A Week In The Midwest On A $135,000 Salary

This Money Diary was written at the end of 2025.

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Occupation: Physician Assistant
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 35
Location: Midwest
Salary: $135,000
Joint Income/Financial Setup: $265,000 base (mine and husband's combined salaries), plus up to 15% yearly bonus for my husband. I also “moonlight” or pick up extra shifts. This year, I made an extra $20K. So I expect us to make $290,000 total this year. My husband and I have had joint accounts since we married in 2014. He bought our house in 2013, as I was in school and he was working. My husband spends very little when we are apart, typically just on gas and the occasional meal out.
Assets
Savings: $100,000. This is high because we have had some big purchases this year: a backyard renovation and a new car for me (we will start moving money to brokerage in the next month).
My 403(b): $265,000
My husband's 401(k): $202,000
I-bonds: $800
529 plans: $10,000
Roth IRA: $34,000 (x2)
Brokerage: $45,000
House value (estimation): $400,000 (fully paid off)
Car (x2): Estimated at $15,000 and $30,000 (both fully paid off)
Debt: $0
Paycheck Amount (2x per month): $3000
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses
Housing Costs: $0
Loan Payments: $0
Utilities: gas/water $150; electric $85 and internet $40.
Phone: $143, which includes Netflix and AppleTV.
Gym: $20 for my husband, $0 for me as I have a gym at work. I do occasionally buy passes to yoga and Pilates, and spend $300 over the course of the year.
Disney+ and Hulu bundle: $2.99
Cleaning service: $160 (2x per month). This is a new expense as I'm injured, and just underwent surgery to repair an ACL tear.
PreK for daughter: $1050 a month
Before/after school care for son: $90 per week
Groceries: per last year's budget, we typically spend $1000 a month
Dining out: per review of past year, typically $800 a month

Yearly Expenses
Property taxes: $6,000 (we pay twice a year in split payments)
House insurance: $2,500 (we pay yearly)
Car insurance: $1,500 (we pay yearly)
Vehicle taxes/registrations: $2,750 (I bought a new car this year).

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. My mother had gone to college on a full ride, and there was an expectation I would as well. Luckily, I'm a good standardized test taker, and my ACT score qualified me for full tuition. My parents had started a 529 plan for me at birth, and luckily paid for my housing expenses. I originally had planned to become a pharmacist, but I shadowed a primary care PA, loved it, and switched gears to attend PA school mid-way through undergrad. My GPA during PA school qualified me for a full tuition scholarship, and my husband paid for our living expenses during school. I actually got married and we bought our house during my last year of school (I do NOT recommend; very stressful).

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
Growing up we didn't have a lot of money. My dad didn't have a college degree, and worked fixing phones at companies. My mom was a stay-at-home mom. I was aware that we didn't have money for extras like travel and eating out. However, we always had a roof over our heads and food on the table. I received an allowance when I was younger, but was terrible with money and blew through any money I had almost immediately.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started working at a grocery store when I was 15. I needed to pay for gas and car insurance for my car. I was also an impulse spender and wanted to buy myself clothes and other treats.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Sometimes, yes. My parents were transparent with finances, and I knew we were on a budget. My parents made it seem like I wouldn't be able to go to college if I didn't have scholarships, so I applied to many. I didn't realize loans were an option at the time, which was terrifying, but now I'm so glad I don't have any. My most recent PA students have had 150K+ in student loans, and it breaks my heart because the loan repayment is such a burden.

Do you worry about money now?
Sometimes, yes. We are in a great financial situation, but ever since I became injured, I now know things can change in the blink of an eye. During this break from work, I have realized I would love to work part-time or work PRN, but I'm not sure we could swing things on one paycheck.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
When I started PA school. Technically, my parents and in-laws could both be our financial safety net, but I dread ever having to ask them for money. It's hard enough for me to ask them to watch the kids.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My parents paid for my living expenses until PA school, and I benefited from the 529 they had for me. They also gave us $10,000 for our wedding and honeymoon, mostly because I wanted to elope, and they wanted us to marry in a church. My husband's parents gifted us $10,000 towards a down payment for our house. We each had our first cars paid for, a $3,000 salvage title for me, and a brand new sporty two-door car for my husband. We have since bought new cars ourselves.

