A Week In Chicago On A $114,000 Salary

Occupation: Financial associate
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 28
Location: Chicago, IL
Salary: $114,000 (my husband M.’s salary is $155,000).
Assets: Checking/savings: $23,100; brokerage accounts: $282,900; retirement accounts: $177,000.
M.’s assets: Cash: $7,745; investment account: $2,450; retirement account: $80,400; home equity: $406,000 ($780,000 minus $374,000 in remaining mortgage); car value: $33,000.
Debt: $0
Paycheck amount (biweekly): $2,630
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

HOA: $500
Mortgage: $2,725 (paid by M.).
Electric: $75
Groceries: $400
Gas: $80 (for car).
Auto insurance: $80 (paid by M.).
Health insurance: $560
Dental: $38 (paid by M.).
Internet: Included in HOA.
Cellphone: Paid for by work.
Apple family plan: $40.19
Legal insurance: $8/paycheck (paid by M.).
Investments (401(k), Roth IRA, brokerage): Every year I max out my 401(k) to the annual limit — this year it’s $23,000. For my Roth IRA, it’s $7,000, and on top of that I put $1,000 in my brokerage account each month to invest. 

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, I have an undergraduate degree from a private four-year university. I grew up as an at-risk youth and people are often surprised when they find out. My parents’ income was very low, which helped when I filled out the FAFSA forms. I also applied for scholarships. I paid off my student loans and tuition before the start of the school year through summer work, working after school during high school, and work-study. I decided to graduate early and was able to ask my scholarship providers to reallocate funding from my last year, which really helped when my university annually announced a 3% increase in tuition.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
It wasn’t discussed at length but I knew not to ask for things. My mom warned me about having a joint account after my father withdrew all their money to “lend” to someone else. My mom does a lot of future faking disguised as financial independence but it’s actually a scheme to control my money. For example, promising to buy a house together but only putting my name on the mortgage on a multimillion-dollar rundown condo. I don’t even know how I would’ve gotten approved. My father isn’t as tactical and calls to ask for money every holiday. He has squandered and gambled away a lot of money. I don’t talk to either of them anymore. I was taught to invest at a young age through dollar cost averaging but I didn’t start until my junior year of university because I was depleted every school year after student loans and tuition. I was placed in honors math and economics where the teacher also taught us about credit scores, student loan documents and compound interest. An associate at my summer internship in high school taught me how to budget.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I tutored elementary school students as soon as I was old enough to get a job. I needed to help my parents with rent and living expenses.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Always. We always had enough so there was no immediate threat of eviction or not having food, but there was a lot of concern around moving out of the projects and being able to support myself. I was paying rent for my family despite my parents working full time — they just signed the checks from my checkbook. My mom asked me to pay for my younger sibling’s tuition and college allowance. I stopped talking to my parents after my credit card information was posted online asking people to max out my card. I was 18. Thankfully I was able to freeze that card before anything was charged on it.

Do you worry about money now?
I’m still conscious of it because I want to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). M. wants to continue working even if I FIRE. I am most afraid of lifestyle creep that I can’t keep up with.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
When I moved out of my parents’ house at 19. I have a safety net in my partner and my own savings.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I receive dividends from my investments.

7 a.m. — Today’s closing day on our new place! I remind my manager that I will be out for two hours or so. I don’t know how long it will be. The last time we closed, it was COVID-19 and the seller still had negotiation items that were left unresolved. I go over any emails that need responding or action. We get ready to head out for our walkthrough... There are definitely some things we missed but the seller did fix the most pressing items.

11 a.m. — Our realtor mentions how easy it was working with our lawyer and wants to know his rate. “You’re not gonna know,” was our lawyer’s reply, because it was covered by M.’s insurance. I recommended getting the insurance because we had been considering this move for this year and wanted legal advice. (It’s $8/paycheck for M.) Despite the mortgage lender reassuring us that it was pre-funded, it was not. The down payment and wire fee totaled $161,530 (paid by M.) — but we closed! We get a text with the code for the key locker. M. rushes to the new place and I go back to work.

3 p.m. — I wrap up my project analyses and start heading towards the old home to get ready for our dinner reservation. M. has more PTO than me and took the entire week off to focus on the move. He texts me that he paid $175 for replacement locks and duplication of keys so I add that to our budget. The furniture delivery comes in a few days and M. wants to do some prep so he spends $410 on paint and equipment. 

