Cash Confessional: A week of spending in Charlotte on a $41,000 salary

To see the other installments of Cash Confessional, click here. This series is completely volunteer-based; 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 30-year-old man that makes $41,000 a year. Here’s how he spends his money. -Kylie

The basics:

Industry: Non-Profit
Position: Digital Media Specialist
Yearly salary: $41,000
Who you bank with: Bank of America
Savings: I put $100 a month into a savings account that I haven’t touched since moving to Charlotte, but might dip into it soon, as I plan to purchase a house within the next few months.
Age: 30

Monthly expenses:

Rent: $400 (my third)
Number of roommates: 2
Neighborhood: Olde Whitehall
Utilities: My portion is usually between $100-$120
Student loans: $250. My parents were a huge help when it came to my undergrad, and I graduated with very minimal loans. I decided to get my MBA and paid for that with loans. If I stay in the nonprofit sector for another six years, they’ll be forgiven.
Car payments: None. As if my parents didn’t help me enough by paying for my undergrad, they got me a new car for a graduation present. It’s still running, knock on wood.
Car insurance: $52
Phone bill: My parents are nice enough to still pay for this
Insurance: $36 comes out of every paycheck

Three financial goals:

Pay off all credit card debt by the time I’m 32.

Be able to put down 20% or more when I purchase a house.

Increase the amount I put into my savings account monthly to $200 after I purchase a house.

Money Diary: How I spent my money last week

Day one: Sunday

My mom was in town, so we went for lunch before I dropped her off at the airport, and she paid. At the airport, I spent $8 for parking (I could have found cheaper, but it was convenient).

Seeing my mom for the weekend, unplanned, is priceless.

For dinner, I had my mom’s leftover hamburger and made some french fries from potatoes I already had.

Total spent: $8

Day two: Monday

I had granola and yogurt for breakfast, both which I had at the house.

For lunch, I had leftover Pad Thai that I had from going out to dinner with my mom over the weekend.

After coming home from the gym, I had a protein shake, grilled chicken, rice and asparagus, which was all food that I had in the house.

Total spent: $0

Day three: Tuesday

I had granola and yogurt again for breakfast.

My work likes to have meetings, and they always provide lunch during these meetings. Luckily for me, today was meeting day and it came with a turkey sandwich, chips and a cookie, so lunch was taken care of.

For dinner, I threw together some chicken and pasta that I had in the house.

Total spent: $0

Day four: Wednesday

I didn’t have anything for breakfast, as I was running late to work. I brought chicken and rice for lunch, which I had from a few days ago.

After work, I attended a networking event where I had two drinks and was surprised when the organization picked up the tab.

I knew I wouldn’t have wanted to cook when I got home, so I stopped by Chipotle and grabbed a chicken rice bowl for dinner ($8).

Total spent: $8

Day five: Thursday

I made a fruit smoothie for breakfast and drank that on my way to work. For lunch, I finished the chicken and pasta that I made earlier in the week.

My friends’ brother was in town, so he invited me to the Charlotte Knights game ($9). I took an Uber to the field ($13), where it happened to be $3 beers at the game… and since we were celebrating his brother being in town, I might have had a few more than I wanted. We took turns with rounds, and I dropped $30 and you can’t go to a baseball game without a bag of peanuts ($4).

We left the game a little early and went to Ink N Ivy, where I got a round of drinks for everyone ($30). My roommate met us out and paid for the Uber back home.

Total spent: $86

Day six: Friday

I had to pay the Duke Energy bill ($68.64), but my roommates will pay their share next week when I give them the breakdown of rent.

I woke up not the feeling the best (thanks, $3 beers), so I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. After work I went to the grocery store to get food for the next couple of days ($60).

I came home and made nachos with pulled pork from stuff I just picked up. Fridays and the weekend are the days I tend to put a little more effort into cooking and make more than just chicken with a side.

Total spent: $128.64

Day seven: Saturday

I had to help a friend move so I had granola, strawberries and yogurt from home beforehand, but she bought pizza after we helped move.

I went out for dinner and drinks with a group of friends in Uptown, and I paid for the Uber there ($13). When I go out, I don’t set myself a budget, so food and drinks for the night cost me ($123), but my roommate paid for the Uber back home.

Total spent: $136

Total spent: $366.64
The breakdown:

Food and drink – $255
Transportation – $26
Bills – $68.64
Miscellaneous – $17

What I learned: This was a typical week for me, mostly spending on going out once or twice a week. I don’t do much during the week, so this is the time that I can save money. When I do go out, I tend to spend a little more than I should and not look at how much I spend, choosing to just deal with it down the road. I need to change that habit and get better at saving.

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