[Euro 2016 Betting Tips and News](http://www.betxpert.co.uk/betting-previews/euro-2016-previews)
What’s up guys, my first article in a long while. I’ll be going through my top blank gameweek, free hit picks based on my studies of the stats and the eye test.
* UPDATE 3 (as of 12/01/2021 5am MDT)) *
Keepers:
Karl “Pilkington” Darlow (5m)
A shoe in vs the goal shy and generally poor SHU team. My only apprehension is the lack of save points against such a shoddy SHU attack. *A few of you pointed out Dubravka could reclaim his place, I don't see it personally with Karly Pilkoids Darlow being one of NEW's best performers this season, a fan favourite and in months gone by he had the best keeping stats in the league. Go for Jay Leno below if you're a worrier.
Jay Leno (4.9m)
Less likely of a cleanie in my humble opinion vs a decent CPL attack. Better for saves, in a better defence though.
Rammy Ramsdale (4.7m)
Rammy gains the advantage of being able to own the insurance of big Mikey Verrips (4m) as your backup. Again, against a side who are fairly impotent up top.
Hugo (5.6m)
Arguably the best keeping option this week for combined security and likelihood of a clean sheet. More expensive than the nailed on, free kick man, Eric Dier (5.1m).
DDG (5.3m)
A poorer choice than Lloris (5.6m), Shawshanks (4.8m) and Maguire (5.4m) but decent if you need a keeper with a good chance of a shut out and don't have space in defence.
The D:
Cancelo Culture (5.8m)
Pricey, extravagant, and hopefully not at the mercy of Pep’s Wheel after his 45 min rest this weekend. By far one of the best attacking options at the back and a part of the D most likely to get a shut out this GWK.
Johnny Stones (5.0m)
Cheap as chips and fresh off a goal against United midweek, inferior to CC but not a bad option whatsoever against a pretty dire Brighton attack who need to find another striker in the January window. Dias too pricey for my likely but the better option if you have a 800k in your back pocket.
Kieran “The Taste” Tierney (5.4m)
Alongside CC, the best of the defenders this week for potential attacking output. A decent fixture against CPL in London. Has a great deal of threat and arguably ousts a second MCI DEF with this.
*Shawshank Redemption (4.8m) On corners for United with surprisingly good attacking underliers in the month gone by. Not a bad option. Potentially njured as of new update. Pick H-Mags over AWB, more thread, AWB more defensive.
Harry Maguire (5.4m) – Already memed too much to allow for a nickname.
Top of the threat charts for a reason but can’t seem to hit the target. Better than sure IMO for the added points and bonus that come with a DEF goal if you have spare cash. Not as good as Tierney or an extra MCI DEF.
DeAndre “Pace” Yedlin (4.3m)
The best budget pick at the back this week. Playing as a wingback against the worst side in the league though don’t expect the world; it’s a NEW defender I’m suggesting here – give me a break fellas. Watch out for Lewis injury news. If Lewis is back then go for Clark (4.5m) or Schar (4.9m) if you’re feeling spicey.
The Batman’s Holding The Bowler’s… (4.5m)
Rob Holding BTW. A safer if less exciting alternative to DeAndre. Likely won’t be on for any returns at the opposite end of the pitch.
That Mitchell and Money in the Bank Look (3.9m)
This man is for your shamefully low budget bench you penny pinching FPL scumbags out there. Have another better pick in reserve in front of him as it’s unlikely he’s getting anything this weekend but some points for just turning up but more importantly gives you the extra funds for a big man at the back.
*The Roman (5.1m)
Added to replace the Shawshank Redemption. The Roman should be a decent option but as I've mentioned in other areas, Wolves look sub par and Everton's attack will be revitalised. Coin flip but good attacking threat.
Eric "Big Balls" Dier (5.1m)
Shrewd pick. Under the radar and on some direct FKs in a very strong defensive side against Fulham.
Middle of the park:
*Sonaldo (9.8m)
Fulham at home for the top scorer in FPL this season. The only dilemna you should be having is which of the scintilating Spurs duo to captain.
Kevin (11.7m)
You didn’t read this far for me to give you a tip about the best midfielder in the world being a good pick did you? I will say no more. He is very good at football, he is playing against Brighton.
Bruno (11.3m)
Looks like he needs a 3 week spa break but will be chomping at the bit and fresher after the defeat to City in the League Cup and then rest in the FA Cup. Avoid at your peril.
Marcus “The Saviour” Rashford (9.6)
A great man but is he great this week in your teams? The answer: most likely. Burnley look poor, he looks sharp and again has had a little rest.
Tiki Saka (5.3m)
Potentially a little bit of a trap with the surprise ARS resurgence but cheap enough to avoid any embarrassment over the pick. Decent stats and value too if ARS keep it up. Pref a premium defender and switch in formation but he’s here as an enabler.
Ilkay “The Snapper” Gundogan (5.4m)
A shrewd pick. Topping Sterling’s and KDB’s recent big chances and in a purple patch. Will he play? Where will he play? Only Pep knows. Not a bad enabler and better than Saka if you’re opting for KDB and only one other MCI asset besides the German box-to-box man. Fine but don't be surprised at a large 2 staring you in the face when you excitedly click your points tab. Not guaranteed to star with all the MCI options returning.
