If you're an Aries, you should watch "Homeland" (2011-present)

Intrepid and energetic, Aries are born to be leaders on the front lines of extraordinary events. That brings us to CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), the protagonist of the long-running show "Homeland." For her job at the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, Carrie has to maintain her composure even when she’s in immediate danger. She’s an Aries icon for us all. Fittingly, Carrie was born on April 5, 1979, which makes her an actual Aries.

If you're a Taurus, you should watch "Jane the Virgin" (2014-present)

Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) stuck by her principle of waiting to have sex until marriage with the tenacity of a true Taurus. But due to a medical mixup, Jane becomes pregnant with her ex's child — and decides to raise the baby. "Jane the Virgin" is structured like a telenovela, with twists, turns, and improbable plotlines galore. Through it all, Jane remains grounded, practical, and uncompromising, as well as an optimistic delight. Tauruses will see themselves in her.

Other options: "Grey's Anatomy,""The Great British Baking Show,""Parks and Recreation"

If you're a Gemini, you should watch "Orphan Black" (2013-2017)

For Geminis, one personality isn’t enough. Geminis contain multitudes. Imagine, then, how orphan and outsider Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) must have felt when she discovered she was but one in a series of clones, each of whom had a completely different disposition. She and her 12 clones are Geminis, cubed. Sarah discovers her mysterious origins after she witnesses someone who looks just like her (a clone) throw herself in front of a train. Sarah steals this woman’s identity and finds herself in the middle of an overwhelming conspiracy that her clone had been trying to solve.

On April 9, Facebook will provide a link at the top of News Feed. Click that link and you’ll see a comprehensive breakdown of which third-party apps you’re using, and what information has been shared with those apps. Through that link, you’ll also be able to find out if your information was shared with Cambridge Analytica, either because you used the app associated with the breach or one of your friends did.

Facebook announced this forthcoming function today as the company continues the complicated process of rebuilding trust with users. Last week, Facebook announced new privacy and data controls. This week, there’s a revamped data policy and terms of service, as well as new data restrictions. Here are the most important takeaways.

Data restrictions

Facebook is putting stricter controls on what information the developers behind third-party apps can access. Third-party apps will no longer be able to see event guest lists or posts on an event wall. Member lists for groups and any personal information from group members, such as names and profile photos, will also be off limits.

Call and text history, an opt-in feature on Messenger for Android users, allows Facebook to put your most frequently contacted friends at the top of your contacts list. Facebook is not getting rid of this feature but says users will no longer need to provide "broader data such as the time of calls" to take part. In other words, any information that isn't required for the feature to work won't be collected.

Additionally, third-party apps will need to go through a stricter approval process if they want to see information such as "check-ins, likes, photos, posts, videos, events and groups" in the first place. While this review process has existed since 2014, it's tightening up and apps won't even have the option to ask for personal data, including your "religious or political views, relationship status and details, custom friends lists, education and work history."

Having stronger checks in place is a good thing, but it's worth noting that apps you have previously logged into with Facebook may experience some glitches as the changes roll out. (Such has been the case for Tinder users.)

The data policy

The Cambridge Analytica scandal has raised a lot of important privacy questions: What kind of information does Facebook have? And, more importantly, how is it using your data? These questions (and more) are addressed in the updated Data Policy.

Many of the answers won't come as a shock — yes, Facebook collects information about the purchases you make on the platform — but reading the policy is an important reminder that a lot of data is associated with your account. For example, in addition to the information you knowingly share in your profile, Facebook collects information about what "posts, videos and other content you view" and how you interact with pages, other accounts, and groups.

The Terms of Service

Facebook's Terms of Service used to be complicated and tiresome to get through. The new Terms attempt to clarify the basics of what Facebook offers and what you're committing to when you log in to your account. While there are no major revelations here, it's worth a read.

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• This 29-year-old lawyer lives in London with her boyfriend.
• She makes $122,500 a year and pays $1,450 for her half of the rent. 
• $730 of her paycheck goes toward paying off her student loans— and she saves an additional $1,100 per month.
• She also spends some of her money on a wine delivery service and a pair of shorts for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. 

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Today: a lawyer who makes $122,500 per year. This week, she spends some of her paycheck this week on ingredients for banana bread. Editor's note: All prices have been converted to US dollars.

Occupation: Lawyer
Industry: Media
Age: 29
Location: London
Salary: $122,500
Paycheck (1x/month): $6,200

Monthly Expenses

Mortgage: $1,450 for my half. (I split equally with my boyfriend.)
Student Loan Payment: $730. (Nearly. Done. Yes.)
Credit Card Loan: $560 for bar exam prep course fees
Savings: $1,100 split between an ISA, funding circle, and a holiday account. (Once my student debts are paid off, I'm going to be paying much more into savings.)
Wine Delivery Service: $28. (Don't judge.)
Phone: $54
Gym: $54
Netflix: $8.45
Spotify: $14
Joint Account: $2,100. (My boyfriend and I both contribute to this account each month to cover the below expenses, as well as our groceries and the occasional nice meal or holiday.)
Internet, TV & Landline: $57
Council Tax: $138
Mortgage Insurance: $88
Gas & Electricity: $65
Boiler Breakdown Cover: $27
Water: $45
Household Insurance: $30
House Cleaner: $112

Day One

7:30 a.m. — Alarm goes off. Hurrah, it's Saturday! Have a bit of a lie-in and catch up with my boyfriend, who has been away for work for the past week. He makes coffee while we listen to the "Today" radio show and get ready for the park run. It's a lovely day and we leave at 8:50 to get to the start line. There are so many people here today – and we try to participate every Saturday morning if we can. While it might not be the first thing I want to do on a Saturday morning, it sets me up for the day and makes me feel pretty smug. Trying to improve my personal record each week is a good incentive – and it's free!

10:30 a.m. — Feeling fab, although my run today was 10 seconds slower than last week's personal record. Maybe next week? I take a long, luxurious shower and then have a breakfast of peanut butter and mashed banana on toast with another cafetière of coffee. Manage to fend BF off my second slice of toast and he makes himself more; he is an eating machine. Usually, we have our Ocado groceries delivered at this time each week (it's sort of like Whole Foods, but online), but because I wanted to make a nice meal for BF when he returned from his week away, I had everything delivered a few days ago. We spend about $120 to $140 on food shopping per week, which comes out of our joint account.

12 p.m. — Pop into the center to pick up a bag that was being mended at L.K. Bennett. This is the second time I've bought this bag, and the strap broke. Not a happy bunny. Sadly, as it was three years since I'd bought it last, I couldn't quite wangle a replacement or a refund. Tip: Take things back within six months of purchase if they're broken (a.k.a. don't buy stuff and leave it at the bottom of your wardrobe for two years). However, they did fix it for free. You win some, etc. While we're out and about, we pop into Hatchards bookshop and buy three greetings cards ($10.10). We also pop into M&S to buy eggs because I have grand banana bread-making plans ($5.60). $15.70

2 p.m. — Home! And HUNGRY. (BF perhaps more than me.) Thankfully, we have a pile of leftovers from last night's North Thai feast, which I made with a spice delivery box we were gifted when we booked a holiday. We have coconut chicken noodle soup, spicy pork sausages, prawn crackers, pickled pak choi, pak choi leaves, cucumber, and baba ganoush. Yum! We settle in on the sofa and my boyfriend watches rugby while I attempt to plan a friend's hen do. We're nearly there but organizing so many other people is a challenge! She is one of my best friends, though, and I am really happy to be doing it for her. The wedding is this summer and we are all really excited! Wed-min is briefly interrupted by a phone call from my best friend, who shares some very exciting news with me. Whooping ensues.

4 p.m. — Whooping over, I scour the internet for shorts to buy for our forthcoming trip to Costa Rica. My boyfriend and I are going for two and a half weeks, and I can't ruddy wait! I haven't had a proper long holiday in a long time. I find a pair on sale from Lululemon and buy them ($19.71), only to be dismayed 20 minutes later when I receive a message telling me that my order is canceled. Apparently, they are out of stock. They need a better stock notification system! Brokenhearted, I continue to scour the web but, alas, none are as good. I decide to leave the shorts for now. $19.71

6 p.m. — Food time! We're going to have to be quick, as we're heading to my boyfriend's friend's birthday party later. I heat up leftover fish curry I made during the week. We're still pretty full from our lunch feast so after eating, I hastily slap makeup on and get changed. We leave bearing a bottle of gin from our booze shelf and take the train way down south of the river. We get to the party and my boyfriend's friend is making cocktails (read: pouring glasses of tequila). I have a great time! His friends are great but the tequilas prove a little too much for BF's friend and he throws up in the garden.

3 a.m. — Tequila, limoncello, espresso martinis, and god knows what else consumed, it's time to go home. Party host is passed out in an armchair. We share a taxi up to North London with a friend. The ride makes me pretty nauseous, which I mistakenly vocalize, and then spend the rest of the (ruddy long) taxi journey convincing the poor driver that I will not vomit all over his car. Mission accomplished. We arrive home, no chundering done. BF pays for the Uber, though to be honest, I can't remember ordering it anyway. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and fall into bed with a bucket on the side. I don't throw up, but the world is spinning.

Daily Total: $15.70

Day Two

7 a.m. — Oh great. I'm awake. Not feeling anywhere near as bad as I should but still very, very tired. BF brings me Berocca and coffee, and I doze whilst listening to BBC Radio 4. (It makes me feel safe.)

9:30 a.m. — I finally haul myself out of bed and make an avocado toast and green tea, hoping it will sort me out, and continue scouring the internet for shorts. None are as good as the ones I couldn't buy yesterday. Also, why are all the things I like are so blooming expensive?! I resist any ridiculous leisurewear purchases and put on my running clothes.

11 a.m. — Finally out of the door and running around the park. Being outside feels good, although I don't feel like I have much in my legs! That'll be the tequila. I am cheered on by all the lovely dogs out for their walks in the park. Once I'm home, we eat baked sweet potatoes, blue cheese, and salad bits left over in the fridge. I also open a tin of stuffed vine leaves in the cupboard because I am hungry!

2 p.m. — We settle on the sofa again and BF watches rugby. I have a delightful nap, and then get up at about 5 p.m. and start making the aforementioned banana bread. BF assists as sous chef. Still hungover, tired, and therefore hungry, we make a very classy dinner of chicken Kiev (food of the gods), some sort of vegetable-y quinoa packet, and salad-y bits. We then have our Sunday night ritual of watching "Countryfile" (no apology), but this time with delicious chocolatey banana bread.

