A Week In New York, NY On A $75,000 Salary

Occupation: Associate Producer
Industry: Advertising
Age: 32
Location: New York, NY
Salary: $75,000
Joint Income/Financial Setup: n/a
Assets:
HYSA: $53,126.09
401k: $69,367.68
In a brokerage invested in ETFs: $9,581.44
Checking account: $8,165.74
Savings account: $5,472.57
Debt: $3,313.62 currently owed on my credit card (currently awaiting reimbursement for $2.8k in expenses from business travel); $3,813.71 in student loans.
Paycheck Amount (2x month): $1,839 after taxes and benefits.
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs
Rent: $1,407 (for my half). I'm in a rent-stabilized apartment that I share with one roommate.
Internet: $37.78 (for my half).
Gas: $13.11 (for my half).
Electric: $57.97 (for my half). This was the highest electric bill of the year because it was summer.

Other recurring monthly expenses:
Loan Payments: $208.15 (student loan)
Classpass: $51
Gym membership: $32.66
Phone: $30 phone payment to my brother (we're on a family plan).
401k: I contribute 14% of my pre-tax income in my 401k. My employer's match is discretionary and this year it was incredibly low (25% of the first 2%).

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?
Yes, it was a given that I would attend college. I attended a private liberal arts college, and was very lucky to receive a large amount of need-based financial aid from the institution I attended, along with a few thousand dollars in Pell Grants. I had a small amount of federally subsidized student loans. In total, with all my aid, my tuition/room and board ended up being about the same cost as if I had attended an in-state UC. Even then, my parents took out a second mortgage on their house to pay for my education. I had a small savings account from lifeguarding in high school so I didn't need any money from my parents for lifestyle things like books, groceries, clothes, etc.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My parents never gave me any financial advice, but they did take me to the bank to open a savings account. This was around first or second grade when I started doing chores for allowance.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I wanted to go on a class trip to France the summer after eighth grade and my parents agreed to let me go if I could earn half of my way there, so I got a job working at a snack shack at a local swim and tennis club. I think my mom had to sign some waiver about me getting hired since I was only 13. The snack shack never trained me to use the POS system so I never worked the window; I worked in the kitchen preparing the food.

Did you worry about money growing up?
I would say my parents made a lower-middle-class income and I have three siblings, so sometimes the financial stress felt palpable. I grew up in an affluent suburb in the Bay Area, and from middle school onward, I definitely felt aware of the financial disparities between me and my classmates. My dad is self-employed and my mom worked as a part-time teacher's aide at a public elementary school, so they did not have health insurance. This was pre-Obamacare and so I do remember my mom buying Groupons for me to get dental cleanings, and at a certain point as a teenager she decided I really only needed to get a doctor's check-up every other year. We always had food on the table and were usually able to take a road trip vacation every summer. The 2008 recession hit my parents really hard and I had to do away with some extracurriculars like dance class, summer camp, and violin lessons.

Do you worry about money now?
I recently made a decision to live with only one roommate instead of two and use the third bedroom as an office, so I'm paying the most rent I've ever paid in my life. I do feel a little stressed about this big increase in housing costs without getting any salary increase, but so far, things have been okay.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I needed help with rental payments my first year after graduating, since I could only find part-time work teaching swimming and an internship on a TV program. Once I finished the internship, I found a permalance gig at age 23, which, when combined with the weekend swim lessons, was enough to cover all my costs. My current position, which I started at age 26, is the first job I've had with a full benefits package.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
No.

11:30 a.m. — I'm awake and it's a holiday weekend, thank god! I have cold brew with almond milk and make myself two eggs cooked in a leftover root vegetable hash. My new roommate E. has been living here for a month now and we've invited some people over tonight for dinner to celebrate her moving in. I chat a bit with her about the game plan for dinner and what we need to buy.

1 p.m. — I put on my swimsuit and walk down to my gym, where they've been having summer Friday open swim in the afternoons from 1-2 p.m. The gym pool has weird limited hours because of all the community groups that use it, and this is my last chance to make use of the Friday afternoon swim before it stops next week. The water feels great. I only rinse off afterwards as I prefer to shower at home since the gym is only about a ten min walk from my place.

