A Week On O‘ahu, HI On A $36,000 Salary

Occupation: Historic preservation specialist (but I’m quitting in a week, yayyyyy).
Industry: Emergency management
Age: 24
Location: O‘ahu, Hawai’i
Salary: $36,000
Assets: $2,000 in checking; $6,617.10 in savings; $50,000 in investments; $21,698 in a Roth IRA; $21,500 for the value of my car.
Debt: $0
Paycheck amount (2x/month): $1,270.49
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: $500
Loan payments: $0
Car insurance: $97
Phone: $25
Healthcare: $0 (on my parents’ plan).
Mutual Aid donation: ~$250 (or whatever is 10% of my income that month).

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 parents both have graduate degrees and built college funds for my sister and me. I got my bachelor’s and master’s on the East Coast, where I lived for five years. My parents paid for my tuition and living expenses using those college funds, and I also had academic scholarships for both degrees.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
I remember my mom taking me to the bank to open my first savings account when I was a kid. When I got my first job, my parents offered to put most of my paychecks into investments and continue to do that for me now.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
When I was 16, my mom told me that I was expected to get a part-time job to learn how to work and earn money. I was a library student helper, then I worked at an ice cream shop. My senior year of high school, I began working in food service. I worked that job on my breaks all through college and grad school until I got my current job.

Did you worry about money growing up?
No. I know now that my parents were very smart with their spending but when I was growing up they never talked about finances in front of me.

Do you worry about money now?
I’m very frugal and I know that I could technically afford to live on my own but it would be stressful if I paid a normal rent and food costs on this salary, especially because housing is very costly here.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
Because I still live at home, I’m not fully financially responsible yet. My parents paid for my housing and food costs through grad school, and I began paying them rent and for my phone bill when I got my job after I graduated. I know that they could assist me financially in an emergency.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
When I was growing up, I would receive $550 combined from two relatives for each birthday and Christmas. I expect that I will inherit something from my parents but we’ve never discussed it.

8 a.m. — Wake up. I changed my alarm sound recently but I think it’s too calm and now I just think I’m hearing music in my dreams. A month ago the water supply at work got contaminated and they said that everyone should work from home until they fixed it. Now I can get up minutes before work and since the workload is lots of downtime interspersed with similar project reviews, I have a ton of free time now. Today is low tide at a rocky beach so I’m going shell hunting. I bring my work phone with me to occasionally refresh Teams but I don’t think my supervisor tracks time that closely, and I’m quitting super soon so… :)

8:34 a.m. — When I get here, I see that the tide is a little higher than I wanted. Waves keep washing over the tide pools that I need to look in and it’s harder to search for shells. I see a crab with bright pink algae growing over it (gorgeous girl) and find six empty snakehead cowrie shells.

10:11 a.m. — When I get home I make an iced coffee with maple syrup. I do the first actual work of the day: filling out a project form for a review and sending it back to my supervisor.

10:54 a.m. — I do my Duolingo Japanese lesson. I got into a cultural exchange program and I’ll be in Japan for a year or more. When I started working on the language, I didn’t even know if I had gotten into the program. And now I’m about to leave! I finish my lesson (153-day streak) and work with a textbook.

12 p.m. — For lunch I make tofu with black pepper sauce. My personal laptop is getting repaired so I’ve been listening to podcasts, not watching videos or shows. Today’s is HBO Girls Rewatch.

2:54 p.m. — I get a call from the Apple Store saying that my repaired laptop is ready for pickup. A few days ago, the screen started showing vertical black lines and even though it’s still under warranty, they said it wasn’t valid because part of the physical screen had a crack. Like a month ago, I forgot that I had an earring on the keyboard and closed it. Probably the black lines are from that and I’m mad at myself that I caused this unnecessary expense. I probably should have asked other repair stores for a quote but I was already at the Apple Store because I thought the warranty would apply. The cost for the repair is $469.10. $469.10

5 p.m. — I pack more stuff for Japan. My best friend texts and says that she’s making me something at a craft event. We talk about our vacation in Tokyo together later this year. For dinner I eat the tofu from lunch, plus eggs and sweet potatoes.

7:15 p.m. — I work out while watching House of the Dragon. I love the relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent but I have trouble telling all the white, blonde people apart.

