A couple of months ago, I began a partnership with American Express. Since then, I've been using their new Everyday Card which awards points based on number of purchases as opposed to dollars spent. If you reach 20 purchases within a month, you get 20% extra Membership Awards points, whether those purchases are plane tickets to Tahiti or a pack of M&M's at the gas station. (Mmmmm… M&M's…)
This past June, I kept a log to track my purchases (and by log, I mean I used the American Express app) because I was curious if I would reach 20 purchases within the month.
Answer: Yes.
It took me 26 days to use the card 20 times. I'd probably have reached 20 quicker if I used the card for every single thing, but sometimes, out of habit, I'd buy a bunch of bananas at the local bodega or pay for a taxi in cash. I also use a separate card for business related expenses (also American Express). It's worth noting, my husband and I both buy groceries (usually online), which explains why I only went on one trip in 26 days. The kids are not starving, thanks for asking!
Here are 20 credit card purchases in June from a full-time working mom in downtown Manhattan:
1. Sunday, June 1st – Taralucci E Vino ($3.02) Mazzy went to Super Soccer Stars with Mike and I got a cup of coffee while going for a walk with Harlow.
2. Sunday, June 1st – Sephora ($84.50) I walked with Harlow to Sephora because I lost my mascara and needed a new one, but I cannot walk out of that store without spending over $50. Later that night, I found my old mascara under the sink.
3. Sunday, June 1st – Brunch at the Standard ($40.50) I ended up ditching Mazzy and Mike for the entire day and taking Harlow to meet a friend and her baby for a late lunch. Afterwards, we went for a walk on the high line while the kids napped in their strollers. Mike and I are realizing that sometimes it's easier to divide and conquer.
4. Monday, June 2nd – Pret a Manger chicken balsamic sandwich ($6.52) Pret is my go-to quick lunch while at work.
5. Tuesday, June 3rd - Grey Dog coffee and muffin ($5.23)
6. Thursday, June 4th – 8 Willa Chairs from Crate and Barrel ($1311.00) – You can see before and after pics of my new dining room here.
7. Thursday, June 4th – Dorado Quesidilla with extra guacamole ($8.93)
8. Thursday, June 4th – Davey's Ice Cream ($7.75) Mike and I took the girls after work and Harlow tried her first spoonful of ice cream. At first Mazzy shared with her little sister willingly, but after a few bites, she said, "I'm getting upset about giving Harlow all my ice cream." I was about to tell Mazzy she had to share with her sister, but then I realized I should praise her for telling me how she was feeling instead of pitching a fit. As a reward, I got Harlow her own cup. (Mike purchased the second cup, otherwise I think that would have counted as two purchases.)
9. Tuesday, June 10th – Diapers.com ($93.58) I bought diapers, a bike helmet (the strap broke on Mazzy's old helmet), tissues, toilet paper, diaper genie refills, and Kid Z Bars (Mazzy can't get enough of those).
10. Wednesday, June 11th – Dinner with the kids at Schnitz ($23.15)
11. Thursday, June 12th – Duane Reade ($48.35) Late night run for tampons, walked out with shampoo, gum, a new toothbrush and travel razors
12. Sunday, June 15th – PC Richards BBQ ($1131.66) I bought Mike a rather large Father's Day present— a Weber grill for the new house (plus a propane tank and cover). He was going to buy it anyway. My Father's Day gift was basically taking Harlow to the store and buying it for him. I also bought my dad a portable wireless speaker.
13. Monday, June 16th – Pret a Manger ($8.70)
14. Tuesday, June 10th – Whole Foods ($83.38) including Van's Multigrain waffles, bananas, strawberries, cantaloupe, broccoli, salmon, Go-Go apple squeezies, ground turkey burgers, multi-grain pretzels
15. Tuesday, June 17th – Starbucks ($6.15) I took Mazzy on the way home from camp. I got a medium coffee (I refuse to call it a Venti) and Mazzy got a warm milk in a coffee cup with a cover. I remember making fun of moms who bought their kids "coffee" at Starbucks a few years ago. I was an idiot then. Mazzy thinks "coffee" at Starbucks is the best thing ever.
16. Wednesday, June 18th – Taxi ($19.00) I took a cab to the Parents Magazine office to speak on a panel about blogging. They reimbursed me.
17. Wednesday, June 18th – Smith Restaurant ($22.32) Coffee and a light bite with a friend
18. Monday, June 23rd – Duane Reade ($5.00) Mazzy came down with an ear infection and I bought her antibiotics with a $5 copay. This is a photo of Harlow giving her sick sister support at the doctor's office.
