What a 23-Year-Old Wildlife Rehab Intern Eats Making $300/Week in Southwest Florida

Bon Appétit Contributor
·22 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 23-year-old wildlife rehab intern makes about $300 a week in Naples, Florida. She also works as a kayak guide and a dog-sitter. Keep reading for her receipts.

Skip ahead

  1. The finances

  2. The diet

  3. The expenses

  4. The diary

The finances

What are your pronouns? She/her

What is your occupation? Wildlife rehabilitation intern at an animal hospital, kayak guide, and occasional dog-sitter.

How old are you? 23

What city and state do you live in? Naples, Florida

What is your annual salary, if you have one? I don’t have an annual salary. Combining income from all my jobs, I average about $1,300 a month. That separates out to $300 to $400 a week. As a wildlife rehabilitation intern, I get paid $150 weekly. For kayak trips, I usually guide on Wednesdays (one of my days off) and can make anywhere from $70 to $200 per trip including tips, and I’ll do about two to three trips in one day. During peak season, it’s a great time to be working this kind of gig. With dog-sitting and house-sitting, I usually charge $60 a night. I thought this was high when I first moved here compared to the $20 to $30 a night I was charging back in Oklahoma and Arkansas, but Naples is an extremely affluent town and people here will pay almost anything for their pets—I’ve been told that $60 is on the low end, which is mind-boggling to me. Anyway, I like to keep it around that price since it gives me a chance to relax on my own somewhere that isn’t the communal housing I live in. Plus, I get to enjoy the company of a furry friend.

How much is one paycheck, after taxes? For my wildlife internship, $150 a week. For kayak tours, anywhere from $100 to $200 a week. This fluctuates constantly depending on season, weather, holidays, etc. My dog-sitting and house-sitting pay is random—my last “paycheck” (via Venmo, lol) was $120 from a couple I dog-sit for a lot.

How often are you paid? (e.g., weekly) Weekly and biweekly

How much money do you have in savings? $5,978 in my savings and about $16 in cash.

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

  • Housing: $0. The internship provides housing for all interns, which is a lifesaver.

  • Bills: $0. Still on my parents’ health insurance—thanks, Mom and Dad.

  • Regal Unlimited cinema subscription: $23.99

  • New York Times Games: $5.99

  • Hulu: $17.99

  • Orangetheory Fitness: $80

  • Monthly total: $127.97

The diet

Do you follow a certain diet or have dietary restrictions? None.

What are the grocery staples you always buy, if any? Hummus, falafel, and Mike and Ike candy.

How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home? I dine out once or twice week. I love to cook, but I’d rather cook when I have a kitchen to myself, so sharing one with 10 other people (as I do right now) can make that hard to do every day. When it gets chaotic in the kitchen, I’ll seek shelter elsewhere.

How often in a week did you dine out while growing up? None, or once a week at most. If we did eat out, usually it was for an occasion, or if someone requested to dine out.

How often in a week did your parents or guardians cook at home? Every day. My mom is a stay-at-home mom, so she’d always have wonderful breakfasts, lunches, and dinners prepared. Breakfast usually consisted of a traditional Japanese breakfast, or something simple like pancakes, or, on the flip side, homemade biscuits and jam. She did marry an Oklahoman, after all. Both my parents are excellent cooks, so we’d almost always have home-cooked meals. My mom usually made dinner, and it could range from Japanese to Mediterranean to a Moroccan dish. She’s always been good at trying new recipes and mastering them from the get-go—a skill I’d like to acquire. My favorite dish is her homemade gyoza. I could eat a hundred. I don’t think there’s been a dish of hers I didn’t like, except that beet soup she made once…sorry, Mom.

