{"id":4787,"date":"2026-02-11T11:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/?p=4787"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:58:37","slug":"a-week-in-vancouver-bc-on-a-170000-salary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/a-week-in-vancouver-bc-on-a-170000-salary\/","title":{"rendered":"A Week In Vancouver, BC On A $170,000 Salary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to <\/em>Money Diaries<\/a> where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We\u2019re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period \u2014 and we\u2019re tracking every last dollar.<\/em><\/p>\n

This week: a senior director<\/em>\u00a0working for a non-profit who makes $170,000 per year and who spends some of it on prescription dog food.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to submit your own Money Diary, you can do so via our online form<\/a>. We pay $150 for each published diary. Apologies but we\u2019re not able to reply to every email.<\/em><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: After a short hiatus, we\u2019re back once a week! Thank you for your patience. We\u2019ll be honoring Money Diary submissions we received during our break by publishing them in the coming weeks. There\u2019s more to come soon \u2014 stay tuned.<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

This Money Diary was written in the summer of 2025.<\/em> Prices are listed in Canadian dollars and correct at time of writing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Occupation:<\/strong> Senior director\u00a0
Industry:<\/strong> Non-profit
Age:<\/strong> 37
Location:<\/strong> Vancouver, BC
Salary:<\/strong> $170,000
Joint Income\/Financial Setup:<\/strong> Our joint income is approx. $250,000. My salary is steady and predictable, but my husband works in film\/TV, which is very unpredictable. Work was very slow during the pandemic and SAG-AFTRA\/WGA strikes in the US, but he\u2019s worked a lot more over the past year and will bring in about $80,000 this year. This also includes some very part-time graphic design work that he does on the side, and employment insurance when he\u2019s not working. We also receive $542.50 from the government each year of Canada Child Benefit ($45.20 a month). My husband and I combine our finances. We have a joint credit card, bank accounts, and savings, which I manage, plus individual credit cards (for gifts etc.) and separate investments.
Assets:<\/strong>
Registered Retirement Savings Plan [RRSP]: $127,000
Tax-Free Savings Account [TFSA]: $39,200
Locked-In Retirement Account [LIRA]: $29,300
First Home Savings Account\u00a0[FHSA]: $3,000
Husband\u2019s RRSP: $74,491
Husband\u2019s TFSA: $32,950
Joint Emergency Savings: $10,000
Joint Savings: $50,300
Debt:<\/strong> $0
Paycheck Amount (2x\/month):<\/strong> $4,395
Pronouns:<\/strong> She\/her<\/p>\n

Monthly Expenses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Housing Costs:<\/strong> $3,998 for a two-bed, one-bath apartment, parking space, and storage locker.
Loan Payments:<\/strong> n\/a
Electricity:<\/strong> $100
Internet:<\/strong> $78
Daycare:<\/strong> $1060 (the full price would be $1605, but the government provides a $545 subsidy).
Gym:<\/strong> $90
House Cleaner:<\/strong> $90
ChatGPT:<\/strong> $31.64
Phone:<\/strong> $218 ($68 for me, $150 for my husband)
Tenants Insurance:<\/strong> $26.39
Car Insurance:<\/strong> $157.92
Pet Insurance:<\/strong> $302
NYT:<\/strong> $2.10
Spotify Premium:<\/strong> $20.04
iCloud storage:<\/strong> $12.99
Crave:<\/strong> $24.64
Disney+:<\/strong> $15.99
Netflix:<\/strong> Included in internet
Apple TV:<\/strong> $12.99
Shudder:<\/strong> $8.99
Patreon:<\/strong> $14.97 (The Birth Hour<\/em> podcast and Aja Barber)
BCAA:<\/strong> $20.56
Adobe Photoshop<\/strong> (for my husband\u2019s work): $29.11
Dropbox<\/strong> (for my husband\u2019s work): $31.35
Bank account fees:<\/strong> $16.95
Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP):<\/strong> $200
RRSP Contribution<\/strong> (comes from my paycheck and is matched by my employer): $708
Extended healthcare:<\/strong> $0 (paid for by my work)
Charitable Donations:<\/strong> $106 (Black Lives Matter, Binners Project, Canadian Mental Health Association, Indian Residential School Survivors Society)<\/p>\n