6 p.m. — We try a new restaurant. I wrote that we were celebrating closing on a home in the reservation notes and they draw cute little houses on our dessert plates. It’s so good that we make another reservation. We walk to our new home to make note of repairs or changes before ending our night. $185.79

8 a.m. — M. has already woken up and is preparing breakfast. I reach for my phone: M. texted me a deal for lens solution and I place an order for pickup. He tells me we’re painting all day today so I put on some clothes I don’t care about before we head over. $8.94

9 a.m. — We go pick up the paint M. pre-ordered only for the cashier to tell us that they never received the order. Well then. Oh, and some things may be out of stock. The cashier is able to search up the order though. We go around the store looking for replacements and other items we may have forgotten as they prepare the paint color. I pay for the difference. $188.21

1 p.m. — We have been painting for what feels like forever. I order us rice bowls from a restaurant nearby for pickup and grab the lens solution I ordered this morning from the convenience store. $41.07

5 p.m. — We’re done with the first coat! M. is scrolling for wishlist items for the home. He sends me some trash cans he wants and I place the order. I feel so sore so I spend the night Theragunning myself when we return home. $329.19

11 a.m. — It looks much better with the second coat. I buy us two burgers for lunch and M. goes to pick them up. We eat on our two patio chairs indoors because we don’t have any furniture yet. $13.01

1 p.m. — M. has created a joint Notes app note and adds a spreadsheet on our budget of things we need around the house. There’s a deal on Hue lights so I place an order. I scroll through the list to see what we should prioritize. He also creates a spreadsheet for cars he’s eyeing — with conditional formatting so that I can help with the elimination process. Then we start moving some of our items so that we can sleep in the new home tomorrow. $2,059.76

10 p.m. — We make it back before a thunderstorm and get some sleep.

7 a.m. — I pack up my work laptop and WFH on the indoor patio chair and table. I present my analyses to the team. My manager tells me I did a great job and to schedule a meeting with the negotiations team so we can finalize the deal. M. has taken some things to the new home in preparation for the bed delivery (the bed cost $2,808.07 including delivery). M. called several days prior to confirm delivery but they’re not the best delivery partners and have not returned any of his calls.

2:30 p.m. — The delivery guys refuse to bring the bed up and dump it in the lobby. I’m crying on the inside when we realize it won’t fit in the elevator. We somehow get everything up the stairs and assemble the bed without driving each other nuts. I’m hoping our other deliveries will be much smoother. I realize we never changed our address with our selected postal company and go to their website to file it. I try to pay the $1.10 charge but it keeps rejecting my card. I try another card and it goes through only for it to tell me to go in-person to verify. $1.10

4 p.m. — After logging off work, I place an order using my wellness points to get M. a water bottle and a fitness mat so that he can put his exercise equipment down without scratching the floors. We have run out of clean glass cups and the dishwasher is not great but maybe I’m doing something wrong. M. suggests signing up for Prime membership and I buy a few items: straw cleaners, laundry hamper, mesh laundry bags, calculator, mop, soap, mirror and a vacuum cleaner. $897.82

7 p.m. — M. asks me to look over his spreadsheets one last time. He’s going to buy the car tomorrow. He makes an appointment online. We make one trip to move some more stuff. I’m shocked at the amount of stuff we have accumulated in a few years of living in Chicago, even after selling bits and pieces.

10 p.m. — As I’m getting ready to sleep in the new bed, a tornado alert comes from my phone. M. has been watching out the window, which is definitely not what they recommend. Trees are knocked down and we watch a man drag tree branches off his car in the thunderstorm before he is able to drive off. I have work tomorrow so I go to bed first.

7 a.m. — I get to the office via shuttle and once we’re there all everyone is talking about is the damage from the tornado. One coworker lost internet connection. Another got a broken window and recalls the window salesmen going door to door in the neighborhood right after the storm. Today we meet with the negotiation team. We had complained to our manager that all we do is come to the office to sit in our cubicles and join Teams so today he books a room for all of us to meet.

10 a.m. — M. sends me a phone number to book movers. He’d gotten a quote of $300-$600 but nothing happened after that. I get a call confirming the addresses, which items, and the date and time before giving my card information over the phone for the $100 deposit. M. got his car. The intial appointment didn’t work out: 10 minutes before Ubering to the dealership, the car salesman tells him that the car sold that very morning. He chose the next car on the spreadsheet and haggled it down to $37,923 in cash. It has been five years since M. last owned a car. Chicago’s public transportation is amazing but it’s also a waste of a parking spot to not own a car since the HOA bylaws forbid renting it out to people outside of the building. $100

