A Week In Santa Clara, CA On A $150,000 Salary

Occupation: Software engineer
Industry: Technology
Age: 23
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Salary: $150,000
Assets: Savings: $40,000; investments: $20,000; 401(k): $10,000.
Debt: $0
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $3,400
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing Costs: $2,000 (I share a two-bed house with my parents and we split the rent 60/40, as I have the bigger room).
Loan Payments: $0
Internet: $20 (my half).
Utilities: $50 (my half).
Phone Plan: $10
Car Insurance: $50 (it’s my parents’ car and insurance went up when they added my name, so I pay the difference).
Renters’ Insurance: $10 (my half).
Health Insurance: $20 (remaining premium is covered by my employer).

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?
Both my parents attended college, chose STEM majors, and graduated top of their class. It was expected that I would do the same. I majored in computer science at a well-respected university in the field. I also received a merit scholarship that covered my entire tuition for all of my years in college. I only had to cover rent and food. For my first year, my parents gave me money to cover these living expenses. During my second year, I worked a part-time job as a software engineer intern and used that income to cover living expenses. I kept this part-time through the remainder of college.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
Growing up, my parents spoke about spending habits and the importance of saving. We lived extremely frugal lives and tried to save as much money as we could. For example, nearly all my clothes were bought second-hand, and we tuned our diet for the week based on what was on sale at the grocery store. Still, we were never worried about money. My parents made it clear that our frugal lifestyle was not because we lacked money, but rather we wanted to save for rainy days and future purchases, such as my college and their retirement. After I got my first job, my parents taught me about various investment options, such as CDs, treasury bonds, mutual funds, and day trading. Under their supervision, I placed some day trades to gain familiarity with trading and acclimate myself to the associated risk. If I lost money on some trades, they helped me understand my mistakes and gave pointers on how I could offset the loss. For instance, one of their mantras is that if a stock we buy goes into a loss, unless the company is in dire circumstances (e.g., a lawsuit), it’s usually better to hold. “A high tide in the market will lift all stocks, just wait for it and then settle the trade,” they say.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was a part-time software engineering internship I took at college. I took the job primarily so I could show something on my resume when applying for summer internships.

Did you worry about money growing up?
No, I knew my parents had a good grasp on our finances. While our lifestyle was modest, they ensured I had everything I needed. They also reassured me that we had enough for rainy days. I remember there were a couple of months where my dad was out of work, yet they never showed any signs of stress or shared any concerns about money. “This is part of life”, they said, “we have saved enough for such rainy days, so don’t worry. And remember, this time will pass, and it’ll be back to normal.”

Do you worry about money now?
Kind of. I have a solid job, decent savings, and with my frugal/minimalist lifestyle, I am not worried about money in the short term. Long-term is another story. With the rise of AI, it’s uncertain if software engineering is a good, sustainable career. If AI replaces my job or reduces my earning potential, I would definitely be in trouble, and that’s my greatest worry. Consequently, I am constantly worried about saving for the future.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I am still not financially independent. I live with my parents, and while I do pay the bills, I know they will happily cover for me if needed. Thus, I don’t feel the same level of responsibility as someone living by themselves. I do have a financial safety net; I have enough savings to cover my living expenses for a few months. Plus, I know my parents will help me out if needed.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My parents gave me $10,000 when I started college. I used some of that to cover my living expenses the first year of college and put the rest in a savings account.

7 a.m. — Wake up. I didn’t sleep too well last night. At 2:30 a.m., my dad’s phone rang. Apparently, one of his colleagues was panicking about his job and called my dad for advice. We typically keep our phones on full volume at night, expecting that people would only call us in emergencies at night, and we wouldn’t want to accidentally miss that. So, when the phone rang at 2:30 a.m., it rang loud enough to wake all of us up. To be honest, I was absolutely pissed at the colleague for calling at such an ungodly hour. I am not trying to be mean or belittle his worries. I sympathize with the colleague, but I think he should have waited until morning to call. Anyway, it took me a bit to fall back asleep after that.

8:10 a.m. — I eat plain oatmeal with a NutterButter peanut bar for breakfast and catch up on some emails before heading to the office. I take the bus to the office. The bus stop is a few miles from where I live, so I bike there in the morning. $2.50

12 p.m. — Lunch time!! My company offers free lunches every day, and today, they are serving burritos. I head over to the café with my team and grab two burritos, one for lunch and one for dinner (we often have leftovers and are allowed to take those home; that’s how I got the second burrito). I am very fortunate to work here. Along with a great work environment, the company offers many perks, like free lunches, which helps me keep my costs low.

