A Week In Chicago, IL On A $167,000 Salary

This Money Diary was written in the summer of 2025. This is a follow-up diary. You can read the original diary here. 

Occupation: Marketing manager
Industry: Life sciences
Age: 31
Location: Chicago, IL
Salary: $167,295 ($143,295 base + $24,000 bonus)
Joint Income/Financial Setup: Our joint income is around ~$240,000 (+/- $10k). My husband, F., is a freelance director of photography and has recently gone back to school to facilitate a career change to healthcare.  Shortly after my first Money Diary we made the decision to combine our finances. It was a little challenging at first, but at the end of the day, we are a team, and we make financial decisions together. Combining finances has given us a clear picture of where we stand as a family and has allowed us to meet big financial goals like completely paying off our student loans last year. The way we manage our finances is that we plan our monthly budget off of my net income, and all money F. brings in goes into our liquid savings account. At the end of every month, we review our spending and sort everything into a spreadsheet with categories to track our spending habits and make sure we’re staying on top of our financial goals.
Assets
Home value: $275,000
Car value: $20,000
Combined retirement accounts & investments: $250,848.52
Checking account: $1,785
Savings account: $66,612.60
Debt: $172,600 (home loan)
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $3,252 (my husband's varies)
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses
Housing Costs: $1,742.64 ($1,368 mortgage + $374 HOA).
Loan Payments: $0 (we paid off student loans last year)

All Other Monthly Expenses
Paycheck deductions (per paycheck):
Health/Life Insurance: $273
Investments: $1460

Recurring expenses
Utilities: $100
Subscriptions: $70
Gym membership for two: $154
Car insurance: $111
Mint mobile (2x lines): $53
Dog medication: $55

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?
There was an expectation to attend college and get my bachelor’s degree. However, I strayed away from getting a degree in anything that would require higher education because I was afraid of having to take on additional debt. I paid for undergrad with a combination of student loans, settlement money from a childhood injury, and some support from my parents. My husband F. is currently pursuing a career change with plans to go to med school. Seeing him in school definitely has me toying with going back and getting an MBA. My company has tuition reimbursement programs I’m looking into.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
I did not receive a lot of education around money growing up. My parents made a handful of bad financial decisions and got into a lot of business debt owning their own small business. Tax-advantage accounts and employer 401(k)s were totally foreign to me when I first started working, but I think we’ve done a good job building an investment portfolio given our financial backgrounds. My husband and I have done a lot to improve our financial literacy as adults and discuss our finances often.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job out of college was working as a marketing coordinator at a PR agency. I got the job because I studied communications during college and snagged a paid internship between my junior and senior years. I worked as an intern until I graduated and was offered a full-time position. I was incredibly grateful to have a job lined up on day one of post-grad. My starting salary was $38k, which is wild to think about now! At the time, I was extremely careful with how I spent my money and even managed to save some on this salary.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes — looking back it is very clear to me that my parents were striving for a life that their careers could not afford. I grew up with a lot of insecurity around money, and feared that my peers would find out about my parents' financial struggles and think less of me. Growing up this way definitely pushed me to strive for financial security and success as an adult.

Do you worry about money now?
No — I am very aware that we live a life that exceeded either of our expectations and feel confident in our current financial position and trajectory. Additionally, combining our accounts pushed me to take my emotions out of finances. I also know that I’m incredibly privileged to be able to think of money as a tool that allows us to live a comfortable life.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially responsible for myself the day I graduated college. My husband and I have built a financial safety net for ourselves through paying off loans, liquid savings, purchasing property, and investing in retirement accounts. We’ve been able to do all of this by living within our means through our 20s, and by prioritizing spending on long-term investments.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
Yes. This past year we received a $10k gift from my grandfather. His health has declined and he is living with my parents, and sold all of his properties. The grandchildren all received a financial gift from the property sales.

8:00 a.m. — The temps have dropped so we are finally sleeping with the windows open but it means we had a noisier-than-usual night and didn’t get great sleep. My husband, F., makes coffee while I browse white-noise machines. I notice that they are HSA/FSA eligible so make a note to come back for my purchase. 