2 p.m. — On my walk home I stop at the bougie grocery store and spend $7.99 on gluten-free burger buns since I mostly eat gluten-free. $7.99

3 p.m. — I shower, change, and heat up leftover lamb and eggplant for a late lunch. Then I get to work making the dessert for the night. I make plum marzipan bars from Smitten Kitchen, except instead of marzipan, I use some canned French chestnut cream I've been sitting on for a few months. The bars smell great!

5 p.m. — I slice tomatoes and basil to make a Caprese side salad. I got a bunch of shiso leaves in a CSA that I've been perplexed by, so I muddle them with lime and brown sugar to make shiso mojitos. E.'s boyfriend is bringing the rum. I realize we're almost out of coals so I dispatch E. for a last-minute run to grab another bag. I scroll Reddit for a bit and notice BeautyPass Free Gift Friday is doing full size Tatcha Matcha Face Washes today! I love their Rice Wash so I order one. It's not really a free gift when you pay $12.95 shipping but still a great deal for this pricey cleanser. $12.95

7 p.m. — My friend N. comes by, followed by E.'s boyfriend M., my friend T., and her husband A. N. brought a bottle of wine and A. and T. brought veggies for skewers, corn, chips, and guac. We have a small weird little roof in my building that's only accessible via my unit, so I keep a small grill out there. It's so fun to have my friends crawl out the window and we all sit around the grill as I make burgers, skewers, and corn. It's great to get to know E.'s boyfriend and everyone is getting along. I get stressed a lot these days about when my friends start to have babies that we won't be able to have these languid late dinners and long hangs, so I really cherish that I'm still able to have nights like this. The dinner and dessert are a hit, the plum bars are so good!

10:30 p.m. — We clean up and head inside. A. and T. head out and N. leaves about 20 minutes after them. Brush teeth, wash face, lights out around 11:30 p.m.

11 a.m. — I check my phone for a bit and then rise around 11:30. I make two scrambled eggs and two Trader Joe's chicken sausages for breakfast. I make small talk with E. and her boyfriend before they both head out around 12:30. I brush my teeth, wash my face, and get dressed.

1:30 p.m. — I hop on the train and head two stops south to meet my friend H. in front of her building. I suddenly get thirsty waiting for her so I run over to a bodega and grab an Essentia bottle of water for $2.75. We're going shopping at a fun non-profit thrift shop in a kind of out-of-the-way location so she orders us an Uber. $2.75

4 p.m. — We really get lost in the thrift and spend so much time there. So much to browse! I end up spending $19.42 at Big Reuse on a winter kimono and a copy of Elementary Particles. The kimono needs some patching but it will be a great casual jacket in the winter. $19.42

5 p.m. — I'm really hungry and we decide to walk about a mile away to a Mexican place where we order chips, salsa, margarita, and tacos. H. picks up the check.

6:30 p.m. — I propose we go get a drink at a lesbian bar that has a backyard so we walk back another mile and a half. I get our drinks, a margarita for me and a draft beer for H., plus $3 tip comes to $27. $27.00

8 p.m. — H. is texting one of her friends who said he's going dancing with some out of town friends. I looked up the DJ lineup and realized I know one of the DJs and I've been meaning to see her DJ! So I text her and she tells me to use a plus one on the list. She isn't on until 11 so H. and I Uber back to her place to hang and get ready. I borrow one of her skirts and leave my thrift finds to pick up another day. I almost never smoke weed but H. makes it seem very tempting.

11 p.m. — I find myself drunk and high in our Lyft to the venue. I have to pay to check in my tote bag because the bouncer said it's too big. Her friend and his friends meet up with us and after some chatting outside and swerving around all the bros, I convince everyone we need to hit the dancefloor. My DJ friend is killing it! $20.44

1 a.m. — We step outside for air and I realize I need to go to the bathroom, drink water, and go to bed ASAP. I do the first two at the club and then order a Lyft home. I take a quick shower to rinse off the sweat, sunscreen, and bug spray from the day, and then collapse into bed around 2 a.m. $12.59

11 a.m. — I wake up and am pleasantly surprised to not be hungover — I guess that's the power of weed. Same breakfast as yesterday, I noodle a bit on a NYT Magazine crossword I've been noodling on for a few weeks now. I'm so close to being finished but this puzzle's theme of Star Trek is throwing me as I've never watched.

