A Week In Raleigh, NC On A $78,000 Salary

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Today: an audit associate who makes $78,000 per year and who spends some of her money this week on a Trader Joe’s haul.

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Occupation: Audit associate
Industry: Public accounting
Age: 24
Location: Raleigh, NC
Salary: $78,000
Assets: Checking: $7,005; HYSA: $10,921; 401(k): $7,373; Roth IRA: $9,650; investment brokerage account: $137,221; car value: ~$27,000 (according to Carfax).
Debt: Car loan: $22,243
Paycheck amount (2x/month): $2,313
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: $800 rent (four-bedroom townhouse, shared between me and two roommates).
Loan payments: Car payment: $425.
Roth IRA: $400 (automatically transferred).
Utilities: $100-$120 for my share (includes wi-fi, water, electric, and gas).
Gym membership: $169 (unlimited membership at Orangetheory).
Spotify/Hulu: $12.86
Apple storage & NYT games: $7.98
Netflix/Max/Amazon Prime: $0 (paid for and split with my parents).
Health/dental insurance & cell phone: $0 (paid for by work).
HYSA/brokerage investment: Anywhere between $250 and $1,000, depending on the month.

Annual Expenses

Car insurance: ~$1,200 (I pay it in one lump sum every year).

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. Growing up in a small town where my parents owned a business, it was always expected that I would succeed. Both of my parents have their bachelor’s, and my mom has her master’s degree. While they never explicitly said college was the expectation, it was undoubtedly an undercurrent in our house. After being an extremely high performer in high school, I went on to attend a public university, which was a no-brainer given the price of being an in-state student and the caliber of my state’s public university. After undergrad, I stayed at my alma mater to earn a one-year master’s, which was required for my career path. My grandparents, who started the family business, set up 529 accounts for each of us very early, and my two siblings and I are very lucky to have had our education fully funded by those accounts. Because I am the youngest, my education account was funded for a longer period of time and since I chose not to go to a more elite, private university, I had enough in my account to pay for my master’s, too.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents did a great job in how they handled conversations about finance. From a young age we were encouraged to work and were taught that hard work is the key to financial independence. My parents’ money philosophy was living within or below your means, which I have carried with me into early adulthood. My parents encouraged us to get car loans as soon as possible so we could start building good credit, and taught us that credit cards were to be treated as debit cards, and we should only spend what we could immediately pay off. Additionally, my parents taught us to invest in the market while we are young, and gave us all a head start in our brokerage accounts before passing the reins to us.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
When I was 15, I was a lifeguard at my neighborhood pool. There were only two lifeguards that summer so I worked pretty much every day, eight hours a day. My parents made us all get jobs the first summer that we were 15, mostly to give us something to do, but looking back I appreciate having learned the value of hard work so early. Whatever I made was my “fun money,” which carried through all my jobs until becoming financially independent of my parents.

Did you worry about money growing up?
No. We were very evidently upper-middle class in my small town, solely based on my parents owning a business that by nature is quite commercially successful. My parents never, ever disclosed to us how much they made but we were very fortunate to grow up without want and I never had to question who would pay for college. We definitely didn’t have the nicest cars, toys or clothes compared with other kids in town, and we almost never took family vacations, but that was because of how much time my dad had to spend working and my parents’ desire to raise us humbly.

Do you worry about money now?
No. I am still very young, and after only one year working full time I feel very comfortable with my current financial situation. I am able to provide for myself, have a lifestyle that others would consider desirable, and buy myself pretty much whatever I want within reason. The only time I worry is when I think about what it will cost to buy a house and raise a family in the future. The area where I live has a rapidly rising cost of living, and sometimes I worry that I need to do more to set myself up to reach my financial goals down the line. But I am pretty confident in knowing that as my income rises in the next few years, I will be able to maintain and better my financial condition.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
At 23, after starting my full-time job. Prior to this, I was financially responsible for my discretionary spending but my parents covered all the necessities. After starting work, I became fully independent apart from a few random shared subscriptions. That being said, I feel very lucky knowing that I will always have my parents as a safety net if shit hits the fan.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
When I turned 18, my parents gave me control over my brokerage account. At the time, I want to say it was ~$75,000, which they had been investing on my behalf for a number of years. Additionally, I received the remaining amount of my 529 account, which will flow directly to my children’s education one day.