19. Wednesday, June 25th – BCBG Online ($135.01) - I went to an American Express event where they gave everyone a full makeover including make-up by Sephora, hair by Dry Bar and a dress from Rent the Runway. I tried on a bunch of things and againtst all odds (and all indications of being a woman in her late thirties), ended up going with a jumpsuit. It was so comfortable (it's like wearing pajamas!) and fashion foward (who do I think I am?!), I looked it up online to see if I could purchase it. It was on sale at BCBG. SCORE!
20. Thursday, June 26th – Ibiza Kids ($79.79) - I bought Mazzy and Harlow both shoes for their Uncle's wedding that I posted about earlier this week. Mazzy was a flower girl again!
Looking back, it seems strange there weren't more purchases for the kids, but I think if it were a different month, they could have totally dominated my expenses. It all depends on what's going on. It's also not every month I have two huge purchases like the Weber girll and the dining room chair set. I also used to spend a lot more on transportation, but that's changed since my office is now within walking distance from my apartment. It's also clear I spend a lot less when we stay at our summer house on the weekend than when we spend the weekend in the city. I think it's because we stay mainly at home and Mike tends to do the grocery shopping since he's excited to cook on his new grill.
So there you go! I'm curious if this is very different from other moms.
In addition to 20% extra points after 20 purchases, the American Express Everyday Card has no annual fee and gives one point for every dollar you spend and two points for every dollar you spend on groceries.
Hmmm…. maybe I should take over cooking and groceries from now on.
Nah.
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This post was sponsored by American Express but all purchases were made by me. American Express had no influence over the brands, restaurants or stores l listed here. My only bias is that they are most likely in walking distance from my apartment.
Anyone else find this kind of depressing? Two hundred more dollars and that’s what have a month to pay bills/rent etc. So I’m just going to sit here and eat my cookies and remind myself that the sacrifice of me being home is worth it. Although the difference in cost of living between our areas is comforting.
Well, it’s not every month I buy a Webber grill and a set of dining room chairs.
True confession: your exercise got me curious so I looked at my amex bill. 20 purchases by June 9th. Uh Oh! I am impressed at how infrequently you make purchases . Where are the fresh direct bills? Target? Dry cleaners? Amazon?!?! Good for you! But if my husband asks, the only real difference is that I had to buy gas a few times.
Nice 20! More then half of my 20 is coffee runs. My husband and I both laughed at how much coffee we buy when we started tracking our Amex purchases.
I think your purchases are totally reasonable, and this month they were extra fun! 🙂 I love posts like this!
Ha! Good points. My dry cleaner has had the same credit card on file since I started using him over ten years ago, so… dry cleaning was never transferred to the new AmEx. I’m guessing I spend quite a bit there! Target isn’t in the city so we are not in the habit of going there and I really don’t do a ton of Amazon purchases. We live in a small apartment and try not to accumulate too much STUFF. Fresh Direct has my husband’s credit card on file.
That would have been me a few months ago, but Keurig gave me a coffee machine for my office. Now most of my coffee intake happens there.
My bills are 50% amazon, 40% fairway, 10% taxis.
Great work with your partnerships.
How brave you are to post specifics about what you put on your credit card – that can open a Pandora’s box of criticism! While it is obvious we’re in different tax brackets, most of your spending is probably what you would see on my statement, as well. Coffee and lunch.
I don’t even want to know how quickly I would get to 20 purchases! Every month when my credit card bill comes I think it shouldn’t be too bad, but then I forget about the plane tickets for a wedding in the fall we had to buy, and the baby shower gift that I had to get, and all the other random things that pop up! Thank goodness for getting miles. 🙂
Ha! I swear I didn’t really think I was exposing myself that badly until five minutes after I posted and I realized people have very different ideas about what is reasonable. In Manhattan, I am not extravagant by any means and I don’t think I overspend. In fact, I hate shopping.
Most of the time, making a purchase over $1000 is pretty unheard of on my card but when Mike and I bought the house, we put together a budget for furnishing the place so it doesn’t feel as crazy as it would normally.
What hair products do you use? Your hair is always so smooth.
You’re brave, kid. And you are NOT unreasonably spending. In fact, I think I’m going to get that West Elm table from the dining room post (I know that’s not on this month’s purchases, but I clicked over and love it). It looks sturdy, kid-friendly, I love the lines, and I am planning to remake my dinning room into a “school room” of sorts for all 4 kids to do homework in.
So, I’ve been all over the map with my spending, from bottom of the barrel to top-of-the line (well, not bespoke, but still) and you’re all right, babe.
I should get in the habit of reviewing all my purchases more regularly. Really, it’s the best way to stay on budget.
