A Week In Her Wallet: How One Woman Saves 36% of Her Income While Living in Chicago

Summary

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Episode Overview

Title: A Week In Her Wallet: How One Woman Saves 36% of Her Income While Living in Chicago
Podcast: HerMoney with Jean Chatzky
Date: August 29, 2025
Main Theme:
Host Jean Chatzky follows Zoe, a young accountant living in Chicago, as she tracks her spending for a week. This episode explores intentional budgeting, conscious spending, saving for long-term goals (like a house), and navigating shared finances with a partner. Zoe offers an honest look at her habits, values, and the emotions behind everyday financial decisions, providing relatable advice for listeners—particularly women—on how to balance saving, spending, and living intentionally.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Zoe’s Financial Background and Habits

• Early Lessons:

  • Zoe credits her upbringing, especially her mother, for instilling financial independence. She opened a credit union account in elementary school, paid her way through college, and funded her accounting certification.
    • "Having the independence with money was something that my mom taught me from a young age." (03:00)

• Path to Accounting:

  • Zoe did not initially study accounting but was drawn to it through an internship. Her analytical nature led her to return to school and become a CPA.
    • "I was doing a little bit of events planning, but also accounting, which do not go together...but I liked the accounting so much more." (04:05)

The Experiment: Micro-Tracking Spending

• Experience & Reflection:
  • Tracking spending daily, rather than weekly, gave Zoe new insights into her habits. It affirmed her commitment to her values and intentional living.
    • "Doing it in this way...made me, you know, maybe come to some realizations about why I, I'm able to be so dedicated in some of my spending...and feel affirmed that I'm living to my values." (02:01)
  • The process made her realize how much she saves and allowed her to be kinder to herself about discretionary spending.

Conscious Consumption & Value-Based Spending

• No-Spend Days:

  • Zoe regularly has no-spend days, aided by planning meals, using leftovers, and free activities like biking.
    • "No spend days are actually not that rare for you...How and why do you resist?" (09:46)
    • Zoe responds that it's partly financial, partly about not bringing unnecessary items into her life, and wanting to support her values and community. (10:01)

• Impulse Control:

  • Rarely makes impulse purchases. Employs a "wait a week or two" strategy to decide if she really wants something.
    • "If I want something, it's rare that I do an impulse purchase...let me sit on it for a week, two weeks, until the next paycheck." (10:48; 27:15)

• Material vs. Experiential Spending:

  • Finds more value in experiences (food, travel, outings with friends) than buying material goods.
    • "It really is, I think the experiences that have always been more rewarding and traveling and making sure that I can do those things versus buying a new swimsuit that I'm going to wear once or twice a year." (27:35)

Saving Strategy: How Zoe Saves 36% of Her Income

• Buckets Approach ("Backwards Budgeting"):

  1. Covers non-negotiables (rent, utilities, food, gym).
  2. Allots 10-15% (including company match) to retirement.
  3. Remainder goes to discretionary savings for goals (like a house).
  • "I save close to 36% of my gross salary...And I'm not really buying that much every single month." (13:41)
  • "I look at what's left and I say, okay, I have some of this discretionary bucket...But I know, okay, I do have this goal of buying a home in Chicago which is not cheap." (14:39)

• House Fund:

  • Zoe's main goal is saving for a house in Chicago.
  • She admits it’s hard to switch from saving to spending, and that she wants to be ready to embrace spending when the time comes.
    • "Having saved for so long towards this goal...at a certain point that house fund transitions to something else, whether that's more retirement fund, do I get to retire early? ...I should embrace it." (16:48)
  • Host Jean Chatzky notes this is a common struggle for savers, often mirrored at retirement. (17:39)

Navigating Shared Finances With a Partner

• Expense Splitting:

  • Zoe and her boyfriend share a Google Doc for monthly joint expenses—rent, groceries, utilities, outings, etc.

