Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.
Today: a medical writer who makes $130,000 per year and who spends some of her money this week on a rug-making class.
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Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up diary. You can read the original diary here.
A Note From Our Diarist: “Some of you might remember from my last diary that I was doing a bit of extra work from time to time — I’m not doing this regularly anymore. Where I live, there are usually no film or TV productions, but I try to find opportunities where I can. I did take a few days off to work as an extra last year when a show was filming in the Triangle for a few days, and I took a trip out to the beach to work for a day as well. I find it interesting to participate in something so foreign to what I’m used to — working on a production set feels sort of like stepping into a whole other culture.”
Occupation: Medical writer
Industry: Pharma
Age: 27
Location: Triangle Area, NC
Salary: $130,000
Assets: 401(k): $50,000; Roth: $30,000; HSA: $3,000; HYSA: $14,000.
Debt: $4,500
Paycheck Amount (Biweekly): $3,200
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing Costs: $450 (I live in an apartment with one roommate who pays slightly less for a smaller room).
Loan Payments: $70 (towards low-interest student loans).
All Other Monthly Expenses:
OrangeTheory Gym: $120
Energy: ~$80 (my half).
Climbing Gym: $45
Internet: $25 (my half).
Spotify & Hulu: $13
Apple Storage: $1
AppleTV: $0 (free trial).
Water: $0 (included in rent).
Cell Phone: $0 (covered by my parents).
Car Insurance: $0 (covered by my parents).
HYSA/Student Loans: I used to try to contribute ~$2,000 per paycheck to my HYSA/student loans. Now that my student loans are not a worry and my emergency fund is almost where I want it, I will soon have to figure out what else to do with this contribution.
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?
When I was growing up, there was never a question that I would go to college and most likely some sort of graduate/professional school. Throughout undergrad and grad, I went to an in-state school and funded it through federal loans. I didn’t fully understand the magnitude of loans I was taking out then, but you live, you learn. Fortunately, I used the interest pause during COVID-19 to gather as much money as I could to throw it at the highest interest loans after the interest resumed. Three years after graduating, I’ve managed to pay back as much as I wanted to. The rest I will pay off more slowly, as the interest rate is low.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
I knew little of the specifics of my family’s financial situation while I was growing up, but I knew they were always money conscious. They didn’t come to the US with much (they emigrated from a country where they didn’t have much either). The stress they carried around money seeped into my own life. Now that I’m making my own money and in a different position than they were, I’m trying to strike a better balance between being good with saving for the future but also having a comfortable relationship with money.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
I worked at a pet supply shop in high school. I didn’t have a reason for it more than the general one of it being the time in life to get a first job and wanting to make some money. I saved most of what I made there.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Like I said above, my parents were frugal with money while I was growing up and that bled into my opinions/worries on making non-essential purchases. I never worried about not having the essentials in life.
Do you worry about money now?
No. I’ve paid off (most of) my loans. If I want to buy anything within reason, I can afford it. No one is dependent on me. I’m in a good position right now.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I graduated at 25, so I’d say about then. If something catastrophic or unexpected happens, I have an emergency fund, and I’d think my parents would help me out. My parents do still pay the phone bill and car insurance. I did offer to start paying a while ago — and in fact I should offer again, even though I’d feel a bit uncomfortable bringing it up once more.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I haven’t inherited anything, and I do not expect to in the future.
Day One: Thursday
7:30 a.m. — I wake up and eat yogurt with almond butter mixed in for breakfast. This has been my go-to breakfast for a while. Afterwards, I make black tea with a splash of oat milk and begin my long, hard commute (aka the walk from the kitchen to my bedroom where my work desk is).
12 p.m. — I answer emails (I am an email-sending master), edit documents, and bother people to do things that they should have already done yesterday. When I started the job I have now, I expected to do a lot more writing, but I spend an equal (if not greater) part of my day on project management. I eat leftover salmon, asparagus, and mashed potatoes for lunch.