Is Fresh Direct where you buy groceries? I’ve thought about doing that, but maybe deep down inside I like browsing aisles and looking for deals. Who knows. And I agree with a poster below re: your bravery in posting this b/c definitely some awful people around the interwebs will have something to say. Like if I posted, I’d hit 20 pretty soon because we use a single card for everything, except for Amazon that has its own card.
It’s a good thing you won’t call a medium coffee a venti.Around here that would get you a large. 😉
Besides shampoo and conditioner, I don’t use anything usually. And I’m not wed to a particular brand. I switch it up a lot hoping to find some magical formula but my hair always looks the same no matter what I use. It dries mostly straight – kind of soft and poufy with a layer of frizz on top. Then I fully straighten it using a flat iron. To get it wavy, I blow dry and then do my sweatband trick- have you seen it? It’s life changing. I’ll have to find a link. Sometimes if I do my hair wavy, I’ll use Frederick Fekkai hairspray which is super light and the bottle lasts forever.
Do you get http://www.amexoffers.com/ with that card? They have ‘saved’ me $500 over the last year.
Ha. Now you know I don’t use their lingo! I am there all the time and never ordered differently than I would anywhere else:)
As stay at home mom I make purchases on the week when I have car access. So I think it would take me like 4 months to make 20 purchases on my card. most of the buying is done on my husbands card
but that’s the life of a stay at home mom with no car
I think you get all the same perks that you would with any AmEx card but let me check to make sure. I also like that my points with my AmEx business card and my Everyday card pools into one pot.
I’m scared to know how much I spend with my credit card. Okay, credit cards. That was a very nice Father’s Day present!
I’m also impressed by how much you guys go out to eat with two kids. They must not be as bad restaurant kids as you’ve alluded. Matty and I take the kids out like once a month at this rate, because we’re sick of one of us (okay, Matty) having to walk around with a raving lunatic while I eat in angry silence with another raving lunatic.
We only use our Amex except in places it’s not taken and we are forced to use our Visa. We end up gaining enough points to buy airline tickets at Christmas every year. I never carry cash!! I’d probably hit 20 purchases within a week or so – grocery store trips, coffee stops, lunch with kids, downtown parking meters use credit cards, anything online and so on. I agree you’re brave to post this because I would expect a lot of criticism from folks who feel like they have less than you. But you’re a two earner family living in Manhattan. Sounds reasonable to me! And I love those chairs.
I would have made it to 20 purchases a lot faster than you did. I would have at least 4, if not more, purchases for gas that you don’t have. I would also have a lot more eating out expenses. My grocery store doesn’t accept credit cards (only debit, check, or cash) so I too would look like I wasn’t feeding my family at home.
1st – groceries online?!?! I hate grocery shopping that would be fantastic to do that!
2nd – $5 co-pay!! Now I’m jealous! And altho my family has a WAY lower budget than your family (I’m of course assuming) – your expenses really aren’t that far off from mine. Coffee, out to eat, a month of a couple larger purchases – gas instead of taxi (full time working also). I think even being in Wisconsin I can still totally relate!
Can you please tell me about Harlow’s red stoller? What brand/model is it? Do you like it? Pros/cons? Is it pretty lightweight? Do you feel like it maneuvers around the city well? I’ve been looking at the Baby Jogger City Mini Zip in red and this one looks kind of similar so I was just wondering if I could compare them before making my purchase…
As for my credit card – I go out to lunch almost every day, so my bill just makes me look like a pig…haha
The only place we took them out to eat together was the Schnitz place which was on a whim and not very successful. The Standard was just with Harlow and she didn’t eat a thing and spilled the salt all over the table, but overall way less stressful than if Mazzy was there as well.
My kids really do suck at restaurants. Neither of them have any interest in food or sitting still. I honestly can’t imagine any children being worse than my kids. I’m willing to say your kids might be the same as mine, but I will not give you worse!
The stroller is a basic Maclaren umbrella- I don’t know the exact model. I can look when I get home. It’s fine and adequate. I prefer walking around with a small stroller even if it doesn’t handle as well as a bigger model.
Me: Starbucks, fast food, groceries, gas. And the occasional pedi/waxing charges. And dog’s grooming. And Macy’s, Target, and Amazon.
But this is all on my debit card now because I’ve banned myself from credit cards!
I live in the South and in a rural county near a smaller (200,000 people) city so many of my purchases are at the gas station (to the tune of $300+ a month), but most of the other card purchases are random trips to the grocery store when I’ve forgotten we’re out of milk (again – my goodness my monsters drink it like it’s going out of style)and hair product (I totally envy women who have beautiful, seemingly easy to manage hair since my own has a mind of it’s own and refuses to make it up). I also tend to have a few Itunes purchases here and there if a good song pops on the radio and I don’t already own it. And Kohl’s. I seem to shop a lot at Kohl’s. Probably because their kid wear is super inexpensive and my kids tend to plow through their clothing during the school day! I am jealous of city life – but I think I’d miss the boonies if we left them. I’m TOTALLY stealing the warm milk at Starbuck’s idea though – I wonder if my monsters will fall for it?!?
