Industry: Education
Age: 38
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Salary: $89,000 (spouse’s salary: $182,000)
Net value: -$66,432 (equity: $200,000, personal savings: $7,900, joint savings: $25,000, 401(k) with 3% match: $105,000, personal Roth IRA: $7,000, joint Roth IRA: $52,000, personal account investment: 1 SA $9,240, less debt).
Debt: $475,200 (personal credit card: $1,200, student loan: $24,000, mortgage: $450,000)
Salary amount (2x/month): $2,573 (spouse’s salary: $3,747)
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly expenses
Monthly housing costs: $3,145 (mortgage)
Monthly loan payments: $323 (student loan)
All other monthly expenses:
DAILY CARE: $1,885
Streaming Services and Internet: $250 (includes (Netflix, Crunchyroll, HBO and Kindle)
Utilities: $700 (gas/electric, water, pest control, trash)
Cleaning agents: $235
Investments: $250 (joint investment). $200 (529 plan)
Life insurance: $820
Peloton: $47.53
Phone bill: $232 (split between me, my mom, and my sister. I manage the account so it comes out of my bank. My husband pays for a plan for himself and his dad.)
Planned Parenthood: $15
Was there an expectation to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If so, how did you pay for it?
My family background is mostly blue-collar, so the expectation was that if I went to college, it would be more for specific vocational training (nurse, teacher) than just a general humanities degree. I originally went to be a high school history teacher and then after the economy tanked for the year I ended up at my current company in a customer support role. I added a software development partner a decade ago and worked my way through product knowledge, good luck and good old fashioned begging.
Growing up, what kind of money conversations did you have? Did your parents/guardians educate you about finances?
Looking back, I realize that money was a very touchy subject between my parents. My dad was very frugal, while my mom budgeted for extravagance. My parents passed down very strict money rules: no credit cards, buy the cheapest option you can, and no brand loyalty. My spending habits ping-pong back and forth between frugality and indulgence. Staying disciplined when faced with time constraints or stress is a big challenge, and I think some of it goes back to the strict and secretive nature of how my parents budgeted.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked part time in high school at a fast food chain. Once I started college, I worked 20 to 30 hours a week at the university tech support center and worked full time at Target or as a summer camp counselor. The money from the part-time high school job went to social and school activities.
Were you worried about money growing up?
I grew up in neighborhoods where the families around us looked a lot like my own. Everyone had their modest house, had one or two bigger cars, went to Wisconsin Dells or Disney World for the long vacations. I felt pretty solidly middle class. It wasn’t until I got to college and heard from my classmates about how their parents paid for their entire tuition or rent that I realized there were many nuances to the financial class that I didn’t see reflected in my rural town.
Are you worried about money now?
I am very worried about money now. I could make a million dollars and probably still worry about not having enough in an emergency. We hired a financial advisor last year who projected our current standard of living up to 99 and that freaked me out a lot (rest in my 80s, God willing.) I’m kind of comfortable with where my retirement savings are right now , but we desperately want a second child. My husband is also a firm believer that our kids have as much of a financial cushion as possible, so between the cost of daycare and the 529s, it will be very limited. But I love being a mom and I just can’t give up on the dream of having two kids if there’s a chance we can manage it financially.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and have a financial safety net?
I’m not sure when I became fully financially responsible, as my parents always helped when they could. They took over a portion of my student loans and paid for my dinner once or twice a semester when we went out to a restaurant. I paid for all my other living expenses once I started college. Twice I bought my parents’ used cars at a discount and they loaned me $1,000 once after an accident totaled my vehicle (insurance wouldn’t cover it due to the age of the car).
Do you have or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If so, please explain.
My parents gave me $5,000 in 2019 for my wedding. My father died of cancer in February 2020 and my mother gave me $25,000 from his pension for IVF the following summer. We were able to get pregnant using $5,000 of that for IUI, and the rest was split into IRAs, overnight doula care (best money ever spent), and general savings and investments.