6:30 a.m. — I was woken up by my husband, B., who woke up at 5:00 a.m. to run seven miles. I had originally planned to run a marathon, but unfortunately, in September, I fell off a skateboard, breaking my leg in three places and tearing my meniscus and ACL. I had surgery in November, and am at home recovering for seven weeks, as I'm in a full leg brace and have crutches, making it impossible to do my job. I have PTO and short-term disability that will cover the recovery in full, and I transferred the marathon registration to B. I thought I would be bored at home, but I'm actually enjoying myself; I think I may have been more burnt out at work than I realized. We get the kids ready, eat breakfast, and drink coffee. I do the bare minimum for myself: splash water on my face, brush my teeth, put on sunscreen (Bioré Aqua Rich Watery Essence). 

7:30 a.m. — B. takes the kids to school and then heads to work. I do some light house chores, dishes, a load of laundry, and some physical therapy exercises (mostly stretching).

11:30 a.m. — Meet B. for his lunch break, and we go to a local coffee shop. It's my husband's favorite one, but I hate that we have to pay for metered parking. $8

1:00 p.m. — Physical therapy for an hour. I'm four weeks post ACL surgery, and I try to convince my physical therapist I can walk without crutches. He tells me I'm his biggest source of stress. I keep the crutches. Co-Pay is usually $30, but same-day ACL surgery cost $56,000. I met my out-of-pocket max of $6,500 for the year. WOO HOO. Therefore, physical therapy is $0 today.

2:30 p.m. — Go to the library to drop off books. I had picked up some books on fancy charcuterie spreads, but decided all of them were too complicated, and so I'm just going to do something simple for book club on Sunday. Drop off a check at the post office for $11,607.60. This is the final payment for our back deck, which we replaced this year with composite. The old one was completely rotten. $11607.60

4:45 p.m. — Get my eyebrows waxed. The girl who does it is expensive, but man, she is the best. Also, this makes me feel slightly more human, since I have largely been lounging at home in pajamas for the past month. (I will learn to dye my eyebrows at home with a kit). $45

5 p.m. — Pick up kids from school.

6:00 p.m. — Home, make dinner, chicken nuggets, and sweet potato fries from Costco. I'm always craving Chick-fil-A; it's my weakness, but we are trying not to go out to eat as much. When B. and I reviewed our November budget, we went out to eat 22 separate times in the month (OMG!)

7:00 p.m. — I bought a gingerbread house-making kit at Target last year and never used it. The kids and I make gingerbread houses before bed. It does not go well. The houses fall apart.

8:00 p.m. — Watch an episode of Arcane. It's intense but I like it. Then it's time for bed by 10. I'm old, lol.

7:30 a.m. — Wake up, the kids are on screens: one is watching television and the other is playing Pokémon on the Nintendo Switch. I know screen time is frowned upon in the parenting world, but I love being able to sleep in while my children entertain themselves.

8:00 a.m. — My husband heads to our local middle school to sign the kids up for swim lessons. They are weekly hour-long lessons for 10 weeks. ($25 per child, so $50 total). We previously paid $40 for a private lesson per kid, but activities are getting so expensive, we have been looking for cheaper options at the YMCA and local community center. $50

10:00 a.m. — Go to our local art museum, where they offer kids' art classes. Drop the kids off for 90 minutes, and enjoy a day date of coffees, avocado toast, and an egg sandwich. $30

11:30 a.m. — Pick up the kids from art class, and then head downtown for WinterFest. Our city recently redid its parks downtown, and they are so cute! I don't need to buy anything — I've gone to a few winter markets and am very stocked up on candles. Despite this, I buy a cinnamon and clove candle. It smells so good and I love it. $20

3:00 p.m. — Order groceries through Target app. I get groceries and some servingware like cheese knives. I get self-conscious hosting at our house because when we bought it, we had originally thought of it as a starter house, but having a paid-off house gives us so much financial freedom, like traveling and investing. Also, Target pick up is actually life-changing. $131

4 p.m. — I start making dinner, trader joes teriyaki chicken, rice, and stir-fry vegetables.