7 p.m. — We make our lunches for the next day (falafel salad) and get our bags organized for the week. I spend a bit of time researching further exams I want to take, and see if I can find a way of getting work to fund them. We get into bed at approximately 8:30 p.m. (PARTY CENTRAL), and read our books until we pass out. It's been a busy weekend.

Daily Total: $0

Day Three

5:15 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I'm supposed to go to a body pump class at the local gym but I'm not feeling it. Decide I'll go for a run instead. Reset alarm for 6:30. 6:30 comes. Still not up for it. Boyfriend gets up and ready for work and brings me coffee.

8 a.m. — Boyfriend leaves for work. I appear to still be in bed. Decide I'm going to work from home today. I finally haul myself out of bed at 8:45 and go for a lovely long run in the beautiful sunshine.

9:30 a.m. — Back home and showered. I eat peanut butter banana toast and drink coffee, and then sit at my desk (a.k.a. dining room table) going through my emails, still feeling Saturday night. Today is going to be fun. The two-and-a-half-week holiday that I have coming up means that there is a slightly scary amount to do before then. Not helped by a judgment that came out last week, which completely threw off the case strategy of a related matter I'm dealing with.

3 p.m. — I think about taking a walk in the sunshine, but it doesn't happen. Grab my lunch out of the fridge and work whilst I munch.

7 p.m. — Still working but think it might be time to make dinner. Boyfriend has meetings in another town today and will be home late, so I start on with dinner without him. I make tofu pad Thai but realize we're out of noodles, so am excruciatingly middle class and use quinoa instead. Settle down with a bowl of quinoa Thai on the sofa watching "Don't Tell the Bride." So trashy, but so satisfying. Boyfriend is finally home, so I warm up some of my masterpiece for him and we catch up on our days. We make our packed lunches for tomorrow (leftover quinoa Thai, salad, tzatziki, and stuffed vine leaves) and have banana bread and herbal tea. We hit the sack at about 10 p.m.

Daily Total: $0

Day Four

5:15 a.m. — Alarm goes off. I get up, chuck my gym clothes on, throw my lunch in my bag, and am out the door and on the bus! Get to the gym at 6:30, and do gentle jogging on the treadmill. Then I take a 30-minute killer HIIT class. Afterward, I shower off and meet some girlfriends for breakfast at 7:30. I order green baked eggs and a cappuccino and we catch up on life. We realize we haven't seen each other for ages, so we get our calendars out and make plans to meet for dinner on the following Monday, as this is the only time that will work before I go on holiday. $20.15

8:45 a.m. — I'm in work mode and there is a lot to do. I prepare evidence (which I love doing) and field emails and calls from clients.

12:45 p.m. — Stop for lunch with some colleagues. We go down to our firm's café and catch up on our weekends and lives. Back at my desk, I see that I'm scheduled to do a presentation on the judgment I mentioned earlier. Add this to my increasingly long to-do list. Still working on the evidence. (I will be for days.) Text my boyfriend to ask when he'll be home. He replies saying he'll be home before me, so I task him with making pancake batter. Decide I'm not going to make it until dinner, so I go down to the café and buy a slice of banana bread. I feel a bit sorry for the poor banana bread sitting at home, but at least the one I made is better. $3.50

7:15 p.m. — Take the train home, where it's pancake time! I had grand plans of making fancy pancakes but by the time I get home, I can't be bothered to make a fun sauce. We settle for cheese, Sriracha, and cured beef that Ocado had in its flash sale. BF has been a superhero and baked salmon that was in the freezer for lunches whilst he was waiting for me to come home. I repay the favor by making salmon salad for lunch for tomorrow. Too full for more banana bread. We're in bed by 10:30 and asleep pretty soon after.

Daily Total: $23.65

Day Five

5:45 a.m. — I have been awake since 4:45. Excellent. Finally get out of bed when my alarm goes off at 5:15, chuck lunch into my bag, put my gym clothes on, and head to a barre class at 7 a.m. It's tough, but enjoyable, especially since the teacher is playing really aggressive hip-hop. Once I'm showered and dressed, I walk to work.

9 a.m. — Breakfast time. I usually get a free coffee at the gym, but the machine is broken (it tries to serve me a cup of hot milk), so down to the office café I go. To be fair, they have really good coffee, but it's just a bit pricey for an office coffee shop. I get a coffee and a bircher muesli. Back at my desk, I do my usual email-fielding and evidence prep. $5

2:30 p.m. — Meeting with my boss and a junior to discuss evidence in this tricky case. Boss is clearly as flummoxed as I am by the recent judgment. We spend three hours trying to work out what to do. Thankfully, our meeting is in the partners dining room, so I take advantage of the free coffee, sweets, fruit, and biscuits, and leave feeling slightly sick ... but like we might be getting somewhere with the case.

6:45 p.m. — Get back to my desk, write up a few drafts, and then realize it's nearly 7 p.m.

8 p.m. — Finally home, and BF has defrosted and heated beef stew from the freezer, which we eat with brown rice and Parmesan on the top. Yum. BF washes up, I make packed lunches, and we're in bed by 10:30 with our books. I am exhausted and pass out pretty quickly. Gosh, we are an exciting couple.

Daily Total: $5

Day Six

5:15 a.m. — Ruddy alarm. Time to get up! I am bone tired but aware of the stack of work I have to do. So I throw myself out of bed, get dressed, and am out and on the bus by 5:45. Get to the gym for a 6:45 HIIT class. I'm feeling tired and it's not my best one. I struggle through as best as I can and am grateful when it's over! Into the shower and get dressed.

7:45 a.m. — At my desk, preparing my presentation for lunchtime today. Joy. Make a pit stop at the office café and get a cappuccino and a bircher ($5.05). Take a break and see that Lululemon's "We Made Too Much" page has been refreshed — and they have excellent shorts. In my size. AND IT'S PAYDAY! I also pick a pair of cropped workout leggings and two new pairs of socks. ($127...whoops!) $132.05

12:30 p.m. — Presentation time! It goes fine, although I hear myself volunteering to do a case note for distribution to clients. Sure, yes, I'll do that. Have a really interesting discussion about various issues that the judgment has raised, and get back to my desk at 1:30 to eat my lunch. I receive a text from my dentist reminding me about the I checkup booked for this evening. Good job they did, as I had forgotten.

2 p.m. — Someone left a pile of candy out in the office. The dentist trip later is not enough to deter me from polishing off approximately 10 delicious, chewy sweets. My mouth hurts from the sugar.

4:30 p.m. — A colleague swings by and asks if I would fancy a coffee. I could do with a break, so I thankfully agree. We pop out with another colleague and I buy them both coffee since they usually buy mine. Get a lemongrass tea for myself, as I am coffee-d out. I eat roasted nuts and dried apple with it, and get back to the office for an in-depth chat with a partner about a case we're working on. $12

6:45 p.m. — Crap, it's time to go to the dentist! I have been going to a private dentist for a few years now because I just couldn't find an in-network one in London whom I trusted. The one I've found is amazing and not completely extortionate, the only problem is that the office is down in South London. I hop on the Thameslink and get there by 7:30. Have a great chat about how I'm a tooth grinder (and wear a fairly heavy duty mouthguard at night – sexy stuff), but often find myself clenching my jaw during the day. She does an X-ray of my teeth and says that I haven't done myself too much damage, but perhaps I should try yoga or meditation. I had prepaid part of my appointment, so only pay for the X-ray. $25

8 p.m. — Hop on the train, then Tube home, and arrive to find that my boyfriend made one of my favorite guilty pleasures: Linda McCartney deep-filled country pies, with sweet potato chips and baked beans, plus mayo and sriracha on the side. Food of the gods! Then it's our usual routine of making packed lunches for the next day, packing bags, and getting in bed by 10. Extra snaps to BF for putting a hot water bottle in the bed when I wasn't looking. He's pretty brilliant. Asleep pretty quickly, since I am exhausted (as always).

Daily Total: $169.05

Day Seven

6 a.m. — FRIDAY! I'm up and out the door for my spinning class. The instructor put on some banging tunes, and I really go for it. Shower at the studio and have a brief chat with the instructor in the changing rooms. We bond over our love of the same Brazilian booty cream. I get home and see that BF left me half a cafetière of coffee. I boil the kettle, pour half a cup of black coffee, and top it up with hot water. Then I start working, reading through the legal news and case law updates and tackling my inbox.

11 a.m. — The door buzzer sounds: It's Ocado! Run down the stairs and let the delivery man in. We ordered mixed peppers, chicken thigh fillets, little gem lettuce, zucchini, onions, mozzarella, blueberries, asparagus, yogurt, radishes, green beans, spinach, cherry tomatoes, milk, cheddar, carrots, avocados, sugar snap peas, a cucumber, leeks, hummus, baby sprouts, chicken sausage, pancetta, flaked almonds, quinoa, granola, crumpets, canned chickpeas, eggs, roasted nuts, canned butter beans, sweet potatoes, artichoke hearts, gochujang chili, Braeburn apples, chicken gyoza, and edamame beans. Every week, we also include a $7 contribution (which Ocado matches) to a local food bank. This food ($109 total) will last us for the week, plus some meat I have in the freezer from previous Ocado flash sales. I'll probably use the few hours I have free on Saturday to do some batch cooking for the week. 

11:30 a.m. — I'm hungry, so I make avocado toast. The avocado is slightly on the unripe side and mashing it up is a bit of a challenge but I'm game. I sit down and get on with further work. This morning, it's time to go through all of my bills. It's painful as usual but it has to be done! I have a call with a junior about a case we are working on, and work through the drafts the juniors sent through to me over the last few days. I love this part of my job because I really enjoy working with others and the teaching aspect of it. It's so rewarding to see people improve and develop. It also keeps you on your toes – you have to know your stuff!

3 p.m. — I'm hungry. It's time for my packed salmon salad. I found dried wakame in the cupboard last night, so I put that in it too. Salad is followed by a cup of tea and banana bread. We have a dinner reservation at 7 p.m and I don't want to starve until then?

