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I am 25 years old, made $87,000 last year and expect to make $104,000 this year, live in Minneapolis, and work as a Data Analyst / Data Scientist.
Note: I’m not a citizen, but I’ve been living in the US long enough to be considered a resident alien for tax purposes. On my visa, I cannot work any job that’s not directly related to my major in grad school (IT/computer science), but I can invest in the stock market.
Section One: Assets and Debt
Net Worth: from -$13,603.63 (Jan 2020) to $9,605.97 (Jan 2021) Retirement Balance: $16,000 in my 401(K). I only started working 2 years ago and my company messed up my registration so they basically didn’t put any money into it my first year there (I found out in horror and they gave me around $1,000 to say sorry…). I contribute 9% and my company matches 3%. Savings account balance: $2,500 I have $2,500 set aside as my “emergency fund”, and I’m building back my vacation & study abroad budgets after having to tap into them for a move. My job is very stable and I won't be let go any time soon (unless I quit myself) so I’m not setting aside a big emergency fund for now. Checking account balance: $3,111.01 Investment account: $1,500 in some stocks. I initially dumped half of my 2019 bonus and some monthly contributions (totaling around $4,000) to this account to test strategies. This was my “study fund” and I didn’t care if I’d lose it all. I grew the account to around $10,000 and withdrew almost everything (that went to all the fees I had to pay to break my lease, my brother’s lease, deposit, moving expenses, and new furniture) and left $1,500 worth of stocks in there right now. Credit card debt: $2,243.76 on my BestBuy card and PayPal Credit. I had the money to pay for the items in full but they offered X months interest-free and I wanted to throw money into my debts instead. I always pay off all balances well before the deadline. I also pay all my credit cards in full and have never paid any interest. Student loan debt: $11,046.09 left on my $20,000 loans at 8% for my BA in Biology and Statistics. Day 1 of arriving in the US, they sat us down, handed each of us a pen, and said hey kids here are the terms of your 8% loans, sign the documents now! I just turned 17, didn't even know I had to pay this money back, and remembered thinking "Is 8% a lot?" That's how clueless I was. As a non-citizen, I will never have them canceled, so my plan was to tackle this as soon as possible and I started paying more aggressively until they made it 0% interest since Q4 last year. Car loan: $4,900 left on my $10,000 loan at 8.9%. I didn’t have a long credit history when I bought the car (September 2019) since I only got my first credit card after graduation, so the rate was terrible. I’m planning to pay this all off after my bonus comes in March.
Section Two: Income
Income Progression: 2012 - 2016: I had multiple student on-campus jobs all throughout my undergrad, making from $7.25 to $10/hour. After graduation, I couldn't find any job directly related to my majors within 3 months (I had only been searching for Bio lab work), ran out of money, and had to go back home. Honestly, I didn't want to keep doing science either and was very lost back then. 2017: My first full-time job was being a tutor for a private college prep institution when I went back to my home country to “figure out what I wanted to do with my life.” They paid pretty well for the standards of living there ($1,000/mo). I worked that job while self-studying how to code and data science courses on the side and preparing my grad school applications. 2019: I got a job at my current company a semester before I graduated from my MS in Data Science program. This was my first “big girl job.” I started out at $64,000 and couldn’t work for 2 months due to complications in my visa processes so that ate up all my savings that year. By the end of the year, they bumped my salary up to $76,000 and we also had an annual 3% raise, so in total $78,280 + 5% bonus. 2020: One of my teammates left and one thing led to another, I got a title change from Data Analyst to Data Scientist towards the end of the year. I asked for a raise and they bumped it to $96,000 + 5% bonus. 2021: After our annual 3% raise my salary is now $98,880 (+ at least 5% bonus). I think I’m slightly underpaid, but this job is very low-stress and flexible (especially after we WFH). Main Job Monthly Take Home: $5,082.58 Taken from my last paychecks (before the annual raise) Gross salary: $8,000 Tax: $2,081.68 401(k) deduction: $720 Health insurance: $115.74
Section Three: Expenses
Rent & renter’s insurance: $935 for my share for a 2bed/3bath condo. My parents pay a flat $700/mo for my brother’s share. He recently moved here since his school went virtual until at least the end of this semester and our family wanted us to be nearby to take care of each other. Savings contribution: $900 Investment contribution: $420, but will increase once my car loan is paid off. Debt payments:
$1,000 on car loan until paid off.
$200.13 minimum on student loans for now at 0% interest, will increase to $1,100 when car loan is paid off.
$300 for Best Buy & PayPal Credit promotional deals
Car insurance: $127.01 ($762.05 paid in full every 6 months) Car registration: $25 ($300 annual) Donations: $20 monthly (ASPCA), plus several hundreds throughout the year (last year I donated to BLM orgs and local animal shelters) Gas: $0. I drive an electric car. Charging probably drives up my electric bill by a bit, but still cheaper than gas. Also, this means no car maintenance at all until my car battery dies, which probably won’t happen in the next 5 years. Utilities (electric, natural gas): ~$150 Wifi: $40 Cellphone: $10.61 ($108.66 for 6 months and I got a $45 credit from my bank) Groceries: $500 (for 2 people) Subscriptions: $20 (HP Ink, shared Netflix account, YNAB, Disney+) Pet expenses: ~$20 for wet cat food Personal care/hobby: I collect perfumes. Between makeup, skincare, clothes (which I had planned to stop buying this year) and perfume bottles and samples (the majority of my "personal care" expenses...), I averaged $400/mo last year. Without the makeup, skincare and clothes, I budget $150/mo this year for my fragrance hobby. Household supplies:$30 Education: $30 (language/technical textbooks, Udemy/Coursera) Gifts: $30 Credit card fee:$21 ($250 annual)
Section Four: Background
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? Education is one of the top priorities in our household and this has been instilled in my mind since I was a kid. Perhaps because my grandparents were both professors and my parents both attended grad school, it was expected of us to have at least a bachelor's degree. With that said, my family tried to support our higher education financially as best they could and I'm very thankful for it. During undergrad, I had need-based financial aid and on-campus jobs, and my parents helped with the rest of my tuition. I still had to take (required by the school) a $20,000 loan. My grandmother helped pay for my 2-year master's program. Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances? During high school, I had a measly weekly allowance and my dad had me write out all the transactions in a notebook. I thought it was very silly back then but now thinking back, it was probably some good practice. Other than that, they didn't talk about money at all, and I was absolutely clueless and wasn't interested in personal finance until a couple of years ago. I don't remember how but I think I woke up one day and decided to read every book about personal finance I could find and now I do talk with my dad about finances. What was your first job and why did you get it? My first job was washing dishes as a student worker! We all had to do it our freshman year before we were allowed to find other jobs. I managed to find 3 other jobs (stage crew, sports event worker, and math tutor) and stayed with all of them for 3 years. Did you worry about money growing up? Even though our parents never let on to us about their finances, they made sure that we'd grow up comfortable financially, so I didn't worry because I didn't know anything. Do you worry about money now? Yes. As I grew up, I came to learn more about my parents' financial situation and realized that they've sacrificed a lot for us. I had the majority of my college tuition supported by the school, but my brother doesn't, and tuition in the US isn't cheap, especially when you convert it to our local currency. I also never know for how long I can stay in the US and keep making the same kind of money I'm making now so I'm trying my best to pay down the student loans ASAP. At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net? I became fully financially responsible for myself when I started working at my current company. Before that my student worker jobs paid for my personal expenses in college but my parents still chipped in for tuition. I guess my family back home is my safety net but personally, I wouldn't ask them for help even if bad things happen to me in the future. Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain. Nope.
Diary
Day 1 (Thursday) - $3.35
Alexa wakes me up and turns the light on. I change into my work clothes and head downstairs to my “office.” My boss starts our daily standup call, talking about what we did yesterday and what we plan for the day.
I have my annual review meeting. Everything goes well and my bosses are very pleased with what I’ve done, especially after I transitioned into my new title as a Data Scientist, which honestly brought me more fulfillment in my job as well. We talk about our annual bonus and raise, which I already expected. It’s not a lot of money but hey any money is money and I’m not saying no.
Some people bought my photocards so I gather all the orders and purchase a shipping label since 1 order is with tracked shipping. (Don’t ask me how this works but I’m a K-pop fan and we collect expensive cardboards. Depending on the popularity of the member of the group, profit margins can go up to 400%.) I head to the post office and drop off all the packages ($3.35)
I’ve been waiting for the mailman all day and he finally comes! I’ve been working from home for almost a year now and my back pain is starting to kill me so I decided to “invest” in a $400 chair with lumbar and neck support. My cat happily takes the other chair and starts claiming her territory on it.
Day 2 (Friday) - $206.24
I wake up on cue at Alexa’s daily briefing. Half an hour passes while I ponder on a perfume sample set I saw in someone’s fragrance collection on Reddit.
I eventually give in and purchase the Zoologist sample set ($120.24). It’s within my budget this month, I’ve been eyeing this one for some time now and I can resell it for 80% value once I’m done testing them, so it’s not a huge loss anyway.
Late lunch today. I make a quick lunch with sausages and keto toasts and quickly finish it while watching some YouTube videos on personal finance and updates on $GME (no I did not buy any shares).
When in doubt, throw every leftover food in your fridge in a pan and make fried rice. Side dish is sweet and sour tomato and egg “cloud soup.” Then we have our weekly family video call with my parents back in my home country.
I go down the YouTube rabbit hole again and buy 2 more perfume sample sets ($86.00). All the purchases today (~50 samples) would probably take me months to try out so I promise myself no more until next quarter as I click the pay button.
Day 3 (Saturday) - $71.27
I wake up at 8:45 am and laze around for half an hour, scrolling down Twitter and answering my friend’s questions on how to enter the stock market. Today is my cheat day (I have one every 2-3 weeks), so I contemplate if I should order delivery for lunch. I check YNAB and decide that it’s too expensive, so I go downstairs to make myself a hearty breakfast with a latte, half a croissant, grilled chicken breasts, and snack on some shrimp crackers and tangerines.
I purchase a shipping label ($3.22) and head out to the post office. For some reason I want to smell like a lemon cake today, so I spritz on Xerjoff Lira, put on sunscreen, and head out. This perfume always makes me feel so warm and delicious.
I spend the whole afternoon catching up with my Chinese and Korean lessons for the week.
Suddenly craving some instant noodles, so I immediately get up and head to a local Asian grocery store to shop for instant and pho noodles (I’m planning to make pho for Lunar New Year) and some snacks for my brother ($38.71). We drop by a bubble tea shop nearby and get bubble tea and 2 dessert cakes ($19.71). I usually don’t drink sugary drinks, but since it’s my cheat day, I put in an order and pay for the both of us.
Some more PC orders came in and they’re all with tracked shipping. The post office is closed tomorrow but I’ll just pay now for the shipping labels so that I won’t forget ($9.63).
Day 4 (Sunday) - $0.00
I literally do nothing today until 4 pm.
I make dinner, then finish my Chinese lesson and review the flashcards I made yesterday. That’s enough activity for the day.
One of my friends calls to show me her album haul of the day and I'm tempted, but (fortunately?) there's no kpop store in my city so I make myself forget about buying any more albums.
Day 5 (Monday) - $40.10
I wake up with a headache, not feeling too well, so I request a day off and message my boss. I can’t go back to sleep, so I just lie there in bed for a couple of hours. I suddenly remember that WandaVision is on air, and there are a couple of movies on there I haven’t watched yet, so I subscribe to Disney+ ($7.52) and start binge-watching.
We ran out of soft drinks for my brother, so I have to drive to Costco again after lunch ($32.58). I also need to drop off all the orders that came in over the weekend.
I go to my old apartment for my move-out inspection (I haven't been living there since December but still had to honor the 2-month notice and pay for all the rent). There are a couple of spots that might cost me some deductions in my deposit. Sigh. At least I get to tell them to remove the charges on my lease for February, and they assure me that they will.
I finish binge-watching some movies on Disney+. I see Colourpop is advertising some Valentine’s Day palettes on my feed. I do not need those, I do not need those, I do not need those. I should’ve just unfollowed makeup brands on social media. Some more late-night scrolling, and then I finally go to sleep.
Day 6 (Tuesday) - $8.02
I wake up groggily, still feeling a bit sick. We have a late standup today, so I take my time making my coffee and start working, as my cat also settles in on my lap and starts napping. My head is still aching and I'm not sure if it's the cold or just keto flu so I load up on electrolytes, fish oil, and acetaminophen just in case.
Somebody lowballed me on one of my postings. Ugh I hate it when they do this, but this one is not selling too well, so I meet them halfway. I purchase another shipping label ($3.03).
Today is our bi-monthly deployment date, which means all the engineers (and anyone who has committed changes in our codebase) meet up and sit around until all the merges are deployed into production. I had some changes last week so I just sit there and do my own work until it's my turn. My boss told me this morning he had some test API from one of our new clients so I go to check out some of the data there. Oh how I love me some messy, messy data that nobody knows what to do with.
The repair guy who came to fix our washing machine doesn't leave until 5:15 pm so I drop by the post office late, but just in time as they're collecting the mail! Then I drop by a nearby (rather upscale) grocery store as I'm running out of heavy cream, but everything is so expensive. I compare price per oz and pick up the coffee creamer instead ($4.99).
I heat up the cauliflower rice and leftover curry and eat dinner as I watch Coco (I can't believe I've never actually watched it!) Then I review my Chinese flashcards for a bit, do half an hour of Just Dance until I sweat, play with my cat, and call it a day.
Day 7 (Wednesday) - $3.49
I stayed up quite late yesterday playing a mobile game and finally wake up after snoozing the alarm for the 84th time. My boss starts our standup at our usual time; there's nothing urgent or pressing today so I just take my time. I take a quick nap in the afternoon and go back to work.
I use the last drops of avocado oil to fry up some bulgogi for dinner. Need to go back to Costco for more avocado oil tomorrow, I guess.
After dinner, a friend asks me about perfume samples that she wants to try. I go online to search for them but no dice since they belong to a new collection that only got launched in Europe. I take this time to try out some similar smelling samples in my collection as well.
I review my Chinese flashcards and do some workbook exercises. After an hour, my brain is fried on Chinese but I don't want to go to bed yet, so I pick up a book on my bookcase that I was reading a while ago (A Random Walk Down Wall Street) and read one more chapter.
An order came in so I purchase another shipping label ($3.49), update my budgeting app for a bit, and then head to bed.
Summary
Category
Amount
Note
Food & Drink
$95.99
Groceries
Fun / Entertainment
$7.52
Disney+ subscription
Home & Health
$0.00
Clothes & Beauty
$206.24
Perfume samples
Other*
$22.72
Shipping labels
Total
$309.75
shipping labels not included
*I don’t count the shipping labels as expenses because they’re already factored into the profits I made from my sales, but I included them anyway because they're still charges on my accounts. Any profit goes back to funding my album purchases so... I guess it's a vicious cycle. Overall, a pretty normal week for me in terms of food. I don’t eat out often (I allow myself only one meal and one dessert every month) and have used up my 1 dessert allowance this week so I probably won't have any more this month. I might’ve gone overboard with the perfume purchases this week, but tbh perfumes bring me joy. My mood is lifted and I'm transported to old and new places every time I put on a perfume that I enjoy, so for me, it’s worth it. I try to be frugal whenever I can, but I'll never skimp on education and hobbies that make me happy. Writing this week-long diary, I realize I need to get back to working out, though. I'll probably have to stop procrastinating and pull out my RingFit gears still inside the moving boxes. Playing Just Dance also makes me miss dancing so bad as I used to be active in several dance crews since college (but stopped after I started working full time). I'll try to stick to Just Dance for now to get my cardio until Covid is over and I can get back to in-person dance classes.