Annual expenses<\/strong>
Credit card fees:<\/strong> $135
Amazon Prime:<\/strong> $110.88<\/p>\n

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?<\/strong>
Yes. I grew up in the UK, and neither of my parents went to university (although my dad later completed a degree part-time at night school), but I was expected to go to a good one. I didn\u2019t get an offer from any of my top three schools because my predicted grades weren\u2019t as high as I needed (even though my actual grades were top marks \u2014 the UK system is weird), but I still landed at a top-20 university. I paid for my tuition and living expenses with student loans and part-time jobs, but my parents paid for my rent until I graduated, aged 20 (it was a three-year program).<\/p>\n

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?<\/strong>
I was brought up not to ask about or share specifics on salaries or spending, as it was deemed rude (very British). I knew neither of my parents grew up with much money, but my dad eventually worked in software engineering, and we were comfortably middle-class. My dad started a few companies, and my mom was always terrified about the lack of financial stability. They\u2019re both quite cautious, and I remember being told that saving for retirement was key and not to place my pension in any remotely risky investments. They\u2019re now retired and living in Canada close to me, and are very worried that I don\u2019t own a home, and likely won\u2019t any time soon.<\/p>\n

What was your first job and why did you get it?<\/strong>
I got a job working in the village shop on Saturday mornings aged 13. My parents encouraged me to learn the value of work and commitment, and I loved the extra spending money ($18 USD a week). I quit when I got a better paying job at age 16, and my younger brother took over at the shop.<\/p>\n

Did you worry about money growing up?<\/strong>
Not in the day-to-day sense. Occasionally, I\u2019d pick up some tension or uncertainty from my parents, and there were tighter times than others, but I had everything I needed for school, and we went on vacation every couple of years.<\/p>\n

Do you worry about money now?<\/strong>
Yes. I have a great salary and solid savings, but rent and daycare come to 60% of my income, and my husband\u2019s work is very unstable. Any money we do save when he\u2019s working subsidizes our living expenses when he\u2019s not. Saying that, we could definitely cut down on our expenses (coffees, meals out) if we really had to. Buying a place to live in Vancouver feels out of the question, so I worry about our long-term plans, especially as we need more space for my son as he gets older. I\u2019m on the wait list for a co-op and really hope we get in within the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?<\/strong>
Aged 20 when I graduated from university, and my parents stopped paying my rent. They\u2019re now retired and are on a budget, but they would definitely give me a loan if I needed it (as long as I paid them back).<\/p>\n

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.<\/strong>
My parents gave me $15,000 towards my wedding in 2017, and $25,000 in 2022 as part of my grandmother\u2019s inheritance when she passed away. We used some of it to buy a car when our old one died, and most of it went to keeping us debt-free when I was on maternity leave and my husband had a 10-month stretch of not working.<\/p>\n

Day One: Wednesday<\/h3>\n

7:20 a.m. \u2014 I wake up to my alarm and lie in bed thinking about morning logistics. My son D., is now a three-nager, and recently started a new daycare which has longer opening hours and is close-ish to my office. My husband K., is working on a movie at the moment, so I\u2019m usually on daycare duty on the bus, but he has a rare late start today, so I can take the car. I drag myself out of bed, do my morning routine of Origins Ginzing Moisturizer, and get D. out of the door \u2014 though not without some protests.<\/p>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 I start my workday from home, with an instant coffee to help me navigate my inbox. I\u2019ve moved house since my last Money Diary, into a two-bed apartment in a new rental building about a five-minute walk from the Co-Op I was subletting. This place is a third of the size of the last place and triple the rent which is painful, but the views are amazing, and the location is perfect. Luckily, K. has been working a lot this year, and I also started my current job three months ago. It was a really hard decision to leave my last role, which I loved, but it\u2019s a step up to VP level with a small salary bump (though the healthcare benefits and PTO aren\u2019t as good), and I knew I\u2019d get out of my comfort zone and learn so much. I\u2019m now responsible for operations and HR, so I have a couple of calls about a salesforce transformation project I\u2019m leading, and work on some job descriptions. K. takes the dog for a walk, stopping off for a coffee and a pastry. $11.24<\/strong><\/p>\n