    • "We just have a Google Doc that we put all of our expenses on. At the end of the month we see where we're at and usually we do a pretty good job of checking in on that weekly..." (20:12)

  • Rent is split according to income percentages; other expenses are split 50/50.

    • "I felt like I am saving a lot of money. So what's the point of him trying to take a hit when I know that I can afford this much amount towards our rent..." (22:21)

  • Open communication and regular check-ins help maintain fairness and flexibility.

  • They plan to keep some individual funds for personal spending, even as they discuss further merging their finances.

Week in Spending: Notable Purchases & Decisions

• Major Discretionary Spend:

  • Periodic beauty and skincare shopping ($220), quarterly treat.
    • "It's probably more expensive than if I were to just go to like the drugstore or to Target. But it's something that, that I like purchasing for myself and feels always like a fun treat." (18:56)
  • Groceries bought frequently due to proximity.
  • Date night (~$180) at a restaurant, split via the expense spreadsheet.
    • "That's a no holds bar. Dinner, date night for us...you get appetizers, you get a drink or a non alcoholic drink, dessert, whatever we want to do." (20:31)

• Supporting Local:

  • Spontaneous purchase at new local fabric store ($14.66) justified by wish to support local business and personal value alignment.
    • "If it is a local business, I do want to support that instead of buying things online or things that are new...The local is is always the best option." (29:47)

• Giving Herself Grace:

  • Zoe recognizes the importance of small indulgences and being less hard on herself.
    • "I should allow myself some grace and some courtesy when I do buy something that I want to buy because that's also fun and that's what it's there for." (07:34)

Emotional Takeaways & Wisdom

• Measured, Intentional Approach:

  • Zoe considers her week "measured"—most spending was intentional and pre-planned. (32:57)
  • Learning to balance present enjoyment with future goals.
    • "I probably am too hard on myself on some of my purchases and that I do have my values kind of instilled in myself about how I want to spend my money." (31:19)

• Advice for Women & Listeners:

  • Regular tracking offers self-awareness and affirmation.
  • Values-based budgeting helps resist the pressure to consume for consumption’s sake.
  • Open communication makes money management with a partner fair and flexible.
    • "We both like the freedom of having personal expenses that are just for us, but we also like being able to combine some of what we earn to make big purchases or go on trips together." (31:03)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On early money lessons:

  • “My mom taught me from a young age. We went to the credit union and opened up an account probably when I was in elementary school.” (03:00, Zoe)

• On resisting consumer pressure:

  • “We live in this world that encourages us to consume, consume, consume...How and why do you resist?” (09:49, Jean Chatzky)
  • “I don’t want to bring more things into my life that are not supporting the environment, that are not supporting values that I agree with.” (10:01, Zoe)

• On splitting expenses with a partner:

  • “We just have a Google Doc that we put all of our expenses on...If somebody has spent a little bit less than the other, they’ll say, okay, well I’ll get the next groceries or I’ll pay for date night kind of thing.” (20:12, Zoe)

• On intentional spending:

  • “The 24 hour pause is very frequent, especially with clothing...I often realize I don’t need a new bathing suit. I don’t go to the beach that often.” (27:15, Zoe)

• On budgeting style:

  • "I think I’m doing...a backwards way where I say, okay, here’s my, you know, my absolute necessaries...and then retirement...and then I look at what's left." (14:39, Zoe)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro to Zoe & Her Background (00:28–04:52)
• The Micro-Tracking Experiment & Zoe’s Reflections (07:20–08:04)
• No-Spend Days & Spending Philosophy (08:07–11:19)
• Saving 36% of Salary & ‘Backwards Budgeting’ (13:41–16:00)
• House Fund Psychology & The Challenge of Spending (16:00–17:50)
• Discretionary Purchases, Date Night, and Expense Splitting (18:03–22:52)
• Navigating Fairness & Financial Partnership (22:17–23:24)
• Beach Day, Avoiding Impulse Buys, and Experiential Spending (25:58–27:35)
• Supporting Local and Values-Driven Purchases (28:42–31:19)
• Final Reflections, Celebrating Wins, and Next Steps (32:06–33:22)