9:20 p.m. — After finishing the book Shutter by Ramona Emerson (interesting premise but I didn’t like the writing), I go to sleep.

9:10 a.m. — I get up later because I have a leave day today. I eat my standard breakfast of fruit, muffin and yogurt, and make another coffee with maple syrup.

9:50 a.m. — Japanese time. I do well on the lessons and tests but I haven’t had to use it with a native speaker yet. I receive a $2 reward for an online survey that I took.

10:58 a.m. — I cut off the dyed ends of my hair. I hate to lose the length but the bleach really damaged it and I want to sell it at some point, which I can’t do if it’s colored. I start baking kūlolo, which is a firm pudding made from kalo (taro), sugar and coconut milk. I don’t have kalo so I try it with sweet potatoes instead.

12:16 p.m. — I decide to go hiking and drive to the trailhead. It’s strawberry guava season and I eat them off the trees on the side of the trail. I do five miles in total.

7 p.m. — Tonight I’m going to a Bon dance (Buddhist summer festival), then out with my friends. People do group dances in a circle around a raised platform with musicians on it. The sun goes down and the red and white lanterns look so pretty. The tradition of Obon comes from Japan but I think it’s a bigger deal here and I’ve been going to them a lot this summer.

10 p.m. — I drive to my friend C.’s house and give her the kūlolo. C. and I met around six months ago and I've become part of her friend group. I’m used to hanging out with them almost every week and now I have only two weekends left with them. I change into my going-out outfit (sparkly dress and hood with butterfly clips on the side) and we walk to the club from C.’s house. This place always has a $20 cover, which is why we rarely go. $20

1:23 a.m. — The music was okay but the place was super empty. At least everyone loved my outfit. I didn’t drink anything so I drive home.

9:20 a.m. — I wake up and eat breakfast and drink a Celsius energy drink. I have glitter all over me from my dress last night.

10:45 a.m. — After doing my Japanese lesson, I fix a pair of ripped shorts. I originally got these from a donation pile at the end of a semester. Part of the seam was unraveling and I sewed it shut; now I’m fixing it again. Being able to sew helps me save so much money on clothes. These are from Shein (boooooo) but sewing has helped me preserve their lifespan two times.

11 a.m. — I have been working on a painting of my friend and her baby but I ran out of white oil paint and can’t find the motivation to finish it. It’s almost done but it needs those final touches.

11:20 a.m. — I make a coffee with the last of the maple syrup. Then I make chia seed pudding to go with a dragon fruit my mom got from a neighbor.

2 p.m. — Pack more stuff for Japan. Almost everything is set. I get housing and some furniture with the program so it’s mostly clothes and smaller items. I do more Japanese practice so I can get all the daily achievement badges.

6:30 p.m. — I use my elliptical while watching random stuff on YouTube.

10 p.m. — Start reading Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina, then sleep.

9:08 a.m. — I wake up to the news about Biden dropping out via my friend’s text which just says “goodbye joe biden” so I initially think he died. Eat breakfast. My mom recently harvested over a dozen Okinawan sweet potatoes (the purple kind) so I make a smoothie out of some of them and freeze it for later.

10:02 a.m. — I take a test from my Japanese textbook.

11 a.m. — Trying to fill out my primary election ballot. There is a real candidate with the legal surname “Pikachu Billionaire.” He says he changed it to Billionaire to reflect his billionaire mindset. Not sure why Pikachu is involved.

12:59 p.m. — R., my best friend, calls and we tell each other about our weekends. Hers: a Charli XCX-themed drag show. Mine: Obon/club.

3 p.m. — I go to the beach and hope the salt water is helping heal the ear piercing that I did a week ago. I swim out to a little island off shore. Most of the island is a bird sanctuary and you can only walk around the edge. I sit on the tiny shore and eat some ‘akulikuli (sea purslane) leaves from the plant that grows all over the island, then swim back.

5:30 p.m. — It’s my grandmother’s birthday and some members of my extended family have flown in from the neighbor islands to celebrate. Our group goes to a restaurant and everyone wants to know about Japan, when I leave, etc. My grandma insists on paying for everyone, even though it’s her party.

10 p.m. — Sleep after reading.

8 a.m. — Wake up and make breakfast with an iced matcha latte.

