Industry: All included
Age: 31
Location: San Francisco
Salary: $60,000
Net value: $953,500 ($291,000 RSUs [the stock price went down 25% since my last Money Diary ☹️]; $144,000 in brokerage account. $80,000 in crypto. $14,000 in my HSA. $385,000 for the value of my NYC apartment. $285,000 in my 401(k). $6,500 in my Roth IRA. $1,500 at Robinhood. $2,500 in savings. less debt)
Debt: $256,000 ($248,000 left on my NYC co-op mortgage, $4,000 on a 21 month 0% APR credit card, ~$4,000 on another charge card)
Salary amount (2x/month): $1,961
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly expenses
Rent: $0 (I live with my partner in SF and don’t pay rent.)
Apartment Mortgage: $1,032 (This is for my co-op apartment in NYC. A friend who lives there very nicely offered to start paying me next year, so that will help.)
Apartment maintenance fee: $598
Apartment Utilities: $78.02
Credit card: ~$110 (min payment)
Phone: $91.24 (for family)
Health Insurance: $0 (I’m not paying for this right now, but I’m looking into it asap.)
Netflix Share: $5
iCloud Storage: $16
Parent Internet: $79.49
Web Hosting and Domains: $30.98 (One of my domains is for a former owner who has not returned my security deposit even though I took him to court and won. I took out a domain in his name and have real and non-defamatory content. )
Amazon Prime: $12.35 (for family)
Donations: $100
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?
Yes, attending higher education was non-negotiable. We were taught that it was the only way to achieve social mobility and my parents didn’t want us to struggle as much as they did. The school I attended gave generous financial aid, so in addition to a $20,000 federal Perkins loan, I was able to get a free ride. I also did a master’s degree, which I financed by working at the university. I was really prepared to take out a loan, but my university offered me the job three days before the fees were due — yikes!
Growing up, what kind of money conversations did you have? Did your parents/guardians educate you about finances?
My parents shielded me from discussions about money because they wanted me to focus on my studies. Growing up, my family was neither rich nor poor. We have WIC [the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children] when my siblings and I were young, but my parents eventually found steady jobs as public school teachers, which paid for most of our needs. They were lucky to buy our family home in the 90s, before the housing boom. If my parents had waited another five years to buy a house, they wouldn’t have been able to afford it. In fact, that was the only financial “education” they gave me: Unlike other assets where you start life with nothing, you start life with a home deficit. So your first financial priority should be investing in a home whenever you can afford it (how Boomer of them). Growing up in poverty, my parents were against almost any kind of discretionary spending. My siblings became very frugal and anxious about spending, but I did the opposite: When I got my first bank account, I became addicted to something like shopping without consequences. It’s something I’m still working on.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I got my first summer internship at a science lab for $9.25/hour. It was the summer of my freshman year at university. I needed it to pay bills and rent. I ended up doing really poorly at this job due to lack of interest and low executive function/ADHD. I’m also autistic and hadn’t yet learned how to wear mascara at work, which affected my relationships with my managers. Halfway through, my boss fired me for regularly showing up late to our meetings. I didn’t know how to respond to the dismissal, so instead of going home, I washed the dishes and cleaned up. After that, I finished my internship without any more drama, and we never spoke of it again. I learned two lessons that summer: 1) don’t be afraid to apply for the jobs you really want, and 2) there’s a world of difference between a minute early and a minute late.
Were you worried about money growing up?
No, I never thought about money growing up. I never worried about feeding myself, keeping a roof over my head, or keeping the lights on. I recognize that this is a huge privilege compared to many of my peers in college who had to balance work and family with school. I had a close friend who got into an Ivy League school, but her parents wanted her to stay close to home to take care of her sister. Her condition was unfathomable to me because education was always my only priority. I was able to grow up in a safe environment and focus on my studies during my educational years. I continue to reap compound interest from this early privilege on a daily basis.
Are you worried about money now?
Financial security is one of the last things I worry about, but I think about money all the time. I like to think I’m slowly catching up to my lifestyle inflation, but I still took out a 21-month interest-free credit card for bigger purchases like skin care procedures (I recently paid $1,700 for six sessions of Evoke) and to pay tax-free account. I stacked these 0% APR cards all through college, so I’m pretty used to them. I’m giving myself a raise soon because we hit some revenue goals so hopefully that will help pay off my credit card.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and have a financial safety net?
When I got my first internship during my sophomore summer. I had never coded before, but I went to a career fair and got an internship on the spot because I had IT classes on my resume. I was able to survive on the $12,000 I made that summer — along with 0% interest credit cards — for the next school year. It was raining internships and job offers in the early 2010s for anyone with a CS degree. It’s not remotely like that anymore. I was so lucky that I studied the right thing at the right time at the right place. I feel for this year’s CS grads, who are having a much harder time in the job market. My financial safety nets are: 1) getting a job, 2) boyfriend, 3) savings, and 4) parents.
Do you have or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If so, please explain.
My parents opened a savings account with $6,000 for expenses when I left for college. Between paying off student loans and credit cards, it took me 10 years to have that much money in my name again. My ex once gave me a gift of $5,000 to pay off credit card debt before the 0% interest expired. I also make ~$500 to $1,000 a month in passive income streams (that’s down a bit because I haven’t touched it in years).
