A Week In New York On A $125,000 Salary

Occupation: Senior account manager
Industry: B2B digital marketing
Age: 27
Location: New York
Salary: $125,000
Assets: Retirement funds (401(k), Rollover IRA and Roth IRA): $20,000; HYSA: $3,000; checking account: $1,300.
Debt: TD Bank Credit Card: $12,920; Citi Credit Card: $2,900; Capital One Savor Card: $9,975.
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $3,600
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing Costs: $2,900 (covers rent, heat, gas, and water/sewage).
Loan Payments: Student loans: $171; credit cards: $1,000.
Dog-Related Care Costs: $650-$1,000 (food, dog-walker or doggie daycare).
Subscriptions: $20 for Apple storage, Amazon Prime, and Netflix.
ClassPass: $90
Internet: $40
Electricity: $25-$100
The Trevor Project Donation: $22

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, there was an expectation for me to go to college after high school! Both of my parents are college graduates and decided to raise their kids in a neighborhood in New Jersey that specifically had a great public school system. About 94% of my graduating class pursued higher education and went to college after graduation, so it was very much the norm and encouraged (or even pushed on us).

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My parents had me when they were in their late teens/early twenties, so growing up, money was scarce. I saw a lot of fear around money and understood that we were not working with much while my parents were starting out. However, as I’ve grown, they have also managed to climb up the ladder in terms of class and are now pretty comfortably upper-middle class. It’s been interesting watching them shift to a more secure place and now there is less fear around finances. I was always encouraged to have a savings account and have been working in some capacity since I was very young (house-sitting, babysitting, camp counseling) starting around 10 years old.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job that was “official” was a cashier at a grocery store. I got it because I went to every store in the neighborhood with my résumé and contact information, shook the manager’s hand, and asked for a job. They were the first to call me back; I started when I was 16.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes, all the time. My biggest fear was that my parents wouldn’t let me go through a four-year college experience and that we wouldn’t have enough money to cover the cost of my education. It was extremely important to me to go to college as a young person and I also deeply desired the independence of being out of my family’s house and on my own. I saved a lot of my own money before starting school and ultimately was able to afford to go to a four-year state university.

Do you worry about money now?
Yes, I am very worried about money — but with a grain of salt. I am lucky enough that I always have a place to go to if things do not work out (for example, I’ve had a sublet situation fall through which forced me to move back with my parents for a short period of time). However, I do not want to do that again. I truly want to be independent and self-sufficient. However, that also means being aware of my finances and on top of things at work, since my bills fall on me. It can be stressful but also very rewarding to take on that level of responsibility. I have also started freelancing as a second source of income, which has been a very enjoyable side project!

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I do not have a trust fund or financial safety net that exists in a bank account, but I do have a very loving family who are supportive of me and I know that I can turn to them should disaster strike. I became financially responsible for myself when I was 22 and moved out of my parents’ house to an apartment.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
When I signed my first lease, my dad was a guarantor and paid $400 of the $3,000 rent at the time, and he did that for about a year and a half as I was starting out on my own. Now, I am fully responsible for my expenses and rent. I do not receive passive income or inherited income.

3 a.m. — I wake up in a panic and check my bank account, it’s pay day! Ayeeee. I breathe a little easier. I’ve been going through major life transitions and was in the negatives on my checking account for about a week after switching jobs and moving apartments, which left me a paycheck behind. I atone for my sins (debts) so that when I actually wake up I won’t have to think about them, and my friends will wake up to Venmo notifications. I send $144 for Chappell Roan tickets to my friend who got early access, $170 to my cousin for a hair stylist and makeup artist (her wedding is in two weeks!) and $800 to two credit cards that have kept me afloat over the last few weeks. $1,114

8 a.m. — I commute into the city for work, and head out this morning to catch the train. Before I go, I make myself an iced almond milk latte and heat up the last part of a veggie frittata I meal prepped for this week. I also have my last apple cider doughnut from the pack my mom gave me when I was home for my grandma’s birthday. Call me a weirdo, but I actually love my commute. I have worked remotely since 2020, and the isolation definitely left my brain scrambled and devoid of little spurts of serendipity. Walking through Grand Central, I hear the subway saxophone players, see tourists wandering around, and run into my coworkers on the way to work. It makes me feel human again. $11.80

