money diaries vol 3: a very pricey week

I wasn't kidding when I announced our financial goals for 2020 and said that we were being extremely mindful of our money this year, so don't be surprised about seeing lots of these money diaries around the blog. 

As a head's up, this week is definitely not typical of our average spending. But not every week is a frugal balanced week. In particular, we had a lot going on with making purchases for upcoming holidays, birthdays, and travel. 

Saturday February 1st
We spent a lot of money today thanks to online purchases made during my morning cup of coffee. Something about buying things online, always makes it feel a little less real, but it definitely is. Mostly, I booked a bunch of travel. We are attending the out of state wedding of Husband's childhood friend this Spring, so I booked our roundtrip flights ($715.92), hotel ($562.21), and rental car ($113.12) for the trip. And one last online purchase, Target was doing a Super Bowl promotion-spend $50 on food, get a $10 gift card, so I stocked up on coffee k-cups ($57.86) for the next couple months in order to qualify. It was an expensive morning. 

For the day, we headed out to a planned date-something we are trying to do a couple times a month. We went to a happy hour lunch at a brewhouse ($46.81) which included 2 entrees, 2 rounds of drinks, plus tip. Then, we went to a local art museum ($0) with FREE admission-love a free date activity. After the museum, we were feeling thirsty again and stopped at a brewery ($39.88) for one more round of drinks and picked up a 12-pack of beer to take to a Super Bowl party to share the following day. 

Total: $1,535.80

Sunday February 2nd
Started my day with more online shopping. Husband's birthday is later this month so I scooped up a few gifts ($236.13) for him, don't want to say what they are though, in case he reads this post before his birthday. Also, ended up shopping for myself because I couldn't resist the J Crew sale for 60% off clearance items, especially since I had an additional $10 off in J Crew rewards to redeem. We each get up to $50/month to spend on whatever frivolous things we want, so guess I just spent mine for the month all at J Crew ($51.50), but I don't even care because I'm so excited about this metallic gold purse. 

Husband went to work for most of the day, while I ran errands. First stop, PetCo for dry dog food ($69.31) that should last about 4 months. Then into Aldi (124.72) for groceries. I normally shop every weekend for the preceding week, but I'm planning to be out of commission this upcoming weekend, so this total covers 2 weeks worth of groceries. 

After grocery shopping, I went to a hair appointment ($37), deep cleaned the apartment, and did laundry before we headed off to a Super Bowl Party ($0) at a friend's house for the evening. 
Total: $518.66

Monday February 3rd 
My work schedule has recently increased to 5-6 days/week, so I did an Amazon order for a much needed additional set of scrubs ($51.84)-this brand is my favorite. I also made an extra student loan payment ($2,000) since we are tying to pay these off aggressively. 
Total: $2,051.84

Tuesday February 4th
No spending today-too busy with work. Thank goodness for this because by now, our wallets needed a break. 
Total: $0

Wednesday February 5th
We were forced into spending today. No really, we were because the city shut off our power from 9AM to 8PM in order to do repairs. Dropped off the pup at doggy daycare ($25) since we wouldn't be home all day and we met up at Mr. Shawarma for dinner ($29.12) after work to wait it out for the electricity to be restored. 

Total: $54.12

Thursday February 6th
Tonight, we attended the art gallery opening of a friend, luckily showing our support is free. 

The only spending for today was my monthly massage membership ($65) fee that was drafted from our account. 
Total: $65

Friday February 7th
After work, I withdrew cash ($50) to put into my sister's Valentine's gift. Then I popped into Target ($27.58) to pick up a few V-Day treats. I used $20 worth of gift cards (including the one that I earned earlier in the week) and snagged all the goodies pictured below for $7.58. My little sister lives several states away so glad to get her gift together early to have time to mail it. 

Then I head to the oral surgeon-the reason I will be out of commission all weekend. After insurance & a professional discount, I owe $232 to have my wisdom teeth removed. I survived. Once my appointment ends, I promptly fill a prescription for an antibiotic and pain meds at the pharmacy ($3.85) and pick up ice cream ($6.47) per doctor's orders. 
Total: $299.90

Our spending breakdown for the week:
-Groceries $189.05
-Restaurants $115.82
-Beauty & Health $337.85 (massage/hair/dental) 
-Dog $94.31 
-Entertainment $0
-Travel $1,391.25
-Student Loans $2,000
-Miscellaneous & Gifts $397.04
GRAND TOTAL: $4,525.32

OBVIOUSLY, we don't normally spend thousands of dollars in a single week. If we did, we would be bankrupt. But sometimes, you have a really spendy week and this was definitely ours. Thankfully, our biggest expenses of the week like travel ($1,391) and the extra student loan payment ($2k) were planned for well in advance. And everything else from the dates to gifts to dog food was all in the budget.