Aubameblank (11.3m)
He’s on the list but at the bottom. Should you pick him? Probably not given the value and form of about 700 other players in the league but he’s here. Do you like a shot in the dark, a gamble, a longshot over a sure fire? He’s your man.
James “The Fringe” Rodriguez (7.7m)
Very interesting pick at the 7-8m range. As a watcher of many Prem games I can tell you Wolves have looked and played awfully. Will be ready to play and always passes the eye test.
The Poverty Ozil (4.4m)
A shoe in should you need a cheap enabler. Don't skimp to a 4.3m. Playing as a 10 at 4.4m for Arsenal, ESR is a strong pick but not as good as Tiki Saka.
Up Top:
*Yeah, Obviously (11.0)
Prime for captaincy on top of the pick. Overlooked by the hive mind due to his price and the trendy Lacasweat pick. If someone gave you a tenner and asked you at even odds whether he will score or not vs Fulham at home, what would you do?
Cilson (6.5m)
Outrageously, Cilson is high on the list. Penalties, value and fixture swing it. My tip would be to play him as a two or even solo and go for the heavenly five man premiums in your Mids.
Tony M (8.7m)
As a one weeker, maybe the best pick up top… arguably. That’s if he can shrug off that trademark Tony M mood and get back in the icey cold veins vibe, scoring streak. Not recommended by myself due to Edinson rotation.
Lacasweat (8.3m)
He’s in the zone but pricey and security of starts coupled with ARS’s dodgy early season form worry me. Definitely wouldn’t captain but an okay choice for his price range. Fantastic recent underlies though...
Benchman Brewster (4.5m)
Here’s your prime bench fodder for this week if you’re playing one or two up top (my recommendation for an optimal formation this week). Again like Mitch I would have someone else proceeding him though – a Holding/Gundo type ranged player. Go for (4.3m) Davis if you need the funds though.
GENERAL TIPS:
Should you FH? Yes, unless all of your precious FPL stars have aligned and you have a strong 9+ contingency of players. Captaincy wise I’d go the following, fixtures allowing:
TOT attacker
MCI attacker (i.e. KDB as Raheem the Dream is rumoured to be out)
MUN attacker
Cheers for reading if you made it this far. Come check me out on Twitch for my pre deadline streams the day before (
https://www.twitch.tv/spearmintspaff ), I'm on Twitter too (
https://twitter.com/SpearmintSpaff ). It's not your usual FPL content, trust. KO for our stream is usually:
9PM UK GMT / 2PM CAD MDT / 4PM USA EDT / 1 PM USA PST
I stream "FPL Live" every week the day before the deadline at a later time than other content creators for folks in stranger time zones such as myself in Canada. Thanks guys and good luck.
N.B. Had to cancel stream this week as after posting this originally I had emergency appendectomy surgery so updating this from the hosptial the morning after as we speak!
submitted by In this strategy based article I will focus on the universal appeal of FPL, how to improve from a beginneintermediate level player into a mini-league demi-god, and mini-league specific tactics.
Introduction
During this protracted DGW19 I find myself pondering the great imponderable - what is so universally appealing about Fantasy Premier League?
Firstly, there’s the league itself. I grew up watching English football as a boy in the 1980's when football & life itself was much simpler. Black & white TV, squads of home-grown players, and not a pair of neon boots in sight. Nowadays, the world’s best players ply their trade in the English top-flight with all the accompanying razzmatazz, glitz & glamour. The Premier League is now very much an international product with industry analyst’s estimating a cumulative global audience reach of over 3 billion views per season.
Secondly, the FPL game has such a simplistic format - squad of 15, pick 11 starters, select a captain, organise the bench order, and your team is locked & loaded. The addition of chips (Free Hit, Bench Boost, & Triple Captain) has added an extra layer of variance to the game. When deployed in a double gameweek some addictively huge swingy point totals can be achieved akin to a super mega jackpot from FPL’s very own slot machine.
What’s The Hook?
As we finalise our team before each new season we dare to dream. Many have tried to take down the main event but given the miniscule chances of besting approximately 7 million participants very few succeed. A commonly held marker for success is an overall rank inside the top ten thousand with many of the game’s best players measuring success by a cumulative of low OR numbers from their career track record. However, the number achieving the loftiest of ranks is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the overall number of players actively engaging in the game. So what’s the hook? For me the universal appeal is simple - the watercooler moment. In both physical and virtual places across the world mini-league competitors either congratulate or jibe each other over their respective fantasy exploits from that weekend. Many of these leagues will have a dominant player, the fantasy guy or girl, who lifts the trophy season after season. Below I will talk about tips & mini-league specific tactics aimed at giving you the competitive advantage and turning both beginneintermediate level players into mini-league monsters.
Team Structure
A solid foundation & good team structure is a fundamental aspect of FPL. Historically, in order to squeeze as much positive value from my squad & facilitate a maximum number of big hitting options I would not have spent much of my budget on the bench.
However, as FPL managers it is important not to be too rigid in the beliefs you hold to be true. Due to current environmental uncertainty and Covid match postponements having squad depth is definitely more desirable this season than previously. As such it is important to trawl the league for cheap bench options that ideally start for their clubs.
One additional, and often understated, benefit of having a spread of cash on the bench is that better players have greater potential of steadily rising in value something compared with non-playing bench fodder. For example this season I reacted to the external Covid risk and bought Soucek as my 8th attacker in GW12 for £4.9m and he is now priced at £5.3m.
