What I Spent in March 2024: Monthly Reset

Spending and goals reset from March heading into April

Apr 01, 2024

Thanks for checking out Ten Dollar Latte! I’m not a financial advisor, just a 27-year-old trying to afford life in NYC. I write about how I spend my money while enjoying a $10 latte.

Some highlights from March: I officially launched my business and reached some exciting milestones there, like participating in our first pop-up and shipping out our first few batches of ecommerce orders. I also spent lots of quality time with friends and family, attended a few great networking events in NYC, and saw a Broadway show.

My fixed costs changed this month: I spent only $1,820.50 on rent, $600 less than usual. This was because I negotiated a rent abatement with my landlord due to not having cooking gas for almost a year (just NYC things...LOL). Utilities (electric, wifi) were still around $100. Side note on rent—I just got a Bilt credit card. It’s a credit card where I should be able to pay my rent no-fee, and get points for paying rent. That’s not an affiliate link, since I haven’t used the card yet and not sure how I’ll like it yet (and if it will work—it feels too good to be true)! I’ll let you all know later on this month what I think after I use it for my April rent.

For my variable expenses, I narrowed it down to 10 categories that I’ll keep consistent going forward (I tried out a few different categories in my February and March monthly resets).

Here’s the down-to-the-penny count of everything else I spent money on this month:

Dining Out: $158.60
This included going out for a friend’s birthday, a couple lunch sandwiches, and treating my sister a couple of times. This was the highest this category has been all year for me, but my grocery category is the lowest it’s been (and I owed my sister for treating me!).
Groceries/household: $321.46
This included many grocery store runs (including my local farmer’s market), plus a few household essentials from Target. I also tried Martie*, an online grocer that sells groceries at a discount, for the first time this month. I feel like I ordered a little too much “junk food” since they most have pantry goods, but this definitely helped me keep my spending low on groceries!

$52 worth of groceries from Martie! Most of this will help with my April and May grocery budgets, too.

Transportation: $150.60
No cabs or ubers - this was just lots of subway rides, bus rides, and commuter train rides home to visit my parents and sister. I also got another 10-pack of NYC ferry rides ($2.75 per ride, lasts 3 months). Besides walking, that’s my favorite way to get around NYC.
Coffee Out: $59.00
This was relatively low this month! I didn’t work alone from coffee shops very much; this was mostly getting coffee out with friends.
Drinks out: $404.61
The highest it’s been all year...but hear me out! I went to lots of fun events this month - comedy shows, networking events at bars, and my own pop-up at a bar, so I spent a decent amount on drinks out this month. I also treated friends and family quite a bit in this category, which I’m happy with!

From our first Sidetracks (my small business) pop up at a local bar!

Health: $106.00
The majority of this ($89) was my Classpass subscription, which I’m considering downgrading next month, given it’s getting nicer out and I’m enjoying running outside instead. This also included some face soap and moisturizer.
Hobby/Experience: $56.36
This included a networking event, a concert, and a Patreon subscription to one of my favorite creators. This was much lower than previous months, mostly because I had already bought tickets to the shows I wanted to see this month.
Travel: $731.82
My first travel expense of 2024! I bought my flights for this trip on December 31st, 2023, and this was for the hotel. It’s for three nights at an all-inclusive hotel for a good friend’s wedding, so this one was totally worth it.
Gifts/donations: $40.51
In addition to a donation, this included 2 bouquets of flowers for my mom and a friend and a card for my cousins to celebrate their newborn. I love giving gifts!
Clothing/makeup: $14.00
This included a new eyeliner pencil and some socks. No, I don’t wear expensive makeup, and this is the first new makeup I’ve bought all year.

The final spread of what I spent this month

Total: $2,042.96 in variable expenses. $3,960.46 all in!

This was my lowest spending month all year, mostly due to negotiating that rent abatement with my landlord. I’m happy with my spending this month—it was intentional, and I really don’t have any regrets. Next month, I have a friend visiting and a few different trips and events—I expect my spending to increase.

Every month, I share my start, stop, continue goals:

START: Daily to-do lists to stay on track with growing my business. I did this in January and February, but fell off the wagon in March. The business grew, but I need to stay focused so I can grow the business intentionally in March (right now I’m focused on marketing, and there are about 1,000+ ways to market a product, some better than others).

STOP: Scrolling on my phone. I feel like this is always my “stop” goal, and I’ve gotten more sucked in lately as I use social media for my business. It’s such an addictive habit that’s so hard to break. I loved

Elle Sundberg

’s tip to charge your phone in another room, and I think I’ll try to have a social media free day (even business accounts!) one day each week.

CONTINUE: My fitness journey! I’m regularly attending 2-3 spin classes, 1-2 outdoor runs and 1 pilates class each week, not to mention long walks around the city. As the weather gets warmer, this should only be easier, and it’s been so good for my mental and physical health

Views from a recent run up the East River

.As always, let me know your goals for April and your successes and favorite moments from March!

Thanks for reading! I post weekly on Thursdays (previously Mondays) about living in NYC, personal finance, and growing my small business. I also post a monthly reset on the 1st of each month sharing everything I spent money on the previous month and goals for the next month. My small business is called Sidetracks—it’s a collection of party card games I designed. Grab a game to make your next happy hour unforgettable.

*This is a Martie affiliate link—use it for $10 off your first order!