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Episode Flow & Tone

Jean Chatzky’s conversational, empathetic interviewing style puts Zoe at ease, creating an open space for honest discussion about money choices, values, and emotions. The episode balances humor, self-reflection, and practical advice, offering relatable scenarios for listeners seeking to live intentionally and harmoniously within their means—whether saving for a house, managing shared finances, or resisting the lure of unnecessary purchases.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Her Money. I'm Jean Chadski and today we are continuing our series, A Week in Her Wallet. Each week we follow a real woman as she tracks her spending for seven days. Yep, every swipe, every bill, every skip and reflects on not just what she bought, but why she bought it. Behind every dollar is a decision. And behind every decision, we learn more about our priorities, our values, and sometimes the little negotiations that we carry on with ourselves. Today we are spending the week with Zoe. Zoe lives in Chicago with her boyfriend. She works as an accountant. She's intentional about her budget, committed to saving for a house, not easy these days, and really thoughtful about what she chooses to bring into her life. This week, Zoe's going to talk to us about what it's like sharing finances with a partner, skipping some of those impulse buys and indulging in a little self care. We're going to take a very quick break. We are back with Zoe. Zoe, I loved listening to your week. Thank you for being here.

[C]

Thank you for having me. It was great tracking it.

[B]

We don't hear that it was great all that often. So that's actually very, very nice to hear. What did you think was great about it?

[C]

I think I like you kind of talked about with my intro there. I do consciously think about my budget and my spending a lot, but doing it in this way was a little bit different than I have done it in the past. And usually, you know, it's a weekly or every few days or let me check in, see what my spending has been like. But doing it kind of daily and thinking about it and in this way was a little bit different and kind of made me, you know, maybe come to some realizations about why I, I'm able to be so dedicated in some of my spending and, and reflect on that a little bit more and feel affirmed that I'm living to my values. So it was, it was refreshing in that way.

[B]

Have you always been like this or is this something that you came to.

[D]

At a certain point in your life?

[C]

I think it was definitely part of how I was raised and brought up was we were Very. I wouldn't say a spend conscious, but definitely a conscious about money and, like, the value of money and doing things that were important and valuable to your life. And that was definitely how I was raised. And I think having the independence with money was something that my mom taught me from a young age. You know, we went to the credit union and opened up an account probably when I was in elementary school. And so those concepts of like, saving and being able to spend on what you've earned, I think was something that I understood from a young age. And I paid for my college education by myself. I went back and got my certificate to become an accountant. I paid for that myself. So I think there was a lot of saving that that's led up to my adult life now of being able to say, you know, I've paid for this. And there's a certain amount of pride I take in that. And I think that my family has instilled in me.

[B]

Sometimes I look at my own financial.

[D]

Life and I think I know why.

[B]

I went down this road, right?

[D]

I know why I decided that I.

[B]

Was going to specialize in personal finance because my financial life was a mess.

[D]

And I needed to do something to.

[B]

Straighten it out, right?

[D]

If I was the therapist analyzing me, I would say that's it.

[B]

What do you think it was about.

[E]

You that made you become an accountant?

[C]

Oh, gosh, it's a great question. Because it's not what I went to undergrad for, as I'm sure many of your listeners can attest to this. So few people do what they went to college for. I think I was trying out a job as an internship, and I said I was doing a little bit of events planning, but also accounting, which do not go together by any means, but I liked the accounting so much more. And I said, okay, this suits me. This suits my personality. This suits things that I like. It's very interesting. I'm an analytical person. And so I. I did that job and I was like, I like this. And I ended up going back to school and becoming a CPA and, you know, doing that full time now. So I think it was just the being able to try that in an environment and also just, I think, my own.

[E]

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[C]

My own abstinence or dedication, depending on how you see it of you know, it's difficult to be an intern and you know, not really know what you want to do. And I think kind of buckling down and making those decisions and growing as an adult kind of led me to what I think is the right place for me.

