Industry: Advertising
Age: 32
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $75,000
Joint Income/Financial Setup: n/a
Assets:
HYSA: $53,126.09
401k: $69,367.68
In a brokerage invested in ETFs: $9,581.44
Checking account: $8,165.74
Savings account: $5,472.57
Debt: $3,313.62 currently owed on my credit card (currently awaiting reimbursement for $2.8k in expenses from business travel); $3,813.71 in student loans.
Paycheck Amount (2x month): $1,839 after taxes and benefits.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs
Rent: $1,407 (for my half). I’m in a rent-stabilized apartment that I share with one roommate.
Internet: $37.78 (for my half).
Gas: $13.11 (for my half).
Electric: $57.97 (for my half). This was the highest electric bill of the year because it was summer.
Other recurring monthly expenses:
Loan Payments: $208.15 (student loan)
Classpass: $51
Gym membership: $32.66
Phone: $30 phone payment to my brother (we’re on a family plan).
401k: I contribute 14% of my pre-tax income in my 401k. My employer’s match is discretionary and this year it was incredibly low (25% of the first 2%).
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, it was a given that I would attend college. I attended a private liberal arts college, and was very lucky to receive a large amount of need-based financial aid from the institution I attended, along with a few thousand dollars in Pell Grants. I had a small amount of federally subsidized student loans. In total, with all my aid, my tuition/room and board ended up being about the same cost as if I had attended an in-state UC. Even then, my parents took out a second mortgage on their house to pay for my education. I had a small savings account from lifeguarding in high school so I didn’t need any money from my parents for lifestyle things like books, groceries, clothes, etc.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My parents never gave me any financial advice, but they did take me to the bank to open a savings account. This was around first or second grade when I started doing chores for allowance.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I wanted to go on a class trip to France the summer after eighth grade and my parents agreed to let me go if I could earn half of my way there, so I got a job working at a snack shack at a local swim and tennis club. I think my mom had to sign some waiver about me getting hired since I was only 13. The snack shack never trained me to use the POS system so I never worked the window; I worked in the kitchen preparing the food.
Did you worry about money growing up?
I would say my parents made a lower-middle-class income and I have three siblings, so sometimes the financial stress felt palpable. I grew up in an affluent suburb in the Bay Area, and from middle school onward, I definitely felt aware of the financial disparities between me and my classmates. My dad is self-employed and my mom worked as a part-time teacher’s aide at a public elementary school, so they did not have health insurance. This was pre-Obamacare and so I do remember my mom buying Groupons for me to get dental cleanings, and at a certain point as a teenager she decided I really only needed to get a doctor’s check-up every other year. We always had food on the table and were usually able to take a road trip vacation every summer. The 2008 recession hit my parents really hard and I had to do away with some extracurriculars like dance class, summer camp, and violin lessons.
Do you worry about money now?
I recently made a decision to live with only one roommate instead of two and use the third bedroom as an office, so I’m paying the most rent I’ve ever paid in my life. I do feel a little stressed about this big increase in housing costs without getting any salary increase, but so far, things have been okay.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I needed help with rental payments my first year after graduating, since I could only find part-time work teaching swimming and an internship on a TV program. Once I finished the internship, I found a permalance gig at age 23, which, when combined with the weekend swim lessons, was enough to cover all my costs. My current position, which I started at age 26, is the first job I’ve had with a full benefits package.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
No.
