Money Diary: Returning to normal life and low-spend ahead of a big trip
It’s time to check in with another bi-monthly money diary, and I’m looking forward to reflecting on how I’ve managed my finances. It’s the week before payday and I’ve been trying to be extra sensible with my spending this month, since Eddie and I are off to Japan and South Korea in May! House ‘stuff’ has sucked up most of my disposable income lately – we thought we were getting somewhere and then ended up having to repair a whole wall! – but I’m loving seeing the house come together. It’s really starting to feel like home. And, aside from that, I’m finally returning to civilisation after being struck down, then isolating, for two weeks with COVID. (Great for no-spend days!)
Sunday 13 April
Thrilled to be back to normal and we start the morning with a gentle dog walk through the bluebell woods. It’s one of my favourite spots and Milo has the time of his life. Quickly drop him home and bathe him before heading out to visit my cousin, his fiancée and their puppy. (Milo isn’t great with young dogs!) It’s SO lovely to see them and catch up, and we remind ourselves to do it more often.
After, we pop to the supermarket to grab my weekly shop (£25.85). As Eddie and I eat different diets, we prefer to separate our main grocery shops. It makes sense right now, but perhaps this might change as our family grows in the future. Head home via Eddie’s parents’ home. We’ve not seen them in a while, and it’s nice to see them and drop some goodies off.
Once home, I vow no more leaving the house or spending. Instead, I spend a few hours tackling household errands: the kitchen deep-clean, hemming some curtains, watering houseplants and refreshing the vases of posies dotted around the house.
In: £0
Out: £25.85
Monday 14 April
Working from home today, which means I’m up and at the gym by 7am. It’s my first session back in 2.5 weeks, so I take it easy, selecting lighter weights than normal and choosing exercises for all my body, rather than a proper split. Feels great.
There’s an offer on the curtains we bought for my library room and the living room, so I take the plunge and order another pair on my lunch break for our bedroom (£29). We’ve been fixing the wall all weekend, and are putting the curtain rail back up tomorrow night. Looking forward to not hanging an almost-see through bedsheet over the window and having a little more security and privacy for our home.
Nip out to sort out our international driving permits, as Eddie and I want to book a Super Mario-inspired cart driving experience in Tokyo (£5.50 each; £11). Check my phone to see a Substack subscription has been paid (£3.45)!
After work, I close my laptop lid and mosey on to the kitchen to make one of my recent cravings: Hainanese-style tofu and rice with some blanched vegetables. I usually cook once to eat twice, and pop a portion in some glass food storage for tomorrow’s lunch.
In: £3.45
Out: £40
Tuesday 15 April
I’m in the office today, which is a real rarity for me since I prefer to start my week working from home. It’s my first time in the office for two weeks and I feel strangely nervous, but I can’t wait to see my colleagues for a proper catch-up!
Eat lunch in the restaurant with my team. I’ve brought my leftovers, and I didn’t pack my glass KeepCup, which makes it easier to decide against a strawberry matcha from the café. On track for a no- or low-spend day when I drive home and wind the windows down for some much-needed fresh air.
Remember I need to pick up Easter eggs for my sister (big sister life) and my boyfriend, so I head to the supermarket to pick some up, along with tomatoes for dinner and a new pair of slippers since mine are falling apart (£26.86). There goes my no-spend day! I scroll on my phone while my pitta toasts, and spot three Substack subscription payments have completed (£13.16)! I am often overwhelmed with gratitude that anybody chooses to upgrade their Substack subscriptions. You can take 20% off yours, as a long-standing Daisybutter reader – just use this link to redeem the discount.
Make a vegan chicken Caesar salad and add some tomatoes on top for a light spring dinner. Spend the evening on the sofa watching YouTube videos and sketching up the plans for our alcove shelving and cabinetry that I’m hoping to build this summer.