Furthermore, whilst in bygone season's I have aggressively traded to enhance my team value this is as practice I have forgone this year. Leave the transfers as late as possible because the information advantage is greater than a few £0.1m's.
Bread Knife to a Gun Fight?
It is important to go into battle with the right tools and for me paying membership to Fantasy Football Hub the last few season's has been very much an investment. Different players take different approaches to FPL and, whilst I watch a ridiculous amount of games, I am very much a stats man.
For me a large part of forecasting future FPL returns revolves around the analysis of underlying numbers from recent matches across a range of common metrics such as: shots, shots on target, big chances, touches in the box, big chances received, and big chance creation. Furthermore, analysing favourable & difficult fixture runs for teams is essential in-order to future-proof your squad for the weeks ahead.
Rather than just consulting a fixture ticker I think it is important for us as FPL manager’s to think how exactly certain games will play out – will it be tight game or potentially very high scoring? Successfully reading fixtures and approaching them aggressively with a double up in attack or defence can be just the tonic needed to shoot you up your mini-league.
Moreover, assessing future fixture strength will give you an idea who the most popular captaincy options will be for the weeks ahead. Such knowledge can help you plan accordingly to defend against a highly owned premium with a plum fixture or attack by doubling down on a big hitter that rivals do not own by giving them the armband. Generally I always like to have the top two players in a captaincy poll for any given gameweek by way of insurance.
Navigating Blank & Double Gameweeks & Chip Strategy
A former school teacher of mine used to preach that, “Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”. This turn of phrase rings especially true when navigating both blank & double gameweeks in FPL.
Add the guru of FPL schedule forecasting @BenCrellin to gain competitive advantage in your mini-league. Whilst the unprepared and ill-informed may deploy chips early the additional information you garner may see you successfully muddle through blank gameweeks and set up a grandstand finish which will take your rivals by surprise and the mini-league title down.
Furthermore, Ben’s highly detailed spreadsheet can help you make an informed decision about when might be best to deploy your chips by forecasting possible strength of DGW fixtures both near and far.
Analyse Yourself & Opponents Teams
There are a number of free FPL utilities and one of my absolute favourites is FPL Statistico. Simply key in your team ID and it will produce a highly detailed breakdown of your team’s performance this season.
You can see which player has done the business for you when given the captains armband and which budget option is dragging down the defensive average in your rotation.
Furthermore, entering the team ID of a fierce mini-league rival might quickly reveal that they have a preference for a certain player as insta-captain and become an angle that you can gain an edge from.
Big Hitting Mini-League Differentials
An exercise I like to conduct is to analyse the top five teams in my mini-league and establish a list of common owned players. I take this exercise to excel (although pen & paper is good too!) and use popular fantasy utilities such as Anewpla’s live league viewer to see all relevant squads quickly.
From this base of common players I would aim to differentiate the other positions in my squad for the weeks ahead. A common misconception amongst chasing players is that they have to reinvent the wheel with the most obscure of picks when sometimes a very high profile player can be differential in your mini-league. You just have to do some ground work to discover who!
For those that have read, thank you. Hopefully you can put some of the tips from the thread into action and see positive results in your mini-leagues.
If you’d like to join @FFH_HQ you can get 15% off with this link:
https://fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/Hibbert/67 If you like the content drop me a retweet. If you aren’t a follower of mine click “follow” and keep an eye for more articles in the near future. Peace & good luck.
submitted by Section 0: Background Hi everyone! I’m trying to tailor this a bit more to reflect the UK Money Diary style where I give context on the week before and reflect on it after. I also added in some of the questions from the recent thread about what Refinery29 should ask diarists (
see here).
I wrote this the week of Thanksgiving; my partner and I stayed in NYC instead of going home to either of our parents’ homes. We wear masks and stay socially distant when we leave the house. I’m thankful that we live close to a park and live on a block where we know and enjoy talking to our neighbors.
This was a relatively normal week for us during a pandemic, save for me spending a bit more than normal and it being Thanksgiving. We’ve both lived in the city since college and have so-so relationships with our families, so we didn’t leave for “home” when the pandemic hit.
I also just named my boyfriend instead of giving him an initial. He’s the only person I actually saw this week, but the initials always throw me off when I read these.
What do money and success mean to you? What are your end goals? It helps me to see money as a tool. I never resonate with people who say “money doesn’t buy happiness” because to a certain degree, it does. Money enables me to live the life I want.
I’m pursuing FIRE (financial independence, retire early) and hope to be financially independent (able to live off my investments) by my early 30s. To do so, I save 60%+ of my income per month. I want this because working for 40 years isn’t sustainable for me—I have a very cushy tech job and
still get anxiety and rage about waking up every morning to work, the rat race, and being paid inequitably to male peers. I’d like to give myself the option to leave this world as soon as possible.
As an alternative, I could see myself successful if I open a product consultancy, where I advise early-stage startups on product management, what to build for their MVP, and product-market fit. I’m really interested in tech ethics and the questionable practices in venture capital, so I’d love to be in a place where I could be picky about what clients I take and help truly mission-driven businesses thrive. I could see this also working as a small business incubator—why not apply what works in startups to small businesses?
I don’t yet have a firm picture of what I’d like my life to look like when I retire. I’m interested in spending a lot of time reading, traveling to new places for extended periods of time, and potentially writing a book. I get extremely interested in niche topics. Right now if I had to guess, I’d be writing a book about the ways multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) manipulate women.
