A Week In Orange County, CA On A $30,000 Salary

Occupation: PhD candidate
Industry: Academia
Age: 26
Location: Orange County, CA
Salary: $30,000 (this fluctuates a bit depending on what my role is during the quarter and if I have external research consultancies, but it averages out to about $30,000 annually).
Assets: HYSA: $45,095; vacation savings: $810; checking: $1,024; investments: $10,453; Roth IRA: $45,728; 403(b): $6,325.
Debt: Student loans: $4,233; car: $6,393.
Paycheck amount: $2,822 for nine months of the year, plus a summer stipend of $3,000.
Pronouns: She/her

Housing costs: $800. When I started my PhD, I lived in subsidized graduate housing. My partner and I moved in together off-campus two years ago on the agreement that I’d continue to pay what I was paying in grad housing. He covers the rest.
Loan payments: $265 for car — but I pay $365 to pay it off more quickly, because my interest rate is awful.
Abortion fund donation: $10.17
Investment account: $100
Roth IRA: $682
Car insurance: $134.96
Renter’s insurance: $7.60
Phone: $38.40
Union dues: ~$48.78 (it’s a percentage of my paycheck so the exact amount fluctuates a bit depending on my role during the quarter).

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?
Definitely. My parents both have master’s degrees and my brother has a PhD. I was always a really good student (perhaps got too much of my self-worth from that, oops) and loved learning. Beyond getting a bachelor’s, I do think there was also expectation to get a graduate degree. I went to a small liberal arts college for my undergrad and got essentially a full ride on financial aid, a small amount of loans, and work-study. My parents had to pay ~$6,000 for my education and they used a 529 they started when I was younger. I did work all throughout college to pay for my rent, food, groceries etc. My PhD is paid for through my work as a teaching assistant or graduate student researcher.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
Not many that I can remember but by the time I was in late high school and applying to college, I knew we did not have a lot of money. I was vaguely aware of it growing up because my hometown didn’t have a good public school and so we went to a private school that was ~$15,000 a year. Our parents never made it seem like we were at risk of leaving but I know we were on a lot of financial aid. My last year of high school was paid for via a debate scholarship I was awarded. My parents were incredibly supportive of me applying to wherever I wanted to go for college but it was clear that the financial aid package would be a priority. My parents did get us started young with a checking account, savings account and Roth IRA, and encouraged us to save while allowing ourselves to enjoy life, eat good food and travel. My parents are some of the most generous people I know and I’ve tried to take that forward with me; even when there isn’t a lot of money, there’s always enough to share.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I started as a mother’s helper for the family across the street when I was 12, and babysat and nannied throughout high school and college. I’m good with kids and loved the families I sat for, so it was a no-brainer to me. When I got to college, it was a way for me to get some extra cash on top of my other job. In college I worked at the gym and as a tutor (not at the same time) for my work-study.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Not consciously. My parents were good at hiding money concerns from us. That being said, they did instill a lot of cost-saving habits in us, like always packing lunch and never paying for a check-in bag.

Do you worry about money now?
Yes, off and on. I worked for a few years before graduate school, which gave me some savings, plus I’ve been saving since I started earning. But I worry about having enough in the grand scheme of things — to raise kids, travel, retire etc. My partner also earns significantly more than I do, which I know allows me to do and experience more than I would otherwise (we don’t have joint finances, he just covers a lot that we do together).

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
During college I was financially independent for everything except for a few thousand dollars my parents paid in tuition, their health insurance and their phone plan. I started paying my mom back for my phone at 21 and got onto my own insurance (fully covered through my PhD) at 23.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
My godparents gave me $2,000 when I started college and my paternal grandparents also gave me $2,000 in high school before they passed.

7 a.m. — Alarm goes off! My partner, S., and I went to our friend’s Hot Ones-themed housewarming party this weekend and my tummy is still recovering (Da Bomb is as bad as advertised). I pull myself out of bed and head to the gym for upper-body day.

8:15 a.m. — Back home and set some coffee to brew while I shower. Exercising is one of the only things that keeps my brain calm. I recently ran my first marathon and I’m now figuring out how to get back into a non-marathon-training exercise routine. It’s been more challenging than I expected to accept that I will not stay in tip-top shape now that I’m not running all the time, and I’m working on listening to my body while accepting that I can’t stay at that level of fitness all the time.