In: £13.16
Out: £26.86
Wednesday 16 April
I start Wednesday with avocado and homemade pico de Gallo on toast for breakfast, and make a matcha latte for my drive since I’m in the office again. I have a nail appointment tonight and it’s a town a few miles north from home, so I remember at the last moment to charge my car.
I’m desperately trying to focus on my to-do list with the hubbub of a busy office as my soundtrack. Consider popping to the café on campus to grab a drink, but there’s endless free teabags in the kitchen so I settle for making a tea instead (£0).
Realise that my introversion scale is suffering today, so I scuttle off for a solo lunch with my Kindle and salad. I find these are completely essential now that we have to be in the office more – it helps me to get the balance nearly right. Spend a little time replying to Substack and blog comments, as I’ve shared new posts on each platform today.
After work, I unplug my car from the charger (£2.73) and pop a podcast on (Let’s Be Honest by Kristin Cavallari) for my drive to my nail tech’s studio. My nails are in a sorry state, and I’m really looking forward to freshening them up and catching up with Jo (£33).
Once home, I make an easy but satisfying dinner: spicy vodka pasta! This comes together so quickly – perfect for nights like tonight when I don’t get home until late.
In: £0
Out: £35.73
Thursday 17 April
I wake up completely exhausted from my in-office day and nail appointment jaunt, but thankfully it’s Easter Bank Holiday weekend this week and I only had to be in the office twice. We are expected to be in for 60% of our working weeks, which means I’ve done my time! Yay! I head to the gym and enjoy getting back to my glutes workout split.
Once I’m home, I shower and get straight into some fresh loungewear for a cosy day of working from home. Aiming for another no-spend day, and I think it’s manageable. Well, work is ridiculously busy anyway, which drastically reduces any spare time for scrolling and being tempted by targeted ads. After work, I pop out for a walk to decompress and get some steps in, as I didn’t manage to book a spot at Reformer Pilates.
I’ve earmarked tonight for some writing, which means I should probably make dinner now or else I’ll end up cooking late into the night. Decide to make a vegan steak sandwich with homemade wedges and some peas. It’s the perfect fuel to add a chapter or two to my novel manuscript! Another Substack subscription payment comes in (£2.76)!
In: £2.76
Out: £0
Friday 18 April
It’s Good Friday, a.k.a. a Bank Holiday from work. As ever, I’m off to the gym for 7am, this time to get an upper body lifting session and a 5k run in. It feels SO hard.
Once home and showered, I make some breakfast and potter around the house, adding candles in new corners and doing a pre-weekend tidy. While I scroll Substack, I spy that one of my blogging work invoices has been paid (£350), which will help pay for domain hosting. Decide to head out for a cosy late lunch and farm shop visit (£42). My boyfriend and I have been meaning to do this for weeks!
Since we had lunch out, we make dinner at home tonight. There’s still some potatoes to use up, so we make a potato, spinach and aubergine curry with pilau rice. Delicious!
In: £350
Out: £42
Saturday 19 April
Weekends have been incredibly high-spend days for us recently, since we’ve been sorting out the house, but I’m keen to make this a low-spend one. First, breakfast in bed, which is such a rarity at the moment. Then, a workout at the gym so we can make full use of the memberships we already pay for.
Once we’re home and showered, we make a quick plan to drive to our favourite country pub for lunch and a cosy walk. Spring makes it so much easier to be out and about! I treat us to lunch (£34.96), and then Eddie pays for our groceries en route home since we’re going to cook dinner at home tonight (£9.57).
In: £0
Out: £34.96
Weekly totals
In: £369.37
Out: £205.40
Wow, I really need to get better at incorporating no-spend days ahead of our big trip. A long weekend always means extra spending but I’m glad we had a quiet one this year, and mostly spent it at home or doing free things. I’m also pleased and endlessly grateful for some extra income via my blog and Substack, as they’ve really helped me with paying for blog hosting expenses and motivating me to just keep writing outside of my 9-5 corporate day job.