3 p.m. — I attend a way-too-long meeting that doesn’t need me there. Outside it’s snowing, and the dancing snowflakes capture most of my attention. It snowed yesterday as well, trapping me inside my apartment. Where I live, there’s little snow and little infrastructure in place to deal with snow, so the roads are dangerous until the ice goes away. You have some people who claim they can drive fine on the snow, but everyone says that until they’re car 20 in a 50 car pile-up on the snowy highway. Of course, not much you can do if your work requires you to come in and you can’t (or feel pressured not to) call out. Something I am glad not to deal with at my own job.
5 p.m. — After I log off, I make a Blue Apron meal of chicken curry. I’ve been using meal-prep services sporadically for a while now, and I appreciate how easy it is to make a variety of meals without having to spend a bunch of time planning or going to the grocery store. I worry that these types of delivery subscriptions are destroying my ability to cook without them. If I’m being honest with myself, though, I had never been a master chef to begin with anyway. The curry was the spicy warmth I needed on a snow day.
8 p.m. — Many people (but the same type of person [men in their 20s in the tech field], if that makes sense?) have recommended the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson to me, and it finally became available at my library a few days ago. I’m not too far in yet. It’s not bad; it’s quite standard fantasy so far. With the amount of people recommending it, I expected more. Maybe it’ll get better further in.
Daily Total: $0
Day Two: Friday
8 a.m. — It’s Friday! I know this because a majority of people at work start their emails and messages with “Happy Friday!” on Fridays. I think of those people with fondness. How else would I know it’s about to be the weekend? Same breakfast as usual. The snow should be melted enough for me to drive later today, and I’m excited to get out of the house.
12p.m. — Today was my yearly performance review. My review went fine; nothing was a surprise, either good or bad. Unless I literally walked on water (and probably not even then unless that somehow benefits the company) in the previous year, I don’t expect to get rated as anything above average. I have leftover Blue Apron chicken with couscous and a salad while watching an episode of Circle on Tubi. Circle has fun sci-fi vibes, and I always want to know what’s going to happen next. I’ve been going through Tubi’s movie and TV show selections recently and have been surprised at the number of great options there. I see a charge for my next week of Blue Apron on my credit card. $62
5 p.m. — I shower and get ready to drive to a large group dinner hosted by a friend of mine in honor of a recent tree holiday. On my way, I pick up books I’ve reserved at the library. I used to love going to bookstores and buying books, but books take up too much space and feel so expensive when there’s a free alternative. The library is way better. 10/10 endorse going to a library. Today, I’m getting the rest of the Murderbot Diaries series. I’d read the first two novellas, and I’m obsessed with the characters.
6 p.m. — Dinner was catering from Chipotle. I don’t think it’s my favorite thing to talk to people I barely know, but it is good to get out and meet new people and see old friends.
9 p.m. — I meet my boyfriend Z. at his apartment to hang out and help seed his aero garden (not a euphemism). I can’t believe we’ve been seeing each other for almost a year now. For those of you who might remember my not-so-successful date from my last diary, we also met on Hinge! I kept using the app till I had some success. I haven’t dated anyone through any other way than dating apps. I appreciate knowing what someone expects from me from the start (and the fact that I won’t have to run into former dates at mutual social groups if things don’t work out). Z. is the longest relationship I’ve ever had, and sometimes I wonder if I’m doing it right? Although there probably is no right way to do it. There are definitely many wrong ways, but I am happy to report I don’t think I’m doing it completely wrong. I think some of my uncertainty comes from talking with my mom and hearing her (maybe old-fashioned) dating expectations (“Does he pay for you on dates?” “You usually only see each other once a week??”, etc.) Some of it comes from both Z. and I being terrible at having important conversations. For example, Z. is interviewing for jobs and will likely move states in a few months. We’ve been dating over a year, and he hasn’t brought up if he wants me to move with him. I haven’t asked about it either, so I can’t be too upset. My long-term dating experience is limited/almost non-existent, so I don’t know if this is the norm or not.
Daily Total: $62
Day Three: Saturday
8 a.m. — Z. makes miso soup for breakfast. I’m meeting him again later today, but he has to work in the morning. I head out after we eat. I stop by a bakery for an iced pistachio latte on the way back home. $6.18
10 a.m. — I have zero motivation to do anything other than sit on my couch and drink my coffee. Somehow, after the coffee kicks in, with intense mental strength, I rise from the couch to go to the climbing gym.