8:30 a.m. — I boot up my computer for the week and check in with co-workers before I get ready to take the dog, P., around the block. I listen to my audiobook, Darling Girls, while I walk P. around the block. I love listening to audiobooks and love that you get 10 hours of listening included in your monthly Spotify Premium subscription! 

9:00 a.m. — I join my weekly round robin all-hands call as F. heads out for a job. My co-worker has the updates for my team this week so I just listen in while all teams give their updates and priorities for the week. 

9:30 a.m. — Next meeting of the morning! I hop on a call with all the product marketers on my team and we discuss what we’re working on this week. For me, it’s a few housekeeping tasks and a little bit of planning for future projects. I just wrapped up managing a big project and my manager is on paternity leave for the next two weeks, so it’ll probably be a pretty slow week for me work-wise. 

10:00 a.m. — It’s time for breakfast! I take a break and listen to my audio book while I make myself eggs, toast, and a fruit bowl.

10:15 a.m. — My co-worker calls me asking for help with something. We also catch up and chat about what’s been going on in our lives since we last connected, and I eat my breakfast. 

10:30 a.m. — I spend the rest of the morning working on the task my co-worker and I chatted about. 

1:00 p.m. — I break for lunch and whip up a quick bowl of tuna salad. While I’m on my lunch break I scroll through Ravelry looking for a pattern to use up some extra yarn I have from a baby sweater project. A year ago, I really got into knitting and haven’t stopped since I picked up knitting needles for the first time. I purchase a small neck scarf pattern called the My Jose Scarf. I cast on the project and knit a few stitches before logging back in for work. $8.20

3:00 p.m — Work is slowing down for the day so I decide to get a head start on dinner. F. and I have evening commitments so I’m hoping this will get dinner on the table faster. Dinner tonight is Pasta Alla Norma Sorta from NYT Cooking. F. comes home from his job and we catch up for a few minutes in the kitchen.

4:45 p.m. — I check my emails and Teams messages before riding my bike to group tennis lessons from 5-6 (I prepaid for the session a few weeks ago but it’s typically $259 for 8x 60-minute lessons). I started taking tennis lessons last March and have fallen completely in love with the sport! I’m still very much a beginner tennis player, but I’ve signed up for my first ladies’ tennis league this fall. Expectations of winning are low, but I’m still planning on having fun!

6:15 p.m. — Back from tennis and F. is already settled into his online chemistry class. I check emails and Teams once more before logging off for the day and taking a shower. I’m grateful my past self did all the dinner prep. All that’s left to do is heat and assemble. I finish listening to my audiobook while I get dinner together. 

7:30 p.m. — F. has a break from his online class so we eat dinner together for a few minutes. F. recently decided on a career change and is finishing up some pre-reqs on online community college. The plan is to take the MCAT after this and then apply for med school (big life change)! After dinner, I clean up the kitchen, and walk P. once more before relaxing with my knitting project and watching reality TV for the rest of the evening. 

10:00 p.m. — We get ready for bed and read for a little while before falling asleep. F. is reading his chemistry textbook and I’m reading Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff.

6:30 a.m. — We wake up early today since F. has a job, so he needs to head out the door early this morning. F. makes coffee as I work through the NYT Games for the day. The Wordle really stumps me!

8:00 a.m. — I check in on my emails and check off a task for the day. F. heads out the door and I follow behind with P. I call my mom and catch up while I walk the dog. My mom lets me know that they are coming up to Chicago for Thanksgiving and this puts me in a good mood. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I love to host!

9:00 a.m. — I'm back online for work for the rest of the morning. I get a CC alert that $20 has been reloaded on the city street parking account. F. must have arrived at his job (this is a work expense and we will get reimbursed from the client). I take a quick break to make breakfast and eat in front of my computer while responding to emails.

12:00 p.m. — During my lunch break I go to the public tennis courts near our condo and practice my serve for a while. As a beginner tennis player, serves are 100% the hardest skill to learn!