I'm 35 years old with a joint income of $490k, live in New York, and work as a program manager
0️⃣Section Zero: Background Hello, MD! I hope you're all doing well, and are safe and healthy. I've gone back and forth for a while about whether I should share my money diary. I signed up to do one last year to chronicle our home buying process but chickened out (I'm so sorry mods!). I was worried I'd be judged for what I spent money on, not having a college education, or what might be perceived as frivolous habits. I don't know. Internet strangers terrify me. But I'm finally sharing this money diary because I want this to be a data point: you can have a career (or two!) without a college degree. 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? I moved to the US right before entering elementary school. I spent half my childhood in a simple four room shack with no running water or electricity (mom's side of the family) and the other half in a large house with a nanny and domestic help (dad's side of the family). From a young age I was told that college was chance at a better life and I believed it -- not going to college wasn't an option. My mom completed a healthcare related degree in our home country but she couldn't practice in the US. My dad dropped out of college in our home country due to his work as a student protester. Both of them worked blue-collar jobs to support our family and were always working. As with just about every parent, they wanted more for me. I was accepted to a top ranked private university but didn't get a sizable scholarship so my parents and I took out loans, separately, to fund my tuition. I dropped out halfway through my sophomore year due to poor mental health stemming from an assault. No one knows (except for my fiancé and now, internet strangers) the real reason why I left school. Did you worry about money growing up? Yes. My parents never talked about their money struggles with me, but I knew money was always tight. After my youngest brother was born, I remember how excited I was to find a jar of peanut butter in our cupboard. We hadn't had any for a while. It had a "WIC" sticker on it and I didn't know what it meant at the time. My parents never talked about receiving government support but I'm thankful that we had a safety net available to us when we needed it most. At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net? I started paying my parents rent to stay in my childhood bedroom when I moved back home. I didn't pay for groceries or to use one of their cars, which was nice. I was about 21 when I was completely on my own. My parents and I had a falling out over me dating a much older man who I'd come to learn was very abusive. There were a few months where I slept on a friend's couch because I barely had money to feed myself. My early 20's were rough. But if I were to go completely broke now, my parents would be there to help me. They're doing much better financially. Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain. No. I've never received an inheritance or any other passive income. Finally, a note on Erik: he also doesn't come from money or finish his college degree. He immigrated to the US less than a decade ago and does not receive or provide monetary support to his mom or dad. 1️⃣Section One: Assets and Debt
Combined net worth:
$3.7M
Combined brokerage balance:
$2.14M
$317,587 (mine) + $1.82M (Erik)
Combined retirement balance:
$195k
$116,300 (mine) + $78,700Erik). We're behind on funding our 401ks. I finally convinced Erik to take advantage of his employer match program two years ago. He was concerned about the ease of withdrawing funds since we plan on living outside of the US when we retire.
Joint checking account balance:
$111k
We have a lot of cash on hand right now because we need to prepay income taxes, and will be furnishing our place.
Equity:
$1.42M
We put 40% down on a 2 bedroom/2.5 bath condo (<1,200 ft2) in a new construction last summer. Our down payment came from the sale of some of Erik's RSUs.
Mortgage:
$1.61M
For our financial situation, an interest-only mortgage made sense. We have a 2.35% APR 7/1 ARM since we don't intend to stay in NYC longterm. Our plan is to pay off the remaining mortgage in full after five years and either sell the condo or hold onto it as rental property.
Combined credit card debt:
$0
We pay off our credit cards in full every month. We put between $6k - 20k on our cards every month in a typical year. He's also the authorized user on my credit cards; I added him to my accounts about six years ago to help him build his credit file since we knew we'd eventually buy a place together.
Combined student loan debt:
$0
I finished paying my student loans two years ago. Erik received free tuition as an EU resident but had some cost-of-living loans which he's paid off.
2️⃣Section Two: IncomeMy fiancé and I ended 2020 with a total cash compensation (base + bonus) of $493,750 but with last year's vested RSUs, our overall compensation is:
Mine
Erik
Base
$131,250
$268,750
Bonus
~$13,125
~$80,625
Vested RSUs
$121,500
$835,500
Total Compensation
$265,875
$1.18M
Income ProgressionI don't recall my salary increases so I'm listing mystartingbase salary for each role. I'm also not including additional compensation such as bonus or RSUs.
HS and into my early 20's: minimum wage. I started working when I was 16 as a hostess for a restaurant and worked there throughout high school. In the summer before and after freshman year of university, I worked at a department store on commission. After I left university, I worked there full time and also picked up two part-time jobs (restaurant hostess, receptionist) to make ends meet.
Job 1: $30,000 as a business development manager for a staffing agency in a HCOL (rent was $600 for a room in a 2bd/1ba). I worked there for three months.
Job 2: $50,000 as a recruiting assistant then promoted to recruiter for a large non-profit in a HCOL (rent was $1200 for a room in a 3 bd/2ba). I was there for three years.
Job 3: $75,000 as a recruiter for a large research institution in a VHCOL (rent was $1600 for a 1bd/1ba shared with ex-bf). I was there for three years. Looking back now, I didn't realize how burned out I was at the end. I fully believed in our mission to save lives and was so grateful to have that job. I was working directly with these world class physicians and scientists, and I had no college degree. I felt like I had to prove I belonged there. To me that meant staying in my office until 2-3am some nights (mornings?). When an opportunity to change industries, I took it.
Job 4: $90,000 as a recruiter for a tech company in a VHCOL (rent was $1400 for a room in a 3bd/2ba). I was in that role for 2.5 years. When I joined the company, there were less than 5,000 employees. It was an amazing experience to have a hand in building teams of incredibly bright and kind people, many of whom now are now leading global teams of their own. But, I was traveling non-stop. It was exhausting and I experienced burnout (again). I had turned in my notice to HR and started letting people know. It was in one of those "goodbye" conversations that a director I closely worked with asked me if I'd be interested in joining her group as a PM. That opportunity changed the trajectory of my career. I stayed and switched roles.
Job 5: $110,000 as a program manager for the same tech company in a VHCOL (rent was $4400 for a 2bd/2ba with Erik). I was in that role for 2.5 years. I worked on public-facing initiatives, built some awesome programs, and partnered with senior leadership daily. By this time, the company had grown 10x and had no signs of slowing down. But I needed to slow down. I didn't really take time to decompress after my two previous roles. Erik saw how unhappy I'd become. He supported me leaving the workforce for a year and I'm grateful I had his support, the opportunity, and the ability to do it.
Took a year off. –$20,000 withdrawn from my brokerage accounts in a VHCOL (rent was $4000 for a 1bd/1ba with Erik). I didn't do anything remotely awesome during this time. I was coming out of a pretty bad depression so I took it easy on myself. I watched a lot of Investigation Discovery, cooked, napped, went down many Wikipedia rabbit holes, and joined Erik on all his business trips.
Current Job: $125,000 as a program manager at a tech company in a VHCOL (mortgage + common charges is ~$4400 for a 2bd/2.5ba with Erik). I've been in this role for almost two years.
Main Job Monthly Take Home
Deductions
Mine
Erik
Retirement
15% of paycheck to Roth 401k
7% of paycheck to 401k
M/D/V
under Erik's employer; my employer also provides free M/D/V but we would have different providers
covered by his employer + $~250 for mine
Life insurance and AD&D
covered by my employer
covered by his employer
Short & long term disability
covered by my employer
covered by his employer
Net monthly take home
$7,000
$10,00
3️⃣Section Three: ExpensesThis is what our YNAB budget roughly looks like (for annual expenses, I set aside an amount per month towards the expense): Housing
Mortgage: $3,155
Common charges: $1,260
Property tax: $27,509 annual
Homeowner's insurance: $837 annual
Utilities: $300
Staff bonus: $1,200 annual (1 super, 5 FT front desk, 2 porters)
Transportation These would be significantly higher in normal times. We rarely leave our place and if we do, we walk.
Music & Podcasts: $25 (Pandora, Spotify, Patreon, Blinkist)
TV & Streaming: $120 (Hulu, Netflix, Masterclass)
Donations: $10,000 annual We donate to Children International on a monthly basis. The remaining amount is donated throughout the year to different causes. Last year, we supported AIDS research, mental health and addiction support, food banks, and international food programs. Hobbies:
Fitness: $176 (Aaptiv, Future, Whoop)
Flowers: $125
Photography: $10 (Photoshop)
Fields
Pet insurance: $1,500 annual
Veterinary care: $1,500 annual
Pet food & medication: $500
Savings & Finance
Backdoor IRA: $6,000 annual
Acorns: $250
Betterment: $500
Credit card annual fees: $1,890 annual
Food & Drink Pre-COVID, we'd budget $3,000 to a "Restaurant", increase "Cafes & Bars" to $1,500, and decrease "Delivery & Takeout" to $1,000.
Delivery & Takeout: $3,000
Cafes & Bars: $700
Groceries: $300
Wedding: TBD Our original budget was $75,000 (international, <50 people). We've had to reschedule it twice now and have already spent $10k in lost deposits and rescheduling fees. We'll re-evaluate our budget later this year when we start planning again. 4️⃣Section 4: The Diary
Day 1: Monday | Total: $111.84
8:00am - First day back from holiday break for both Erik and me. He's still snoozing so I turn on the bedroom TV to see if our dog is still sleeping too. We adopted a senior dog, Fields, over the summer and quickly became one of those dog owners that installed cameras everywhere so we can watch him anytime, anywhere. Fields is still asleep so I check my work accounts and respond to anything urgent. 8:30am - Normally, this is when I'd take Fields for his morning walk while Erik makes our coffee. But our espresso machine is broken so we can't use it until the replacement parts arrive next week. Erik and I both start getting dressed to take Fields for a walk together. Before that happens, I take the dog outside to relieve himself and we quickly head back to the apartment for his breakfast. 9:30am - We walk to our favorite coffee spot in our neighborhood and get our usual: cortado with whole milk for Erik, cold brew with a splash of oat milk for me, and a breakfast BLT to share. We walk back to our apartment and get to work. $23.69 12:30pm - I take Fields with me to pick up our lunch at Sweetgreen: a kale caesar salad (hold the tomato and swap for the blackened chicken) for me, and a hot honey chicken plate for Erik. $27.71 4:30pm - Erik and I are dire need of coffee. We take the dog for another walk, this time to our other favorite coffee shop. The decor is very IG-friendly and their coffee is fantastic. I get their matcha latte with oat milk, Erik gets a cortado with whole milk, we split an avocado toast with smoked salmon, and Fields get a whole lot of snacks for being a good boy while he waits for our order to be ready. $29.95 4:45pm - We walk past a cute mochi ice cream shop that I've been meaning to try. I pick up eight mochi ice creams: ube, chocolate hazelnut, passion fruit, mango, and some seasonal flavors. $30.48 5:00pm - We get home just in time to feed the dog. His food is laughably expensive but we think it's worth it and most importantly, Fields is worth it! He's the best dog and we want to spoil him during his final years. Especially since the poor pup was returned to the shelter twice within a year. I can't imagine giving up this sweet old guy. 9:00pm - I log off work and head down to our building's gym to workout. I've been working with a trainer through the app, Future, and like it so far. Pre-pandemic, I was in really good shape as I was training for a half marathon and our now-postponed wedding. Since the lockdowns started, my healthy eating habits and will to workout has gone down a very messy spiral. I do a mile run on the treadmill followed by a set that includes split squats and deadlifts. Ouch. 10:15pm - I walk into the apartment to find Erik's made dinner from yesterday's leftovers: tacos! I quickly eat two tacos, then tidy up the kitchen while Erik takes Fields out for his last potty break before bed. 10:45pm - I rinse off in the shower and start my nighttime routine. Erik won't see me for another 45 minutes, at least. Tonight, I use a dermaroller on my arms and legs before rubbing in vitamin C lotion. While the lotion dries, I start on my face: facewash, essence, serum, niacinamide and azaleic acid, eye serum, and all topped off with a nighttime cream cream. This is a typical nighttime routine for me. 11:30pm - Finally in bed. We put on a Netflix comedy special while I finish my routine in bed: foot cream, hand cream, and cuticle oil. Erik is browsing on the iPad looking for pots and planters. We call it a night just after midnight.
Day 2: Tuesday | Total: $199.41
8:30am - We're both really tired. I want to lay in bed a little longer but Erik has a call at 10am and we need coffee. Since his pants are on first, I convince him to take the dog outside so I can get ready. He agrees. I put on sweats and prepare Fields' breakfast. 9:15am - We walk to a cute Australian coffee shop and order: a cortado with whole milk for Erik (it's the only thing he drinks), a cold brew with oat milk for me, and share one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches. It's got prosciutto on it and a perfectly runny egg! $23.58 12:45pm - I lost track of time and forgot to order lunch. I place an order at Chop't: avoketo chicken club salad sans tomatoes for me and a kebab cobb wrap for Erik. Once it's ready, I take Fields with me to pick it up. $25.67 1:15pm - While eating lunch, I order Ess-A-Bagels to be sent to two girlfriends across the country as very belated Christmas gifts. I meant to send them their gifts earlier but they've had family visiting them and I wanted to make sure they got to enjoy their gift. I know they both really love Ess-A-Bagels and wouldn't be too keen to share. $213.90 - $100.00 AMEX offers credit = $113.90 3:00pm - That salad was not enough. I pull a Daily Harvest mint + cacao smoothie from our freezer to make a smoothie with oat milk and split it with Erik. 4:30pm - Ok, we really need coffee. We head back to cute IG-friendly coffee shop we went to yesterday and order the same drinks but skip the sandwich. $12.74 4:45pm - On the way home, I tell Erik that I need to eat something more substantial. I was feeling hangry. We stop by our favorite mediterranean cafe. I order a kebab bowl and Erik gets the kebab sandwich. $23.52 5:15pm - We get home just in time for me to get ready for my last meeting of the day and feed Fields his dinner. Today, he gets lamb and red quinoa. 8:45pm - My trainer has a run scheduled for me today but I'm so tired; I don't think I slept well. I message my trainer to tell her I'm taking the day off but will make up the run tomorrow! 9:30pm - I catch up with some girlfriends on the west coast over text while watching an old Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode. I remember we have mochi ice cream and eat two of them. This is a great night. 10:30pm - I need to sleep earlier tonight since I need to get a run in tomorrow morning. I have a Morpheus8 appointment at 11am and I can't workout after that.