[D]

The tracking that we asked you to do, which is very much micro tracking, you said, gave you a chance to reflect in kind of a different way. What came up for you that surprised you?

[C]

I think I was surprised at how much I adhered to some of the things that I tell myself I want to do. And I think taking a step back, I save a significant amount of my salary on a monthly basis and that is something I don't think I recognize a lot. And it's nice to see that to think about that and be like, you know, I can reach some of these goals I set for myself, but also I should allow myself some, some grace and some courtesy when I do buy something that I want to buy because that's also fun and that's what it's there for.

[B]

So let's go through your week.

[D]

You kicked off with two no spend days.

[F]

Hi Hermoney, this is Zoe. This is my first Monday diary this week. It's Monday. I have somewhat inadvertently had a no spend day, which is good. It gives me some time to kind of maybe give some, some context about some of my spending too and why I had a no spend day today. It's not an infrequent occurrence. I would say for me it does happen. I live with my boyfriend. We were out of town this weekend at a wedding and so we did some grocery shopping yesterday. So I didn't end up buying anything food wise because we had, we made burgers on the grill and I had leftovers for lunch. I went to the dentist. I took my bike there. So my dentist, my insurance is covered. I obviously pay into that with my, with my paycheck on a bi weekly basis and I biked there. So that was my transit to get there was free. Let's see. I know there's a couple things that I'm probably gonna end up buying this week. I was thinking about just some restock of housing items and toiletries. So I'm probably gonna end up doing that this week at some point. Yeah, I think so far I'm feeling, feeling pretty good. I, I know the rest of the summer too. I, we spent some money this weekend going to this wedding and then the rest of the summer have some more plans going on. So, you know, kind of anticipating some.

[C]

Of that spending happening the rest of the summer.

[F]

But otherwise it's been a pretty quiet Monday here and I look forward to doing this the rest of the week and seeing where it goes.

[C]

All right, thanks.

[B]

You said no spend days are actually.

[D]

Not that rare for you. We live in this world that encourages.

[B]

Us to consume, consume, consume.

[D]

How and why do you resist?

[C]

Oh, it's such a good question. I think it's on one hand it's a financial decision to say I'm going to save for the thing, things that I know I ultimately want in my life, whether that's short term or long term. And also a decision to say I don't want to bring more things into my life that are not supporting the environment, that are supporting, you know, the community that I live in that are not supporting values that I agree with. And I think those two things are two very powerful motivators to have the values financially, but also to have the values culturally about how I want to.

[G]

Spend my money and what I want.

[C]

To spend it on.

[D]

When you look at the buy, no buy decision on things, where are you drawing your lines?

[C]

Oh, gosh.

[F]

I think it's like if I want.

[C]

Something, it's rare that I do an impulse purchase. I think it happens. But it's more of a I want to buy this. Let me sit on it for a week, two weeks, until the next paycheck. Let me look and see, you know, what else is coming up. Do I need to get my hair cut? Do I want to do this thing? Instead of do I have a reason to celebrate? And I should kind of treat myself in this. In this way. So I think it's definitely more intuitive and oftentimes it's okay, I should buy this thing because I don't buy that many things.

[B]

You mentioned you save a huge percentage of your salary.

[F]

Hi, Hermoney, it's Zoe. It is Wednesday. It is raining up a storm in Chicago today and it's still pretty humid. I just got back home not too long ago. I was in the office again today, and I spent some money today. So I didn't really spend any money during the day at work because again, I brought coffee and a little bit of food from home, and then they provided lunch for us for our team building activity. It was nice just to catch up with co workers. So that was great. I do live in the city and my office is in the suburbs, so I do drive to work on these. These occasions when I go in. And I usually. It's probably like round trip, maybe a quarter tank of gas. So it's, you know, not insignificant. And we had done some driving this weekend for traveling. So I filled up gas on the way home, and that was just over $39. That's a little bit expensive. That was basically the full. A full tank of gas for us. We probably refill the car like maybe once a month. We're not really driving that frequently because we do live in the city. It is nice to have with going to the office and sometimes for some errands to run. And then the electric bill for the month hit for our rent. My boyfriend and I split it in proportion to our salaries. And then I covered the utilities, the electric bill, and the gas bill. And then we kind of have a shared dock where we keep track of all of our shared expenses. Like Food, we keep those together. Utilities, anytime we go out and do something for fun, that's the two of us.