Are you a spender or a saver? Definitely a saver. My partner is more of a spender, and we’ve influenced each other well. Seeing him spend money on himself for video games helps me realize I can spend more money on myself for things I just want (see my big purchase for myself this week).
In turn, seeing me save a lot of money has motivated him to up his 401k contribution and overall savings. He’s also interested in FIRE, although I’d say my timeline is more aggressive.
If you could go back in time, what's the one piece of financial advice you would give to your past self? Learn about investing, look up the terms you don’t know, and start doing it as soon as possible. Ask questions to people you know or on the internet.
On to the diary!
Section One: Assets and Debt Investment Balance $131,175
- Retirement (includes 2 company 401ks and 1 rollover IRA): $55,730
- Brokerage: $27,233
- Roth IRA: $25,439
- Managed account: $17,923
- HSA: $4,850
Equity if you're a homeowner N/A, I rent in a HCOL city. No plans to own anytime soon
Savings account balance $10,270
Checking account balance $3,433 in checking account for bills
- This fluctuates, but I try to invest anything over $2k. I’m pretty conservative with my checking account buffer, and don’t worry much about the interest I’m “losing,” especially because interest rates are so low right now
$2,518 in checking account for rent
- I keep a holdover account that’s connected to Venmo and Zelle to pay rent
Credit card debt N/A. There’s $1,348 currently on my credit cards, but I pay them all off in full each month. My parents signed me up for a credit card as soon as I was old enough and taught me about how important it was to pay in full. In fact, I think this was so hammered into my brain that doing anything other than that each month was never an option. Because of this, I’ve always thought of credit cards as similar to debit cards—only spend money you have.
Student loan debt (for what degree) I was fortunate to go to college on a full scholarship, including living expenses. I studied psychology and sociology, and I graduated without any student loan debt.
Section Two: Income Main Job Monthly Take Home: $6,570/month
I maxed out my 401k early this year, so for 8 months I was contributing $2,500/month out of my paychecks. That ended in September, so it changed my monthly take-home from about $4,650 to $6,570/month.
Deductions: - 401k: $0/month (was $2,500/month)
- Medical: $128/month
- Dental and vision: $11/month
Income Progression - I started in customer support right out of college, making $40,000/year + overtime, which ended up being about $52,000/year (thanks OT!).
- About a year later, I moved into an entry-level product role at the same company and received a raise to $60,000/year.
- The next year, I moved to a new company for a half-step promotion where I was making $82,000/year + 15% yearly bonus. The bonus was dependable enough that it was assumed as part of our total compensation, so let’s call it $95,000/year.
- Early this year, I switched companies again (noticing a theme?) for a promotion and now make $122,000/year.
I don’t have any other sources of income outside my main job. My partner makes a similar amount to me—about
$117,000/year with bonus.
Section Three: Expenses I live with my partner and we don’t have combined finances, but split many expenses 50/50. We use Splitwise to log transactions. He’s more laid-back about being paid back, but I’m much more “I don’t want to owe anyone anything, and I don’t want anyone to owe me anything” (I know, rigid, but I’m working on it!).
Splitwise is nice because it’d be ridiculous to Venmo request each other for a $4 coffee, but we can see how expenses are adding up. If someone has racked up a few hundred dollars of spending for both of us, the other person will cover our expenses for awhile. It works for us!
Rent $2,200 for a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment in Brooklyn. We split rent 50/50.
Renters insurance About $7/month for my portion. This covers all our possessions plus my boyfriend’s watches. He pays 75% of it because half of the monthly cost comes from the extra watch overage.
Savings contribution I try to have about $10,000 sitting in my savings account at any given time, because it makes me feel safe in case of an emergency. I also like the freedom it enables, in case I wanted to leave my job and take a significant amount of time off. This is already at the $10k I want, so I don’t contribute to it monthly.
Investment contribution It varies but on average I contribute $2,500/month to my brokerage account and Roth IRA (combined).
Donations I try to donate about $200/month, but it’s pretty sporadic. This month I donated to the Yellowhammer Fund and Northwest Abortion Access Fund. One of my major goals for 2021 is to step up my donations and create an actual strategy around them, potentially involving a donor-advised fund.
Gas/electric Our gas is $20-25/month and electric is $50/month. I pay gas and Will pays electric, both go in Splitwise. About $37/month total for me.
Wifi Our wifi is $60/month, which goes into Splitwise—I pay $30/month.
Cellphone I’m still on my parents’ phone plan—sheesh! This is convincing me that I should Venmo them for it each month.
Subscriptions I pay for Hulu with ads, $5.99/month. My boyfriend pays for Netflix and we share a Spotify family plan with a couple of his friends, which I chip in $4/month for.
I also pay for the budgeting software YNAB (You Need a Budget) which is $84/year. I only pay it once a year in September.
Medical I recently had to go to the emergency room for an overnight stay and follow up with some specialists. (I’m okay!) Because of that whole shindig I’m expecting to max out my deductible (and potentially my out-of-pocket-max) right at the end of the year. This will be about
$4,000, but none of the claims have come through yet so I’m not sure of the exact total. I have a category in my budget for my deductible, and the rest will come out of my emergency fund.
Physical therapy This month I’m starting pelvic floor physical therapy for dyspareunia (pain with intercourse).