8:30 a.m. — Work meeting. An official email is sent out telling employees to watch out for falling coconuts. Not sure where they got this Looney Tunes-esque hazard from. I have never heard of this actually happening to anyone but watch out guys, I guess!

10:32 a.m. — I thought that my work computer’s webcam was broken but it just had a very small internal cover on it that slides on and off. Humbling. I delete my IT help request.

11 a.m. — I fix a rip in a skirt for my friend. I put on the Girls Rewatch podcast again and finish the episodes. Receive my bimonthly paycheck of $1,270.49. I eat some of the birthday cake from last night.

1 p.m. — No projects come through at work. I tell myself to enjoy it because I will have to be in-person in Japan. I make more chia seed pudding, this time with matcha in it. Go over my Japan packing list again, even though I already packed everything that I don’t need to use between now and the flight.

6 p.m. — Work out and watch the new House of the Dragon episode. There’s a really nice full moon tonight.

10 p.m. — I’m still reading Indian Burial Ground, and I’m about halfway through. Sleep.

9:30 a.m. — I’m using up my leave before I quit since I don’t get it retroactively. Today and tomorrow I’m off. Eat breakfast.

12 p.m. — I leave the house to go hiking. This hike leads to a waterfall. Since it’s been dry recently there’s no mud on the vertical descent but this also means that the waterfall isn’t really flowing. The hike is only three miles. I have 10 days left in Hawai’i before I move and I feel like I should be doing more stuff here instead of sitting in the house.

1:40 p.m. — For lunch I make shakshuka and eat more of the sweet potatoes while watching YouTube videos about early 2000s fandom drama and the (fake) My Immortal author reveal of 2017.

3 p.m. — My friend from graduate school texts me to say that she was cleaning her room and found a clay cat I made for her birthday two years ago and that she hopes I’m doing well. I miss being in graduate school and I wish that my job for the past 10 months was in an area related to what I went to school for.

4:15 p.m. — Duolingo Japanese. One hundred and fifty seven-day streak.

8 p.m. — A friend brings me purple and white crown flower from her tree that she just trimmed. We string it into lei and make around six really long ones. These flowers keep very well in the fridge and I’ll wear some of them at events this weekend.

11 p.m. — I finish my book and go to sleep.

8:30 a.m. — My second day of leave. I realize that I only have six days of work left at this job. I guess it taught me a lot about what I don’t want in a workplace and the skills I learned could be helpful if I wanted to continue in this field (which I really do not). After Japan I’m coming back to Hawai’i and I worry about the lack of jobs available relating to my master’s and interests. I tell myself that I will be able to find something and it won’t be as bad as this past one. Anyway, that’s a while away, depending on how long I stay in Japan.

9 a.m. — I drink the cold brew coffee that I started making yesterday (not very good) and text my friend in Cuba an image of a giant rabbit photoshopped to look like the sun rising over a green hill with the bottom text “buenos dias.” I love technology.

10:05 a.m. — I finish filling out my primary election ballot (not for Mr Pikachu Billionaire but he does seem like a diva, in a strange way). I drive to a small, free art museum. I’ve seen the current exhibit before but I decided to visit again before I left. There’s a work using dozens of the same cowries that I collected at the beach a few days ago.

1 p.m. — I eat a sandwich for lunch. Japanese lessons. My friend and I discuss Charli XCX’s Kamala endorsement and if brat summer is now canceled/automatically cheugy because of its new association with the presidential campaign and with random old politicians referencing it. She says no because brat belongs to the people and Charli isn’t the official arbiter of who is or isn’t brat. I’m not so sure.

2:21 p.m. — Begin reading the book You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah! by Fiona Rosenbloom. It’s a short YA book and I finish it quite fast. Then I go back to one that I put on hold, Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice, which is a post-apocalyptic book set in Canada.

5 p.m. — For dinner I make edamame and eat it with some pesto chicken. My mom and I go to say bye to my aunt who came out here for my grandma’s birthday and is going back to the continent tonight.

9 p.m. — Finish my book and then sleep.

Weekly Total $$ Spent: $489.10
Food & Drink: $0.00
Entertainment: $20.00
Home & Health: $0.00
Clothes & Beauty $0.00
Transportation $0.00
Other $469.10