My dad is also a great cook. He was always outside grilling some game he hunted, adding immense amounts of garlic to any dish he whipped up, or making Southern dishes he grew up with. He’s also one of those people who likes to experiment with recipes and try new cuisines, and one of his meals I always request are deer kebabs on the grill with tzatziki. I’m very lucky to have parents who enjoy cooking and do it well, and they encouraged me to not be picky and step out of my comfort zone with food. Living on my own has been a challenge since I don’t always have the means or time to make a nice, elaborate meal for myself (I’ve become a lot more familiar with Maruchan ramen since I left home). But when I can, I try to take inspiration from what my parents showed me and reflect that onto the food I consume, whether I’m making it myself or trying it somewhere else.

The expenses

  • Week’s total: $208.40

  • Restaurants and cafés total: $108.35

  • Groceries total: $100.05

  • Most-expensive meal or purchase: Dinner at Grouper & Chips, $33.22

  • Least-expensive meal or purchase: Shallot from Trader Joe’s, $0.69

  • Number of restaurant and café meals: 6

  • Number of grocery trips: 1

The diary

Monday

I spend much time meticulously carving off the olive flesh from the pit one piece at a time.

7:30 a.m. I’m in the shared kitchen I use with all my fellow work interns. Our communal housing is like our own little hostel. I don’t have breakfast because really it just depends on whether I’m hungry or not, and I’m not feeling anything besides my daily morning tea. I boil some water and steep a pouch of Twinings Earl Grey in my insulated travel mug—it’s great at keeping my tea warm when I’m at work, although honestly I don’t know why that matters to me because I down my beverages instantly.

8 a.m. I’m walking into work and as I put my things away, I see a sight that brings tears to my eyes: a container of oatmeal raisin cookies on an office counter. I love mornings like these when a hospital volunteer brings in baked goods. I take two cookies.

8:35 a.m. I have another cookie.

12:20 p.m. For lunch, I pick up a Pub Sub, or made-to-order sub, from the nearest Publix, since I have no food in the fridge besides a bag of questionably edible olives and instant cheese grits. I’m fairly new to the Pub Sub, having never eaten one before I moved to Florida. This was very scandalous among my colleagues, and it felt like a rite of passage ordering one for the first time—there was chanting and everything. Anyway, today I get the Boar’s Head Turkey Whole Hot Sub ($10.14) with turkey breast, white bread, Swiss cheese, onions, cucumbers, spinach, banana peppers, black olives, salt, pepper, lettuce, tomato, and extra sub sauce. Toasted, which is new for me. Usually I prefer it unheated, but I’m in my 20s and feeling adventurous.

5:35 p.m. I got paid on Friday and finally have the energy to get some grocery shopping done after work. I pop over to Trader Joe’s. I think TJ’s is so appealing because it’s simple to choose what you want and there aren’t forty million different options for angel hair pasta. I stock up on many items, including a bag of frozen falafel ($3.99), sliced roasted turkey breast ($5.99), mini orange cranberry scones ($4.49), chili onion crunch hummus ($3.99), Japanese fried rice ($3.79), homestyle flour tortillas ($2.99), lean ground beef ($7.99), and really big blueberries ($4.99), with the item code being “BLUEBERRIES REALLY BIG,” which made me laugh. I get many more fruits, veggies, and condiments, all for a total of $100.05. If all goes to plan, this will last me until my next paycheck.

6:30 p.m. With the ingredients I just bought, I make a chickpea salad and prepare taco bowls. For the salad: I mix two cans of garbanzo beans, about half a jar green olives (measuring with the heart here), a spoonful of Dijon, some chopped-up turkey breast slices, three shallots (I love the onion family), chopped cilantro, and chopped mozzarella in a bowl. I add some red wine vinegar and olive oil to dress.

Don’t make the same mistake I did when buying the green olives, though. I couldn’t find any pitted ones and didn’t feel like venturing to another store just for one item, and thinking that it wouldn’t be that difficult to just pop out the pit (naive young woman, I was), I got the jar of regular whole olives. I spend much time meticulously carving off the olive flesh from the pit one piece at a time. It was worth it, though—the salad was bomb.

Monday total: $110.19

Tuesday

There’s something very peaceful about eating alone.