9:01 a.m. \u2014 \u2026and a bag of prescription food from the vet. It\u2019s a new diet and our pet insurance will reimburse about $35 per bag for the first two months \u2014 but soon we\u2019ll be covering the full amount. When K. gets back, he heads to work. I heat up and eat a frozen mini burrito for a late breakfast, then have a baked potato with tuna mayonnaise for lunch. $87.62<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 p.m. \u2014 I walk the dog around the block, then change into \u201cbusiness casual\u201d (jeans and a nice top) and head into the office. I have a weekly 1:1 with my boss on Wednesday afternoon, and I always prefer to have it in person. Our talk today is particularly important, as it\u2019s been a frustrating couple of days and I have some feedback to share about how we\u2019re working together (or not). I make an iced coffee for the road, and take the bus as it\u2019s too hot outside to walk without turning into a sweaty mess. $2.70<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:15 p.m. \u2014 The conversation goes well! I suggested we get out of the office for a walking meeting, which was definitely the right call, but I\u2019ve racked up 7,000 steps in flats that squeeze my toes, and am a sweaty mess after all. No Evo\u2019s (local car share company) today, so I take an Uber to daycare and arrive right before they close at 5:30 p.m. It takes a while to get him all packed up, and we miss the bus by a minute! I melt at the bus stop for 15 minutes while we wait for the next one, which we jump off early to pick up a photo book of D.\u2019s photos from his mini kid camera (paid for when I ordered it last week). He loves it, and we look through it together on the final bus home. $14.10<\/strong><\/p>\n

6:15 p.m. \u2014 Back home and I am exhausted. D. and I look through the photo book together, then FaceTime my parents who are living their best retirement life and sailing around the Gulf Islands this week. I make D. a peanut butter sandwich and some strawberries, while I finish off a leftover portion of tortellini with cheese sauce. D. is mad at me because there isn\u2019t more pasta, and goes to play alone in his room (that\u2019s the three-nager part). I use the time to tidy the kitchen.<\/p>\n

8:30 p.m. \u2014 K. gets home. We try to tidy D.\u2019s room since the cleaner comes tomorrow and we can barely see the floor for Hot Wheels, but D. throws his pajamas out of our 14th floor window and things devolve. Luckily for me, K. is on bedtime tonight, so I take a much-needed shower, clean the kitchen, and pack tomorrow\u2019s lunches for D. and myself (K. is very well-fed on set). When I\u2019m done, I book tickets to the outdoor pool for Saturday as it looks like good weather. It\u2019s Labor Day weekend and we were going to go to Whistler, but my parents aren\u2019t around to dog sit and I decided taking a three-year-old and a dog wouldn\u2019t be so relaxing, so I cancelled our hotel last night. $17.92<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:20 p.m. \u2014 K. emerges from D.\u2019s room. We quickly talk through the next day\u2019s schedule, then I do my nighttime routine (Sunday Riley Good Genes serum and Olay moisturizer) and get into bed. I am absolutely hooked on The Americans<\/em> right now, so I watch part of an episode, then switch to a podcast and fall asleep around 11:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $133.58<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Two: Thursday<\/h3>\n

7:15 a.m. \u2014 Alarm goes off, and I wake up from a very deep sleep with D. next to me. He wakes up in the middle of the night and comes into bed with us most nights, which I don\u2019t mind as long as he stays still. I get up, get dressed, give the dog his morning pill (he just turned 12 and he\u2019s on five pills a day for various ailments), and get D. an Eggo waffle and a banana for breakfast. D. is upset I gave the dog his pill first and throws his food on the floor.<\/p>\n