Day 3: Wednesday | Total: $290.44
8:00am - The alarm goes off and I yell at Siri to stop. I roll back over and snuggle Erik. The run isn't happening. 9:00am - I receive a call from the clinic where I get my Morpheus8 done. My esthetician has a family emergency and can't make the appointment. I'm secretly excited to reschedule for a later date since I have a face lipo, neck lipo and buccal fat removal procedure in exactly a week. I know, I know. Scheduling procedures so close to each other isn't the smartest idea, but I wanted to finish my Morpheus8 series before more invasive procedures. To get the kind of results I wanted, I needed three Morpheus8 sessions booked about a month apart. Today was supposed to be my last one. 9:20am - Walk Fields with Erik to get our usual coffee order and split a bagel with smoked salmon, alfalfa sprouts, picked red onions, chili and dill. $27.85 3:00pm - During our team meeting, my director asks me if I've seen the news. I grab my phone to look at the news and feel my anxiety spike as I learn that the Capital is actively being breached. I know my mental health is going to take another hit after this. Instead of working, I doom scroll the rest of the day. I also realize that salad isn't going to cut it for lunch. Not today. I need something more comforting and warm. We decide on Chinese food: ma po tofu and black pepper beef with a lot of fluffy white rice. $64.52 4:45pm - It's time for my sort-of monthly nail appointment. I go every three weeks to this amazing salon that specializes in nail art but they're also superb at taking care of your nails. I pick a sunny yellow color to offset the shit that happened this afternoon. They're pricey ($75 + $20 tip) but my nails and cuticle beds have never looked healthier. I also buy a ceramic cuticle pusher tool ($15). $114.40 7:15pm - I convince Erik to meet me at our neighborhood pizza spot to pick up dinner. We order: a pepperoni Sicilian slice, Hawaiian slice, ham and cheese calzone, and four slices of cheese, root beer and diet soda. $46.65 8:30pm - While scrolling through IG, I see a dermatologist use snail extract for her NuFace. I've been meaning to buy more NuFace gel and this seems like a good cost-effective replacement. I find the same bottle on Ulta and add an eyeshadow brush to get free shipping. I'm project panning my eyeshadow palettes so this will be a fun new tool to play with. $37.02 12:00am - Bedtime.
Day 4: Thursday | Total: $112.13
8:00am - Same routine as the days before: get dressed, take Fields out, give him breakfast, and head out for our family walk. 9:00am - Another day, a new cafe. We order our usual coffees, and split a breakfast sandwiche: herb omelette on a toasted baguette slathered with spicy aioli and topped with bacon. $27.22 9:15am - I realize that I dropped Erik's credit card somewhere between the cafe and our apartment (I didn't bring my wallet so I asked Erik for his card at the cafe). I call the cafe and ask if they'd seen it; they hadn't. And just as I'm about to call the bank to cancel the card, the cafe calls back -- someone found it on the sidewalk and turned it in! We thank them for following up and tell them we'll pick it up tomorrow. 1:00pm - I wake Fields up from his nap so we can walk to get our usual Sweetgreens order. $27.71 7:00pm - Erik and I take Fields on a walk to pick up Thai food for dinner. We order beef pad kee mao, shrimp tom kha soup, chicken pad thai, and mango with sticky rice. $51.75 9:00pm - While reconciling this week's expenses, I see that my Sephora credit card payment was returned and I was charged not only a late fee, but a finance charge! I signed up for the Sephora card over the holidays to take advantage of their cash back program and this was my first payment to them. I go on the website to investigate what happened and find that I missed entering a "0" to my linked bank account. I call their customer service rep to explain everything. I ask her if she could waive the late payment fee ($35) and the finance charge ($5.45) if I paid the balance in full. She said she's able to waive the late payment fee but not the finance charge. I thank her for her help and hope this doesn't affect my credit score too much. $5.45 12:00am - Zzzzzzz.
Day 5: Friday | Total: $245.56
8:00am - Same morning routine as yesterday. 9:00am - Same breakfast routine as yesterday but add additional tip since they held onto Erik's card. $28.67 12:00pm - Wake Fields up from his nap for a quick walk to Just Salad. I get a chicken caesar salad while Erik gets a chicken poblano salad. $23.70 7:10pm dinner - Friday's are our date nights. Before the pandemic, we'd get dressed up and go out for a nice meal and spend quality one-on-one time. These days, we usually order in fancy sushi and watch a movie. Between us, we order 19 pieces of sashimi and nigiri like uni (my favorite), zuke, wagyu, and tamago. $193.19 10:30pm - As soon as Erik gets back from taking Fields out, we pile onto the couch to watch Jurassic Park. 1:00am - Sleep.
Day 6: Saturday | Total: $375.24
9:00am - It's a late start to the morning. After feeding Fields, we walk to pick up breakfast. We get our usual coffee order, a bagel with smoked salmon and a chocolate croissant. $34.12 1:20pm - I saw someone post in a cooking subreddit about seasoning that a local restaurant uses on their wings. Of course I google the restaurant and get hungry from looking at their photos. I end up ordering lunch from them: wings (of course), coconut crab curry, shrimp chips and chili jam, thai iced tea, and khua kling. It was all delicious but holy cow everything was so spicy. Definitely will order from them again though! $93.40 3:45pm - I see a notification pop up for a charge on our card. I assume it's something for Erik's current house project (building our custom closets). I ask him about it and it's actually a router extender. $125.85 8:00pm - We've been missing Mission-style burritos lately and haven't found a good replacement in New York yet. But we did find a restaurant that makes delicious Mexican food. I get two spicy pork tacos and one al pastor taco, Erik gets a spicy pork burrito and a mandarin Jarritos, and we split a large chips and guacamole. $49.87 10:00pm - While browsing Reddit), I see someone post decants for sale of fragrances I've been meaning to try. Fragrances were a serious hobby of mine for a while, to the point that I hired a fragrance "fixer" on a Paris trip to take me around the local shops. I've since scaled back my collecting and have been focusing on learning to differentiate scents better. $72.00 11:00pm - Goodnight!
Day 7: Sunday | Total: $134.57
9:00am - Another late start to the morning. We do our morning routine with Fields and walk to get breakfast. This time, we head back to the cafe that found Erik's credit card. We get our coffees along with the herb omelette baguette with bacon. $27.56 12:00pm - There's some leftovers from yesterday's very spicy lunch so we eat that for lunch. I think the food might actually be spicier today. 6:00pm - I FaceTime with a girlfriend on the west coast who shares some amazing life news. Her and her husband are moving from the west coast! While I'm sad they're not moving to New York, I'm thrilled that they'll be closer to us and that she has an amazing new role. This is a huge win for her career and I'm really proud of her. 9:40pm - We realize we haven't had dinner. We both want something much less spicy so we order in Italian: caesar salad, pasta alla gricia, and a spicy vodka pasta. $107.07 11:00pm - We owe a response to our wedding planners about our wedding date. Do we move forward with a summer 2021 (originally summer 2020) wedding or do we postpone another year? I have strong feelings about trying to hold a destination wedding in the middle of a pandemic. I don't want to put our friends and family at risk since we won't know when vaccines will be widely available. But Erik is worried that his dad won't make it to 2022 since his dad already isn't in the greatest health. We agree on a new game plan: we hold off on our wedding celebration until 2022. In the meantime, we'll travel to his dad as soon as it's safe and get married with him in attendance. I email the wedding planners our decision to postpone (again) and go to bed. 5️⃣Section 5: This Week's Total & A Brief Reflection
Food & Drink
$1,000.57
Fun & Entertainment
$0.00
Home & Health
$125.85
Clothes & Beauty
$223.42
Transport
$0.00
Other
$119.35
GRAND TOTAL
$1,469.19
This was a pretty normal spending week (during the pandemic) for us, minus all the coffee trips due to our broken espresso machine. I know we spend a lot on food and we're okay with our level of spend, for now. It gets us out of the house, gives us a reason to take Fields out for a walk and explore the neighborhood, and allows us to support our favorite spots. My goals for this year are to increase the amount we put into investments and learn more about tax-efficient strategies. Apologies for any and all typos! EDIT: typos and a few words
Turned 29 and hit LeanFIRE! I feel no differently than I did when I had nothing. I also suffer from financial anxiety. Here's my story.
) All amounts are in USD, for just myself. For me, 500k is basically LeanFIRE. I could return to the city I used to live in and spend 18-20k a year and be perfectly content. I hit 500k recently with the recent boom in the market. I won’t RE right now, but theoretically I should feel some kind of relief at this point because I am leanFIRE, but I don’t really. Started working January 2015 2015 – 70k income, 24k expenses 2016 – 100k income, 19k expenses 2017 – 140k income, 17.5k expenses 2018 – 145k income – 18k expenses 2019 – 200k income – 40k expenses -> I moved to VVHCOL city here 2020 – 250k income – 40k expenses Expected 2021 – 250k income – 36k expenses Most of my compensation is base salary. A small portion is cash bonus. No stocks. Financial Anxiety You’d think I would feel betterelaxed now, but I don’t. You’ll notice a common theme in this post, and that’s anxiety. I have anxiety over spending money, saving money, investments, you name it. It’s affected my relationships a lot. At times I have been overly controlling even about my partners financial habits. Pre-covid I was seeing a therapist to help deal with this anxiety, and it has actually helped a lot to improve my personal relationships, because now I can at least recognize and feel/touch the anxiety. Before it was just hidden, unknown emotions that I couldn’t place a trigger on. I never thought of myself as an anxious person until therapy. I am outgoing, well-spoken, have no social anxiety, and don’t get anxious about presentations or speaking engagements. I do get anxious though when I splurge on a single purchase because it feels like I’m slipping into lifestyle inflation and my whole world is falling apart. I do get anxious when my partner purchases a single splurge item because I extrapolate it to the extreme - to them having given up on FIRE, and therefore we are incompatible and should break up because ‘clearly FIRE isn’t important to them’. I do get anxious when my partner didn’t want to implement auto deposits every month, because they preferred every 1-2 months just going and manually doing it. To me that just felt like it was so easy to just let everything slip and fall out of control. But they had a method and it works. At the end of the day, our annual spending is very close and I really have no reason to complain or comment on anything that my partner does money wise. Sounds crazy when you write it out, and I’ve improved a lot in this regard. Therapy has helped. My partner bought a $300 splurge item recently and I barely commented on it. My partner doesn’t do automatic deposits to investments every paycheck and it doesn’t bother me at all anymore. Therapy helped me understand that these were not rational reactions and I was actually reacting to the feeling of ‘losing control’ and ‘things just slipping’. I still often feel the financial anxiety, but the difference is that I understand the emotion for what it is – a mental illness. I can control my reactions, even if I sometimes can’t control my feelings. Before I didn’t realize it was anxiety, I thought my viewpoints were totally justified. Hell, I even bought a PS5 recently for $500 and it didn’t bother me that much! I’m thankful to now understand how annoyed I would be if my partner made a huge deal every time I wanted to buy something like this. We are all adults and as long as our annual spending is reasonably in line with our goals we are fine. So hitting LeanFIRE hasn’t really done much for me either. It doesn’t feel real at all. I’m still working and slaving away. I keep trying to tell myself that I don’t ‘need’ to work, but it doesn’t feel like that. I’m not sure if this is because I know in RE I won’t follow 4% rule, likely 3%, or if I will started to feel relaxed as I gain more NW. I basically feel the same as when I was 0 NW. It might also because I feel battered and exhausted from work. If anything, I feel more like a battered, nervous wreck than I was when I was at $0 NW. Back then I felt like I had energy, and enthusiasm, and wanted to take on the world of work. Now I just want to quit. I shouldn't feel anxiety, but I do. To be frank I'm extremely lucky and privileged, but sometimes it just doesn't matter. Rationally I know I am very lucky and in a fantastic position. Emotionally it doesn't feel like that. RE plans I plan to work for another 5-6 or so years, but that may vary depending on a few factors. My job right now causes me a lot of anxiety. The hours are not too bad, but the pressure is high, there is often conflict, tensions are very high, and I am judged on the basis of my decision making. If I make poor decisions it affects the whole business, and I am solely responsible for making a lot of decisions. I basically hope to hold on as long as I can. Every year I am adding 130k to my investment portfolio, with an after-tax savings rate of more than 75% (I pay a LOT of taxes), so I understand the value in trying to just keep working a little bit longer. I think my goal RE number is about 1.5M, which by normal projections I would hit by 2025/2026. I also have a partner who is on the same path but a little bit younger and so is a little bit behind me. Having more cushion in my number will help my partner’s situation as well and make them feel more comfortable about RE. I might not make it 5-6 years. I don’t know. The last 2 years have been really hard. I’m just trying to hold on as long as I can because my income is high relative to my NW. On the flip side, I might work 10 more. Trying to be flexible. My reasons for wanting to retire are multifold
My job affects my mental health a lot. I just feel so much better when I’m on vacation and away from the office and away from the work stress. I’m a much happier person, my partner notices it too and says I’m a much happier person to be around when I’m away from work. This has only gotten worse as I’ve moved up in roles. When I first started my career it wasn’t so bad. Now it even affects my sleep. WFH doesn’t help this either, it actually makes it worse. It’s not the hours, it’s the pressure to succeed and the stress. I actually enjoy my work when it is lower stress periods – although not enough to spend 40 hours a week doing it. I don’t like being forced to do anything. I would consider to voluntarily work 15 hours a week even if it was unpaid, but roles like that don’t really exist for me. I don’t have enough work experience to become an independent consultant just yet, but that might be something I do down the road.
I want to see the world and live abroad. When I retire I will definitely move around. Having financial cushion to be flexible there helps. I don’t know for how long, or where, but FIRE gives me maximum flexibility.
I have a lot of hobbies and other ways to spend my time. I could sit at home for 3 months straight and not be bored. That’s not how I plan on spending retirement, but I have lots of things I want to do with my free time instead of working.
I probably thinking about retiring every single day. I’m actively trying to not do this, after this post and responding to comments, I won’t be coming back to this sub often. I just need to get away and focus on things outside of work to try and be happy in my day to day life.
I want to work longer and not RE yet because
I want more cushion because of my financial anxiety
I might want to spend more down the road
I’d be nervous about my ability to re-enter the workforce if I left and the market doesn’t do well
My income to networth ratio leads itself to saying I should push through as long as I can. If I was only making 30k a year with this stress, good chance I’d just quit and/or work part-time on something relaxing.
I have a hard time because I feel like I've struck a golden lotto ticket. Billions of people would kill to be in my shoes and I just feel like a big whiny pants sometimes. Why would I quit when I have such a nice income and reasonable hours?