[C]

We'll, we'll track that.

[F]

So we're, we're spending, we understand what we're spending every single month at our joint expenses. I definitely splurge on food and things like going to the grocery store and getting things that I want to do. And living in the city of Chicago is probably more expensive than other places, but I really like living here. And I know that part of living here is that higher cost of living. And that's something that I understand and kind of factor into some of my budgeting. The other thing I was thinking about that I kind of wanted to add to Monday and Tuesday about why maybe.

[G]

Not why I had no spend days.

[F]

But some context is I was looking through kind of my budgeting too and doing this. And I save like retirement and then savings separate from retirement, which I'm trying to save for a house, I save close to 36% of my gross salary.

[G]

So I'm saving a lot of money.

[F]

And I'm not really buying that much every single month. And I think that can kind of be seen when I have no spend days because a lot of that money I've kind of already earmarked and I know the threshold of which I'm spending within. And because of that, I feel like in my brain I have more money to spend on things like food and, you know, sometimes we go to like baseball games or movies and I'm not really buying as much material goods. Yeah, it's been good. I'm just hanging out here at home with the cat. He's looking at me, so that's all I got today and I'll check in again tomorrow.

[B]

How'd you get to 36%?

[C]

I think I'm doing. I forget what the budgeting technique is, but it's like a backwards way where I say, okay, here's my, you know, my absolute necessaries. My rent, you know, food, utilities. All these things that I are generally considered my non negotiables. My gym I would consider a non negotiable for me. So all of those things and then retirement. I do aim for 10 to 15% in there, including the company. I get a company match. So including that as part of that, I try to reach that. And I think after those two buckets are done, I look at what's left and I say, okay, I have some of this discretionary bucket. I want to spend some and give myself some room to spend this on A monthly basis. But I know, okay, I do have this goal of buying a home in Chicago which is not cheap. So therefore what's my timeline? How do I feel comfortable? I'm saving this money, okay. But also this house might not come until five years time just depending on what goes on in life. So ultimately I have this money to do other things as well and think about it more flexibly of okay, well now I know I can go on this great vacation that I've been dying to go on or things like that.

[D]

When you think about the house fund, it's a longer term goal, it's an expensive goal. How do you keep yourself on track?

[C]

I don't know, it is hard. I think it's more of a. I think I mentioned this in my diaries as well. But it's almost like a happenstance of like I'm not spending so therefore it might as well go towards this thing that I know I want. And I know that if it's not going towards this house in the long term, maybe it means we're going on vacation to do a road trip to Canada. Maybe that means I can take a couple nice dinners out there, I can go get my nails done beforehand. Like things like that where it's like I get to save this money for something where it's more meaningful to me versus just buying things day to day that are not going to give me as much fulfillment. But I think it is interesting and I just hope that when the day comes I'll be prepared to spend the money on the house and not feel like I just have to keep it in the bank.

[B]

Why do you think that might be an issue?

[C]

I think it's having saved for so long towards this goal because I started, I think maybe two or three years ago at this point of thinking this is something that I want to do. I'm not really sure what the housing market is going to look like at that point. I wasn't sure if I was going to have a partner. I know I want this goal so therefore I'm going to start now. And I think having done that at this point has just now become a habit. And so at a certain point that house fund transitions to something else, whether that's more retirement fund, do I get to retire early? Do I get to go, like I said, on more trips, do I get to maybe spend more in my day to day and do things that feel good to be, you know, self care or things like that that I don't otherwise do right now with saving. So I think it's also a mentality shift of like, I'm doing this for a reason, and that reason, that day is going to come and I should embrace it.

