Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.
Today: an account manager who makes $60,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on sandals for a beach trip.
Occupation: Account manager
Industry: Marketing
Age: 32
Location: South Carolina
Salary: $60,000
Assets: $499 checking; $14,000 savings; $500 Roth IRA; $490,000 home ($70,000 equity).
Debt: $8,000 student loan; $236,000 mortgage; $50,000 HELOC; $1,000 credit cards.
Paycheck amount (2x/month): $2,065
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: $1,600 mortgage (paid bimonthly; my husband and I own our own home).
Loan payments: ~$450 HELOC; $200 credit cards; $75 student loans.
Gym (YMCA): $62.10
Monthly haircuts for three people: $70
Water & utilities: ~$200
Electricity: ~$400
Internet: $120
Gas: $150
Phone bills: $150
Life insurance: $254 (policies for me and my husband).
Dining out: $300
Random stuff: $400 (Netflix, domain registrations for personal projects, software subscriptions).
Fun stuff: $500 (split evenly between me and my husband based on our budget. In real life…70/30 split?).
Nanny: $1,500
Emergency savings: $1,000-$1,500
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Yes. I was the last of five children in a blended marriage and it was abundantly clear that out of all of my siblings who didn’t attend or graduate college that I was expected to be the Hail Mary. I also attended a charter school that had a 100% graduation rate, with all or most students headed off to college.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
We had very few conversations about money that weren’t stressful. My family was a one-income military family. By the time I was 12 or 13, my siblings were all moved out and living on their own so the conversations about money worries fell to me instead of older siblings. We were all taken to the bank at 13 to open checking and savings accounts. We were also taught how to balance a checkbook by hand and the importance of being able to do so. While line items were tracked, I don’t ever remember being taught how to create a budget that would be flexible to changing needs.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I was a camp counselor at 15 to save money for a car and insurance. I applied after a family friend sent us the job posting — I worked with them in their class as an assistant. I had a job constantly in the summers after that, and during college. We were encouraged not to have jobs during the school year to focus on academics and extracurricular activities but the summers were fair game to save up for the things we wanted and needed.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes. We had a very limited income and our parents weren’t super financially savvy or prone to saving so unexpected expenses caused a lot of …read more
Source:: Refinery29