I don’t want kids and neither does my partner. Income My income has gone up a lot, and I’ve taken a different route than most people who have income jumps like this. I’ve stayed at the exact same company who has treated me well. I’ve worked hard and been promoted fast. I’ve negotiated comp three times, but not that hard. My comp might be 10k less if I hadn’t. I also compare my compensation to people at my level in the company, and I am similarly paid to them. I’ve also spoken to external recruiters, and I’m being paid fairly. I think the notion that you need to change jobs every 3 years to maximize comp isn’t true 100% the time. If you spend the time to negotiate, compare to your peers, and have a company who treats you right financially, there isn’t a need to move around. Every company is different. Some companies you may need to hop around because they will treat you poorly financially if you are there too long. I’ve worked on 3 different teams in the same company. Also, in 2019 I moved to a VVHCOL city, and my income jumped as a result. I knew the ~250k role was coming in 2020, so that’s why the expense increase was worth it. My savings rate went down, but my total savings $ went up, and I won’t retire to VVHCOL city. I won’t be sharing my industry or my location or any other information. Expenses I discovered FIRE midway through 2015 and started being more conscious of expenses then. I also had a few extra expenses such as some student debt to pay off in 2015. I was always frugal, but became a lot more focused once I figured out I could retire early. The biggest thing I changed after discovering FIRE was just cooking more. I didn’t go to school in the US so my education was significantly cheaper. I graduated with only a few thousand dollars of debt. My parents contributed about $8000 to my education, the rest was self-funded. Worked in high school, had internships in college, etc. Now my expenses are high, but of the 40k total expenses, over 2k of that is my share of the rent. I share a 1-bedroom apartment with my partner. I live in a very expensive city, but I could easily drop my expenses back down to the ~20k level by moving. Investments I’m roughly 50/50 VTI and VXUS. I believe in global diversification. The US has done very well lately, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to do well in the future. My investment strategy is basically to mimic the ETF VT. If US becomes a larger proportion of the global stock market, so will my portfolio. Basically what I am saying is that I don’t rebalance. I purchase ETFs every paycheck, and my strategy is just to buy to get myself closer to the VT proportion. VT is around 50/50 now, so I almost just alternate every paycheck buying VTI and VXUS. I don’t need to do anything large because as my ETFs move up and down in value, they are automatically moving towards my goal asset allocation, because my goal is a moving target. As well, my post-FIRE plans lead well to holding high amounts of VXUS as I want to have larger exposure to different currencies. I didn’t change anything during the brief covid recession. Just kept plugging along. Real estate is too much work for me. I don’t want to be a landlord. I don’t own the home I live in because I want to move often and 5 years isn’t enough for it to be worthwhile. Other ideas I’ve toyed with just moving abroad now, and quitting my job and accepting a lower paycheck. That might happen if someday I just can’t hold on any longer. It would be hard for me to take a lower paycheck at this time, maybe if I had a larger NW. I love where I live but I also want to see the world and live abroad. I’ve toyed with finding a different job that is lower stress, but I’m not sure it exists at this compensation range in my profession. I also enjoy that my hours are reasonable at my job. Sometimes I miss the days of 2015 where I made 70k a year and had no real responsibility. I worked slightly more hours back then, but I wasn’t the one who was ultimately responsible, and my work stress was significantly less. But I’d rather work 5 more years at 250k than 15 more at 70k. I don’t have a networth tracker. Sorry! I have no idea. They’d be guesses. Summary That’s it. Feel free to AMA. I was a little bit afraid to make this post because I didn't want to just be another "High income earner reaching FIRE at a young age" post, but I think the other aspects of my situation hopefully make things more interesting. I definitely recognize rationally that I've had a fortunate upbringing and am lucky to be here. FIRE can't control your life. Easier said than done, but I know what I need to do. I need to do things to make my daily life happier, stop daydreaming about retirement, and just be happy. I will only have my 30s once. Also - therapy is amazing. If you tried it before and didn't like it, try it again with a different therapist! Took me 3 or 4 to find one that clicked.
Taxes are another topic that all working Singaporeans will have to deal with eventually, while not fully applicable to those just starting out their careers with smaller incomes, it is good to know and will be useful down the line This post is targeted at young adults and covers the basics about income taxes, with a focus on that of employees as compared to self-employed individuals Full Disclosure: I am not a tax agent or certified professional, for more complicated matters please seek the assistance professional and do your own due diligence If there are any things I missed out please let me know in the comments below
Singapore has a progressive tax structure, with those earning more paying a larger proportion of their income There is a misconception that I have heard
I didn't accept the pay raise because that would put me in a higher tax bracket so I would have to pay more tax
That is incorrect, here is an example Mr A had a chargeable income of $20K and then had a raise bringing his pay to $30K If the statement was true, the entire $30K would be subject to a 2% tax and his tax bill would be $600 What actually happens is that: When assessing his $30K salary, following the chart from top to bottom, the first $20K earned is not subject to tax Afterwards the remaining amount, in this case $10K, is assessed at its respective tax rate. In this case it it 2%, as such he owes $200 in tax, as shown in the chart
While everyone needs to pay taxes, not everyone needs to file taxes One may fall under the No-Filing Service category are not required to submit a tax return, they can log on to the IRAS website and ensure all their income and reliefs are accurate or make any corrections if necessary Others will have to file a tax return, they can do so by following instructions, tips and resources This will most likely apply to those are self-employed
Individuals can choose to pay via an annual lump sum or through up to 12 interest-free monthly installments via GIRO Other methods include (but are not limited to)
Some definitions: Tax Relief: Reduces the amount of income that is subject to tax Tax Rebate: Reduces the actual amount of tax that needs to be paid Illustration here The examples here will fall under Tax Relief unless stated otherwise One can only claim up to $80,000 in tax relief per Year of Assessment
With the current lack of fees and tax relief offered, if one is going to buy Robos/ STI ETF and hold long term anyway, it might be worth it to buy through one's SRS But be aware of the 5% penalty if it is withdrawn early Here are some articles about SRS byFirePathLionandKyith
Considerations
While the potential tax relief may be rather attractive there are some factors to keep in mind before using these schemes For those below the 7% (less than $40K) tax bracket it may not be worth it as the savings VS the amount locked up is quite small That and there's also the issue of policy risk, for a lot of younger investors theres a long time until retirement and there will almost be policy changes in the future Especially since the futures of younger investors may be very fluid, the hard and soft lock-ins warrant extra consideration As usual, it comes down to individual situations and their own due diligence Below is a list of various other tax reliefs that are more situational, one will need to apply to receive the relief unless stated otherwise
Bank account bonuses expiring at the end of this month / year - December 2020 (BIG LIST)
Big list this month given the end of a year is a nice round deadline. Let me know if any expired early or if we missed any. Source: https://everybankbonus.com Note - I trimmed some descriptions to fit the max char. count Personal [IN] Advance Financial Federal Credit Union Checking with Direct Deposit ($160) - Open a new checking account to get a $50 bonus. Register for and use online bill pay to get an additional $50. Sign up for direct deposit to earn $50. Sign up for eStatements and like the credit union's Facebook page for a final $10 bonus. Total bonus potential of $160. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://advancefcu.org/promotions/checking-promotion/ [TX] A+ Federal Credit Union Cash-Back Checking/Membership Savings ($50) - Use promo code 2020COM50: Receive a $10 bonus after opening your Membership Savings account. Receive a $40 bonus when you receive $800 or more in direct deposits each month within 60 days. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://aplusfcu.org/com50/ [Nationwide] American Airlines CU Checking ($100). - All active or retired airline employees and their family members can open a new checking account and earn $25 for each of the following activities within 60 days of account opening: complete $25+ in debit card spending, receive $250+ in direct deposits in the first two months, enroll in eStatements, and download the American Airline Credit Union mobile app. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.aacreditunion.org/banking/checking/checking-promo/ [AZ] Arizona Central Credit Union Checking ($200). Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.azcentralcu.org/other-offers/special-member-offers/new-member-account-opening-promotions [Nationwide] Bank of America Advantage Checking ($100). - Use promo code PSR100CIS: set up two $250 direct deposits within the first 3 months to get a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://promo.bankofamerica.com/chooseyourchecking1/offe [Nationwide] Bank of America Checking *TARGETED* ($300). - Set up $4,000 in cumulative direct deposits within the first 3 months to get a $300 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://promotions.bankofamerica.com/offers/2020 t33004k [ME, NH, VT] Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Simple Checking ($100) - Request the coupon by filling out the form and click on ‘Email Me My Coupon’. Bring the coupon into a branch and open a new Simple Checking account. Complete a $250+ direct deposit by February 28, 2021 to earn a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.barharbor.bank/checkingbonus418 [ID, OR, WA] BECU Checking and Savings ($200) (Seahawks Teammates) - Open a checking and savings accounts using promo code TEAMMATES200 during application. Within 60 days, complete 10 debit card transactions to earn a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.becu.org/Partners/seahawks-teammates [IL] Beverly Bank Total Access Checking ($300). - Beverly Bank subsidiary: open account with $100, enroll in ebanking and estatements, and complete 2 monthly direct deposits of at least $500. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.thebeverlybank.com/lp/2019/values.html [OH] BMI FCU Free Checking ($150). - Enter promo code CHECK20 when applying online or in person. Sign up for eStatements and make 30 debit card transactions over $5 to get a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.bmifcu.org/free_checking.html [MO, OK] Central Bank Checking ($150, $250) - Open a checking account using promo code C150CM20 / C250CM20 and a $50 opening deposit. Within 90 days, complete 2 or more direct deposits for a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.centralbank.net/150/https://www.centralbank.net/get250/ [Nationwide] Chime Bank Referral Promotion ($75) – Get a $75 bonus when you have one direct deposit of at least $200 within 45 days of account opening. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 [Ask a friend for link] [CA, IL] Citizens Equity First CU Checking ($125, $175) - Req's vary by bonus typeExp Dec. 31, 2020 $125 - https://www.cefcu.com/promos/checkingbonus $175 - https://www.cefcu.com/promos/specialpricing [PA] Clearview FCU Basic or Absolute Checking ($300, $400, $500) – DD and Savings requirements vary by bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.clearviewfcu.org/500-Offer [IA] Collins Community CU Advantage Checking ($100) - Open a checking account with $50. Set up direct deposit within 60 days to receive a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.collinscu.org/promotions/open-a-new-advantage-checking-account-and-get-a-100-bonus [KS, OK] Communication Federal Credit Union Paycom ($100). - Use promo code PAYCOM, and within 90 days enroll in eStatements, receive direct deposits totally $1,500, and make fifteen debit card purchases of at least $5 to get a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.comfedcu.org/paycom/ [KS, MO] CommunityAmerica CU Chiefs Checking ($150) - Open a Chiefs Checking checking account. Within 45 days: provide your email address, enroll in eStatements, and set up a direct deposit of at least $250 to earn a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.communityamerica.com/chiefs-checking-special-offer-disclosures [FL] Community First Credit Union Free Checking ($100) (UNF) - Students, faculty or staff of University of North Florida are eligible to earn a $100 bonus. All you need to do is open a free checking account, which requires a $25 opening deposit and $5 to become a member. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.unf.edu/Redesign1.aspx?id=75162083797 [FL, select counties] Community First CU Checking ($210) - Use promo code "CHK2020": set up a new debit card in the Save My Change Program to get a $25 bonus, set up a monthly direct deposit within the first month to get a $125 bonus, refer friends and family to get a $25 bonus, let the CU try to save you money on an auto loan or credit card to get a $25 bonus, and set up 2 automatic bill payments within the first month to get a $10 Amazon gift card. Total potential bonus of $210. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://info.communityfirstfl.org/free-checking-accounts [KS] Credit Union of America Core Checking ($300) (Educators) - Open a Core checking account to earn a $100 Amazon gift card. Within 90 days complete a direct deposit of $500 or more to earn a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.cuofamerica.com/Resources/Educators [MA, RI] Dedham Savings Bank Checking w Billpay ($250). - Set up 2 direct deposits amounting to $1,000 and complete 2 online bill payments both within the first 2 months to get a $250 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.dedhamsavings.com/switch [DC] Department of Labor FCU Checking (Up to $200). - Set up a $500 direct deposit within the first month (45 days) to get a $100 bonus. Complete 10 debit card purchases within the first 2 months to get an additional $100 bonus. Total potential bonus of $200. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.dolfcu.org/join-dolfcu/ [PA] Dollar Bank Everything Checking ($400). -Open an Everything checking account and receive a $100 reward after making $1,000 or more in direct deposits within 90 days. Receive an additional $100 after receiving $5,000 in direct deposits within 90 days of account opening. Finally, receive $100 within 2 months of the 1-year anniversary of your account opening. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.dollar.bank/Ads/$400-Checking-pa [VA] Dollar Bank Great Checking ($400). - Open a Great checking account and receive $5,000 or more in direct deposits within 90 days to receive a $300 bonus. Keep account open for 1 year to receive an additional $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.dollar.bank/celebrate [IN] Dyer Bank Statement Savings ($200) -Open a Statement Savings account. Maintain a $15,000 balance for the 3 consecutive calendar months following the calendar month your new account is opened to earn a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.dyerbank.com/community.html [IN] Dyer Bank Total Access Checking ($300) - Open account with $100, enroll in ebanking and estatements, and complete monthly direct deposits of $500 or more for two consecutive months. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.dyerbank.com/community.html [IL] Elgin State Bank Cubs Checking ($300). - Elgin State Bank subsidiary: open account with $100, enroll in ebanking and estatements, and complete 2 monthly direct deposits of at least $500. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.elginstatebank.com/personal/banking-and-borrowing/checking/cubs-checking.html [CO] ENT Credit Union Checking ($200). -Open a new checking account at the Twenty Mile Service Center or Cottonwood Service Center using promo code PARKER. Activate your debit card and make a deposit of $100 or more to receive a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 http://www.parkerchamber.com/hotdeals/info/ent-credit-union-200-new-member-offer-01-19-2020 [CO] ENT Credit Union Checking ($200) [Available for all locations] - Open a new checking account, activate your debit card and make a deposit of $100 or more to receive a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.ent.com/get200 [FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, NC, OH, TN, WV] Fifth Third Bank Checking ($250) - Open a checking account after requesting your bonus promo code using the offer link below. Within 60 days, complete direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more for a $250 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/mkg/checking-offer.html#disclosures [MN] Firefly Credit Union Checking ($250). - Use promo code GET250 and open a free checking account. Within 60 days, receive 2 or more direct deposits totaling at least $2,000 and complete 20 debit card purchases totaling at least $300 to receive a $250 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.fireflycu.org/Landing-Pages/250checking [WA] First Financial Northwest Bank ($300) (Pierce County) - Visit one of the 2 First Financial Northwest Bank locations in Pierce county. Open a First Checking account, Enhanced Savings account, Premium Money Market account, and a CD to earn a $300 bonus. Enhanced Savings account requires a linked checking account that receives $250 in direct deposit or more each month. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.ffnwb.com/fall-promo/ [FL] First Home Bank Checking ($250) (Crunch Fitness Members) -Have an active Crunch Fitness membership and set up a monthly direct deposit to get a $250 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.firsthomebank.com/crunchoffe [IL, IN, OH] First Merchants Advantage Checking ($100, $200, $400). – DD and debit card req’s vary. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.firstmerchants.com/muncie [NM] First National 1870 Checking ($200) - Open a new personal checking account (Convenience, Spend & Sign & Save, Elite, Superb, Premier). Complete $500 in ACH credits or debits and complete 20 debit card purchases within the first month to get a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.firstnational1870.com/Welcome200 [IA, NE] First Nebraska Credit Union Checking ($25, $75). -Set up a direct deposit, complete 10 debit card purchases, and enroll in estatements within the first 2 months to get a combined $75 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://firstnebraska.org/news/checking-promo-2020 / [IL] First Northern Credit Union Checking/Savings ($210) - Open a checking and savings account using promo code BD2020. To earn the $210 bonus, you must direct deposit $250 bi-weekly into the checking account and $100 bi-weekly into the savings account. Each successful checking direct deposit will earn you a $25 bonus (maximum 6 within 90 days of account opening) and each savings direct deposit will earn you a $10 bonus (maximum 6 within 90 days of account opening). Total bonus of $210. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.fncu.org/specialoffe?scpage=1&scupdated=1&scorder=-click_count [NY] Five Star Bank Checking ($150, $250 for Premier account) - Open an account and set up direct deposit 60 days from the last day of the month the account was opened to get a $250 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.five-starbank.com/banking/personal-banking/checking [MN] Great River FCU Checking ($100) -Use promo code "St. Cloud Rox" and open a checking account. Within 60 days, complete one of the following: Set up direct deposit OR complete 5 debit card purchases to receive a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.greatriverfcu.org/rox/ [AL, FL, LA, MO, TX] Hancock Whitney Bank Access Checking ($100) -Enter your email address on the form, and receive a promo code. Bring the promo code to your nearest financial center. Set up and receive a qualifying monthly direct deposit of at least $250 within 90 days to receive a $100 bonus. $20 service charge if account is closed within the 180 days. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.hancockwhitney.com/mychecking100ac-20 [AL, FL, LA, MO, TX] Hancock Whitney Bank Priority Checking ($300) -Use the link to get unique promo code. by 12/31/2020. By 2/28/2021, set up and receive a qualifying monthly direct deposit of at least $250 per deposit to earn a $300 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.hancockwhitney.com/mychecking300pc-20 [IA, MN] Home Federal Savings Bank Checking ($250). - Set up a $500 direct deposit within the first 2 months to get a $150 bonus. Register debit card with CardValet app to get a $50 bonus. Complete 15 debit card purchases via mobile wallet within the first 45 days to get a $50 bonus. Total potential bonus of $250. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.justcallhome.com/HighFive [MI] Honor CU Kalamazoo Checking ($250) -Open a new Honor Benefits or Connect checking account with $25 minimum deposit. Add a direct deposit totaling at least $100 per month within 60 days of opening your new account. Bonus amount of $250 will be paid within 30 days of direct deposit requirement. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.honorcu.com/kalamazoo/ [IL] Hyde Park Bank White Sox Checking ($300). – Wintrust Bank subsidiary: Open account with $100, enroll in online banking, activate e-statements and have direct deposits totaling $500 each month for 2 consecutive calendar months after the calendar month your new account was opened. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.hydeparkbank.net/personal/banking-and-borrowing/checking/white-sox-checking.html [Nationwide] Incredible Bank Chill Checking (1-Year Netflix Subscription, $203.40 Value) - College students are eligible to have their Netflix subscription reimbursed when they open a Chill Checking account. To be eligible for your Netflix subscription reimbursement, you must be 18+ and present a valid college student ID, have your Netflix subscription charged to your debit card, and make at least 5 debit card purchases each month. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.incrediblebank.com/chillchecking [MO] Jefferson Bank Checking ($150) – Use promo code C150CM20 and open one of the following eligible accounts: MyChoice Checking, MaxMoney Checking, Free Checking, Preferred Interest Checking, or World Checking. Within 90 days complete 2 direct deposits to earn a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.jefferson-bank.com/150/ [MO] Jefferson Bank Checking ($250) - Use promo code C250CA20 and open one of the following eligible accounts: MyChoice Checking, MaxMoney Checking, Free Checking, Preferred Interest Checking, or World Checking. Within 90 days complete 2 direct deposits that total $500 or more to earn a $250 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.jefferson-bank.com/250/ [NY] Jovia Financial CU Go Green Checking ($150) - Open a Go Green Checking account with a $100 opening deposit. Within 60 days, complete a direct deposit of $100 or more to earn a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.joviafinancial.com/promotions#checking [CA] LBS Financial Credit Union Checking ($100) - Open a checking account using promo code Marina2020. Within 60 days, set up a $100 direct deposit to earn a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.lbsfcu.org/new-members/ [CT, MA, RI] Liberty Bank Student Checking ($100). - Complete 5 debit card purchases within the first 2 months to get a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.liberty-bank.com/personal/banking/checking-accounts-debit-cards/student-banking [IA] Linn Area CU Free Checking ($50). - Use promo code "50FORME": enroll in online banking and estatements to get a $50 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.linnareacu.org/promotion/get-free-checking-get-50/ [IA] Linn Area CU Free Checking w Direct Deposit ($50). - Use promo code "50FORME": set up direct deposit to get a $50 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.linnareacu.org/promotion/get-free-checking-get-50/ [MD] LM Federal Credit Union RegulaInterest Checking ($100) - Open a regular or interest checking account. Within 45 days, complete 5 debit card transactions. Within 30 days, complete a direct deposit of $500 or more to earn a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.lmfcu.org/About-LM/News-Promotions/Promotions/Open-a-New-Checking-Account [MO] Members First Credit Union Checking ($100) - Open a checking account and receive a $100 bonus after signing up for direct deposit, eStatements, and a debit card. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://townplannerstl.com/members-1st-coupons/ [MI] Michigan Schools & Government CU Checking ($200) - Open a Regular or Fresh Start checking account with $25. Within 60 days, sign up for eStatements and receive a direct deposit of $100 or more to earn a $200 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.msgcu.org/checking-offer [AZ] Midfirst Bank Checking ($150) - Open a new checking account and complete two of the following three activities within 90 days to earn a $150 bonus: Set up a $250 minimum direct deposit, complete 10 debit card purchases, and complete three Zelle® transactions on the MidFirst Bank Mobile Banking App Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://fe37157075640475711077.pub.s10.sfmc-content.com/0dbtkoz15gm [AZ] MidFirst Bank Checking ($250) - Open a new checking account and complete two of the following three activities within 90 days to earn a $300 bonus: Set up a $250 minimum direct deposit, complete 10 debit card purchases, and complete three Zelle® transactions on the MidFirst Bank Mobile Banking App Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://fe37157075640475711077.pub.s10.sfmc-content.com/zxvj5wjsju2?utm_campaign=vanity&utm_source=midfirst.com%2f%2flive250az&utm_medium=vanity [NY] Mid-Hudson Valley FCU Checking ($200) - Use promo code GETAPPLE200 when opening a new account. Set up direct deposit of $500 or more within 60 days of opening account for a $200 cash bonus. Choose FREE CHECKING account for no fees. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.mhvfcu.com/$200-checking-offer [CO, FL, MN, WI] MidWestOne Bank Power Checking ($225) - Power Checking account must be opened online using or redeemed in-person by presenting offer code at time of account opening. You will receive the $225 deposit into your Power Checking account within 15 business days once you have qualified for Power Checking rewards in one of the first three Power Checking statement cycles after account opening. Power Checking Qualifications: Have at least one direct deposit, automatic debit from a third party, or Online Bill Pay post and clear. Receive electronic statements. Have at least 15 Debit Card purchases post and clear. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.midwestone.bank/promotions/2020/power-checking-225 [WI] Monona Bank True Checking ($300) - Open a True Checking account with $100. Sign up for two of the following services: online/mobile banking, debit or credit card, bill pay, or other options. Set up direct deposit and complete 5+ transactions a month and your bonus will be deposited to your account within 90 days after you complete these steps. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/classifieds/9/9c/99c41ee2-3d83-5258-82d5-ab4c7ff1d803/5ee7fd75d935b.pdf.pdf [IL] Old Second Bank Checking and Money Builder Savings ($200) - Use promo code EM2: get a debit card and enroll in estatements to get a $50 bonus. Earn a $100 bonus after completing two $500 direct deposits. Earn an additional $50 bonus when you meet both of the above requirements and open a Money Builder Savings account and deposit $5,000 within 90 days. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.oldsecond.com/personal-banking/200-checking-savings-special-em/ [MI] Our Credit Union Premium Checking ($100) - Matching deposit up to $100 for new Premium Checking account. Have at least one debit card transaction per month over 60 days. Must sign up for eStatements and complete a monthly direct deposit of $500 or more for 2 months. Must mention ad for matching deposit when opening. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.ourcuonline.org/join [CA] Paradise Valley FCU Checking ($150) - Open a checking account with a debit card and make 5 debit card purchases within 60 days to receive a $100 bonus. Additionally set up and make at least 1 recurring direct deposit to earn another $50. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.paradisevalleyfcu.org/earn-100-dollars/ [PA] Pennsylvania State Employees CU Checking ($150). - Use promo code "FS150": set up a monthly $300 direct deposit within the first 3 months to get a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.psecu.com/150 [NE, Beatrice locations] Pinnacle Bank Diamond Secure Account ($200) - Earn $50 for completing each of the following: open a NEW Diamond Secure Account, make two direct deposits, make at least 20 debit card purchases, open a NEW PinnSavings Account. Total bonus amount of $200 if you complete all four. Must be opened at on of the Beatrice Locations. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/beatricedailysun.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/classifieds/f/ed/fed38a21-ce2c-5806-8010-bcf35ab3314b/5f04d447c6aa1.pdf.pdf [Nationwide] PNC Virtual Wallet ($50, $200, $400)- Within sixty days of account opening, make cumulative direct deposits of at least $500 / $2,000 / $5,000 to get the bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/virtual-wallet-overview.html [FL, mainly Southern FL] Power Financial CU Checking ($100) - Set up direct deposit OR have an initial deposit of $500 to get a $100 bonus. Membership with the credit union required, as well as keeping the account open for 90 days. Must open a savings account as well. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.powerfi.org/about-us/important-member-information/promotions/ [IN] Purdue FCU Checking ($150) - Open a new checking account at the Crown Point branch or online with a Lake or Porter County zip code. Sign up for a debit card and eStatements. Make 10 member initiated transactions. Finally, make 2 direct deposits of $500 or more each within 90 days of account opening to receive a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.purduefed.com/site/welcome-crown-point/checking-bonus/ [WI] PyraMax Bank Checking ($125) - Open new Personal Checking account with promo code 125FREE and receive a $125 bonus after making a direct deposit of $250 or more a month for the first 3 months after the account is opened. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.pyramaxbank.com/banking/checking/ [MA] Reading Cooperative Bank - Earn a $50 cash bonus when you open a personal checking account with $10 deposit and set up direct deposit. Earn another $50 cash bonus with you set up online bill pay. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://readingcoop.com/50-50/ [FL, IN, KY, TN] Republic Bank Checking ($100, $200). - Use promo code LX1/LX2: set up a $100 direct deposit within the first 3 months to get a $100 bonus. Complete 50 debit card purchases to get an additional $100 bonus within the first 3 months. Total potential bonus of $200. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://tech.republicbank.com/ [MA] Rockland Trust Bank Checking ($250) (Worcester Branch) - Visit the Rockland Trust Bank location in Worcester, Massachusetts and open a personal checking account. Within 90 days, have at least 4 deposits totaling $2,000 or more. These deposits do not have to be direct deposits. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by April 30, 2021. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.rocklandtrust.com/worcester-branch-now-open [CA] SAFE Credit Union Checking ($150, $250, $400) - Open a Perfect Cents checking or Prestige checking account with $25. Make 30 debit card purchases within the first 90 days to earn a $150 bonus. Make three direct deposits of $1,000 each or more in the first 120 days to earn a $250 bonus. Total bonus potential of $400. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.safecu.org/Financially-Fit-Checking [CT, DE, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI] Santander Bank Simply Right Checking ($225) - Enter email and name to get unique promo code: set up a cumulative $1,000 direct deposit within the first 3 months to get a $225 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.santanderbank.com/us/pages/personal/checking-accounts-acq [FL] Seacoast Bank Premium Checking/Savings ($150, $250, $400) - Open a Premium Checking account with $50 and a Savings Account using offer code DM400. To earn the $250 checking bonus, complete a direct deposit of $500 or more within 60 days of account opening. To earn the $150 savings account bonus, deposit a total of $15,000 or more within 10 business days of account opening and maintain said balance for 90 days. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.seacoastbank.com/switchtoday [WA] Sound Credit Union IRA Transfer Bonus ($100) - Transfer an IRA or roll over a 401k with a minimum balance of $25,000 to a new IRA with CUSO Financial Services within 45 days and get a $100 Visa gift card. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.soundcu.com/life-and-finances/open-ira-get-100/ [WA] Sound Credit Union Sound Checking ($150) - Open a Sound Checking account. Within 90 days, receive at least one direct deposit of $500 or more to earn a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.soundcu.com/life-and-finances/theres-150-reasons-to-switch-to-sound/ [MN, WI] Spire Credit Union Free Checking ($100) - Open a Spire Free Checking account with an opening deposit of $100 or more. Set up an automatic payment or direct deposit and complete 6 debit card transactions within 60 days to receive a $100 bonus. Account must remain open for six months. $100 bonus will be deposited to the checking account upon account opening. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.myspire.com/about-spire/current-promos [NY, OH, PA] S&T Bank Checking ($350) - Open a Preferred, Select, or Four Star checking account online to receive a $50 bonus. Sign up for online statements, deposit $500 to the account within 10 days, and make ten $10 qualifying debit card transactions to receive a $100 bonus. All accounts must maintain a $500 balance for the entirety of the bonus process to be eligible for any rewards. Finally, receive a $200 bonus for keeping the account active for 6 months. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.stbank.com/money-tree-promotion [AZ, CO, KS, MO, NM, TX] Sunflower Bank Checking ($200) - Open a new personal checking account. Complete 20 debit card purchases AND have ACH credits or debits totaling $500 or more that all post to the account on or before 1/31/21. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.sunflowerbank.com/Welcome200 [Tom Green County, TX] Texas Trust CU Checking ($150) - Use promo code 8009: set up one $500 direct deposit OR make 10 debit card transactions totaling $100 within a 35 day period within 90 days after account opening. Your account must remain open with a positive balance. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.texastrustcu.org/MyBankLeftMe/ [MN, WI] Thrivent Federal Credit Union Rewards Checking ($200) - Open a Rewards Checking account using promo code 2020CHECKING and within 90 days complete the following activities: sign up for online banking, enroll in eStatements, make 20 debit card purchases. Direct deposit a minimum of $500 total to receive $100, direct deposit a minimum of $2,500 total to receive an additional $100. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://info.thriventcu.com/checking-bonus-2020 [MD] Tower Federal Credit Union Prime Share ($100) - Establish a membership with Tower FCU using promo code 100GPS20 and $100 will be deposited to your Prime Share account. Minimum balance to open is $5. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.towerfcu.org/the-tower-difference-100gps/ [WI] Town Bank Statement Savings ($200, $300) – Varies by account type. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.townbank.us/community.html [ND] Town & Country CU Star Rewards Checking ($100). - Set up a $250 direct deposit within the first month to get a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.townandcountry.org/content/star-rewards-checking-100-new-account-offer [AZ] Vantage West CU Premium Rewards Checking ($200) - $100 bonus + 10,000 Rewards Points (a $100 cash value) for new Members who open a Vantage West Premium Rewards checking account, set up a $500 Direct Deposit within 60 days, and use their debit card once. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://vantagewest.org/get200/ [WI] Waukesha State Bank Checking ($100) - Open a checking account using promo code DDA100GEO20 and deposit at least $100 to receive a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.waukeshabank.com/commyounity-testimonials-6 [CT, MA, NY, RI] Webster Bank Checking ($250 + $250 Donation) - Use the link to the offer below and open a WebsterOne Relationship Checking account. Within 90 days, complete a direct deposit of $500 or more OR complete 20 debit card transactions to receive a $250 bonus. Webster Bank will also donate $250 to the Hartford HealthCARES Colleague Assistance Fund. Use promo code $250WEBONE-HHC-HEROES Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://public.websteronline.com/offers/hartford-healthcare-frontline-heroes [CA] Wescom CU Checking ($250) - Open a Wescom Checking Account with a $100 deposit and maintain this balance for your first full calendar month after opening to earn a $100 bonus. Use your debit card at least twice a month for two consecutive months to earn $50. Finally, make a qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more for two consecutive months and get $100. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://wescom.org/welcome/?utm_source=wescomtogether2020 &utm_medium=socialads-500offer&utm_campaign=Grail [OH] Westfield Bank Dream Big Checking with Savings ($100) - With $250, set up a monthly recurring direct deposit for a $100 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.westfield-bank.com/promo-switch-bonus [IL] Wheaton Bank & Trust Total Access Checking ($300). - Wheaton Bank & Trust subsidiary: open account with $100, enroll in ebanking and estatements, and complete 2 monthly direct deposits of at least $500. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 http://wheatonbank.com/personal/banking-and-borrowing/checking/total-access-checking.html [MN] Wings Financial CU Checking ($300) - Set up a $300 direct deposit, complete 5 debit card purchases of $5 or more, and enroll in estatements within the first 2 months to get a $300 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.wingsfinancial.com/300-checking [IL] Wintrust Bank Northwestern Wildcats Checking ($300) - Open a Wildcats Checking account with $100. Have monthly occurring direct deposits totaling $500 or more for 2 consecutive calendar months after your account was opened and enroll in online banking and active e-statements to get a $300 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.wintrust.com/personal-solutions/bank-with-us/checking/northwestern-checking.html [FL, IL] Wintrust Bank Bonuses ($200, $300)- Checking and savings bonuses, varies by account type and amount. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.wintrustflorida.com/community.html [CA] Yolo Federal Credit Union Checking ($150) - Open a Simply or Student Checking account. Within 45 days, enroll in eStatements, make 5 or more purchases of $10 or more with your debit/credit card. Complete one of the following: have ACH or direct deposits totaling $500 or more, OR establish an aggregate loan relationship of $5,000 or more to earn a $150 bonus. Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.yolofcu.org/accounts/checking/bonus-checking-offe Business (leaving out descriptions because of character count) [MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA] First Horizon Bank BizEssentials Savings ($150) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.firsthorizon.com/sb150 [MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA] First Horizon Bank Business Checking & Savings ($300, $450) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.firsthorizon.com/landing/business/300-bize-checking-landing-bzd300 [Nationwide] HSBC Fusion Business Checking Bonuses ($200, $300, $400) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.us.hsbc.com/fusion/ [CT, MA, RI] Liberty Bank Business Checking ($100). Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.liberty-bank.com/personal/promotions [IL] Old Plank Trail Bank Entrepreneur Checking ($300) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.oldplanktrailbank.com/lp/2020/business-working-capital.html [CT, DE, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI] Santander Bank Business Checking ($320) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.santanderbank.com/us/pages/business/bizcashbonus [IL] St. Charles Bank Entrepreneur Business Checking ($300) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.bankstcharles.com/lp/2020/business-working-capital.html [AL, AR, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV, DC] SunTrust Business Checking ($200) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://www.suntrust.com/lp/open-small-business-checking-account [AZ] Vantage West CU Business Checking ($200) Exp Dec. 31, 2020 https://vantagewest.org/bus-getrewarded/
In light of the paycheck posts, I'm a 10 year E-5 that broke 200K NW this year.
