In season 4 of Sex and the City (back before Sex and the City was destroyed by the big screen) Carrie has the opportunity to purchase her apartment – but she doesn’t have the cash. When she visits the bank in search of a loan, we learn her full financial picture: $700 in checking and $957 in savings. Carrie tells Miranda how the bank called her an unattractive loan candidate. She asks Miranda, “Where did all my money go? I know I made some.” As she is saying this, she is examining yet another high heeled shoe. Miranda asks: “Uh, at four hundred bucks a pop, how many of them do you have? 50? a hundred? — One hundred times four hundred, there’s your down payment.” Carrie replies “Well, that’s only $4,000.” To which Miranda explains, “No, it’s $40,000.” At this, Carrie is shocked, “I spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live. I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes.”

If Carrie Bradshaw is the old woman who lived in her shoes, I’m going to be the old woman who takes shelter under her triathlon toys. Since the end of last season (October 2, 2010) Shaun and I (or rather me, with Shaun’s approval) have “enhanced” the triathlon toys. Here’s the month-by-month breakdown:

October 2010
Coaching with QT2 – $315.00
(this was a 2 week rest month so it was “cheap”)

November 2010

Coaching with QT2 – $315.00
Racer Mate Computrainer – $1649.00
Registration Ironman Florida – $603.75
Massage – $160.00
Supplements at Vitamin Shoppe – $121.22
Winter Running Hats – $65.90
Quintana Roo Cd.01 – $3999.95

December 2010

Coaching with QT2 – $315.00
YMCA Membership (both Shaun and I joined) – $75.50
Massage – $160.00
Supplements at Vitamin Shoppe – $57.47
Cobb V Flow Plus Bike Saddle – $149.99
Luna Bars – $41.65
Yak Trax – $37.50
Bike Fit and Adjustments at FitWerx – $391.95

January 2011

Coaching with QT2 – $315.00
Registration Rev 3 Half at Quassy – $268.13
Massage – $160.00
Biest Milch – $130.53
Supplements at Vitamin Shoppe – $101.58
Athlete’s Honey Milk – $23.44 (Athlete’s Honey Milk is a QT2 sponsor so I get a really nice discount)
YMCA Membership – $75.50
Yurbuds (for the really long treadmill runs) – $52.99
QT2 Advanced Team Dues – $135.00
Coaching with QT2 – $315.00 (I paid twice in January because payment is based on 4 week blocks (13 blocks per year) so once a year, I pay for two blocks in one month)
Down payment on a Quarq – $800.00

So what’s the total damage for the last four months? $10,836.05.

Not quite a down payment on a new house, but a solid down payment on a car (then again its only a quarter of what we paid for our wedding last year, so everything in perspective). Obviously there are some big purchases in there (a new bike, a computrainer) that won’t be purchased every month. Nevertheless, this is an expense pursuit both in terms of time and capital and someday if Shaun and I find ourselves without a home, while we won’t be able to live in my shoes we can at least use the bikes to shelter us from the rain.

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Kelly Burns Gallagher

mccarter english employment litigator / oiselle team runner / coeur sports triathlete / sonic endurance coach & race director / witsup.com writer / dartmouth '02 / emorylaw '05

1 Comment

Enrique Pasion · April 21, 2019 at 1:11 pm

Quite a revelatory article on spending and taking care of your case and whatnot. Agree that one cannot really keep up with their finances, unless one is pressured to do so.

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