A Week In Her Wallet: A 47-year-old who hasn’t paid credit card interest in 20 years

Summary

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Episode: A Week In Her Wallet: A 47-Year-Old Who Hasn’t Paid Credit Card Interest in 20 Years
Guest: Megan, age 47, office manager, marathon runner
Date: December 5, 2025

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Overview

In this episode of HerMoney’s "A Week in Her Wallet" series, host Jean Chatzky sits down with Megan, a 47-year-old New Yorker who hasn’t paid credit card interest in over 20 years. Megan shares her approach to tracking spending over a week—detailing her separate finances with her spouse, her marathon training expenses, her budgeting philosophies, and why autonomy and intentionality are key to her financial wellness. The episode is full of practical advice and candid reflections on money, relationships, and the value of tracking where your dollars go.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Track Spending?

• Curiosity and Openness: Megan volunteered to share her week’s spending out of curiosity and a belief that “we don't talk about money amongst our friends enough” (05:04).
• Nonjudgmental Attitude: She approached the exercise with openness, unfazed whether her totals were high or low.

2. Financial Structure: Separate but United

• Structure Overview: Megan and her husband keep most of their spending money separate but have joint savings. Each pays different bills, with “the biggest bills” (like the mortgage) handled by her husband, and Megan covering utilities and other expenses (05:34, 21:19).
• Why It Works:

  "I’m really pro keeping our money separate or spending money — some of our money separate. It really works for us. I think we both like having autonomy." (18:20)

• Social Reactions: Megan notes mixed reactions from peers and family—some find it surprising, others, especially younger couples, do the same. She attributes differences in practice to generational or life stage factors (17:16, 18:20).

3. Day-By-Day Spending Breakdown

Day 1: Personal Care

• Eyebrow Wax and Tint:
  • $59 service + $12 tip. First time trying tinting, Megan frames it as outsourcing a task, similar to hiring a landscaper (08:24).
  • Notable Quote:

    "It was beautiful and I loved it...then I went back a second time and she like over-waxed them and they were so thin...So I took to the internet and they told me I could just use Just For Men and do it myself for $13. So I’m back to doing it myself. But I did save $70 a month." (09:58)

• Tipping Philosophy:
  • Former food service worker, tips 20% habitually.

    "I’m never going to not offer, and they pretty much always take it." (11:14)

Day 2: The Costco Run

• Groceries and Membership:
  • $130 spent, mostly on groceries, with some impulse buys like protein bars. Notes value in Costco’s executive membership due to regular purchases for household (12:07).
• Marathon Training Cost:
  • “This is my fifth marathon. When I started running, I called it my free hobby. And that couldn't be farther from the truth.” (14:03)
  • Expenses include nutrition, gear, and more frequent takeout.

Credit Card & Budget Mastery

• Zero Interest for 20+ Years:
  • Pays credit card weekly, tracks via spreadsheet.

    “I go in weekly and pay it. I’m constantly looking at that … I keep a spreadsheet, like my check register.” (15:40)

  • Scarred by small debt in early adulthood, resolved to never pay interest again.
  • Key Habit: Moves most paycheck into savings, keeps checking account deliberately low to curb spending temptation (06:43).

4. Philosophy on Joint & Separate Finances

• Generational & Cultural Differences:
  • Megan and her husband married in their 30s, remain childless, and find autonomy in keeping some money separate.
  • Pushes back on research or articles that equate “money together” with more trusting relationships:

    “I took a little offense to it … whatever works for you, you should do. But … it’s such a big part of the reason that our marriage works that we don’t have issues with finances.” (20:16)

5. Social Life & Strategic Indulgence

• Budgeted Social Spending:
  • Coffee shop and bar meet-ups with her running group are routine—and intentionally budgeted, not spontaneous indulgence (28:54).