12:30 p.m. I’m off Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I’m in a chipper mood because today feels like a Friday. For lunch, I serve myself one hefty portion of the now chilled chickpea salad, some carrots, and Trader Joe’s chili onion crunch hummus. I now realize how chickpea-heavy this meal is, and honestly, how chickpea-heavy all my meals are. I can’t complain—what a wonderful legume. Now that I’m on this train, I just googled why garbanzo beans are also called chickpeas and stumbled across many blogs about this, and I’m glad that it’s plaguing everyone else’s existence like it so recently has my own.

It’s been extremely hot the past few days, so I find myself craving colder and crisper foods recently. I like this salad because it’s very light, savory, and crisp, and I can taste the subtle but sharp flavor of the Dijon. I dislike classic yellow mustard, but my mom always used Dijon in a lot of her salad dressings when I was growing up, so it’s still a nostalgic flavor for me.

6:15 p.m. I’m craving seafood, like a fish-and-chips kind of thing, and thankfully there’s a little place nearby called Grouper & Chips I’ve been meaning to try. I order a grouper sandwich with a Dr Pepper, fries, and coleslaw, and some extra pieces of fried shrimp on the side. With malt vinegar, of course, because I’m not a psychopath. ($33.22 total) I have a movie to get to at 7:30 but have a little bit of time, so I’m taking my meal to go, driving over to a park, and sitting out on my picnic blanket. The sun is starting to dip, the weather is perfectly warm, and everything is just feeling so…soft. There’s something very peaceful about eating alone, and I feel it’s the first time today I can think and reflect on what I did. Right now, I’m reflecting on how mediocre this grouper sandwich is, and why I spent $33 on it.

I’m trying to love every bite, but the already faint flavor of the grouper is lacking, and the batter doesn’t hold a nice crispiness to it that I’d like. The bun is fine, just one with regular toppings like tomatoes and lettuce, but that’s all. I essentially wash it all down with the sweet nectar of Dr Pepper. That’s the best part of my meal.

Tuesday total: $33.22

Wednesday

I like to use chopsticks and nori sheets to fold the nori over the rice to scoop it up that way, like a little rice taco.

8:45 a.m. It’s my day off, so I take my time in the morning. I don’t have any kayak tours scheduled today, so I get to enjoy a free day to myself. For breakfast, I opt for a cup of Skyr raspberry yogurt, Trader Joe’s honey almond granola, raspberries, blueberries, and honey. I add copious amounts of granola because I’m not a fan of eating something that makes me feel like I’m spooning Gerber baby food into my mouth, hence the granola to get that yummy texture and hearty flavor. I boil some water and make a cup of Twinings Earl Grey tea. I take it with a splash of milk—it’s one of those teas that makes you want to curl up by the window with a book. Unfortunately, I have the patience of a toddler and try to drink the tea immediately after adding the hot water and burn my tongue. It’s still good, though.

11:30 a.m. I spoon some of the previous chickpea salad into a Trader Joe’s flour tortilla, wrap it up, and call it lunch. Of course, I overdo the filling-to-tortilla ratio and some of it spills out the sides, but it’s like a nice little treat I can spoon up afterward. This bean salad seems to be a meal that gets better and richer in flavor as it sits in the fridge for a few days, so luckily I’m not tired of it. I steep a cup of Ito En Oi Ocha Matcha powder into hot water for a beverage. It’s one of my favorite tea brands that my mom sends me packages of from home, and the matcha coats my tongue in a slightly bitter and rich flavor.

5:25 p.m. I’m home from running errands all day, but I’m not too hungry so I opt for something quick to make: leftover Trader Joe’s Japanese Fried Rice with a Takaokaya nori packet my mom sent me a while ago. I like to use chopsticks and nori sheets to fold the nori over the rice to scoop it up that way, like a little rice taco. This brand of nori is one of my favorites because it has a really nice, savory teriyaki flavor and adds the perfect crispiness to a bowl of rice. And, of course, in my true bicultural spirit, I pair this with a bag of Doritos I find in my cupboard.

Wednesday total: $0

Thursday

In the communal kitchen everyone puts their spice bottles in one big container, so I have a nice melting pot to work with.

