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A Week In Pittsburgh On A $102,750 Salary

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.

Today: a machine learning research scientist who makes $102,750
a year and who spends some of her money this week on Dungeons & Dragons stamps.
If you’d like to submit your own Money Diary, you can do so via our online form. We pay $150 for each published diary. Apologies but we’re not able to reply to every email.
Occupation: Machine learning research scientist
Industry: Academia
Age: 27
Location: Pittsburgh
Salary: $102,750
Joint income: I am married but my husband is not earning income at the moment. We have joint finances, since we recently got married. In the past six months we have taken a six-figure pay cut due to my husband leaving his job.
Assets: Individual brokerage account: $50,000; Roth IRA: $11,000; 403(b): $29,000. This is excluding my husband’s accounts but I believe he has roughly $105,000 in an individual brokerage and $50,000 in Roth/traditional IRA and 401(k).
Debt: $0
Paycheck amount (1x month): $4,461
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs:
$2,860 (we rent a two-bed, two-bath apartment).
Loan payments: $0
Utilities: $300
Climbing gym: $120 (household membership).
Spotify: $12
Movie membership: $11 (movie and a free popcorn every month).
Massage subscription: $70
Health insurance: $350 employer-provided for me and my husband).
Car insurance: $60
403(b) contributions: $1,909
Therapy: $50

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?
There absolutely was an expectation that I’d attend college. Not only that, but that I would attend an “elite” college. It was considered settling if you just went to our state school. My mother paid for my college tuition, fortunately, since I did end up going to a small, private liberal arts college. I followed that up with four years in a PhD program, which was fully funded.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
There was never enough of it (and it was my fault somehow)! My mom was constantly stressed about having enough money and that was the main education I got: There’s never enough money so don’t spend anything and save all of it. My mom did tell me to put money in a Roth IRA...but then didn’t say anything about investing it (you know, the whole point of a Roth IRA). So overall I’d say my education was pretty minimal.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was counselor at a golf camp run by First Tee. I got the job because I had taken lessons from the two people who ran the camp. My first “proper” job was being a PhD student, and after that the role I have now. I got my current role by applying for the job, though it was at the university at which I completed my PhD.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes, and my mom let me know that I should be worried about it, too! Us kids were just so expensive and everything I liked to do just cost so much money. My mom would sweat every penny like we were on the poverty line and let me know that she was not happy when she had to spend money on me. So I grew up thinking that no matter how much money I made, it would never be enough, and that it was self-indulgent to spend any money on things you enjoy.

Do you worry about money now?
Yes, but for different reasons. I worry because when we signed our lease, we were a two-income household and could easily afford our rent. Now that we’re down to one income, rent is by far our biggest expense; it’s hard to cut enough corners to make up for it. I’m still able to contribute to my 403(b), which is great, but I know our expenses are outpacing my income at this point. However, we consider this an investment in our future as my husband has taken this time to start a new venture, and the returns from our brokerage accounts and investments outweigh the losses we incur every month.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
After college, at age 22 — I moved out almost as soon as I graduated. The only bills my parents paid after that were insurance (on my mom’s health plan) and phone. I do not consider my parents a financial safety net as everything they give comes with a cost (including my mental health). I also know that they would never let me forget it if I had to ask them for money, so I never have.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I do not, unless you count the interest I earn from investing (but I don’t withdraw from those accounts so it’s not really income). I was able to get an early start on investing because my father started collecting social security before I turned 18, so I got to collect social security for about a year before leaving for college, which gave me a nice nest egg.
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Day One: Sunday

10 a.m. — It’s an unseasonably warm day in Pittsburgh so my husband, R., and I go for a run. We live pretty close to some of the river trails so we head across the bridge and down to the river. We run for about three miles. I’ve been recovering from an injury so while this is pretty short compared to what I used to run, it’s a good start. We chat about our weeks and upcoming plans; it’s always great to get moving with someone you love (barf). After the run, I shower and perform my skincare routine: acne wash followed by moisturizer (love adult acne). After that, I settle in with a cup of tea and a good book. Today I’m finishing The Hamilton Scheme. I’m a huge Alexander Hamilton fan (I liked him before the musical, thank you). But growing up is realizing that the historical characters you idolized in middle school maybe aren’t so great…especially when they’re white men from the 1700s. I highly recommend it if you’re interested in the inherent balance between private capital and public funds that is the foundation of most western capitalist countries today. Sunday is also the day we typically “do the books,” where we make sure our Fidelity Full View is categorizing our expenses correctly.
2 p.m. — In general, R. and I are trying not to spend as much on things like experiences and going out to eat as we normally would. We want to get out of the house so we go to an “urban fall festival” near our neighborhood. We see some really cool pumpkin carvings and lots of yummy food! They have horse-drawn carriage rides (not sure how that’s fall-themed but still cool to see in an urban environment). I even get a recipe I want to try: alfredo french fries (exactly what it sounds like). We also have a woman try to sell us “natural crystals” but if the things she shows us are natural, I’ll hand in my degree. After our walk we come home, make dinner, and then watch the rest of Hacks on HBO. Dinner is smash burgers with this really yummy caramelized onion cheddar cheese they sell at Whole Foods and pickled peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
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Daily Total: $0