I wanted to do one of these since the bullshit post a few months ago from some E-6 claiming to be a millionaire with completely unrealistic numbers, but felt like waiting until I hit my 10 year mark/end of (normal) year. Coincidentally, these DFAS news and the paycheck posts made this even more relevant so I just wanted to share my journey with whoever is interested. Some of the numbers are from memory, but they're not going to be off by much. I will say that while some of my situations were definitely lucky, some were also very stupid or unfortunate financial events that I've managed to recover from. Also, although we do NOT have kids, we do have a dog that we currently spend ~$200/mo on just allergy shots and food. It's a long post, but I'll hit up the different years and milestones I made in bold so it's easier to skip through stuff. Also, although I am married, I was usually on the hook to pay for more of the expenses and our NW (retirement/savings) ARE separate and not included in MY NW numbers for this purpose. BMT/Tech school - Nov 2010-May 2011: NW: -15K I came in on November 2010 (6-yr enlistee) as an E-2 due to college credits with roughly 15K in debt. During BMT/school, I had my brother sell my car for ~$5K that I put towards that debt. Unfortunately, I had no clothes that were made for the winter, and no entertainment for myself, so I bought a new wardrobe, a gaming laptop, a new phone and some other small purchases. Along with going out for food/drinks on occasion (we were at an Army base that had literally green meat as "steaks"), I ended up spending at least $3K during the total 7 months, but was steadily making progress on my debts. Got to my base as an A1C thanks to the 6 year thing. NW: ~ -$6K First base, year one May 2011-12: As I got to my base I realized that I definitely needed a car. Being a car guy, I wanted something fun, but I also knew I wanted to be semi-responsible. I cringed at the notion of getting a corolla or civic, and ultimately bought my brother's car - a 2003 G35 that he bought brand new - for 12K that he demanded I get full insurance coverage for. We get along, so we worked out a payment plan and no banks were involved. I was paying him $500/mo and another $100 or so towards insurance every month because I had a few accidents on my record. To note, the car has lasted me until this year with less than $3K of total repairs to include all oil changes and the one tire change I did throughout my time of ownership. I was eating out at least weekly for lunch and would usually do a dinner a couple times a month. I stayed away from clubs as it wasn't really my scene, but I drank at least one beer a day. I also flew home for every long weekend in the first year, which was pretty pricy and stupid in retrospect. I had decent credit since my mom put my name on a credit card a few years ago, but I knew I needed to keep working at it, so I opened a discover card which all of my expenses (electronics, clothes, food, etc) went on that I paid off in full every month. I knew that I should start putting money towards my retirement, so I also started a TSP (Roth was not available at this time) and was putting in about $100/mo which ballooned to a whopping $1K. Paid off all my debts I had before I joined, but still had a little over $7K of the car to pay off and the rest was revolving debt that I paid off every month. NW ~-6K First base, year two May 2012-13: I was able to get off base early (just over 1 year of being in the dorms) and got a place with someone I was friends with to pocket the difference in BAH. I bought a $1K mattress and other furniture that set me back a bit, but I was able to pay for it immediately. My rm and I got along well at first, but he was a few years younger than me and that age difference definitely started to show itself. After a few months, I had enough and asked him to move out around October. My rent was now $300 OVER my BAH. After paying for it for a couple months, I had a friend visit me for a month that chipped in the rent difference and ended up having my GF move in that did the same. I paid off my previous debts, but still owed a couple thousand on the car. I also started getting into scotch, picking up $1-200 of scotch every month (on top of the craft beer). Lastly, I got an off base gym membership that included tennis and a year round pool that cost me nearly $100/mo. Stupid expenses... but at least they made me happy. Knowing a strategic language, I was told to take the language test and passed, getting me an additional $400/mo, although after taxes was closer to like 350 which basically allowed my scotch and gym expenses. I stopped contributing to the TSP and instead went with the Roth IRA (remember, no Roth option in the TSP at this time and we weren't getting a match anyways) and I maxed out my Roth IRA for the year 2012 instantly. NW ~+$5K Deployment & moving May 2013-June 14 I got picked up to deploy at the end of May and was very excited. I also put on SrA just as I arrived. I bought a newer laptop that cost over $1K for that deployment specifically. Since I was living off base, I was able to put my stuff in storage to bank the BAH (~900/mo) and I was getting all of the hazard and tax free pay which totaled to be about 4K/mo. I had everything going into the SDP that I can and maxed it within 4 months. The rest I put in to max my Roth IRA for 2013. Upon return, I moved to a far cheaper apartment that let me save ~$300/mo on BAH, but bought a new phone, kitchen knife, camera, handgun, TV and desktop, and had some other expenses. Because this place was also much farther of a drive, I was spending a bit more on gas. Nevertheless, the market was rebounding from the crash and I paid off the car, so I switched to liability insurance only that let me save more money. Then, the hunger games started. I was trying to palace chase and was so sure it was going to happen, I didn't bother to study for my staff test. Unfortunately, the guard base lost my paperwork and by the time I sent everything to them again and they verified it all, my career field stopped letting people go. I found out a week before my test. I took leave to study, but spoiler alert: I didn't make it. NW ~+20K House purchase, marriage, divorce and another marriage June 14-16 The cheap rent was cheap for a reason. I got broken into and had my handgun stolen along with my TV. I also didn't have renter's insurance, but they only stole about $1K worth of stuff so it wasn't a huge deal. At this point I was also with my gf for 4 years now so we were talking about marriage and me buying a house to finish up my enlistment. I bought a house that my GF liked that was probably the nicest house in the neighborhood with a VA loan and financed ~$180K. My BAH did NOT cover the house payment and they stopped paying my language pay, so I got a 2nd job for about 5 months on the weekends at a restaurant that averaged $700/mo. I ended up having some health issues that had me looking forward to get surgery and I could not be on my feet that long and had to quit. Shortly after the house purchase, I bought my childhood attainable-dream-car. A '98 low mileage M3 that cost me ~$20K after the purchase & repairs were done which was close to the cost of it in this condition on the market so no change to my NW from this as this was my 2nd car that I could theoretically sell at any time. I did have the extra recurring cost of car insurance, but it was ~$50/mo for full coverage as my accidents finally fell off my records. I also got married, moved her in, and paid for all of the expenses besides her car insurance, phone, and classes. I also gave her $5.5K to max her IRA for the year as well as maxing mine. We immediately started having issues (non financial) and we got a divorce within a year. While the divorce was pending, I started considering doing 20 years due to my medical concerns, but only if I got a base I wanted. Overseas listing was solid and I put on a few options for extended long. Ended up going on a couple of dates a week after my ex moved out. After being in a shitty situation, I had a lot of time to think about what I was looking for and was very honest about that and myself in general. Really hit it off with one girl, but a few months into the relationship I was notified of my selection to Aviano. We talked about what that means for us, how we felt, and decided to get married, so we did. Maxed my Roth IRA throughout the years and added a few thousand towards a brokerage account. Before PCSing we had an AC go out that I paid for in the tune of $5K and decided to rent the house out (for the cost of the PITI). My M3 went into storage with my family at no cost to me. NW ~+40K PCS issues July 16-April 17 We got screwed with a ton of wrong information about travel policies and had to spend nearly a month in DC out of pocket to the tune of $15K. Thankfully I had a 0% APR credit card. We also had issues finding a house here, so the extra TLA really helped out. We finally found a place, I had a couple of TDYs, bought a 2nd car, and as we were settling in, I got hit with a deployment. I knew this was a good time to save some money, but also wanted another income generating asset, so when we flew home before my deployment, we made some time to look at houses so I can buy and rent it out in the same state that I was previously stationed at (and where she was from). We found a place and started getting everything together. I also made the final payment on the 15K PCS bill the week before I left. Maxed my Roth IRA. NW ~$60K Deployment April-Oct 17 In May, I had my funds in escrow that I got a hard money loan for, for a house that cost 120K and was set to be rented at $1200+. The house was rented within a week for 1250, so I was pretty happy about this. Wife went back to the US for a bit, so we saved a little on utilities/food expenses as she stayed largely with her parents. I started contributing 30% into the Roth TSP and I bought some crypto at the tail end of my deployment. Deployment was shit, my shop literally sat in silence for 5 months after the NCOIC sent someone home for a bullshit article 15 charge. Made me EXTREMELY disgruntled and not giving a shit about making tech. NW ~$80K Home, until next deployment Nov 17-Jan 2020 I got home, bought a new PC (~$1.5K), and immediately made a bunch of travel plans to make up for the deployment time. The crypto boom/bust occurred with me taking out $5K (which was my initial investment), but re-investing it during the crash which I still hold to today and I crossed into 2018 with ~$100K NW. January saw yet another budget issue where we weren't getting paid and our TDYs were getting cancelled, but I was doing pretty well... for a little bit anyways Unfortunately, we had our renters cancel their lease on both houses in early '18, some repairs needed to be done that cost OVER the security deposit, and our PM company dragged their feet on getting new tenants in because of a change in ownership. I started living paycheck to paycheck (sans my TSP contributions) because I had to cover both vacant properties and still pay for our living expenses here DESPITE getting COLA and utility allowance as we were still trying to take travel opportunities. This year, I had to take money out of my taxable account to cover my Roth IRA. I fired the PM company come September and hired a new one that had tenants in within a month at both places. Some additional repair costs were needed because the last company made certain things worse (or charged me for fixes that never occurred). We also had a flash flood while I was TDY (and had the wife join me) that led to our 2nd car having to be salvaged in the fall as well. Come January '19, I was getting a handle on the past bills, we got another car for the wife, and life moved on for a bit. Picked up a 3rd car from a members that was PCSing (another M3, this one for $1K as a project car to resell or maybe even to take back to the US). Some more house expenses came up, but nothing we couldn't handle, although it did slow down our investments. Overall, '19 was pretty unprofitable outside of the 30% TSP and maxing the previous year's IRAs - which I funded for both myself and the wife. I got news that my IPCOT was approved, so I was spending another 4 years at Aviano. We had some issues at one of our houses which cost 2 months of vacancies and another ~$2K of repairs in the fall of '19 and shortly after I had an opportunity to deploy again, this time to AUAB, which we agreed was probably for the best for a few reasons. NW 120K Deployment to now - Jan-Dec 2020 As soon as I got to AUAB, I put my TSP to 60% to max it out. During the deployment, my wife paid me back the previous year's $6K I gave her to fund her IRA, so I maxed out my 2019 AND 2020 IRA and also put aside ~$17K in a taxable account. I wanted my investments to REALLY take off, and they definitely did. Thankfully, the state where I have my houses were not heavily impacted by COVID and both tenants continued to pay rent without issues. COVID sucks, but is a godsend for saving. With closed restaurants, that's at least $1-200/mo savings for us, not to mention another $2-300 savings/mo in travel costs before counting any extra expenses from these trips such as getting food at these locations, event tickets, etc. That's not to say I've been saving everything, though. Upon my return we did immediately travel to a few cities, I bought myself a camera setup costing me $6K, and we bought a higher end Roomba and some other items on Black Friday totaling $1-2K. I still drink my craft beer and my Islay scotches. We finally salvaged my G35, which cost US money because of how the SOFA is here (bullshit...). I found a few more things wrong with the M3 that is here with me, so I'll likely start a large scale refresh here soon which means $$$$$$. NW: ~$240K if you count the M3 in storage, $220K if not. To add, these amounts are based on my equity in the homes instead of the actual house sale price based on neighborhood comps which would bump up my NW by another $20K+ Goal for 2021 (assuming tenants do NOT move out): I'll see what's up on the supplemental this month and if I don't make it again, actually study this year to get it come 2021. Figure it's time and all that, plus it would let me save/spend even more. Max out TSP (should be done by September) and Roth IRA for 2021 next month. Look into getting a 3rd house if the numbers make sense, or just set aside ~$2k/mo towards other investments which, along with even a 7% market gain should see me hit $300K by end of 2021. If the market crashes, I would honestly prefer it so we can put in more contributions and ride the gains through the next 10 years until retirement. We have also been discussing kids, so that may throw a wrench in the above. All in all, hopefully this inspires you in some way and if you have any questions, let me know. I want to specifically hit on the fact that while I do save a lot, I still find plenty of time and available moneys for my personal fun. Whether that's going out for food and drinks with the wife and friends a couple times a month, traveling around the EU, buying things for and participating in my hobbies (camera stuff, gaming, car expenses, snowboarding, etc.), I feel like my life is pretty un-deprived of things. We also use quite a few credit cards to help us save money on travel, which does make a rather large difference when stacked together. tl;dr a 10 year TIS, 2nd-time-making-it e-5 goes from roughly a -15K NW to +220-250K without bonuses, but with 4 years of COLA, 3 total deployments, and a total of 9K foreign language pay throughout his career so far Edit: eyy just found out I made E6!
