Cash Confessional: A week of spending in Charlotte on a $55,000 salary

To see the other installments of Cash Confessional, click here. If you’re interested in keeping track of your own spending and having it featured, email Kylie at [email protected].

This week, I spoke with a 23-year-old woman who makes $55,000 a year. Here’s how she spends her money. -Kylie

The basics:

Industry: Insurance
Position: Sales
Yearly salary: About $55,000 (commission is always a fun surprise).
Extra income: I work a retail job that brings in about $5,000 annually.
Who do you bank with and why? Wells Fargo. Honestly, I’m with them because my parents are, so when I needed to open up accounts it made it easy. #Lazy
Savings: About a couple hundred dollars a month go into my savings.
Age: 23 #JordanYear
Gender: Female

Monthly expenses:

Rent: $849
Number of roommates: 1
Neighborhood: South End
Utilities (electric, gas, cable, water, internet, etc.): About $35 – everything except for water and power is included in my rent.
Student loans (if applicable): None, BIG thanks to my parents.
Car payments: None!
Car insurance: $85
Transportation costs: About $150 per month on gas.
Phone bill: $60
Insurance:
Whole Life Insurance Policy – $45 a month.
Renters – $150 a year, which I paid all at once.
Any extra costs not previously mentioned:
Orangetheory membership – $149 a month
Carolina Panthers Season Tickets – $1,200 annually

Three financial goals:

Create a 3-month emergency fund ($6,000).

Start a separate savings account so that I’ll have enough for a down payment on a home within 5 years.

Pay off my credit card completely.

Money Diary: How I spent my money last week

Day one: Monday

5:40 a.m. Wake up call for Orangetheory. Get my butt kicked. Take a shower. Grab a protein shake from the fridge to drink on my trek to South Charlotte to make it into the office by 8:15. $0

10 a.m. My stomach is growling, so I guess it’s time for a snack – a green apple and almond butter that I brought from home. $0

12 p.m. Lunch at the office. Thankfully, I had dinner with my family last night and they sent me with leftovers. They were young once too and understand the importance of a free meal. $0

3 p.m. My best friend texts me letting me know that it’s Double Stars Day at Starbucks. Being the Gold Card member that I am, I CANNOT say no to Double Stars. Off I go across the street for an afternoon pick-me-up. $4.38

6 p.m. Just make it home and NEED to eat (instead of this being a Cash Confessional I should name this “How Many Times a Day Do I Get Hungry”?). Is it possible traffic makes you hungrier? Don’t feel like cooking, so I make tomato soup I already have. $0

8 p.m. The killer combination of Monday and an early gym class means it’s time for bed. Cupcakes Wars lulls me to sleep.

Total spent: $4.38

Day two: Tuesday

5:40 a.m. Wake up for the gym, but class is cancelled. Secretly, I am thrilled – I now have a slow morning at my apartment and decide to drink coffee in bed at 6 a.m. Oh, the luxury. $0

7:30 a.m. Time to head to work. I skip breakfast because the coffee has made me feel full for a bit. This isn’t normal for me, but I go with it anyway.

8:15 a.m. Make it into the office and – plot twist! – my boss surprises us with Chick-Fil-A to make the 3-hour company meeting bearable. I happily eat 4 chicken minis and drink a big glass of lemonade. $0

11:30 a.m. I have made plans to go see my sister for lunch and we have a mutual sushi spot we both love. I pick up the bill because I am a fabulous older sister (and she’s in college…). $20

3 p.m. Hunger strikes.  Thankfully, I keep popcorn at my desk and start munching away. Before I know it, I’ve eaten half the bag. Great. Make a mental note to pay more attention next time. $0

5 p.m. I have an after work event where dinner will be provided. So much free food for a Tuesday, but I absolutely don’t hate it. I eat a wrap, fruit and a cookie (or two) there and mingle for a bit. $0

8 p.m. When I get home from my event, a glass of wine is basically calling my name. I pour a glass, sit on my couch and watch The Office (mentally thank my parents for allowing me to use their Netflix account).

Total spent: $20

Day three: Wednesday

5:40 a.m. Wake up and head out for Orangetheory. Forgot I bought Gatorade this weekend and find it in the refrigerator. Grab it and feel like that is a good vibe to start my day off. $0

7:40 a.m. Head out the door with protein shake in hand. Is this me being an adult? Contemplate that on my drive to work.

8:15 a.m. Morning coffee at the office. I’m already hungry, but I decide that I should wait until at least 9 to eat my apple.

9:01 a.m. I barely made it. Run to the office kitchen to grab my apple and almond butter. $0

11:15 a.m. There’s a luncheon that I have to attend for work – another day, another free meal (#Blessed). $0

1 p.m. Driving home from the luncheon, my gas light comes on so I go ahead and pull over to address that situation. I’m OCD and have to top it off until I hit the nearest dollar. $25 goes towards making my Ford Escape happy again. Not bad.

