What a 33-Year-Old Ob-Gyn Making $290K in Los Angeles

Bon Appétit Contributor

April 4, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.·25 min read

Illustration by Maggie Cowles

Welcome to The Receipt, a series documenting how Bon Appétit readers eat and what they spend doing it. Each food diary follows one anonymous reader’s week of expenses related to groceries, restaurant meals, coffee runs, and every bite in between. In this time of rising food costs, The Receipt reveals how folks—from different cities, with different incomes, on different schedules—are figuring out their food budgets.

In today’s Receipt, a 33-year-old ob-gyn makes $290,000 in Los Angeles. Her husband, also a physician, makes $300,000, and their household income is $590,000. Keep reading for her receipts.

The finances

What are your pronouns? She/her/hers

What is your occupation? ob-gyn. My husband is also a physician.

How old are you? 33

What city and state do you live in? Los Angeles, California

What is your annual salary, if you have one? I have a base salary of $290,000, with an hourly rate of $150 for additional call shifts beyond my usual work week. My husband’s salary is $300,000 regardless of his call schedule.

How much is one paycheck, after taxes? About $7,500 for me

How often are you paid? (e.g., weekly) Every two weeks

How much money do you have in savings? $90,000

What are your approximate fixed monthly expenses beyond food? (e.g., rent, subscriptions, bills)

Rent: $6,850
Utilities: $190
Internet: $65
Nanny: $5,200
House cleaning: $300
Disability and life insurance for both of us: $1,058
Car insurance: $326
Car payment: $910
Student loans: $335
Spotify: $17
Hulu: $8
Alarm system: $20
Apple TV+: $10
Peloton: $44
Total: $15,333

The diet

Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? My husband and I primarily eat pescatarian, but will occasionally eat meat if someone else has cooked it for us or if it’s a unique dish. Our nine-month-old baby has recently started to eat solid foods so we have incorporated a little bit more meat into our diet so he is exposed and gets more dietary iron. We are trying our best at baby-led weaning, which essentially means starting with age-appropriate solid foods (soft, steamed, roasted, big pieces, etc.) rather than purées. For dinners, we try to make foods that can be easily adapted to include him, such as roast fish and vegetables, beans and avocado from taco night, mozzarella and tomato slices from caprese salads, and large penne pasta with a low sodium sauce. We avoid honey, added sugar or salt, and small, round, or hard foods.

What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? Coffee, milk, eggs, Greek yogurt, fruits, oatmeal, avocados, sparkling water, premade salads for easy lunches, and chocolate peanut butter cups for a sweet treat. I buy fruits based on (1) what’s easy to take to work, (2) what the baby has yet to try, or (3) what I know the baby loves. For the baby we always have teething crackers, fruit purée pouches when we’re on the go, and some sort of fruit or vegetable to steam or roast.

How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? We typically dine out once or twice on the weekends when socializing. We get takeout once or twice a week for dinner depending on our call schedules. Our nanny cooks lunch for the baby during the week; this is typically a mixture of roasted veggies and a grain. About once a month, she will bring me and my husband leftover homemade Vietnamese meals, which are always amazing.

How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? Fairly often, probably two to three times per week.

How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? My parents were both great cooks who split the cooking. My dad grew up with a mom who was an amazing cook and he also worked at a pizza restaurant in college. He would make us breakfasts on the weekends (usually crepes or French toast), a great pizza, and a wide variety of desserts. He also loves to grill. My mom was more adventurous and liked to try new recipes, and she did most of the healthy and weeknight cooking.

The expenses

Week’s total: $473.34
Restaurants and cafés total: $201.93
Groceries total: $271.41
Most expensive meal or purchase: Team takeout from Cava, $82.99
Least expensive meal or purchase: Serrano pepper from Whole Foods, $0.13
Number of restaurant and café meals: 7
Number of grocery trips: 2

The diary

Monday

^{Bagels for doctors are like doughnuts for cops; we’ve eaten more than we need for this lifetime.}

6:45 a.m. I wake up before the baby so I have time to make my morning coffee. Since the baby was born, my usual coffee routine has switched from an AeroPress and fresh ground beans to a latte with Nespresso pods. It gives me more time in the morning to either sleep or spend with my family, so it’s a convenient compromise that I live with. Whole milk goes into the microwave in a mug while I brew two Nespresso pods directly into another to-go mug. The milk is hot and ready to pour into the to-go mug once the second pod is done. I add in a spoonful of homemade vanilla syrup to add a touch of sweetness. It’s a good, almost great, everyday latte. I take my first sip in the car.