I’d tried everything the internet suggested (“just relaaaaaax”) before getting the courage to find a new ob-gyn and ask her about it. She had some recommendations, but ultimately physical therapy was the “last resort” option that I’m now exploring.
My new physical therapist comes highly recommended but is out of network with insurance. Each session is
$250, and I’ll go once every 2-3 weeks for the next few months as part of treatment. If you’ve worked through this problem (or are experiencing it now!) I’d love to hear your experience.
Section Four: Additional Questions Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Absolutely. My dad was the first in his family to attend college and my parents made pretty calculated decisions about where they would live so I could go to the absolute best public school possible. Over 90% of students at my high school attend a 4-year college, and we start talking about it freshman year. To say college was encouraged in my environment is an understatement.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances? My dad has worked in finance since I was about 10. He’s always been really knowledgeable about both higher-level economic concepts and the minutiae of personal finance. My family is frugal, too: we clipped coupons and got clothes on super-sale at Kohl’s and Goodwill. I know there was a period of time when he became self-employed and money got very tight for a few years, but the bulk of those worries were largely kept from me.
Did you worry about money growing up? Yes. While we were comfortable, we lived in such an affluent place that our family was in “the middle class” of the town and it made me worry more about money than I probably needed to. Think The Stepford Wives for context.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net? In college, I became maybe 80% financially independent as I had a scholarship and worked part-time during school and over the summer, but I was still on their insurance.
I remember being frustrated in college because even though I knew I was extremely privileged, my friends in college had their parents pay their summer apartment rent and gave them an “allowance” of spending money, and I was “limited” by the options I could afford with the job I had. My dad told me at the time, “This is frustrating but it’s preparing you for actually having to live off the money you make in the near future.” (Great, great advice Dad.)
I’m technically still financially dependent on my parents for my cell phone bill, but otherwise I pay for everything: rent, insurance, utilities, food, therapy, and all wants in the form of clothing, workout classes, etc. I could ask my parents for money if I absolutely needed to, but would use it as a last resort.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain. I have an account (mentioned above) that a family friend who’s a hedge fund manager, well, manages. I believe the initial deposit was $1000 over 10 years ago, but that money wasn’t mine either, it’s all a gift. It’s not very liquid—it’d take me several months (and some very good reasoning) to get any of that money withdrawn, since it’s supposed to be for “the future” (which I guess I could argue is now?).
I might receive a small amount of money when my grandmother passes, but it’d probably be around $1-2k, if at all.
Day 1 Wednesday, November 25, 2020 8:30am Wake up and shower, take my vitamin C gummies, then make coffee. I wasn’t much of a daily coffee drinker until my offices had it for free, and now I’m definitely addicted. I don’t really care if the coffee is shitty or not, I just put some milk in it and it’s great. Right now I’m trying to drink half or three-quarter cups so I can attempt to pull back my addiction a bit. I log onto work at 9am.
11:30am Eat leftovers from last night for lunch—quesadilla + Spanish rice. There’s an incredible Mexican restaurant by us, and now I am ruined for the tacos, quesadillas and nachos from any other place.
12:30pm Will picks me up in the U-Haul. We’re driving about 20 min away to pick up a butcher block desk he bought off Craigslist, which ends up being from a small office that’s downsizing. The desk is $150 which he pays for. We love the office’s style (and the owner is super nice!) and walk around while he shows us what else he’s trying to get rid of.
We end up buying an extra-large ZZ plant and two side tables from him for an extra $120, way less than we would have paid for the quality elsewhere. My half will be $60, and I’ll split the U-Haul too, $44.51.
$82.26 2:45pm That ended up taking a lot longer than we expected! We get back and unload the van, then I bring stuff inside while Will returns the van to the U-Haul location. I jump back onto work—so much for a slow afternoon before Thanksgiving. AWS is down, which powers a lot of our engineering work (and a lot of the internet!) so a lot of our teams are basically twiddling their thumbs. We chat about how to message the outage to customers.
5:45pm Will starts making dinner (braised chicken and veggies) and I sit down to read with a strawberry Chobani, but I end up just reading Reddit and searching for new podcasts to listen to.
7:45pm Dinner was great! Now…ice cream.
9:43pm I remember that my mom sent me ideas for her and my dad’s Christmas presents, so I order on Etsy and Amazon. My dad gets a mug with an Ernest Hemingway quote (“write drunk, edit sober”) ($21.54) and a book on writing ($16.63), and my mom gets this food warming tote contraption she wanted ($43.52). We’ve been paring down Christmases over the years—this year I asked for the Europe version of Ticket to Ride.
$81.69 11:15pm I finish up the first episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with some white cheddar Cheez-Its to snack on. After, I start on the dishes from dinner. I listen to the
Product Market Misfits podcast while I do dishes—the episode with Kristen Anderson from Catch is great, highly recommend if you’re tired of just hearing stories about stereotypical Silicon Valley tech companies.
Day 1 Total: $166.69 Day 2 Thursday, November 26, 2020 10am Wake up super late since I stayed up scrolling on my phone too late last night. We make coffee and set out for a long walk around 11:15am.
12:05pm At the end of our walk, we swing by our local liquor store and buy 4 bottles of wine (red, white, rose, champagne). Will pays, total is $63.15 for everything. We haven’t had wine in the apartment for ages and I’m excited to have some stocked up.
