I’ve written the Most Popular Blog Challenges You Can Try last year.

And I have decided to try one of them, Money Diary!

Money Diary is originally hosted by Refinery29. It’s the challenge of tracking your spending over seven days and reporting the details. Most of that money reports are written by millennial women who also share their salaries. I like reading the Money Diary, so I’ve decided to try it on my blog too!

I don’t usually spend money on weekdays because I work from home. (In my case, working from home saves a lot of money) Therefore, I’ll do the Weekend Money Diary to track spending on weekends only.

Before starting Money Diary, I’d like to give a little bit of background on my finance.

About Me

Hi, I’m a freelance designer + developer, side hustler, and blogger behind Happier Freelancing. I do not have a steady income every month, so I’m conscious of where my money goes and budget carefully.

For example, I don’t usually buy fashion items with original price tags. I often wait until the sale to get new fashion items. I don’t have a luxury car. I don’t own a big house. I don’t need cool gadgets and new tech. These are all not so important to me. On the other hand, I like eating and traveling. I go to fancy restaurants once in a while. I travel twice a year.

Being cheap is about spending less. Being frugal is about prioritizing your spending. Therefore, I consider my lifestyle frugal living (:

Saturday

Shake Shack – $28.14

On Saturday, we went to Shake Shack for brunch. My husband was super excited about the new Buffalo sandwich just launched. lol

We ordered two Buffalo sandwiches, one fries, and two large iced tea.

Costco – $82.54

After brunch, we went to Costco and purchased two Kirkland signature alkaline water 18 ct, meat, Kleenex soft facial tissue 8 pc, and a non-stick stew pot. Basically, we only purchase consumables at Costco, but that day we purchased meat and a non-stick stew pot. Yes, it’s Costco magic. Costco is the place where we buy things not intended to get. Then, we are surprised at the cashier. “Whoops! That’s kind and expensive.” Costco is an easy place to spend $100.

Asian supermarket – $63.12

Asian supermarket is usually expensive because they mainly sell imported goods. Shipping fees and import duty are added to the item price. Even though Asian supermarket is expensive, we shop there sometimes because some items are only available at Asian supermarket.

Unlike Costco, we choose items carefully and keep in mind the price. Some items are ridiculously expensive. In that case, we can give up getting them. Not a big deal. Lol

We bought soy sauce made from non-genetically modified soybeans, Gyu-Kaku BBQ sauce, katsuobushi flakes, Tensai sugar, two sushi bento box, two Enoki mushroom, two Shimeji mushroom, Japanese cabbage, Captcha noodle, octopus kimchi.

Trader Joe’s – $20.93

OMG. Most of the products were out of stock due to supply chain issues… We had never seen so many empty shelves at Trader Joe’s like this… We were looking for good desserts, but there were not many choices. We purchased eggs, bananas, apples, potatoes, New York Deli Style cheesecake, and whole milk.

Sunday

We didn’t spend any money on Sunday.

We made coffee at home, ate brunch and dinner at home, had some sweets at home, watched our favorite YouTube channels, and read some books at home. Slow and relaxing Sunday.

Weekend Total – $194.73

Our total spending on weekend was $194.73. As you can see, most of our spending is on food. It’s because we decided to spend money on the things that matter to us most. We don’t find much happiness in buying things or drinking alcohol. I drink beer at the party with my friends, but that’s all. We believe that money is a tool to make our life better and happier. After we paid off the mortgage, most of our money is spent on food and travel.

It’s your turn!

Have you ever tried money diaries? If so, did you find your spending habits?