6:15 p.m. — BF is home, and it is OFFICIALLY THE WEEKEND! I get changed out of my comfy clothes and into a nice dress. Put on minimal makeup, and we walk down to the restaurant in Stoke Newington. I have been wanting to try this place for ages – it's a seafood tapas restaurant, serving seafood sourced from Scotland. We gorge on oysters, garlic prawns, patatas bravas, squid, tortilla, tomato bread, fried eggplant, and pig cheeks, and manage to fit in a cheeky chocolate brownie for dessert. We share a bottle of wine, too. At about 11 p.m., we roll home, make herbal tea, and get into bed. We've got a busy weekend ahead, so it's time for some shut-eye! $52

Daily Total: $52

The Breakdown

Weekly Total Spent: $265.40
Food & Drink: $103.30
Entertainment: $0
Home & Health: $25
Clothes & Beauty: $127
Transport: $0
Other: $10.10

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• In Cardi B's new song "She Bad," she raps, "I need Chrissy Teigen / Know a bad b-tch when I see one / Tell RiRi I need a threesome." 
• When Teigen got wind of the lyrics, she responded appropriately on Twitter.
• "Gasp!! *drops biscuits.*"

Cardi B has cordially requested Chrissy Teigen's presence at an upcoming threesome with Rihanna, as per her new album "Invasion of Privacy." Teigen discovered this bright and early after a long night of biscuit-making, and immediately dropped her biscuits. (Or so she said on Twitter.)

On the song "She Bad," which features YG, Cardi raps, "I need Chrissy Teigen/ Know a bad b-tch when I see one / Tell RiRi I need a threesome." The news account Rap Up tweeted the lyrics this morning, tagging Teigen in the process. Thus, Teigen dropped her biscuits.

Wrote Teigen, "Gasp! *drops biscuits.*"

Below, a photo of the biscuits Teigen allegedly dropped.

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• A woman who grew up in a house of hoarders says it still affects her as an adult.
• She said certain things — like crumbs on the table or spilled sugar — make her anxious.
• Overflowing, disorganized drawers, however, don't bother her in the slightest.
• She requires a nearly constant stream of visitors to reassure her that her home is welcoming. 
• One psychologist said that "children need to feel that their home is their own and reflects their values and personality; and when it doesn't, it can be painful and have a lasting impact."

As my other half clears the kitchen table, tossing our children's books into a pile on the windowsill and placing a bag over the back of a chair, my hackles rise and I immediately put the books in their rightful place. Ironically, there's nowhere for them to go because we have too many books and not enough space. But still, I can't bear to see them in a pile. Similarly, if someone in my family leaves dishwater in the sink, I have to empty it immediately.

But, I'm not a neat freak. Far from it. In fact, I have drawers spilling with uncategorized items and our cellar sometimes doesn't bear going in. It doesn't make sense, but if you're also the child of a hoarder, you'll probably recognize my confusing and somewhat hypocritical behavior.

For example, I'm simultaneously fine with having seven bags full of random items hanging up on the porch, but will not tolerate crumbs on the table when I return from a night out. Spilled sugar makes me feel extremely panicky, but a drawer rammed with cables and batteries, not so much.

Growing up, a messy house was all I ever knew. It was only when I moved through grade school that I discovered that most people didn't have to move piles of clothes to sit on a settee or that other people's bathtubs didn't have a constant dirty ring around them. It was completely normal in our house to come across a large patch of dried-on cat vomit or an unidentifiable smell that might turn out later to be rotten food. To the adult me (and, no doubt, to anyone reading this) that seems pretty shocking, but it was just how my parents and I lived.

I had friends around occasionally in the early years, but they soon started making excuses (or, more likely, their parents told them they weren't allowed). I once walked up the stairs to my room to overhear one of my friends say, "Oh god, this house is SO weird."

Going to other people's houses, on the other hand, was a real thrill. I was pathetically desperate to go visiting — anywhere. I'd fetishize the shiny surfaces and delight when I drank out of a clean cup. If I knew we were going to someone else's house, I'd cheer up immediately; I'd try and create endless excuses for having to go places. Of course, the cleaner and tidier the house, the better.

When I made a dear friend in secondary school, I spent virtually every Friday night at her house. She'd ask whether she could come to mine and I'd make excuse after excuse, lie after lie about whether I was allowed or whether my parents were in. She once asked me in front of my mother who said, "Of course you can come! Any time," while I squirmed in embarrassment. I never allowed the subject to come up again.

I tried to make my own space clean and tidy but — and here's the thing that only the child of a hoarder will understand — if nobody ever shows you how to clean, you never really know how to do it properly. These days, I bathe regularly, I wear deodorant, and I clean the toilet after I've used it. But, I honestly didn't know how to do this until I was well into my late teens. I just didn't know that was how it worked.

I was in my 20s when I discovered that hoarding was a thing, via TV shows like "How Clean Is Your House?" Of course they made compelling and essential viewing, but I watched through my fingers. I would also get unreasonably angry when people talked about piles of papers and referred to hoarders in affectionate terms, as though they were collectors. Our house wasn't full of dusty old books or eccentric trinkets; it smelled of cat pee and was full of moldy cups.

Oddly, my father (who died more than a decade ago) wasn't a hoarder. He was just extremely laid-back/loath to upset the house of cards, so he never bothered to clean unless it was absolutely necessary — if he physically couldn't get in the bed, for example, or if we needed the table to eat on.

So, because I'd never really seen my parents tidy up, I wasn't equipped with the skills to do it for them or myself. By god I'd try. I'd get the Hoover out and start putting papers in piles, only to be told to leave things alone. One of the most notable features of a hoarding disorder is the aspect of control; being a hoarder and being a bit messy are two very different things. I am a bit messy and think I probably would have been, however I was raised. But hoarding is a control issue, so cleaning up can be incredibly stressful for someone with the condition. Hence, most people who have tried to clean my mother's house have been met with short shrift or they've sensed the anguish their words cause and backed away.

The scars can run deep for the offspring of hoarders. "Children need to feel like they fit in a home to form healthy attachments," says psychologist Dr. Amanda Gummer, founder of Fundamentally Children, "and problems occur when the lifestyle of the parents conflicts with the personality/temperament of the child. This isn't always an issue, but children need to feel that their home is their own and reflects their values and personality; and when it doesn't, it can be painful and have a lasting impact."

"Hoarding is such an obvious trait," she says, "that is difficult for children to cope with and the usual tactics — avoidance, distraction, confrontation — aren't effective." Dr. Gummer talks about the "Goodness of Fit" model, which is simply defined as the compatibility between environment and a child's temperament. Poorness of fit occurs when this is not respected and accommodated. It's been suggested that children are more likely to reach their potential when there is goodness of fit.

I've now lived (far, far) away from my family home for longer than I lived in it. My own house is a busy, lively home rammed with books and with no space on the walls. We have two children and two dogs, so it's messier than the average. My mother-in-law would probably say it's unbearably cluttered. It's essential to me that people visit constantly, perhaps as validation that our house is welcoming.

Nonetheless, the effects of growing up with a hoarder have never left me. In addition to the aforementioned double standards, I won't allow food upstairs, ever — so breakfast in bed is an absolute no-no. If we have visitors I spend hours cleaning (in my own half-trained fashion, of course), I'm obsessed with incense and would rather my guests sneezed endlessly than caught a whiff of a food smell, I force my other half to clean up WHILE he's cooking, and heaven forbid he leaves a draining can in the sink (our kitchen sink was always full of old tins and carrier bags). While it must be quite tiring being a hoarder, living with the legacy of it is exhausting.

But Dr. Gummer warns of the knock-on effect my reactions might be having on my own children: "In terms of lasting impact, having an extreme reaction to having grown up in a hoarder's household can create problems for the next generation, too," she says. "It's all about control and a feeling of belonging. If there are irrational behaviors, such as excessive tidiness or storage fetishes that young children are struggling to understand, then they are likely to suffer from that, too."

Hoarding: The Facts

The NHS defines a hoarding disorder as "where someone acquires an excessive number of items and stores them in a chaotic manner."

Hoarders often also experience obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or symptoms of anxiety and depression.

It is thought that around one or two in 100 people are hoarders.

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Take a long walk in the park.

If you're lucky enough to live in a place with gorgeous outdoor spaces, take advantage of the scenery and invite your date for a little fresh air and exercise. Bonus: There's no set time for a walk in the park, so you can cut it short if you're not into the date or just keep strolling along if you are.

Meet for breakfast.

The great thing about a breakfast date is that it opens up the rest of the day for you. If you two hit it off over bacon and eggs, you can keep the date going. No sparks? Your evening's still open for something else to come along...

Browse a bookstore.

Books are the ultimate conversation starters, so you'll probably have tons to chat about. Bonus: Most shops have coffee spots, so you can discuss your finds over a brew, too.

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*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What's happened since the Money Diary was published last year?

"My appendix finally, finally healed up. It ended up putting me out of work for two months, and I was finally cleared by my doctors to work again. So, when I was finally able to come back to work, I had all those rescheduled appointments, so everything had a waterfall effect. It was the busiest month I'd ever had — and the most successful month I’ve ever had. I was not only the highest booking lady, I was also the most requested lady at the Ranch.

"I’ve also switched to just doing appointments only, so I can focus a little bit more on my appointments and spending time with those individuals, rather than having to worry about the line up, which has been incredible."

What has your career path been like?

"I’ve done a lot of different jobs over the years, everything from being an EMT to a massage therapist — generally very customer-focused jobs.

"Before [the Bunny Ranch], I was a national sex educator, presenting across the country at different BDSM events. My interested in [BDSM] started pretty much with my first relationship. I tried to tie one of my partners up without really knowing what I was doing, realized I didn’t have a single clue, and so I started the education process from there. First, it was watching videos online, then practicing on myself, learning all the intricate knots and the different techniques, and learning about consent culture that comes along with BDSM. Consent, as you can imagine, is super, super important when it comes to those activities. You have to make sure everyone really knows what they’re buying into."

How did you hear about Bunny Ranch?

"One of my friends through one of those events had started to work at Bunny Ranch. At first, I was a little bit skeptical. I kept asking, 'Hey are you happy? Are you exploited in any way?' But she said, 'No, this is incredible, you have to come check it out.' And it had always been something in the back of my mind. I had watched the HBO show and actually had a huge admiration for Airforce Amy. She just came off as this incredibly confident woman and was quite unapologetic about owning her sexuality.

"So, I started in the winter of 2015 with the intention of seeing if it would be a good fit. And I found it to be the most incredible job. It allowed me to not just interact with people, but to generally help them when it came to sex and relationships and intimacy.

"I’ve been at Bunny Ranch for two years now, and I’ve consistently been considered the top booker. It’s my mission to make connections with people and better their sex lives and their relationships — it’s what consumes me. What can I learn, what more can I do for my clients, how can I better connect with them? What’s the newest thing? For example, when it comes to sex toys, I recently paired up with the Alexander Institute just so I could have a higher quality sex toy conversation with my clients."

Tell me about your first 'party.' 

