Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today: an animator who makes $90,000
Occupation: animator
Age: 36
Location: Lubbock, TX
Salary: $90,000 (approx. $2,900 per pay period)
Day One
I work as a 3D animator for a video game studio out of Austin, TX, and create special effects and animations. Now that our company works remotely, I moved out of the Austin area and purchased a home in Lubbock, which is a lot closer to my family. It’s a fun job, and I get to be creative every day even if it does take a lot of work. I work with different character artists as well as our art director over Zoom. Today, I worked on deliverables. It was a long day spent at my sit/stand desk, so I picked up takeout for dinner.
Total: $32
Day Two
Even though I have a good amount of disposable income, I still prefer buying affordable shoes online over designer or luxury goods. Plus, they look just as good. I spent some time looking at Wild Divas Shoes’ new arrivals page. I’ve purchased several items from them before because of their great customer service and easy returns. It’s an easy shopping experience to buy affordable shoes like sandals, heels, and boots at low prices. Where else can you purchase three pairs of shoes for the price of one? Wild Diva truly has the best deals.
Total: $121
Day Three
I’ve been talking to my fiance, R., about doing a bathroom remodel. Our home could use some updating, and I think it’s best to find bathroom remodeling services sooner rather than later. There have been a lot of issues with the supply chain. If you want a couch within the next month, for example, then you probably should have ordered it three months ago. That’s just the kind of time we’re in at the moment. I’m looking over reviews to guarantee I can get the best bathroom remodel Lubbock has ever seen. I found Beautiful Bath Pro, and they seem to be a great option. They’re a bathroom remodeling company in Lubbock, TX, that only uses the highest quality products at competitive prices. I’m really hoping to have a luxurious shower and maybe even a tub with a jacuzzi. I contacted them to get free pricing.
Total: $0
Day Four
My best friend M. is coming to town and visiting me for a couple of days before jetting off to New York City for the holidays. After work today, I’m picking her up from the airport, and we’re going to catch up on the latest. While texting and calling are nice, it’s always a lot more fun to hang out in person. I bought some cut flowers from the grocery store to freshen up our home for her arrival.
Total: $12
Day Five
M. also works remotely, so we spent the earlier part of the day doing work. She was on her laptop while I worked from my desktop. R. made us a really grand breakfast of biscuits and gravy, fruit, and scrambled eggs.
Total: $0
Day Six
We all drove down to Dallas today to have a nice outing. M. and I met when I went to a design college in Rhode Island, and I wanted to become an animator even before then. We ordered tacos and showed her around typical Texas spots. The three of us also went to the Dallas Arboretum, which served as a nice walk after all the food.
Total: $72
Day Seven
After a long day in Dallas yesterday, we spent the rest of our time at our home in Lubbock. We made pumpkin chili and watched trashy reality TV shows about real estate.
Total: $0
Total for the week: $237