8:30 a.m. \u2014 K. is taking D. to preschool today, which is great as Thursday is one of my two office days. I enjoy the office and go every day when K. isn\u2019t working, but need to be home for the dog more when he is. I planned to be on the bus by 8:20, but the food-throwing and some potty assistance delay me. I end up taking an Uber to the office. $9.52<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 a.m. \u2014 K. does the daycare drop-off then picks up a dark roast with mocha syrup from Starbucks across the street. I do an in-person interview at the office, which I really enjoy, but the candidate isn\u2019t a fit. $1.97<\/strong><\/p>\n

12 p.m. \u2014 The dog walker and cleaner (in monthly expenses) both arrive at lunchtime, and I buzz them in from my cellphone. $20<\/strong><\/p>\n

2:45 p.m. \u2014 The afternoon flies by in a blur of meetings, including some interview debriefs and a \u201cParty Planning Committee\u201d meeting to plan our Summer BBQ next week. I take a short walk to get some fresh air, and find myself at a coffee shop buying a vanilla latte and a chocolate walnut cookie. The cookie is delicious, but I regret spending the money almost immediately. $13.47<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:15 p.m. \u2014 Leave work later than planned as I had to wait for our weekly payables to be ready for approval, so I grab an Uber to daycare. $10.15<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:30 \u2014 I pick up D. and take him to the grocery store to pick up watermelon and pineapple for a daycare potluck picnic tomorrow, plus some fruit freezies that D. spies. The bus is still 15 minutes away and D. is hungry, so I get him a banana bread at the coffee shop next door before it arrives for the bus). $32.92<\/strong><\/p>\n

6:30 p.m. \u2014 I throw some laundry on as soon as I walk in the door, and see that B. has found my mini Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick (a gift from a friend) and drawn all over his face. Dinner is a mix of baked potato, baked beans, cheese, broccoli, and some pineapple and watermelon that I\u2019ve chopped for the potluck. K. gets home around 8:45 p.m., and I start D.\u2019s bedtime. The routine involves some playing, some books, and lying uncomfortably on the floor next to his crib while he falls asleep. We\u2019re hoping his new daycare will cut his naps as he\u2019s getting older, so he\u2019ll go to sleep earlier.<\/p>\n

10:15 p.m. \u2014 D. is finally asleep, so I shower and head straight to bed.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $88.03<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Three: Friday<\/h3>\n

7:15 a.m. \u2014 I had set my alarm to help K. with the morning routine, but he tells me his call time was pushed back overnight, so I don\u2019t need to be up just yet. I\u2019m exhausted but can\u2019t fall back asleep, so I shower, take the dog on a longer walk than usual, and catch up on my voice notes. I stop at my favourite coffee shop for a large caramel latte. K. also picks up a coffee and a pastry after daycare drop-off. $18.80<\/strong><\/p>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 My calendar is usually empty on a Friday, so I hold the time to catch up on work. However, today everyone wants a \u201cquick chat\u201d and I\u2019m on back-to-back calls all morning. One of them is to finalize a colleague\u2019s promotion, which we celebrate by text. I make a quick sandwich for lunch, pack for the daycare potluck, and take an Uber to the office with my homemade iced coffee in hand. $9.99<\/strong><\/p>\n

1:30 p.m. \u2014 I get to the office and join a technology demo in our boardroom. I\u2019m multi-tasking and end up not listening, I know my team will share the main updates with me next week.<\/p>\n

4 p.m. \u2014 I get a taxi to daycare with another parent friend who works two blocks from me (she covers the fare). The potluck is chaotic but really nice. I know a few of the parents there just coincidentally (there aren\u2019t many daycare spots in Vancouver), so it\u2019s nice to catch up and see how the new kids are settling in. The watermelon and pineapple are a hit, but I end up losing my Tupperware in the chaos. K. misses most of the fun, but comes to pick us up when he\u2019s finished work.<\/p>\n

8:15 p.m. \u2014 I supervise D.\u2019s bath time, then hand over to K. for bedtime and walk the dog to the liquor store to buy some weekend beverages for K. and I (three beers, three coolers, one cider). Bedtime takes a while, but I wait up for K. I\u2019m exhausted and know I should go to bed, but he puts on the new Amanda Knox TV show and I end up watching the first episode even though neither of us loves it (though I find her story fascinating). I watch another episode of The Americans<\/em> and fall asleep after midnight. $40.48<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daily Total: $69.27<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Four: Saturday<\/h3>\n