$31.57 12:30pm Get back from the walk, shower, then turn on football. I actually don’t really care about any NFL teams (I like college football a lot more), but it’s such calming background noise for me that I find myself looking for games when I have downtime. We also recently found out that Will’s friends’ dog only has a few months to live, so we order some jerky treats and a squeaky toy for him.
$14.07 2:30pm We head out to the restaurant we’re going to for Thanksgiving lunch, a local place a short walk from our apartment. They’re doing a prix fixe menu of the classics—turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and a phenomenal tarte Tatin with ice cream for dessert.
We eat outside under heat lamps. It’s super cozy. With our bottle of wine and tip the total is $208 (I try to tip over and above the norm because it’s a pandemic
and Thanksgiving). My half will be
$104.
5:53pm Get back from the restaurant. We have a ton of leftovers which is awesome (I think it’s excessive frugality, but I almost expect to stretch takeout or restaurant meals into two meals). Exchange some texts with my friends about their socially-distant Thanksgiving celebrations.
I turn on the Washington vs. Cowboys game right at the halftime show, which is Kane Brown with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They’re all wearing masks (except for Kane) and it’s so odd to see them dancing in masks. I mean, I’m glad they’re wearing them, but it just seems like we could have gone without the halftime show this year.
9:21pm I order contacts from Contacts Direct. I got a new prescription but didn’t have a great experience with the eye doctor, so I’m hesitant about this order—only ordered one box of 90 lenses for each eye instead of a year’s worth of lenses. I’ve been getting headaches pretty frequently, so I’m hoping getting a new pair of glasses and alternating those (instead of wearing my contacts for 16 hours a day, every day) will help.
$29.98 after insurance benefits
Day 2 Total: $179.62
Day 3 Friday, November 27 8:56am Wake up super last minute, run to sign onto Slack and then start grinding coffee beans. I’m online and drinking a big mug of coffee by 9:10. (So much for half cups.)
10:45am Come up for air from work and grab the stuff to make a bagel. Everything bagels and plain cream cheese are my go-to combo.
12:03pm I grab a bag of clothes to drop off at the donation bin and a couple library books to return. The library is about a 25 minute walk so it’ll be a nice lunch break diversion.
12:56pm After the library I stop by the grocery store for some paper towels and sponges, since we’re almost out. Total is $22.62, my half is
$11.31 1:09pm When I get home I jump back into work and put the USA vs. Netherlands game on my second monitor. By the 75th minute, the US is up by 2 goals so they start putting in some younger players—it’s fun to see Midge Purce and Sophia Smith play! I also throw some bagel bites in the oven for a quick snack and promise myself dinner will be healthier.
4:23pm I zone out of work and start playing Among Us. I end up playing for over two hours. We open a bottle of wine at some point and I get super tipsy.
6:50pm Turn on the tail end of the Notre Dame vs. UNC game. It turns into Jeopardy, which turns into Wheel of Fortune, which I’m not mad about. P isn’t as into the game shows and leaves to microwave a plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner and play video games.
8:40pm Finally getting hungry after my bagel bites and Cheez-Its this afternoon and make a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers—turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and cauliflower. Yum.
Will and I end up getting in a tiff about the mess in our apartment so we take a break, cool down and talk it through. I watch a couple episodes of Sister Wives and go to bed around 1:30am.
Day 3 Total: $11.31
Day 4 Saturday, November 28, 2020 10:05am I stayed up late (again) so it’s nice to sleep in. I play Among Us for awhile and have a couple rounds where I’m the impostor and get some great kills and wins. I run out into the living room and celebrate with Will. We laugh because it’s silly how much we love the games we play. Around 10:45 I start making coffee.
11am We desperately need new sheets because our fitted sheet has a huge hole at Will’s feet (and it’s growing). I search a women’s personal finance group I’m in on Facebook for recommendations and we end up buying a queen sheet set from Belk. Total was $100.71 with their sale.
$50.35 1pm I was planning on returning a package to the post office today, but forget it closes at 1pm on Saturdays so I decide to run to Target instead. I have a lampshade to return and want to look for a shower caddy as well. I also have an old iPad to return, which Will tells me I can do at Best Buy. He finds an old iPod and flip phone I can take too.
Take the MTA there ($2.75 for a single fare). When I get there, it’s a madhouse and I remember that I have sillily (is this a word?) decided to come on the weekend of Black Friday. I stand in the returns line for about 15 minutes and get $10.89 back, but ditch the idea of trying to look for a shower caddy. The checkout line looks like 100 people long.
-$8.14 because of return Next I go to Best Buy, but who am I kidding—the line to get in the store is even longer than the Target checkout line. I walk back to the subway and get on to go home.
$2.75 2:30pm Since Best Buy was a no go, I search for electronic recycling around me on the way home just to see where I could drop off the devices I have. Apparently there’s an EcoATM not too far from my subway stop. It’s more for selling devices, but if they can’t give you money for something, they’ll recycle it, which is exactly what I wanted. I put each of the pieces in the scanner, and end up getting a whopping $2 total (for Will’s old iPod). Still cool because I was just expecting to recycle it all. I’ll give Will the $2.
2:44pm There’s a Dunkin nearby so I pop in to grab a couple donuts ($2.90). There’s a woman outside asking for money, so I give her $5 cash.
$7.90 3:00pm Last stop—our favorite deli is nearby and Will mentioned he wanted to get bacon there recently. I get a 1/2 lb and salivate on the way home. This is one of those things I won’t put in Splitwise because it’s small and because it’s fun to get for P as a tiny little present.
