
Week of Money: Where my week ends with a $1000 spending day
DAY ONE
??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun whispering: “What do I need to do now because I am awake!!!” …. and I tell him he has to snuggle his Mommy and give me kisses, both of which he does, and I get up blearily.
5:39 a.m. — I scoop out his yoghurt from a huge glass jar (FYI we don’t do little plastic yoghurt tubs because we’re trying to be plastic-free) and he tells me he doesn’t like this yoghurt as much as the other ones because it is too watery, and he prefers a thicker texture. I explain to him that’s called ‘viscosity’ and sometimes yoghurts are made differently.
6:57 a.m. — I make a cup of tea but my quiet morning is ruined in a sense because he was so eager to play Two Dots and to get to this Piñata Party level to get ‘treats’ (extra boosts in the game to help clear dots), that I spend the morning somewhat grumpily doing this instead of checking my accounts and replying to all my direct messages and emails which takes about half an hour to an hour.
7:02 a.m. — Finally, a break. I log in to my accounts, check my balances, make sure bills are still on track to be paid and review my To Do list for the day.
8:13 a.m. — I finish with my accounts and then we play Two Dots together, and I take a break and spend the next 3 hours updating my Investing Like a Boss (Canada-centric) book with new information like investing in dividends (a short piece, but not central).
10:50 a.m. — My partner starts grilling for lunch – obsessed with cabbage lately.
12:45 p.m. — Little Bun snuggles up to my left side and we go through and try for the 10th time to break through a level that is particularly difficult in Two Dots. We make it, and we CHEER!!!!…. this is how we bond together, playing and forming a friendship in a sense. He loves me as his Mommy but I am also here to be his playmate in a sense. I remember all the times I spent playing games with my siblings growing up, and as he has none, I will have to fulfill that role in a sense. He stuffs Stuffie into my pocket to keep me company.
1:17 p.m. — Little Bun goes down for his nap, but I feel fine and I don’t need one today. I hope this isn’t a recurring issue where I skip naps when I need them, and then end up getting debilitating migraines that force me to be bedridden for 8 hours straight — this is completely a new health ‘issue’ or phenomenon since I have been staying at home because of COVID-19. I suspect it’s tightly related, as I am sure part of my headaches are stress-induced, especially in light of all the other stuff coming up like racial tension worldwide and the economies faltering.
3:13 p.m. — Little Bun is still conked out. I guess he needed this nap. Sometimes he naps, sometimes not. When he is up, he gets milk just for this week (we found one glass bottle of goat milk, luckily).
3:50 p.m. — I order a tub of this clay because it has great reviews but also everyone raved about it to me once I posted about it $17.67
4:51 p.m. — I do all the dishes, clean, and then organize my desk.
5:32 p.m. — I play with Little Bun doing Two Dots, and then try to relax. Then I take a shower.
6:17 p.m. — I make a quick dinner for myself, and Little Bun gets fed as well, then I lie down and we play together, then I read my book (or try to).
9:01 p.m. — Time for bed.
Spent: $17.67
DAY TWO
??:?? — I wake up tired but rested.
6:00 a.m. — I make a cup of matcha tea, I have to ration this week, we only got 2 bottles (no more stock left), and I normally drink 4 bottles, so I have to halve all my intake:
7:59 a.m. — I take this Buzzfeed quiz called How Privileged Are You?
8:08 a.m. — I then start on another bracelet to upcycle it.
9:17 a.m. — I take a break, do all the dishes, and write out a few blog posts (I get inspired and then it sucks up my brain for the morning, I can’t help it).
12:55 p.m. — Little Bun has already been down for his nap, and I am watching old episodes of Monk now, after having watched this incredible documentary HBO – About Face Supermodels Then and Now, covering topics of racism, AIDs, beauty standards, what it was like in the past as a woman. It is incredible to hear their stories and see them today, looking back.
2:57 p.m. — Little Bun knocks loudly on the door to inform his father he needs to pee (he does this each time it is Quiet Time and he doesn’t nap, like clockwork).