Day Two: Monday

6:30 a.m. – It’s a Monday, which means I have to go to work today. I usually go into the office on Mondays but I’m planning on going in on another day this week. I get up and go for a run on the treadmill. I usually try to listen to a “no skips” album like The Black Parade, Nothing Personal, or honestly anything by Fall Out Boy but especially Folie à Deux. When I get back from my run, I rinse off and then read a book until it’s time to start work at 8:30 a.m. Right now, I’m working on Age of War by Michael Sullivan. I’m usually not a huge fantasy reader but R. is so we have our own mini book club. Since I’m not the picky one, I usually let him pick the book. However, I do want him to let me pick next because I’m thinking he might enjoy A Canticle for Leibowitz. Monday is always a bit of a catch-up day for me at work so I start with answering emails and responding to Slack messages, then I usually get left alone to do my own projects.
3 p.m. — We need some stamps for our thank you cards from our wedding (which was last September), so I head to the post office. (We buy more than we need since they are forever stamps, but I am still shocked to pay $73 for 100 stamps.) I opt for D&D ones since R. was a pretty avid player at one point and we still play a lot of D&D-inspired games like Pathfinder. For anyone planning a wedding and wanting a reference point, ours was $32,000 (gulp). We got married at Phipps and it was worth every penny! I also stop by the library since it’s close to the post office and pick up a couple more books. $73
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3:30 p.m. — I have to pick up a prescription at Rite Aid (which is covered by insurance) and I want a little treat, so I buy a Sprite Zero. I’m trying to drink less and I’ve found that having soda in place of alcohol has kind of helped take off that edge. After this I go home to have dinner, then I watch the latest season of Love is Blind on Teleparty with some friends from grad school (a good way to stay in touch after most of us moved away). I regret not having my usual cocktail with Love Is Blind because these D.C. people are WILD. Instead, I have some herbal tea that some other friends from grad school bought me (which is probably better for my mental health). $3.09
Daily Total: $76.09

Day Three: Tuesday

6:30 a.m. — I’m a bit of a creature of habit: I wake up today and go for a run, but this time it’s outside since the weather is still pretty nice at this point in Pittsburgh. I run down to the Strip District (lots of cute little shops) and for once the sidewalks aren’t overrun with people (this is a subtweet at the city of Pittsburgh to widen the sidewalks). I usually like to run on the river trail paralleling the Strip but my injury is usually exacerbated running up and down hills so I’m working up to it. I definitely need new running shoes; the first half-mile I feel like my feet can’t remember how to run. I get back with plenty of time to rinse off and catch a few more chapters in my book. R. is begging me for mercy as he is still on book two of this series and I’m almost done with book three. 
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1 p.m. – I take my lunch break. Since it’s soup season, I have a butternut squash soup that my husband makes for me. I have a couple soup recipes I want to try; I’ve found that following a vegan chef during soup season gives you baller recommendations. During my lunch break I usually watch some YouTube. Favorite channels include The Financial Diet, Financial Audit, and any channel that streams full episodes of Kitchen Nightmares. I’m fortunate to have a paid lunch hour so after lunch there’s only three hours of work left. Tuesday is group meeting day; we usually share updates about our independent projects and then move on to group updates. We’re going to a conference soon so today there’s a lot of focus on preparing for vendor meetings and making schedules of talks.
8 p.m. — R. and I have both been having stressful times at work so we decide to get Millie’s ice cream after dinner (which is chicken thighs with broccoli and pickled peppers with a homemade garlic alfredo sauce). We split a strawberry jam and dulce de leche with whipped cream while we talk about our days. Tuesday is usually a meeting-heavy day for me, and of course most of these meetings could be emails. R. is trying to start his own company so most of his days are filled with coding and meetings with potential clients. He always makes fun of me for putting in my rewards number but today we have enough reward points for free whipped cream, so who’s laughing now? We head home and relax for the rest of the evening. $9.56
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Daily Total: $9.56

