What I spend in a week (TikTok edition)

TikTokers are the new influencers.

They’re pushing Instagrammers out and taking over the world of influencer marketing and content creation.

So of course, we had to catch up with our fav TikTokers who are using the best budget app out there (us, obviously.)

Their budgets will probably look a lot different than yours and mine, so don’t stress-compare yourself too much.

In fact, before we play compare and despair, let me share my 20-year-old reality:

I was $15,000 in debt. My $1,000 credit card was maxed out. 

I was having coffee for breakfast, a dry-ass bagel for lunch, and then I would wait to eat again until my shift at the bar where I could get half-priced chicken fingers with my tips from that night.

I wasn’t having bougie brunch on Saturdays or taking Ubers down the street. I was drinking $7 wine with a straw and taking the subway home at 2 a.m. with pepper spray in my pocket. 

I had no bed frame…

What I'm trying to say is everyone’s financial realities are different. 

So take this blog with a grain of salt. 

What @madelineedwards_ spends in a week as a 24-year-old living in Chicago 

Madeline starts her week spending $316 on her rent and utilities—the basics 💅

On Sunday, she goes grocery shopping for $79. We see that Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde, and we approve. According to Cleo, she came under her weekly budget for groceries, so big congrats!

Monday, she is a $0 queen. We love to see it. 

Tuesday, she treated herself to coffee in the morning and got some home basics like toilet paper and laundry detergent for $65. 

Her Wednesday Chick-fil-A has our mouth-watering, but not for too long, because she’s off to her dermaplaning appointment—spending a total of $72.

Thursday, she got $20 take-out tacos from Federales while getting a roasting from Cleo on her eating out habits. 

She did ask for it so… great growth girl 👏

Friday night, she stayed in and spent the remaining grocery budget ($22 to be exact) on some snacks from Foxtrot.

Saturday is where things took a turn for the worst 🍻

St Paddy’s Day celebrations did her dirty—racking her up a $100 food and drinks bill. And taking her over budget according to Cleo. But that's ok because she’s learning and she said she’ll do better next week 🤞

In total, she spent: $674.

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What @claaaarke spends in a day as a 20-year-old in NYC

Clarke took a $32 Uber to her $29 Soul Cycle class (it’s called balance people 👅) 

She then walked over to CB2 where she picked up a $52 kitchen runner. She popped into Lululemon where she bought a jacket for $139. And then she picked up some decor pieces from H&M Home for $115. 

It was a ‘That Girl’ shopping spree. And we’re jealous. 

She then took the subway home for $2.75 and had leftovers for lunch. Yes, girl 💪We eat our leftovers in this house. We do not let them get moldy in the fridge. 

She finished off her day with some more self-care: a $65 pedicure. 

And that is definitely a week’s worth of spending in one day: $463.50 

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What @lillianzhang_ spends on spring break in Hawaii 

Lillian went on a 7-day spring break trip to Hawaii for some R&R from her senior year at UC Berkeley—living her best life… the life we probably all want to have. AND WILL HAVE… let’s manifest.

But for now, we’ll just have to live vicariously through Lillian. 

She budgeted $2,000 for her trip using the best budget app—Cleo. (Shameless plug)

Her round-trip flight was $173, her hotel was $553, and her rental car was $229. 

She spent $280 on food and drinks. And by the looks of those poke bowls and cocktails, it was well worth it.

Paragliding, snorkeling, and zip-lining ate most of her budget at $500. And she collected some souvenirs to bring home for $189. 

I’m sure those souvenirs are way better than the multicolored penis shot glasses I used to buy when I went on vacation in the Caribbean. (Don’t judge me)

In total, she spent $1,972, right under budget thanks to Cleo.

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What @lucia_in_chicago spends in a weekend as a 22-year-old in Chicago 

On Friday night, Lucia set up her weekend budget with Cleo. 

Go off sis. 

Saturday, she celebrated St Paddy’s day bar-hopping with friends and spending $15 on drinks and $15 at Little Wok for lunch.

On Sunday, she had lunch with her bf for $17. And went to Starbucks Reserve for a $17 cold brew flight in the afternoon. 

Throughout her weekend, she spent $10 on the L for transportation (apparently this is the train in Chicago.) 

Bringing her weekend total to $74—under budget babyyy 🥂

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What @laurenthelolife spends in a week in NYC 

Lauren started off her week visiting a speakeasy with her friend. She spent $18 on pizza and $21 on an Uber home. 

The next day, she met up with some friends for lunch at Cecconi’s, where she balled out and dropped $64. Since Lauren has been beating her budget with the best money app Cleo… She knew she could go hard and not go over her spending limit. 

She then met up with a new friend for a free dinner, but because she was running late, she ended up ordering a $30 Uber. 

The next day, she hit up Fandi Mata with two friends for brunch spending $53. She loaded her laundry card with $35. And then ordered an Uber to a friend’s birthday for $16. 

On the last day of the week, she got Empenada Mama for $18 and went to a free comedy show. 

Lauren was able to look back on her expenses for the week using Cleo. In total spending: $255. 

(Not including NYC rent of course)

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How to embody the “what I spend in a week” TikTok energy

We obviously all have a different 24 hours in a day (Molly Mae we’re looking at you when we say that). And it’s not as easy as getting your ass up and working (Kim K that one was for you).

But one thing all these TikTok influencers have in common is budgeting—whether that's a small or big budget, they each track their spending using the best money app on the market  💅

And you can do the same.

Just download Cleo so you can get in control of your finances… instead of having your finances control you.