8:40 a.m. It’s a slow morning, so I make a cup of Earl Grey and eat a Trader Joe’s cranberry and orange scone from the pack I bought the other evening. It’s surprisingly better than I thought it would be. In every bite I’m getting a few cranberries and a hint of citrus, so I’m not complaining. It’s crumbly and I’m making a huge mess as I eat it, but I’m pleased and enjoy the tea with it. It’s nice because it isn’t too sweet and has a balanced amount of glaze on it. I love a scone with a good breading-to-glaze ratio.

9 a.m. I’m in the middle of applying to veterinary schools, and I like to work on my application at coffee shops on my off days. Today, I head over to one of my favorites, Narrative Coffee Roasters, and get an iced vanilla oat milk latte with cinnamon on top. I usually bounce between this drink, a dirty chai, or whatever I end up blurting out since I can’t seem to ever think ahead about these simple sort of things, but, alas, variety is the spice of life. ($8.21 total)

1 p.m. I come home after spending the morning at the coffee shop and start prepping to make taco bowls. I heat up some Spanish extra-virgin olive oil in a pan and add ground beef. While that’s cooking, I chop up some lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, and a white onion I had in the fridge. I combine the tomato, cilantro, and onion together and store it in a container—this is my sad attempt at making pico de gallo since I forgot to buy jalapeños, lime, and green bell peppers.

I also forgot to buy taco seasoning, but thankfully own a semi-functioning brain and phone so I google what spices I need to make my own at home. In the communal kitchen everyone puts their spice bottles in one big container, so I have a nice melting pot to work with. Measuring this all from the heart, I add paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano to the cooked beef. Once that’s cooked, I start assembling: beef in the bowl, Kraft shredded Colby-Jack cheese over that, lettuce, the “pico” mixture, and a few spoonfuls of black beans. I add another sprinkle of cheese on top for good luck. I’m happy with the flavorful taste of the beef considering I just tossed in a bunch of unmeasured spices, but will say I much prefer ground turkey to ground beef—unfortunately, Trader Joe’s didn’t have any in stock the day I went. To drink, I have a cup of Ito En hoji-cha.

6:30 p.m. I feel warm and sleepy from the sun after being at the beach all afternoon. I text my friend to see if she wants to grab a beer at the local brewery we love, Riptide. There, I order a Seafoam Haze IPA, which is one of my favorites. ($9.54) On hot sunny days like today, the crisp taste of a beer is possibly the most refreshing beverage one can enjoy, and it would be even more perfect if I were wearing a thrifted Hawaiian shirt and foam flip-flops and could pay in cash (shoutout to my dad). I also order a Garden crepe from the food truck out back, CrepesRus, which has mozzarella cheese, tomato, baby spinach, caramelized onions, peppers and mushrooms. ($14.06) It’s the biggest crepe I’ve seen in my life, but I devour every bit. It has a nice, light flavor and the cheese is warm and gooey. ($23.60 total)

Thursday total: $31.81

Friday

I think I could eat falafel every day.

8:50 a.m. It’s hard to get up when your Fridays are your work-week Mondays, but I’m scheduled for late shift today, which means I don’t have to be at the hospital until noon. However, I’m also dog- and house-sitting until Saturday evening, so I make time to pack and head over before work. I make myself a bowl of raspberry yogurt, raspberries, blueberries, some frozen cherries and blackberries from a bag of Trader Joe’s Very Cherry Berry blend, honey almond granola, and honey drizzled on top. I love tart flavors so the frozen fruit is a good addition. The granola is perfectly crunchy and has a mild sweetness. I enjoy this with two cups of black coffee and a splash of half- and-half.

11:30 a.m. I have about 15 minutes before I need to leave for work so I quickly make a cup of Earl Grey tea, grab a cranberry and orange scone, and get in my car. I love dog- and house-sitting because it allows me to be in my own space away from people; I very much value my solitude. But it does make me appreciate going back to my provided housing, where I can simply roll out of bed 10 minutes prior to work and walk there.