    “That is a big part of my social life. So it’s sometimes more than … I don’t even go out on the weekends, and we do that. Yeah, that’s budgeted in. That would be one of the last things that came out if I were ever cutting down.” (28:54)

• Intentionality with Takeout:
  • Prefers takeout as a choice, not as a last-minute necessity.

6. Week’s Total and Reflection

• Weekly Spend: About $400, which Megan thought was typical—not particularly lean (29:24, 29:38).
• Advice for Listeners:

  "I think you should definitely [track your spending] because whatever the outcome, it's just more knowledge and you can adjust if you need to, or you can just be happy with it if you're feeling good about it." (30:44)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Paying Off Credit Cards:

  “I haven’t paid interest on a credit card in…I don’t know, 20 years or more, probably since a little after college.” (16:29)

• On Keeping Money Separate:

  “I think that's very polarizing…some people felt the same that I did…some people were saying, I don't want to say that you shouldn't do it, but that was more out of the norm. I don't know if it's a generational thing. I don't know what it is.” (18:20)

• On What’s Worth Spending For:

  “When I go out three days in a row and I spent, let's see, I don't know, $25, but it was because I was socializing with my friends, that's worth it to me. It could be a lot worse if we went out to dinner or brunch. So to me, that's money well spent.” (27:37)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:54] Jean welcomes Megan and introduces the episode’s focus
• [05:29] Megan introduces her background, living situation, and income structure
• [08:24] Day 1: Eyebrow waxing and philosophy on outsourcing tasks
• [10:44] Salon tipping customs and changes over time
• [12:07] Day 2: Costco run, grocery spending, and marathon training costs
• [14:03] Real costs of marathon training
• [15:40] How Megan avoids all credit card interest; spreadsheet habits
• [17:16] Separate finances in marriage, generational and cultural context
• [20:16] Discussing the article about couples’ finances and her philosophy
• [21:19] “Yours, mine and ours” breakdown for big goals and practical household split
• [26:09] Social outings with the running club; coffee and takeout spending
• [28:54] Budgeting for social interactions and coffee as a key line-item
• [29:24] Weekly spend total and Megan’s reaction
• [29:38] Reflection and advice on the process of tracking spending
• [29:48] Marathon update—personal best (PR) time!
• [30:44] Final advice to listeners on tracking their own spending

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Tone & Style

Throughout, the conversation is warm, practical, occasionally humorous, and always nonjudgmental. Jean and Megan share a candid, relatable discussion, full of actionable tips and clear evidence that intentional money management is both empowering and individual.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Tracking spending, even briefly, is a powerful self-discovery tool.
• Keeping some finances separate in a relationship can foster autonomy and reduce conflict—if it fits your values and circumstances.
• Paying off credit cards weekly and keeping a low-balance checking account are simple yet highly effective anti-debt strategies.
• “Budgeting” doesn't mean inflexibility—there’s space for treats like coffee with friends when you’re intentional and realistic.
• Your financial “normal” may pleasantly surprise you—awareness is the first step to lasting confidence.

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For women (and anyone) seeking a down-to-earth approach to finance, this episode offers practical tools, permission to do what works for you, and encouragement to start shining a light on your own wallet—without shame or guilt.

