There aren’t many things in life you can rely on but the annual Money Diaries check-in is one of them (and thank god for that). This year was another belter: an unruly body hair situation and a diarist who had sex for the very first time were just a couple of the things that got you talking — and sometimes fighting — in the comments.
We caught up with those diarists and several others to ask them how they’ve been doing since they wrote their Money Diary. From the good to the bad to the things that made us straight-up cheer, we always love another chance to peek into our diarists’ lives, and we hope you do, too.
Don’t see your favorite diarist here? Leave your faves in the comments for potential follow-up diaries next year!
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Run Date: March 8 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: The start of 2024 had its fair share of challenges for OP; commenters sent their love and support for the way she juggled work, family, and the seemingly never-ending commitment that is pumping.
Life Update: When I submitted my diary, my partner had just gotten laid off, we had just finished some expensive and inconvenient electrical work in our house, and our baby was 7 months old so I was nursing and pumping around the clock. It was a lot! I’m glad I sent my diary because the comments were so lovely, it was like the pep talk I needed in that moment.
Financially, I’m happy to report things are looking up! My partner started a new job in May, and his salary is $160,000. I had set myself a business revenue goal of $200,000 for the year, and I reached that number mid-November. Growing up in Latin America, these are numbers I would have never imagined and I feel so fortunate that I can make this much money working for myself in a career I love. I’m now at a stage where my business is probably as big as it can be with only myself as an employee, so I am deciding whether to hire someone else on. It’s such a big responsibility, and while I do want to grow the business, I’m not sure if I want to add more responsibility to my life right now.
My biggest financial stress at the moment is something that didn’t come up much in the diary. I listed in my debt that I co-signed my brother’s student loan for graduate school. Around May, he missed a payment and proceeded to ignore all my calls and messages about it. We’re working through it now, but I get nervous every month about whether I can rely on him to consistently make payments.
Personally, I’m really loving the current phase with my baby (toddler?!), who is now 17 months old. She is so full of personality! I stopped nursing in October, and it was bittersweet but it’s given me so much time back. She is down to one nap a day, so it’s also easier to make plans and go do things together after work and on the weekends. And like some commenters predicted, my wrist is finally pain-free now that she’s walking! My biggest personal goal for the coming year is to get better at balancing work, family time, and childfree social time.
Run Date: April 8 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: Productive mornings, time spent with friends, and a “cozy art gallery” interiors aesthetic — this diarist’s life had readers of all ages wanting to be her when they grow up.
Life Update: There wasn’t too much fanfare about my diary but there was some confusion about my net worth. To clarify, I purchased a condo for $525,000 and put down 20%. My current mortgage is $404,000, and my net worth sits at $843,000, including home equity. With an anticipated $100,000 annual bonus next month, I’m thrilled to see this number grow even further.
Life lately has been busy and fulfilling. I’ve been on the tennis courts regularly with my hitting partner and coach, which has been a fantastic routine. On a personal note, I met someone in May and we started a relationship in June. Our paths actually crossed a few times before, but this time the stars aligned.
Travel-wise, I journeyed to Venice for the Biennale and caught up with dear friends in London, both amazing experiences. The planned Ireland and Scotland trip is postponed to next year. I still need a travel agent!
As for career milestones, I’m anticipating a raise next month after my annual review, which will keep my FIRE goals on track. While I could dial back on discretionary spending, I’m not overly concerned. I plan to put most of my raise toward savings goals, but I would really like to hire a bimonthly house-cleaning service.
I’m looking forward to 2025!
Run Date: April 12 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: A self-confessed “recovering goody-two-shoes”, this diarist’s sharp, funny writing style got a lot of love. Readers related to the Tall Lady Trousers and “how to wear navy” conundrums — but demanded justice for the lack of birthday milkshake.
Life Update: A lot has changed since my last diary! I’ve been at my current job for almost a year, making $53,000. I enjoy the work but am definitely underpaid. Not long after starting, I was diagnosed with invasive thyroid cancer. Surgery, physical therapy, and radiation were a huge detriment to my fitness, but I’m gradually rebuilding my stamina with the goal of running my next marathon on my 30th birthday. In an unrelated health issue, my doctor has referred me to Mayo Clinic for a suspected adrenal tumor, so we’re getting that checked out after the holidays. Between medical expenses, two emergency vet visits, and significant, unexpected repairs to our aging cars, we pretty much broke even on the year (I won’t pretend there wasn’t a lot of “I’m sad, must buy clothes because cancer”). I’m disappointed that we didn’t make much progress with our savings, but we’ve kept our heads above water with a lot of support from family and friends, and my husband has been my unfailing teammate and cheerleader.