3:30 p.m. I drive back to the house I’m sitting for and let the dog out for a quick walk—she’s a beagle, a real cutie with the floppiest ears. Late-shift lunch breaks are always at weird times since the shift runs from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m., and I never know whether to make lunch or dinner. Since I still have some of the chickpea salad, I eat the remainder wrapped in a tortilla and steep a cup of hoji-cha. I’m craving something sweet, so I also munch on a few sweetened dried orange slices.

9:30 p.m. I get back from late shift. I’m not too hungry but snackish, so I warm up three falafels and eat it with chili onion crunch hummus. I think I could eat falafel every day.

Friday total: $0

Saturday

It’s wonderfully sour and makes my mouth go numb.

7 a.m. Going from a late shift to a normal day shift usually means that I don’t get out of bed until the last necessary minute, but since I need to walk and feed the dog before I leave, I try to give myself extra time in the morning. After we get back from a stroll, I toast a Dave’s Killer Bread everything bagel, quickly smear on some Philadelphia chive and onion cream cheese, and devour it on my drive to work while simultaneously taking sips of my way too hot coffee. I sprinkle sesame seeds all over my shirt and somehow make it to the hospital in one piece. I walk in and a volunteer has brought homemade chocolate-filled croissants neatly nestled in a white linen cloth in a wicker basket, complete with a handwritten note clipped to the edge.

I can’t wait for retirement.

12 p.m. I drive back to let the dog out for her afternoon walk. While she enjoys a delicious Michelin-starred doggy biscuit, I, too, prepare my choice of fine dining by microwaving a bowl of fried rice and pairing it with a delicate Dr Pepper (on the rocks).

7 p.m. Back to intern housing. For dinner, I have some of the taco bowl I made the other night along with some falafel and hummus.

8:30 p.m. I eat a bowl of frozen fruit with honey drizzled on top. It’s wonderfully sour and makes my mouth go numb.

Saturday total: $0

Sunday

I order animal fries topped with beef brisket, candied bacon, homemade cheese sauce, Nashville hot sauce drizzle, and green onions.

7:40 a.m. Exhaustion has never hit me quite like it has this morning. I roll into the kitchen and quickly eat a cranberry and orange scone. My fellow sleepy interns and I then amble toward the hospital together like an amoeba. I love this job and working with wildlife, but the hours are long and the internship pay is barely enough to cover groceries and gas, so I rely on the dog-sitting and kayaking tours to supplement for all the extra things I want to do and buy. Getting to work with all the animals is worth it in the end, though, and I always feel a satisfied kind of tired once the day is done.

12:30 p.m. I want something cold and light, so I blend a bag of Very Cherry Berry blend with some Ocean Spray cranberry juice, spoon that into a bowl, and add granola and honey on top. It’s satisfying for the first few bites, but the smoothie part quickly melts as I’m eating it, leaving a fruity, soupy mess with soggy granola. I’m not sure what I did in a past life to deserve this.

6 p.m. The day has been long, but thankfully it’s one of my favorite holidays of the year: St. Patrick’s Day. My friends and I go out after work to Riptide Brewing Company in Bonita Springs, where there’s a food truck serving Irish food, outdoor seating, and, of course, beer. I’m feeling ravenous since all I had for lunch was essentially a cup of fruit juice, so I order animal fries ($14, paid in cash) topped with beef brisket, candied bacon, homemade cheese sauce, Nashville hot sauce drizzle, and green onions. Eating it is a religious experience, and I get an Oak Thorn wheat Ale ($8) on tap that’s refreshing and has a slight tang. We play cards and chat, and I try my friends’ corned beef and cabbage that’s wonderfully tender and falls apart in my mouth. I order another beer, this time the Patio Paddy ($7), which is an Irish Coffee Porter and a St. Patrick’s Day special. ($33.18 total with tip) It is rich and has a clean head, and I especially like being able to taste the subtle tones of coffee in each sip.

Sunday total: $33.18

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit

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