Transcript

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Hey everyone, welcome back to Her Money. I'm Jean Chatky and today we are diving into another episode of our special series A Week in Her Wallet, where we follow real women from our community as they track their spending for seven days and reflect on how their money habits reveal their values, their emotions, their goals. This week we're headed to New York to meet Megan. She is in her 40s, married, works full time, and has one of the strongest financial muscles we've seen. She hasn't paid a dime of credit card interest in over 20 years. Over the course of her week, she shares what it's like to keep spending money separate from her spouse and why that setup works for them. Impulse buys during a Costco run and we follow her as she trains for a marathon. Megan brings a rare blend of intentionality, self trust and joyful practicality to her money life. We are so excited to dig into all of it. We are going to take a very quick break. The holidays are pretty wonderful, but they can also bring financial chaos. Between travel, gifts, hosting and everything in between. It's way too easy to overspend without even realizing it. That's why my producer, Hailey has been loving Monarch. She's using it to track every gift, every dinner out, every flight, and seeing it all laid out in real time helped her pump the brakes before the credit card bill hit. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch, rated Wall Street Journal's Best Budgeting App of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. And right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering 50% off your first year. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code [e-mail] in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code HERMONEY okay, I have to share this because when I find something that truly changes how I feel every day, I I don't like keeping it to myself. I've been wearing skims for months now and their Fits Everybody collection. It's pretty life changing bras and underwear for me at least. They're usually about tolerating things more than enjoying them. I've spent years dealing with straps that dig, bands that roll, underwear that just doesn't stay put. But the Fits Everybody collection feels like it was made for me. The full briefs are a game changer. Shop Skims Fits everybody [e-mail] and after you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you. Select podcast in the survey and select our show in the drop down menu that follows. And if you're looking for the perfect gifts for everyone on your list, the Skims Holiday Shop is now [e-mail] Megan thanks so much for taking part in a week in her wallet.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

Nice to see you. Nice to see you too. What made you curious to.

Delve into this wacky exercise with us?

[C]

Oh, as soon as I got the email I was excited for it. I think we don't talk about money amongst our friends enough. And I was fine whatever the outcome was of my if I felt like I spent too much or I didn't, I was fine with whatever the outcome was. I just was curious to see what it was because I don't track it like that.

[B]

Tell me a little bit about you and your life. What do you do? Where do you live? What does a month of income typically look like for you?

[C]

I live on Long Island. I'm 47. I was 46 when I tracked my money. I'm 47.

[B]

Happy birthday.

[C]

Thank you. I'm married with no children, so I think that's an important part of how you spend your money. We are A two income family and together we make, I guess in the range of around 200,000. But we keep our money mostly separate. We keep savings together, but our daily spending money separate. And we pay our bills separately. We kind of divided up the bills.

[B]

You divide it up and conquer it that way.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

What do you do?

[C]

Oh, I'm an office manager for a contractor.

[B]

Okay. All right, that sounds great. When you are not tracking, how do you keep tabs on what is where?

[C]

I put most things. If I have to, I put it on my credit card or I pay cash. So what do you mean by how do we keep track of what we keep where?

[B]

Well, like how do you, if you're not tracking where your money is going, how do you make sure that you don't spend too much, how do you make sure that you don't overdraw or that your credit card balances don't get too high? Like how do you sort of keep, keep a lid on things without tracking?

[C]

My bills are on autopay. Things that have to be paid, I know when they're coming out and I watch that, that always gets paid first. But I split up my direct deposit and I kept the minimum amount that I could live on going into my checking account and the rest goes into my savings. So if I'm short for some reason or if we want to spend on something, a big purchase, it can come out of savings. But like sometimes I'll get the credit card bill and I'm like, oh, I'm kind of scraping by to pay it. It's not that I don't have the money, it's that I give myself, I guess, the shortest leash in my checking account just because I'd rather put it aside for something else.

[B]

Yeah, it's funny, I tend to do the same thing. I move money out of checking and into savings. And then when checking gets low, it feels like, oh my God, where's all my money? Yes, I don't have any money. And in fact, you 100% do. You just don't have it in your brain.

[C]

It's, it's somewhere else. And I hate moving money out of saving.

[B]

Yeah, it feels like a loss, doesn't it?

[C]

Yes. So for example, we just bought tickets. I just bought tickets to we're going to Barcelona in February. So I put them on my credit card because you have to. And that bought me like a month and a half to pay it off between when the card closes and then how much time you get to pay it. So I would just go in once A week and pay a little bit. And I knew that I could take it out of savings, but I didn't want to take it out of saving.