4 p.m. — M. picks me up from work with his new car. My workplace provided lunch today and there were a ton of leftovers. My coworkers packed me a doggy bag since they know I have no food at home. It’s enough to feed us for several days. We stop by the postal service we selected to verify my change of address request. M. tells me afterwards that it’s free if I fill out the form in person. Once we’re home, I buy a TV, a walking pad, toothbrush heads, floss, coffee beans and a Finish dishwasher cleaner. $1,286.99

6 p.m. — We decide to go to one of our favorite supermarkets: 88 Supermarket. We can finally buy those 15+ pound bags of rice! We pick up some other snacks and stop by the old home to move some more things out. $47.16

9 p.m. — M. mentions a furniture piece and texts me a link. It’s an Italian cabinet for €2,500, down from €3,400. There’s an additional sale happening right now. I shop around and I see it for €1,940 elsewhere, except air shipping is €1,000 (same thing by boat). Ouch. I pull out my travel card with no foreign exchange fees and buy it for €2,064. Even though I saved and budgeted for high ticket items, it hurts to part ways with the money. We’ve learned to buy directly from vendors abroad rather than pay a middleman. I also buy a waterproof mattress cover and a jump rope before going to bed. $2,365.21

7 a.m. — I WFH in the old home while M. is at the new home for the movers ($361 after the deposit). The doorman reserves the elevator for us and the whole ordeal takes less than 45 minutes. I get a few emails about our automation software overloading due to people running reports in excess of 40 times a day. The IT team get on the line with Microsoft and it gets fixed. They also send a guide on best practices. There are a few status calls regarding some tickets I put in with a financial partner. It’s been months but everyone is also out on vacation so there’s no movement. $361

5 p.m. — We’re back at that restaurant. It’s slightly worse than the first time but the drinks are better. It might have been the excitement of closing day. I guess we are memorable because the server gives us a knowing look once he sees us. We finish our three-course dinner, then the manager comes over and suggests we try their other menus so we make a reservation for brunch. We walk towards home. $185.06

6:30 p.m. — We stop by Mariano’s for some vegetables and fruit. I quickly scroll through the coupons on the app before we check out. $10.08

7 p.m. — I get a reminder text about a wedding we’re attending. I zelle M. $200 so he can withdraw it in cash for the wedding fund. The bride and groom asked for money in lieu of a registry, which makes things much easier for me. I figure $100 each should cover our dinner (I just met the couple a few months ago). The dress code is more casual than most so we don’t need to go out and buy new clothes. $200

9 p.m. — My orders have started coming in. M. sets up the TV and sound system. We watch a few YouTube videos before deciding to adjust the color settings. I get a message from some high school friends asking to meet up for food when they’re in town. We schedule a time and decide on a place that’s close enough to their hotel. I complain about the dishwasher to M. because the Finish wax plug did not melt off. It ran for four hours and did absolutely nothing. I do another cycle and pull out the wax plug myself. M. sends me a link to the Bosch 500, 800 and Benchmark line, and one Miele option. I decide to give it an overnight vinegar bath as a last-ditch effort before going to bed.

7 a.m. — The kitchen stinks of vinegar but it worked! M. texts me a picture of our utensils after running the dishwasher. No more butter residue on the butter knives. M. has installed most of the lights so now we can dim the lights. It’s back-to-back meetings in the office today and most of them don’t pertain to me. We gossip about the office budget cuts before joining an all-hands meeting. There’s food, which means I’m set for the rest of the week for food! Even with 50+ people, we always have leftovers.

3:30 p.m. — Today I get the full commuter experience with a brown bag full of leftovers and my oversized tote. It’s not terrible. It helps that there’s a pleasant spa scent permeating throughout for the last few blocks. Earlier, I saw an announcement that there’s a 25% employee discount on Herman Miller. I send M. the details so he can look it over since he sold his office chair. I tell him to charge it on my Amex to maximize the cashback. $593.67

5 p.m. — After dinner, we go to Ikea to see if we can check off some other items from our Notes app. We buy cutting boards, clothes hangers, rugs, brushes, soap dispensers, a step stool and some containers. I had browsed soap dispensers online and was shocked to see a $75 soap dispenser. Sure it’s automatic, but $75? Then M. reminded me that there’s always Ikea. $270.30

7:30 p.m. — I log our latest spending and I’m surprised we’re still within the budget. I’m dreading next week because I put my studying on hold this week for the move and I am just tired. I don’t know if my brain can bounce back into study mode. A bunch of coupons arrive with confirmation of my change of address. I use one to buy a nightstand from Crate & Barrel that matches the dresser. $826.86

9:30 p.m. — I fall asleep doomscrolling on TikTok. M. gently wakes me up so I can put my stuff on charge and I fall right back asleep.