I am 30 years old, make $135,000 a year, live outside NYC and work as a Senior Data Analyst.
Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: $84,000 This is based on combined balances in my IRA accounts (Roth + Rollover). My current company, which I’ve been working at for 6 months, doesn't offer 401(k) matching until after the first year of work - so I’m waiting for that year mark to start contributing to one.
Equity: ~$550,000 This is the current market value estimate of my home, a small 2 BR condo just outside of Manhattan, from Zillow. I purchased my home in summer of 2015 at a closing price of $484K. I put down $284K for the down payment (from my savings and investments which I had slowly accumulated since I was 15. My dad helped me open my first brokerage account at the time and encouraged me to keep investing and diversifying my portfolio as I grew older; this proved invaluable when it came to having the funds for my down payment a decade later) and took on a 20 year mortgage for the remaining $200K. Just last summer (June of 2019), I paid off the remainder of the mortgage balance and am now debt-free. The timing of the payoff was mostly motivated by a city-wide property revaluation assessment last year which bumped up my property tax payment to almost 3X the previous amount.
Savings account balance: $139,000 I have this in cash in an online savings account with Ally. I normally would have invested some of this, but ever since March and with the ongoing uncertainty with the virus, the presidency, etc. I haven’t felt comfortable doing so. I am also considering buying a second condominium near where I am now that I could either rent out in the future, or move into myself and rent out my current place instead for rental income, so I want to keep funds liquid for the time being.
Checking account balance: $3,500 This amount is split across two banks - one with Ally and the other with Chase. I keep above the $1,500 minimum at Chase to avoid any fees to ensure I can withdraw cash at one of their ATMs if needed.
Credit card debt: $0 I place almost all of my purchases on one of two credit cards, but pay them off in full every month (and make sure to redeem the bonus points for cash back!) The total I’ll have charged across my two cards at any point in time usually ranges from $0 to $600 dollars.
Student loan debt (for what degree): $0 I have an undergraduate econ/business degree from an Ivy League that I’m so grateful my parents were able to help me achieve without having to worry about accumulating a huge student loan for. They started a 529 account for me a little later than ideal (when I was in middle school - I’ll go into more detail in the next paragraph) but saved aggressively leading up to when I graduated high school. They were able to cover the majority of my tuition + room and board this way, and I helped cover the rest through several scholarships and working on campus.
Mortgage: $0 Paid off last year! This was definitely one of my proudest recent accomplishments. I’ve always lived fairly frugally, due mostly to my childhood experiences and background. If there’s anything I could have done differently, it would have been to get a mortgage for a shorter term (versus the original 20 years) so that I could have gotten a lower rate and paid less in mortgage interest.
Section Two: Income
Income Progression: My first job was at McDonald’s when I was 15, and I started with the minimum wage rate of $5.25/hour. In high school, I switched to working retail at Kmart and then every summer of college, worked at various paid internships for the full summer in addition to working on campus at various jobs (from cashier to research assistant). My junior year summer internship was at a firm that I would eventually return to full time after I graduated. I've been working full time for 8 years now, and my starting salary was ~$60,000. I started off working in analytics for a financial service firm in NYC and have changed jobs every 2-3 years since then. I primarily stayed in finance up until last year, working my way through steady salary increases each year and with each job change. I had begun looking for a new job and industry right before the pandemic hit in March as I was getting bored and frustrated with my role at the time; I had actually interviewed for my current role right when interviews were all being changed to virtual and didn’t hear back until May as the company was dealing with the big shift to work from home and figuring out headcount for the future. Thankfully my role was kept and I officially started working at my current company in the media/tech space in mid-May. My current annual base salary is $110,000 with a 10% annual bonus ($121,000 all-in).
Main Job Monthly Take Home: $5,800 This is my final take home, which is paid out bi-weekly (my average paycheck amount is around $2,900). This is after deductions for health insurance (dental+vision), a healthcare HSA ($100 a month), and a pre-tax transit account ($100 a month). Retirement contributions are currently on pause until I hit my one year mark next May and qualify for matching contributions to a 401(k).
Side Gig Monthly Take Home: ~$890 I have a couple sources of income from Instagram, one of which is my dedicated food account (75K+ followers). For this account, I don’t have a steady stream of income but reap the benefits in various invitations to restaurants in NYC - I’m invited in for a meal (usually with a guest), and for posting photos and stories featuring the restaurants and dishes, have the cost of the meal covered. For sit down meals, however, my guest and I make sure to cover the tip for the service. I’m occasionally shipped food/drink items to share as well. If I do make any income, this is from infrequent brand or restaurant campaigns that I’m contacted for; depending on what’s required in deliverables, these can range anywhere from $300-$3,000. The pandemic definitely impacted this year, but for 2020, I’m on track to have earned ~$6,500 from these. I am also helping 2 friends of mine who started a small business in July with some photography and social media. I post on their social channels and do larger product shoots 1-2x a month, and get $350 a month for this work.
Any Other Monthly Income: $300 My property also has a gated parking spot included with the deed; so even though I don’t have a car, I’ve found a “tenant” for the spot since I bought my place five years ago. We sign an annual lease every October for $3,600 for the upcoming year, which comes to $300/month.
Section Three: Expenses
Property Tax: $767 (paid quarterly at ~$2,300, this amount changes quarter to quarter, so I’m using an average for the past year)
Homeowners Association (HOA) Fees: $434 (this covers water, garbage, and some building insurance)
Condominium Insurance: $54 (paid annually at $650, my HOA fees cover some initial property insurance, so this is specific to my unit).
Retirement Contribution: On pause for now as I wait to hit the year mark at my current job to get matching 401(k) contributions. I also want to keep some earnings liquid for a potential future real estate investment.
Debt payments: $0, aside from paying off my monthly CC balance
Electricity/Gas: ~$70 (depends on the season, spring and fall are in the low $40s while summer and winter can be in the high $90s)
WiFi: $40 (recently signed up for the introductory offer at Comcast)
Cellphone: $50 (I’m on the family plan still, but transfer this amount to my dad each month)
Credit Card Fee: $8.33 ($200 annual fees across the 2 cards I currently have. Next year I will cancel/downgrade from the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the benefits for Travel and Dining are pretty much moot.)
Subscriptions: Amazon Prime: $10 (annual subscription, I share with my family) Netflix: $0 (my parents cover this one) Hulu/Spotify: $11 Adobe Creative Cloud: $11 Apple Cloud: $1 OneDrive: $2 Causebox: $17 (quarterly subscription box that I pay the $200 annual cost for)
Donations: I don’t have a recurring donation organization or amount, but will donate where and when I see the need. So far this year, I’ve donated $500 to my local hospital, the NAACP, and City Harvest.
Savings Contribution: I will pretty much just transfer over money from my checking account to my savings account whenever it gets above the $1k or $1.5k threshold (I’ll keep more if it’s around the end of the month and monthly payments are coming up). I’m typically able to transfer over $2.5-3K each month, unless it happens to be one where quarterly property taxes are due.
Weekly Expenses: Food + Drink: $78.70 (including tip) Fun / Entertainment: $0 Home + Health: $72.33 Clothes + Beauty: $0 Transport: $0 Other: $189.24 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Day One (Monday) 8:45am: My alarm goes off and I hit snooze. One of the worst parts about the whole WFH situation has been how bad I’ve become with getting up on time, knowing that I can be at “work” in less than 15 steps. I scroll through social media a bit and catch up on some posts before getting out of bed. 9:15am: I’ve brushed my teeth, washed my face, and put on my skincare (toner, serums, and moisturizer) and am booting up my laptop. I changed jobs 6 months ago in the midst of the pandemic, leaving my previous role in financial services for a position in a large media/tech company, which has been a little crazy. It’s been tough doing everything remotely, and learning the new industry and programming/software has been especially difficult, but I feel like I’m getting my bearings. I start brewing some coffee. 9:30am: I hop on a Zoom for our weekly department huddle and listen as the different teams give updates on various initiatives as well as some background on company-wide kick offs and projects. Some of the projects I’m working on get brought up and it feels good to be doing what feels like actual work. After the call, I get to work on tackling work for some of the larger projects I have, which include scoping out source/logic details on a production report that we want to integrate in a new platform and QAing a table that I’m working on with data science. 12pm: I take a break to refill my coffee mug and make IG posts for my friends’ small business account and my own account (a food IG with 75K+ followers). I took on the first gig a few months ago when my friends, a couple in Brooklyn, launched their hand-crafted drinks business. I started the second, my personal account, over 3 years ago with a focus on restaurants in NYC. It stalled quite a bit over the last few months with the pandemic, but I’ve been dining out infrequently these days, and have limited myself to dining with only one friend at a time (out of a total of 3 friends since June, all of whom I know have tested negative and have been taking precautions since March). 3pm: I’ve wrapped up a touch base with a manager and a semi-stressful meeting where I had to present to some senior executives a dashboard we've been working on over the last few months. They have a few (mostly minor) tweaks that I note in a JIRA ticket before I grab my mask and take a quick break to stop by a local ice cream shop that’s invited me in to try their latest dessert special. There’s thankfully no one else there aside from one of the co-owners who recognizes me and gets my treats ready. I photograph them, thank her, and leave a $3 tip. $3 3:30pm: Back home, I get back to some Slack messages and try to prepare for another stressful call at 4:30pm that I have to lead. I finish eating the ice cream and call it lunch - but hey, that’s #adulting for you. 6pm: Wrap up some notes from the call and text my dad the address that I’m heading out to. I saw a 1BR condo listing pop up on Zillow over the weekend that looked promising, so I’m getting an in-person tour of it this evening. I get my mask on again and make the 5 minute walk to the building where the realtor is outside to meet me. We go inside to look at the condo for sale - the space definitely looks smaller in person than in the photos, and I note that a number of things need to be replaced or upgraded. I thank the realtor after the tour and give a call to my dad to let him know I’m okay and to give him my initial impressions of the space. 7pm: Back home! I wash my hands and change my clothes and get started on dinner; I’ve been craving soup these days so make a quick hot and sour soup on the stove with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, and some corn I have in the fridge. While I eat, I edit the photos from my DSLR from this afternoon, and check my IG account email to reply to about 7 emails that came in today about campaigns and invitations to restaurants; one of these includes signing a contract with a new app that’s offering a generous sign on payment and potential future income. I catch up on IG posts and comments and text a few friends. 11pm: I spend the rest of the evening catching up on some news, watching the latest episode of the Korean drama Start Up, and finally take a shower. While my hair is still drying in a hair tower, I do a quick Chloe Ting workout; I started doing some of her workouts a few months ago and while I’m not doing them super seriously, I’ve definitely noticed a difference in my abs and feel stronger overall. My Google Home plays some news snippets for me afterwards, and I roll my eyes at the continued attempts of our current president to try and derail the election results. On the plus side - the initial vaccine results from 2 firms have been super promising! 1am: I remember to take my daily multivitamins and then read a bit on my Kindle (I just finished Sex and Vanity, and start on Me Before You - another thing I picked up during quarantine, and I’ve already read over 30 books since March!). I then proceed to spend too much time on Instagram and reddit before turning out the lights. Day One Total: $3 Day Two (Tuesday) 8:45am: Alarm goes off on the dot and I, the perpetual sleep procrastinator, snooze one too many times. I barely manage to make it out of bed in time to brush my teeth, wash my face, and chug some water before a 9:15am call. It’s a quick check in on projects within my business area so I summarize the work that’s been done and am grateful I don’t have to have my webcam on for this. 12pm: Unfortunately I need my webcam on for the next two meetings, so try to make myself look semi-presentable by combing through my hair and putting on a sweater, instead of my default hoodie. I get a little more clarification on some metrics and data sources in this upcoming platform integration and discussing my upcoming sprint priorities with my manager. At noon, I make a new post on my food IG and go through my feed. I pour my second mug of coffee and drink more water in preparation for the next batch of afternoon meetings. 3pm: Talk through more Zoom calls to the point that my throat is starting to hurt. I’m especially frustrated after the team huddle that just ended where one of the managers tells me my approach to building out the proposed data architecture is too limited in scope, and I should be more imaginative and proactive. The entire work from home situation has made it difficult to understand how to work with and collaborate with different people, so I try not to get too frustrated. I spend the rest of the afternoon making some minor adjustments to existing production reports and updating JIRA tickets. 5pm: I email over my dad a few of the more promising Zillow listings that landed in my inbox this morning. He jokingly complains that there’s too much to read and the words are too small before I realize that he’s been doing a lot of work on his laptop lately as he’s been WFH more. I take a look at a few computer monitors and opt for a larger (24”) version of what I currently have as it’s been working well for me for the last 6 months. I make sure it includes a HDMI cable and have it shipped my dad. $179.24 5:50pm: I grab my mask, bag, and camera and text my friend to let her know I’m en route to dinner; she’s one of the few friends I’ve seen in person since March and is also a food blogger with a separate full time job. She’s been quarantining in Long Island since the start of everything, and texts me that she’s driving in from her home, I head out to the PATH station, swipe in using my prepaid Smartlink card, and hop onto the next train. 6:35pm: I’m a few minutes late but make sure my friend knows I’m walking over, and meet her outside the restaurant. We get checked in, fill out our contact information on our phones, and get our temperatures taken; thankfully there’s only 2 other groups seated and the windows are open. Tonight’s dinner was an invitation that I already confirmed with the PR team, so the staff are expecting us and understand we’ll both be taking photos. We order a few apps and two mains, and spend the rest of the evening doing some quick photos and catching up on our lives, her plans to move into Manhattan or JC, and complaining about the ongoing election drama. 8:30pm: Dinner is done, and I realize I forgot to stop at an ATM and only have a dollar bill on me so ask if I can Venmo my friend my part of the gratuity. Thankfully she has $20 on her so I quickly Venmo her $10, making sure to use the adorable fries sticker to represent the copious amount that we ate tonight. $10 8:45pm: My friend and I walk out with our masks on, and I bid her goodbye and a happy Thanksgiving before stopping at the ATM to take out some cash, making sure to sanitize my hands after, and then head to my train. As I wait, I make some quick edits to the photos I took on my iPhone and add them with a few captions and tags to my IG stories; I manage to get through them all by the time the next train pulls up and leaves. 9:20pm: It’s always so nice to get back home! I wash my hands, change my clothes, and get started with transferring over the photos from my DSLR to my computer. I spend the next 20 or so minutes editing and saving the final versions in Adobe Lightroom and make sure to chug a glass of water to help balance out all the sodium I had. I check my messages and see that a restaurant in NJ confirmed a lunch delivery for tomorrow and see another contract in my inbox; I read the deliverables and ask the account manager if she can take out the clause requiring a Tiktok post because I don’t have an account. 11:30pm: I shower and put on my evening skincare, take my multivitamins, and do a quick ab workout with Chloe Ting (it still hurts lol). I take a look at my work calendar tomorrow and see that my first meeting starts at 9am, so I update my alarm to 15 minutes earlier. I take my vitamins and spend the rest of the evening catching up on some news, reddit, and IG. 1:30am: I blame Youtube vlogs for this one. Finally turn out the lights. Day Two Total: $189.24 Day Three (Wednesday) 8:30am: Alarm goes off and I manage to get myself out of bed in a semi-reasonable fashion. Do my typical routine (brushing teeth, washing face, getting water and coffee ready) and log into my work laptop so I’m on the Zoom right at 9am. This is a belated overview session for one of the larger projects that I started working on quite late in the process, so it’s a useful business and data update that gives me a better understanding of the end goals. 