8:10 a.m. This morning I’m in meetings for my department and they provide Einstein Bros. bagel sandwiches for breakfast. I opt for a garden veggie and it’s as expected for catered bagel sandwiches: cold and largely flavorless. Bagels for doctors are like doughnuts for cops; we’ve eaten more than we need for this lifetime.

11:51 a.m. Lunch is catered, too, from where I’m not sure. The best salads are already taken so I end up with a mixed beet salad. I’m not a huge fan of beets, but the dressing has a nice zing and I get my vegetable quota in for the day. I pocket a huge oatmeal raisin cookie (where are the plain chocolate chip cookies?!) for a snack this afternoon.

2:11 p.m. While pumping between seeing patients in the clinic for routine prenatal or gynecologic care, I nibble on said cookie. It’s chewy, but the flavor is okay. I continue to graze on it for the rest of my clinic.

5:05 p.m. Clinic wrapped up a bit early so I stop by Whole Foods on my way home. I get precut pineapple chunks ($7.25 for 1.21 pounds), dragonfruit on sale ($6.79 for one, insane!), strawberries on sale ($4.43 for a container), and blueberries ($4.69 a pint). I pass the fish counter searching for a white fish and see halibut is on sale ($13.67 for two servings) so I grab it. I add some ground beef ($5.99) for the nanny to make for the baby since I otherwise don’t cook meat. I also grab some Pop & Bottle vanilla cold brew almond lattes to take with me to work ($3.99 each) and a handful of other necessities for the week ahead. The total comes out to $133.70, which isn’t bad for a quick Whole Foods trip.

6:11 p.m. My husband and I are back from a quick post-work walk to the beach and it’s time to make dinner. He gets the baby settled in the high chair while I throw the halibut on a roasting pan and sprinkle some Williams-Sonoma potlatch on top. Potlatch is a lifesaver for these moments—it delivers a ton of flavor with no effort on my part.

We have a bunch of leftover cut veggies (bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower) from last week that I throw around the fish and toss with olive oil. Searching for the fastest cooking grain currently in the pantry, I find some farro and throw it on the stove to simmer. Technically, the baby could eat this whole meal, but it will take too long to make, finish, and still get him to bed on time. Instead, I mix leftover lentils from the weekend, tzatziki, and hummus for him. I add a piece of whole wheat toast with mashed avocado to the side of his plate. He picks at this, but then devours a mango at the end of the meal. Meanwhile, I top the fish with a squeeze of lemon (from my parents’ lemon tree) and some avocado (the other half to the baby’s). The farro has taken much longer than the eight minutes promised on the package so that’s for another day.

7:47 p.m. I am about to jump on the Peloton when I remember that I made a banana muffin mix for the baby last night but didn’t have time to bake them. I fill up the mini muffin pan and the standard-size muffin pan and bake them while I work out.

After my ride, I quickly eat two smaller muffins. They are really just okay, but what can you expect? Baby recipes are basically just ultra-healthy recipes since they omit sweeteners and salt.

Monday total: $133.70

Tuesday

^{I know we won’t eat dinner for a while so I steal a forgotten Nutella cookie from the break room.}

6:30 a.m. I snooze my alarm and wake up to the baby. My husband gets him while I make the same coffee as the day prior. The first sip happens on my commute, again.

8 a.m. While my computer boots up in clinic, I head to the break room to microwave a quick packet of Trader Joe’s instant oatmeal with flax and leftover blackberries and blueberries. Once it’s done, I add in some peanut butter and it’s a healthy, solid, filling, and very routine breakfast.

11:08 a.m. Clinic has been busy and I take a minute between patients to pump. I have a Cara Cara orange, the last of a few I bought last week. It’s sweet and juicy and enough of a snack to get to lunch.

12:15 p.m. Morning clinic is over and I pull out a salad that I put together last night. The salad itself is left over from an event my nanny’s brother catered; she brought extras for us. I add some feta from my Whole Foods run and leftover Honey Smoked Salmon Co. salmon from my mom’s recent visit. It’s dressed with a chimichurri vinaigrette, also left over from said catering event. The lettuce is on its last legs, but for a bunch of leftovers it’s pretty good. I’m on call at the hospital today, and I usually eat salad lunches on call days to get in some healthy food before I’m stuck with takeout or hospital food for the rest of the day.