[B]

Yeah, it's a switch that people have trouble flipping in retirement, that we save and save and save for retirement. And then we get to the point where, okay, now we're gonna work less.

[E]

Or stop working, and we have to spend that money.

[D]

And what researchers are learning is that emotionally that's really, really hard for people to do. So I think it's interesting that you keyed into that for your house fund.

[B]

On day four, you made what you called your biggest discretionary purchase for the month.

[F]

Hi, Hermundi, this is Zoe. It is Thursday today. I had off work, so I did a little bit of errands and shopping today. So I spent some money. I went to a beauty store that I like and replenished some of my, like skin care and beauty products. I do this maybe once a quarter, give or take, and do some, some purchasing and refreshing some stuff. And it's probably more expensive than if I were to just go to like the drugstore or to Target. But it's something that, that I like purchasing for myself and feels always like a fun treat. So that was this morning and that was around $220. And that was just.

[C]

That was a fun stuff spend.

[F]

It was nice to get out of the house too. I went to the grocery store, got a couple things.

[G]

We go to the grocery store about.

[F]

Three to six times a week because.

[G]

We live really close by.

[F]

This might mean that we spend more money on food because it is just right there. So that was 43.34. Then let's see. I purchased some stuff on Amazon, which I very rarely do. I don't like buying from Amazon, but when I do, it's stuff that I can't get anywhere else. And that was 8,816. We also went out. My boyfriend and I went out for dinner for date night. We try to do that once a month. Chicago has really great restaurants and so.

[G]

We, we like trying new places.

[F]

We went to a Japanese barbecue place and that was about 180.

[C]

And I didn't put it on my tracker because we.

[F]

He added that to our shared dock of expenses that we kind of keep. So far this month, I have spent more on some of our shared expenses than he has between meals out, groceries, utilities. So usually we're pretty even by the.

[G]

End of the month.

[F]

We kind of check in once a.

[G]

Week or so to see how we're tracking.

[F]

So that was today. Yeah, I spent some money, but overall good things, things that I enjoy spending money on and back to work tomorrow.

[B]

You and your boyfriend also went out for date night. You used your shared spreadsheet to account for the hundred and eighty dollars that spent. Tell us about this shared spreadsheet and.

[D]

How that works to sort of balance.

[B]

Fairness with flexibility in your relationship.

[C]

Yeah, I think for date night we try to do something once a month and it's usually around that 200 mark of dinner and we go out, we spare no expense on dinner. You get appetizers, you get a drink or a non alcoholic drink, dessert, whatever we want to do. That's a no holds bar. Dinner, date night for us that it's just time to chat and do something out of the house. And we share a significant portion of our expenses, I would say, and we do budgeting a little bit differently, but generally I think we're on the same page about, you know, we want to save for a house or to other goals and we also want to share the burden of rent and food, utilities, all these kinds of things that we do together. If there's something in the house that we need or to fix the car, that's something that gets shared. And we just have a Google Doc that we put all of our expenses on. At the end of the month we see where we're at and usually we do a pretty good job of checking in on that weekly to see where we're at. If somebody has spent a little bit less than the other, they'll say, okay, well I'll get the next groceries or I'll pay for date night kind of thing. And ultimately because we're splitting rent at the end of the month, usually it'll come in and out of that rent kind of exchange of funds.

[B]

Do you guys make about the same amount of money?

[C]

I make a little bit more than he does, but it's fluctuated since we've dated where I've usually made more than he does. And the percentage has changed a little bit.

[B]

You do it by percentage so that you're kicking in an equal percentage of what you make toward the household.

[C]

So rent we do, but everything else is split evenly because rent I think is our biggest expense. Ultimately that's the biggest thing we're splitting. And I guess ultimately if we do buy a house together and anything else that we do together, those like savings contributions I think will end up being more of my portion towards those.