12 p.m. — I've told myself today will be my productive doing-stuff-at-home-day so I vacuum and Swiffer the living room, and change my sheets. I have some really wilted basil that's not going to make it another day so I salvage what I can and make a really mediocre pesto. I make a quick lunch of sauteed squash blossom quesadillas and then I gather a pile of books on my floor and get on the bus one neighborhood over to a used bookstore.

2:30 p.m. — The bookstore takes three books and gives me $14.50 in store credit. I'm rich! A hardcover of A Far Cry from Kensington catches my eye. It's a first edition, which is cool. It's $15 and the cashier tells me she'll call the 50 cents I owe a wash. On my walk home I drop off the books they didn't buy at a Free Little Library.

4 p.m. — N. had texted yesterday about seeing a screening of the 1970s Italian movie Love and Anarchy. I finally get back to her and say sure why not. I then take a little nap. E. is out of town and I love to take a couch nap when roommates are gone.

5:30 p.m. — I get up and in the tune of Day of Productivity, I pay a $25 bill from the gastrointestinologist. I make gluten-free pasta with the pesto I made earlier today, and then I'm out the door. $25

7 p.m. — I buy a $17 movie ticket at the theater. I didn't bother to read about the movie beforehand, so I'm really pleasantly surprised by how funny and thoughtful it is. $17

9 p.m. — After the movie N. and I walk over to a nearby Target. I grab unsweetened vanilla almond milk, Simple Mills cheddar crackers, Lesser Evil popcorn, a six-pack of up&up toilet paper, and a Target tote bag for $20.61. We take the same train home since we live near each other. $20.61

10 p.m. — Back home I put on the last episode of Paul T. Goldman, which I've been watching with a free Peacock trial. I put down a yoga mat and foam roll and do some physical therapy exercises while watching TV. This is episode six of six, so once it's over, I hop in the shower. I'm going to the beach tomorrow so I roast a zucchini for a sandwich. After just a touch of fruitless online window shopping, I make myself go to bed around 12:30 a.m.

9 a.m. — I set an alarm this morning since N., T., and I have planned to take a beach day on Long Island. I eat the last of my chicken patties and two eggs. I make a sandwich with the roasted zucchini, burrata, some leftover pesto, and a leftover gluten-free bun from the BBQ. I pack the popcorn I bought yesterday along with leftover plum bars.

10:31 a.m. — We meet at a nearby station for the Long Island Railroad, where the ticket from Nostrand Avenue to Freeport is $21.50 round trip. The train ride is pretty straightforward, but we're a bit confused trying to find the bus to Jones Beach, which is supposed to be the last leg of our journey. We see there's a 15-minute wait for the bus, so T. orders us an Uber. $21.50

11:30 a.m. — We make it to the beach and it's not crowded at all! The weather is a perfect 77 degrees. T. brought canned cocktails and Pirate's Booty so we get a bit tipsy and have a lot of fun swimming in the water and hanging out on the sand. Around 5 p.m. we decide it's time to pack it in and T. found a waterfront seafood place for us to go to get dinner. It's about a 12-minute drive so we order another car.

5:45 p.m. — At the restaurant, we order swordfish tacos, tuna tacos, three corn on the cobs, and a fried seafood platter. I get a $14 aperol spritz and club soda, not sure if I was charged for the club soda or not. The sunset on the water is gorgeous and feels like a lovely way to end the last weekend of summer. I order us the Uber back to the LIRR train station, and divided by three my portion of the ride is $8.63. $22.63

9:30 p.m. — Home and the shower feels amazing. T. sends me a Venmo request for $35 for 2x Ubers and dinner, minus the Uber I ordered. I wasn't expecting my roommate E. back until tomorrow so I was caught by surprise to hear her come in while I was using my Solawave on my face post shower with the door open. Thankfully, I was wrapped in a towel! $35.00

