Industry: Work
Age: 34
Location: Salem, OR
Salary: $214,000
Assets: I currently have about $150,000 in equity in the home I bought eight months ago, $85,000 in my 401(k), and $17,000 in two HYSAs.
Debt: $574,000 ($487,000 mortgage, $50,000 student loans, $28,000 car loan, $9,000 home improvement credit card)
Salary amount (2x/month): $2,850. My partner, who has two streams of income, earns $2,000 every two weeks and $2,300 monthly.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly expenses
Monthly housing costs: $3,811
Monthly loan payments: $1,087 for two car payments. $219 in student loans.
All other monthly expenses:
Mobile phones and devices: $200
Gas/Electricity: $300-400 (We bought a very old 3,300 square foot house for the charm, sigh.)
Water: $125
Internet: $90
Garbage: $35
Stream Subscribers: $55
Donations: $50 (Oregon Food Bank and Planned Parenthood)
House Reno Credit Card: $1,000
401(k): $700 per pay period
Annual expenses:
Insurance: $1,200
Chase Sapphire Reserve Fees: $650
Amazon Prime: $119
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 mom never pushed me to go to college, but I got good grades and school came easily to me, so I always planned for it. I saw it as the only way out of poverty, which I now know is not entirely true and I wish I had been more career oriented when I was a teenager. I paid for school with some scholarships and mostly student loans.
Growing up, what kind of money conversations did you have? Did your parents/guardians educate you about finances?
I had very few conversations with my mom about money, and it was mostly about how we didn’t have any. It wasn’t until I moved in with my grandparents when I was 19 that I learned how to budget and balance my checkbook (lol), and my grandma taught me the old adage “Pay yourself first.” I didn’t put this into practice until much later because I made so little, but it’s good advice and I’m following it now.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I babysat since age 12, but I got my first W-2 gig at a fast food restaurant when I was 15. I wasn’t even allowed to work, but no one seemed to care? I grew up with a single mom who had a serious mental illness so she couldn’t work, so I got a job as soon as possible so I could buy school clothes that weren’t donated and make sure I could participate in school activities.
Were you worried about money growing up?
Constantly. And at a very young age. I remember realizing we were poor when I was in primary school and I wanted to pack my lunches so I could eat with the packed lunch kids (looking back, separating the school and lunch kids was totally weird and confusing practice at my school…), but we didn’t really have enough food to bring. We also moved around a lot because my mom was in Section 8 (housing) and it was hard to find housing, so we stayed with relatives and on friends couches for a few years. I think I worried less about the money part and more about the volatility of my life as a kid, but as I got older, I realized how connected they were.
Are you worried about money now?
Yes and no. I know I have enough saved up to handle most situations and my spending habits have become much less emotional than they used to be. But I am very concerned about retirement and long-term care for myself. I have a chronic illness and I don’t know how it will affect me in the next 20 years. I work pretty hard, but I’m still trying to figure out how to make extra money so I can invest more and build that safety net.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and have a financial safety net?
I would say I just moved out of my mom’s house at 17, but my grandparents let me move in with them for a few months before I started college at 19. I was homeless at the time and they wanted to make sure I could save enough money for to move to my college town.
Do you have or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If so, please explain.
My grandparents gave me their old car when I was 17 that drove me almost all the way to college. It wasn’t nice and it wasn’t really income, but it allowed me to find better job opportunities while I was in school so I could take out less loans and take care of myself.
