Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today: an accountant who makes $65,000 a year
Occupation: accountant
Age: 40
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Salary: $65,000 (approx. $2,500 per pay period)
Day One
I work as an accountant for a small business and work the typical 9 to 5 hours. Most of the time, I’m on the computer, so I really like to get out of the office for lunch. My coworkers and I went to a nearby restaurant and split the cost. We decided to take a long lunch, so it took a while for me to finish up some other tasks. I spend a lot of my time analyzing our revenue and expenditure trends. I also prepare and review our company’s budget and expenses.
Total: $12
Day Two
Even when I’m not at work, I like to look at numbers. I’ve been reading into a stock called AGI, or Alamos Gold. It’s a Canadian company that produces ounces of gold through three mines in North America. Alamos Gold Inc.’s projects are in the developmental stage, and it’s definitely worth looking into. Now that I have two kids, G. and P., I am always looking at making long-term investments not just for my financial future but also theirs. I like to sign up for AGI investor email alerts to keep tabs.
Total: $0
Day Three
My partner, L., mentioned that the outdoor lights on our patio haven’t been working. I started looking for an electrician in Fort Worth and found Clements Electric. Their site says they use the industry’s best practices. These electricians can do anything from troubleshooting to remodels, generator installations, and more. Since we’ll be needing electrical services for our light fixtures, I decided to send a message. They seem to be highly rated electricians in the Fort Worth area. For expenses, I ordered takeout for lunch.
Total: $11
Day Four
Tonight, L. and I decided to shop at a wholesale store for our groceries. We have an annual membership there. While G. and P. are still young, they’re definitely in some kind of growth spurt phase because they eat nearly as much as I do. And I’m a full-grown adult! We buy things like fruit-based gummy snacks and chia squeeze pouches. The store also sells large quantities of frozen fruit for smoothies. The electricians got back to me about costs and will be stopping by in a few days. With how the conversation went, I just know they’ll do an outstanding job.
Total: $136.25
Day Five
Some nights, L. and I love going to a specialty grocery store. Then, we go home and make a date night out of it. That way, we can still keep a close eye on the kids. This time around, we decided to splurge on some high-quality olive oil for our pasta dinner. It makes a huge difference! We also bought some good chocolate, the kind that we won’t be sharing with the kids.
Total: $45
Day Six
I had a typical day at work monitoring cash flow. There were some accounting discrepancies to resolve, but that didn’t take too long to figure out. It’s nice to see that the business is hitting all the marks in terms of revenue and expenses. It looks like we’ll be having a good year. I looked into the AGI portfolio again.
Total: $0
Day Seven
G. and P. are spending most of the day with my parents, which means I can actually get things done at home. I can read for fun and catch up on laundry. I’m not sure why the kids like to change outfits multiple times a day, but it means I end up having to do a lot of washing on weekends. There were no other expenses. We get our electrical repairs done tomorrow.
Total: $0
Total for the week: $204.25