2:30 p.m. — Work has been a rollercoaster this week. I’ve been on calls and doing finance-related work (re: mind-numbing shit) since 9 a.m., so I take a lunch break and walk down the street. I didn’t have time to pack or make my lunch yesterday, so I stop at Naya and grab a shawarma wrap and an iced coffee from Le Pain. I spend the rest of the afternoon finishing up work and listening to the New Heights podcast with Taylor Swift. This is a highlight of my day and this woman is unstable for making so much music, but I’m here for it. October 3rd baby, Life of a Show Girl! $17.90

5:50 p.m. — I’m heading back on the train to New Jersey. My friend texted me earlier and asked if I wanted to go to a Pride event at our local library An art therapist is guiding a free class and she and a few new and old friends are going around 7 p.m. In Jersey City, Pride month starts in August, and building queer community has been super important to me the last year or so. I tell her I’m going and cancel my ClassPass for tonight. I was never going to make it to Pilates anyway. I’d rather bond with my people and make some silly little crafts. For this, I am charged a cancellation penalty of $14, even though I lie and say I am injured. They do give me five credits back, though. I cut my losses. Something about me: I’m a mother (mamacita). My dog goes to day care three days a week and the daycare tech is dropping him off at 6:30 p.m. He always comes home happy and tired, which is all I can ask for when I’m in the office! A very good investment in my opinion. $14

7:30 p.m. — For dinner, I make a full pound of salmon, bok choy, and brown rice. I split the salmon into thirds and pack two of them into containers with the veggies and rice. Now I have dinner for tonight and lunch for next week! Even though I live alone, I’ve been cooking in bulk recently to save myself in the future. I also made a breakfast parfait for tomorrow with protein granola from Trader Joe’s, Greek yogurt, and a cut up peach and plum. All together this took me one hour. I get to the art event with my friend who’s coming from a Yelp-elite event. We get to the library and meet up with our friends. The activity is journal making! We can decorate the journals with collages and take home some prompts for self reflection. I’ve never been happier. Journaling is one of my favorite things to do. Afterwards, we head over to Torico’s for ice cream and chat for a while. I head home around 9:30 p.m. $5

8:30 a.m. — I wake up super late and put on some sweatpants to walk my dog before starting work. For some reason I simply can not get my act together in the morning on work from home days. Once we’re back, I work on some project briefs with our creative team. They are lovely, solution-oriented people and for that I’m grateful, because there are always surprises coming out of nowhere for the designs and projects we make for our clients. While I’m working, I eat my prepped breakfast and have another iced almond milk latte.

10:30 a.m. — My landlord is texting me about my oven. I thought I smelled gas a few days ago so I called PSE&G to check. Turns out the oven has a weak igniter that can be replaced for $300. My landlord says instead of reimbursing me for that repair, her and her husband will just buy a new oven. This is great news! I send over the dimensions so they have something to reference. I send another payment to one of my credit cards for $16.77 as the amount I paid yesterday didn’t cover a few pending transactions. I also realize I have to take my dog for his annual visit next month, so drop in $130 to a sinking fund I have for him in my Marcus Goldman Sachs HYSA account. That should cover the office visit, and then I’ll pay for the other tests and vaccine updates with my next pay check. $146.77

2:30 p.m. — Another busy day. Take my late lunch break and bring my dog out for a little walk. I heat up the salmon, bok choy, and rice from yesterday and make one more iced almond milk latte. I am a creature of habit. Continue working on a lot of administrative tasks for work. While I work on things that are tedious I like to put on some YouTube or background sounds. Today I’m listening to a video essay by Anna Howard called “How Life Changes When You Realize the Rules are Made Up.” I’m really drawn to the idea of selective agency. I wonder which aspects of my life I’m choosing to approach without considering my resources today compared to when I was younger. Besides bills, I realize I’ve had a zero-spend day so far (hooray!). I have a lot of credit card debt to pay off, from poor decisions in my early twenties, so I’m teaching myself to try to enjoy the process of saving and reward myself for my goals.

5:30 p.m. — I realize I’m doing more staring at my screen than working, so I take a little break and snuggle with my dog. I take him for a walk and then take a really long shower with a glass of wine because this is very important to do as a woman at least once a month.