2 p.m. — It’s the middle of the day, and I am so sleepy. I am literally dozing off on my desk, which is bad ’cause I have an aisle desk so everyone can see me as they walk by. I decide to step outside and take a short 10-minute walk. I stop by a cafe and order some iced black tea, hoping the caffeine in it will wake me up. $3

5 p.m. — The afternoon tea does the trick, and I survive the rest of the day without falling asleep. The next bus home is at 5:30 p.m., so I walk around for a bit. It’s really nice outside. The sun is out, there’s a cool breeze, and the tree leaves are swaying in the breeze. It’s a beautiful view.

5:30 p.m. — I take the bus home. There is a fair bit of traffic today, and the bus is moving at the speed of a snail on the freeway. The stop-and-go traffic gives me a headache, so I try to nap through it. $2.50

6:20 p.m. — I grab my bicycle from the bus and begin the last leg of the journey home. I usually walk home in the evenings.

7:20 p.m. — I reach home. I am a bit late; I am calling a friend at 7:30 p.m., and I need to wash up before the call, so I quickly hop in the shower.

7:35 p.m. — Shoot, I am late! I rush to call my friend and see that she texted saying she is late as well and wants to meet at 8 p.m. instead. Whew, that’s a relief. I heat up the burrito I got from the office for dinner. I also eat another NutterButter peanut bar as dessert. It’s no exaggeration to say that I absolutely love the NutterButter peanut bars.

9 p.m. — The call with my friend goes well. It’s just a casual “catch up on life”-type call. I watch some YouTube videos, mostly random clips from old-time goodies like Friends, Frasier, TBBT and Modern Family. At this point, I feel like I’ve watched entire seasons through scattered three-minute clips. I finally head to bed around 9:30 p.m.

7:20 a.m. — I wake up and make a quick breakfast (same as yesterday). I forgot to watch the company’s quarterly meeting yesterday, so I watch the first part of the meeting while having breakfast.

8:20 a.m. — I head off to the bus stop to take the bus to work. $2.50

12:30 p.m. — Grab lunch with my team. Today they are serving veg fried noodles and gai lan (Chinese broccoli). I also pack up some leftover kale salad and wild rice for dinner. I took a walk around the office building before lunch. Someone biked past me and dropped their phone. A car was heading towards us and almost ran over the phone. Looking back, I am a little bothered that I didn’t try to pick up the phone as soon as I heard it hit the road. The car was 10-20 seconds away at that point and traveling at 15 mph, so it surely would have stopped for me. For some reason, though, the thought didn’t even occur to me. Maybe I was spaced-out during the walk, so it didn’t register?

4:30 p.m. — I want to head home early today, so I call it a day and take the bus back. $2.50

7p.m. — I am home. I didn’t pack a lot for dinner, so I need to cook something. I think lentils would pair nicely with the wild rice, so I cook some. I eat a banana in the meantime and watch the remainder of the quarterly meeting.

8 p.m. — I am feeling sleepy, but I have some long-running tests whose results I need for work tomorrow, so I need to stay awake until those tests finish. I try to distract myself by playing Scrabble online. I haven’t played in a while, and I am rusty. For some reason, I have no issues coming up with words when writing this diary, but during the game, I was struggling to come up with any words. I give up after a bit of struggle and play solitaire instead.

9:30 p.m. — My tests finally finished. I head to bed. Good night!

7 a.m. — Good morning! I am really excited about today. First off, it’s Friday, the best day of the week, and I am going swimming in the afternoon. I found that there’s a community pool not far from my office and the first hour of swimming is free for newcomers, so I signed up. I used to love swimming as a kid and swam nearly every day as a child. I stopped swimming in middle school (that’s 10 years ago now) so I am excited to go swimming today.

8:20 a.m. — I do my usual commute to the office. $2.50

11:30 a.m. — I plan to swim from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and I heard it’s best to eat a couple of hours before swimming, so I head for an early lunch. We have veg fried noodles again. I grab some for lunch and some veg noodles and tofu for dinner. Working from the office on Fridays just feels different. There are a lot of kids at the office today; I guess school hasn’t started yet. The kids certainly lighten the mood, and it’s so fun watching them.

2 p.m. — Swimming time! I walk over to the pool and change into the swimsuit. Ok, it’s clearly been a while since I swam, because besides the swimsuit, I completely forgot everything else required for swimming, including a cap, googles, and even a plastic bag to carry my wet swimsuit afterwards. Still, I have my heart set on swimming today, and I dive in.