6 p.m. — Family movie night. Picked up the movie Wolf Children from the library. I loved Studio Ghibli movies growing up, and I'm glad my kids do too.

8 p.m. — B. goes for a run, I do some stretching before bed.

8:00 a.m. — Wake up, make a ham, leek, and egg breakfast casserole for second breakfast.

9 a.m. — My husband reserves tickets for a local science museum for himself and the kids. They were “free” since we pay $150 a year for a membership.

9:15 a.m. — B. heads to the gym to work out, and I do a homeschooling lesson I found for free with the kids. We are studying mushrooms. We do some worksheets, read a book from the library, and build mushrooms out of Play-Doh.

11:30 a.m. — B. is back, and vacuums the house, and I tidy to prepare for book club. I make food and set up a simple and largely premade charcuterie board. I set out my favorite type of wine, pét nat, for us to drink.

1 p.m. — B. heads out with the kids to the science museum.

2:00 p.m. — Book Club at my house. We are doing a favorite things gift exchange, and I brought two Shu Uemura eyelash curlers to exchange. I swear by curling eyelashes before putting on mascara — it makes them look so much longer and your eyes look bigger! We discuss our last book, The Whisper Man by Alex North. We all agree we liked it, and were glad it wasn't that scary (chickens here!). We decide on our next book, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. Wow, I have missed my friends and coworkers. Everyone has checked on me via text but I haven't seen anyone face-to-face in over a month.

5 p.m. — I have a light dinner from leftovers from the charcuterie board and things my friends brought, and were kind enough to leave.

8:00 p.m. — After the kids are asleep, I work on a photobook. I'm planning on giving them to my parents and in-laws for Christmas, since I never know what to get them. Last week, we went to JCPenney as a family and took cheesy photos while wearing sweaters that said “Meowy Christmas” and had photos of our cats on them. I thought I was being original, but it turns out we were one of 10 groups taking awkward photos. I buy some Christmas cards and other merch, hitting $79 to get free shipping. $84.87

6:30 a.m. — Wake up, get the kids ready for school, eat breakfast, drink some coffee.

7:30 a.m. — Time to get the kids to school. B. drops off our daughter, L. I drop off our son, S. We sponsored the “hero snack cart” at S.'s school today for the teachers, so I pick up bagels and coffee for the cart and drop them off at the school. $38.36 for bagels, and coffee was bought at Costco last week. $38.36

9 a.m. — I take a morning bath. IT IS HEAVENLY. After surgery there was a period where I couldn't even shower independently, and a period where I couldn't get my incision wet. I have missed baths so much, and I hope I never take for granted the fact I can bathe on my own again.

11 a.m. — Meet B. for coffee. We love to sneak away for lunch coffees because it feels like we never get enough time to talk at home. We should get a babysitter more to go on dates, but it's pricey and our last few babysitters have cancelled on us at short notice. We talk about our next vacation. We had to cancel a few trips (to Mexico and skiing in Colorado) due to my injury, and that was mentally hard for me. We decided to splurge and visit Hawaii during Spring Break. I have already bought flights on points. We found an Airbnb that wasn't terrible, and put down a deposit. $775

1:00 p.m. — I go to physical therapy. I have leveled up, and am now using ankle weights with my leg raises (yay!). I buy an adjustable set for home. $23

3:00 p.m. — After PT, I head to a medical equipment store to pick up my new smaller leg brace. I will have to wear the smaller one with exercise, but anything is better than the monstrosity I have now, which spans my entire leg. They will bill insurance so I don't pay anything today.

5 p.m. — I start the evening rush of dinner, kids' bedtime routine, pick up house, etc, until it's my bedtime.

6:30 a.m. — Same drill, wake up, get kids ready, breakfast, coffee, then physical therapy and house chores. Yesterday my PT noticed I was developing scar tissue, so I made a mental note and am focused on stretching and massaging it today. Too much scar tissue will mean I would walk with a limp for the rest of my life, yikes!

10 a.m. — I work on a project, sewing inserts into my sports bras. Pads should not be removable, and I stand by my opinion.

