Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today, a Project Coordinator who makes $60,000 a year at a top tech company in Seattle, Washington, lets us in on their week’s regular expenses and fabulous spending.
Occupation: Project Coordinator
Age: 31
Location: Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Salary: $60,000 (approx. $2,200 per pay period)
Day One
What a long day at work … but I can’t be tired now. I have to take a real estate boot camp designed by the real estate mentor, David Lindahl, and his team at RE Mentor. I’m looking to make a second income in the real estate industry as a property manager because it seems that my current job is not going to take me anywhere. I really want to start renting out student housing as well as selling multi-family properties and buy myself a couple of houses in the United States so I can travel around the nation.
Total: $1,495.00
Day Two
I’m still at work today as I write this—on my lunch break to be precise—but I’m looking for a nice luxury watch for my husband, T. He has always loved Rolex watches, but I could never afford them. Since our fifth anniversary is coming up, I decided to save up some extra money since last year so I can get him a classic Rolex Datejust 116234 that sits at around $10,000. The Rolex watch market has gotten insanely expensive throughout the years, but I know hubby’s going to appreciate it. Plus, he deserves it—the man is a hard worker and a great husband.
Total: $9,950
Day Three
It’s Wednesday, finally! We’re in the middle of the week, and it’s Chinese food day for us. I picked up some frozen vegetables and other ingredients on my way home to stir fry them with some brown rice and soy sauce. T. is loving the delicious smells and can’t stay outside the kitchen, so he just stands there with me. He tells me about his workday, steals an eggroll, and proceeds to listen to my rant about a tough client I had today.
Total: $10.56
Day Four
I’m at work on a Thursday thinking about what I’m going to do today after work. Somehow, my bestie from work, C., knew what I was thinking and asks if my husband and I were interested in going to an art festival downtown to check out local artists with her and her husband. I let her know I’m interested and I’ll check in with T. to see if we have anything planned. It turns out we don’t have anything planned, so we head out to the fest. I buy a couple of small canvases for the guest bathroom and head home after a bit of walking through the event.
Total: $58.43
Day Five
Friday’s here. I filled up my car’s tank on my way home, and when I arrive, T. tells me how tired he is and that he would love to spend the night at home with me, watching a movie, eating popcorn, and sleeping early. We both have had a rough week at work, so I agree with him and sit on the couch to find a good movie besides him.
Total: $22.17
Day Six
After a long night’s sleep, T. and I head out for a delicious brunch at Portage Bay Cafe at South Lake Union. I get myself a plate of fancy tres leches pancakes, and he orders a crab Louie omelet. We also order coffee and lemonade for each of us and eagerly wait for our food. It’s all so delicious, I don’t know why we waited so long to visit this place.
Total: $56.45
Day Seven
It’s Saturday, and we sit back and relax as we wash our clothes and prepare for the new week. We order food from DoorDash and simply have a great last day of relaxation before another rough week rolls in.
Total: $34.10
Total for the week: $11,626.71