3:15 p.m. — It’s a good swim. I was able to do two minutes a lap, which I think is ok considering I haven’t swum in years and was doing breaststroke, the slowest of the strokes. I grab a trash bag for my wetsuit and head back to the office.

4 p.m. — I am hungry again. The swim did a number on me, and I suspect my whole body will be sore tomorrow. I head over to the office cafe to see if there’s any leftovers that I could eat, and I find a PB&J sandwich. I actually didn’t know we stocked sandwiches. Maybe it’s a Friday thing? Anyway, I eat the sandwich and some of the noodles I had packed for dinner.

5 p.m. — I am attending a drawing session someone arranged at the office. I want to make new friends, and I think this is a good opportunity to meet people. Currently, I only talk to my college friends, and our conversations feel distant as we are scattered all over the country and are at different stages in life: some of them are in a master’s program, so they are still in a college mindset. Others are a bit older and are thinking about serious relationships, and yet others are extremely career-minded. I am personally not too career focused. I want a good career, but I am in no hurry to climb the corporate ladder. I have never been on a date and am definitely not looking for serious relationships. Anyway, these life differences are definitely the elephant in the room in my college friend group. We all see it and it’s been getting harder and harder to all meet up, so I am still trying to find a new social group that fits me, with people at a similar stage.

6 p.m. — I am on the bus, heading home. The drawing session was ok. Everyone was focused on drawing, and there weren’t many side conversations. The drawing session was actually a class on shading techniques, so it felt rude to start a conversation when someone was teaching. I am debating whether I should attend the next session. On one hand, the next session will likely also be a lesson, and if so, it will be hard to get to know people and form friendships. On the other hand, friendships take time to develop, and maybe, with each session, we’ll reveal just a little bit about each other. Then after a few weeks, I will have a rough idea if I hit it off with anyone. We’ll see… $2.50

6:30 p.m. — The bus drops me off. I am tired from all the swimming, so I skip the normal walk and bike home.

7:30 p.m. — I watch YouTube shorts by Steve Ho (a ET tech turned stand-up comedian, highly recommend), waiting for bedtime.

10 p.m. — Bedtime! I find it interesting how, as a kid, I hated bedtime, and yet as an adult, I look forward to it.

6 a.m. — I am surprised I am up this early. I am usually not up until 8 a.m. on the weekends. Yesterday’s hypothesis was right: the swimming did a number on me and my whole body aches today. I want to do some morning stretches, but just as I try to touch my toes, I feel pain going up my entire leg. It’s not a sharp pain, but a dull pain radiating from everywhere. I lie on my bed again and just watch YouTube. YouTube recommends a movie called Ne Zha. It’s free so I’ll give it a try.

8 a.m. — I finish Ne Zha and OMG it was so good. The movie highlights the conflict between destiny, fate and will power, while also touching on the powerful role societal perspectives play in our lives. I definitely recommend watching the movie.

9 a.m. — I have a NutterButter peanut bar for breakfast. No oatmeal today. I also roast some peanuts on the side as I want to try making masala peanuts. I found a recipe for it a few days ago and it looked good. I struggle to follow recipes though as I just want to do my own thing. I read the recipe for the basic ingredients and then come up with my own cooking instructions. For instance, the recipe suggests coating raw peanuts in batter and frying them, but I don’t like oily food, so instead I roast the peanuts first and then dip them in the batter and shallow fry them. I pack up my masala peanuts; this will be my snack over the weekend.

11:30 a.m. — Lunch time. As much as I like the office food and am grateful that it’s free, I do genuinely enjoy cooking. Today, we’ll be making tofu rice.

2 p.m. — Since I stepped out for swimming on Friday, I have some work left. I’ll be working on and off for the next two hours.

4 p.m. — I head out for an evening walk. I stop by the library on my walk. I don’t have a particular book in mind so I just grab the first fiction book I see in the new arrivals section. I check out A Stranger in the Earth by Marcel Theroux.

7 p.m. — I am not too hungry so I have an apple for dinner and rewatch Ne Zha. I enjoyed the rewatch too. This time, I focused on the story of the second protagonist (Ao Bing), noticing how both protagonists are similar in that society forces a destiny upon: Society views the main protagonist (Ne Zha) as a demon and Ao Bing as the hero. However, in the end, Ne Zha comes out a hero because he rebelled against his chosen destiny while Ao Bing submits to destiny and is forced to commit a heinous act. 

10 p.m. — I head to bed.

7:30 a.m. — Wake up. I eat some of the masala peanuts for breakfast. I don’t have anything planned for today. I enjoyed yesterday’s movie, so I search online for the sequel.

