money musings: june 2025
total income in the hundreds (i hate getting paid once/month), overspending to the point of irresponsible, and a short trip to new york
Notable mentions this month include: curating my perfect, year-round fragrance rotation; visiting New York for the first time but it just so happens that a heatwave was passing through and I had a pretty miserable experience; breaking my sobriety but at the same time learning that it is possible to drink without incurring a hangover the next day (pro tip: stick to straight shots and avoid sugary cocktails); discovering a nearby 5 mile walking trail that is equal parts beautiful but exhausting; taking the effort to become a tourist in this new city I moved to two months ago; ticking off health check-ups (primary care & pulmonology done, still got to tackle dermatology and ophthalmology).
A detailed overview of my income sources, mandatory expenses, non-essential expenses, and savings/investments. I use YNAB, a budgeting tool that allows me to budget with the money I already have, instead of what I plan to make. This section does not contain any financial advice; please do research on your own prior to making any investment-related decisions.
NET WORTH was $186,139.78.
INCOME was +$264.29.
9-5: +$0 (I get paid monthly, and June’s paycheck hit July 1st so I couldn’t report anything for this month.)
Beans: +$49.28 (incl. Gumroad, Instagram, Substack, Partnerships)
Resell: +$30.00
Wealthfront Interest: +$137.07 (My highest payment yet!)
PERISHABLE EXPENSES was -$1,583.90.
Rent: -$1,000. Now that we moved to a slightly smaller space, my portion of rent is $400 less. Huge win!
Health: -$147.20. I saw a primary care doctor, pulmonologist, and dentist this month, but what took up majority of this category spend was a cavity filling! I swear I have the worst genetics because I do the whole DentalTok brush routine — floss, electric toothbrush, mouthwash, and tongue scraper twice a day. What’s wild is that Mr. Beans has terrible dental habits (forgets to brush at times) and he’s never gotten a cavity. So unfair.
Groceries: -$341.92. Lately, I’ve been cooking for myself (because Mr. Beans doesn’t particularly like eating heaps of tofu that I’m usually cooking up), so this spend is all me. I think I could decrease this by $40, since $28 was spent on a riesling that called my name (I’m not a wine woman by any means but I’m not opposed to dabbling in a drink here or there) and a $11.98 panic spend at the Indian grocery store thinking I’d use what I purchased for my potluck but the dal vadas were too spicy (even for me) so I had to throw them out. If I eliminated those two, I could’ve easily been at the $300 grocery spend mark.
Transportation: -$94.78. Filled my gas tank up twice this month — now that I’m trying to be a tourist in my own city, I will be driving a bit more, which means I’ll have to increase my gas budget from $50 to $100.
PRIVILEGED EXPENSES was -$1,351.12.
Spotify: -$16.99. Monthly charge for a family plan. Everyone Venmo’ed me their year’s subscription share in April ($2.83 per month * 12 months = $33.96 per person), so now each charge deducts from that balance. Rinse and repeat next April.
Maintenance: -$605.86. Two “necessary” spends were my new Hoka Bondi 9’s (which is a huge step up from my old Nike Air Max 97’s) and a Yamazaki shoe rack (though I probably could’ve found one that wasn’t $78…). Unnecessary purchases were a Brooklinen core sheet set (we only have one sheet set and I wanted another so that bedsheet laundry day wouldn’t be that big of a nightmare) and a large HAY crate from Design Within Reach (I actually ordered this a month ago and forgot that it would ship a month later — I’m using this to store my meds and it’s perfect).
Dates: -$355.12. Another wildly expensive category due to Laufey concert tickets. I wanted to cover Mr. Beans’ ticket since he paid for my NY flight ticket and hotel stay (both were >$1K). We had an ice cream date so $14 contributed to this total.
Social: -$5.50. These were a few parking expenses made when hanging out with friends. I was debating whether to categorize this as transportation or social…
RICH LIFE was -$1,391.69.
Travel: -$129.38. Expenses from my NY trip, which isn’t a lot because Mr. Beans covered most of our meals so I only had to cover subway, sweet treats, coffee, and the Lyft from the airport back to our apartment (he decided to stay on the East Coast since he’s able to WFH, so I came back home by myself).
Low Buy: -$1,146.62. You thought last month’s was bad (~$500 spend)…I really let myself go this month. I’ll get into everything I purchased in the next section of this newsletter.
Gifts: -$115.69. I got coffee for my parents for Father’s Day — which doesn’t sound like much and it absolutely wasn’t — but I did make the 1.5-2 hr drive down to see them and they brought Burmese food that grandma’s caretaker cooked. I also got a pajama set for Mr. Beans since he doesn’t own pajama-specific clothing.
SAVINGS was $0, but not really. YNAB is handy when it comes to saving for certain goals, because every time you get paid, you can allocate that money beyond the current month. I was able to allocate money to my sinking funds for this reason. To help visualize this, the numbers in the first column from the left are the amount of money I’ve allocated to each category. Technically, I saved $1,222.05 + $1,363.90, thanks to paychecks from previous months.
Remember the promise I made to stay on my no-buy until I got a new job? And I ended up buying a bunch of items last month that exceeded my budget? Weirdly, I forgot to hop off of this impulse spending train so this is everything I purchased in June…
Beyond Yoga: -$174.12. Because I recently started doing personal fitness training and going on regular walks, I realized I have no sweat-wicking clothing and only one sports bra. Suffice to say, the athletic portion of my wardrobe was close to none. After some Reddit researching, I decided to give this brand a try. I ended up keeping their Featherweight tees (fabric is insanely soft and light even after washing) and an Impulse Ribbed bra (which is comfortably compressive).
DÔEN: -$191.80. Purchased three tops, returned two and kept one, which was the June top. Not to be overdramatic but this is the top of my dreams. I want it in a variety of colors, but thankfully, DOEN does this annoying thing of using ridiculously sheer fabrics and the color-ways left in stock use that terrible fabric. Impulse curbed! (BTW, if you’re curious, I returned the Henri top because it was too transparent but also sat weirdly on my body, and the Frances top because the neckline was so odd — it kept gaping and creasing every time I moved my shoulders).
Diptyque: -$432.08. I exchanged a Diptyque travel set I purchased last month for Philosykos EDT in store — while this perfume smells incredible, there is no lasting power, and it feels like it evaporates after five minutes upon settling onto the skin. I also thought it would be $135, but that’s for the smaller size bottle I saw online. I should’ve asked the salesperson about this because I would’ve saved $50. Later, I put in an online order for Orpheon EDP and Philosykos perfume balm. The former was a great purchase, the latter is in the process of being returned.
D.S. & Durga: -$226.73. I went into a DS & Durga store in New York and fell in love with Debaser. I thought I’d love I Don’t Know What, as that one has been raved about and compared to Le Labo’s Another 13. I decided to get a four vial sample of I Don’t Know What, two Debasers, and Coriander (a delightfully herby green scent). After testing the various scents on my skin, I knew I had to get Debaser in a full bottle.
Petite Plume: -$121.89. I’ve had the pajama set on my wishlist for ages, and while I could have waited to purchase this, I am kind of glad I did? I purchased the Olivia set and dream of having a pajama wardrobe filled with luxurious sets like this one. I was close to buying Lake pajamas, but their reviews haven’t been positive lately.