1:00 p.m. — On the way home from the courts I stop at my neighborhood market and grab a bell pepper, turkey, iceberg lettuce, olives, mozzarella, and black olives to make a chopped salad for lunch. $22.05

1:15 p.m. — When I get home I throw together my lunch salad and settle in for work for the rest of the afternoon. F. gets home from his job around 3 p.m. and makes salad with the ingredients I bought. 

4:00 p.m. — I get an email that my tennis league didn’t have enough people sign up for the bracket and is being cancelled and refunded. I end up signing up for Gladiator Tennis, which I’ve heard of players using for league play. After my serve practice, I’m feeling hopeful I won’t totally embarrass myself and sign up for the beginner/intermediate league. $35

6:00 p.m. — The rest of the afternoon was spent working from the couch. I got my period and was majorly knocked down by cramps and PMS. F is already in class so I peel myself off the couch to walk P. around the block. 

7:30 p.m. — Dinner is leftovers from yesterday. F. eats while he’s in online class and I eat while watching TV. I feel a little guilty about being so lazy this evening while F. is being productive in school. 

8:30 p.m. — F. wraps up class early so we walk P. around the neighborhood one more time, and then come home and wind down watching PBS before getting ready for bed. 

8:00 a.m. — We wake up and F. makes coffee while I play the NYT Games for the day and work on a few rows of knitting. F. talks about going to the gym this morning and I tell him I might come, too.

9:00 a.m. — I log onto my computer to get started on work for the day. The last week of August is usually my slowest week of the year, so there isn’t a whole lot I need to be doing for the rest of the week. As a “high earner” with a WFH job, I feel a lot of guilt/shame around slow periods. November through July is generally very busy and then it slows down for a few months. 

10:00 a.m. — We take P. around the block and then head to the gym. I put on a spooky podcast when I get to the gym and do a leg workout. 

11:15 a.m. — F. makes eggs, toast, and fruit for us for breakfast when we get home and I do a little bit of work on my laptop. 

12:30 p.m. — I hop on a call to discuss landing pages that are being built for an upcoming campaign I’m managing. I often work with and project manage the digital and content teams and feel grateful that they’re a nice bunch of people to work with. We all give feedback and talk through some options for the Q4 campaign I’m leading.

1:30 p.m. — After my meeting, I take a quick little snack break and have some honey roasted almonds and remind myself to drink a glass of water. F. sees I’m up from my desk and also takes a study/snack break. We talk about going to Key West for his spring break in March. We’ve never been to Key West and we’ve never taken a spring break before. I send F. a few links to the Key West Historic Inns once I’m back at my desk.

3:15 p.m. — Work is wrapping for the day and I get a jump start on dinner since F. and I will be out for the evening. Tonight’s dinner is chicken and rice from NYTimes Cooking. 

3:30 p.m. — While the chicken and rice is in the oven, I take P. out for a walk and clean up the kitchen a bit. F. and I sit down for an early dinner before getting ready to head out. After dinner, F. drops me off at tennis on his way to night class. One night a week he’s in person for a lab.

6:00 p.m. — After tennis, my friend and I grab a drink at a wine bar in our neighborhood and cheers to playing well during class! $28.25

7:30 p.m. — I enjoy a nice late summer walk home through the neighborhood. August is the sweetest month of all and I always feel such a warm, fuzzy feeling walking around this time of year. I’m sure the wine was helping perpetuate this feeling!

8:15 p.m. — Home from tennis and I take an 'everything shower' before making a yogurt bowl and chilling with my knitting project while watching Southern Charm. I was turned on to Southern Charm after watching the latest season of The White Lotus. F. gets home around 9:30 p.m. and he fills me in on his first day of in-person class, and we hang out for a bit before getting ready for bed.

7:30 a.m. — I wake up and get ready quickly for my first meeting of the day. 

8:00 a.m. — I meet with a colleague in Europe and we discuss projects we’re collaborating on. F. makes coffee in the kitchen and we drink our coffee together after I wrap up my meeting. 