8 a.m. — I found a site hosting Ne Zha 2 for free. It’s in Chinese with English subtitles. The subtitles are decent, so I am happy.

12 p.m. — My parents head out on a week-long trip. I am not joining them and am a bit glad. Traveling is not my thing: the planning, the packing, the parading between places is exhausting. By the end, I would need a vacation from the vacation. Plus, now I finally get the whole house to myself, and I know just what I am going to do now: sing my favorite songs out loud (how many of y’all thought party time? Lol).

2 p.m. — I take a break from singing and eat lunch. I make rice and lentils for lunch, and rewatch episodes from random Disney shows like Girl Meets World and Liv And Maddie . I don’t subscribe to any streaming services, so I watch the free episodes posted on YouTube or DailyMotion.

4:30 p.m. — I head out for the usual evening walk.

6 p.m. — I am back from the walk. I spend the rest of the evening reflecting on the week and this year, evaluating my life plan, I guess. Everyone I know seems to have some life plan, even if it’s just getting married or pursuing a career goal, but I don’t have any such plans or goals. Maybe this is just FOMO talking, but I think I should have a vision for life. ​I spend some time writing down pros and cons for various concrete life goals to see if there’s one or two that I can pick for myself.

9:30 p.m. — I don’t feel particularly drawn to any life goals just yet, so I call it a day and head to bed.

8 a.m. — It’s the Monday morning blues. I will work from home today because I got up late, so there’s no way I can catch the bus, and besides, I am not as energetic right now.

8:30 a.m. — I have meetings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., so I have to prepare something for lunch right now. I default back to rice and lentils since it’s easy to make.

9:45 a.m.  — I just finished my team meeting. I really enjoy this weekly meeting. We start by sharing our weekend, voting on the best weekend story and it’s so fun. It snaps me out of my Monday morning blues. Next, I have a couple of weekly stand-ups, one for each of the projects I work on. I am mostly on track with all my projects, so no pressure.

2 p.m. — Lunch time! I got a bunch of comments on my code and I want to address them all quickly, in hopes that I can submit the code by EOD. So, I munch down lunch quickly and start coding.

6 p.m. — The work day is complete. I had to reorganize a lot of my code to address all the comments, so I have to make sure all the tests still pass. It’s late though, so this is tomorrow’s problem. I head out for an evening walk.

7:30 p.m. — I am back from my walk. I play some songs and sing along for a while to get my mood up. The work day was decent today, but I just don’t feel as energetic or happy as I usually do.

8 p.m. — I snack on some NutterButter peanut bars, read A Stranger in the Earth for a few hours, and then head to bed around 10 p.m.​

7 a.m. — Buzz, buzz, buzz… Buzz, buzz, buzz. ​I tumble out of bed to check on my phone. My grandfather is calling! He just wanted to check in, and I am so happy he called. I catch him up on my week, and he shares some fun little stories of my cousin (my grandfather lives with my cousin’s family).

8:20 a.m. — I head to the office. $2.50

12 p.m. — I have a meeting at 12:30 p.m., so I grab a quick lunch by myself. We have Indian cuisine today: spinach tofu, coconut dal, rice, and naan. As usual, I pack some for dinner.

4:30 p.m. — I am nearly done for the day. I need to run two tests to verify that my feature works, but both tests take over an hour to run. I don’t want to stay in the office that long, so I’ll take the early bus home and run the tests from home. $2.50

6 p.m. — The evening is hot and humid with absolutely no breeze, so by the time I walk home, I am covered in sweat. I definitely regret coming home early; I should have stayed in the office longer, so at least the sun wouldn’t have been out during my walk home.​ Anyway, I start my tests and have dinner.

9 p.m. — I don’t have much else to do today. I can’t find anything good to watch on YouTube, and I don’t feel like reading either. I call it a day and hit the sack.

“From a spending perspective, I did well. I didn’t spend on anything besides bare minimum living expenses. However, I need to find an alternate mode of transportation. With a car, it would only cost me $1 in gasoline to go to the office. The bus costs more than double that. However, I don’t own a car. I pay for car insurance, but that’s insurance for my parent’s car, which I can only use on weekends or in emergencies. Anyway, I need to reduce the transportation cost and either get a car or find someone to carpool with. On a personal level, I need to socialize more and have more fun, especially on the weekend. I am just going with the flow right now, and I worry I’ll end up as a 30 year old saying, “I went through my 20s, the best years of my life, but I forgot to make them the best years of my life.” Joining the art session is definitely a step in the right direction and I’ll stick with it.”