3:11 p.m. — I take a few photos of my favourite outfits with culottes and these two are my favourites:
3:28 p.m. — Little Bun makes up games and plays with these spools of thread for fun:
4:15 p.m. — I get this comment from my post on teaching binary and decimal number conversions for children:
This is my new future side hustle – being a teacher for personal finance and for decimal/binary numbers. LOL!
4:42 p.m. — I take some inspo from my saved photos and recreate outfits:
5:56 p.m. — We spend the night playing his made up bowling alley configurations. He comes up with the craziest ones. The little yellow blocks by the way, are “jewels” that you have to collect after you knock down the pins, which you can trade in for kisses and hugs to each other <3
8:12 p.m. — Time for bed after Little Bun makes me “swipe up” on real-life things. He has started taking what he sees in apps like Brain Tease and draws them for me, and makes me swipe up and down but on paper and in the air as if he is the app.
Spent: $0
DAY THREE
6:00 a.m. — Little Bun climbs on top of me and stays still (this is how he hugs me awake) and then pats my belly: “Mommy I am awake.”
7:59 a.m. — We do some math – I make him graph all the colours of the threads, and then I write out a quiz for him to answer:
9:13 a.m. — Little Bun builds a “snowman” in the bedroom out of blankets and calls him: “Blanket Man”, and jumps on him, kissing and snuggling, squealing “I LOVE YOU BLANKET MAN!”…. it’s actually super cute.
11:15 a.m. — After lunch, and a morning of nonsense (what I call playing Two Dots), I do all the dishes and let them dry in the afternoon, plus start a load of laundry.
12:35 p.m. — We play “Rock Paper Scissors” <— his new obsession. He can go on for hours with me, it’s mentally kind of exhausting.
1:02 p.m. — He goes down for his nap and I consider a nap but am not tired enough.. maybe tomorrow. I don’t want to ruin my sleep.
3:15 p.m. — He’s up, I dry the laundry, and then put away the dishes and do the second set.
4:40 p.m. — My partner and I talk throughout the day about the racial tensions in the world, plus the virus and the second wave that is likely coming.
6:27 p.m. — I play with Little Bun doing more Two Dots, and get frustrated with the game because it seems quite difficult… without a lot of help. I guess it’s a metaphor for systemic racism, because if I had all the 5 Boosting Win Streaks, winning every game is so much easier.
6:44 p.m. — Someone I recently coached sent me this sweet message and about The Wealth Building Budgeting Tool:
8:20 p.m. — After tucking in the Stuffies, setting up two “bear traps for the bad bears not the good ones”, and telling them a story, kissing them asleep, we go around the apartment looking for “bad bears” to make sure the Stuffies sleep nicely and are not disturbed. He is very caring.
In laundry room:
Little Bun: BEARRRRSS!!! BEARRRS!!! You better not be doing laundry in here!!!! You better go to a laundromat!!!
Me: Why can’t bears do laundry in here?
Little Bun: Only the good bears. Bad bears go to the laundromat.
(This is Little Bun Logic.)
9:00 p.m. — Super tired. I go to lie down and try to get out of telling a story about Moochie the Mouse, but he asks so sweetly, I can’t help but give in. Then we sleep.
Spent: $0
DAY FOUR
??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun wiggling around the bed. I try to throw a blanket on him thinking he is cold, but he squeals: NO! I am trying to find a COLD spot to sleep… and wiggles off the bed onto the floor to cool down. I guess children have more brown fat than we do, and run really hot because I am sleeping with a cover every night without fail, and he always throw his off.
??:?? — I also had a mini conference call nightmare (how odd, phantom nightmares from when I was working), from an old toxic client where this sort of thing happened all the time, and they would have me host the call because I’m presenting, but then not give me the host ID/PIN to log in, and this would cause all sorts of confusion when they would set me as host rather than participant, as I would dial in and then be asked the PIN and cannot start the call which delays everyone.
Me: I don’t have the PIN to log in (on messenger)
VP: You don’t? But you’re hosting
Me: I know, but I don’t have your credentials … your PIN to start as the host
VP: Oh. Here it is.