12 p.m. — Make a smoothie for lunch. While eating, I shop online. When I was freshly post-op and couldn't move, I spent a lot of time and money online shopping. This means I got 90% of our Christmas shopping done. I have already bought the kids play silks, underwear, socks, video games, and new art supplies. However, I decide my S. needs one more gift, and buy her a giant unicorn squishmallow she totally doesn't need, but will absolutely love. $40

1:00 p.m. — I begin my afternoon of rotting by texting with the group chat. It's three of my closest friends from PA school. We have been together through school, breakups, weddings, kids, various jobs, and surgeries (one of my friends had a hip replacement the same week I had my ACL surgery, so we are recovering together). After 10 years in the medical field, healthcare has lost its luster for all of us. I make my weekly “side hustle” pitch — a podcast called “This Isn't Medical Advice”. No one goes for it.

5:00 p.m. — I pick up the kids and take them to tumbling at the YMCA. Lessons were $110 a kid, already paid for. They would be $80 a kid if we belonged to the YMCA. I consider joining for $84 a month, but since I'm not cleared to work out yet, I defer.

7:30 p.m. — I get home, make dinner, get ready for bed, and pass out.

9:00 a.m. — House cleaners arrive. I've never had a house cleaner before, but since I'm on crutches and in a full leg brace, I thought it would be a worthwhile splurge. It's amazing, the ladies do such a good job and they're so sweet. I just need to decide whether to continue once I'm healed. $160

10:00 a.m. — It's been a rough year for my extended family, as my brother-in-law was diagnosed with stage four cancer earlier this year. I have already coordinated with my sister-in-law to provide them with a house cleaning service for their Christmas present. I hope it takes some of the load off of her, as they have three young boys. My credit card is charged $280. $280

12:00 p.m. — Eat “girl lunch”, meaning whatever snacks I can scrounge up, and read reviews on food processors. I have been baking more at home, and our dinky mini food processor isn't cutting it. B. suggested one he found on Wirecutter. I buy it for myself for Christmas. Meowy Catmas indeed. $250

1:00 p.m. — Afternoon of doom scrolling, trash television (Emily in Paris), rotting on the couch. I see a TikTok joking that “all the basic girls in Bali wear plumeria flower hair clips” and then go to Temu and buy one. Influenced. $1.03

5 p.m. — B. brings kids home from school, we eat dinner, do bedtime.

7:30 p.m. — I convince my husband to work on a project for Christmas. We are building a playroom downstairs. We already have d-rings in the ceiling with trapeze bars, but are adding to it by installing rungs to serve as monkey bars. This has been the absolute best thing we have done to entertain the kids. They will already play on the trapeze bars for hours, and know they will love the new rungs. The rungs were $60 from Amazon; my engineer husband is priceless. $40.00

6:30 a.m. — Rinse, repeat of morning routine.

8 a.m. — I decide to try a new recipe: cinnamon twists from Smitten Kitchen. Snack on that and coffee for “lunch”.

3:15 p.m. — Therapy for my brain. Getting injured and going from a physically active person (I previously ran 15-20 miles a week, did yoga/Pilates, hiked, and surf skated weekly) to almost completely sedentary has been mentally hard for me. I feel worthless that I can't even clean my house, and for the first two weeks after surgery I couldn't even shower or dress myself! I haven't been productive during my four weeks off; I have been spending my time scrolling social media and Reddit, and rotting my brain rather than reading books or working on continuing education. My therapist suggests journaling. B. is up for joining me, so I buy us guided journals. Therapy is a free benefit through my work. $40

5:00 p.m. — I pick up Chipotle for dinner. $43

6 p.m. — Family movie night, we watch the Studio Ghibli movie Spirited Away, rented for free from the library. The library is my frugal life hack.

8 p.m — Bedtime for all.

Conclusion:
Wow, that was a spendy week! We have spent the past few years saving up for our backyard renovation and a new car for me, so these expenses weren’t completely out of the blue. Now that I have gotten most of our Christmas shopping done and have paid off our deck, hopefully I can be a bit more budget-conscious in the new year, with a (hopefully) functional knee and leg.