[B]

And how does that feel to you, fairness wise?

[C]

I feel good about it. It was Me, who pushed to split rent in accordance to our salaries because I felt like I am saving a lot of money. So what's the point of him trying to take a hit when I know that I can afford this much amount towards our rent or some of our shared expenses? And there's times where, you know, if, if I get a bonus, I'll spend that on stuff that we do together just because I would rather do that than something else.

[B]

Did he push back at all or is he cool with this agreement also?

[C]

I think he's good with the rent agreement. I think he, he is happy with everything else being 50 50. And I know as we've gotten more serious in our relationship, we've discussed different ways to combine. Do we want to do more of a shared where everything is shared. I think we both agree that overall we still want some kind of individual funds that we use for our own purposes and then the percentage contributions towards other things. I think we're still trying to work out what the best split is for the comfort level for both of us because I think that's kind of the next step in the financial relationship.

[B]

I would say it sounds like you're moving in the right direction. We're going to take a very quick break, but when we get back, we will get into the rest of Zoe's week.

[E]

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[B]

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[E]

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[B]

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[E]

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[B]

We are back with Zoe. So on day six, you and your boyfriend went to the beach. It was a Saturday.

[F]

Hi Hermoney, this is Zoe. It is Saturday. Today was pretty good day. I went to the gym this morning. So again, I use my unlimited membership for a class today. I biked there, so that was free. And then my boyfriend and I went to the beach today, which was great. I picked up some groceries for lunch and dinner beforehand. That was 47, 45. That fed us for lunch today and then dinner tonight. We were able to find free parking at the beach, which was pretty nice. It was a relaxing way to spend the day. And then came home and just kind of hung out and didn't really spend any other money today. I think there, there is an interest to spend some money. You know, seeing people at the beach, I'm like, I want a new bathing suit.

[C]

I did a little bit of, you.

[F]

Know, online browsing today. So yeah, I think that's, I, I definitely fall into that trap of browsing online on the weekends and hopefully I don't make any impulse purchases. And I think doing this, I'm also.

[C]

More conscious of that as well.

[F]

So, yeah, I got one more day tomorrow and I'll fill you in then.

[B]

You gave yourself a 24 hour pause.

[D]

Before hitting add to cart.

[B]

Is that something that you often do?

[D]

And how did you sort of come to this place where you realize that material things aren't going to necessarily boost your happiness as much as saving for those big goals?

[C]

I would say the 24 hour pause is very frequent, especially with clothing, because I often realize I don't need a new bathing suit. I don't go to the beach that often. I live in Chicago. It is cold for eight months out of the year. I already have two or three bathing suits. I don't need another. So I think it's like the practical or the pragmatic play of like, let me take a pause and see if this is actually a need or a want want. And I think that really probably began when I was in college seeing some of my friends spending and then getting kind of my first adult job where I had a salary and then seeing this urge to be like, oh my gosh, I could get all of these things, I could do all this stuff. But I think I realized that it wasn't going to bring me as much fulfillment as going out for a nice cup of coffee for myself with a friend. It really is, I think the experiences that have always been more rewarding and traveling and making sure that I can do those things versus buying a new swimsuit that I'm going to wear once or twice a year.

[B]

On Sunday, you stopped at a local fabric store.

[F]

Hi, her money.

[G]

This is Zoe. It's Sunday. It's the last day of my money diaries. Today my boyfriend and I went out to breakfast with his parents and then we saw a movie with them. They paid for breakfast and we paid for the movie on that is probably.

[F]

Going to go on.

[G]

My boyfriend and I shared a doc.

[F]

Of all of our monthly expenses. Before the movie.

[G]

We walked around a little bit near.

[F]

The movie theater that we went to and there was a new fabric store that was opening and I sew so.

[G]

I had to stop in. It was the first day of of.

[F]

Them opening up and I had heard about them. I didn't realize it was opening up today.