Me: Next time maybe set me as participant and you start the call as the host, and then I’ll just speak and pretend I’m hosting. Or you can transfer Presenter access to me afterwards….
VP: Okay.
(EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!!!!) So I poll people about their stories and get some great responses:
My horror story: I was on mute, and out with a friend who was visiting at a cafe (I was working from home that day) while dialling into a very early call before driving her to the airport. I was trying on hand lotion and accidentally un-muted myself while talking to her, and my boss had to interrupt: Sorry everyone, Sherry, can you please mute yourself?…. O_o.. I was the only woman on the call so … yes. That was very embarrassing. I AM SO HAPPY I didn’t talk smack about the project or anything (not that it was bad at all, it was a great team and project) — but it has taught me to never say anything while on a call. YOU NEVER KNOW.
5:32 a.m. — Little Bun tells me unhappily he hates having yoghurt for breakfast because he wants milk. There isn’t enough in the stores, so we only got one bottle this week which my partner is spacing out for after his naps instead of the morning. I add a small bit of sugar to the yoghurt because even I find it a bit sour/acidic to eat.
6:48 a.m. — We “wake up” the Stuffies and feed them breakfast with some water in their sippy cups (two blue blocks). I log in to check my accounts.
7:19 a.m. — I also really love messages like this:
9:25 a.m. — I go through the last Grade 2 workbook with Little Bun – it is a struggle to get him to do any of it these days because the very last Grade 2 workbook isn’t as fun or as colourful as the other ones (I learned my mistake). ONLY buy these workbooks because they’re truly engaging, but the other ones are not even if they seem more educational. O_o
12:08 p.m. — We break for lunch and have crêpes, and then we play more Two Dots (he loves this game so much with me) and I must admit I am getting addicted to going through the levels. There are over a thousand, and we are at level 269 now.
1:02 p.m. — He goes down for a nap, and I lie down too, I feel a bit tired. He has been waking me up early .. so I feel very fatigued.
1:22 p.m. — It’s so warm. I wish I could turn on the A/C but during nap time, it would be too cold for him and the noise bothers my partner who is also napping.
4:56 p.m. — After his nap, he plays with his father with some random sock game while I do dishes and laundry.
5:19 p.m. — I start to measure out my closet, the plan is to basically do a custom design. I am going to have to live with this space, and I think I’d like to really make it a beautiful one, as I do enjoy style and fashion, and I would like to have a functional closet.
I am looking at the PAX wardrobe setup by Ikea, but I am not sure it will work. I need to take down measurements, but I suspect it will fit in the space but not use every single inch and corner. I have an awkwardly shape closet with one wall that is slanted…
A few things I know I will be doing for my small space wardrobe:
1. Adding wallpaper (peel and stick, easily removable) to give some life and colour to the space:
I don’t particularly like this wardrobe Ikea PAX setup because it has a lot of items on display and I need functionality with rods and drawers, so this looks great, but won’t work for me. But I do like the wallpaper peeking out from behind. I have a few ideas of what I might like and I don’t know if I want to go very bold because I might get sick of it, so I am leaning towards a neutral gold + white story:
And I think I’ve eliminated the idea for a busy/bold/bright background like this even though I instinctively like it, because it would be too much for a small space and overwhelm me over time:
The one I think I will end up getting if I go very bold and bright is this gorgeous marble one. I like the colours, the gold splashes… it would look killer behind a gold framed mirror (I am totally getting a massive one, antique if possible, or at least, looking antique)..
…and my jewellery board made by my partner for Mother’s Day would look nice against it:
2. Putting hooks on the back of the door – would be a great way to lay out an outfit for the morning/easy access, or to use it as a scarf hanging area. As the door would open and close often, I couldn’t put belts there as they’d likely clank together if they weren’t fabric/obi leather belts.
I also won’t put shoes there. I don’t want dirty outside shoes near my clothes stinking up my closet.
3. A huge mirror on the wall
So I can take closet selfies. Maybe something like this. Maybe not as large, or as large of a gold frame.. but something slimmer in a flatter gold frame, yet able to look great on the wall.
