Cash Confessional: A week of spending in Charlotte on a combined $135,000
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Our Cash Confessional series, in partnership with Bank of America, takes a personal and anonymous look into how people of all ages and incomes spend their money in the span of seven days.
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 couple making a combined $135,000 salary. Here’s how they spend their money. -Kylie
The basics:
Position:
Him – Civil Engineer
Her – Technical Sales Rep
Salary:
Him – $80,000
Her – $55,000
Savings:
Him – 13.25% pension (6% him; 7.25% work), 10% into a 401(k) (7% him; 3% work), $200 per month to HSA
Her – 5% per month into a 401(k) with full company match, $5,500 per year into a Roth IRA
Them – $3,500-$4,000 per month goes toward a house payment
Age:
Him – 27
Her – 25
Monthly expenses:
Rent: $1,199
Number of roommates: Each other
Neighborhood: Dilworth
Utilities: $150
Subscriptions: $50 for Netflix, HBO, Spotify and YouTubeTV
Phone:
Him – $90
Her – Work pays
Student loans:
Him – Finished paying them off in May
Her – Fortunate to have college paid for
Car loans:
Him – Finished paying his car off in April
Her – Car was a graduation gift
Car insurance:
Him – $85. He recently got more coverage for less money just by talking to an agent
Her – $120, including renters insurance
Health insurance: We both have insurance through our work.
Him – $25/week
Her – $240/month
Transportation: $150-$200
Gym membership: $45
Dog costs: $75-$100
Three financial goals
Plan a financially responsible wedding. Our budget is about $16,000.
Increase the emergency fund to 6 months’ worth of expenses.
Save for a downpayment on a house.
Money Diary: How we spent our money last week
Day one: Sunday
We spent the weekend in the Asheville area at a cabin with friends. Everyone pitched in for food in the beginning of the weekend, so our breakfast of bagels, egg casserole, coffee and fruit was $0. We stopped on the way home for gas, which was $27.97.
After she swam laps at the gym, we went grocery shopping at Aldi ($55.90) and Whole Foods ($21.68). We eat in and pack lunch for work most of the time, so this will be our food for the week. Today we sort of skipped lunch and had snacks left from last week before shopping.
We spent the rest of the day food prepping for breakfast/lunches, cooking dinner, doing laundry and watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race. Dinner tonight was tempeh satay with quinoa, asparagus and spring rolls made with the groceries. We aren’t always that fancy. It was great!
Think it’s worth noting that we have a joint credit card we pay for anything we share with, and split the bill at the end of the month.
Total spent: $105.55
Day two: Monday
Her:
I went for a run this morning and ate overnight oats before leaving for work. I eat this breakfast almost every day because I have to do zero prep in the morning. We forgot to set up our coffee maker last night, but I have a cold brew I bought at Aldi yesterday.
Leftovers for lunch! Yum!
Him:
I did not have cold brew, so instead I went and grabbed some coffee once at work ($2.54). I typically don’t eat breakfast, but work provided muffins today!
I usually will bring my lunch to work; today I brought a roasted veggie and hummus wrap, roasted red potatoes, fruit and nuts.
Them:
He prepared dinner when he got home from work, which was a cobb salad from our groceries. We ate and then took our dog on a walk with a couple that lives nearby and stopped at People’s Market for kombucha after the walk. $16.07
We were both hungry and wanted food, too, but decided to have a small bowl of soba noodles with leftover peanut sauce when we got home.
Total spent: $18.61
Day three: Tuesday
Her:
Went into work early and had overnight oats for breakfast again. We remembered to make coffee today! $0
Lunch is a grain bowl made from things we had in the fridge – quinoa, roasted chickpeas, roasted vegetables and hummus – with fruit. $0
Him:
Again, didn’t eat breakfast. Lunch today was almost identical to yesterday’s with the exception of no roasted red potatoes. Because of this, I stopped by CVS and picked up some crackers and green tea ($3.96)
Them:
We got a dog sitter last weekend through Queen City Petsitters and the charge came through today. $86
Tonight we made BBQ tacos for dinner and went for a bike ride on the greenway. She packed for a work trip tomorrow and we went to bed early.
