Welcome to The Receipt, a sequence documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Every meals diary follows one nameless reader’s week of bills associated to groceries, restaurant meals, espresso runs, and each chew in between. On this time of rising meals prices, The Receipt reveals how of us—from completely different cities, with completely different incomes, on completely different schedules—are determining their meals budgets.
In at present’s Receipt we observe a 27-year-old designer who makes $70,000 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Maintain studying for her receipts.
Skip forward
The funds
What are your pronouns? She/her
What’s your occupation? Designer
How outdated are you? 27
What metropolis and state do you reside in? Las Vegas, Nevada
What’s your annual wage, if in case you have one? Due to freelance work, my earnings varies by 12 months. This 12 months it’s set to be roughly $70,000. Final 12 months it was $80,000.
How a lot is one paycheck, after taxes? I’ve a part-time job that pays about $1,000 per paycheck.
How typically are you paid? (e.g., weekly) My part-time job pays twice a month. Some freelance shoppers pay upon receiving last deliverables; others pay “web 30,” that means they course of cost inside 30 days of receiving an bill from me.
How a lot cash do you’ve got in financial savings? I’ve round $15,000 in financial savings.
What are your approximate mounted month-to-month bills past meals? (i.e., hire, subscriptions, payments)
- Housing: $0. (I fortunately dwell with my mother and father.)
- Automotive: $250
- Wi-Fi: $150
- Cellphone: $50
- Fitness center membership: $80
- Whole: $530
The weight loss plan
Do you observe a sure weight loss plan or have dietary restrictions? As a youngster I struggled with restrictive consuming—I averted full meals and spent lengthy stretches of time with out meals. Now I eat for pleasure. As a substitute of avoiding the sensation, I eat when hungry, on the lookout for a wide range of merchandise and many flavors.
What are the grocery staples you at all times purchase, if any? My grocery runs are completely different each time. I have a tendency to buy groceries to strive new dishes or fulfill cravings. As soon as a month I store for “secure” freezer meals, or issues I can eat in a pinch once I’m too drained. These secure meals are usually soup dumplings, salmon filets, and mozzarella sticks.
How typically in every week do you dine out versus cook dinner at dwelling? I eat most of my meals out and about. My weeks revolve across the native espresso store the place I sit to do freelance work. As soon as the workday is over, I usually have a meal in one of many many eating places across the neighborhood earlier than making my approach dwelling.
How typically in every week did you dine out whereas rising up? My mother and father and I ate most of our meals collectively at dwelling. We dined out a pair occasions a month for particular events, to spend time with mates, or to strive new eating places.