6:15 p.m. — I feed Little Bun and myself, and watch the finale of Top Chef Season 17, which I LOVED. OMG. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE who won. Totally well-deserved. <3
7:20 p.m. — I pick up 4 of these boxes (I paid a little tiny bit extra to get it in this colour with the brown trim because … the other colours looked boring) because they’ll go great on the rolling rack because it’ll let me finally fold up my sweaters properly KonMari style, and not be afraid of it falling off the rack as I roll it, and get caught under the wheels (happened once).
I like it for 3 reasons (it took me 3 hours to find it to be honest… I didn’t even know what to search for).
- Magnetic clasp not velcro because velcro loses its stickiness
- Opens up in the front instead of needing a lid on top or on the side (I would have also taken a drawer-style box to pull out for items
- Has a clear window box in the front so I can see what’s inside before opening it
2 will fit on the bottom of the rolling rack, and 2 more on the other shelves.
8:13 p.m. — We vacuum the entire apartment.
8:45 p.m. — We are playing in my closet, I am thinking about what would make sense. I should do a post on this.
9:45 p.m. — Time for bed.
Spent: $104.48
DAY FIVE
??:?? — I wake up tired.
6:20 a.m. — I could have used another hour. We slept too late last night, I gotta get him down by 8-ish but it is hard because going into summer, 8 p.m. looks very light out.
7:03 a.m. — More great messages. This is a great week:
12:08 p.m. — We eat lunch, and then play together (Two Dots app), and I do a little more DIY upcycling on my bracelets.
1:25 p.m. — Even though I am at home, I decide to start trying out different outfits again to bring back some of that joy of dressing up. I like doing these when everyone is down for a nap because then it is quiet, and I don’t need to answer or help anyone as I snap a shot and try 50 times to get a good one. These two looks are 100% secondhand, and I have been wanting to try them out for a long time, and finally got around to it:
On a whim, I do a breakdown as well, and figure it would add something different to these otherwise normal outfit shots:
I’ll do a post roundup with all of these looks and they will all be under this revived tag: Month of Style where I will post every individual look for each day.
3:56 p.m. — I go and lie down, it is bloody hot right now with this heat wave. I am sweating like crazy.
4:45 p.m. — I watch Jo Koy (one of my favourite comics)
5:16 p.m. — Little Bun plays with his father, drawing, creating ideas with thread spools and cool games of his own making. I just keep upcycling my DIY bracelets and bangles, and I will work on a necklace next to keep busy.
7:56 p.m. — I take a nice, refreshing shower.
8:50 p.m. — Time for bed.
Spent: $0
DAY SIX
??:?? — I wake up.. and can’t go back to sleep.
6:00 a.m. — I finally tiptoe out and get my phone. I basically reply to emails and do stuff on it, while lying beside Little Bun so when he wakes up he doesn’t start screaming if he doesn’t see me (this has happened a lot).
7:02 a.m. — Little Bun is up, my partner is out doing his errands.
8:08 a.m. — And another sweet note from a follower and blog reader:
9:07 a.m. — I spend the morning while my partner is out, making a mess of the hallway and bedroom, and take lots and lots of outfit shots. I need a good buffer of them, and that way I can ‘relax’ when it comes to posting outfit photos on Instagram. I usually need about 50 of them (a month and a half) before I feel comfortable to not be so crazy about creating looks.
10:10 a.m. — I feed myself and Little Bun early as we will be confined in the bedroom when my partner is home, so he can put things away, disinfect and not have him running under his feet.
11:50 a.m. — Little Bun goes down for his nap, and I go back to working on my closet mood board, and creating a very detailed post on how I went about this because…. I am that kind of person. I like reading about people’s process, what they chose, why, and then how it came to be, so I figured I’d be that person to post that for others as well.
I also spend the morning DESPERATELY trying to figure out how long these legs are on this dresser from Ikea, and a kind, KIND follower messages me after sleuthing, to tell me it is 6″. <3 She told me she wanted to do it because I have helped her so much with my posts, and it was the least she could do. BLESS THESE PEOPLE.
1:19 p.m. — I log in to do blog admin work. This includes everything like putting up a post to my Healthline feature in my link roundup to thank them for the award, as they featured me in this post.