10:10 a.m. — On the way to the gym, my tire pressure light turns on. Of course it does. This is what I get for leaving the house. A clear sign I should never leave the house. I check the pressures and see that one tire is low. I check that nothing punctured the tire and couldn’t see anything, but I don’t trust myself to know that sort of thing for sure. Thankfully, there’s a car place close to the gym. I drop the car off there and walk to the gym.
11 a.m. — After the gym, I stop by the grocery store for some apples, mandarins, and a Olipop cherry soda (in case they’re not done checking the car and I need an emotional support drink while I wait). When I walk back, they are done. Apparently the tire just needed air, and they filled it for free. $11.62
12 p.m. — I demolish leftover chicken curry and watch the latest episode of Severance.
2 p.m.— It was Z.’s birthday the other week, so for his present, I surprised him by signing us up to make rugs (he’s a crafty person). We’d both never done it before, and I think we had a great time! I pay for both of us. $183.30
6 p.m. — Rug making is kind of intense, and both of us work up an appetite. We’ve got reservations at my favorite Italian restaurant in the area. I dream of their pastas, but they’re always booked on the weekends. I order a gnocchi so good that I have to close my eyes with every bite to better appreciate the flavor. We usually each pay for our own meals. I wouldn’t have minded paying, but I felt like he might feel a bit awkward about it (I’d paid for him when we went out to eat a few days ago for his birthday), so I don’t say anything when he puts his card down. $31
9 p.m. — We go back to my place and watch the documentary The Contestant on Hulu. I can’t believe what the producer put that guy through. I doubly can’t believe that it was legal to do so.
Daily Total: $232.10
Day Four: Sunday
9 a.m. — My day starts late (for me). I order breakfast and coffee at a smoothie bowl place. I read more Mistborn there. $17.15
12 p.m. — My friend A. and I meet and go to a coffee shop. We split a churro order (I venmo her half for the churros), and I buy another latte. We sit and talk for a bit and then read. She’s trying to finish a book, so I try to do my part to motivate her by doing what I do normally: reading. $12.75
2 p.m. — At the bottom of my second latte of the day, I read the tea leaves there and realize I’ve had too much caffeine. It’s fineeeee. That’s what the weekend is for. We check out a vintage market happening close by to walk off the coffee and churros. The fact that there are many successful businesses dedicated to reselling T-shirts for over $40 each will never not be amazing to me. A few years ago I got into vintage stores and markets, but I haven’t found anything vintage worth buying in a while. Working from home, I cycle through the same few comfy outfits and workout clothes during the week. I do wear nicer clothes on the weekend, but that leaves the majority of my closet collecting dust. Buying more clothes (even vintage) just feels like adding overpriced clutter to my closet.
5 p.m. — A. and I stop at a sandwich shop for dinner. I don’t usually crave cold-cut sandwiches as a food to buy out, but this place might change my mind on that. A. and I each get a different sandwich and split them. As a deeply indecisive person, I find that this is my favorite way to eat food. $11.75
8 p.m. — Back home alone, I read more and more of Mistborn… And end up finishing it. I can see why it’s popular, although there is better fantasy out there. I award it four stars on my Goodreads (updated religiously for the joy of my almost 30 friends and one follower) and reserve the next book in the series at the library.
Daily Total: $41.65
Day Five: Monday
7 a.m. — Wake. Breakfast. Work. I keep a detailed Excel sheet of what I need to do for each of my projects day by day to make sure everything is on track. From what I see of my schedule, today shouldn’t be too bad, workload wise (I knocked on mental wood when I had this thought, do not worry).
12 p.m. — I take a walk and pick up a Reuben sandwich for lunch. My lunchtime routine is quite laidback; I usually find something to watch or read for an hour while I’m eating. If I hear an email or a message come in, I’ll go to check and make sure the world isn’t ending and answer anything that comes up. $14.50
5 p.m. — I am forced to schedule a dreaded Friday afternoon meeting for later next week, and I wonder if the 20+ attendees will hate me forever when the meeting invites hit their inboxes. I decide, yes, they probably will, then hit send. Sighing, I log off and go to OrangeTheory.
