Day Four 9 a.m. — I’m going to a professional development workshop this morning, and it doesn’t start until 10, so I get to sleep in a little. I make coffee at home and grab a complimentary granola bar at the event.

1:30 p.m. — I’m back in the office for the afternoon and eat a salad that I’ve brought from home. It’s romaine lettuce with a hard-boiled egg, tomato, corn, cranberries, pecans, and a basil-greek-yogurt dressing.

7:00 p.m. — Dinner is a veggie burger again, this time with some homemade sweet potato oven-fries and broccoli. I watch Jeopardy with my roommate, and we compete against each other.

Daily Total: $0

Day Five 10 a.m. — Coffee from home and oatmeal at my desk again for breakfast.

1:15 p.m. — I eat a ham-on-rye that I brought with me (surprise!).

2:00 p.m. — I’m encouraged to take a full break outside the office, so most days I do. I try to stick with walks and necessary errands, but occasionally some shopping happens. Today I grab shampoo at Harmon ($7) and then go to Trader Joe’s to pick up some coffee and somehow end up with kale chips and dried coconut too ($9). $16

5:30 p.m. — I head to the gym after work. It’s not the best, but you can’t beat the price, particularly in NYC.

7:30 p.m. — Dinner is an egg scramble with leftover sweet potato from yesterday, spinach from the freezer, and some salsa I had in the fridge. If I ever have a bag of fresh spinach that’s on its last legs, I throw it in the freezer. It’s great to crush up and add to just about any dish.

8:00 p.m. — Netflix and chill (the non-suggestive kind).

Daily Total: $16

Day Six 10 a.m. — I change it up with some cut fruit and a hard-boiled egg from home for breakfast. Plus coffee, of course.

1:30 p.m. — Lunch is another salad I brought, similar to Monday. It can be kind of a pain to prep and transport two meals a day to work, but it’s so much cheaper and usually more delicious.

7 p.m. — I make another quick stop at the grocery store after work to pick up some frozen vegetables, lettuce, and a few other things. For dinner, I make a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich on rye, with some of the frozen squash that I bought. $15

9 p.m. — My evening’s entertainment is a physics course that I’m working my way through on Coursera. I was recently reminded how much I enjoyed my high school AP class, so now I’m challenging myself to see how much I remember of Newtonian mechanics. Yes, I’m a nerd.

Daily Total: $15

Day Seven 10:30 a.m. — Same breakfast as yesterday.

1:30 p.m. — Today’s salad creation features salsa, corn, and cheese. I wish I had some black beans. Also brought a banana and some almonds that I snack on through the afternoon.

5:30 p.m. — I make it to the gym again today. I stop on my way home from the subway to pick up my laundry from the wash-and-fold, which I do every two or three weeks. I know it would be cheaper to do it myself, but when I think about the hours saved it really doesn’t seem too bad. I dream of a day when I have laundry in my building. $18

7:45 p.m. — Dinner is another veggie burger with the leftover squash, plus some peas and carrots from the freezer. I swear I don’t usually eat so many, but all the weekend excitement meant that I didn’t do my typical batch-cooking, so this is what happens. Must plan meals better next week.

8:30 p.m. — I pack for a bachelorette weekend trip to Lake Placid. I’m definitely at the age where all my friends are getting married, so I have a permanent line item in my budget to save for all the various expenses. This trip was paid for several months ago, so all I have to worry about tomorrow is splitting gas with my roommate (who, conveniently for me, has a car).

Daily Total: $18