1:22 p.m. — Back to my closet dream board and post writing.
4:40 p.m. — Little Bun is up, and I do all the dishes, laundry, and hop on a call with a friend.
6:15 p.m. — I did a podcast with my friend
7:37 p.m. — I practice my handstands and MANAGE TO HOLD IT FOR THREE SECONDS. This is rare, as in I am not doing it all the time 100%, but I am able to hold it once every 15-20 tries, which means it is just a matter of time.
8:23 p.m. — I do all the dishes and go back to mocking up things in my closet. I end up buying these beautiful maidenhair / gingko decals for the back of the bookcase I plan on DIY-ing which I am hoping will look something like this. $35.99
My budget for this closet is $1000. I am going to try and stay under that, but I do want this to be a beautiful closet.
8:30 p.m. — I fall down the rabbit hole of velvet hangers that are specially shaped to not give shoulder bumps!! THIS IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE! I may have to budget in a couple of hundred bucks for new hangers, and resell these ones I have.
9:15 p.m. — OMG!!!! I manage to do a handstand AND TO HOLD IT for a couple of seconds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a massive achievement. I have done it once, I can do it again, I just have to train my body to recognize what it is. I am determined to be able to do a handstand by the end of 2020.
Spent: $35.99
DAY SEVEN
6:00 a.m. — Little Bun wakes up happily, hugs and kisses me, and then I go out, make a cup of tea, I snuggle him, and my partner goes out for a blood test.
7:30 a.m. — I order a new iPad mini 5 because the old one we have is really on its last legs, and Little Bun punched a hole in it the other day by accident (complete fluke). It was partly my fault for forgetting to put a cover on it, so .. I suck it up and get a new one. The new iPad mini 5 will also allow me to use the Apple Pencil I have for my other iPad, so this is great. $597.77
7:43 a.m. — I log in and realize my multi-vitamins never got delivered. I re-order a new bottle, cancel the first one and end up finding it cheaper so I got double the pills but only paid a bit more. $17.49
8:16 a.m. — I spend the morning taking a few more outfit pictures. I had some ideas in my head last night and I acted them out in my clothing to see what it looked like. Sometimes, you have an idea in your head, you try it out, and it’s not that great. Other times, you just play in your closet trying on new things and end up finding looks that you are surprised by!
Little Bun: Are you taking photos, Mommy?
Me: Yes. But you can come play in here in the corner if you’d like.
Little Bun: Okay. I don’t want to bother you during your photo taking. I will stay out here. Please close the door so I don’t disturb you.
Me: YOU ARE SO SWEET AND KIND. What a good little boy you are!!! <3
(He really is very sweet.)
8:40 a.m. — I feed him his second breakfast of pasta and cheese.
9:29 a.m. — I spend the morning telling Little Bun I need “Mommy Time” to do “Mommy Things”, which include renewing my web hosting, so I log in and do that as well. $414.16
I spent a surprising bit this month, almost $1500 which is my original ‘bare bones’ budget, but normally I am around the $1200 range, but I have been relaxing the grip on my money because there are things I’d like to get done, particularly that I am redoing my closet on the cheap as well.
10:11 a.m. — Little Bun and I play, and I look down and realize I bruised my hand quite badly and can’t remember how…. my partner turns, side-eyes me and says: That’s you getting older, forgetting how you hurt yourself.. usually it happens at 50!!!
Me: *GASP!*.. in my defence I’m sleep-deprived too. So..hmmpsh.
1:08 p.m. — Little Bun goes down for a nap after we have lunch.
2:22 p.m. — I lie down for a little.
3:25 p.m. — I keep watching videos, and working on my closet plans. I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! I am trying to maximize every single space possible, but this is not so easy when you have awkward corners. Pinterest has been a great inspiration for me in this regard.
4:40 p.m. — I do laundry, play with Little Bun, do dishes, wipe them all…
6:16 p.m. — My partner starts up the BBQ and we stuff our faces, then drop off to sleep “early” at 9:30 p.m.
Spent: $1029.42
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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.
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