2:30 p.m. I take a break between patients to pump and use that time to have a snack: some Trader Joe’s organic seedy crackers and a mini Brie bite. Between backpacking and residency I haven’t been able to stomach granola bars in years, so my snacks are usually something a little more involved like this. Later in the clinic I crack open a Pop & Bottle latte from Whole Foods. If I don’t bring my own caffeine, I end up with hospital coffee, which is overpriced and underwhelming.

5:45 p.m. I’m on my call shift at the hospital and waiting for a Cesarean birth to start. I know we won’t eat dinner for a while so I steal a forgotten Nutella cookie from the break room.

9 p.m. I always treat the residents to dinner when I’m on call because they are the underappreciated and underpaid. Tonight they choose Cava for dinner. I order a grain bowl with rice and lentils, sweet potatoes, baba ghanoush, zhug, and tzatziki with various vegetable toppings. ($82.99 for the four of us) The sauces give it life and the bowl is filling enough to keep me going tonight.

Tuesday total: $82.99

Wednesday

^{I heat up the last bit of leftover fish, some farro, and wilted spinach for the baby. He turns out to be a big fan of the fish.}

7:05 a.m. A busy call shift ends and I’m considering my options. We were busy overnight so I didn’t sleep or eat after my dinner. Now I choose convenience and efficiency: McDonald’s on the way to the freeway. I get an egg McMuffin with no meat, a hash brown, and a black coffee ($8.68 total). The food is good and the coffee sucks, but it’s caffeine and that’s all I care about. It’s a fine line to consume enough caffeine to get home alertly and safely through my horrible commute in LA traffic, but not so much that I can’t sleep when I get home.

12:30 p.m. I’m done trying to nap and it’s time to eat something. Post-call eating is like eating when jet-lagged: You never know how hungry you are going to be or what you are going to be in the mood for. I stare at the open fridge and grab two strawberries from my Whole Foods trip to munch on while deciding my real plan of action. Nothing sounds great until I remember my nanny made us spring rolls. I grab two vegetarian ones and eat them standing up at the counter dipping them into a sauce she also made. The spring rolls are great—nice and crunchy with veggies and soft from the rice paper. The sauce is tangy with some combination of fish sauce, lime, garlic, peppers, and sugar. I finish lunch off with the last baby banana muffin and my usual morning coffee.

2:35 p.m. I nurse the baby and put him down for a nap. I’m ready for a snack and end up with the same thing as yesterday: more seedy crackers and a Brie bite.

5:40 p.m. It’s time to start making the baby’s dinner, and I also need to prepare a salad for my book club tonight. I have no interest in going to the grocery store so I’m going to make it work with what I have. A warm grain salad it is.

The farro from the other night gets new life with lemon zest, wilted spinach, feta, roasted mushrooms, and red onions. I make a quick apple cider vinaigrette with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, I heat up the last bit of leftover fish, some farro, and wilted spinach for the baby. He turns out to be a big fan of the fish.

7:33 p.m. For my monthly book club, my friend made stuffed manicotti and garlic bread. I’m not a huge stuffed pasta fan, but I appreciate that it’s a vegetarian meal. The garlic bread is definitely the kind that you pull from the freezer section and put in the oven, but I respect that. I try my “salad” and it’s pretty decent, but not something so interesting that I would make it again. I wash it all down with a glass of red wine someone else contributed. At the end of the night, homemade brownies are passed around and this makes a nice bookend to the meal.

Wednesday total: $8.68

Thursday

^{My husband and I got into nonalcoholic drinks when I was pregnant and we still keep them in rotation.}

6:37 a.m. I’m nursing the baby while my husband makes me the usual coffee. Today we switch the cow’s milk out for Ripple pea protein milk—I’ve heard it’s a nutritious alternative to cow’s milk for kids. My husband and I agree—it’s more flavorful than soy milk, less watery than almond milk, and less sweet than most oat milks. A win!

8 a.m. I’m scanning my schedule in clinic and pull out the Fage whole-milk Greek yogurt I packed. I’ve thrown in some frozen blackberries that I keep mainly for this purpose—they defrost on my commute and simultaneously keep the yogurt cold. I top it off with some Purely Elizabeth honey almond granola. Besides oatmeal, this is my go-to work breakfast.

12:04 p.m. I wrap up clinic early and stop at Philz Coffee on the way home. I’m still feeling the effects of my call and could use an afternoon pick-me-up. It’s not the most convenient location, but Philz is my favorite coffee so it’s worth the detour. I get my current favorite: Philtered Soul cold brew ($7.35 with tip). It’s as good as always with hints of chocolate and a strong coffee flavor.