Day One: Thursday

6:30 a.m. — Alarm goes off bright and early but that’s what I’m used to. I’m a religious Orangetheory-goer, and since my team decided to WFH today, I’m able to sleep in a little bit past my normal 5:30 a.m. alarm for the 6 a.m. class, instead opting for a 7 a.m. class. It’s Halloween so the whole class is spooky-themed and, as always, leaves me dripping in sweat. After a shower and a well-deserved Nespresso, I make it to my desk right at 9 a.m. and get to work.

12 p.m. — After a few hours of calls and admin work, I pop over to Trader Joe’s to grab a few things for dinner tonight. T. (a guy I have been seeing) and I are having a chill night in, just cooking dinner and watching a movie, so I volunteered to grab ingredients and movie snacks. Get some sourdough, butter, three different cheeses, tomato soup (for grilled cheese and soup obviously), and a few snacks. Someone explain why cheese is so expensive! Head home, eat a quick lunch of cottage cheese, fruit, and granola. Another cup of coffee, and back to work. $32.46

4 p.m. — Logging off a little early to take a walk before dinner. Work right now is weird as we are rolling into our next cycle but still in limbo trying to wrap up last year’s audit, too. Either way, I take advantage of times where I can log off early, since I’ll be working 60+ hours a week come January. I live near a super cute trail and try to walk as much as I can. While I’m walking, I FaceTime with my sister and nephew before they go trick-or-treating — he looks so cute in his costume. After my walk, I take a quick shower and change before heading off to T.’s house for our night in.

10 p.m. — Cozy night in is a success! I head back home around 11:30 p.m., which is wayyyyy past my bedtime. I wash my face and brush my teeth, do a brief scroll on Instagram, and I’m asleep before I know it.

Daily Total: $32.46

Day Two: Friday

6:30 a.m. — Up and at ’em early, feeling very happy that it’s Friday. I hop out of bed and drive to Orangetheory for my workout (you’ll start to see a theme soon). Get out around 8:10 a.m., shower and coffee, and straight to the desk for work.

4 p.m. — Shit truly hit the fan at work today, wow. Long story short, we were expecting to finalize the audit we are on in the next two weeks or so. Of course, the client had a last-minute change that they just now told us about, so my day absolutely flies by as I adjust and modify a ton of my prior work to reflect the new numbers. Audit speak, bleh. I still manage to sneak off a little early for a walk with my roommate. The weather is still good and it’s light until 7 p.m. or so, so I have to take advantage as long as I can!

7 p.m. — After a quick body shower, I make a girl dinner of carrots, hummus, turkey roll-ups, and some crackers before heading off to get drinks in my college town for my friend’s birthday. Having friends who still live in my college town is the best because I always have reasons to go back and relive my college glory days. I pick up my friend at her house and pay for parking on the main street in town ($1.20). A group of us grab cocktails at a fancy bar, and I end up getting some fancy martini situation ($17). $18.20

10 p.m. — I say goodbye to my friend and head home around 10 p.m. I have a little sweet treat (my go-to before bed is chocolate chips), brush my teeth, and do my skincare. I just added retinol into the mix and am using one I stole from my mom. Maybe I’ll splurge on the Sunday Riley one soon. I have a busy day tomorrow so lights out by 11 p.m.

Daily Total: $18.20

Day Three: Saturday

7:30 a.m. — Not much of a sleep-in today, even though it’s Saturday. I have to get my workout in before heading to a football game at noon. Off to Orangetheory for the 8:15 a.m. class. Afterward I grab coffees for my roommate and me since our favorite coffee shop is right next to Orangetheory. Iced almond latte for her, iced oat milk latte for me. Home and showered by 10 a.m. $14.44

10:30 a.m. — I scarf down a cottage cheese bowl (my breakfast/lunch favorite as of late), and head out the door. My roommate, a few friends and I are off to the local college’s football game. My roommate’s dad has season tickets and she has asked me a few times but this is the first week I’ve been able to make it. Noon games are tough but I decide not to drink, and driving helps the day feel less overwhelming. Somehow, though, I get convinced that I need to go out to the bars tonight. I’ll admit I’m a bit of a grandma, and I already have plans tomorrow, but I commit to going out because I’ve been trying to be less grandma lately. We stay until half-time, since the home team is up, and get home around 2:30 p.m. I promptly go take a nap.