[G]

And so when we went inside, they had a really great selection of things and I wasn't intending to purchase anything both it being their.

[F]

Their first day. It's a local business.

[G]

It's something that I probably want to.

[F]

Go back to and get more involved in.

[G]

I did buy a yard of fabric from them and that was 14.66. That's a really cute pink cat fabric.

[F]

So that was the only thing that.

[G]

I spent money on today and I know I talked about this yesterday, is that I don't do a lot of impulse purchasing. I try to think about some of these things and I think the exception to that, if it is a local business, I do want to support that instead of buying things online or things that are new if I can. The local is is always the best option as well as if anything is used, I can find used, I'd rather do that. And I think that's from a financial standpoint, but also from a consumption Standpoint, I try to be mindful of what I, what I purchase and what I bring into my house and if it really is going to, to serve me or if it's just going to add more stuff to the world. So I think that also makes the purchasing a little bit easier and that I, I kind of have these values that outline how I spend my money. But yeah, I think my boyfriend got some groceries today.

[F]

He'll add those to our shared dock.

[G]

I think even with the purchases today, I'm still going to have spent a.

[F]

Little bit more than him so far this month.

[G]

And then usually at the end of the month, we do some kind of true up. If we're not even or the last, you know, few days of the month, we try to get even on whoever.

[F]

Has spent more or less.

[G]

And we do keep some of our expenses separate still as far as personal expenses. And I think we both like the freedom of having personal expenses that are just for us, but we also like being able to combine some of what we earn to make big purchases or go on trips together.

[F]

And so the shared doc is one.

[G]

Way that we've been able to, to think about how we're spending money. I think that's all I have to say today. Overall, this has been a really fun process and given me an opportunity to think about my budgeting and spending in a different way than I normally do. So that's been refreshed and I think it's shown me that I probably am too hard on myself on some of my purchases and that I do have my values kind of instilled in myself about how I want to spend my money. So when the time comes to spend money on buying a house or other big purchases in my life, I want to feel joy and confidence in being.

[C]

Able to do that.

[G]

So that's all from me and I look forward to, to talking with you more.

[B]

Zoe, your total spend for the week was $748.03. What do you think when you hear that number?

[C]

Sounds about right.

[B]

Is there anything that you change going forward? Are you feeling pretty good about how you're spending?

[C]

I think I'm feeling pretty good. I think recently I felt more of an impulse to spend more of what I earn. We just had our annual review process at work. I got a promotion, which is very exciting.

[F]

Thank you.

[C]

So I think, you know, that's kind of like the reminder to pat myself on the back and make sure I do some celebrating. And when I reallocate my budget, I should be able to do some more nice things for myself.

[B]

Absolutely. As we say in my house, this is why we work.

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

If you had to describe your week of spending in one word, what would it be and why?

[C]

The first word that I think is measured, which I think kind of sums it up, is a lot of it was intentional. A lot of it was pre planned. I think a small amount was impulse. And that is how I try to live my life.

[B]

Thank you so much for sharing with us. Thank you for taking us inside your week and your wallet. Your thoughtfulness is really, really inspiring and I appreciate you sharing.

[C]

Yeah, thank you.

[B]

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 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 free, helping level the playing field for women financially. I'd love for you to join us. Her money is produced by Hayley Pascalides and our music is provided by Video Helper. Thanks so much for listening and we'll talk soon.

[H]

The road is calling. Embrace the thrill of the drive with the fully electric Audi Q6E Tron, featuring effortless power, an advanced Audi tech. The next chapter of Audi is here.

[I]

Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar. I host a podcast called A Slight Change of Plans that combines behavioral science and storytelling to help us navigate the big changes in our lives.

[J]

I get so choked up because I feel like your show and the conversations are what the world needs. Encouraging, empowering counter programming that acts like a lighthouse when the world feels dark.

[I]

Listen to A Slight Change of Plans wherever you get your podcasts.