Total spent: $89.96
Day four: Wednesday
Her:
The 4:15 am wake up call came way too soon. I’m going to NYC for a day for work, so all my meals and hotel will be a business expense and reimbursed. I love the city!
Him:
Again, no breakfast. Lunch consisted of the same general veggie wrap combination.
She was out of town today, so I picked up a frozen pizza and played PUBG. Yes, I ate the whole thing. ($5.26)
Them:
We needed to pick up a few groceries for a dish we plan on making for this weekend/Father’s Day ($15.14).
Total spent: $20.40
Day five: Thursday
Her:
My bagel sandwich for breakfast was a business expense since I was still in NYC. I seriously never do this, but I upgraded to first class. I was exhausted from being out late with colleagues and getting up at 5 am. No regrets – I slept comfortably the whole way home and got back ready to work. $76.74
I’m not able to go home for lunch since I have a 30-minute commute, so I had a lentil bowl and ½-salad with iced coffee at Panera ($16.36).
I did a weightlifting class at the YMCA before heading home.
Him:
If you haven’t recognized my food trend yet, I did not eat breakfast and I had a veggie wrap and fruit for lunch.
Once I got home from work, I spent a few hours studying. I will be sitting to take the PE exam (Professional Engineer) this October and I have a lot to catch up on. My life for the next few months will consist mostly of studying.
Them:
We had leftover BBQ tacos for dinner and watched Bob’s Burgers (our favorite!). She unpacked and he did some cleaning before we went to bed.
Total spent: $93.10
Day six: Friday
Her:
Oats for breakfast as usual and brought my coffee to drink at work. I packed my lunch, a random assortment of leftovers we had in the fridge, and plan to walk outside during my lunch break.
Him:
Same ole same ole for breakfast and lunch. I swear I’m not lame. Bonus: it’s payday!
Them:
We had a soba noodle, eggplant and basil dish for dinner made from groceries at the beginning of the week.
We went bowling tonight with her mom, stepdad and sisters, which was paid for in advance with a reservation. We wanted to make today a no spend day, but we ended up getting some beer at the bowling alley. ($18.43)
Total spent: $18.43
Day seven: Saturday
Her:
I got up this morning to make the bean salad we’re taking to family dinner later today.
I woke up later than I wanted to, so I forgot to eat breakfast and stopped for a pack of mixed nuts ($2.03) before I headed to a friend’s house to meet her for yoga at the Whitewater Center. She’s driving and already has a parking pass, so no cost for me. The yoga class is free, too! Would highly recommend checking it out if you like yoga – they have an awesome outdoor space. We had lunch at the whitewater center ($25) and went to her neighborhood pool, and then I headed to my family’s house after.
Him:
She was gone by the time I woke up, so I took the dog to Freedom Park along with a book before cleaning up the apartment some and also packing for tonight. I left at around 3 to go to her family’s place.
I needed to buy a reference manual for the PE. A new copy typically runs upwards of $400, but thankfully I was able to get a used one for ($109.36).
Them:
We spent the rest of the day at her family’s house on the dock/water. Ate way too much but had a great time hanging out with family and playing games!
Total spent: $136.39
Total spent: $482.44
The breakdown:
Food and drink – $182.37
Bills – $86
Transportation – $104.71
Education – $109.36
What we learned:
Her:
I definitely need to have better decision making like getting a cheaper lunch when I can’t pack it or not upgrade to first class.
Him:
We spent money every day, so removing some of those non-essential expenditures we could save a lot of money per month to reach our financial goals.
Them:
We think we live fairly frugally because we eat in a lot and don’t shop for clothes often. After doing this exercise we think we could do better on our grocery shopping – we don’t buy a lot of snack food but apparently we stop for snacks often, which is definitely more expensive than buying them in bulk. To be fair, we typically don’t spend this little on the weekends. We travel a lot on the weekends and having spent a lot of time with her family this weekend, we didn’t spend on eating out/expensive activities.
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