I’m Rozi. I’m a junior at Vanderbilt University with a Human & Organizational Development (HOD) major and Business minor. I’m also an avid Refinery29 reader, especially of their Money Diaries series and felt inspired to share my own “Money Diary!”
This week chronicles my second week of my spring semester, where I took some time to hang out, catch up, and celebrate with friends!
Sunday, January 12th
10 a.m. – I wake up, shower, throw on some makeup and get ready for my day.
11 a.m. – I head downstairs from my dorm room to the dining hall to grab brunch with my Head Resident Advisor (HR). We missed our one-on-one session in December and thought it would be nice to catch up now. We talk about her plans after graduation, how we’re liking the staff, my HR application for next year (fingers crossed!), and friends. It’s refreshing to reconnect. It’s my second year as a Resident Advisor and I love it. Being an RA has been the best decision I’ve made in my college career and has exposed me to so many new, amazing friends and experiences.
12 p.m. – After my brunch, I call one of my closest friends, resident and Her Campus Campus Correspondent, Maddi (we’ve got a triple-threat friendship, clearly). She picks me up in her car, along with our friend Grace, and we head to a local coffee shop, Crema in Nashville. We’re reviewing coffee shops for a Her Campus article and I join them for the second half of the tour. I order one of their specialty lattes, Ophelia’s Cure, which is described as a burnt brown sugar latte with rosemary on top. It’s hands down one of the best lattes I’ve ever had. $6.83
12:30 p.m. – Next stop on our coffee shop tour! We go to Just Love, one of my favorite coffee shops in Nashville. It’s underrated, but perfect since it’s closer to campus! I get their Spiced Caramel Cider. We love the vibe in the coffee shop, so we take some pictures to post on our Instagrams! I just dyed my hair brown from a purple/silver and wanted to update my social media with some fresher pictures. These pictures are perfect! $5.44
1 p.m. – I head back to my dorm and meet up with three other friends, Gabe, Louis and Jon. Gabe is going to study abroad in Madrid so Louis, Jon and I thought we would grab a meal and send him off. We go to a place near campus, Thai Satay. I’m not hungry yet, so I order a boba tea. It honestly tastes like liquid flour. I absolutely hate wasting food, but I have to throw the drink away. The drink is $3.82, but I pay for it using my Vanderbilt Meal Money. It’s a set $275 Vanderbilt gives us as part of the meal plan every semester that we can use to at participating restaurants near campus.
2 p.m. – We head back to the dorm. Gabe goes to say bye to his other friends and Jon goes to study at a library. I hang out in Louis’ room and do some homework while he plays video games.
6:30 p.m. – I head to a weekly event in my dorm called Fresh Baked Sundays. This week, the faculty head in our dorm cooks some salmon and cheddar biscuits on top of the cookies and sweets he always bakes. It’s always hands-down the best thing I eat on Sundays. That’s my dinner for the day.
8 p.m. – I go back to my dorm, finish some more work and go to bed at 11:30 p.m.
Daily Total: $12.77
Monday, January 13th
9 a.m. – I wake up and get ready. I check my email and see my 11 a.m. class was cancelled! That makes my Monday a little more survivable.
10 a.m. – I head to a meeting with my Staff Advisor. I’m president of the Student Media Marketing Group on campus and have a meeting with my Staff Advisor every Monday. We catch up and discuss my agenda for our upcoming meeting.
11 a.m. – I walk back to my dorm, snack on some junk food, and do some work. I text one of my mentors for my Posse Foundation scholarship to see if he wants to catch up since I don’t have class until 4 p.m. He texts back immediately and we schedule a time.
1 p.m. – I meet with my Posse mentor. We catch up on our winter breaks, families, my plans for the next year and my friendships. We take some time to reminisce on my friendships and plans I had back in freshman year. It’s really grounding to think about how much I’ve grown.
3:30 p.m. – I walk back to my dorm to grab my bag before going to class. I also go to the Vanderbilt Munchie Mart (it’s like a grocery store) downstairs of my dorm and grab a smoothie. I use my meal plan to get it.
4 p.m. – I head to my Public Policy class. We get out 15 minutes early!
6 p.m. – I’m starving at this point. I text a couple friends to grab dinner, but none of them can make it. I head down to grab dinner in my dorm. It’s Meatless Monday and I try their vegan frank. It’s as bad as I thought it would be, but I would’ve preferred pizza. I eat in the common space on my floor and try to do some work for the next couple hours, but ultimately get distracted talking to my residents.