7:15 a.m. \u2014 It\u2019s the weekend! D. slept all night in his own bed and is up early. We all sleep better this way, but the trade-off is that mornings start sooner. We snuggle and chat in bed for half an hour, then I get up, make his breakfast (Eggo waffle and strawberries), and tidy up. It\u2019s an independent play kind of morning, so I watch The Americans<\/em> while he plays with monster trucks. I suddenly realize I\u2019m starving, so I heat a frozen burrito for breakfast, then head to the gym. I recently joined a women-only gym at the end of my block and while I wish I had the energy to go during the week, I really try on weekends. I do 20-minutes on the treadmill and a full-body weight machine circuit.<\/p>\n

10:30 a.m. \u2014 I shower and we head to our favorite coffee shop with the dog in tow. I get a large caramel latte and a pastry, K. gets a flat white, and D. has a mini pastry called a kouign-amann. We sit outside and eat, drink, and play with Hot Wheels, and D. gets a second pastry. $33.13<\/strong><\/p>\n

12 p.m. \u2014 On the way home, we stop in at a florist and K. buys a small pearl vine for our plant wall, and I get a free pink rose for following the florist on Instagram. When we get home we go up to the rooftop patio, where we hang out watering the plants in our garden bed and playing with more Hot Wheels. $4.47<\/strong><\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. \u2014 I convince K. we should go to the Pacific National Exhibition (very busy outdoor fair) for its final day on Monday, and I buy tickets on my phone with a 30% discount as a BCAA member. $67.80<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 p.m. \u2014 I\u2019m so tired and just want to nap, but have a pedicure booked as my toenails are a state and I\u2019m not done wearing sandals yet. I watch The Americans<\/em> on my phone during the appointment. $62.33<\/strong><\/p>\n

4:30 p.m. \u2014 The weather isn\u2019t as hot as hoped, but we go to the outdoor pool anyway, as we have tickets. We have fun splashing around and playing in the shallow end and manage to get dried and dressed without any drama.<\/p>\n

6:30 p.m. \u2014 We leave the pool and stop off at our local brewery for dinner. K. gets a pint of raspberry sour, I get a 12oz of the same and we attempt a family game of snakes and ladders. The brewery recently partnered with a burger vendor who we love, so I order three cheeseburgers and fries. We share a table with a nice and patient couple who put up with the preschooler screams and give K. a beer that the bartender made them by accident. The portions of fries are absolutely huge and we end up taking a whole box home, along with most of D.\u2019s burger. $85.80<\/strong><\/p>\n

9 p.m. \u2014 Bedtime is chaotic, but D. is tired. He falls asleep soon after 10 p.m. and I go straight to bed.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $253.53<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Five: Sunday<\/h3>\n

9:15 a.m. \u2014 I wake up and am shocked when I see how late it is! D. woke me up coming into our bed in the night and it took me a while to get back to sleep, but the sleep in is worth it. I get up and head to the gym, where I do a short incline walk on the treadmill and a Juice & Toya arms and abs workout on YouTube.<\/p>\n

11 a.m. \u2014 Home, shower, and out for a walk for coffee and pastries from our usual place. Same order as yesterday \u2014 a caramel latte, flat white, pastry, and kouign-amann. K. and D. walk to the grocery store across the street to get started on the weekly shop, while I walk the dog home and drive back down and meet them with the shopping bags. We get all of our usual lunch staples, including bread, bagels, croissants, salad kits, cucumber, berries, shredded cheese, yogurt, broccoli, filled pasta, canned tuna, and kids snacks, plus some Drano. $222.27<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 p.m. \u2014 We have a chill couple of hours at home doing scrap paper crafts and watering the rooftop garden plot. We\u2019re meeting friends at the beach this afternoon, so I pack up our beach bag and throw in some turkey croissants to share, and a pi\u00f1a colada cider I got from Friday\u2019s liquor store run.<\/p>\n