12:32 p.m. At home, I eat last night’s remaining grain salad and two more leftover veggie spring rolls while on a virtual meeting.

4 p.m. The baby is probably going to wake up from his nap soon so I take a few minutes to get things ready for dinner. I’m thinking tacos will be quick and easy. I make Trader Joe’s ground pea protein and mix in its taco seasoning. I love this for a pantry protein item and it literally takes one minute of active time to make.

We have a bunch of ripe avocados in the fridge so I make a quick guacamole, adding in leftover lime (from my parents’ backyard), red onion, garlic, hot sauce, a bit of tomato, salt, and pepper. Finally, I prep some pickled red onions—sliced red onions thrown into a mix of red wine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt.

6:20 p.m. Home from a beach walk with the baby, the dog, and my husband, I pull out everything for tacos. I spot frozen Goya platanos maduros in the freezer (my mom must have left these here) and decide this is a necessary addition to dinner. Since we’re short on time, I microwave them to defrost and then sear them in a frying pan with butter.

My husband and I load up the various fixings onto flour tortillas. They are solid homemade tacos, but in LA, the land of amazing tacos, they will always fall a little flat. The baby gets a portion of the pea protein mixture, flattened black beans, a little bit of shredded cheese blend, guacamole, and leftover roasted peppers and plain farro. The pea protein seems to be his favorite.

I also sip on a St. Agrestis Phony Mezcal Negroni I bought recently from The New Bar, a great nonalcoholic shop nearby. My husband and I got into nonalcoholic drinks when I was pregnant and we still keep them in rotation as our alcohol intake is now rarer. This one is a winner; it’s bitter, floral, and has some depth to it.

7:50 p.m. I end the day with a Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cup and reality TV.

Thursday total: $7.35

Friday

^{The baby gets food envy and is appeased with the tofu and plain rice.}

6:37 a.m. I’m up nursing the baby and my husband makes coffee. I have a few extra minutes so I drink it at home while reading a book with the baby. Before leaving for work, I make a smoothie with a frozen banana, frozen butternut squash, Greek yogurt, pea protein milk, Justin’s almond butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. I love smoothies that aren’t too fruity and this is just that.

10:10 a.m. I’m pumping between seeing patients and nibble on a few Trader Joe’s Turkish apricots. I usually have a bag of TJ’s dried fruit or trail mix in my work bag for this purpose.

1 p.m. Morning clinic bleeds into afternoon clinic and I’m eating leftovers from our taco dinner that I’ve reheated in the break room. I wish I actually had packed tacos and not just the fillings, but that would have been too messy at my computer anyways.

3:30 p.m. I’m finally catching up in clinic (and pumping) and I crack open another Pop & Bottle cold brew.

5:05 p.m. Somehow I finish clinic on time and on the way out I text my husband to see what he’s feeling for dinner—Indonesian, Thai, sushi, or vegan takeout? He votes for Thai and offers to pick up from one of our favorites, Night + Market Sahm, on his way home.

6:20 p.m. I’m feeding the baby dinner (leftovers he’s not really interested in) when my husband walks through the door with our dinner. We have some of our favorites: Massaman sweet potato curry with roti, pad see ew with tofu and egg, nam khao tod (a crispy rice salad), and a side of plain jasmine rice for the curry ($59.94 total). This place goes all in with the heat and my husband forgot that, so our mouths are on FIRE with the crispy rice salad. The curry is thick, with a blend of spicy and savory flavors and soft but not mushy, sweet potatoes. The noodles will make great leftovers for tomorrow. The baby gets food envy and is appeased with the tofu and plain rice.

8:40 p.m. It’s the end of a long work week and dessert sounds nice. I pull out some frozen raspberries and blackberries and make a quick cobbler with my grandma’s recipe. A stick of butter melts in the pan while the oven preheats. I whisk together the batter and dump it on top of the butter; the frozen fruit is then dumped on top of all of this. It bakes for 45 minutes while we stream Suits. The episode is wrapping up when we dig into the cobbler with Haagen-Dazs plain vanilla ice cream. It’s a win for this low-prep era of life we are in.

Friday total: $59.94

Saturday

^{My dad makes a homemade version of Chex mix and I munch on a few handfuls.}

6:37 a.m. Up with the baby. Same coffee as usual. While I push the Nespresso button it occurs to me that I could make an AeroPress since I’m off today, but it’s too late. Habit wins.