5 p.m. I’m leaving the office and have to return something to the mall. I barely make it past the Chipotle without stopping for a burrito bowl but indeed I do. It was hard.

5:45 p.m. Make it home and decide a balanced dinner will be the rest of the bottle of rosé from last night and a couple pieces of cheese. This sounds a lot fancier as I am writing it. Trust me, it was not. $0

8 p.m. More quality time with Netflix.

Total spent: $25

Day four: Thursday

5:40 a.m. Yet again, time for the gym. I eat half of a protein bar before and head out the door. $0

8:15 a.m. I have a morning appointment at the Starbucks on East Boulevard, so I opt to not eat breakfast. 1 double shot on ice later, I have a successful meeting and knock out my daily caffeine intake. $4.60

10 a.m. Already hungry. At first, I wonder why. Then, I realize a coffee and half of a protein bar have gotten me through 4 hours so I can’t really complain. Time to tackle the other half of the popcorn. $0

12 p.m. I am officially starving and I determine Chipotle is the only solution. I opt for chips, but no drink. $9.53

3 p.m. I eat another apple with almond butter. Surprisingly, I am not sick of this. $0

7 p.m. I guess I should eat. I am not really in the mood to cook (or maybe it’s more that I don’t have anything to eat) so a protein shake it is! $0

9 p.m. Time for bed. I make some Tazo tea and drift off to sleep with Friends playing in the background.

Total spent: $14.13

Day five: Friday

5:40 a.m. Wakeup call! I grab a water bottle and head down the street for Orangetheory. I know you are all shocked.

7:45 a.m. I head into work and to celebrate making it to Friday, I stop and get a smoothie from Smoothie King. Five Dollar Friday for the win. $5.41

12:15 p.m. We go out to lunch as an office to welcome the new hire. I eat a burger and sweet potato fries and I swear it tastes even better because I know I won’t be paying for it. $0

5 p.m. It’s time for the weekend! I leave the office and call my best friend. She says she wants to go out to Montford tonight and I think it sounds fun (minus the whole having to shower and do my hair and make-up part).

6:30 p.m. I am out of the shower and my roommate offers to do my makeup. God bless her. I dust off the rest of my Chipotle from yesterday and pour a glass of white wine. $0

8 p.m. Head to the bar. Best friend’s boyfriend picks up the Uber. I buy two drinks that night and spend $12. In hindsight, it could have been way worse.

1:45 p.m. We head back home and he gets the Uber again. What a guy.

Total spent: $17.41

Day six: Saturday

9 a.m. Wake up and have a strong urge for brunch, so I send out the idea in a group text and it is taken well. Off to Tupelo Honey we go.

11:20 a.m. We finish brunch and I am feeling like the freshest daisy in the garden after some drinks and shrimp and grits. Although it isn’t cheap, it is so good. $37

1 p.m. Head out to the pool for a little fun in the sun. I pour the rest of the white wine into a tumbler and head down to work on my tan.

4 p.m. So hot that I can barely stand it anymore. I figure it’s probably time to go to Publix and get groceries for the week. After everything is said and done, I make it out of there spending $47.13.

6 p.m. A couple of friends want to walk down to Blaze pizza for dinner. I’ve never been and have been wanting to try it out so I commit. It was wonderful. $8.42

7:30 p.m. Decide to watch a movie and relax at home because the sun has worn me out. My roommate decides she wants to stay in too so we, of course, opt for wine. $0

11 p.m. So sleepy. I can’t believe how wild I am for a 23 year old.

Total spent: $92.55

Day seven: Sunday

10 a.m. Morning coffee in bed. It’s time to clean up the apartment and do some laundry.

1 p.m. I make half a salad and bake some chicken that I got at Publix last night. I go ahead and pack up half the salad and a chicken breast to bring to work tomorrow.

2 p.m.  Time to go back out to the pool. I opt for water instead of wine because the UV index is at a 9. Goodness.

7 p.m. I think I have darkened a couple shades. Time to go inside, enjoy a protein shake and binge watch The Office until it’s time to go to bed and mentally prepare for another week.

Total spent: $0

Total spent: $173.47
The breakdown:
Food and drink – $148.47
Transportation – $25

What I learned:

I feel like I typically spend a little bit more than this on a weekly basis. If I cut down on food out I could easily get a start on paying down my credit cards which is obviously of more importance. I wish I had at least one other day a week where I didn’t spend any money – the smaller expenses really add up more than I realized. I think I am on-track for my goals and could easily put an additional $20/week into savings that I spend on smaller things such as coffee.

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