December is shaping up to be my biggest month yet for income from my social content, which is really exciting

am – It’s time for a second coffee and to do my budget. My pay came through last night and it’s on a monthly cycle, so I like making sure my rent and bills are sorted for the month in advance. For me, the budgeting every dollar method works, so I know exactly where everything is going and how much fun money I have leftover to spend. It’s been a really effective way for me to budget, to make sure all my living costs are sorted first and be really clear about where the rest of my money goes.

pm – I hear a knock on the door and it turns out that five parcels have been delivered today. Some weeks it comes in dribs and drabs and other weeks there will be one day where they all come at once. All but one are press samples from beauty brands, so I take them into our spare room to film an unboxing. I like to post unboxing Reels so that my followers can comment and let me know what they’d like to hear more about, which helps me plan what content I shoot.

1:00pm – I heat up some of the leftover stir-fry from last night and spend a little time sorting out my invoices to make sure there’s nothing overdue. I do a bit of research online to look at a new laptop because my current one is on its last legs and doesn’t have the power needed for a course I’m doing in 2022. I’ve just applied to do an online Diploma of Information Technology next year – it’s a fast-track course to get into software engineering. I enjoy my job a lot, but working for a start-up doesn’t always offer job security, so I’m looking to upskill and maybe move into an area that seems to have a lot of opportunities.

Whilst this is outside my current area of qualifications, I’ve started learning to code this year and have a real interest in it

3:15pm – Instead of editing videos for TikTok, I get distracted with window shopping online for Christmas presents. My boyfriend gets home from work, so I show him what I’ve been looking Look At This at and we decide to go ahead and order a present for his sister. We end up getting a set of cocktail glasses from Mr Consistent for his sister, but the special is so good we end up picking up a cocktail set for ourselves as well ($120). There’s still time before I have to go out later, so I put on another load of washing. $120

5:00pm – I get in the shower, so I can get changed and freshen up to meet a friend for dinner. The weather is quite warm and humid, so I only put on a little make-up, I don’t want to sweat it all off. I then add a little of the Rose Inc Blush Divine Radiant Cheek Colour in Ophelia, which is such a pretty pink. Finally, I add a little Mecca Max Whip Lash Mascara and Kosas AirBrow Tinted brow gel to finish the look.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation is my favourite, because it’s really lightweight but offers great coverage and glow

6:00pm – I drive myself down to meet a friend for drinks and dinner, where I order a watermelon margarita and fish tacos ($32). It’s been quite a while since we’ve caught up, so we order a second drink ($17) and chat for another hour. $49