Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today: A computer software engineer who makes $58,000 per year
Occupation: Software Engineer
Age: 28
Location: Detroit
Salary: $58,000 (approx. $2,416 per pay period)
Day 1
Started the week learning more about the specific software programming coming to our system. The python keyerror software is interesting to navigate. As a programmer, I always want to find the missing key and default value of each of these systems and programs. This is the first element to understand any set of values or how to manage stack overflow. It’s been nice to navigate the new data structure so I can master this software program and start to include it in the programming for me and my team. I was so busy working on this programming that I grabbed some food on the way home and turned in for an early night.
Total: $13
Day 2
Today is my sister’s birthday, so I need to find the perfect present to give to her. She’s been really into her succulents lately, so I decided to get her a plant she’ll really enjoy. I found a great company that offers small plants for gifts that I can send to her. It’s perfect because she lives up in Auburn Hills and I wasn’t going to have the time to make it up until her birthday dinner this weekend. So, I decided on a direct delivery that will arrive right at her door.
Total: $37
Day 3
I decided to work from home today and just get coffee from my Keurig, so that made things easy. Tonight was a fun night out with a few friends going to a Pistons game. Since they are, sadly, not great this year, the tickets were pretty cheap, which I appreciated. It meant I got to have a beer when I was there, too, which made watching a terrible team a bit easier.
Total: $34
Day 4
Today started out a little slow, which was a bummer after the excitement of last night’s game. I went into the office for a bit and had to stop to get gas on the way home. The Motor City sure can eat away at that gas tank, which is annoying sometimes. But today wasn’t too terrible or bad. It was nice to tuck in at the end of the night, relax, and just fall asleep.
Total: $28
Day 5
Fridays in start-up culture are always nice because I usually get to clock out a few hours early. It was perfect because tonight was my sister’s official birthday dinner. It’s always nice to get the whole family together, then I got to take her out afterward for a drink or two on our own. We’re both so busy lately, so it was really nice to sit down and chat with her about the stuff going on in her life. She loves her new plant!
Total: $42
Day 6
I’ve been working really hard lately, so I decided to pamper myself a bit on this fine Saturday. I went to get a massage and also got my nails done, which was perfect. Getting a treat is just what I needed!
Total: $145
Day 7
Sunday Funday was full of errands and getting ready for the week ahead. I needed to get a new charger for my computer, so I ran out to Best Buy for that. I also had a chance to do some grocery shopping to get all the essentials for the week. There really is nothing as exciting as having a day of rest and recuperation.
Total: $111