$3.50 3:45pm Once I’m home I’m super hungry from only eating carbs all morning so I have a snack of carrots, hummus and some pepperoni. I head back out to drop off a bag of clothes and shoes at a drop box a few blocks away. The neighbors are outside at the park near our house so I stop and chat with them for a few minutes. Their kids are the cutest.
6:47pm For dinner I make a ham and cheese sandwich (panini style with rosemary butter) and more carrots and hummus. I put on another episode of Sister Wives. These people are so fascinating to me—first off, I think the husband is completely full of himself. But I’m also so curious about the wives. There are a lot of talking head testimonials where the parents explain that they’re “oppressed” because they’re different and want to go public so the world can see polygamy as a valid family style (I’m only on season 2).
I know they’re probably playing up the “we love our other sister wives and have so much fun together even without Kody” aspect because people expect sister wives to be catty and hate each other, but I can’t help but wonder why they need to be in plural marriage to get the same friendship they seem to value so much. I also doubt they’d extend the same grace and tolerance they want to people who are “different” because they’re LGBTQ, or “different” because they’re in an open relationship or marriage.
9:15pm I mix together oatmeal chocolate chip cookie batter and put some cookies in the oven. While I’m waiting, I browse Zocdoc for well-reviewed providers—I want to make a podiatrist appointment for a lingering toe issue and an audiologist appointment for a routine hearing screening. I got the idea to make these appointments since I’ll hit my out-of-pocket max with the hospital visit, making them free or very discounted. I make two appointments for next week.
I also lust over a Farm Rio puffer jacket that feels overpriced but I just love. Maybe I’ll buy it tomorrow since they’re having a 30% off sale.
Day 4 Total: $64.50
Day 5 Sunday, November 29 8:58am Wake up and switch between scrolling on Reddit and playing a few Among Us games. After a bit Will gets out of bed and makes coffee for us.
9:45am Will finishes the movie he started last night and we start on breakfast. We’re making the bacon I bought yesterday, breakfast potatoes with onions, and a fried egg for Will (I can’t stand the taste or smell).
11:00am Yum! Breakfast was great. I watch a couple episodes of Sister Wives and mull over buying that ridiculous but amazing puffer jacket from Farm Rio. I’ve still been thinking about it since last night and I might take the plunge.
1:25pm I get a jolt of motivation to work out and do a 20 minute Sydney Cummings video on Youtube. I heard about it from a recent Money Diary posted here! After it’s done I’m so, so tired. I stretch and unpause my episode of Sister Wives.
2:22pm I help Will move the butcher block slab for his desk out to our backyard. We live on the first floor of a single-family home that was converted into apartments, so we get the backyard too—it’s awesome to have outdoor space in the city. P works on sanding it and applying poly for the next couple hours.
5:07pm Will suggests pizza for dinner and I am always, always down for pizza. I order pickup from the spot down the street—one grandma, one cheese and 2 orders of garlic knots come to $38.60. We’ll have leftovers for tomorrow too.
$19.30 5:50pm We pick up the pizza and dig in. While we’re eating we turn on the Chiefs vs. Buccaneers game; Will has a few players on his fantasy team in this game.
6:57pm I sign up to write letters to Georgia residents encouraging them to vote in the Senate runoff elections in January. This is through Vote Forward—I did 20 letters for the general election in November and want to participate again. I’ll print the letters at a local coffee shop since we don’t have a printer at home.
Will sends me
this Reddit comment about campaign finance since we’ve been talking about it recently. I decide I’m convinced by the argument and set up a $5 monthly donation to Brand New Congress.
$5 8:19pm After texting back and forth with my friend all day, I buy the puffer jacket—so excited. She encouraged me to get it and is pumped for me too.
$228.64 I also notice my paycheck has started processing in my checking account (I get paid tomorrow), so I enter the amount in YNAB and budget it all. I earmark about $1500 to go into my brokerage account tomorrow. I won’t include it here as “spending” since it’s included in the overview section above.
Day 5 Total: $252.94
Day 6 Monday, November 30 8:43am Wake up and turn on my Slack. Will started the coffee process and I finish it up by pouring the water into our Chemex and letting it steep (I know there’s a coffee-centric word for this...).
8:56am I check my Citi card and my YouTube TV trial rolled over—I was going to cancel it this morning, which I thought was the last day. I email support to see if they’ll refund me, because (I promise I’m not just saying this!) I did have a pretty bad experience. The Roku app was glitchy for us every time we watched something. Maybe they’ll feel nice today!
$64.99 9:35am After responding to a few work messages, I run out the door to the post office to avoid a long package line. I did the Warby Parker 5-day home try on and have to return my box of glasses today. I found a pair I really like and am excited to get in the habit of wearing glasses again, instead of just my contacts.
Thankfully the line is only a few people long. The employees are also super nice every time I go, so I try to be really pleasant too. The lines are usually long and I’ve seen more than one adult have a fit at this post office. It’s rainy today and I couldn’t find our umbrella, so my flimsy rain jacket gets pretty soaked through on the walk back.
11:35am My podiatrist appointment is supposed to be tomorrow morning, and they call me to tell me since I haven’t hit my deductible, I’ll have to pay out of pocket for the visit. I explain that I’m 100% going to hit my deductible, the claims from the hospital just haven’t processed yet. I ask her to bill my insurance first for the visit, then I can pay whatever ends up not being covered (if anything). She agrees!
