Money Diary: A Week In The Midwest On A $135,000 Salary

📋 The basics

I am a 35-year-old Physician Assistant living in the Midwest with my husband, B. (an engineer), and our two kids. We are in a high-earning phase of life, but we definitely do not feel "rich" because we are aggressive about retirement and our kids' future.

• 💰 Combined Salary: $265,000 (plus $20k from my moonlighting)
• 🏦 Net Worth: ~$1.13M (includes a fully paid-off $400k house)
• 🏠 Monthly Expenses: $0 mortgage (the dream), $1,440 childcare, $1,000 groceries, $800 dining out
• 🛡️ Insurance/Taxes: ~$833/month (paid annually/semi-annually)

💸 This week's damage

This week was an absolute bloodbath for the bank account, mostly due to a massive home project we have been planning for a while. I am also seven weeks post-op from a major knee surgery (ACL and meniscus), so my "buy now" finger is a little twitchy while I am stuck on the couch.

• 🔨 Home: $11,607.60 (final payment for a new composite deck to replace our rotting one)
• ✈️ Travel: $775 (Airbnb deposit for a "light at the end of the tunnel" Hawaii trip)
• 🎁 Gifts/Holiday: $445 (includes a cleaning service for my SIL who is dealing with a family health crisis, photobooks, and a food processor for myself)
• 🧸 Kids: $130 (swim lessons, a Squishmallow, and monkey bars for the playroom)
• 🧼 Services: $160 (bi-weekly cleaning because I literally cannot vacuum on crutches)
• 🌯 Food/Misc: $212 (Chipotle, Target run, and a $1 Temu clip because TikTok got me)

🧐 The bigger picture

Seeing $13k leave the account in seven days is a lot, even when you know the big deck payment is coming. Being immobile has changed my spending habits. I am usually a marathoner, but now I am a professional "couch shopper." I am trying to balance the guilt of convenience spending (like the cleaning service) with the reality that I physically cannot do my usual chores.

We are very lucky to have the house paid off, which gives us the cash flow to handle these big hits without stress. I still hunt for deals, like the $50 swim lessons at the local school versus the pricey private clubs. It is all about the trade-offs.

🏁 Final thoughts

This week was about survival and looking forward. Between the therapy-recommended journals and the Hawaii deposit, I am investing in my mental health as much as my backyard. Money can buy a nice deck, but it cannot buy a new meniscus, so I am focusing on the slow road to recovery and trying to keep the online shopping within reason.