Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today: a social media specialist who makes $50,000 a year
Occupation: social media specialist
Age: 27
Location: Northwest Indiana
Salary: $50,000 (approx. $1,574 per pay period)
Day One
I’ve been working remotely for an out-of-state social media agency for the last year, but I am currently living in Northwest Indiana. I work from my laptop and utilize an extra screen from time to time because there are a lot of platforms to use when publishing posts online. My agency assigns clients to me, and we go back and forth on the best direction for their brand. Today, I just worked from home and ordered pizza via Postmates.
Total: $16.50
Day Two
Now that the temperatures are getting lower, I wanted to make sure that my heat will work throughout the winter without any issues. So, I searched up “heating and cooling in Northwest Indiana” online and found King Heating. They offer everything from furnace repair to air conditioner maintenance services. The best part is that they offer 24/7 customer service and can send a technician to my house in case something goes wrong. I decided to call them about a maintenance check for my heating system. They were really good about sending a technician at my convenience.
Total: $0
Day Three
Some of the things I do to prepare for winter include buying candles and sprucing up my home. I’ve been thinking about getting some live house plants delivered. Indoor plants are a really great way to feel like you’re outside when it’s snowing and windy. I love getting a new plant delivery. This time around, I’ll be getting a low-light plant from Lively Root. I usually get pet-friendly indoor plants because of my cat, S.
Total: $30
Day Four
One of the clients I manage social media for is a furniture store based out of Los Angeles. Today, the owner, G., sent me a box of cupcakes in the mail. I devoured two out of six of them in one sitting. I was hoping to work at a coffee shop today, but the weather wasn’t great, so I decided to stay home.
Total: $0
Day Five
The weather was a lot more bearable, so I went to one of my favorite cafes to work for a few hours. Then, I went home for a proper Zoom meeting with my coworkers. We all gave updates on our clients’ analytics. As a social media specialist, I also had to give some insight into the campaigns I am currently running for my clients. Some of my coworkers gave me suggestions for narrowing down my audience on the ad manager for a popular social networking site. After work, I went out to an Italian restaurant with a friend, where we shared three different kinds of pasta and ate way too much garlic bread. He paid for dinner. Who says no to a free meal?
Total: $8.25
Day Six
Every couple of months, I get my hair touched up. Today, I went into the salon to see my stylist, P., and we talked about going darker for the season. I have light brown hair and get highlights in the summer for some dimension. My stylist suggested adding some darker tones this time, and she really sold me on it. I always walk out of the salon feeling like a shiny new person.
Total: $120
Day Seven
Before the workweek begins, I like to tidy up the house and do a little bit of work to start my week off right. I spent some time engaging with online audiences. I also started brainstorming some posts to send over to our agency’s graphic designer for the upcoming week.
Total: $0
Total for the week: $174.75
