Maddy is a self-confessed shopaholic – she actually owns almost all the dresses ever manufactured by Review. At TBG, we admire her dedication.

Only now, Maddy is not only a shopaholic, but a debt free shopaholic, and goes by such a name on Instagram @debtfreeshopaholic_. I asked Maddy if she would share with me her weekly spending diary – and she did. We feel there’s comfort to be had from seeing others behave the same way as us.

In fact, Maddy is so organised, that all it took was a few taps of an app and boom – she had her full daily expenditure, categorised and everything, winging its way to the TBG inbox. I KNOW! #goals. For reference, this is an Australian spending diary, and all amounts are in AUD.

1 AUD = approx. £0.55GBP | 1 AUD = approx. $0.72USD

So, here’s what @debtfreeshopaholic_ spent in one week, and her thoughts after reviewing her expenditure, and a bit about her and her husband’s financial situation:

We are an Australian newlywed couple who have been on the Debt Free Journey for 10 months and have paid off $28,304 so far. I’m an Executive Assistant with a second job in a supermarket and my husband is a Construction Labourer and this year we were estimated to make roughly $115,000 together after tax.

We’ve had some great ups and downs so far and mostly with finding stable employment and changing career fields. We’ve used the snowball method throughout our journey and followed the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps.

This week we went over our usual weekly budget by a fair bit but used our sinking funds and emergency fund to cover the additional costs that came up such as car maintenance, the Christmas expenses and clothing. We also paid a lot more on our debts this week to hit our monthly goal before the end of the month, it was really important for us to hit those milestones – you have the celebrate the small wins. Next week it’s all about storm mode and saving for the mandatory shut down period over Christmas.

Monday

It’s loan repayment day! @debtfreeshopaholic_ pays $197.23 and $114 to her own and her husband’s loan repayments. Then, it’s time for Oktoberfest costume shopping. $99.49 later, they’re fully clad in Bavarian costumes and ready to drink all the beers.

The son of Satan that is car maintenance came a’knockin’ this Monday, so $317 trotted right out of her account, closely followed by $76.57 worth of fuel and $8.50 on medical expenses.

It’s subscription day, too, so $12 comes out of her account for Netflix. After all that stress, it’s time for takeaway – she says ciao to $25.80.

Tuesday

Come at us,Tuesday! $10.99 shoots straight out of the account and into Stan’s pocket (TV streaming service), and $150.12 goes on a grocery stock up. Throw in $8.85 for a takeaway meal and boom – that’s Tuesday done and dusted.

Wednesday

An easy day in the wallet of @debtfreeshopaholic_ today – just $73.05 on health insurance premiums. Other than that essential spending, it’s a no spend day. Wooo!

Thursday

It’s rent day! Everybody’s favourite day – NOT. $245 hops on out of the account, followed by $211.77 on loan repayments. Other essential spending included an $85 electricity bill, $32 on storage payments and $63 on both phone bills for herself and her husband.

A haircut for hubby sets them back $40, and some much needed retail therapy on clothing rings in at $105.21.

Friday

It’s FRIYAY! A mandatory takeaway chomps through $39.68, and $50 goes on a Christmas party ticket. No harm done here.

Saturday

Zip, zilch, nada, niente. A no spend day – on a weekend! Yep, superheros.

Sunday
A day of rest and recuperation. A grocery top up shop comes in at $72.74, parking at $6.15 and a Sunday night takeaway at $43.80. To end the week in true shopaholic style, some other clothing items come in at $169.99 and $20.50.

TOTALS

Rent $245

Electricity $85

Loan repayments $523

Health Insurance $73.05

Fuel $76.57

Groceries 222.86

Tyres $317

Subscriptions $22.99

Medical $8.50

Christmas Party Ticket $50

Phone Bills $63

Storage $32

Barber $40

Oktoberfest Costume $99

Takeaway $118.13

Clothing $295.70

Parking $6.15

TOTAL = 2277.95

Thank you so much to @debtfreeshopaholic_ for being a part of our Week In My Wallet series! Follow along her journey on Insta for all the hilarious motivational quotes, budgeting stories and some serious workwear inspo.

Got some spending habits you want to share? Email me at hello@thebrokegeneration.com or slide on into my DMs on Insta @the.brokegeneration.