12 a.m. – I call one of my best friends from home, Kevin, and we catch up on each other’s lives. I snack on some Doritos and chocolate while we talk.
2 a.m. – We finish talking and I go to bed.
Daily Total: $0
Tuesday, January 14th
8:30 a.m. – I wake up, get ready and head to my classes. I’m not feeling as tired as I could be, but the warmth in the room for my first class, Advanced Organizational Theory, definitely brings out some drowsiness in me.
12 p.m. – I finish my first and second class, which is Leadership Theory & Practice, and head to a dining hall for my first meal. I eat with a friend from my second class, Damani. I’ve never been close to him before, but I’ve really been enjoying our lunches after class!
1 p.m. – I head to my third and fourth classes of the day, Evidence-Based Practice in Organizations and Mass Media & Politics. I’ve never taken a politics class before, so it’s interesting to be with a different group of students.
4 p.m. – I’m finally done with classes for the day! I’m exhausted so I head back to my dorm and take a nap.
6:30 p.m. – I drag myself out of bed and meet my friend, Courtney, by her dorm. We drive to Hopdoddy, a local burger place for dinner. We’re celebrating our friend James’ birthday. I order a burger, a Nutella chocolate milkshake and pay for James’ fries. Hopdoddy’s Parmesan Truffle fries are the best fries I think I will ever have in my life. It comes to a total of $30.72, but I pay for the meal using my Meal Money.
9 p.m. – Courtney drives me back to my dorm. Maddi and I do some homework while watching Coco.
12 a.m. – I head to bed.
Daily Total: $0
Wednesday, January 15th
10 a.m. – The usual, of course. I wake up, shower, throw on makeup and head to my 11 a.m. class. This class, Sex and Gender in Everyday Life, has been one of my favorite classes this semester so far.
12 p.m. – I pick up my mail when my class ends. It’s my Timberland Camdale boots! I’ve been eyeing them for a month now and had just decided to buy them last week. As I’m taking my package back to my dorm, I bump into Courtney and we catch up on some of my boy drama. We walk back to my dorm together, where I drop off my package, and head to Barnes & Noble together.
12:30 p.m. – I pick up one of the books I need for my classes and see their Hamilton calendar has gone on sale. It reminds me of my friend, Nnenna, so I buy it for her at $4.10
2 p.m. – I head to a meeting with some staff members at Events at Vanderbilt, the department that books out Vanderbilt spaces. The Student Media Marketing Group has taken them up as our clients this academic year to help market Vanderbilt’s wedding spaces. We strategize some action items before our Marketing meeting tomorrow.
2:30 p.m. – I head out of my meeting and bump into Damani right downstairs. We chat for an hour while he eats lunch.
3:30 p.m. – I head to my Public Policy class. My friend and resident, Mae, is in that class and we always walk back to our dorm together. We’ve gotten close recently and our friendship just makes me even more grateful for my RA position since I wouldn’t have met her otherwise.
6 p.m. – Mae and I are both hungry so we head to Sitar, an Indian restaurant, near our dorm. I order their Chicken Makhani and a drink. Mae and I split dessert. That comes to a total of $29.45 and I pay for it using my Meal Money.
8 p.m. – As we walk back, we bump into Mae’s roommate, Maya. Maya tells me the Rite Aid near campus is closing down so all their cosmetics are half off. I very excitedly head to Rite Aid with Mae and Maya and buy some lash primer, mascaras, body wash, some tacky lights (they were only 50 cents so I couldn’t resist), and some stickers (which I will likely never use, but they were also 50 cents). $30.26
Daily Total: $30.26
Thursday, January 16th
8:30 a.m. – Wake up, shower, makeup, head to my classes. Yup, the usual.
12 p.m. – I eat in the dining hall with my friend, Kya. I know her through Posse so we catch up on her freshman year.
1 p.m. – Head to my last two classes.
4 p.m. – I head to my weekly Marketing Group meeting, where the staff members from Events at Vanderbilt join us. We finalize teams for different action items we’ve come up with.
5:30 p.m. – I walk to my Posse meeting. We typically don’t meet often, but we’re meeting today and next Thursday as we’re getting ready for our annual Posse Retreat.
7 p.m. – After my meeting, I meet my friends by their dorm. Erik, Donovan, Rachel and I head to Nama Sushi Bar, a Nashville sushi restaurant for their weekly half-off promos! I order their Atlantic roll and a drink. The total is $21.79 and I pay for it using Meal Money.