8:30 a.m. — F. asks if I ordered the sound machine yet (I haven’t). We decide on an old school fan-based sound machine. I get started on a little bit of work and message with one of my coworkers about a final report for a project we’re wrapping up. $60.63

10:00 a.m. — F. gets ready for the gym and I get ready to take the dog on a walk. I walk F. to the gym and then stop at a local cafe for a breakfast sandwich before heading home and getting back to work. $14.79

12:30 p.m. — F. has been working on his chemistry homework all morning. Weirdly, the chem textbook does not come with an answer guide to check your work, so he purchases a used solutions manual to help him with studying. $27.44

1:00 p.m. — I have my weekly check-ins with two of my co-workers. We all agree it’s been such a slow week but also nice to come up for air after our busy season this summer. 

3:00 p.m. — I have a psychiatrist appointment to check in on the anxiety medication I’m taking. I had a really scary panic attack where I ended up in the emergency room earlier this year so I have 100% been prioritizing my mental health. Anxiety is something I’ve struggled with since I was a kid and this year I feel like I'm finally taking the steps for treatment. Because I’ve hit my out of pocket max for the year, my co-pay is $0. 

3:45 p.m. — I stop for gas and at Whole Foods on my way home to pick up magnesium glycate (recommended by my psych for sleep) and a very balanced snack of cheese balls and a protein drink. I also grab some sugar that'll I need for the baking project I’m working on this weekend. $73.25

5:30 p.m. — I wrap up work for the week and throw together a quick dinner of rice leftovers, broccoli, and shrimp from the freezer for F. and I to have before he has class, and I head out for my evening activity. 

6:30 p.m. — Every Thursday, my local knitting shop has a 'knit circle'. This is the shop where I learned to knit a year ago and I really enjoy the community space they’ve built. I haven’t been to knit night all summer so I make sure to bring a few of my finished objects to share. Vibes are great and I promise to myself I’ll be back again next week. 

8:30 p.m. — Home and snacking on the rest of the cheese balls while I watch TV and knit and F. finishes with his online class. Once he’s done, we catch up and get ready for bed. 

8:00 a.m. — I have the day off so F. and I wake up a little later. I don’t know if it’s a placebo, but I did sleep a lot better last night after taking the magnesium! F. and I have sex before getting out of bed and making coffee. 

10:00 a.m. — F. and I meet up with one of my friends to play some two-on-one. We play for about an hour and a half and it’s so much fun. I love the endorphins I get from playing tennis. 

12:00 p.m. — Home from tennis and we have some breakfast. After knit night, I’m feeling inspired to order the boucle yarn I need to start a pattern I bought months ago. I also buy an extra skein of yarn for the scarf project I’m working on since it looks like I’m going to lose a game of yarn chicken. $165.15

1:30 p.m. — I shower and get ready to go to therapy. I go every other week, and to be honest, I find talk therapy a little bit tedious and exhausting but I go on the recommendation of my psychiatrist. I have to take the train because F. is about to head out of town for the weekend for a film festival. F. will be staying at his parents' place and any expenses incurred, i.e. meals, etc., this weekend are business write-offs. 

2:00 p.m. — Once I get to the office I realize I messed up the dates and I actually don’t have therapy until next week — whoops! Instead of therapy, I take a long walk through the neighborhood and stop at a few shops. I pick up three birthday cards and a baby card at Hazel — they have the best selection of cards. $25.91

2:30 p.m. — I make a few more shopping stops on my way home. Next stop is a local apothecary to pick up Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara. I also stop at the running store to pick up energy snacks for some of the tennis meetups and matches I have. Last stop is the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients for lunch, and baking ingredients to do a practice run of my friend's wedding cake I’m making in September. $77.62

5:00 p.m. — After the impromptu shopping afternoon, I come home and made a Costco frozen pizza. While the oven pre-heats and the pizza cooks I eat the broccoli leftovers from last night. I relax on the couch for a while before taking P. on a long walk. F. ended up taking the toll roads to Michigan since the holiday weekend traffic was looking bad. $17.10 (tolls).