"I was so super nervous, having never been in that environment before. The bell rings for the first time and they call for the lineup, which is where all the available ladies line up in the parlor and introduce ourselves by name. After we introduce ourselves, the clients have the opportunity to pick a lady, go on a tour, and go back to our rooms. So, it was my very first day and my very first lineup, and I end up getting picked, which I was not expecting. Thankfully, all the new women are paired with a more experienced lady to act as a big sister, and we proceeded with the negotiation and it was easier than I expected it to be.

"I took to it fish-to-water style, and I was like, Oh, I like this; oh, I really like this. This is kind of incredible; I’m really loving the connection that I’m making with people. From there, I of course had sex with a stranger for the first time in my life, and it wasn’t awkward. It was actually enjoyable. The guy ended up becoming a regular, and I saw him for a couple of months and we would joke about it — you caught me my first time; how funny, I was so nervous about it.

"When I first started, I really wasn’t familiar with what men want. That’s your opportunity to really have a conversation about what they want. By the way, I really hate the word negotiation. I always prefer to call it a conversation, because it’s not just an opportunity for us to get to know each other and talk to each other about what we want to do, but it’s our opportunity as well to figure out what it was that they’re trying to accomplish by being here. At first, I thought it was just about sex. I thought they would want to just come in, get in, get off, get out, and be done with it. But that’s not the reality at all. A lot of people are coming in here for companionship. They want to get to know me and not just see me as a sexual object. They want to go out to breakfast and ask about my life and ask about my opinions on a variety of topics."

Are there some people who are looking to 'get in, get off, get out,' as you put it?

"There are! There is definitely still a desire for that and I still have clients that enjoy that sort of scenario, but I have noticed more of a trend for dates and overnights, which are the experiences I look forward to the most. It’s the opportunity to get to know someone not just in the bedroom but outside the bedroom, too.

"So, what I was talking about in my negotiations started to change. At the beginning, it may have been, 'Oh, what kind of positions are you interested in?' And it started to turn into, 'What kind of hobbies do you have? What have you always wanted to do, but have never been able to experience?' And through that language shift, I started to attract different men, and not just men. I started to see women and couples. I found that, through those conversations, I was ending up more financially successful, too."

What did you learn about negotiating that other people in other fields can learn from?

"I think the biggest mistake that people make during negotiations is that they treat it as me vs. them scenario. In reality, we’re trying to find something that works for the both of us. When you take that combative element out of a negotiation, and you take that pressure away, you end up having a more successful conversation and everyone walks away with it not just happier but feeling better about what they’ve done."

Can you describe what your typical client experience is like? 

"Once someone sets up an appointment with me, it allows me to figure out what we want to do together and put together an amazing experience for someone. For example, I just had a client who is vegan, so I was able to get us reservations at a wonderful vegan restaurant; we had an amazing, amazing time, and afterward we ended up going to the arcade at Circus, Circus to just hang out and have fun and just enjoy each other. They mentioned afterward that they had never been to an arcade with a girl before, and it was probably their favorite date ever. They’ve gotten to travel the world, seen plays, and yet they cite a simple arcade as one of their favorite dates. It’s kind of amazing."

How did you come up with that idea?

"I asked myself, 'What’s a good activity that two people can do together?' rather than an activity that two people can say, watch together. I always advise against [dates] where you don’t get to talk to the other person during it. So, for example, a very common first date people think of is let’s go to the movies. The problem is that you’re watching a movie; you’re not getting to know the other person. And the only thing you talk about is this superficial thing you just watched — the movie — and you totally skip over the real conversations that matter.

"So, I tend to gravitate towards experiential-type dates: things like sledding, or horseback-riding, things that are more than just looking at what’s on a screen."

It sounds like what you’re offering is more like a girlfriend experience.

"Absolutely. It’s not just about sex — it’s everything but the sex. The sex is assumed; you know the sex is going to happen, so why put a focus on something that is already given? Instead, let’s put a focus on everything but the sex: who we are, how can we connect, what do we have in common. I think that’s what makes me a little bit different from the other ladies, and by proxy what makes me more successful."

Can you talk about what you typically charge for a date?

"Due to how Nevada brothel law works, they have to have differentiators from 'illegal' type of sex work. One of those differentiators is the ability to quote prices. Nevada law is written in such a way that the only place we can talk specifics when it comes to time, activity, and cost is at the ranch. So, what people will do is they’ll set up appointments in advance and they’ll say, 'Hey, I want to see you this day, this is kind of what I want to do.' And I’ll have them put down 10% of their expected budget, so this way I have an idea of what they’re thinking. From there, I can figure out, Okay, these are what our possibilities look like within that range.

"I can say the combination of time plus activity tends to be the easiest formula, but I always work with the individual. For example, I offer discounts for those who are public servants — anyone who is a police officer, a retired service member, an EMT, a doctor, or a nurse. I’ve worked as an EMT myself, so I really value the good that they do in society, and it’s my way of being able to give back. So, a lot of it is circumstantial.

"Keeping in mind that we’re not legally able to quote prices in any capacity, the only thing I can say is that experiences range anywhere from four figures up, depending on how long we spend together."

So the industry is very regulated. 

"It’s incredibly regulated. In order to work at the ranch we have to visit the doctor every single week, and once a year we have to obtain what is literally a prostitution card from the Sheriff’s Office. We have to go complete a background check and a fingerprint check to receive a card that allows us to work that next year. The cost varies by county, and it changes so often, but it’s reasonable — it’s usually in the three figures, $100 or $200.

"I’m perfectly okay with the fact that the house takes 50% because that 50% is paying the bartenders, the cashiers, the door people, the maids, the PR team, and it’s an infrastructure. I’m very, very comfortable with that. I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth — I have a safe, legal place to work, and I have warm food and fresh meals prepared. It’s very, very nice. There is a lot of justification for that particular expense."

What would you say is the most difficult part of the job? 

"People don’t understand how much stigma there really is around what I do for a living. It’s everything from going to get my hair or my nails done, someone asking me where I work and refusing me service. For example, with my appendicitis, I found out that I had gone to the hospital two years ago, I had appendicitis, but the doctor would not acknowledge my pain. He was convinced that it was an ovarian cyst or something, because of what I do for a living. So, I had to live with appendicitis for the past two years, without realizing it, ignoring all the little mini flare-ups, and thank goodness I was able to catch it before the appendix ruptured. Because of stigma, I could have potentially died, because the doctor was unwilling to acknowledge the fact that I could possibly have something seriously wrong.

"Stigma factors into where I live, in the sense that I want to make sure that my neighbors won’t take issue with it, or my landlord not recognizing it as a valid career and not wanting to give me a place to live, simply based off the job. It’s having to change my bank account. I recently discovered that my money is not safe in a national bank. I cannot bank through a national bank and have my money be secure, because it’s not a nationally recognized profession; they could freeze my account at any moment. So, I had to switch to a credit union instead. And of course, having to switch banks is going to affect where I’m able to get loans from.

"So, it’s a lot of those things that make it incredibly complex. It’s not the job that makes it hard. It’s the stigma. It hurts to be devalued, and have what you’re so passionate about being treated as this awful and terrible thing."

You mentioned in the comments section of your Money Diary that you have several different degrees, and you want to pursue even more. What’s your plan for the future?

"In five or 10 years, I want to develop a more tangible form of sex education for America — complete sex education, not just abstinence. I want to provide what everyone is missing. In high school, no one talks about anything other than, Okay, boys have these body parts, girls have these body parts. I want to be that person who is able to provide education, so I really see myself moving into an education advocacy role, and you’ll probably see that in the form of YouTube videos, podcasts, books, tangible tools that people can use to educate themselves.

"Additionally, I really see myself being a voice and advocate for legalized sex work. What we have here in Nevada works. Why don’t we take the Nevada model and translate that to California, and Utah, and Ohio, and bring it to us as a nation?

"I have several different degrees, and I’m pursuing additional continued education. I plan to re-enroll in classes this spring. Right now, I have degrees in psychology, sociology, physiology, and anatomy; this year, my big goal is to pursue a human sexuality degree. They’re all associates and bachelor degrees for now, and eventually, my goal is to marry them all together and essentially make my own doctoral program that would allow me to be a doctorate specifically of sex work. That’s truly what I’m most interested in: How does sex work positively affect the economy, the lives of the women who work there, the lives of the people who visit these ranches? How does it affect the national STD rate?"

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• Major companies are supporting employees by making student loan assistance a workplace benefit.
• Gradifi works with employers to help implement monthly payments to its employees' student loan debt.
• Although monetary contributions vary, companies like Penguin Random House, Estée Lauder, and Staples are offering employees this perk. 

The bar for company perks is pretty low when you first start working. Standard vacation days, a solid healthcare package, and a few summer Fridays can rock a worker's world.

To make themselves more competitive with prospective employees, some companies are starting to tackle one of the biggest issues millennials are facing today: student loans. Offering student loan repayment as workplace benefit is smart: Any number of employees would trade a debt check over kitchen snacks or recreational activities.

"When you look at the way that companies are adopting benefits these days, you see a lot of people doing things like offering free lunches, beer, and ping pong tables," says Gradifi CMO Meera Oliva. "[But] for people who have it, student loan debt is something that weighs on them very heavily and prevents them from moving onto other life milestones, so this is a really impactful benefit that employers can offer."

Gradifi works with companies that want to implement this benefit facilitate monthly payments from employers directly to employees' student loan debt. So, say an employer decides to contributes $100 to their employees' loan burdens: that $100 is paid directly to the principle each month, helping to pay down the principle faster and reducing the interest that is capitalizing on the loan.

Whether you're graduating soon and are trying to find a financial head-start (or perhaps you're keeping a careful eye on enticing companies for a job switch), here are some of the businesses currently offering this awesome perk:

1. PwC

This big-four accounting firm offers$100/month for up to 72 monthsfor their associates and their senior associates.

2. Penguin Random House

The publishing house offers $100/month up to $9,000 (over seven and a half years) to both full- and part-time workers.

3. Peloton

Fitness company Peloton offers$100/monthto their employees.

4. Connelly Partners

Offers $10,000 on a tiered system over five years of employment: $100/month in year one; $125/month in year two; $150/month in year three; $175/month in year four, and $200/month in year five. By the end of that fifth year, employees have received $9,000 worth of contributions — and then you get a $1,000 bonus payment.

Oliva says what she likes about Connelly's program in particular is that "from an employee standpoint, if theaverage amount of student loan debt is $30,000, $10,000 is hugely impactful." And from Connelly’s standpoint, she adds, the contribution structure rewards long-time employees in a way that's much more tangible than bragging rights.