9 p.m. – I head back to my dorm and meet another RA, Andrew, to finish our roster checks. We have to have our residents sign in at the beginning of every semester just to confirm that they’re living here.
10 p.m. – My friend, Christine, texts me that she’s at the Starbucks near my dorm doing work. I head there and catch up with her and her boyfriend, Musie. I used to work at this Starbucks, so I also catch up with the baristas there.
12 p.m. – They drive me back to my dorm, where I lie in bed and finish my homework.
2 a.m. – I go to sleep!
Daily Total: $0
Friday, January 17th
10 a.m. – Wake up, get ready, head to class.
12 p.m. – After my class ends I head back to my dorm. I haven’t journaled in almost a year, but I just lay in bed and journal for an hour. It feels really nice to self-reflect.
2 p.m. – I walk to work, where I hand out sweatshirts for volunteers in Vanderbilt’s MLK Day of Service. My boss orders Mediterranean food for us. I work for the Chancellor’s Office and love my job!
4:30 p.m. – After work, I head back to my dorm. As I’m walking into the dorm, I hear my friend George shout my name from his dorm. I haven’t really caught up with him since freshman year, so I head over. We chat while he plays video games for half an hour.
5 p.m. – I head over to a Her Campus editorial team meeting. We talk about our upcoming goals and articles for the semester.
7 p.m. – I’m exhausted, so I take a nap for half an hour. I then meet Maddi to run some errands. I’m really just that friend who enjoys riding shotgun with my friends as they go get gas and do laundry.
8:30 p.m. – Maddi drops me off at Hopdoddy where I meet my friends Olivia, Peyton and Ben. We celebrate Olivia’s birthday. I order a burger, drink and we split the fries. It comes to a total of $25.47, but again I pay for it using my Meal Money.
11 p.m. – After dinner, we decide to head to a party for her birthday. I’m really not into parties and haven’t been since my freshman year. The second we walk in; I instantly regret it. Since I was just one house over, I texted Donovan to see if he wanted to hang.
12 p.m. – I hang out with Donovan, Erik and some of Donovan’s housemates.
2 p.m. – I call a police escort to bring me home, since I didn’t feel completely comfortable walking back to my dorm and didn’t want to ask my friends to walk back with me. (I also didn’t feel like walking, to be honest). I head to bed.
Daily Total: $0
Saturday, January 18th
12 p.m. – Wake up, shower, throw on makeup.
1 p.m. – Christine and Musie pick me up at my dorm and we head to brunch together. Christine and Musie both graduated from Vanderbilt and work here now. We go to Kitchen Notes, downtown. I get chicken and pancakes (they didn’t have waffles) and a drink. $29.95
2:30 p.m. – We finish brunch and drive to the Belle Meade Plantation. We signed up for a tour of the plantation after Christine found Groupon deals! I Venmo her $14 for the tour. My favorite thing about Nashville is exploring it with Christine and Musie. I honestly don’t think I would have as great of a time here if it weren’t for them! $14
5 p.m. – We head to Costco, one of the happiest places on Earth for me. I get some snacks, razors and a hair straightener. My hair’s been pretty frizzy lately so I’m hoping this straightener will help tame it a bit. $124.57
7:30 p.m. – They drop me off at my dorm where I meet my friend, Adrian. We Uber to our production of Into the Woods together. I Venmo Adrian $4. Some of my residents and friends are in it and I had never gone to one of these school productions before, so I figured why not! $4
11 p.m. – The play was totally worth it, but I’m starving now. Adrian and I head over to a dining hall and grab their late night pasta that is on our meal plan.
12 p.m. – Adrian and I are planning on going to a coffee shop tomorrow morning to do work, so we both head to bed.
Daily Total: $142.57
My weekly total is $185.60.
As you can tell from the days where my daily total was $0, it is possible to live as a student at Vanderbilt University and spend minimal money. Having our Meal Money, Munchie Marts and late night dining have definitely come in handy. However, if you are comfortable and financially capable, I would challenge you to explore areas outside of campus either alone or with friends and to be more spontaneous! Catch up with people you haven’t seen in a while, show your friends and loved ones you’re thinking of them, do things you’ve never done before (like going to a school production!) and don’t do things you know you’re not comfortable with (if partying is not for you, it’s okay).