7:30 a.m. I make breakfast for the baby and me. My husband always skips breakfast, which is insane in my opinion since breakfast foods are the best foods. I look around the kitchen and see some forgotten whole wheat bread that’s begging to be made into French toast. I mix some eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon and dunk the slices of bread in. Once the French toast is nice and crispy, I pull it off the frying pan and cover it in more butter. We’re out of syrup, but I don’t mind and the baby doesn’t know any better.

12:08 p.m. My husband is on call this weekend and stuck in LA. I, however, head to San Diego with the baby to see old friends from medical school and residency who are in town for a conference, as well as my parents who live there. I make it to my parents’ house by lunchtime for some leftover enchiladas. They have chicken, so this is my flexitarian moment for the week. Enchiladas in my mind are just a vehicle for toppings anyways, and I load them up with avocado, sour cream, and salsas. The baby isn’t quite ready for enchiladas so he gets whatever is easy to take out of my parents’ fridge: a turkey burger, mozzarella cheese, avocado, and mango.

3:40 p.m. My dad makes a homemade version of Chex mix and I munch on a few handfuls. It’s a family tradition and tastes nothing like the processed stuff in stores. The recipe I can’t share, but it involves plenty of butter with a bit of garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce. Everyone in my family has their own adaption, but my dad’s is the best because it’s not too buttery and not too salty.

5:05 p.m. My mom and I get back from a walk, and my dad is just coming home from picking up sushi from Love Boat Sushi, a local place we frequent. It makes really interesting rolls, and the fish is always high quality. My current favorite is the mango-mango roll, which has white fish, salmon, and avocado inside, and mango on top. Four rolls, some edamame, tempura, and tofu comes at $111.58 total with tip, which my parents pay. The baby gets broken-up edamame and tofu, a win.

8:20 p.m. I meet one of my best friends from medical school at her work event at Puesto at the Headquarters downtown. It’s an open bar so I sip on a guava margarita while we catch up. It’s not at all sweet, which is nice for a change.

9:44 p.m. We head up the street a bit to Little Italy and wander around until the bar inside Born and Raised catches our eyes. We have one drink and my friend insists on paying since I have driven down from LA. I order the Alejandro ($17), which is tequila, crème de cacao, Oloroso cream, miel de agave, and nutmeg. This is definitely one of the most interesting, albeit sweet, drinks I’ve had in a while.

Saturday total: $128.58 (covered by family and a friend)

Sunday

^{We pull together a quick dinner with frozen peas, carrots, and paneer that’s been hanging out for this moment.}

7:17 a.m. I pour a cup of coffee from my parents’ Moccamaster. My dad brews strong coffee, which I love, but he also has started doing half-caffeinated coffee, which is less than desirable. Oh well.

9 a.m. I meet two residency friends for brunch downtown. They want to meet at Union Kitchen & Tap because it’s right across from the conference center. We share a cornbread skillet among the three of us, and we each get a green omelet and a black coffee ($42.97 total). The food is good, but not memorable. The coffee tastes like weak diner coffee. The omelet is a little crispy rather than soft and doesn’t contain interesting ingredients, but it is nice to get in all my vegetables in one meal.

2:22 p.m. I’m at my parents’ house and about to head back up to LA. I quickly eat a few pieces of leftover sushi from the night before. The rice is dry and it was definitely better last night, but I don’t really care.

6:05 p.m. I’m back home and my husband has nearly cleaned out our fridge. We pull together a quick dinner on the stove with frozen peas, carrots, and paneer that’s been hanging out for this moment. We add a premade jar of Whole Foods tikka masala sauce and eat it with a side of plain jasmine rice. The baby gets some plain paneer, leftover vegetables the nanny made him last week, and more mango.

8:17 p.m. We are running out of milk and fruit, so I run to the grocery store for a few things before another busy week starts. I buy ingredients to make some planned meals including blood oranges ($4.12 for three) and grapefruit ($3.34; I should have urban-forested this from one of the many trees in the neighborhood) for a roasted Halloumi salad. The baby gets a smattering of fresh fruits, including yellow plums ($7.98 for four), raspberries ($8.99 for a double carton), and pears ($2.30 for three). I also spend $13.17 on enough poppy seeds to bake a loaf of poppy seed bread, which is quite ridiculous if I’m being honest; I definitely could buy a loaf of similar quality at a nearby bakery and save myself the effort and time. The whole bill comes to $137.71 and I hope I don’t have to step foot in a grocery store again this week.

Sunday total: $180.68

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit