Hey, guys. I thought of this post awhile ago but opened a “New Post” draft on a whim today. I’m a pretty frugal person, but I need to spend a lot of money this week, which is why I chose this week to document my spending. It’s the second week of school, so I have a few more textbooks to buy and have to pay for my subway pass. Since my weekly spending isn’t limited to just food this week, it seems like the most interesting week to track my spending. I hope you enjoy.
P.S. Today is Monday, so I’m updating this as I go.
//Monday
4-Day Train Pass: $19 – I didn’t pay for a monthly subway pass for August because I would only need to go on the train for eight days. I have classes Monday through Thursday, so I needed a 4-Day pass this week. It’s cheaper to buy a 4-day pass for unlimited rides than it is to buy 8 individual trips (to get there and back), so I went with the cheaper fare.
Sushi: 6.50 (with tax) – I ate this a few hours before I started this post and did not save the receipt. I remember the price was between $6-$7 so I put in the average. I bought this on campus, so it’s a bit more expensive than if I were to buy it off campus.
Textbook Rental $16.99 – I rented last year’s edition instead of this year’s one because my professor said that there’s barely any difference in the content and I save a sh** ton of money in doing so.
//Tuesday
September MARTA Card: $68.50 – I bought the subway card for this month and used my student discount. It’s even cheaper if you buy it before the 15th of each month, but I wasn’t even on campus at the time, so it wasn’t an option. I’ll do that for the rest of the monthly passes.
(I brought my own lunch, so I didn’t have to spend any money on food)
//Wednesday
I didn’t spend any money. I packed my lunch and already had transportation, so I didn’t spend any money on this day.
//Thursday
Lunch $6.38 – I splurged on lunch today. My weekly lunch budget is $15 but I try to keep it under $10. I was going to buy a $3 Chik-Fil-A sandwich but ended up grabbing some food from a restaurant on campus. I got mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and corn on the cob. I was so full. I didn’t even go to the gym that day because I felt so lethargic.
//Friday
It was Eid, so I stayed home all day and helped my mom get ready for the party. It was fun. I ate good food and spent time with friends.
//Saturday
I didn’t spend any money the next day, as well. I went to an eid party then hung out at the pool with my cousins. It was a lot of fun. It’s probably the last time I’ll go to the pool for the year.
//Sunday
Groceries $5.40 – My mom asked me to grab some groceries after work. I remember the list: 4 bananas, a gallon of whole milk, and double stuffed Oreos. She usually gives me a longer list, but I don’t mind grabbing groceries for her. I usually grab some extra stuff for myself, but I didn’t need anything for this trip.
//Total
Food: $18.28
Transportation: $87.50
Other: $16.99
Total: $122.77
//My Thoughts
Yikes! I’m not really upset about this amount because everything I spent had a purpose. The textbook I rented will last me a semester and the bulk of the spending was transportation, which was reasonable for unlimited bus and train transportation for 35 days. The only thing I had full control of was eating out for lunch where I spent $12.88, which is pretty reasonable for Atlanta.
This week was pretty extreme in terms of my spending. Next week will be a lot less expensive (like, I’ll honestly spend less than ten bucks). I’ll most likely only spend money on my lunch. This last weekend was a holiday weekend and had a lot of functions to go to, but everything I did was free. My weekends are usually like that because my friends and I don’t usually go out. We usually just hang out at each other’s houses or campuses, which saves us all money. I also work on weekends, so my weekends aren’t usually as full as this one was.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I personally love reading personal finance posts and reading other people’s budgets. I find them very motivating. Sorry for being AWOL the last two weeks. School has just started and I’ve been really lazy about blogging.
Related – 13 Things I Don’t Do To Save Money In College
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“Friday was Eid”
Oh my god! I didn’t know you’re a Muslim ?
I mean, I felt that you are different from the other college bloggers I follow, but didn’t know the reason ?
Anyways keep up the great work sister?
Awww! Thank you! This year, I want to write a post about my experience celebrating Ramadan in America.
Sorry for the late reply, sister! I haven’t responded to comments in MONTHS and am only catching up now.