5 p.m. — After a nice afternoon of laying, I realize I need to go to the liquor store to get my favorite seltzers for tonight. I’ve been loving Fresca lately, and recently discovered that they make a seltzer similar to High Noon, which is a game-changer for me. I grab a 12-pack and some of my roommate’s favorite seltzers, too. The total is $42.69 but my roommate venmos me $22 for her half right away ($20.69). The ABC store is right beside the new Sweetgreen that just opened here in Raleigh, so I obviously swing by and pick up the Hummus Crunch salad for dinner ($14.34). The place has only been open for a week and this is already my second trip. I fear it will be bad for my wallet… $35.03

9 p.m. — We go over to our friend’s apartment. She lives near all the bars, so we come here to pregame pretty often. Like I said, I’m a grandma these days, so it takes a lot to get me out to the bars. We leave the apartment around 10:30 p.m. and my friend picks up our drinks at the first bar. Randomly, I run into some people I know from way back in high school, and we have fun catching up. At bar #2, I get our round of drinks, so we can call it even. The vibes start slowing down right around when we get to bar #3 and we end up not staying for very long. My roommate’s friend graciously comes and gets us, since he’s sober, and I end up getting home around 12:15 a.m. I eat two pieces of sourdough toast, brush my teeth and wash my face, and am in bed by 1 a.m. I don’t realize until I’m almost asleep that it’s daylight savings. So really 2 a.m. Lights out! $24.53

Daily Total: $74

Day Four: Sunday

9 a.m. — I wake up around 9 a.m., which is WAY later than usual for me. I know I have another full evening so I lounge in bed and doze in and out of sleep until 11 a.m. or so. I get out of bed at some point to brush my teeth and realize I’m low on toothpaste. Order a four-pack on Amazon and get back in bed. $12.86

11:30 a.m. — I crawl out of bed, chug some water, and take some Advil in an attempt to ward off my looming hangover. I barely change from my pajamas and head to the grocery store, as I always try to do on Sunday. I grab my essentials (coffee creamer, sweet potatoes, cottage cheese, turkey, brussels sprouts, dates, chocolate chips, frozen fruit, and some other snacks) and the total comes out to $80.01. I have definitely started to notice my weekly grocery bill going up lately, and I try to shop the sales most weeks. Harris Teeter is unfortunately running no good promos this week, and my total is definitely a little more than usual. For the amount I eat in during the week though, this is worth it for what I buy. I head home, put everything away, and toast up a bagel. Armed with my bagel and a latte, I plop in the living room and proceed to spend the entire afternoon reading. I’m an avid reader and Sundays are my favorite since I can post up with a book all day long. $80.01

4:30 p.m. — I FaceTime my sister and we chat for quite a while. My nephew is in a great mood today so we are giggling and joking about Halloween. I hang up with them around 5 p.m., when T. gets to my house. We are going to a concert tonight (much to my dismay, as it’s Sunday and I’m exhausted). Luckily, he cheers me up when he proposes we go to this cool new brewery for pizza before. I pay for our pizza since he pays for drinks. $22.19

7 p.m. — We stop by my house after pizza for one more drink and Uber to the concert ($13.96). When we get there, T. buys us drinks and I realize that the opener is a band that I love! They absolutely kill it, and we get another drink each right before the headliner comes on. I love music and I generally like the jam band-type vibe, but this band is on another level. They are fantastic but my exhaustion hits after two 20-minute songs and my grandma self cannot get over the wildness of their strobe lights. Thankfully, T. is on a similar wavelength and we leave around 10 p.m. We agree that the opener was so, so good that the headliner fell flat. Either way, it was so fun and well worth the Sunday night. Uber home ($10.92) and basically go straight to bed since my alarm is set for 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. Night night! $24.88

Daily Total: $139.94

Day Five: Monday

6:30 a.m. — Daylight savings time is so wonky and when I wake up, I’m so thrown off by how light it is! As much as the early bird in me loves it getting light early, I know I’m going to hate it tonight when it gets dark at 5 p.m. Off to Orangetheory, where I have a really shitty workout due to my dehydration from the weekend at large. Go home, shower, make coffee, and am sitting at my desk by 8:45 a.m.