6:30 p.m. — I spend a majority of the evening working on a practice cake for my friend's wedding next month. The recipe I’m using is Claire Saffitz's confetti cake — it’s such a good recipe and is my go-to for the foster care birthday cakes I make volunteering. 

9:30 p.m. — Cake baking goes well but at this point I’ve made two failed attempts at marshmallow buttercream. I clean up the kitchen and decide that frosting the cake is a tomorrow task. I relax and watch TV while knitting the rest of the evening. 

8:00 a.m. — P. wakes me up with a wet nose in the face and we snuggle in bed while I do the NYTimes Games. After this I get up and make a latte —still using the Breville Espresso Maker! While I drink my coffee, I crack open the holy grail cake cookbook, The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and scour the buttercream recipes until I find one that sounds like it will go well with the confetti cake. 

9:00 a.m. — I have a 10 a.m. tennis meet-up so I take P. around the block and make a quick breaky of scrambled eggs and fruit. Then I get ready and put a backpack together with my racket, waterbottle, knitting, and a book. I’m not going to go home right away after tennis. 

9:50 a.m. — I hop on my bike and arrive a few minutes early, hoping to snag a court, which I do! My tennis partner and I warm up and play a set. I lose 2-6, but still have fun and felt good about my serves. 

11:30 a.m. — First stop of the day after tennis is Loba. I get a housemade melon soda and a strawberry sourdough muffin. I settle in at a table to work on my knitting and start listening to a new audiobook, Don’t Let Him In. Coincidentally, the two gals next to me were also knitting and we share a moment talking about what we’re working on. The knitting community is alive and well in Chicago! $14.15

12:30 p.m. — Next stop is Paulina Meat Market to grab an Italian sub. I’m back on my bike headed towards the lake to enjoy my sandwich, and a little more knitting while I listen to the audiobook. $13.78

2:00 p.m. — I don’t have enough butter in the fridge to do the meringue buttercream recipe so I stop at the local market on the way home and buy more butter. It kills me to buy butter at this price so I make a mental note to stock up at Costco next time. $6.64

2:15 p.m. — P. greets me at the door and I get straight to work prepping all the ingredients for the butter cream. All goes well with the new buttercream recipe and I finish up with the cake project for the weekend. 

4:30 p.m. — I take P. for a long walk to the river before the sun goes down. When I get home, I take a shower, clean up the kitchen and make tacos for dinner. 

7:30 p.m. — I try a slice of the cake I made and it’s heavenly — can’t wait to bring some to my friend tomorrow morning! The rest of the night is spent working on my knitting project and watching Southern Charm.

8:00 a.m. — P. wakes me up again and we snuggle in bed while I play the daily NYTimes Games.

8:30 a.m. — I make a latte and watch Sunday Morning while working on some knitting. After this, I walk P., have some breakfast, and get ready to meet up with a friend for tennis. 

10:00 a.m. — We don’t have to wait long for an open court, thankfully! My friend and I have a nice long warm-up and then play a match. I get my a** handed to me and lose 6-0, 6-0. I still have fun and score a few points and remind myself the only way to get better is to keep playing!

12:00 p.m. — After tennis, I go home, take a shower, and get the laundry for the week started. Our condo building doesn’t have in-unit hook-ups, so we’re still using coin-operated in the basement. It’s not glamorous but it gets the job done. $4.50

1:30 p.m. — F. is home from his weekend away and I’m starving for lunch! We go on a long walk through the neighborhood and get sandwiches and Diet Cokes at L&M, which we eat in the park and catch each other up on our weekends. $37.42

3:30 p.m. — When we get home from lunch we have some of the cake I made yesterday. F. gives his best Paul Hollywood critique. The rest of the afternoon is spent working on knitting projects and watching TV. I’m pretty tired from the two hours of tennis. F. takes a nap and works on his chemistry homework for a bit. 

6:00 p.m. — F. and I walk P. around the block. When we get home we open a bottle of wine and have the tacos from yesterday for dinner. We chat for a bit before F. resumes his chem homework and I get back to knitting.