8:30 a.m. — We haven’t done a big grocery shop in quite some time because we’ve been traveling so much, so I throw together a hodge-podge of yogurt (the dredges), frozen berries, peanut butter, chia seeds and raw oats (I guess this is muesli?). Grab my coffee and head up to my office, which is in a little loft in our apartment. It’s helpful for me to have a separate space to work and not have my desk in my bedroom (the plight of a student).

12:30 p.m. — This morning was all meetings and I am hangry. The first one was about a potential consultancy position with a big international organization, which would be really exciting. But the colleague I met with said that things move very slowly (classic) so I’m not holding my breath. For lunch I have the Trader Joe’s kale salad mix with a few frozen falafel. I read a bit of Chanel Miller’s Know My Name while I eat. I’ve wanted to read the book for a long time but was nervous because I was worried it would be triggering. I’m trying it now and balancing it with a light romance book, which is working so far.

2 p.m. — Lots of chipping away at big projects that started out as really interesting but that I’ve now been staring at for long enough that I never want to see them again. I’m submitting an abstract to a conference and they require all first authors to be members of the organizing body, so I get a student membership. My advisor will reimburse me at some point. $29 (expensed).

5:30 p.m. — More research, more manuscript drafting, more emails. I meant to finish up at 5 p.m. but kept one-last-thinging myself so I’ll be late to my pickup soccer game. Thankfully it’s very casual and a bunch of other graduate students, post-docs and faculty, so everyone is always coming from something. I’m feeling a bit frazzled and grumpy from the tedium of data analysis so I’m hoping this will help.

7:30 p.m. — Turns out running around with friends in the sun is in fact a good thing to do. I haven’t been able to go to soccer in a while since we’ve been traveling, and it was a good group of people there today. Sometimes we’ll have some new people show up who take it way too seriously. We’re a high-level group but are all injured to various degrees and mainly just want to goof off with our friends, so it’s nice when that mentality is maintained. I help haul the goals back to my friend’s car and then head home.

8 p.m. — S. has dinner all cooked and ready. He never really learned how to cook so has been learning the basics. We’ll often pick a more complicated recipe from one of our cookbooks on a weekend night and he’s a great sous chef with all the chopping and prep. He’s made some ground turkey, rice and spinach that I slather with soy sauce.

8:45 p.m. — Rinse off quickly (a skill I’m learning thanks to droughty California) and then settle in to watch some Olympics primetime. I’m very invested in the USA men’s Clark Kent pommel horse arc. I have to do some mind-numbing references for two manuscripts I’m working on so I chug away at those (with the love of my life, Zotero) while oohing and aahing at strength and speed. S. keeps commenting on people’s biceps and looking up the height of gymnasts.

10:30 p.m. — These references will be the death of me and always take waaaay longer than I expect. S. went to bed a bit ago, so I try to quietly get ready for bed in the dark. Our bedroom has an en suite but with no door between the bedroom and sink area so you can’t save the person in bed from blinding light if you turn it on while brushing your teeth. I read a bit more of Know My Name and cleanse with a chapter of The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert before turning the lights off around 11:30 p.m.

6:40 a.m. — I am not a person who wakes up before their alarm but today is a special day I guess. S. is already up and at the gym. He naturally wakes up very early and is immediately awake, whereas I do not want to speak to anyone or be acknowledged in any way until I’ve had a bit of time to adjust to being awake. So him getting up early and going to the gym right away works out well for the both of us. I typically try to get up right away without getting on my phone, so I’m up with my teeth brushed and head out for a quick run.

7:45 a.m. — I’m heading onto campus today to go to my lab. I was getting into a cycle of basically never going in and realized it was making me very antisocial, so I’ve been trying to go in more to see my labmates and break up the routine. I throw together a lunch of leftovers and pack some overnight oats (Ripple milk, oats, frozen berries, chia seeds) into my lunch box, as well as a change of clothes for once I get in. My lab is a ~20-minute bike away and I am a very sweaty person so I bike in wearing exercise clothes and change in the bathroom. I’m out the door by 8:30 a.m.

12 p.m. — Everyone’s in the lab today! It’s nice to be around people and get a change of scenery but I have things to do and struggle to focus when people are chatting around me. I deliberate about whether it’s passive-aggressive to put my noise-canceling headphones on and end up just doing it. Does this defeat the purpose of coming in? Who knows!

