She’s self-employed, passionate about local businesses, and has a refreshing perspective on budgeting for real life.
Age: 41
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Monthly income: $8,000–$10,999
Estimated annual salary range: $96,000 – $131,988
Total spending this week: $1,190.32
“I think this week was a love letter to my town,” says Lizzie, a 41-year-old chiropractor and mother of two living in a small New England community.
In the first episode of our new series, A Week In Her Wallet, Lizzie tracked her spending over the course of seven days.
Day 1 — Sunday
💸 Spent: $276.86
- Bulk loose leaf tea – $94.00 (CC) – “Want” → “Great!”
- Parents’ anniversary bouquet contribution – $37.00 (mailed check) – “Family pressure” → “Okay”
- Utilities – $145.86 (bank transfer) – “Need” → “Good”
Lizzie kicks off the week by restocking her favorite bulk tea, a purchase that brings her joy and supports a business she loves. “Just really trying to be more intentional about the businesses where I am spending money, and to use, to use my financial power in that way,” she says. She also chips in for her parents’ anniversary bouquet, even though she wasn’t fully on board with the expense. “ I’m still working on having boundaries with my siblings and my parents and family of origin,” she says.
Day 2 — Monday
💸 Spent: $84.98
- Kickboxing (silent auction win) – $43.99 (CC) – “Want” → “Great!”
- Kid’s ballet class deposit – $25.00 (CC) – “Want” → “Great!”
- HBO Max – $16.99 (CC) – “Want” → “Okay”
Lizzie wins a month of kickboxing at her daughter’s preschool fundraiser — “It was something I was curious about trying anyway, and I got a whole month for $44. No one else bid on it, so I think that is a huge win.”
Day 3 — Tuesday
💸 Spent: $231.72
- Gas – $27.36 (CC) – “Need” → “Okay”
- Town pool pass – $130.00 (Cash) – “Want” → “Great!”
- New windshield wipers – $74.36 (CC) – “Need?” → “Fine”
A family pool pass makes its way into the week, something Lizzie describes as a summer essential. “I do think that having fun, accessible, and well-maintained things in and around our town helps so much, especially with kids, and creating a life that we like, but with money, too,” she says.
Day 4 — Wednesday
💸 Spent: $100.00
- Automatic investment in brokerage account – $100.00 (Bank transfer) – “Future need” → “Great!”
Day 5 — Thursday
💸 Spent: $106.77
- Groceries/snack contribution to preschool party – $86.77 (CC) – “Want/Need” → “Good”
- Pick-your-own strawberries – $20.00 (Cash) – “Want” → “Delicious!”
Day 6 — Friday
💸 Spent: $257.99
- Birthday gift for kids’ friend – $42.00 (Cash) – “Social contract” → “Great!”
- Groceries – $198.00 (CC) – “Need (mostly)” → “Good”
- Netflix – $17.99 (CC) – “Want” → “Good”
Lizzie grabs food for the week. “We did do a grocery trip haul for the week, which was a little smaller ’cause we had done some of the extras the day before, so it was only about 200 bucks,” she says.
Day 7 — Saturday
💸 Spent: $90.00
- 2 hours of babysitting – $40.00 (Cash) – “Want” → “Amazing”
- Dinner delivery – $50.00 (CC) – “Want” → “Good when I ordered, less good after”
To close the week, Lizzie hires a sitter and orders takeout. “I hired a neighborhood teenager who’s babysat for us a few times to come and watch my kids so that I can go to my yoga class, because my husband is away this weekend on a trip, and I did not want to give up that self-care,” she says.
💬 Final Reflections:
Total spent this week: $1,190.32
“This is why we’re working,” she says. “This is why we are being mindful of our spending and not just splurging on every whim. And I guess I felt validated in that I was on the right path.”
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