Money Diary: 5-Day Money Detox

Hello friends,

Hope you had a wonderful New Year! I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted, how time flies!

My 2018 Best Nine

Where have I been? Well, I traveled a lot last year and qualified for Companion Pass again with Southwest Airlines (my carrier of choice). But to be honest, I felt more uninspired and unmotivated as the year went on. When I started the blog, I thought I had a lot of interesting and original idea and I wanted to post twice a week. But the more I read other blogs or watch YouTube, the more I feel that the Internet is already SATURATED with contents. Everything has been done before, so what makes me different? It's meant to be a rhetorical question; I'm trying to figure it out, too! ;) I also didn't realize how much time posting twice a week would take! Feeling overwhelmed and uninspired, I kind of just gave up...


Overall, 2018 was a good learning year for me and there's a lot to be grateful for. I learned a lot about myself and made more friends at work. I started side hustling and have been doing it for about 6 months! I started selling things I no longer need on eBay and most recently, Poshmark and added ~$1,000 back to my bank account! Okay, it eventually went to my shopping fund... BUT getting money for things I was willing to gift to family and friends or just giving away for free was surprising and awesome! Now, I'm more motivated to de-clutter my life! All these new experiences gave me new perspectives on money, self worth, what I perceive value in my life and I hope to share them with you this year!

So I'm back and I'm staying. I want to be more consistent, so I'll start small with one post a week. If I have more time, they'll be bonus posts. Quality over quantity!

OKAY! After the longest intro ever, let's finally jump in -- my Money Diary from 1/2 to 1/6. After indulging on food, wine, and shopping throughout the holiday season, I'm doing a much-needed detox for my body and my wallet. I started on 1/2, because 1/1 was the last day of the holiday sales. I wasn't gonna miss out on that! Feels a little bit cheating, but I promise there will be a lot more money diaries coming! I love reading other people's money diaries and I hope you'll find this interesting!


BINGO & BEER!

I worked from home, but met up with my college friends who are in town at the Claremont Craft Ales after work. Their "Pepper and Peaches" IPA (menu here) is my favorite! Yes, I'm an IPA kind of girl! They were playing Bingo that night and my friend (left) won a "beer for a nickle" coupon, which he redeemed immediately! ;)

After that, we decided to check out Ironbark Ciderworks on the other side, a newer microbrewery (founded in 2016). It's such a cute and cozy place with interesting artworks (should have taken pics!). We tried a sampler and I discovered my new favorite beer there -- "Sassy Simpson" (menu here). It's very fruity and surprisingly strong (8% ABV)! My other favorite was "the Duchess," which tasted just like an Earl Gray!

In terms of how much I spent (the reason why we are here!), I had 2 beers (and tips) at the first place. I had an early dinner before I left home to save some money. My friend kindly got us the first round at the second place and I was going to get the next round. We hung out until they closed and as it turns out, we had enough beer for the day, haha! It's always fun to catch up with them and we love checking out different microbreweries!

I brought my own lunch (just leftovers) to the office. In the afternoon, I went on an impromptu Starbucks trip with a work friend, because we both have Starbucks gift cards. They were already out of Caramel Brulée Latte, which is my favorite Starbucks holiday drink. It seems like every time I went to a Starbucks, they were out. It's a shame, so I got the salted caramel latte instead ($4.95, paid by gift card). 

I stopped by Costco for gas on my way home ($28.67). For dinner, I made chicken curry with the simmer sauce from Costco when they were on sale. 

I went out to lunch with a work friend and we got shawarma with salad (should have taken pics!). I paid for both of us - $32 (with tips), since she paid for us last time. It was delicious and I had some leftover to take home.

TARGET HAUL! 

Target is another place, much like TJ Maxx and Costco for me, where you go in to get a few things and walk out with a full cart and wonder, WHAT HAPPENED?! Well, I've actually been pretty good and haven't been there since Black Friday. But I saw the Tone it Up protein is 20% off, it's time to stock up! So I got the three flavors I was running low on and I should be good for at least 6 months. 

I also like their blueberry coconut protein bars, but the ones on the shelf already expired by the end of 2018. So I ordered them online instead.

I also got sanitizing wipes (a must have for the plane!) for my trip this week and lady products I was out of (real life, ya'all!). Now comes the danger zone -- clearance beauty products! My favorite drugstore dry shampoo is 50% off, along with this Pacifica hair mask, which smells amazing. I know I will definitely use them in the future, so I don't regret getting them on sale.

There's a look at my receipt: 

As I was walking out, I noticed that two of the proteins didn't get the 20% discount (red box). Always double check your receipt before you leave! I went to Customer Service and was refunded the difference. 

After my Target haul, I think I'm done for the week...

This is the first time I've ever done a money diary and writing all my expenses down really makes me think about every purchase twice. I usually don't go out for lunch/drinks that much in a week, but I just haven't seen my friends and work friends since the holidays. I offsetted some of that by bringing lunch or eating at home the rest of the times. Overall, I'm happy with my 5-day spending. I think writing these money diaries is really interesting and I'll definitely be doing more!

That's all I have for today guys! Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day and a wonderful week! Hope to see you back here next week! :)