7 p.m. — Averting impending disaster (I was on my last roll of toilet paper), I buy toilet paper in bulk from the grocery store on the way home. $18
8 p.m. — I make shrimp and rice from a box for dinner. My roommate doesn’t like the smell of food cooking — literally anything, not just seafood (I once got yelled at for sauteing vegetables). I have to walk on eggshells every time I cook or she’ll come out of her room to loudly complain at me, even after I open a window, turn off the heat/AC in the house in whatever sort of weather (so the smell doesn’t go through the vents to her room), and use a Febreze plug in. I wish I knew how sensitive to smell she was before she moved in — I would have never chosen to live with her if I knew. My previous roommate, B. (from my last diary, was great to live with (and one of my best friends!) but she had to move for a job. My list of worries about living with a random roommate had never previously included being yelled at for cooking. Silly me. (Thankfully she’s decided to move out this summer.)
9 p.m. — I watch TV (Circle) and start a Murderbot Diaries book before going to sleep.
Daily Total: $32.50
Day Six: Tuesday
8 a.m. — Day starts as usual with yogurt and almond butter breakfast. I finish a Murderbot book while I eat; it’s a novella, so it’s easy to get through in a day or two. Luckily enough, I got the whole set at once so I still have more to enjoy.
9 a.m. — Surprise! Work. Wow.
12 p.m. — A meeting is blissfully cancelled. I bake salmon and mixed veggies for lunch.
2 p.m. — I take a small break and do some Duolingo. Sometimes I wonder how much I’m learning, as opposed to subconsciously memorizing word endings and weird Duolingo sentences (“The Duolingo owl is always watching”). After learning the same language for about two years now, I feel like I know next to nothing, but next to nothing is better than nothing. Better use of time than anything else I could be doing on my phone.
6 p.m. — Time zones are the worst. I have a meeting with a late start so I log off later than usual. I warm up shrimp and rice leftovers for dinner.
8 p.m. — I go to the climbing gym. Climbing, I’ve found, is the easiest way to branch out and meet new friends after college. Go enough at the same time every day, and then eventually lots of people will at least start to look familiar and you start to make friends. Without the gym, the only new people I would’ve hung out with post college are Z. and a few new (mixed with old) friends at a D&D group that meets once every couple months. I might be a bit of an introvert?
Daily Total: $0
Day Seven: Wednesday
9 a.m. — I was hoping to grab some coffee and breakfast this morning and have a change of scenery, but an urgent morning meeting was rudely put on my calendar. This 30-minute meeting, as 30-minute meetings do, turns into an hour meeting and runs into another meeting I need to attend. I hop onto my next meeting (late) and then go to another meeting, and then my morning disappears. Like a magic trick. I usually try to get out of the house at least once or twice a week to remind myself of the outside world either before or during work — maybe I’ll have more luck tomorrow.
12 p.m. — I have leftover salmon for lunch and take a walk. It’s 70 degrees and sunny — I can’t believe it was snowing this time last week. Weather, man. It does what it wants.
5 p.m. — I get off work on time and go to a class at OrangeTheory. Getting a message two minutes before computer close time had me panic-sweating, but thankfully it is a problem for tomorrow.
8 p.m. — I bake kimchi rice with an egg for dinner. Rest of the night, I read more Murderbot and watch another episode of Circle.
Daily Total: $0
The Breakdown
Conclusion
“My money strategy is putting a majority of my income into savings and loans straight after getting a paycheck, leaving whatever I need for two weeks’ worth of rent/groceries/anything else in my checking account. I don’t track how I spend anything left over as long as I’m not going over what I left in checking. Even though the spending this week is off from the norm with the snow days and the birthday spending, it’s interesting to see the details of the breakdown here. I spent a good amount on food, which I’m okay with as it’s something I look forward to and as long as it doesn’t go over my ‘budget’. I don’t have any context of what I usually spend in a week or what a person with my income spends in a week on average, but I don’t see anything that I would change with my spending based on this. Non-spending wise, I think this week should be a signifier that I need to be better at having conversations about money, both with my parents and with Z. We’ll see if that happens.”
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