4 p.m. \u2014 We pick up a friend who lives a few blocks away from us, and make it two minutes before I get a Facebook message from someone on her way to pick some of D.\u2019s old clothes that I\u2019m selling on Marketplace, and have forgotten to leave out \u2014 shoot! We go back home and I leave them in my lobby to buzz her in when she arrives. She only takes 1\/3 of the clothes but transfers me the full $25. Great! We arrive at the beach and I pay for parking. We meet our other friend, and have the best afternoon together. The four of us met the day we all arrived in Vancouver from the UK almost 15 years ago, and while we don\u2019t get to hang out together as often as we like, we have the best time when we do. We play about on my SUP, take turns chasing D. around, and the non-drivers drink beers. $14.49<\/strong><\/p>\n

7:30 p.m. \u2014 We\u2019re having so much fun and don\u2019t want the day to end, so we all jump in the car and return to the same brewery from last night for more burgers. The burger place said they were open until 9 p.m. on Instagram, but when we arrive they\u2019ve closed an hour early. I shoot them a note letting them know and a crying emoji. We decide we still want burgers, so order takeout on Uber Eats instead and eat on a picnic bench outside. I get two Angus burgers on a BOGOF deal and fries to share, plus a cheeseburger combo meal for D. They\u2019re still pretty good! K. drinks two pints and I stick with water. $80.23<\/strong><\/p>\n

9:30 p.m. \u2014 It\u2019s late and dark, so we pile in the car and I drive our friends home. D. hasn\u2019t napped today, so we play The Lion King<\/em> in the car to keep him awake. Once we get home, I realize we left the diaper bag at the brewery and make the three-min drive back to get it. K. handles bedtime while I walk the dog and do the briefest of nighttime routines (Sunday Riley Luna Oil and Olay moisturizer). I\u2019m in bed by 11:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $316.99<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Six: Monday<\/h3>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 Wake up squished against D., and scroll for half an hour in peace. The burger place from last night sent me a DM apologizing for the error on hours and offering me a free meal next time I\u2019m there, so nice! D. wakes up and we look through baby photos of him on my phone together until it\u2019s time to get up. There\u2019s sand everywhere from yesterday\u2019s beach adventure and I offer to help K. clean, but he says I won\u2019t do a good enough job and he\u2019d rather do it himself (he\u2019s right). He really struggles when things are out of place, which makes parenting pretty tough. I get out of his way and take the dog for a walk to the coffee shop, where I get our usual order to go, plus a pistachio-pineapple pastry for K. $30.18<\/strong><\/p>\n

11:30 \u2014 We\u2019re finally ready to leave for the fair. A new work friend lives right across the street from the grounds and offered for us to park at her place, so we drive straight there. D. has an accident in the car, so we change his underwear in her driveway when we arrive. He spots the big trampoline in her yard, so we spend ten minutes catching up while he bounces before bribing him with a new Hot Wheels car to leave.<\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. \u2014 We have a fun afternoon at the fair! D. tries out hockey, basketball, and soccer at the kids\u2019 sport zone, we watch the super dogs and the high divers shows, and D. goes on a few kids\u2019 rides. We manage to limit him to one \u201cprize-guaranteed\u201d fairground game and he chooses a tiny bottle of bubbles as his prize. $10<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 p.m. \u2014 It\u2019s a hot day, so I get a Coke Zero and soft serve ice cream for D. and I. K. skips the ice cream and gets a tuna poke bowl. We stay for a few hours, then manage to make a tantrum-free exit. $44.87<\/strong><\/p>\n

6 p.m. \u2014 We\u2019re home. K. and D. go up to the roof to water the plants while I call TELUS. My internet\/TV plan expired a couple of months ago and our bill jumped from $98 a month to $200! I speak to a rep and end up negotiating the same package but with better internet for $78\/month, plus a $100 credit to cover the increase in the last two months. D. watches YouTube videos of families playing with monster trucks and starts crying because he doesn\u2019t have a backyard. Sigh. I think he\u2019s incredibly lucky to be growing up in this city and apartment life won\u2019t kill him, while K. really hates that he likely won\u2019t experience living in a house. We redirect him with cartoons and order Indian takeout. $95.60<\/strong><\/p>\n