12pm: Sit through one other department meeting where I don’t fully pay attention because I look into some minor report and code checks (oops). Once those wrap up, I’m able to take a break to do a post and stories for my friends’ business account and then make a post on my food account. I notice an email come in from a PR company about a new location opening for one of my favorite restaurants, so I check with one of my friends if he’s able to make the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and reply back to the email requesting it. 1:30pm: While I listen in on a company-wide speaker event on the topic of gender sensitivity and awareness, I also click through a recently assigned digital training course on sexual harassment and discrimination. I understand that the latter is a legally mandated item, but find it a bit sad (especially in the current day and age) that these are things that have to be spelled out for people. After I finish, I get a call for my lunch delivery; I grab my mask, keys, and wallet and meet the deliveryperson downstairs. I give him a $6 tip and take some photos of the items, which include chicken wings and a chicken sandwich. After I’m done with photos, I scarf down the food so I can make my next call which requires me to talk and have my webcam on. $6 4:30pm: I have a 1 on 1 with my manager and then a call with a business partner to scope out requirements for a new report. So glad to be done with calls! I get started putting together a project plan/roadmap for one of my projects and Slack one of the recently hired data engineers, who I found out grew up near me in suburban Philadelphia! 6pm: Get the shipping notification email that my dad’s monitor has shipped! I call it a day and close my work laptop and get started on my weekly apartment clean. I call my dad while I do so and let him know that his monitor should arrive on Friday; he thanks me and we catch up on work, COVID, and my potential future real estate investment. While I talk, I notice an alert from Mint that a large charge from Amazon hit my credit card; I’m a little worried until I log into my account and see that the annual prime membership has been renewed. Also tell my dad this as he heard me flip out thinking that someone had been making fraudulent charges on my card, as he and my mom are part of my “Prime household”. ($127, noted in my monthly expenses) 7pm: I’m done vacuuming and taking out the trash and am officially hungry. I make a quick tomato and egg soup with orzo and eat an apple while I wait for the orzo to cook. I wrap up some IG emails while I eat, including signing the updated contract with the Tiktok clause removed and politely declining some invitations to places that I’m not able to physically go to. 10pm: Wash the dishes, take a shower, brush my teeth and put on a clay face mask; while it dries, I do a quick 15 min workout on the mat and then wash off the clay mask before doing my skincare. I make sure to drink some more water and take my vitamins, and spend the rest of the evening in bed on my phone and working my way through Me Before You - it’s a slow start, but I’m starting to warm up to the protagonist. 1am: Lights out! Day Three Total: $6 Day Four (Thursday) 8:30am: Forgot to change my weekday alarm back; oh well, I’ll survive. Crawl out of bed, and get ready for the day (you know the drill), and make sure I have plenty of coffee on hand. My period also just started, which is never a good sign. 12pm: The morning has just felt like an onslaught of meetings; followed by some impromptu Zoom calls. I’m starting to feel frazzled as various timelines and deliverables seem to have been shifted up and try to work with one of the other data engineers to specify possible business user requirements. This unintentionally gets shared with one of the project managers who sends an email en masse to the business users asking for sign off on this initial list. I don’t think it’s a big deal, but... 12:30pm: Make the post and stories on the small business account and my own account, finish the remainder of today’s coffee while I go through emails and minor JIRA tasks. I hop onto a share screen with one of my coworkers to transition over a project I’d been working on; I had built out a new dashboard and now that it’s “QA” state has been approved, he will now take over the more formal production process and maintenance. 3:30pm: During our second team stand up, I give my manager project updates and he immediately tells me I shouldn’t have let my list be shared with business users and other involved teams. I don’t fully get why; but after our team call he asks me to hop onto an impromptu Zoom with him where he tries to explain some of the complexities of company and team politics and how I should be very careful to give my stamp of approval, however formal or informal, unless I fully stand behind it. The conversation is a bit long, but I get a better sense of what's going on between teams and managers, and try not to cry as my manager tries to tell me it's not anything I did, but I need to be careful of my actions. 6pm: I manage to collect myself in time to meet a friend for the first time in months at an outdoor dine a few blocks away. He (and his girlfriend) was just recently re-tested as negative, which is always reassuring. While I get my belongings and my mask, my coworker Slacks me asking if I’m okay, apologizing for not messing earlier as she was on an afternoon call. She reassures me the same thing has happened to everyone else on the team, that a lot of these nuances I’m not aware of because I’ve never been in the office, and suggests putting on a one hour venting session with the other engineers in the team next week. I happily do so, and tell her I’ll catch up with her next week as I have off tomorrow. 6:30pm: My friend and I are seated near one of the heat lamps, and it’s so good to catch up with him after so long! He gives me some life updates, including the fact that he and his girlfriend are moving into a house they are waiting to close on, and the fact that he just put down a deposit for an engagement ring!! I’m so excited and barrage him with questions on timing, his plans, etc. and almost forget that we need to order food. 8pm: We have a delicious meal that includes burgers and a lobster roll (all of which I photograph) and he gets a few cocktails (I don’t drink). I leave a $10 tip, and my friend puts down $15 for his share, factoring in the alcohol. We mask up before heading out, and I tell him I want updates on everything for the next month as he goes through all those major life events! $10 8:30pm: After my short trip home, I wash my hands, change, and get started on editing photos from tonight. I definitely feel much better after the work “event” and take a longer shower tonight to decompress. 11pm: Decide to skip the workout tonight because I feel like it, and sit in bed doing some more administrative/scheduling tasks on my iPad in bed. I see a few updates from some of the team in India (yay international time zones - not) and debate if I should handle these tonight. Since I’m out tomorrow, I know it’ll be better if I do, so hop back onto the work laptop to wrap up some last minute code edits and JIRA updates. Once I’m done, I make sure my OOO notice and status in Slack are updated and eat a yogurt cup with some grapes because, yes, I’m hungry-ish again. 1am: Hair is dry, vitamins are taken, and it’s time for bed... or not? I’m already past the halfway point of Me Before You and cannot stop reading - it’s at the point where I’m now seriously invested in the relationship between the female and male protagonist and have to know how it ends (even though I already have my guesses). I speed through the rest of the book and shed a couple tears when I finish, which is past 3am. Thankfully I’m not working the next day! I make sure to set my alarm for later and finally go to bed. Day Four Total: $10 Day Five (Friday) 11am: My alarm goes off and I actually feel semi-decent upon waking up - I don’t think I will ever not be a night owl! I get dressed and get ready to head out to try and get a COVID test; I last took one in June so want to have a more up-to-date status, especially as I’m potentially going home the next week for Thanksgiving. I haven’t seen my parents for over a year at this point and my dad has offered to drive down from Boston to pick me and my sister (in college, who is tested every week) up, but I’m still not feeling great about it given the fact that my parents are in their 60s. At the very least, I want to get a test to have more information before making any final decisions. I drink some water so I’m at least hydrated. 11:30am: I grab my Kindle, mask, and sanitizer and head out to the nearby mobile testing center that was set up. The line is about 15 people long - not terrible, especially as everyone is spacing out 6+ feet between each other - so I head to the end and spend the 2 hours or so in between my phone (making my daily IG post) and my Kindle (next up: Olive, Again) While I wait, I get an email about one of the campaigns I’ve been ironing out, and confirm I’m planning on visiting this weekend to get photos so I can send the content draft over for approval afterwards. 1:30pm: The process is pretty seamless; I fill out my information through my phone, upload a photo of my insurance card, and get my temperature and blood pressure taken before the nasal swab. It’s not that bad, I guess, but having anything put uncomfortably deep into your nasal passages is not fun. The doctor tells me I should get my results by the following Tuesday through the online patient portal; I thank him and head back out with my mask on. 2pm: Home and officially hungry, so after washing my hands and changing, I bowl a pot of water and put in a block of Shin Ramyun. I make it a little less like what I ate back in college by adding in some frozen corn, spinach, and an egg. I also eat an apple and catch up on some emails and go through IG before taking a fat nap. 6pm: I’m woken up by a text from my dad; it’s a picture of his new computer set up at home, and I’m glad to see everything’s working and should hopefully help his eyes. I take a second look at the photo and see that he’s using a tiny USB wire mouse - which he probably got as a work freebie. I sigh and find a wireless mouse on Amazon to have delivered to him the next day; I send him a text to watch out for that delivery as well tomorrow. $10 7pm: Time to head to the grocery store! I have a few options within walking distance of me, but like going to the Asian grocery store just given how unique and sometimes hard-to-find their selection is. I’m doing a virtual dinner swap with a friend tomorrow so I need to get ingredients for that, as well as my weekly grocery shop. I make sure I have my mask and reusable bag, and stock up on tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, bok choy, more apples (Fuji, but Honeycrisp is also a fav, ground pork, and some snacks, noodles, and yogurt. I struggle a bit to carry it home. #smallpeopleproblems $33.31 8pm: Once home, I unpack everything and get started on a (very butchered) version of soondubu with Napa cabbage, zucchini, and mushrooms with a spicy soup base (dwenjaeng paste, gochujang, soy sauce, gochugaru). I cook some rice on the side. While I eat, I load up Netflix and decide to start on The Queen’s Gambit. 11pm: Shower, skincare, and vitamins - and I end the evening with another quick mat workout. After I blow dry by hair, I climb into bed and spend far too much time on the phone as my brain wanders and gets in knots about Thanksgiving next week; my parents and I agreed not to make any decisions until I got my results back, but even if it’s negative, I know there’s still a risk if I were to let my dad pick me up and take me home. I know he and my mom really want to see me though, which makes me feel even more conflicted. I tell myself to stop thinking about it until next week and double check my schedule for tomorrow before opening up my Kindle to read. 2am: Finally decide to sleep after getting distracted by Youtube, again. Oops. Day Five Total: $43.31 Day Six (Saturday) 10:40am: My weekly Saturday alarm goes off; my friends behind the small business and I have our recurring call every Saturday morning and while I would like to sleep in, I force myself to get up, brush my teeth, and do a quick face wash. 11am: I drink some water as we catch up on today’s agendas and tasks; we’re finalizing a seasonal holiday drink to be rolled out after Thanksgiving, so we go over the ingredients and timing, and figure out when I’ll be able to visit them in Brooklyn next month to get the photos for future posts and website updates. They also tell me they’d like to grab some photos of their new house (that they’ll be closing on soon) while I’m there, and I’m happy to do so. My friend tries to tell me that they’ll pay me extra for this, but I laugh and tell her she can just feed me. 12pm: Grab my mask, keys, and camera - Time to head out today! I have two stops near me to get photos for upcoming posts; one is for a bakery chain releasing a seasonal cake flavor and the other is for a newly opened location of a pizza franchise. My pick up order for the bakery was made in advance, so I stop inside, give them my name for the order, and after a little confusion that leads to them calling a manager, I have my cake ready to go. I take it outside to photograph; this campaign is offering a small payment but thankfully doesn’t need to review the content before I post. 12:30pm: I load up the app for the pizza place on my phone and use the pre-loaded credits to place my order in advance so it’ll be ready for pick up once I arrive. It’s a 15 minute walk or so over, but the pies are ready for me when I get there. The staff is nice enough to put them in a bag for me (they’re personal pies, so thankfully small enough) and I walk over to the waterfront to take some photos out there. I add some photos to my stories and walk home with my goodies; I’ll need to write up and submit the content for approval before posting, but this campaign is also offering a small payment. 1:30pm: Finally home! I wash up, transfer my photos to my laptop, and get started editing. In between, I make a post to my food account and the small business account, catch up on comments and friends’ posts, and try not to make a mess while eating some pizza and a slice of cake. 3:00pm: After putting the leftovers in the fridge, I’m ready for a nap. I set an alarm for 5pm just in case I oversleep since I need to make dinner late for my dinner swap! 5:00pm: Alarm goes off, and I struggle to get out of bed. I know I want as much time as possible to cook though, especially as bad things happen when I rush. I prep the food in advance by washing the bok choy, slicing the mushrooms, and mincing garlic and ginger. I do a bok choy and mushroom stir fry, and make mapo tofu and rice. I barely finish in time to package half of the meal into to-go containers for my friend, and text him; he tells me not to rush and that it’s cold enough so that the dessert won’t melt (lol). 6:40pm: I meet my friend outside halfway between our apartments outside of City Hall; of course we’re both masked. We do our meal swap; I give him the savory items I made while he hands over 2 small containers - and we both head to our separate homes. When I get back, I find out one has tiramisu and the other has a matcha oreo ice cream! I log onto Zoom for our virtual dinner hangout. Even though my friend is so close, he sees his parents regularly as well, so has been doing his best to be extra cautious. We’ve come up with this set up where we’ll each swap items for dinner (usually I’ll cook the savory and he’ll order dessert) and exchange them before enjoying dinner over Zoom later. 8:30pm: Call is over, so now it’s time to clean the kitchen - and it’s definitely a mess, especially as I was a bit frazzled. I wash the many utensils and pans I went through and do my best to dry them; washing up is definitely the least fun part of cooking. 11pm: Spend the rest of the night killing time between my phone, Netflix, and emails. I ask one of my friends (whom I saw earlier in the week) about some potential dates and places over the next few weeks, and send over calendar blocks while I wait to get reservations confirmed. 1am: By this point, I’ve showered, taken my vitamins, and am ready for bed. Read a little, watch some more videos, and eventually fall asleep sometime later. Day Six Total: $0 Day Seven (Sunday) 12:30pm: It’s the one day this week that I don’t have an alarm, so I let myself sleep in for as long as I want to - which means that yes, I will sleep through the morning and into the afternoon. I dawdle in bed, posting on my food account and catching up on my feed, and just scrolling through various news articles and reddit threads. 1:30pm: After finally washing up and drinking some coffee, I grab my mask and bag to round out a few more groceries for the week; even though the Asian grocery store is great, they don’t have some staples so I’m heading to one of the more traditional stores near me today. I pick up some pasta, tomato sauce, oatmeal, peanut butter, and some more produce. $16.39 2:30pm: Once I’m back home and put everything away, I make a late lunch of oatmeal and apples with some Annie’s Mac & Cheese. While I eat, I start putting together the post and story captions, tags, and links for the pizza campaign, and submit them to the account managers for approval. 5:00pm: After some more dawdling on my phone and getting through more of The Queen’s Gambit (so good!), I hop onto a weekly Zoom with two of my good friends. We’ve known each other for over 8 years and while I do see one of them semi-regularly, the other has some health complications. We’ve kept this weekly Zoom call since mid-March and it helped me get through the rougher months. 7pm: After the call is over, I check my Amazon cart and take a look at anything that’s accumulated over the prior week. For non-essentials, I’ll add them to my cart and take a few days to think through if it’s something I really want/need and I’m usually able to pare down that list when I get back to it later. I decide to keep a saucepan and bath towels and order them for next week. $72.33 8pm: For dinner, I default to my tomato & egg soup with rice, and add in some zucchini for some more vegetables. I eat an apple and finish off the ice cream from yesterday as well. 11pm: Shower, do my skincare, and plop myself into bed. I continue binge-watching The Queen’s Gambit until the end - such a satisfying ending! 1am: Make sure my alarm is set for work before turning out the light. Day Seven Total: $88.72
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