Day Four: Wednesday

6:30 a.m. — Today I wake up and do NOT run but instead do some resistance training with some free weights we have. I’ve really been trying to get into this more since it’s so important as you age, but I don’t find it that interesting or engaging, so it’s a little tricky. I usually pop on a podcast and I get over myself in a couple of minutes. I mostly focus on leg and core muscles since those are the most important groups for running. It’s also nice to start with some movement before I sit for seven and a half hours a day. After resistance training, I settle into a book and a cup of tea before starting work. I’m trying to drink less caffeine, but I usually allow myself a cup of caffeinated tea when I first start work or am still waking up. My favorite tea is Earl Grey; Prestogeorge in the Strip also has a creme Earl Grey blend that is to die for. 
12 p.m. – During my lunch break I go up to our rooftop to read while I eat my soup (or drink my soup? What do you do with soup?). We have a nice view of the downtown Pittsburgh skyline from our building so it always makes me feel like I’m in a discount episode of Sex and the City. My hometown, on the other hand, always makes me feel like I’m in a discount episode of Gilmore Girls. I make another cup of tea after lunch (this one is caffeinated unfortunately): vanilla coconut black tea. I settle in for an afternoon of meetings and independent work. I’m trying to publish some of my results in a journal soon, so I’m starting to feel a bit of a crunch on one of my projects.
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5 p.m. — I have one of my friends over for dinner and reading books. She recently got a promotion at work and I’ve been under some tight deadlines, so needless to say we’ve both been stressed, and making time to see each other during the week has been important. She’s really craving wings so since R. and I are trying to spend less money, I go to Whole Foods to pick up wings, parmesan, garlic, and some other midweek groceries I forgot during the weekend grocery haul ($55). We do have a car but I get around mostly on one of our electric bikes. It has some nice big bags on the side that make it perfect for carrying groceries! R. and I are also just big city cycling advocates in general, especially with Pittsburgh getting more bike lanes. Final plug for e-bikes: You save so much money on gas. I get home and R. starts cooking (we love a man in the kitchen). We are completely spoiled when it comes to kitchen gadgets; our oven is where we store all the accessories for the air fryer and induction stove tops. My friend brings some cheap wine from Trader Joe’s (not purchased in PA, obviously) and we have our wings with some carrots and homemade french fries (thanks, R.!). We have fun chatting about work and life over dinner then settle into some reading. Have to say, we do more yapping than reading — I have just finished Babel for a book club and my friend has wanted me to read it for a long time so we have much to discuss. She leaves around 8:15 p.m.; I have a cup of decaf tea and read a bit before going to bed. In case you’re wondering, the wine bottle did not survive the evening. $55
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Daily Total: $55

Day Five: Thursday

8 a.m. — Today I have to go into the office. I work a hybrid job where I’m two days in-office (I get to pick the days). I ride my e-bike to commute to work, which takes about 20 minutes. The commute is probably my favorite part of going into the office; it’s nice to feel the breeze even when it’s cold outside. I get to work around 8:30 a.m. I eat breakfast at work while I’m going through emails and rudimentary monitoring tasks — I find that if I eat at 7:30 a.m. before I leave for work, I will starve to death by noon. I have my own office so it has a nice sense of privacy.
12 p.m. — The morning consists of doing my work and meetings (and you know, those meetings were over Zoom — so glad I was in the office for the CuLtUrE). My job is a split between user support and independent research, so basically when I’m not in meetings I’m trying to do research. This means a lot of open tabs (for different stack overflow errors) and lots of furrowed brows. I’ve been trying to be good about my skincare routine so I don’t get more wrinkles than I’m already doomed to because of the brow wrinkling but such is life. I also use the meetings as a chance to play today’s NYT Connections, Strands, and Wordle. I have a nice competition going with my mother-in-law as well as some friends from college. My mother used to send me the Wordle completely solved and didn’t see how that ruined the game for me. Today is picture day and they bribe us into coming into the office by giving us free pizza so I don’t have to pack lunch. Once we take pictures it’s back to work for the rest of the day, which mercifully consists of no meetings but lots of looking up code and error messages. I head home at 5 p.m. on my e-bike and as always risk death when someone decides to park in the bike lane.
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6 p.m. — I have leftover wings for dinner, which I pair with air-fried broccoli and lemon-garlic-butter-parmesan sauce. I’ve been trying to get better at cooking by feel since I’m usually very anal about following recipes. I attempt to cook this sauce mostly by feel and I think it comes out pretty well! It also makes broccoli edible. (Side note: Has any philosophy student tackled how we have proof that if there is a God, He is vengeful, as He made green vegetables the healthiest for you?) I then watch some more Love is Blind with friends from grad school to round out the day. To stave off the need to drink — and the need grows with every time I watch this show — I make some decaf tea, an orange and spice blend from Prestogeorge.
Daily Total: $0