I’m generally in good spirits and hopeful for the future, but the loss of autonomy during this process has been frustrating. My cancer treatment means we can’t try to conceive for another year, and I hate that we’re no longer in control of our own timeline. However, we’ve decided to shift our mindset to aggressively saving in 2025. Hopefully we will be homeowners and maybe even parents in 2026. This is a weird in-between phase of life and I’m grappling with the unknown, but trying to keep an open mind toward new opportunities.
Career-wise, I’ve applied for a competitive full-time science writing fellowship with the New York Times, so fingers crossed I’ll be accepted. At the time of my last diary, I had also started writing a nonfiction book (it’s part memoir and part serious journalistic exposé), and I’m on track to finish by the end of the year. For Christmas I’m asking Santa for a publisher — he can’t say no to a girl with cancer, right?
Run Date: May 27 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: Four words: deranged pubic hair situation.
Life Update: After I submitted my Money Diary, I received two job offers: one from my alma mater, offering $90k with comparable health insurance benefits to what I had and a state pension but with much less time off and three days in-office, which I declined, and another role at a cancer center based in NYC that offered $95k, fully remote, good retirement match, good insurance, and comparable time-off, which I took. I started the role in June and quit in November. I’m actually returning to my previous employer in December to do a similar role that I had been doing previously, but with a different division within the institution.
The cancer center job shook up my whole concept of work, expectations, org charts, and time. I learned a lot in a short amount of time, out of necessity because of the workload that I was assigned. I was responsible for 40 investigator portfolios, each with multiple federal awards, industry contracts, and philanthropic accounts, study teams, reporting deadlines, and expense approvals. I was going absolutely crazy. My boss was kind and knowledgeable but it seemed like my peers were drowning or scapegoated. The money was nice but when I received the offer, HR refused to negotiate. I was paid at the lowest end of the salary scale, which left a bad taste in my mouth after accepting.
In September, we met with a real estate agent to begin a house search. Our options felt pretty limited from the start. When we put in an offer for a house that was in serious disrepair, we were looking at doubling our monthly housing costs due to interest rates, combined with our small down payment and PMI. After inspection, the repairs needed were too extensive to make it worth our time. If we had fixed it, the value would have quickly caught up because of the location, but it did not feel worth my sanity. I work from home so I would have also needed to find space in a construction zone to do my job. We walked away, but learned a lot from the process.
By October, friends from my previous job told me there was an opening on a team we collaborated with often. This was great news, because I was damn near quitting without a job lined up. I had been interviewing, but returning feels like the right move for right now. I’ll take a pay cut from the cancer center salary, but was offered a sign-on bonus to get me halfway there. I’m good at my job, and the slight detour was good for my growth, but I need a good environment to do my job more than I need a fat paycheck.
Run Date: May 6 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: Commenters loved the humor, honesty and self-reflection in this follow-up diary, and were glad to see that her partner was no longer (but the lukewarm reviews of Office Space and Wedding Crashers touched a nerve for some of you).
Life Update: I was cast in a community theater play during the week of my Money Diary, and it went extremely well! These things are always a gamble. There’s usually drama (pun intended) among the cast or something else that goes wrong, but this one was truly a wonderful experience. I’m planning to audition for another one soon.
On the financial side, things have stayed relatively the same. My biggest expenditure? Other people’s weddings. One of my best friends just got married and the other gets married next fall. I’m a maid of honor in both, so that’s a bit pricey, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I did something very scary at work: advocate for myself. Up until this fall I was essentially trying to fit two separate, full-time roles into the time of one, and I proposed that my company hire someone to take over one of those functions. To my surprise, they agreed, and I’m much less stressed now. I get to whole-ass one thing instead of half-assing two things.
I’ve also put dating on pause. I went off the apps during the play, and I’m committing to staying off them until January. This year I had a couple of short situationships and the demoralizing experience of giving people from my past another shot (not H. the ex, I promise!). But I have other things to focus on like my new D&D campaign, trying to stick to an exercise routine, and doing well at my job so I can keep having 25 cent La Croixs.