Maybe this is standard, but I’ve never had it happen before—even if I haven’t hit my deductible, I’ve always been to offices that bill insurance first, then I pay the remaining balance.
1:05pm Lots of meetings today. I break for lunch and heat up the braised chicken with veggies. It’s definitely on its last good day, so I’m glad I used it up. Still yummy!
2:20pm Woohoo! Get an email that my YouTube TV charge was refunded.
-$64.99 Will ran to Home Depot today to buy some tools for his desk and also got a shower curtain liner since ours is ripping. I go to put it up in the bathroom but my arms are so sore—like I got my flu shot type of sore.
5:05pm Sign off work after trying to wrangle a supremely frustrating SQL query. I don’t get it but figure I can ask our analyst team for help tomorrow. Will will have a late night working, so pizza and Sister Wives is in my near future.
While watching, I update YNAB to reflect the end-of-month balances for my investment accounts. I get a huge dopamine hit by seeing my net worth number go up. I’m also anticipating it going down a bit next month because of my medical bills, so I relish the moment.
8:09pm It suddenly dawns on me that my arms are sore because I worked out yesterday. It’s so rare now that I literally forget when I do it. Ha!
9:15pm We watch the Eagles vs. Seahawks game and I absentmindedly play Among Us. I end up getting ...bullied by a person playing it? They get mad that I figured out they were the imposter and start saying all these schoolyard-type digs throughout the next couple rounds, but level 100 of cruel.
I’m embarrassed by how sad it makes me but think maybe it’s a good thing I don’t immediately know what to say to bully people back. Such a weird experience. I end up going to bed around 11:30.
Day 6 Total: $0
Day 7 December 1, 2020 7:07am Wake up late for my alarm at 7. I’m up a lot earlier today because my podiatrist appointment is first thing. I get dressed in the dark, kiss P goodbye, grab my water bottle and run out the door to the subway by 7:30.
$2.75 8:10am Get to my stop and swing by Starbucks before the appointment. I get a vanilla latte and the bacon cheddar and egg sandwich. Total is around $10 but I have a gift card loaded onto my Starbucks app.
My spending here went way down when I switched jobs to an office not close to a Starbucks, and then stopped going into an office at all.
8:30am My appointment goes great, if a little painful when she numbs my toe. I had to get an ingrown toenail removed. I danced ballet and pointe for years so I’m (unfortunately) used to them, but this one was terrible. The doctor and I bond over both being dancers with bad feet and they schedule me for a follow up two weeks out.
She actually says there’s been a rise in these procedures because people aren’t getting pedicures since the pandemic and aren’t cutting their toenails well! Wild.
I look silly on the subway in December wearing Birkenstocks and socks with a huge toe bandage. It looks like one of those cartoon characters who stubs their toe and it becomes 10x bigger than their other toes.
$2.75 9:40am I get off at the stop before mine to stop at Rite Aid. I grab Neosporin, band-aids and epsom salt and check my notes for anything else she mentioned about caring for my toe.
$12.97 10:00am When I get home, I hop into work and working with our engineers on a promotion for the New Year. I also catch up with Will since he stayed up late last night and I got up early for my appointment. He says he ended up staying up until 3:30am (!!) cleaning up his tools, working on his desk and putting up the shower curtain. I’m floored that he is functional right now after waking up at 8.
12:15pm Heat up the last of the pizza for lunch, along with hummus and carrots.
5:20pm Work is average-paced for the rest of the day. Not doing nothing, not totally over my head. Will puts in potatoes for baked potatoes to have later, which we’ll pair with a salad. We’re getting close to needing a grocery run again, so the meals are becoming more of a mishmash.
We listed a couple things on our local Buy Nothing group last week, so a woman comes by to pick up a wifi router we can’t use anymore. Would totally recommend looking up if there’s a group in your area—they’re usually on Facebook.
6:30pm After dinner I watch more Sister Wives and look up RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit one of my friends shared for Giving Tuesday. They buy unpaid medical debt from collections, so $1 ends up paying off $100 of someone’s medical debt. I give $50 to the Arkansas campaign, which will clear $5,000 of medical debt.
As Will said earlier today, “medical billing in America is a racket” so I really hope this helps clear a burden from an individual or family. Doing this reminds me to check my insurance portal, which is steadily going up as each separate claim comes in. Ahhhh, modern healthcare!
$51.49 At the end of each day please tally up your daily expenses. Then at the end of your diary please tally up all expenses in the following categories: Total: $719.33 - Grocery + Dining Out: $157.77
- Fun + Entertainment: $0
- Home + Health: $164.67
- Clothes + Beauty: $228.64
- Transportation: $11.00
- Gifts + Giving: $157.25
Reflection This week felt like a big spending week for me. I checked YNAB and since January, I’ve spent about $1600 per month, not including rent—so about $400/week. That’s why this week’s $719 feels so high!
Writing this diary helped me understand how many things I have going for me. I’ve recently been in a huge funk—about my health, my performance at work and my relationships with family, friends and P. Going to the hospital, needing physical therapy to have sex and being in a pandemic will do that to you.
I was able to zoom out a bit and understand how stable and gratifying my life is. That being said, I’m so glad this community exists. I really love it and learning about all your spending and saving habits. Thanks for being here and sharing :)
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