Issue #197: A Transparent Look at My Budget and Every Dollar I Spent in May

Plus the spreadsheet I created for tracking it!

🎥 ‘Mountainhead’ on HBO: Four tech billionaires gather for a mountain retreat—one (Cory Michael Smith) has created a social media company that proliferates makes deep fakes, while another (Ramy Youssef) has developed the technology that can identify these videos. There’s also a tech executive who spews philosophical insights (Steve Carrell) and the head of a meditation app (Jason Schwartzman). It’s a brilliant premise and combination of characters, from “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong; fertile ground for poking fun at bro culture while illuminating its dangerous pitfalls.

📚 Flashlight by Susan Choi: While walking along a beach at night in Japan, with only a flashlight, ten-year-old Louisa’s father says to her, “Someday, you’ll feel thankful to your mother. But I want you to act thankful now.” When she wakes up the next morning, cold and alone on the beach; her father is nowhere to be found, likely drowned. Told in alternating perspectives, the book dives into Louisa’s family’s background—both of her parents, her Korean father who was raised in Japan, and American mother are estranged from their families—as the foundation, and explanation, for the traumatic night.

📺 "The Better Sister" Series on Prime: This eight-episode miniseries follows two sisters—one (Jessica Biel) is living a seemingly perfect life, when in actuality she’s married to her sister’s (Elizabeth Banks) ex and raising their son. When her husband is murdered, the sisters come together to figure out what happened.

“It’s impolite to talk about money.” I’m sure we’ve all heard this at least once in our lives, but talking about money is often the only way we learn about money. It’s why I’ve written about the financial breakdown of buying my house and am sharing my current salary and budget with you today (!). In opening up about my finances, I’m aware that I’m also making myself vulnerable to criticism. Many of you will read this and think, “Woah, she spends a lot.” But I’m guessing just as many of you will be struck by how little I spend—it all depends on your own expenses, backgrounds, and lives. Ultimately, I hope you find this post helpful in making your own financial decisions, or simply entertaining (I love knowing what other people spend!). Read on for:

• A money diary, with photos and notes, of every dollar I spent in May (!)

• Why I track my expenses manually each week, and a downloadable template to the spreadsheet I created for myself (with real examples from last month)

• A transparent look at how much I make

• How my boyfriend and I split expenses

• The major purchase I’m saving up for