5. Estée Lauder

The storied beauty brand will contribute $100 toward eligible employees' loans every month throughTuition.io. The max lifetime contribution is $10,000 per employee.

6. Live Nation

The entertainment company will match employee contributions of up to $100/month, up to $6,000. (Employees must have worked at Live Nation for at least six months to qualify.)

7. Staples

The retailer will pay $100/month toward the principle on the loans of "high potential" employees, up to 36 months.

8. First Republic

The bank also has a tiered system with Gradifi: $100/month ($1,200 per year) in the first year of employment; up to $150/month ($1,800 per year) in the second year; up to $200/month ($2,400 per year) in the third year up until the loans are paid off.

9. Aetna

The healthcare company offers up to $2,000/year (up to $10,000) for qualifying loans. All full- and part-time (20 hours a week or more) Aetna employees are eligible for the program. (Part-time employees will receive a match up to $1,000 a year with a lifetime maximum of $5,000.)

SEE ALSO: I moved from a big city to a smaller one — and learned being a big fish in a small pond is way better for your career

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• Khloe Kardashian's boyfriend, Tristan Thompson, has reportedly been cheating on her for months.
• Cardi B offered the reality star some relationship advice during a recent radio interview.
• "Just do what your heart feels like doing ... At the end of the day, everybody wants to act like they're dating deacons and pastors and their relationship is perfect," she said.
• Cardi B has some experience with cheating men. Her fiancé, Migos rapper Offset, allegedly made a sex tape with another woman that leaked in January.

When Khloé Kardashian gave birth to her first child earlier this week, she had already been through a lot more than the challenges of pregnancy. The reality star had to weather persistent rumors that her baby's father — boyfriend Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers — had been cheating on her while she was pregnant. Though little more than a grainy video of Thompson kissing another woman has been offered as evidence of the basketball player's infidelity, there has been no shortage of backlash from Kardashian's supporters and Cavaliers fans. During Thompson's first post-scandal game, the player was booed by audience members decked in Cavs gear.

Amid the harsh reactions from Kardashian's fanbase to dump Thompson, rapper Cardi B had a piece of advice for the new mom that went against the grain.

"Just do what your heart feels like doing," Cardi said during a radio interview with Big Boy's Neighborhood. "Do what your heart feels like is right. At the end of the day, everybody wants to act like they're dating deacons and pastors and their relationship is perfect and you don't know what type of things are going on in their relationship."

Cardi offers a unique perspective on Kardashian's situation because, well, she's been through it, too. The hip-hop artist revealed that she was pregnant with fiancé and Migos rapper Offset last week during her debut hosting slot on "Saturday Night Live"…but that happy announcement was the payoff from the couple working through a cheating scandal of their own. In January, People wrote of an alleged sex tape Offset had made with another woman, but throughout all of the talk, Cardi has maintained that all relationships have flaws, and if you want to make them work, you have to work hard. "We had to fight for our love," she told Big Boy.

Between Cardi's sharp self-awareness and Kardashian's dedication to her new family, one wonders if women are now navigating a post-cheating approach to relationships. While pop culture has long presented images of woman hysterically crying, throwing clothing over balconies, and writing venomous breakup albums when confronted with adultery, Cardi and Khloé's reactions seem to indicate a new method for modern romance: when something bad happens, get angry, but also breathe. Think about it, talk it over, and weigh what's worth salvaging in a relationship.

These are things Beyoncé did throughout her 2016 masterpiece, "Lemonade," which chronicled her turbulent relationship with an unfaithful Jay-Z. Bey's lyrics volleyed between fury, jealousy, hurt, and pride, addressing the volcano of emotions that erupt with the news of being cheated on. But Beyoncé, as we all know, didn't burn everything down. She didn't forget either, but she forgave, and eventually moved on. Cardi, Khloé, and Bey are redefining what it means to be a powerful woman; flipping the narrative of the victim into the one who has the power to forgive … or not.

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• This 24-year-old digital strategist lives in Boston with her boyfriend.
• She makes $56,100 a year and pays $1,100 in rent.
• Between $600 and $800 of her monthly income comes from freelance work.
• She graduated from college with $30,000 in private loans— and paid them off in tw0 years.

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Today: a digital strategist working in journalism who makes $56,100 per year and spends some of her paycheck this week on lingerie.

Occupation: Digital Strategist
Industry: Journalism
Age: 24
Location: Boston, MA
Salary: $56,100
Paycheck (Monthly): $1,774, plus $600-$800 in freelance income

Monthly Expenses

Rent: $1,100. (My SO makes about three times my salary, plus a significant bonus, so we split rent 60/40. It's important to me that I feel like I'm paying for my own living expenses, but he always picks up nice dinners, bigger vacation expenses, etc.)
Student Loan Payment: $0. (I graduated from college with $30,000 in private loans, and paid them off two years after graduating.)
Utilities, Cable & WiFi: ~$100
Spotify: $4
New York Times Subscription: $4
Therapy: $50
Headspace: $12.99. (This is a new expense, suggested by my therapist.)
Phone Bill: $97
Netflix, HBO Go & Hulu: I use my boyfriend's.
Workout Class Package: $125, alternating between spin and barre every month
Transportation: $0. (I walk to work.)
401(k): $400

Day One

10:30 a.m. — I wake up and learn that there's a story I need to work on. I'm a little irritated because it's going to take up my entire afternoon, and I become grouchier and grouchier about it as the day goes on. My boyfriend makes matzo ball soup with homemade broth we have in the freezer; it cheers me up a little, but my anxiety over work is pretty high.

3:30 p.m. — Finally done with work for the day; what a Sunday. It's rainy and gross out so we knock out our errands early and stay in for the rest of the day. I call an UberPool to Whole Foods. $2.89

3:45 p.m. — Spending money on "fancy" groceries is probably my biggest vice. I like to cook with food I'm excited about, and it makes me want to eat out a lot less. I grab ground chicken, kale, broccoli rabe, parsnips, chickpeas, steak tips, salsa, bell peppers, and a bag of honey-roasted chickpeas I keep in my desk to snack on ($58). My boyfriend picks up two bottles of wine, a bag of Linzer cookies for me, and a few cans of cold brew, which he pays for. (He usually eats dinner at his office on weeknights, so most of our groceries are my stuff). $58

6 p.m. — I decompress from a stressful morning and afternoon by reading. I'm just getting to "The Rules Do Not Apply" and am loving it, as a journalist myself. My boyfriend makes roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli over rice (a favorite Smitten Kitchen recipe) while I watch "The O.C." He's wonderful and we really work to support each other on days when one of us needs it. He sits down beside me and tolerates a full episode of the show.

8 p.m. — We make a pot of tea. (We're big on tea, less on coffee, in general). It turns into a solid Sunday after all.

Daily Total: $60.89

Day Two

8:00 a.m. — Wake up just as my boyfriend is leaving for work. I get dressed and throw a breakfast round into the toaster oven. (We get them at Whole Foods, and I'm obsessed. Today's flavor is cranberry apple.) I make a cup of matcha too; it's way cheaper than buying coffee or a matcha latte at work, and healthier, too! I read The New York Times and scroll through Instagram.

12:30 p.m. — For lunch, I eat leftover broccoli and sweet potato over brown rice with soy sauce. I really try to minimize how much I eat out during the week. (I'd say this played a huge role in how early I was able to pay off my loans after college.)

1:45 p.m. — I had a fairly successful no-shop January. As someone who freelances a lot, it's hard not to treat freelance income as "fun money" and not budget appropriately with it. To get over this, I'm really trying to only buy things I love and can't stop thinking about buying. So far this month, I've bought a pair of pants from Everlane that I think I'll wear all spring and summer. (I've officially decided I can no longer wear short shorts on a regular basis. RIP.) To that end, I see L.L. Bean is having a sale on summer clothing, and I find a seersucker sundress that can replace a white linen dress I've had for years, which is sadly too short for me now. $63.25

5:30 p.m. — On my walk home, I decide to be nice and pick up my boyfriend's dry cleaning since he's having a really busy week. It's cash only, but luckily, I actually have cash for once. He Venmos $5.40 me for it.

6:30 p.m. — I hop on a call with a creative recruiter I found on LinkedIn since I want to take on more copywriting projects. He's nice enough, but it sounds a little bit like a scam. I read reviews online and learn that people do not like working with this agency. It's not for me, but I'll follow tomorrow with a "thanks, but no thanks."

7 p.m. — Dinner is leftover short rib, collard greens, fingerling potatoes, and matzo ball soup –what a feast! I snack on kalamata olives (my favorite) that I bought at the overpriced Whole Foods antipasto bar. Then I chow down while watching "Gossip Girl" for the 500th time. I also embark on an ambitious lunch creation for tomorrow, and TOTALLY mess up – it turns out really gross, and I can't bring myself to package it up in Tupperware. I'm mad at myself for wasting steak tips, veggies, and an hour of my time. Dejected, I toss the whole production into the trash (so wasteful), and shower to try and de-stress.

10 p.m. — Remember I never invoiced one of the writing projects I just filed. I submit the invoice, looking forward to the $200 check that should come my way in two weeks. Then it's time for a little reading before I am tuckered out. My boyfriend texts to say he's leaving the office soon, but I fall asleep before he gets home.

Daily Total: $63.25

Day Three

8 a.m. — Breakfast is a cranberry-orange whole wheat round and vanilla cold brew with almond milk. I really don't want to buy lunch, so I grab a frozen burrito and a Siggi's lemon yogurt. I throw deodorant, lipstick, and a perfume sample in my bag because I have a photoshoot for a freelance gig after work, and I want to feel somewhat put together.

12:15 p.m. — Several fire drills in the office since we're well into production for our spring issue. I clean up edits on an online piece that's running tomorrow. I also get an email from a client I'm eager to work with on freelance editing work, asking if I'd be interested in pursuing a new project for two or three hours a week. I'm so excited: It'll be about $400 to $500 a month, regularly! Not pitching publications and brands for copy work is so nice, and having anchor clients is my dream as a freelancer. I accept and then happily eat my frozen burrito and Siggi's while reading Into The Gloss.

4 p.m. — I walk back to the office and try to finish last-minute tasks on my to-do list, like laying out a marketing email and chatting with our art department for my online piece that will run tomorrow. I also book a bike for a post-work spin class on Thursday because it's going to be over 50 degrees and that is TROPICAL in Boston this time of year.

5 p.m. — I have a photoshoot for a piece I wrote for one of my side-hustles, along with a friend who works on it with me. It's at a local wine store, and we are really excited about it. We hop on the T. $2.25

6 p.m. — The photoshoot is a blast, and we get to sample a few different wines. I ask for a recommendation and pick up a new Bordeaux. $22

6:30 p.m. — My friend and I want Greek food right across the street for dinner, so I break my no-eating-out-during-the-week rule because it's nice out and sometimes life is worth breaking your own rules for. I get a chicken gyro and we split fries. $9.50

8 p.m. — Time to plop down on the couch. I make a small pot of green tea and force myself to make lunch for tomorrow: refried beans, whole wheat tortillas, salsa, and cheddar.

Daily Total: $33.75

Day Four

8 a.m. — I eat a hard-boiled egg for breakfast and make a quick mug of matcha. My boyfriend kisses me on his way out the door.

11:30 a.m. — I'm hungry earlier than anticipated, so I start picking away at my lunch. I'll be really hungry later, too. I can feel it. While eating, I look at lingerie and wish I'd bought something when there were Valentine's Day sales, even though I know I was being lured into the marketing. I interned at a lingerie brand when I was in college (it was a total nightmare) but it instilled a love of nice undergarments in me. There's a lovely boutique down the street from my office. I walk over on my lunch break with the intent to browse but leave with a Chantelle bra I love – a quality purchase! $50

6 p.m. — Once I'm home, I start cooking what turns out to be a very ambitious dinner for one. I wasn't expecting my boyfriend to make it home, so I thought I'd treat myself. It's ginger-maple ground chicken meatballs over pasta with broccoli rabe. Broccoli rabe is my favorite vegetable, but tricky to get right. I turn on music (Arctic Monkeys, the classics) and get to work.

7:45 p.m. — My boyfriend gets home relatively early and with a box of chocolates from Burdick's! I'm really pleased and surprised and eat three truffles at once. We make tea and catch up before bed.

Daily Total: $50

Day Five

11:30 a.m. — I run an hour-long recurring meeting for our team twice a month. Initially, it was daunting to get up in front of so many people and be in charge, but it has turned into a great learning experience for me that I wouldn't trade. This one goes fairly smoothly, luckily.

3:30 p.m. — My day slows down considerably, so I walk around the corner for a cold brew. Surprise: it's way too late in the day for me to be drinking coffee, and I'm way too hopped up and borderline nauseous the rest of the day. $4.25

5:45 p.m. — Once I'm home, I work on freelance projects, trying to channel the energy into something productive. I pitch an editor a new idea for a piece, and he actually responds an hour later (rare) with the green light. At least I'm selling work in my queasy state.

10:30 p.m. — Pop a Pepto Bismol and crawl into bed.

Daily Total: $4.25

Day Six

8 a.m. — Friday, glorious Friday! I make a smoothie with almond butter, blueberries, strawberries (I keep these frozen), and almond butter. Plus a sprinkle of matcha.

12:40 p.m. — I have a stressful morning at work. My copy is getting a ton of edits that I don't necessarily agree with, and it frustrates me more than it should. I do a Headspace session in my office, and then realize I just really don't want to eat my frozen burrito for lunch. A friend and I order Dig Inn on Caviar. I get the herb chicken marketplace bowl over farro with cashew Caesar and sweet potatoes. $16

5 p.m. — I'm meeting friends from my old office for drinks before we go to karaoke. I swing home to drop off my stuff and change before calling an Uber to the bar by our old office. It takes forever in traffic, but my phone says the T is very delayed so I thought this would be better (plus, I have 40% off of Uber for the week). $7.68

6 p.m. — I buy a Corona and pay in cash, which sucks because I can't budget well when I don't use my card. Catching up with old colleagues is fun, though! $3.50

7 p.m. — We walk to a Japanese place down the street because we figure the trendier spots near the karaoke spot will all have terrible wait times. We were right: This restaurant only has a 25-minute wait. We each get a sake cocktail at the bar while we wait for our table. I order soba in warm miso broth with fried bean curd and fish cakes. $38

10 p.m. — Several rounds of drinks later, my work week exhaustion is catching up with me at karaoke. I stick to gin and tonics to avoid a hangover tomorrow morning (mixing liquors is my downfall) and am pleased that everything is fairly cheap. $25

10:45 p.m. — We debate staying for another set, but there's a great restaurant across the street. We get raw cookie dough and profiteroles for dessert. I order a personal pot of sencha, feeling very adult about this decision. $13

12 a.m. — I walk home and it's freezing out. My boyfriend is also out with friends and isn't home yet. In the mirror, I notice my face looks really dehydrated (probably because I am dehydrated), so I do a face peel followed by a hydrating mask after taking a quick shower. I also drink a lot of water and watch an episode of "The O.C." before my boyfriend gets home.

Daily Total: $103.18

Day Seven

10 a.m. — Not hungover! A bit achy, but that might have been all the sugar before bed. We make breakfast burritos with eggs, veggies, and refried beans.

11:45 a.m. — The weather's fairly nice out (for Boston in the winter) so we go to a museum. My Charlie Card is out of money again, so I reload for us to take the T there. I have free admission at the museum through work. $20

3 p.m. — After a full afternoon of walking around, we're both pretty hungry. We stop at by Chloe for lunch, where I get a black bean burger and sweet potato fries for us to share. This place is good but definitely overpriced. $15

6 p.m. — While walking around the stores on Newbury, I find lightweight linen pants at Marine Layer that I know I'll live in this summer (drawstring waists forever!) — and there's a 15% discount. $83

6:30 p.m. — We stop at Trader Joe's to buy groceries for dinner tonight (lentils, kale, and chicken apple sausage soup) and staples like oatmeal, tofu, and almond milk. Also, crumpets for breakfast, because they're so good. We split it evenly. $25

7 p.m. — Back home, we get cooking while watching mindless television. It's an easy recipe with a long cook time (about an hour and a half), so we want to get things going as quickly as possible.

9:30 p.m. — After dinner, we rent a movie on Amazon Prime through our Roku. I fall asleep way earlier than I mean to.

Daily Total: $143

The Breakdown

Weekly Total Spent: $458.32
Food & Drink: $229.25
Entertainment: $0
Home & Health: $0
Clothes & Beauty: $196.25
Transport: $32.82
Other: $0

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Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande's openly talked about her hair woes. After years and years of being dyed for the Nickelodeon show Sam & Cat, her tresses suffered serious damage. As a result, Ariana's signature some-up-some-down style, which she wears with the help of extensions, is the only 'do she feels comfortable with while she allows her hair to recover.

Ariana's hair skews on the curly side, as this throwback picture proves. This past September, the star also gave us a (very rare) glimpse at her modern-day ringlets, which are just as beautiful.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears' name is practically synonymous with blond hair nowadays. While she's experimented with length here and there, it's stayed steadily light since the early aughts.

But when she first came onto the scene (think "...Baby One More Time" days), young Spears was a brunette with very on-trend '90s lipliner.

Christina Hendricks

It's hard for us to picture Joan, err, we mean Christina Hendricks, without her signature fiery-red mane.

Turns out, Hendricks is actually a bottle redhead. Her natural hair color is blond. She started dyeing it bright-red at age 10because she was obsessed with Anne of Green Gables.

• A woman working as a lawyer in Chicago tells us what she spends in a week.
• This week, while keeping track of her spending for Money Diaries, her boyfriend of three years dumped her.

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Monthly Expenses

Rent: $1,395. (I live alone in a small brownstone.)

Student Loan Payments: $0. (I got a full-ride scholarship to law school.)

Utilities: ~$100. (Varies, depending on how cold it is.)

Internet: $45

Cellphone: $80. (Work reimburses about half of this.)

Gym: $0. (Paid for by my work.)

Spotify: $1

Netflix: $0. (I use my boyfriend's account.)

Investments: $2,000. (I set up a monthly transfer to a brokerage account that's invested in index funds. I'm not eligible for a 401(k) at my job yet.)

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Day One

7:25 p.m. — My slow day gets busier, and I end up staying later than usual to wrap a project. I take the L home. $2.50

7:50 p.m. — On my walk home, I swing by a CVS to buy a six-pack of beer, bacon, and yogurt. My boyfriend is staying over this weekend and I want to stock up on the essentials. $19.54

Day Two

Day Three

10 a.m. — I hoped for another lazy Sunday, but instead, my boyfriend drops a bombshell over breakfast: "Where do I see this relationship going?" because it turns out he doesn't see it going anywhere. My boyfriend of three years is breaking up with me. We spend an awful morning talking, crying, and sitting in stony, awkward silence. Finally, he suggests going outside to get some sun.

1 p.m. — We walk on the path along Lake Michigan and fall into our easy chatter. We're so comfortable and warm together; it feels like a normal Sunday for an hour or so.

2:15 p.m. — As we're walking back to my place, we pass by a grocery store. I need to stock up for the week and my boyfriend offers to help me carry the groceries. I buy LaCroix, cucumbers, yogurt, eggs, hummus, grapefruit, green onions, paper towels, and cleaning spray. $30.58

3 p.m. — As soon as we get back to my place, the awkwardness returns. He tells me he's holding me back from living my best life. I thought my best life included dating my best friend. I guess I was wrong.

5:30 p.m. — My boyfriend leaves. I tell myself I'm going to be fine but a few minutes later, I notice that he's removed all of his stuff from my bathroom cabinet and I start crying. I moved to Chicago a few months ago for work and haven't made any close friends yet. I feel very alone.

6 p.m. — I spend the evening in and finish reading a book on my Kindle (Tomorrow Will Be Different). Once I wrap up that book, I buy another one (How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story). I can't bring myself to tell anyone what happened; I feel embarrassed that I got dumped. $12.99

Daily Total: $43.57

• This engineer makes $122,000 a year working in the Californiatech industry.
• For the past year, the engineer who prefers gender-neutral pronouns has been living in their car.
• They shower and do laundry at their workplace.
• Part of the reason for the decision was that they felt guilty getting such a good deal on rent when many people in the Bay Area with lower incomes can't afford a higher rent.

A search for #VanLife on Instagram yields nearly three million results. Most are high-def photos of vans on open roads or perched atop mountains with waterfalls cascading in the background. Sometimes, there's a backpack-toting person doing tree pose in the foreground. #VanLife is a lifestyle goal best described as a nomadic, free-spirited existence diametrically opposed to the workaholic brunch-centric urban fantasy.

This story, however, is not really about #VanLife the hashtag.

M.* is an engineer making $122,000 per year in the tech industry in Mountain View, CA. Their Money Diary (M. is agender, and uses gender-neutral pronouns) was one of our most popular in recent months, providing a unique lens into the Silicon Valley tech lifestyle and tech workers who live in their vans. M. talked about their involvement in the ace community, sponsorship of a hen at an animal sanctuary, daily Duolingo sessions, love of vegan baked goods, and on-campus aerial silks class. But the aspect of their life that garnered the most attention from our readers was, by far, their decision to live out of their car.

Ahead, an interview with M. about the many factors (financial, cultural, and professional) that contributed to this decision, and how it has impacted their life.

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of the diarist.

How long have you been living in your car, and why did you decide to do it?

"It's pretty much been a year now. Before I moved into my car, I was paying less than $1,000 per month in rent, which is pretty hard to find in the Bay Area, but doable if you live with four other people. And I felt like: What am I — someone who came to the Bay Area for a tech job and is paid a lot — doing in this home instead of someone else who actually can't afford to pay more than $1,000 a month in rent?"

Did you know any friends or coworkers who were living in their cars at that time?

"I have a friend who started living in their car a year before I did, so that kind of made it seem like a possibility. And then another friend of mine, after seeing my build, ended up doing a road trip living out of his car, which was pretty cool."

Who else do you see living in their cars in the Bay Area? And how much of car life is a Bay Area-specific thing?

"There is this weird dichotomy between people who choose to live out of their cars, and then people who actually need to live out of their cars out of economic necessity. People might not even think of this, but there are people who work in tech but are low-paid, like cafeteria workers and custodial staff, and a lot of them also live out of their cars because they just can't afford being in housing. Many of them are contract workers who don't get the benefits that full-time employees do. So that dichotomy is kind of mind-trippy."

"As far as whether it's a Bay Area/tech thing, I think this lifestyle is definitely more sustainable for tech workers like me who can rely on their workplace for necessities. A lot of tech campuses are structured to provide perks like food, gyms, laundry, etc. so that workers can work longer and not have to deal with those things outside of work. I just kind of take it to an extreme by actually living on campus. One joke idea that my friend and I used to throw around was to build tiny houses for tech workers in each parking space in order to solve the housing crisis in the Bay Area. Over time, it became less of a joke and more of a reason why I moved (more so to live my values than to 'solve' anything, though)."

Would you live in your car if you lived in a different city?

"I know it can definitely be harder to find places to park and sleep in other cities and municipalities because many places have laws against sleeping in your car. Part of living in my car is trying to create my own sense of home and place, because it's like I'm trying to figure out my connection to the land – like what it means for me, an immigrant who came to the U.S. as a small child, to buy land that is already stolen. I don't know, I still have to work out my feelings around that."

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• Kate Middleton has officially given birth less than a month before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.
• Despite having to keep up with royal duties at most lavish events, The Duchess of Cambridge will reportedly get the chance to sit back and relax during the celebration. 
• A source told Vanity Fair that Markle and Prince Harry are just happy to have Middleton there for their special day.

This spring will be a pretty busy one for the royal family, thanks to the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, and the arrival of Kate Middleton and Prince William's third bundle of joy.

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• A 29-year-old woman making $75,000 a year details the financial aspects of her relationship with a man making only $35,000.
• As a graphic designer, her boyfriend doesn't stress too much about financial security or independence.
• On the other hand, she would like to be well-off in the future, with goals to be making $100,000 by the age of 31.
• They typically manage their finances separately, but some unexpected health issues have complicated matters.

In our series Not A Trophy Wife, we typically ask women how they feel when they earn far less than their significant other. We've chatted with a literature professor struggling with debt while her girlfriend saves for retirement, a woman who gave up her career in Thailand for her husband, and a marketing analyst dating an investment banker.

This time, however, we chat with a 29-year-old woman making $75,000 a year, with her boyfriend making $35,000.

So tell me about your relationship.

"My boyfriend and I started dating in high school. We met my senior year and dated into my freshman year of college. He’s a year below me in school, so we were doing long distance, and we broke up during my freshman year. You know, we were young, and it wasn’t quite working out. So we were apart for almost 5 years, but then one day I was moving and I found an old photo of us. We started texting and meeting up for drinks, and we’ve been back together for about 6 years.

"When we got back together, he was still in school. He switched his degree several times so he ended up being in school for five years, while I was already out and working full-time in corporate retail in Madison."

How much were you making at the time?

"At the time, I was making $43,000, and he was interning at the company he works at now, and he was grossly underpaid at his internship. It was like, $10 to $12 an hour."

So you work in corporate communications — what does your boyfriend do?

"He’s a graphic designer at a small family-owned interior design firm. He’s a total right-brained creative. He just wants to enjoy life and enjoy what he does, and he’ll just make what he makes. He doesn’t take finances that seriously and doesn't think about finances the way that I do. He was raised in a family that never talks about money; his parents were always in debt and never trained him to be responsible with money, so that carried through with him. So he and I see things very differently."

How do you mean? In terms of career or finances?

"Financial independence is very important to me. I grew up in a very middle-class family, and I’m an only child — my parents were very generous in providing for me even though it was probably beyond their means. You know, the spending wasn’t elaborate, but it was very generous — my parents purchased my first car when I turned 16. When I graduated college, they bought me half of my second car and took out a loan in my name so I could build my credit. They taught me to be very responsible with my money, to never carry any debt, to diversify my money through different savings accounts. And my parents fully-funded my college education; it was right about that time when I realized what a significant investment that was.

"My father is the hardest-working man I know, and he often commented on his struggles with money. I would hear about how much things cost, and expenses, and watching him speak so negatively about finances after seeing how hard he worked, so it really triggered something for me. I realized I never wanted to live a life where I was constantly stressed about money, especially after providing for someone else. I would like to provide for someone and be generous and not have to moan and groan. I want to be able to take care of my parents, which is something I’m worried about given that I’m an only child. So as a result, I’m probably a little too frugal."

How has this shaped your goals for yourself?

"I have pretty significant goals for myself. I really want to be a self-supported woman. I would like to be well-off enough that I would eventually be able to retire a bit early and not have to worry about expenses in retirement, and I’d like to be comfortable enough so I can travel each year and purchase a nice home. And I’ve always enjoyed the freedom that money brings — it’s not about buying a Rolex or a BMW. It’s just about being able to enjoy my life, and knowing that I’m self-funding my dreams and my future goals.

So my plan is to make $100,000 by my 31st birthday. I set that goal sometime in high school. That’s something that has always stuck with me. It’s definitely not the ceiling that I want my salary to be. I’d like my comprehensive net worth to hit $1 million someday, and I know that’s really aggressive, but I’d love to see that million number some day. It could even be a goal for me and my husband in the future. I’d really like to start playing in the stock market soon, it’s just I’m a little intimidated by it at the moment. I recently started working with a financial adviser and I’m about ready to start exploring."

How have you seen a partner playing into that?

"Hopefully, whether it’s my boyfriend or whatever our plan is to get married, but hopefully my partner’s income would complement mine, and I wouldn’t have to depend on him."

Do you see that happening? 

"He’s been actively saying that he is going to get a new job for years, he is aggressively working to get a raise. He is in the process right now of negotiating with his bosses for that potential raise, which would be fabulous, but that conversation has been on and off for a year, so I’m not holding my breath."

It does seem like you and your boyfriend have very different goals with money.

"My boyfriend and I are in totally separate places. He is fully supportive of my financial goals and being very aggressive with savings. He just chooses not to adopt the same model for his own personal finances. And for that reason, when we do get married, I don’t think we’ll merge our finances unless he has a dramatic change of heart. Our retirement finances, though, would definitely be combined. I have a really strict budget in place, and we also worked together to get him set up as well. I recently took out a pretty significant life insurance policy, so the cash value of that might help fund our retirement.

"And it's not just about money, to be honest. I have tried to lay off and take a more kind approach and not sound like I’m nagging, but my whole perspective is — I don’t really care how much he earns. I just want him to push himself to the best of his ability in his career and really to do work he loves. If he’s working at a company doing work he doesn’t enjoy, that doesn’t scream inspiration or drive to me."

Has the difference in ambition caused issues with your relationship?

"It’s certainly has caused its share of issues — and we’ve broken up and gotten back together several times, and I knew and accepted his stance when we got back together. I’ve dated very wealthy men, and I’ve had relationships where we were equal, and I knew getting back with my boyfriend that I wouldn’t be dating a millionaire. But I also knew I would be with someone who enjoys the little things in life, someone who can make me laugh. I do find, on occasion, that I get very frustrated with his lack of ambition. But it’s okay."

The two of you have lived together for four years — how do you manage finances? 

"Right now we split the rent 65/35. We’ve been living together for a few years now, and we recently moved into a brand new apartment complex. When we moved here, we had a conversation about the rent. I brought to the table what I wanted to pay and what I thought was fair, based on my current income, and he came back and said he’d like to contribute a little bit more. I said if you think you can make that work, let’s talk through your budget and make sure you have a little bit more saved. So that’s what we ended up on. Everything else is 50/50.

"But typically we managed our finances entirely separately. I don’t watch his budget; I only watch my own. When we go out, I typically cover things, and occasionally, he contributes because he likes to. We do try to split things 50/50 as much as possible, though, my boyfriend doesn’t like to discuss finances, and I like to discuss them a bit too much. So sometimes I'll just grab the check before he can and say, 'There’s no argument. I’ll take care of it.' And if he buys drinks, then I buy dinner."

Has anything changed since the two of you moved in together?

"After we moved in together the first time, they discovered black mold. And I’ve discovered a whole host of health issues — things that are affecting me neurologically. It’s been a huge financial expense and emotional drain. It’s been going on for 2.5 years. It started totally out of the blue. One October day, the entire left side of my body went numb. I was rushed to the emergency room and I thought I was having a stroke, but they did a CT scan and an EKG and both came back fine. Ever since then it’s been a total mystery — no one seems to know if it will get better or how.

"So it’s been really complicated but it’s been a total learning experience as I plan for my future and keep trying to aggressively grow my career while also managing serious health consequences and taking care of our finances and financial planning."

Can you talk about the finances of your health issues?

"I’m working with a lot of naturopathic and functional medicine practitioners which is all out-of-pocket, so my health expenses range anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 a month, between supplements and practitioners. That’s been a huge strain because it’s coming directly out of my savings. I easily could have saved twice as much in the past three years without these expenses. I had absolutely no idea this would cost so much."

Has your boyfriend been able to help?

"I’ve always managed on my own. And I would never take his money for my own illness. You know, if the circumstances were swapped and he had more money, maybe I would let him help me. But given the fact that he really needs to focus on building his career and building his financial strength, I wouldn’t.

"But it’s very, very stressful for me. I feel like I have a lot of pressure to get well and continue providing for the both of us, and the illness adds a different dimension. In a typical situation, I wouldn’t mind being in control of our finances, and being in control of our financial planning, and being the breadwinner. But when you add in the illness, it adds a certain level of helplessness from my perspective. It would be nice to be able to relax a little bit and trust someone else to pick up saving for retirement, or even just saving for our rent."

Has your health issues changed how you might view the future of the relationship or your financial goals?

"I had always imagined that my relationship would be pretty equal, but it wasn’t until I got into my health situation that I realized that it might not be. You know, it probably will never be equal — and I’m okay with that now. It took some adjusting, but as long as I know that he’s giving his best effort and that we stay on the same page with our goals, it will work. I want to be able to freely travel the world and not have to drain our savings account to do it, and if he is in line with that and working really hard to make that happen too, I’m okay with it.

"After a lot of years and a lot of conversations, it seems like we’re on the same page. We just need to get him there. Or, if he just decides that he doesn’t have the same goals that I do, that’s fine. I’ll re-adjust in some areas. As long as we keep having those conversations."

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• A 27-year-old just started a new job in Los Angeles making $90,000 a year.
• She works in the film and TV industry as head of development.
• She pays $1,300 in rent for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a roommate.
• This week, she buys Shake Shack for lunch, some linen jackets on Etsy, and deals with being ghosted by a Tinder match.

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Today: a head of development working in film and TV who makes $90,000 per year and spends some of her paycheck this week at the movies.

Occupation: Head of Development
Industry: Film & Television
Age: 27
Location: Los Angeles
Salary: $90,000
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $2,402.38

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $1,300. (I live in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a roommate. Our rent includes parking.)
Student Loan Payment: $0. (My family paid for my education.)
Car Lease: $219
Car Insurance: $153
Health Insurance: $53, taken out of my paycheck.
Hulu: $6
Starz: $9
Amazon Prime: $10.99
Squarespace: $12. (I have a membership for my professional website.)
Netflix: $0. (I use my parents' account.)
Spotify Premium: $9.99
Phone Bill: $80
Therapy: $520

Day One

8 a.m. — I grab a granola bar from the store and head to work. This is my second week at my new job. The commute is approximately five minutes, which is mind-blowing for LA. I miss being able to listen to an entire podcast episode on my way to work and find myself absentmindedly listening to classical music instead. $2.40

12:30 p.m. — I'm hungry and forgot to bring food from home. There aren't any restaurants within walking distance, so I order delivery from Shake Shack. I get a cheeseburger, but no fries. (Balance.) I need to spend $10 to get delivery, so I add a lemonade. I'll eat salad this week, I tell myself. $13.99

3 p.m. — A colleague emails me a show idea pitch about ghost sex. This is exactly why I don't tell people what my job is: Bad ideas are everywhere. I need some air, so I walk to the sh-tty coffee place I've been meaning to try down the block. There's a fountain behind the coffee shop, so I sit there and try to take a Boomerang of my coffee with the fountain. I've now wasted 30 minutes. Back to ghost sex. $4.50

7 p.m. — I stop at the store for a bottle of wine. I end up buying a bunch of booze to restock my bar, plus cheese and vegetables. I get home and make a stir fry of ground turkey, roasted vegetables, quinoa, and honey ginger balsamic. I've earned a real drink, so I make a dirty martini with extra olives. $93.35

Daily Total: $114.24

Day Two

6:30 a.m. — I wake up and realize I'm on my period. I just started using a DivaCup this year, which has been really great but kind of disgusting when I have a heavy flow day. I make avocado toast with Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel seasoning. I have a Keurig, but I use one of those reusable cups that you pour ground coffee into, so I don't feel guilty about the environment.

11 a.m. — My cramps are giving me a run for my money. I've already taken a couple Advil and don't want to overdo it, so I take one dose of CBD from my weed pen. The second I do it, I feel a moment of pure relief, but minutes later, the cramps are back. I drink La Croix and eat everything bagel-flavored sesame sticks while Googling "how to cure cramps" for the thousandth time in my life.

12:45 p.m. — I heat up my leftover turkey and veggies and eat at my desk while cruising Instagram.

4:30 p.m. — My best friend sent me a video of herself opening her FabFitFun box. She was making fun of people who do this on social media, but I ended up wanting EVERYTHING in the box. She sends me a $10 discount code, and I order the Spring box. #Treatyourself. $43.79

6:30 p.m. — I stop at the store to pick up some period essentials: Advil ($13.94), plus chocolate and pizza dough ($23.04). My roommate appears to be out for the night, so I'm going to do my favorite nighttime routine: Turn on the Nancy Meyers' movie playlist on Spotify, channel my inner Meryl from "It's Complicated," and whip up a homemade pizza. My secret ingredient is spicy honey. I drink two glasses of really nice red wine. $36.98

Daily Total: $80.77

Day Three

8 a.m. — I'm craving iced coffee and Pirate's Booty (my favorite sh-tty breakfast), so I stop at the store before work. $9.94

11:30 a.m. — My Tinder match hasn't texted me for 24 hours, and I'm starting to really question if I should send a double text. I online shop to ease the pain of possible ghosting, and buy a couple cool linen jackets on Etsy from an adorable family in Lithuania. Go small businesses! Goodbye money! $191

1 p.m. — I eat cold leftover pizza for lunch while watching the "This Is Us" finale in my office. (With the door closed, because I'm definitely going to cry.)

7:30 p.m. — I whip up orzo with caramelized onions and frozen spinach, finish the bottle of red, and take a really hot bath with Epsom salt.

Daily Total: $200.94

Day Four

4 a.m. — I wake up with the worst cramps imaginable, complete with lower back and abdomen pain, sweating, and nausea. I forgot my Advil at the office. F---. I take a CBD gummy and toss and turn all morning. My stomach hurts too much for breakfast.

5 p.m. — I haven't really eaten today and I feel like sh-t. I have therapy, so I leave the office a little early. We talk about my new job and my fears about other people's expectations of me in the first two weeks. My mom is going through cancer treatment, and my dad has dementia, so we spend a lot of time talking through their symptoms and how they're doing.

8 p.m. — I stop for dinner at a friend's house in the valley. Her toddler watches us intently as we discuss our mental health, careers, and possible side projects (opening a female co-working space! Starting a podcast! Creating members-only period-themed parties!) over a pile of greasy, delicious Chinese food. (She pays.) We watch two episodes of "Queer Eye" and have a good, cathartic cry.

Daily Total: $0

Day Five

7:30 a.m. — My bangs have a superpower – defying gravity. I spend an extra 30 minutes taming my hair this morning and don't make time for breakfast. Grab n' go granola bar time!

12:30 p.m. — I heat up leftover Chinese food from last night and take a La Croix from the office fridge. I eat at my desk while looking at apartments I can't afford to rent.

8:30 p.m. — My boss pushed our big development meeting all day and turned it into drinks tonight instead. We end up downing quite a few Old Fashioneds and hit a taco truck in the parking lot for the best al pastor in town. (He pays.) He loves every show idea I pitch him. I'm taking his enthusiasm with a grain of boozy salt.

Daily Total: $0

Day Six

10 a.m. — Oh no. I'm hungover. So hungover. I have a party tonight and no day plans, so I opt for takeout and movie rentals. I order Domino's pizza, garlic knots, and Sprite, and settle in for "Real Housewives" and "Outlander."$16.90

4:30 p.m. — I've napped, watched my shows, and finished off my junk food. I have a big networking party to go to tonight, and I'm dreading getting ready. I pop a couple of Advil and throw on jeans, a blazer, and red lipstick. I stop at the store for a bottle wine and a pack of gum (pizza breath lingers). $26.11

11:30 p.m. — The party is fun, but everyone pitches me show ideas, which can be really draining and awkward. I flirt with a D-list actor but don't get his number because I chicken out and avoid people I'm attracted to.

Daily Total: $43.01

Day Seven

8 a.m. — Hangover two mornings in a row, which is unusual for me. I order a breakfast burrito and an açaí bowl on Postmates ($34.56) – one for now, one for later. The LA Marathon is today, and after waiting around for an hour, they cancel the order on me. NOOOOO!

1 p.m. — End up scarfing down frozen leftover chicken-and-vegetable stir-fry for lunch. My friend and I walk to the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard to see "The Handmaid's Tale" panel at PaleyFest. They screen about 30 minutes of footage from the new season, which is really exciting. $54.42

5 p.m. — I'm catching the new "Tomb Raider" with friends tonight in Pasadena, so I head over early to do a little shopping. I grab lip balm, highlighter, and face essence at Sephora, plus a pair of white slip-ons at the Vans store. $147.88

7:30 p.m. — iPic Theaters has reclining couches, complimentary popcorn, blankets, and food and drinks that you can order and get delivered to your seat. It's the most luxurious, dreamy experience. My friends put my food and drink on their tab. The bartender hits on me and keeps giving me free drinks. We go back out to the bar after the movie to chat with him, but I get a weird vibe and decide to get the f-ck out of there. $36

Daily Total: $238.30

The Breakdown

Weekly Total Spent: $677.26
Food & Drink: $190.23
Entertainment: $90.42
Home & Health: $13.94
Clothes & Beauty: $382.67
Transport: $0
Other: $0

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Abigail Spencer

The "Timeless" actress, who recurred on "Suits" from 2011 to 2016, gushed toPeople about her longtime friend and former co-star.

"Meghan Markle is one of the loveliest human beings on the planet, in the world... I’m just so excited that the world will get to experience her loveliness, and I really think that with her platform for charity and her fortitude — she’s going to have a great moment to change the world. If anyone can do it, it can be her."

Priyanka Chopra

When Markle was named one of "TIME's" 100 most influential people of 2018, it was "Quantico" star and friend Chopra who penned her write-up. She has also reportedly received an invitation to the Royal Wedding.

Chopra wrote of her soon-to-be royal friend in TIME:

"This ever-smiling, strong free spirit found her prince, fell in love and in turn made a cynical world believe in fairy tales again. But more than anything else, Meghan is an important influencer in a world that needs strong public figures to respect and look up to. People the world can be inspired by... Meghan, standing shoulder to shoulder with Harry, will be a princess for the people. Love always, my friend. Live happily ever after."

Justin Trudeau

Many people fantasize about befriending the dreamy Prime Minister when they move to Canada (at least, I would), but Markle made it a reality. She reportedly knows Justin and wife Sophie Trudeau through her humanitarian work. When asked if he would attend the wedding during a news summit, however, Justin responded with:

"I, of course, wish them the very best. But I have important responsibilities elsewhere."