[B]

Yeah, girl after my own heart. All right, let's go through the week. Day one. You said you spent money to get your eyebrows waxed and tinted for the first time because, similar to hiring a landscaper, you felt like it wasn't worth the time and effort to do it yourself.

[D]

It is day one of tracking my spending for the week for the A Week in Her Wallet series. This is my first expense or purchase of the week. I am sitting in my car outside my eyebrow wax and tint appointment that I just got. It was $59 plus. I tipped $12, 20 tip. This is a very odd first expense for me because I've never done it before. I haven't had my brows waxed in years. I do. I had never even heard of a tint, but I was looking for someone to do it for me because I was having more and more difficulty shaping them. And I'm sort of chalking this up, too. Like when my husband and I finally decided to break down and get a landscaper because it just wasn't worth the time and effort to do it ourselves. So I figured I would give it a shot. They look good, and I'm happy with it. I don't know if I feel like it was worth the money. That was like, kind of a big ticket item for grooming, personal grooming. But that was my first personal purchase, my first thing I did all week, and more to come.

[B]

First of all, you're going to have to tell me about the tinting process, because I'm starting to see grays in my eyebrows that I do not like. But this reminds me of a conversation that I recently had with Corinne Lowe. She's an economist, where she said, you should look at your tasks and you should ask yourself if you should pay yourself. If you would pay yourself to do this and if you would. How much Is that kind of how you look at it?

[C]

Yes. So with the landscaper, and that was years ago, we had the most overgrown lawn always, because we weren't even getting to it. So it was almost like whatever they were charging was worth it. And that's what I felt like about this. I just wasn't keeping up with things myself. And it got harder the older you get. Like, the harder it gets, I feel like, to do things yourself sometime. And so I went in for the tin wax. I'd never even heard of a tint. It wasn't for me. It wasn't for grades in the eyebrows, but it makes them also fuller and it was beautiful and I loved it. And then I went back a second time and she like over waxed them and they were so thin and I was like, I'm never going back again. So I took to the Internet and they told me I could just use just for men and do it myself for $13. So I'm back to doing it myself. But I did save $70 a month.

[B]

That is a good tip. I color my own hair so I could potentially. Oh, Madison Reed. I got turned on during COVID and I've never gone back, but maybe I should just put a little bit on my eyebrows when I'm done. That's what Reddit will tell you, that if anybody's listening. Yeah, they can tell me if that's the right thing to do. You did mention that when you're at a salon, you always tip generously. Tell me a little bit about your philosophy there.

[C]

I used to be a food service worker, so I was a waitress, I was a hostess. I did everything.

[B]

So.

[C]

And I think when you grew up in the 80s and the 90s, 20% was considered a generous tip. I don't even know what it is now because it's crazy with tipping. I don't even know who to tip or how much to tip, but I generally stick to 20%. I had always heard if it's a salon owner, you don't have to. But I'm never going to not offer and they pretty much always take it. So.

[B]

Yeah, my, my haircutter, she owns her own space, right. She's sort of a solo practitioner. I always tip. I would feel badly not tipping, but I heard the same thing too, growing up. And I think my mother didn't tip the owner of a salon, but tipped everybody else. I think that was more the practice back then.

[C]

Yes, I think so.

[B]

Day two, you went to Costco. You spent about $130. I'm impressed that you got out with that little spending.

[D]

I just left Costco. I spent just under $130. I went there specifically to get the block feta cheese. And going to a pot dinner tomorrow night. And that's the only ingredient I'm missing for my Greek orzo salad. It's mostly groceries. I'm looking at the receipt.

[C]

Some fruit.

