I'm a 22-year-old New Yorker who makes $32,000 a year — here's what I spent in a week

Parker Knight/Flickr

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennial women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar. (Thanks, New York mag, for the inspiration.)

Today, a web editor in New York City, putting down a security deposit for a new apartment.

Industry: Digital Media/Editorial
Age: 22
Location: NYC
Salary: $32,000, plus freelance work
Paycheck Amount (2x a month): ~$1,200
Roommates: 1

Monthly Expenses:

Rent: $760
Loan Payments: They haven’t kicked in yet; I just graduated in May and don’t have to begin making payments for six months. My parents also offered to make my loan payments until I have a more permanent/higher-paying job.
Utilities: $25 for internet, around $40 for electricity
Transportation: Monthly Metrocard, $116
Phone Bill: Still on family plan, all paid for by my parents
Health Insurance: Still on parents’ insurance
Savings: I opened a Mutual Funds account several years ago and make deposits whenever I come into extra cash. (There’s around $8,000 in there currently.)

Day 1

AP

9 a.m. — Grab a coffee at Starbucks to fuel up for a morning of apartment hunting. $3

1 p.m. —Weekly Whole Foods trip for groceries. Splurged on Halo Top ice cream. Also pick up zucchini, hummus, mozzarella, popcorn, granola, fruit, and some other things. $31

3 p.m. — Found a new apartment through Craigslist! Paid the security deposit. Will be moving to Park Slope with two roommates. $200

7 p.m. — Made caprese salad for dinner from my WF haul.

Daily Total: $234

Day 2

Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

9 a.m. — Cereal for breakfast at home. I’m not a huge breakfast person, but my commute is pretty long right now, so if I don’t eat before work, I show up super hangry. Honey Nut Cheerios are the solution. 

1 p.m. — Brought my own lunch to work, but some coworkers invited me to join them in the cafeteria, so I paid $5 for a sandwich. Seems worth it to socialize at my new job! $5

7 p.m. — Mac 'n' cheese for dinner. It’s Kraft-style, but since it’s from Whole Foods, it’s healthy, right?

Daily Total: $5

Day 3

Jaysin Trevino/Flickr

10 a.m. — Have breakfast at the office since I slept through my alarm and didn’t eat at home. They have fruit, peanut butter, coffee, and some other snacks, so I don’t have to spend any money.

12 p.m. — Office coffee #2. The Starbucks around the corner is tempting, but I can’t justify spending money on lattes when they’re free at work.

2 p.m. — Brought my lunch to work; some frozen Trader Joe’s meal I found in the back of my freezer, supplemented with snacks from work.

7 p.m. — It’s unreasonably hot, so I pop into Starbucks mid-commute for an iced tea. $3

8 p.m. — Stop by Trader Joe’s to grab something for dinner. Craving Kung Pao cauliflower I got there last week. $5

Daily Total: $8

See the rest of the story at Business Insider