Finally, I want to say thank you to all the people who read my diaries. You’ve been extremely kind and supportive, both five years ago and now. And I’m thrilled to report that I’m a much happier person than I was in my first diary. Maybe I’ll see y’all again in 2029.
Run Date: May 31 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: OP spoke candidly about the financial anxiety that stemmed from her childhood — and commenters were quick to let her know that she was not alone.
Life Update: Since my diary was published, layoffs came and went at my employer. I managed to keep my job through it but several people I know weren’t so lucky. The motivation I felt about my job drastically dimmed for a few months afterward, but I’ve been getting my head on straight and don’t take anything for granted. Some comments were confused about how much income I earn and how little I’m on site. I kind of under-described my job because it’s a unique role and, in my (obviously!) anxious manner, I really didn’t want anyone I know from my real life to connect the dots.
Other comments touched on how I eat, how little I get outside, how little social interaction I have, and while it was just one week in my life and not necessarily indicative of how I live day to day, I have made some changes since then to find a better balance. I still don’t love going outside much, but I have a hiking trail not too far from my place that I pop by when weather and my schedule line up. I have a walking pad that I use indoors way more frequently than I expected I would when I got it. My diet is doing somewhat better, and I started a compounded GLP-1 pretty recently, which I am hoping will shut off a lot of the food noise which led to some of my more impulsive and unhelpful choices. I see friends when I can, but I do find myself needing recovery time from social outings, so I think the “introvert” label is apt. And yes, my friend’s daughter is my niece (which caused some confusion), and I do make efforts to see her regularly.
What came through heavily in my diary, and I have done a lot of work to unpack, is some long-held resentment towards my parents about their money behaviors, and my extreme anxiety around money altogether (which I think was very understandable considering the environment of layoffs). I have been considering my money and my financial security with different perspectives in mind, especially Ramit Sethi. I have learned that I don’t just have fears surrounding money but that I have some fears of money itself, and the fear was starting to monopolize a lot of my mental energy. I’m not out of the woods with my anxieties but I think I’m getting there, and the diary, as well as some hard-to-read feedback, were instrumental in starting to make some positive changes. My relationship with my parents is fairly good right now, and I think dredging up old issues wouldn’t be productive, but that might be a step for me further down the line.
Run Date: August 2 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: Not only were readers instantly invested in whether OP’s partner would make the cross-country move with her — they were also quick to come through with advice for her birth control concerns.
Life Update: So much has changed and yet a lot has stayed the same since writing my Money Diary. About the same time it was published, I decided to defer going to graduate school for a year. The feeling to defer had been developing over the preceding months but it really took root when push came to shove and my first tuition bill was due. My ultimate decision was twofold: I realized I wanted more time to work and put money away and I also really loved my non-student, adult life in D.C. After talking with my parents and mentors, who were all incredibly supportive of me taking a “gap year”, and doing a lot of soul-searching and coming to the conclusion that a year off won’t derail me from my long-term plans (I really had to internally fight against the narrative of my generation where we feel the need to accomplish a lifetime before the age of 30), I asked for and was granted a deferral by the university.
So far, it has turned out to be the best decision for me in so many ways. I moved to a cheaper apartment (I save over $200 a month from this) and am receiving a promotion at work starting January (I’ll be earning $94,600). Between those two things, as well as other everyday, saving-savvy decisions I’ve been making, I’m setting myself up to start school in the fall of 2025 with substantially fewer loans, which has helped me feel more confident financially.
Socially, it’s also been lovely having the fall in D.C. with T. and my friends. T. and I were both so touched by the comments asking about our future together… While we’ll be staying in D.C. until school starts, he’ll be making the move cross-country with me and we’ll be moving in together in our new city 🙂 I’m so incredibly excited about that next chapter in our lives while continuing to soak up the current one.
Regarding my birth control, it was super helpful receiving advice from commenters on how to change my prescription to account for the fact I was skipping placebo weeks. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read and provide feedback/support — knowledge-sharing is so powerful!
Run Date: May 24 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: The friendship, freedom and $5 espresso martinis had commenters feeling nostalgic for their younger days.
Life Update: Firstly, I want to say thank you to everyone who commented positive things about how fun/chaotic and outrageous/ridiculous my life can be, they really made me tear up. I want to appreciate every little moment of being young and semi-broke in the city and I appreciate the wisdom that comes with knowing what you know and commenting on my silly little diary.