[D]

I leave some at home, some at work. Yogurt stuff for breakfast, lunch, See mouthwash. I also got the five dollar rotisserie chicken. That'll be dinner tonight. My impulse buy was protein bars, which I never buy. But I am about to start marathon training again and I thought I'd give them a try for pre run snacks. I'll see how that works out. Costco, obviously, is a membership club, so I have the executive membership. I think I pay. I don't even know. I think it's 130 a year and you earn cash back on that one at the end of the year. If you don't earn it back, the price is about double for the the executive membership versus the regular. If you don't. I have on more than one occasion just gone up to the desk and they'll downgrade your membership and reimburse you the difference. I've gone back and forth over the years, but going there, it's only me and my husband, but we find that it works out for us. I'm a member for over 20 years and I think it's worth the fee. And when I started buying my cat dry food and cat litter there, I ended up there, you know, almost, probably once every other week, sometimes more. And definitely I think I make my money back on the membership. So that is my second purchase of the first day. I'm heading home and I think that's probably it for the day, but we'll see.

[B]

You did do a little impulse buying there. You bought some protein bars for your marathon training. Tell me about training for this marathon and if you like those protein bars or you're spending more or less with all of this training.

[C]

The protein bars are still in my cabinet, so that did not work out well. And I have a friend who's a nutritionist who was like, that's a terrible thing to eat before you run. It's too much protein. You're supposed to eat carbs so they'll get used. But that wasn't a great purchase. Marathon training is more expensive than you think. This is my fifth marathon. When I. Oh, wow. Yes. When I started running, I called it my free hobby. And that couldn't be farther from the truth. You have to take nutrition while you run. So it's goo packets. There's stuff before bars you get after shoes, sports bras, trying new clothes, just general getting takeout because you're so exhausted that you don't feel like cooking dinner even though it's 10 hours later. So that's pricey. If you're in New York, the New York City Marathon, it's. You can get in with the nine plus one program they have, and that's not cheap to do all those races to Qualify.

[B]

I ran New York last year for my 60th birthday. I actually got in because I was doing some work with Citizens bank, and they are a sponsor, so they gave me a bib to be on Team Citizens. So lucky for me, I think I'm sticking to half marathons from now on. That might be. It was my second one. It might have been my last one. I'm very impressed that you've done 5. Are you training for New York, or were you training for New York?

[C]

I did New York this year, so that's what I was training for, and I will be doing it again next year.

[B]

Congratulations. That's amazing. Amazing. I mentioned this in the intro, but on day three, you said you have not paid interest on your credit card in 20 years. So impressive. How do you keep up with that? What's your strategy?

[C]

If I can, I go in weekly and pay it. I'm constantly looking at that. And I keep a spreadsheet with. It's like my check register, but it's a spreadsheet. And I'll go in and be like, okay, this is how much I'm getting next week in my paycheck. This is how much I'm getting next week. And how much can I put to the credit card? And I pay to a credit card first. And if I can pay for cash, like, if I get coffee or something, I will. But now there's so many things you have to buy online that you can't really. And I think when I was in college or maybe after college was the last time I paid interest, and I thought I was in, like, debt. Like, I had, like, probably somewhere between 2 and $4,000 on my credit card. And I was like, oh, I'll never get in debt like this again. And it just. For me at that time, that was as much as someone maybe my age being in 40,000 or $50,000 in debt. But it, like, scared me straight. And I was like, that's a waste of money.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Did you. Did you grow up in a household where your parents told you that debt was terrible? Like, how did you come to believe this?

[C]

Oh, I grew up. Well, I had a single mom, and, I mean, I have a relationship with both my parents, but we were paycheck to paycheck, so I don't even think there was a lot of credit card debt, but it was whatever you could afford. But my mom did raise me, one, to know about money and to know what you were spending, and two, to say, like, no, you shouldn't just put things on Credit cards. But also, I think back then we didn't use credit cards as much as we do today. But we would go to the grocery store and she would have cash, and it would be, this is how much cash we had, and that's how much you spent on your grocery.

[B]

Very, very different world these days. I'm also intrigued by what you said about your husband and how you handle the finances.