9 p.m. \u2014 My turn to do bedtime. After some negotiation, D. is asleep by 10. I realize I needed to wash my hair tonight but I\u2019m too tired, so I\u2019ll have to get up early and do it in the morning instead. I head to bed and watch The Americans<\/em> until I fall asleep.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $180.65<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Seven: Tuesday<\/h3>\n

7 a.m. \u2014 Wake up to my alarm. D. is in our bed again, although I don\u2019t remember him getting in. K. has a rare day off today, so I have a nice long shower, wash and dry my hair, and walk to work with an instant coffee. K. takes D. to pre-school and gets a coffee from Starbucks afterwards. $4.44<\/strong><\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. \u2014 Tuesday is our mandatory \u201cin office\u201d day and it\u2019s a busy one. I work on my quarterly work plan, answer some emails about insurance, and attend our weekly Executive Team meeting. I eat last night\u2019s Indian leftovers at my desk for lunch, which I realize have been in my backpack instead of the refrigerator all morning. It tastes even better the day after. <\/p>\n

2:45 p.m. \u2014 I have a confidential call with my HR Manager and there are no meeting rooms available, so I head to a coffee shop across the street where no one from work can overhear us. I order a hedgehog mocha and a chocolate walnut cookie. Another colleague wants to meet before the end of the day to discuss some meeting structures, so I make it a \u201cwalk-and-talk\u201d around the park so I can make a speedy exit. $13.49<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:15 p.m. \u2014 I\u2019m making the most of K. being on daycare pick-up duty and meet friends for happy hour! We try a new spot that\u2019s only a 10-minute walk from my office. It\u2019s bar service, and I know that once we sit down and start chatting, I won\u2019t want to get up again, so I order two happy our tequila and Sprites up front. After catching up, we Uber to a liquor store (my friend pays). I don\u2019t buy anything as I brought my last two coolers from home, then we walk to meet two more friends at the beach. $12.56<\/strong><\/p>\n

7 p.m. \u2014 I have the best evening! We order delicious pizza ($30 each), drink delicious drinks, and don\u2019t stop talking for hours. We\u2019re all British, and all parents of under-fives who met on the Peanut app a few years ago while we were on maternity leave. We talk about the highs and lows of parenting, vent about our partners, and discuss the best spicy romantasy books. It\u2019s a beautiful sunset and I wade into the ocean just to get my feet wet. $30.00<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 p.m. \u2014 I share an Uber home with the friend who paid earlier, so I get this one. $8.00<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:15 p.m. \u2014 D. is already in bed when I get home; he and K. went to a brewery after daycare and got a pint and an apple juice plus parking. I take the dog out and get ready for bed. D. wakes up and hears me and asks to sleep in my bed. I\u2019ve missed him after all the parenting talk tonight, so after some half-hearted efforts to re-settle him, I say yes, and we fall asleep together around 11. $18.69<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daily Total: $87.18<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

This was a pretty average week, and even though it was a long weekend, which meant some extra spending, we spent a lot less than we would have if we\u2019d gone to Whistler for the weekend, so that was a good choice. I\u2019ve known for a while that I could save a lot more money if we cut down on coffees and happy hours\/takeout, and recording my expenses did make me very aware of that \u2014 and skip a couple of cookies! However, I don\u2019t really have any sort of goal to motivate my savings right now, so it\u2019s easier to just choose enjoying life in the moment. I\u2019m sure that will change in the future, and I know there are areas I can cut back on if I need to.<\/p>\n

Money Diaries are meant to reflect an individual\u2019s experience and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29\u2019s point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.<\/p>\n

The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend \u2014 to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day<\/a>. For more Money Diaries, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here<\/a> or email us here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Week In Oregon On A $220,000 Salary<\/a><\/p>\n

A Week In Chicago, IL On A $55,000 Salary<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We\u2019re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period \u2014 and we\u2019re tracking every last dollar. This week: a senior director\u00a0working for a non-profit who makes $170,000 per year and who spends some of it on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4787"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4787"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4790,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4787\/revisions\/4790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}