A Week on San Antonio’s River Walk on A $100,000 Salary | Welcome to Spending Notes, where we do a weekly deep dive into how our readers spend their cash.
Today: a CPA who makes $100,000
Occupation: Certified Public Accountant
Age: 29
Location: San Antonio, TX (River Walk area)
Salary: $100,000 (approx. $3,846 per pay period)
Day One
As a freelance CPA, I’m fortunate enough to be able to work from home. My place, though, isn’t set up to house a business. The internet connection, in particular, struggles to keep up with my clients and workload! So today, I’m looking for new options to improve my Wi-Fi speed and, by extension, my productivity. After some research, I come across Ubiquiti Unifi. Ubiquiti comes well-reviewed and seems to be an excellent fit for my unique home-based small business. On a similar note, all this Wi-Fi research reminds me that I need to renew the subscription for my go-to accounting software, my primary expense for the day.
Total: $90
Day Two
I start my day with a shower, as I do every day. Today, though, I‘m especially irritated by my bathtub. The tub’s always been particularly slippery, but it’s incredibly frustrating this morning. I’m relatively young, but I can’t imagine how frustrating this tub would be for someone with more limited mobility! This morning, I’m frustrated enough to start looking for a new shower. A quick internet search for “San Antonio walk-in shower” brings up some great options, plus plenty of accessories that will make an already durable contraption even safer and more accessible to use. I scribble down the information on the shower itself and, in the meantime, order some grab bars to make my current setup more useable until I arrange for an upgrade.
Total: $26
Day Three
With two of my biggest daily irritants crossed off my to-research list for the week, I’m able to shift my focus more directly to my clients today. First, I log on to my provider’s website to pay my phone bill—a requirement for my line of work—then spend the day working through projects. There’s a wide variety of accounting tasks to be done in a day, but it’s nothing I can’t handle!
Total: $114
Day Four
Today, I’m hard at work tackling one client’s projects in particular. They’re very meticulous about their accounting style, so I tend to set aside one day every few weeks to knock out their work specifically. Without giving away too much about my client, they help homeowners control household clutter and their lives more generally. Maybe I should hire them myself! For now, though, I’ll settle for ordering a new planner to get my calendar a little more on track.
Total: $69
Day Five
Today’s a busy one—if I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was tax season! I decide to treat myself to delivery for dinner to compensate for the chaos of the day. A cheeseburger with fries, mac and cheese, and a side of grilled shrimp makes for a quick and easy surf n’ turf that pairs perfectly with a Dr. Pepper and a new true crime doc.
Total: $31
Day Six
After a whole work week, I take today to run around San Antonio, knocking out some of the errands on my to-do list. Quick stops at the pharmacy, grocery store, and post office take up a decent chunk of the day, then I grab some lunch.
Total: $76
Day Seven
Living near Riverwalk, it would be foolish not to visit some of the great local restaurants. I meet some friends for brunch at a favorite spot this morning, indulging in some mimosas alongside our meals. We chat for a while, catching up on each other’s lives. After, I head back to my place and spend the afternoon tackling some chores and preparing for the week ahead.
Total: $54
Total for the week: $460