[D]

I just want to say that the bulk of the money that my husband and I spend is for our house. We keep our spending money separate and our savings together. So when I make a purchase, if I get groceries or I get something for myself, I pay for it with my own cash, or I put it on my credit card and I pay for it. I don't run a balance on a credit card. I haven't paid interest on a credit card. And I don't know, 20 years or more probably since a little after college. But the tiles that I just bought, I put on my personal credit card. If I don't have the money to pay for them, you know, by the time the statement closes, the time I have to make my payment date, I can just take it out of our joint savings account. I probably won't, but if I need to, I will. But we keep the savings for anything. But most of what we do is for the house, and I try and pay anything I can, even big expenses, even things for the house. If we can pay for it out of our individual checking accounts, our spending money, we try and do that. I'm really pro. Keeping our money separate or spending money, some of our money separate. It really works for us. I think we both like having autonomy, and I think we both like being able to buy things and just feeling like we don't have to check in or doing what we want. I think that's very polarizing. I have had some people who I've. I never really mentioned it, I don't think, but some people who I've said it to or said something in front of, and then my stepmom in particular, I remember her saying, you keep your money separate. And I said, yeah, it works for us. We like to have our own money and not feel like we're checking in with somebody. And I think she took offense to that. She said, you know, we don't have to ask each other. We keep all of our money together, but we don't have to ask each other if we want to buy something. And I have heard other people say that. And then recently, I was at brunch with some of my girlfriends, I'm 46, and they're mostly younger. Well, all younger their 30s, maybe mid to early 30s. And I guess I said something about my money, and one of them said, oh, you keep your money separately? And I said, yeah. And I think everybody at the table said, oh, we do too. So. And some people felt the same that I did that. A lot of people were saying, I don't want to say that you shouldn't do it, but that that was more out of the norm. I don't know if it's a generational thing. I don't know what it is. My husband and I are definitely both firmly Gen X. I was born in 1978, so I'm on the. In the span of years that they consider on the lower end of that, or maybe between it. But culturally, I definitely am. And I have a lot of younger friends, so I think we're, you know, in our 40s, and we're childless. I feel like some of that has to do with it. Maybe your age, maybe where you are in your life when you start saving money or when you start putting your money together and spending things together. We were older when we got married. I didn't even move in with him until I was in my 30s, and we were in our 30s when we got married. So that's just something I think about. There was an article I read, and I think. I'm not sure.

[C]

I think it wasn't her money.

[D]

And it said something about, you should keep your money together. Couples, you keep the money together, are trust each other more or something like that. And I, like, took a little offense to it. Not because that can't be true, but because I felt like the article was saying that is the truth. And I think it's so different for people, and whatever works for you, you should do. But this is such a big thing for us, and I feel like it's such a big part of the reason that our marriage works that we don't have issues with finances.

[B]

A lot of couples, I think, do this these days. They do sort of a yours, mine and ours approach. How did you decide what to save for together, and why did you decide to pull the savings for your big goals? I actually think in my mind, the big goals are sort of the romance in money, right? That's the fun in money. So I. I appreciate that you've chosen to focus on those things together.

[C]

I think when we first started dating or when I first moved in with him, he already owned his house, so he took care of the Mortgage and the house and that stuff. And I was making less than him, I'm sure, at the time. And I said, well, I'll just take care of the utilities. And as time went on, we just kind of split things organically as they made sense. I have a company cell phone, so I don't pay for that. And he pays for his own phone, but he might get reimbursed for it. And we just put anything we could aside. And then if we need to do a renovation or something on the house, we have that money because that's like our house now. But if we can avoid spending it, then we. I would always avoid spending it. Mostly he. I think he takes on, like, kind of the house is the biggest bill we have, and it's the biggest bill we're ever going to have. So he takes on that. And I try and take care of almost all of the smaller bills. But for me, that includes if we're getting airline tickets, because I'm the one who's going to buy them anyway. And then if I can just pay it off, I just pay it off. But neither one of us cares, really.

