What I Spent in May 2024: Monthly Reset
Every dollar I spent in NYC in May, plus reflecting on goals and looking forward to June
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.
In May, the mood really shifts in New York City. Gone are the cold, overcast, rainy days, and in are the warm, sunny, happy days. Every outdoor patio, park, and rooftop is filled. People start talking to each other again (this is somehow related to the weather). And it’s hot, but not so hot you’re melting on the street in August hot.
I had some pretty great moments this month—I visited Boston and met my baby cousin for the first time, had a super fun girls’ night that started at the nice restaurant my friend works at (with a heavily discounted meal!), and went to Rockaway Beach. I also grew this newsletter by 185%, so if you’re new here, welcome, and check out my previous monthly resets here! On the first of the month, I reflect on every dollar I’ve spent and set new goals for the next month (financial and personal). I live in New York City, so I spend a lot of money (which I usually think is worth it, but sometimes have regrets).
My fixed costs were $2,420.50 (rent plus utilities). The cooking gas is still out in my building, although it seems like they’re making some progress on fixing that, so now that we’re over a year into this, it seems like we might be getting that back soon (and losing my small rent abatement). I live in a small one-bedroom apartment uptown.
Here’s a breakdown of variable expenses:
Dining Out: $90.76
This included a dinner at Spicy Moon (best restaurant in NYC), an amazing dinner at the restaurant my friend works at that was heavily discounted, and a few bagels. I expected to spend a lot more on the nice dinner out that was celebrating a friend’s new job, and it was such a nice surprise that the dinner was more affordable! And the food (and drinks!) were so good.
Groceries/Household: $420.65
This was more than some other months, but it included a $30 refill to my laundry card (I have laundry in my building’s basement) and lots of groceries, mostly at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and my local health food store.
Transportation: $73.60
This included lots of subway rides and a few train tickets to the suburbs. No cabs or ubers this month, which was a huge win!
Coffee Out: $99.42
I went out for coffee a lot this month. One of my favorite hobbies is creative writing, so most of these visits to coffee shops were to work on my novel (I’m writing a sequel to a science fiction novel I wrote a couple years ago) or to write posts for this Substack (I write better with a $10 latte next to me).
Drinks Out: $198.95
I only went out for drinks with my sister once, so this wasn’t as high as usual, LOL. I went out for beers a few other times, mostly at local bars.
Health: $49.00
This was just the usual Classpass charge (I still have Cyclebar credits and I have been running outside (for free!) a lot). I am debating canceling Classpass, honestly, since I don’t use it that much now that it’s nicer out, but I want to use up the credits I have, so this might extend. Also, I know it’s good for me to go to Pilates, even though I don’t enjoy it as much as running or spin class.
Hobby/Experience: $9.06
No concert tickets this month (but I am already signed up for the Clairo presale for next week)! I saw one baseball game but my cousin paid. This was just subscriptions to support creators I enjoy on Patreon and Substack.
Travel: $47.12
I went to Boston this month, but got a ride with my aunt and uncle and stayed with family, so the trip was pretty inexpensive. It was a great trip!
Gifts/Donations: $82.98
I bought two birthday gifts and a Mother’s Day gift. I also made part of one of the birthday gifts from scratch for free, which was fun and thrifty. I’m giving the gift in a week, so TBD if my sister will also love it more than something from a store.
Clothing/Makeup: $86.07
I bought some better clothes for running, like bike shorts with a side pocket. I had wanted to hold off on buying things for running until I got more into it, but now that I’m running at least once per week (usually 2-3 times), I think it’s worth it to invest.
Totals:
$1,157.61 in variable expenses.
$2,420.50 in fixed expenses (rent plus utilities)
$3,607.81 in total expenses
If you’ve been following along with my monthly resets, you might notice...this is my lowest spend month of the year!! I think some of this was intentional from trying to do outdoor, free, and cheap activities over expensive ones now that the weather is nice, and part of this was just luck—I didn’t have any large, one-off expenses this month, like a flight, pack of classes at a local studio, or order of contacts.
And my START, STOP, CONTINUE Reflections:
On the first of each month, I set small goals. I did pretty good with my goals last month, crushing the goal of spending more time outside and doing okay at squashing imposter syndrome and keeping my apartment tidy. I also did great with an unwritten goal, limiting my screen time, which I’ll write about later this month (subscribe to learn how I cut my screen time by over 50% so far in the past month)!
I’m looking forward to an amazing June, with a trip later this month and a comped SoulCycle class later today (courtesy of my Bilt credit card - I got it a few months ago and I’m obsessed).1
START: Journaling regularly. I fell out of this practice over the last couple of months, only journaling sporadically every couple weeks. I’m trying to get back in the habit of journaling every other day.
STOP: Sleeping in. I’m off to a great start with getting up at 7am to finish up this newsletter to post this morning!
CONTINUE: Same as last month - maximize time outside and exploring the city. It’s spring (and starting to feel like summer!) and I’m ready to enjoy it!
Drop your start/stop/continue in the comments or notes. Here’s to an amazing June :)
Check out all my monthly resets here.
Check Out the Advice Column
Do you have something financial you’ve been dwelling on and need guidance? Not what stocks to invest in—more like:
How much should I spend on my friend’s bachelorette?
Who should pay for the first date?
Can I afford to spend $2,000 in rent if I’m making $80,000 per year?
If you do, drop them in this form and I’ll discuss them in a future Ten Dollar Latte newsletter! Thanks to everyone who has submitted questions so far—I’m planning to post the first responses this month!
Thanks for reading! I post weekly 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. I also run Sidetracks—it’s a collection of party card games I designed. Grab a game to make your next happy hour unforgettable.
If You Liked This Post, You Might Like:
Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links—if you’re interested in that product or service, using these links helps support this free publication
Congratulations on your subscriber growth rate!! And on keeping expenses low this month 💪🏼
Hi Maria, congratulations on 300 subs, you're flying! Also well done for keeping your expenses low and spending more time outdoors - we are having a couple of sunny days here in Ireland and people look happier!