicken soup and rice because I made a whole ass pot last night and this stuff will cure me.

4:12 p.m. — My manager sends the team a message to remind us to take some time to enjoy this beautiful weather we're having. Don't need to ask me twice! My lover boy, N. comes to see me after getting off work early. "Let's take a walk!," I chirp. I need potting soil for my budding seedlings. He offers to carry the bounty. He is my nice muscle man. $12.17

6 p.m. — Dinner is — you guessed it — chicken soup and rice.

9:45 a.m. — Breakfast is London fog, yogurt, and berries. This time, however, I dare to venture into the office cafeteria to use their toaster for my mini bagel. I ask for permission, but I feel weird and imposing leaving the area with my little baby bagel. I resolve to never do this again.

1 p.m. — Lunch is leftover rice, German sausage, and an adapted YOLO sauerkraut with mustard. Last weekend I made bangers and mash with lover boy N. Luckily, it's still good.

6 p.m. — My commuter benefits have not kicked in yet, so I reload my metro card a tad with my own credit card. $10

6:30 p.m. — Dinner is the last of chicken soup and rice! Huzzah to my health.

8:30 p.m. — Summer is the season of mayonnaise, so naturally I stock up. Lover boy N. is sleeping over tonight — yay! — so we can work from home together tomorrow. Naturally, he helps me carry my groceries home. We pick out a host of staple sauces and a single Bartlett pear. $31.37

9:30 a.m. — Breakfast is London fogs all around, mini bagels, and lox.

2:30 p.m. — A late lunch as N. and I are just enraptured in our work at home. I make pork strips and tomato with yu choy on the side. Gotta have rice.

3:15 p.m. — WFH also means quality cat time, which also means incessant brushing because loose fur deeply bothers me. Perhaps it's because it's spring or maybe it's just time to retire this brush, but I take my coworker's recommendation and purchase the Furminator to eliminate this shoddy shedding once and for all. My cat will love it. $27.03

7:30 p.m. — Lover boy N. and I go to a sushi restaurant we've have meaning to try for a while. We've passed by it many a time and always noted how cute it looks — nondescript and tucked among row houses that could only start at $1 million. What a TREAT it turns out to be! I am not a big raw fish eater, but I can appreciate the good stuff. We order a whole mackerel and watch the sushi chef methodically prepare the fish. It tastes so fresh! There is some meat left on the bones, so they bring it back to us, plated and deep-fried — so nice! Calcium galore. Also featured in this meal: rice beer, grilled squid, cold soba noodles, and fatty pork skewers. $53

9:18 p.m. — It's a Friday night, and Lover boy N. wants to keep the good times rolling. We try for our cocktail spot, but there is a wait and the doorman we know with epic gray dreads is not there. I leave my number anyway, and we head down the street through the mix and stop in at another bar for a drink while we wait. We share a Penicillin. It's great! Captain America is playing on the TV and 30 minutes pass without a text from the cocktail place. We decide to give up. $15.70

9:50 p.m. — Did I say give up? I meant we decide to take the party into our own hands. Lover boy N. picks up some Tito's while I go to TOWN at Whole Foods on cocktail ingredients. I am ready to become a mixologist (not). $32.36

12:20 p.m. — Late breakfast/early lunch is coffee and avocado toast and that single Bartlett pear from Safeway. Sleeping in and late breakfasts with N. are my favorite things.

4 p.m. — After a delightful morning among azaleas and butterflies at Brookside Gardens, I am in the mood for ICE CREAM! I treat lover boy N. because he paid for our butterflies admission. He gets a mint chip cone, and I get an espresso-flavored cone. Yum yum yum! We sit outside a bookstore next door and take in the mellow peace of the park. $13.75

4:30 p.m. — Time for beers. We each get a boot and the famous eggplant fries to share, but the fries take forever to arrive even after asking three separate servers. When we split the bill, they bring lover boy N. the wrong card. What a mess! Oh well, we got in some good scene-watching, eavesdropping, and dog-gazing. $13.70

8 p.m. — A full day outdoors and many friends to see! We are blessed. Dinner is with our friends C. and D., and we meet them for Latin American delights at Lauriol Plaza. Loverboy N. and I order a lomo saltado to share, and we get a pitcher of sangria for the table. Yummo in my tummo! N. picks up the bill.

9:30 p.m. — C. is the biggest troll I know and asks me to take her to hookah because she's never done it before and apparently her team at work is going to go next Wednesday for team bonding. At Soussi, we snag a spot upstairs on the cushions and take in the fruity water vapor, as she calls it. I like Soussi because it's a cool spot and upstairs they play my favorite jams. D. picks up the tab 'cause he is a gent.

12:45 p.m. — Breakfast is cappuccinos and BATs (bacon avocado tomato toast). I have a metaphysical hangover.

4:10 p.m. — A late start to the day because we extended our Saturday night. Luckily no more costs were sustained thanks to Lover boy N.'s motobike and hospitality of friends. Sunday is for shopping! N. needs new work clothes, and I need new candles. Marshall's is my spot. $25.93

4:30 p.m. — My black hole, World Market, traps me in its well-curated clutches. I emerge days later with Belgian-chocolate covered Biscoff, satay sauce, Pukka tea, and a California Chardonnay. $32.86

7:30 p.m. — Lesson learned: Never attempt gazpacho if you've never made it before, you are prone to skimming recipes, and you're rushing to your friend's place for Game of Thrones. $27.92

8:30 a.m. — Slept over at N.'s because I had the Sunday scaries, but that means Uber Pooling to work since the metro is out of the way. I end up entering the office's old address without catching it, which annoys the Uber driver. Luckily the old address is still close by so I get dropped off and walk. I think the Uber driver charged me extra though! Rude. $22.76

10 a.m. — Breakfast is London fog, banana, yogurt, berries, and challah bread. A coworker baked chocolate chip cookies. I cannot say no.

12 p.m. — Lunch is some more leftover pork, tomato, and rice. Sorry I am boring.

3:40 p.m. — Through this exercise, I've realized most of my money goes to food and drink. No surprise there. I debate free tea or purchased coffee for a while, poll some votes from coworkers and friends on GChat, and give in to consumer therapy. No worries though, because this particular cortado cost $1.66! Wild! $1.66

9 p.m. — Dinner is panko fried chicken tenders, Polynesian dipping sauce, yu choy, and rice. After a failed half-assed attempt to fix my broken gazpacho from the weekend, I felt a weak need to redeem myself. At the end of the day, though, a girl just needs to eat.

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