Industry: Regulatory
Age: 31
Location: Nashville
Salary: $70,000
Net Worth: -$87,613 (checking: $1,440; savings: $5,000; 401(k): $15,000; minus credit card debt and student loans)
Debt: $109,053 (credit card debt: $15,876; student loans: $93,177)
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): 1906.96
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Monthly Housing Costs: $805 (my boyfriend J. and I split a two-bedroom apartment)
Monthly Loan Payments: $482/month in student loans
All Other Monthly Expenses
Subscriptions: Patreon: $15; Netflix: $24.71; Spotify: $12.03
Storage Unit: $50 (my half)
Pet Insurance: $30.58 (my half)
Renter’s Insurance: $11.59
Wifi: $30 (my half)
Electric: $35-50 (my half)
Water/Trash/Sewer: $40 (my half)
Credit Card: $600
Car Insurance: $60
Phone Bill: $60
Savings: 10% of my paycheck gets routed directly to my savings (roughly $400/month).
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?
My parents not only expected my three sisters and me to attend college, but to also surpass both of them in our educational endeavors. This was tricky since both of our parents have master’s degrees, so the “next step” being a PhD always sounded harrowing for me. My parents paid for my undergrad education and I took out loans to cover my master’s. I don’t have any plans for a PhD anytime soon, I’m content with my master’s.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
I didn’t grow up with a lot of conversations about money. I knew it was important to have a savings account, but didn’t ever really know why. The only time these conversations really came up was on our birthdays, when we would open small savings bonds instead of checks from our grandparents. I didn’t fully understand these bonds until I was well into my 20s.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I lived the landlocked dream of working as a lifeguard starting when I was 15. I did this for extra spending money to spend on frivolous adventures with friends: going to movies, getting iced coffees, and trips to the mall.
Did you worry about money growing up?
I didn’t worry about money growing up, which still makes me wonder why I had so much anxiety as a kid. My sisters and I received allowances from our parents for fun money, but it wasn’t expected that we contribute to things like food, gas, travel, et cetera until we were doing these things on our own.
Do you worry about money now?
I think about money every single day; sometimes due to not thinking I have enough, and sometimes due to my progress with my overall feelings about it. When I got out of grad school in 2017, I landed a job in the Bay Area that barely allowed for more than rent and a weekly grocery haul. That kicked off a really bad run with racking up credit card debt on going out, traveling, and buying a lot of stuff I didn’t need. Since moving to Nashville, I’ve finally been able to start making more than a minimum payment on my balance and I’m really proud of that. I was late to the game of having a savings account, but I literally couldn’t make it work until about two years ago, which is something else I’m proud to have.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became mostly financially independent when I started grad school at the age of 23. I used the savings bonds from my childhood which totaled about $2,000 to move into my grad school apartment and pay a month of rent before student loans kicked in. My parents did buy me a car at that time of life, which they kindly paid for. I was on their phone bill and car insurance until the age of 25. I’m technically still on a family plan for both phone and car insurance, but I venmo them for it monthly and have been doing so for years.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
No.
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