What I found when I tracked my spending for a week

Ashleigh Austen kept a spending diary for a week - and the results scared her. Photo / Pexels

Ashleigh Austen is an Australian lifestyle editor for whimn.com.au who kept track of every dollar she spent for a week.

While I've never been particularly bad when it comes to managing my finances, I'm not exactly tracking what I spend in a spreadsheet either (mainly because I don't know how to use Excel, but moving on).

After spending my formative years living with a boyfriend who loved saving money so much I can count the coffees he bought me in five years on one hand, I've now gone a bit, well, rogue. You could liken my spending habits to Paris Hilton circa 2007 - same amount of handbags, only with less velour tracksuits.

Now a single, 27-year-old woman living in Australia's most expensive city, I step a fine line between "treat yo'self" and "ohhh was rent due today?" I figure I work damn hard for my money, so I'll enjoy spending it, too.

While my Veuve Clicquot tastes don't always match my VB budget, if I need (okay, want) something, I generally find a way to throw down the cash.

Here's what went down when I took stock of my somewhat declining stocks for whimn.com.au

DAY 1 - SUNDAY

• Brunch at Bondi Wholefoods, $23.70
• Soy cappuccino, $4.20
• Groceries at Harris Farm, $74
• Three identical black tops from ASOS, $112

Total: $213.90

I wake up slightly hung-over and meet a friend for a walk (which constitutes exercise) and an outrageously overpriced brunch which I justify because avocado is life and I'm happy to eat my house deposit.

Every Sunday from 4pm, I'm in the kitchen meal prepping for the week. I roast a chicken, chop up some veggies and give myself a big old pat on the back with an ASOS order.

DAY 2 - MONDAY

• Weekly rent, $300
• House cleaner, $20
• Soy cappuccino, $4.20
• Protein ball, $3.80

Total: $328

As far as rental prices in Sydney go, mine is a song. I share an apartment in Bondi with three hairy (but legendary) boys. God bless Shaz, our cleaner, who comes each fortnight.
Sometimes I wonder if I'll need to get a second job to fund my Bounce protein ball obsession. The peanut ones are worth stepping over a puppy for.

DAY 3 - TUESDAY

F45 gym membership, $60
Soy cappuccino, $4.20
Opal Card top-up, $50

Total: $114.20

Some may think paying $60 a week to throw myself at the ground and call it fitness isn't exactly value for money, but it gets me out of bed five mornings a week.
Working in the city, I get a bus and a train to and from the office each day while my car gathers leaves on the street. On the bright side, it's good for some incidental (read: free) exercise.

DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY

• Soy cappuccino, $4.20
• Kmart socks, $3
• Bottle of pinot noir, $23

Total: $30.20

I might have expensive taste in body wash, but when it comes to socks, I can't go past a 3-for-1 Kmart deal. Look at me saving!

After a big day of adulting, I grab a bottle of wine on the way home. Of course, because it says organic on the label, I decide it's worth the extra dosh (realistically it all tastes the same out of The Simpsons emblazoned coffee mug I drink it out of.)

DAY 5 - THURSDAY

• Soy cappuccino, $4.20
• Leopard mules, $158
• Probiotic and magnesium vitamins, $42

Total: $204.20

Following the Facebook group High End might potentially send me broke. I flick through the new listings while on the bus and buy a pair of heels I don't need.

I religiously take a handful of vitamins each morning too, because even if they're not actually doing anything, I feel like they do.

DAY 6 - FRIDAY

• Soy cappuccino x2, $8.40
• Vietnamese salad with extra carrot, $14
• Four glasses of champagne (lol prosecco), $46
• Uber, $18

Total: $86.40

By the time Friday rolls around, my meal prep stores are in decline and I'm usually won over by a colleague who suggests a trip to the dodgy Vietnamese place down the road.
After work I go to the pub, down four glasses of bubbly and get an Uber home because it's the weekend when I evidently let all financial responsibility fly out the window.

DAY 7 - SATURDAY

• Long black coffee, $3.50
• Banana smoothie, $12
• Banana Blossom green salad, $14.50
• Uber rides, $187

Total: $217

TOTAL WEEKLY SPEND: $1,193.90

I go along to a friend's farewell and god bless her for chucking on a bar tab, because I somehow managed to really blow the transport budget.

Turns out, trying to go to three parties on opposite ends of the city doesn't ring in cheap. And neither does the post-workout smoothie I've become accustomed to on weekends.
I might be living my best life, but a house deposit certainly isn't on the horizon.

Ashleigh Austen is whimn's lifestyle editor and writes about everything from way-out wellness trends and workouts to genius beauty hacks and bang-on fashion buys.

- Whimn.com.au