1 p.m. — I eat my leftovers but am still hungry and feeling a little lightheaded so I grab some pretzels from the vending machine. The salt helps. $1.50

2:30 p.m. — I submit an abstract to a conference that my advisor wants me to go to in December (the same one I had to pay the membership fee for). I’ve never submitted to a conference that charges an abstract submission fee before?! But my advisor and I are big fans of the conveners and he says it’ll be a good chance for me to network for post-docs. $40 (expensed).

6 p.m. — I’m calling it a day. I’m working on the second aim of my dissertation — my committee wants me to explore a whole new direction with it and it’s hurting my brain. Our lab is also freezing and windowless so I often feel dejected after sitting in there all day. I change into my biking clothes and head home. A beautiful ceramic mug I ordered from an artist a few weeks ago is waiting for me when I get home, which feels like a mini Christmas. I’ve started to get myself something special to celebrate big work accomplishments because I really struggle with imposter syndrome and perfectionism. It’s helped me recognize my hard work and be more conscious of my wins. When I published a paper in a really prestigious journal, I got myself some earrings. I’m a finalist for a big grant, so the mug was my reward. It helps to remind me that I’m capable.

6:30 p.m. — S. and I decide to go to our favorite Indian restaurant that’s walking distance from us. We live in an area full of chain restaurants so this locally owned place is a godsend to us. We always eat too much and waddle out and it’s SO GOOD. We get two curries, naan and some beers. S. pays.

8 p.m. — There’s a Target on our way home so we stop in for some random bits (yogurt, salsa, dish soap, chapstick, trash bags, contact solution, toothpaste and eye drops). S. pays.

8:15 p.m. — Back home and the Olympics are on. I grew up watching gymnastics, swimming and diving with my family during the Olympics, and this is the first year since I lived at home that I’ve really watched them. I’m not great at sitting and watching TV so I get a little antsy and putter around during the commercials. I use the commercials to do some searching for cabins on Airbnb for a family trip we’re planning.

10:30 p.m. — The Olympics may be the one time I’m patriotic. Now that I’ve seen the women’s team win, it’s bedtime. I read a bit of Know My Name and The Roommate Risk before falling asleep.

6:45 a.m. — Blarrrrggggg. I am sleepy but have to get moving so I can get a little workout in before an 8 a.m. meeting. I try my best to move my body every morning in some way because I really feel the effects of not doing it during the day. Once my teeth are brushed I put on a Caroline Girvan 30-minute abs video and do it in the living room, trying not to fall back asleep in the rest periods.

9 a.m. — First meeting of the day is complete and I am hungry. I grab yogurt, oats and my coffee, and settle back in. I’ve been using the Pomodoro technique to try to keep myself on track. My brain always jumps from one thing to another and I find that this is helpful to keep myself focused. I highly recommend the Marinara plugin in Google Chrome!

12 p.m. — I’ve been looking forward to these Indian food leftovers all morning. Somehow they taste even better than they did last night.

3 p.m. — I’m hitting a wall. I take a little break to make some chai and popcorn with olive oil, nutritional yeast and salt. I feel like I haven’t been able to shake the blarg feeling I woke up with today. I love what I do but my research area is also really depressing, and that certainly doesn’t help shake off a bad mood.

6:30 p.m. — Our local library has a bookstore attached to it that is a treasure trove of used books and all the money goes to the library. I decide to head over there because being surrounded by books always makes me feel calm and happy. Libraries have always been happy places for me. I drive over, spend 45 minutes browsing and end up getting four books for only $13! I rarely buy books (see love of libraries) but this is a no-brainer. $13

6:45 p.m. — I swing by the grocery store on my way home. S. and I are leaving town this weekend (him a few days before me for a bachelor party before we meet up at his aunt’s) and so we haven’t wanted to fill up our fridge with food. I get ingredients for Alison Roman’s spicy shrimp scampi, some apples and a box of RX bars. The total is exactly $30, which is extremely satisfying. $30

7:40 p.m. — Shrimp scampi is ready to go and sooooo good. The combination of butter, garlic, shrimp and white wine really makes the world go round. S. cleans up while I pick up the clutter I’ve accumulated around the living room (oops). Once he’s done, we do a quick lay on the floor and do a NYT Wednesday crossword.