Day Six: Friday

6:30 a.m. — I’m off for a run — the weather is cooperating so this time I run outside. I make it three and a half miles. Carrying my phone usually makes my injury worse, since the arm I’m holding my phone in throws off the equilibrium somehow, so I raw-dog my runs with just my thoughts. While this is spooky, most of my thoughts these days are focusing on my running form. I get back, make a cup of tea, and settle in to read my book. I finish Age of War and start on the book club book for our sci-fi/fantasy book club. This book club is newer but I thought it would kill two birds with one stone: meet new people and get my husband and me out of the house. And bonus: get more sci-fi and fantasy recommendations. Despite the fact I read a lot, I usually don’t have my own suggestions for what to read; I’m dependent on Instagram for most of my “to be read” list. Books that are on my “I’ll read anytime, anywhere” list include Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. One of my friends from college and I tried to start a book club inspired by the Know Your Enemy podcast, but not too many people in Pittsburgh wanted to read a history of the Democratic Party. 
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5 p.m. – Although I am trying to drink less, my inner demons are no match for the free wine tasting at the Fine Wine and Good Spirits down the street from me. They have them from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Friday, with no purchase necessary. This is the fancy Fine Wine so they tend to have a better selection. This week they have some dry reds, which are my favorite. I take a note of the one I like most for another day. I would normally just buy the bottle but we’re going to a party this weekend where we’ll be given free red wine, so it feels a bit like overkill. I walk around the other shops for a bit, making a pit stop at the gourmet popcorn store to see what flavors they have. None of the custom flavors impresses me so I head home with a full report of the wine tasting for R., who thinks all wine tastes the same. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, is always on standby for any good wines I find.
6 p.m. — R. and I have both had a stressful week at work and want to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather, so that’s what we do! We go for a walk to a brewing company near our house and settle in for happy hour. We order some fries and a cocktail to split and talk about our day; we also get an apple cider mule ($22). R. has been working for 11 hours so we really need the decompression time (and probably another drink). It’s my mom’s birthday and she calls during dinner since I texted her earlier in the day to say I hope she has a good day. I’ve had a very strained relationship with her — I think a lot of people my age and generation struggle with parents who materially provide but are emotionally neglectful — so birthdays are always interesting middle grounds. 
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7.30 p.m. — We head home for dinner; R. has a smoothie and I make cauliflower au gratin. It’s basically mac ‘n’ cheese but instead of noodles, it’s cauliflower. After that, we chill until it’s time for bed. We’ve been streaming English Teacher, the show made by the guy who’s always shirtless on TikTok doing the Gilmore Girls “I love your daughter” trend [edit from diarist: I wrote this before the sexual assault allegations against this creator came out]. Before bed, I round out the night by getting started on Project Hail Mary for another book club. $22
Daily Total: $22

Day Seven: Saturday

9 a.m. — I always do our weekly grocery shopping on Saturday morning (before the produce section gets ransacked). I take our e-bike to Whole Foods and stock up on all our veggies and fruit, some dairy staples, and decaf tea for my office, as well as some zero sugar soda (again, trying to drink less). While I do like the selection at Giant Eagle more, my husband is a class traitor and has the Amazon Prime 5% cashback card, so Whole Foods it is. It also means I eat fewer Doritos, so I guess that’s a win and a loss all at once. We recently switched to buying most of our meat from Costco; the meat is surprisingly cheap there. I run into some other e-bike enthusiasts at the bike rack, so overall it’s a fun morning before R. and I have some chores to do. $110
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2:30 p.m. — With the chores done, R. and I head to the climbing gym. I’m a V3 climber but mostly stick to V1 and V2, while R. is V6/7. I usually listen to a podcast during the climb; today it’s 5-4. Other favorites include Decoder, Weird Little Guys, Behind the Bastards, Better Offline, Normal Gossip, Maintenance Phase, and If Books Could Kill. I also listen to a lot of these at work but try to save the “serious ones” for climbing since I can concentrate on the information more.
5:30 p.m. — Our friends have a party later today and I’m making a dessert: kugel, a noodle dish. I’ve made this for our friends before, for bar trivia of all things (the bar lets you bring food), and they loved it, so they requested I bring it tonight. Allegedly they’re going to let us drink some of their fancier red wine, so I’m excited my efforts will be rewarded. The ingredients for this probably cost $10-15 but they were in my grocery haul last week.
6:30 p.m. — We go to the party (we drive, since we have the dessert dish and our friends live off the freeway) and the wine is not that good :( However, we have a fun time comparing how many books of the hostess’ we’ve read (I thought I read a lot but I pale in comparison). I end up going home with a party favor: a book about men’s apparel in white collar jobs that my friend was randomly sent. Almost no one ate the kugel so we now have two trays of it sitting in our fridge.
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Daily Total: $110
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