[B]

So when you're going to Barcelona, do you split the cost of that trip or do you pick it up because he's got the house?

[C]

Oh, I just pick it up just because I bought the tickets. And if I felt like we had to split it, which I don't care, but I would just take the money out of the savings account.

[B]

Makes sense. We are going to take a very quick break. When we come back, I want to talk a little bit about your social life and how friendships factor into your spending. Back in a sec. This time of year can feel like a wellness roller coaster, right? Travel, family events, late nights. Your whole routine gets thrown off. That's why I've been looking for little ways to stay grounded. And one of the best tips I've gotten lately is AG1. It's the daily health drink that combines your multivitamin, pre and probiotics, superfoods and antioxidants all in one scoop. It's quick, it's clean. It actually helps you stay consistent with your health even when life gets hectic. AG1 has their best offer ever. If you head to drinkag1.comhermoney, you'll get the welcome kit, a morning person hat, a bottle of vitamin D3 plus K2, an AG1 flavor sampler, and you'll get to try their new sleep supplement, AGZ for free, which has been a game changer for a lot of nightly routines. That's drinkag1.com hermoney for $126 in free gifts for new subscribers. Hey everyone. Jean Chatsky here. I'm so excited to share what's happening over on our brand new Hermoney Patreon. We've already dropped a few exclusive bonus episodes and now we've just launched our first first ever members only poll asking you what topics you want us to cover next. Do you want more investing? Deep dives? More real life mailbags? Bigger conversations about careers, retirement or the emotional side of money? This is your chance to tell us directly what matters most to you. By joining our Patreon, you'll get access to bonus action episodes, ad free listening, behind the scenes content, and a seat at the table as we build this next chapter together. So come on over. We'[e-mail] hermoney Cast your vote in the poll and help us decide where the conversation goes from here. We can't wait to see you there. Feeling stuck with a bloated wireless bill. Then it's time to look at Mint Mobile. And right now it is their best deal of the year. For a limited time, you can get three, six or even 12 months of Mint's Unlimited Premium Wireless for just $15 a month. That's 50% off and it's a really smart move if you're looking to cut back before the holidays. No contracts, no nonsense, just high speed data, unlimited talk and text, all on the nation's largest 5G network. Shop Mint Unlimited [e-mail] hermoney that's mintmobile.com hermoney Limited time offer upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for 12 months. Plan required equivalent to $15 a month taxes and fees Extra initial plan term only over 35 gigabytes. May slow when network is busy. Capable device required availability, speed and coverage varies. See mintmobile.com we're back with Megan. So on day five, you talked a little bit about your running community that you meet at a coffee house, that you always spend money on coffee while you're there.

[D]

I've been crazy busy today and yesterday so I'm just going to run down all my purchases since yesterday there's coffee in the morning, which I already mentioned. And then I went back to town. I had to run a booth for my running club at a street fair and I went to the coffee house and get and got a vanilla matcha latte that was $8. We also got dinner, my husband and I. It was dinner for two, forty dollars. I didn't pay for it, so I didn't put it on my list. It was two pulled pork Mac and cheeses. It just was what it was. I had been racing around all day and didn't have time to eat before I went. So I was starving.

[C]

Let's see.

[D]