Secondly, guys, I love the Crock-Pot ideas but every time I’ve tried one, they’ve turned
out TERRIBLY. Or maybe I’m a bad cook, but omg my food always comes out mushy and gross (I’m also pescatarian so the idea of fish Crock-Pot/vegetable Crock-Pot is probably why it’s so revolting to me). I’m trying to do a lot better at bringing from home (thank you, Trader Joe’s kimbap) and I got a subscription for Celsius so I save money doing that now. I also work from home on Fridays now so I always cook at home at least one day a week.
My life has changed so much from the time I wrote my diary, mostly that I got a raise and a promotion (thank GOD) and secondly that I was able to move deeper into Brooklyn so my rent isn’t as much of a pain. I started my Roth IRA, and I contribute to it a little bit every month, just to start that safety net. The sad change is that my friends no longer go get $5 espresso martinis every week (someone did guess correctly where they are!). Life changes fast and hard when you’re 24 and the same reasons we always used to prioritize doing it every week are the same reasons we no longer can make it work. Some of us are in grad school, some of us are professional dog walkers, some of us have corporate jobs. You can imagine how it can be hard to get everyone together. We do make it a bigger priority to see each other on the weekends, but I’ll always be glad that I did my Money Diary back when it was happening. I will always have that snapshot of what it was like to always know where I could find my people.
Run Date: January 31 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: OP and her fiancé got people talking about late-night dinners. To quote one commenter, “my acid reflux could never…”
Life Update: Since writing my Money Diary, we’ve done a lot of wedding planning! We have a date (early May) and all the major vendors booked. Setting the wedding budget was luckily pretty straightforward and although we’re spending more than we originally expected, it is well within our budget. Between a combination of funding from my fiancé, my parents, and me, we are taking on zero debt for our wedding, which I am extremely grateful for. Paying for our wedding also has not significantly impacted our savings goals. At the end of the day, it’s expensive to throw a party for over a hundred people, but to us it’s worth every penny and we’re incredibly excited. While our cats are both doing great, they will not be attending the wedding.
We’re also preparing to combine finances once we’re married and considering a 95% combined system — as the household money manager, it will be a lot easier if I can pay combined costs from a joint account, but we both want and need independent accounts for personal spending. Luckily, our many discussions about money and the future have reinforced that we’re very in sync with our priorities about finances. We’ve had some “money dates” where we went out to dinner with a list of questions about financial priorities and discussed them as we ate, which made potentially fraught conversations a lot more approachable.
The only income update is that I was offered additional stock options from my company as a consolation prize instead of a raise. I feel like my compensation is worth it for now — I’m still learning a lot from this role and a good boss is something that money can’t buy.
Run Date: May 22 2024
What Got Commenters Talking: Our diarist had sex for the first time this week and it kicked off a very thoughtful conversation about shame, purity culture, and the reasons why people decide to wait.
Life Update: Since writing my Money Diary, my financial and personal situations have changed a lot. I’ve been with M. for over a year now, and we moved in together about a month and a half ago. He makes twice what I do and owns his place, and it’s almost completely paid off, so at this point I am only contributing to living expenses. We’re pretty serious and open about a permanent future together, so while I consider this very generous of him as I get my feet under me in a new career (more on that to come), he views it as simply a practical move if we’re going to become united financially anyway. But no question — he’s being generous. We’re currently working on dividing up household tasks (including the all-important mental load of each task), and I honestly can’t believe how perfectly living together has gone so far. Even my dog seems to love it!
As I mentioned, I’ve also changed jobs recently. Shortly after writing my last diary, my job took a turn for the worse. Multiple people above me in my department left, and I got stuck essentially doing two jobs without extra compensation or even appreciation. I’ve wanted to pursue a career in financial planning for years so I began taking CFP (certified financial planner) courses in the spring at a local university. The professor of my first class ended up becoming a huge mentor. I quit my job at the end of September with the plan to take two months off before starting as an advisor at his firm this month. Halfway through my time off, I got major cold feet about taking on my own clients with very little experience, so instead I started on his team as an associate financial representative. It was a big pay cut (I now make $70,000) but the team is so great, and I can already tell the learning experience is going to be invaluable for my confidence, so I don’t regret it all. I’m currently working on building my emergency fund back up after being purposely out of work for two months (during which time I moved, went to India with my friend T., and watched a million Christmas movies!).
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This article was originally published on refinery29.com.
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