10 p.m. — I throw together a fridge clean-out gluten-free pasta salad to take to work tomorrow. Boo! Hate that I have to go to the office. I open up the TooGoodToGo app and I order a surprise bag from a gourmet grocery store in the Chelsea Market as a little treat for myself for $7.99. I brush teeth, get into bed, and read a bit of my book, Cloudstreet by Tim Winton — something an Australian date recommended to me. Then it's lights out around 11:30 p.m. $7.99

8:10 a.m. — Ugh, I was tossing and turning all night and am not happy to hear my alarm go off. In case it's not clear already, I'm not much of a morning person. I press snooze over and over until 8:50, when I really have to get up. I'm a master at rolling out of bed and getting ready in 20-30 minutes.

10:15 a.m. — I get to work late as I often do, but in my defense, I answer emails on my phone while on the train! My office has a free breakfast spread on Tuesdays and the only gluten-free option is yogurt, so I grab a raspberry Siggi's yogurt and add a big spoonful of almond butter. I pour myself a cold brew concentrate from the fridge and then sit down and try to refresh myself on everything I was doing before the holiday weekend.

12:30 p.m. — I eat my pasta salad in the office kitchen and browse my computer for about 20-30 min. Back at my desk, I spend the rest of the day managing the multiple projects I have going on right now.

5:20 p.m. — I head downtown to grab my TooGoodToGo bag from the Chelsea Market. This place, in my opinion, is mostly a tourist trap, but it is also home to an out-of-this-world vegan soft serve, so I had an ulterior motive in coming here. I get my TGTG bag and then buy a chocolate and tahini swirled soft serve topped with a halva pistachio crumble (!!!) for $8.71. I go to sit out on top of the High Line to eat my soft serve and rifle through my grab bag. There's a bunch of fun British snacks and sweets in it, including two bags of potato chips, two bags of fudge, a small box of pralines, marmalade, and a jar of mincemeat. The weather is fabulous and I wish I could eat this soft serve every day of my life. $8.71

6:30 p.m. — I walk back over to the subway and head home. At home, I roast some radishes, blister shiso peppers, and make two small quesadillas. I'm so proud of the fridge clean-out meals I've been making the past few days! I am desperately trying to leave my job, so after dinner, I open my laptop to browse job postings, but E. comes out of the home office and we end up chatting for a long time. We've been watching old seasons of Top Chef and she asks if I want to start a new one, so we watch the first episode of the New Orleans season from 2013. We call it after one episode and I hop in the shower. I was going to read some of my book but instead I find myself scrolling my phone in my bed. Sigh. I have to be up earlier tomorrow morning so 11:15 p.m. is lights out.

7:30 a.m. — I'm up earlier than normal today since I have a doctor's appointment at 9:15 a.m. A little over a month ago, I was treated for an H. Pylori infection and this morning I'm doing a follow-up test to see if the treatment was successful. It has to be done in a fasted state, so I take my zoloft with a bit of water, brush my teeth, and am out the door on an empty stomach.

9:15 a.m. — I get to the doctor's exactly on the dot, but the waiting room is already a bit backed up. The test involves blowing air into a bag, drinking a solution that tastes like lemonade, waiting 15 minutes, and then blowing into another bag. All said and done, I'm out of the office at 10 a.m. The doctor's office is about a 15-minute walk from my office, but I have a 10 a.m. call that I join from my phone. Thankfully, I don't really have to talk much since it's really a briefing between a creative director and video editor, so I pull over at a coffee stand and get a $5.99 cold brew with almond milk. $5.99

10:25 a.m. — I get to the office with five minutes to spare before my next call, which is a weekly status meeting for a new account at the agency. Once that wraps at 11 I can finally eat something, so I go into the kitchen and grab an apple and a Made Good oatmeal bar.