I only eat at places with my children where we can eat outside. I don’t know why, but I just feel less disruptive to the other diners when the sounds of my children’s wails are dimmed by the sounds of traffic.
Thanks so much! I recently had back surgery, so I’m actually wondering if we should just get an umbrella stroller instead of a bigger model since those tend to be more lightweight. I just want to make sure I can walk around our (flat) neighborhood with it and not jostle the baby all over the place.
PS- love love love your blog!
I have a yo yo stroller and it is so light and folds up into a little bag that can be put in an overhead on a plane. I love it!
Awesome – thanks Carmen! Will definitely research that one too!
As a Canadian, I am a Timmy’s girl. But on the rare occassion I order from Starbucks, I too refuse to convert. “Large coffee please” “A venti coffee”. “A LARGE coffee! Thanks”.
And they have yet to spell my name wrong despite my quirk – maybe because I am also a “Large coffee. Black.” kinda girl (or should I say a “Venti-Nutella-made-with-steamed-soy-milk-but-hold-the-soy-and-leave-out-the-milk-and-keep-the-chocolate-and-almond-but-put-them-on-the-side-and-cancel-the-caramel” “So – a large black coffee with a chocolate covered hazelnut on the side” “Yup” kinda girl 😉
That’s funny. I can’t relate. My kids have lots of interest in food at restaurants – right before it arrives, and right after it has left, of course ;P
Yes!!!!! This was so comforting since my one kid is the same. Such a handful we always wonder why we chose to go
Out to eat as we are waiting for our food.
Us too!!! Outside is much more open!!
For my second, I had the Zooper Twist stroller – love love LOVED it! It isn’t good for newborn age as is technically an umbrella stroller so didn’t fit the carseat, but we just used our carseat with one of those frame-only stroller bottoms. The Zooper lasted us from older baby until no longer needed it! The one we had the handles would raise so if someone taller was pushing weren’t hunched over. Is a VERY expensive umbrella stroller (but a million bells and whistles) or a VERY cheap (relatively) durable stroller (as I said it lasted us 3 years with no qualms – in Canadian 4 season weather to boot. Very easy to manouever (prob spelt wrong as too lazy to look up, whatev’) and easy to push through any terrain as so lightweight. Plus easy to fold up and store at restaurants/car/etc. and counted as umbrella stroller if on an airplane (BONUS!).
Oh, this actually made me laugh out loud! “Angry silence” – how most of our restaurant meals are eaten. Since my 3 year old turned 1, we average maybe 3 meals out a year. A sucker for punishment I am not.
Sweatband trick for wavy hair? Please tell more. I have a natural curl on my hair but can’t style it curly without the frizz.
Uppa Baby also makes great umbrella strollers. And they’re super simple with their buckles/etc…I refuse to use Britax or any brand that was designed by someone who has clearly never put a squirmy toddler in any sort of buckled contraption. 🙂
Strollers can be the bane of mamas’ & nannies’ existence so I thought I’d add to your list while you’re hunting!
We bought a weber grill too! Along with lots of coffee, diapers, too many crafting supplies (I make those burlap wreaths), and I went to target for some mascara and walked out less $100 as well 😉 not much different here in Texas 😉
I can’t believe its cheaper to eat in Manhattan than Knoxville. That’s depressing. More competition??
When I was pregnant, I compared maybe 20-30 baby things between Diapers and Amazon and Amazon was nearly always cheaper and often with free shipping. We live in a small space too, but I use it for diapers, pouches, wipes etc. You might price compare and see what you think! (i definitely don’t work for amazon btw)
Thank you Kande!! I haven’t heard of that one, so its on the research list now too! I really appreciate your help!
Thanks so much Amy! Adding it to the list too! I just love this blog and how it gets moms to help each other out!
This was a fun post. I make a lot of those same purchases minus the bbq and table this month : ).
Me too! Plus I prefer plenty of birds to clean the crumbs so we don’t look so messy.
I bought a jumpsuit inspired by how awesomely you rocked that jump suit. I dont look qhalf as good as you in it but I love it!
I was thinking the same thing! I mean, I know the COL is high here in Seattle, but all those lunches sounds so tasty and reasonably priced!
I don’t know what is keeping me from moving to NYC now! OK JK, rent….