Paid my landscaper this morning. That was $50, which is, you know, it is what it is. I also ran again this morning. So back at the coffee house. We meet at the coffee house, and we run from there. And I met some friends, got two lattes, one for myself, and I brought one home for my husband. And that was 13, 10 of it, which was paid for by rewards points that I earned from the coffee house. And then after work, I went to Ulta and got my sunblock that was, I think, 28 or $29. I stopped back at the pharmacy to get my husband's package prescriptions. I think that was about, I don't remember, about 42. And I think that's it so far for today. It's Friday. Let's see. I can see the coffee bill is actually getting up there this week, which is not super normal. I always do Thursdays and then sometimes Fridays. It's high, especially for a week, I guess, where I had. I had to spend $20 to replace my kitchen scale because I use it every day to make coffee. I'm not the biggest fan of getting takeout coffee, but I think it kind of depends on how I frame it, which is not to make an excuse or excuses for spending, but if I were to just get takeout coffee every day on my way to work and spend, say, $25 to $50 for whatever, five days. Personally, it doesn't seem worth it to me because I can make better coffee at home and I don't need it. But when I go out three days in a row and I spent, let's see, I don't know, $25, but it was because I was socializing with my friends. That's worth it to me. It could be a lot worse if we went out to dinner or brunch. So to me, that's. That's money well spent. Just a thought. As far as the takeout dinner goes, we didn't have too much of an option. I was just starving and couldn't wait. I don't have a problem getting takeout. I just don't like doing it when it's not really a choice. I like to make a choice to do it not because it's a snap decision, because I'm tired or I'm lazy or I waited too long to eat.

[C]

I don't know.

[D]

I just feel like I would have rather not spent the money, but it's not the end of the world.

[B]

Is this sort of social interaction a line item in your budget, or is that just sort of. This is how I'm feeling on this particular day.

[C]

It would be a line item, and it's twice a week, and it's coffee and booze. So Tuesday nights we meet at a bar. Thursday mornings we meet at the coffee house. And that is a big part of my social life. So it's sometimes more than. I don't even go out on the weekends. And we do that. Yeah, that's budgeted in. That would be one of the last things that came out if I were ever cutting down.

[B]

Does your husband run as well?

[C]

No, but he meets us at the bar afterwards for a drink. All right, so that's also budgeted.

[B]

Your total spend for the week was around $400. That's one of the lowest totals, actually, that we've had in this series. Was that intentional?

[C]

No, I thought it was gonna be one of the higher ones you did.

[B]

So this was not a low spend week for you?

[C]

I think that was probably normal, assuming I'm not making a big purchase.

[B]

And since it's been a while since you've recorded these audio messages, how did the marathon go?

[C]

It went great. I had a PR. 4 hours and 34 minutes, which is great for me. I was thrilled.

[B]

Congratulations. That's fantastic.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

And you must be feeling good if you're going to do it again, because when I crossed that finish line last year, I was like, no way. No. You know, never. Never again. I did it. I was about a half hour slower than you, and I felt like, okay, I did it, and I don't have to do it again.

[C]

When I crossed the finish line after my first marathon, that's what I said. And I was five hours and like 45 minutes or 43 minutes, so an hour difference. But by the time I got to dinner with my friends, they were like, you guys want to do it again? And I was like, sure. So I was back in.

[B]

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for doing this with us. If you were going to reflect back on it and give advice to somebody else who's thinking maybe I should track my spending for a week, what would you tell them?

[C]

Oh, I think you should definitely do it. Because whatever the outcome, it's just more knowledge and you can adjust if you need to, or you can just be happy with it if you're feeling good about it.

[B]

Amazing. Megan, thank you so much. Have a great weekend.

[C]

Thank you too.

[B]

If you love today's episode, please take a moment to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcast. Your feedback means the world to me and and if you're ready to keep the Money conversation going, HerMoney has three amazing programs designed to help you feel more confident and in control of your money. There's Finance Fix. It's our four week coaching program that helps you rethink your spending, find hidden savings, and make smarter choices for the future. Our Pre Retirement program runs for six six weeks and walks you through building a retirement strategy that's personalized for your next chapter. Finally, there's Investing Fix, our investing club for women. It meets every other week on Zoom. It is a supportive space to learn, ask questions, grow your investing confidence and build your portfolio. And your first month is absolutely free. These programs are truly helping level the playing field for women financially. I'd love for you to join us. Her Money is produced by Haley Pascalides and our music is provided by Video Helper. Thanks so much for listening and we'll talk soon.