1 p.m. — While I eat lunch (cottage cheese bowl, duh), I start trying to make a Christmas list. My parents typically get each of us kids a few gifts but we are not a huge gift family. Since my siblings have had kids, most of our resources go towards gifts for them, and the adults just do a Secret Santa. My mom has been bugging me for ideas, though, so I add a few things to my list and send the links to her. While I’m at it, I buy my dad’s gift to my mom. She really wants an Away suitcase and he is too old-school to order things online. I order the suitcase ($370.02, but Dad will pay me back) and start browsing for gifts for my nephews and the person I drew for Secret Santa. After browsing for probably way too long, I go back to work.

4 p.m. — Take a quick walk before it gets dark and log back on afterwards just to wrap up work for the day. Despite it getting dark so, so early, it definitely suits my reading habit very well. I’m currently rereading Cold Mountain, which is one of my favorite books. The book takes place in my home state of NC and depicts an Odyssey-like tale of a civil war deserter journeying home to the lady he loves. Truly amazing writing and I’m so glad I decided to reread it at this time of the year. After reading for a bit, I cook some dinner (sweet potatoes, zucchini, tuna salad). I used to be vegetarian so I tend to stay away from cooking meat at home. Tuna is my go-to for making sure I get that protein in!

8 p.m. — Take a quick shower and crawl into bed. I didn’t have time last week to watch the Love is Blind reunion so I settle in for that before bed. It is completely and utterly underwhelming. This season was subpar and the reunion is genuinely such a waste of time that I end up doomscrolling halfway through. Lights off, asleep by 9:30 p.m.

Daily Total: $0

Day Six: Tuesday

5:30 a.m. — I’m going into the office today so have to get up early-early for a 6 a.m. workout. As much as it’s sooooo hard to get out of bed so early, I’ve learned that the less I think about it, the better. Get in a workout, shower, do hair and makeup, make my coffee and I’m out the door by 8:15 a.m.

12 p.m. — We are working at the client site today, which is a little further from my house but has a super cool campus with lots of green space and fun amenities that provide a good switch-up. My main client is a very large private software company and the campus definitely has that classic software company feel. Around noon, my team and I head down to one of the many subsidized cafeterias on campus for lunch. I get my usual: a loaded-up salad from the salad bar. They have a chicken salad out that looks so yummy, so I add a scoop of it to my normal combo. The salad is priced based on weight and because I added the chicken salad, I end up paying a little more than usual. We chat about today’s election while we are eating. I voted early but now that the time has come, I am definitely getting anxious about the results. $8.66

5 p.m. — Pack up and head home from work. Once I’m home, I immediately wash my face and change into sweats. I make a girl dinner of turkey rollups, hummus and carrots, crackers, and cheese. Chat with my sister and nephew for a little bit before I finish my book (yay!). T. invited me to watch election stuff so I head over there around 7:30 p.m. I am trying to reckon with the fact that the outcome is out of my control.

Daily Total: $8.66

Day Seven: Wednesday

6:30 a.m. — I feel angry and frustrated but at the same time feel lucky to live in a state that I feel confident will protect my freedom as a woman. As someone from a small, rural community who attended a liberal arts public university, I have mixed feelings about politics generally, but this outcome seems especially disheartening. I try not to let it rule my day, and get off to Orangetheory as always. Thank god I work from home today.

8 a.m. — Quick stop for gas after Orangetheory. Shower, coffee, and sitting at my desk for work by 8:45. a.m. We decided to work from home today because several of us on my team forgot to book a desk in the office. We have a small office and Wednesdays are a popular day to go in. If you don’t book a seat in advance, there’s a good chance you won’t have a place to sit. Luckily, my team is pretty flexible and on a day like today, work from home is preferable. $42.12

4:30 p.m. — Phew — lots of meetings today! This needed to be a productive day because our office is doing our annual golf outing tomorrow, so not much actual work will be done. I don’t really golf but am going as a ride-along with my coworkers and might do a celeb shot or two. Either way, it’ll be fun. The guys are going to the range today but I opt out and go on a short walk instead.

6 p.m. — Make dinner (same as Monday), chat with my parents for a while, and start a new book. I try to get to bed as early as possible, since golf tomorrow will be a long day. As tough as today was, I have not lost hope. I want to push forward with love and resilience, and show everyone, even those I may disagree with, compassion and empathy.

Daily Total: $42.12

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