12:45 p.m. — I didn't bring lunch today so I walked over to Naya, a local Mediterranean bowl chain. I recently moved offices from SoHo, where we didn't have Naya, to Midtown, and I love to try a new fast casual bowl. I buy a chicken shwarma bowl and a Diet Coke for $17.15. The weather is perfect outside, so I walk up to Central Park and eat my lunch on a park bench, which is really nice. $17.15

1:30 p.m. — Back in the office and I spend the next few hours emailing, reviewing video and audio files sent to me, and looking over bids and costs for things. I call it a day around 5:15 p.m. I'm so sleepy I head right to the train after work. When I get home it's time for another fridge clean-out meal. I've got a mix of greens, I think one is some type of bok choy. I'm not sure about the other, so I wash ‘em, chop ‘em, and sautee 'em. I add in the last of my lamb and eggplant leftovers, and the end result is a pretty good stir-fry. I flip through a new copy of The Cut that came in the mail today while I eat.

7:30 p.m. — E.'s boyfriend is over and while they make dinner I cede the living room to them and try to work on a watercolor still life I've been doing of tchotchkes from around my house. I really overwork it and am unhappy with the way it looks so in a last-ditch effort to feel satisfied in painting something, I paint my toes. This also looks like crap! What can you do? While waiting for my toes to dry I call my mom. My parents are in California and my mom is setting the table for dinner, so I just told her to call me back later. I browse my phone for a bit and then decide to hop in the shower.

10:30 p.m. — Out of the shower, still in my towel, my mom calls me back after she had finished dinner. We chat for a bit just to catch up and then I tell my parents I've got to go since it's getting close to 11 p.m. I get into bed and end up scrolling my phone before falling asleep.

8:10 a.m. — My alarm goes off, but I'm back on my bullshit this morning pressing snooze until 8:50 a.m. My new office means a longer commute so I keep on getting into work late. I should really try to get up earlier, but I'm just so sleepy in the mornings. When I get in around 10:15 a.m. I head to the office kitchen, pour a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, and make myself a cold brew. My morning is a bit chaotic catching up on all the emails and messages I've received in the past hour and a half.

12 p.m. — We get free lunch served in the office once a week and this week happens to be Naya, but I really enjoyed my lunch yesterday so not mad about it! I fill up a chicken shawarma bowl and take it back to my desk to eat while getting in another hour of work.

1 p.m. — A lot of really big changes have been afoot in my workplace, and there's a merger between my company's holding company and another advertising holding co, so today there's a town hall to talk about all the changes. A lot of people are upset about how things are going, particularly the fact that there's a freeze on raises and promotions for the rest of the year. I haven't gotten either in over two years now and it's definitely hurting morale. I speak up during the open questions/comments section and I feel my heart racing. I get really upset and feel pissed off for the rest of the day. There are going-away drinks for a co-worker at 5 p.m., but I don't really know her and I definitely am not interested in sticking around today so I hightail it once things seem to be wrapping up around 5:15 p.m.

6:30 p.m. — I normally have therapy on Thursdays but my doctor texts to cancel, saying she suspects she has Covid. The good news about my shitty mood and newly opened schedule is it does fuel me to go swim laps at the pool and try to get out some of this anger and anxiety. I have a small snack when I get home, and then pack a swim bag and head over to the gym.

7:45 p.m. — I got in about a 45-minute swim, which was SO needed. My gym has showers but I prefer to shower at home where all my lotions and potions are. After showering, I grab a Trader Joe's frozen green curry from the freezer and heat that up in the microwave. My week of fridge clean-out meal genius has finally come to an end. I watch a few more episodes of Top Chef New Orleans.

10:30 p.m. — I get in bed and tell myself I'm going to READ and RELAX tonight, so I spend about 30 min reading Cloudstreet. I end up having to take one of my small dose klonopin pills to quiet the physical anxiety I'm feeling and unwind enough to fall asleep.

"I definitely had a super social holiday weekend with a lot of spending, but I also was able to really stretch my groceries, so I'd say the spending for the week ended up being about average. I think recording my costs definitely made me mindful of not excessively indulging my whims.

It was fun to reread this months later and remember what a nice week it was! I actually did end up having an H. pylori infection successfully treated and was able to go back to eating gluten after I wrote this diary. And the merger did go through shortly before the holidays, morale has been really low in the workplace as a result."