9:30 p.m. — Because I am sick and twisted I log back on to see how much more work I can get done before 10 p.m. I power through almost one more full timeline until I go to bed.

11 a.m. — I wake up and realize how tired my body was! I’ve been sleeping so restlessly in my new place, but there was a lot of noise from people partying and yelling near a bar on the corner last night. I need to invest in some type of sound machine. I put on my makeup, as well as Maren Morris’ song “Running”, and get dressed and ready for the day. A new location for my favorite local coffee shop just opened two blocks away and I go with my dog to check it out. I end up getting one iced horchata latte. $7.20

12 p.m. — Come back home and make a little egg, avocado, and tomato scramble and cut up a plum. TD Bank robbed me last week, so I call to plea my case. The lovely customer service representative refunds me $210 in overdraft fees. I am giddy and so relieved. My friend texts me to ask if I want to go watch a roller derby competition in Prospect Park with the people from her activist band. Never have I been more excited for a text. I say yes. The event is at 5:30 p.m., so I need to plan the rest of my day backwards. I’ll leave at 4:30 p.m. and take my dog for an hour-long walk before, so I have about two remaining hours to get things together.

2 p.m. — Seeing as I got $210 back, I order two new pairs of pants from the Gap which is having a great sale ($63.73). I desperately need new jeans, but I can’t seem to find ones I love. I find one pair I like and one pair of work trousers. I also find three super cute tops on Abercrombie and spend $105 including shipping. I think I’m good for now! I start a load of laundry in the basement unit in my building, and am surprised to find that the washer/dryer is free (no quarters!). This is the best day of my life. So grateful. While the laundry is running, I decide to meal prep my breakfast for next Monday and make a late lunch. I cook the rest of the eggplant I got from my grandpa’s garden, tomato, lots of garlic and olive oil, and some pasta. $168.73

6 p.m. — My laundry is done and I head out to Brooklyn to see my friend (and her aforementioned friends) for a little bit before she goes to China and Taiwan for three weeks. Everyone is super sweet and they share their beer with me and my friend. I grab a water from concessions and split it with my friend since it’s 80 degrees in the shade. $3.47

9:30 p.m. — I’m heading home now. I get really anxious about solo public transit in NYC at night so I didn't want to push it too late. Plus I have to walk my dog one more time before bed. I’m hoping to be in bed by 11:30 p.m. $5.90

9:30 a.m. — Wake up and take some time getting out of bed. I have the morning to myself besides heading to a friend’s bowling party in the city later!

10:30 a.m. — Go to the same coffee shop and get an iced latte again. Shower, make some breakfast, listen to The Daily and a BBC news podcast and then get a little work done. $7.20

12 p.m. — I walk downtown to pick up a gift for my friend. There’s a market area open by the PATH station, and I pick up some home made treats and a bow tie for her dog, as well as a small ceramic pot for dips and brie. I think she’ll like it! $42

2 p.m. — Go to the bowling place with my friends on the PATH ($5.90) and then the bus ($5.90). I grab two beers and some bowling shoes. My friend pays for one round and the shoes. I can’t bowl for shit but still come in second place on my team! When I get home, our birthday girl requests $18 for the cost of entrance and my friend lets me know that they didn’t charge her for my beer but I do owe money for the shoes ($8). $31.90

6 p.m. — It’s pouring outside, so instead of taking my dog for a long walk, I take him for a short sprint and then head back in. I put on a show and clean my bathroom until it calms down and we go out again.

8 p.m. — I’ve been going back and forth on grocery shopping and finally say fuck it and go. I have three recipes saved from NYT Cooking to make that are relatively low budget. All together, I get a good weekly haul for $46.91 at ShopRite. I bought two cans of cannellini beans, one box of pasta, kale, Brussels sprouts, baby potatoes, a shallot and lemon, tomatoes on the vine, two avocados, quinoa, almond milk, chicken thighs, hot Italian sausage, one dog chew, turmeric, basil leaves, cumin, and garlic powder. $46.91

10 p.m. — I shower and go to sleep. Finally, an early night!

6:15 a.m. — Wake up early because today is the first day I’m leaving my dog home instead of sending him to daycare! I hired a dog walker a week ago and today she starts. I’ll walk him this morning, then she’ll come for an hour in the afternoon, and I’ll walk him when I’m home from work. We’ll see how this goes. He can be very high energy so he needs one or two hours of exercise per day. I take the morning walk and run into my friends around the corner that just got back from Ireland. They are adjusting to the time difference and we walk together until they leave to get bagels.

7:25 a.m. — Out of the house and heading to work! I feel Monday scaries, but most of my stress-inducing meetings are in the morning, so by lunchtime I’ll be a little calmer. $5.90

11:15 a.m. — My period surprises me so I run to CVS and grab a small pack of pads, bottle of Motrin, and Ghirardelli chocolates. $18.12

12 p.m. — My calls are over and I meet my manager in the office for a 1:1. My dog walker also sends me the cutest pics of my dog and says they had a great walk. I’m so happy and relieved that they got along and book her for Tuesday and Thursday, for $60 each day for a one-hour walk. I also pay her a little extra for the initial walk, since the first one is slightly discounted from her normal rate and she did a great job. $180

3:30 p.m. — Late lunch break at the place next door to my office and catch up on the news. Accidentally spend way too much on a Cubano, but it’s so good I don’t regret it. $21.72

4:45 p.m. — I head out early on the PATH ($3). When I get home, I chat a little bit with my mom and then watch some YouTube. I also meal prep some basil-butter chicken thighs and corn. This should last me until Thursday. I check my bank account and realize that the federal student loan service has attacked me this month and taken an auto-deduction of $90.73. Sometimes I feel like I am bleeding money. $93.73

11 p.m. — Spent the rest of the night watching some comfort YouTube channels (Trixie Mattel), cleaning up the house, and showering. I recently got an ice-roller and try to use it on my face if I remember to depuff after doing my skincare routine. It’s very soothing.

8:30 a.m. — I leave really late for work as it was a rough night. It didn’t have to be; I just stayed up really late googling what kind of breed my dog’s father might have been. Not a total waste of time, but definitely not worth staying up until midnight for. $5.90

10 a.m. — I get to work extra late because the 4/5/6 train line is massively delayed from World Trade Center. I missed breakfast so I have some Frosted Flakes and a banana from my work snack bar.

5:45 p.m. — My friends and I go out for happy hour in Tribeca. They buy my  two rounds of sauvignon blanc and I promise to get them back next time.

7:30 p.m. — Home now, I check my Gmail and see that the editor for my freelance article replied to me with edits. I’m so excited! I make my pasta e fagioli (pasta with beans and veggies) and take a look at her feedback. All very valid notes. I eat and make some edits.

10 p.m. — Take my dog for his last walk and go to sleep earlier than yesterday. A win is a win.

7:30 a.m. — I wake up to a call from my landlord that my stove is being delivered in 10 minutes. Fuck. I forgot that it was scheduled for today and am very unprepared. I brush my teeth and change as fast as I can and put my dog in my bedroom so he doesn’t get spooked by the delivery.

8:20 a.m. — Stove is installed! That was super fast. I get started with my workday and make some iced coffee with — you guessed it — almond milk, and have two Ghirardelli caramel chocolates before my first morning calls. 

11 a.m. — My calls are over for now so I eat some leftover cut-up plum, peach, and Greek yogurt with protein granola. Today will mostly be brainstorming internal team projects and preparing for another kick off tomorrow.

6:15 p.m. — My work isn’t completely done yet but I need to sign off to make it to Pilates. I message my boss that I’ll be back at 7:30 p.m. to finish up.

7:30 p.m. — I am back to finish up. I send out one email then get ready as quickly as possible for trivia night at a local gay bar. My friends who got back from Ireland last week are meeting me there. I speed walk in the rain and go inside to their little bar booth. We are actually not terrible! It’s Pride trivia and we know a lot, but still not enough because we get fourth place. We have three drinks each. I have three glasses of pinot grigio which will be a regret tomorrow morning, but feels good right now. $28

Weekly Total $$ Spent: $1796.15
Food & Drink: $137.40
Entertainment: $170
Home & Health: $4148.12
Clothes & Beauty $338.73
Transportation $38.40
Other $963.50

“This was genuinely such a fun exercise and kept me incredibly aware and present in my week. I also wanted to spend less on frivolous things because I knew they would be documented! Really fun.”