8 p.m. — I need to crank out some more work so I pull out the lap desk and get some writing done on the couch while listening to some white noise to focus.

9:30 p.m. — My brain has decided that we are done. I brush, floss and do my skincare. I struggled with acne and scarring a lot in high school and college and decided during lockdown that I was going to sit down and do some research about skincare. I’ve settled on a very simple routine of cleanser, the occasional exfoliation, toner, moisturizer and prescription tretinoin. I read for a while before falling asleep.

7 a.m. — Awake and ready to bike to the gym. I’m in the mood for a run today but my foot has been hurting me and I know I should rest it, womp womp. I do an upper-body workout and my biceps are quivering by the end. I bike home afterwards.

8:30 a.m. — I’m showered, fed and partially caffeinated. I have a meeting first thing this morning, which is never my favorite.

9 a.m. — That was a pointless meeting. The person didn’t have what she needed in order to go over some data with me but didn’t want to cancel? People are funny. I go back to my Pomodoro and alternate between data analysis and manuscript writing on a few projects until lunchtime.

12 p.m. — I do think leftovers are one of my favorite parts of the day. These shrimp scampi leftovers truly hit the spot. I watch part of a cooking video while I eat to try to rest the analytical side of my brain and grab an apple for dessert.

12:30 p.m. — I’m teaching an undergraduate course this summer and have to record the final lecture. Professors often don’t want to teach over the summer so they have PhD candidates do it with little to no guidance. It’s actually been a pretty fun process to create the course and think about what I consider to be the most important parts of my field for an introductory course. It’s also made me appreciate so much more all the work that professors do.

1:15 p.m. — Final lecture recorded, woohoo! I struggled with these at first because I wanted every single sentence to be perfect, but I forced myself to be okay with little errors if it meant I didn’t have to re-record the whole lecture. Now it’s done, I settle back into dissertation work and rerunning some models that I’ve been stuck on.

6 p.m. — That’s a wrap! I quickly throw together a salad with falafel for dinner because I need to head out soon to make it to trivia. S. is packing for his flight. He’s leaving for the bachelor party tomorrow morning and I’ll meet him afterwards for some travel to see friends and family. I eat my salad while giving opinions on dress shirts and shoes until it’s time to leave for trivia.

7 p.m. — Time for trivia at a local brewery. I started going with some of my friends from soccer but the main instigator moved away so we haven’t gone as much. But in my mind, trivia outside at a brewery IS summer. We have a team of eight but minimal confidence in our skills. I get a beer — it’s so expensive here so I always only get one. Despite the beer prices, I like this brewery because it always has something going on, like trivia, karaoke, live music and dance classes. $16.89

9:30 p.m. — We manage to break into the upper quartile! We got lucky that there was a round on World Cup finals. I get my parking validated at the bar and head home.

9:45 p.m. — Reading and bedtime. We have an early wake-up tomorrow to get S. to the airport for his flight.

5 a.m. — Driving someone to LAX is the ultimate sign of your love. I’m sleepy but S. woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep so he’s in worse shape than I am. This’ll be fun.

5:45 a.m. — And we’re off to LAX! One upside about it being so early is that there is no traffic. We sail up there, I drop off S. and head back home.

7:45 a.m. — All things considered, that was pretty painless. I do a booty band workout at home and finally pot some prayer plant propagations that have been rooting in some water. That of course leads into repotting another plant and suddenly I’m covered in dirt. Oops!

9:15 a.m. — Work time. This week I’ve been really battling the voice in my head that’s telling me I’m always behind and should be working more. I feel like academia has a pernicious undertone that you could always be working on a paper, writing a grant, finding data etc. and so when I try to create a work/life balance, I feel like I’m falling behind and disappointing people. I was working on this a lot with my former therapist but it still lies dormant in my brain.

12 p.m. — I’ve been putting off doing laundry forever. Finally get a load in. Each load is $2.50 but I load my card up in big chunks at a time. For some reason, my clothes are still soaked when I get them out of the washing machine and even after wringing them out over the sink it still takes two runs in the dryer to get them dry.

5 p.m. — I have a couple more things to finish up for work that are mainly responding to emails and other admin-y things so I pour myself some ouzo and head out to our balcony to finish up.

6:30 p.m. — Emails are sent and the week is done. I stay out on the porch to finish Know My Name to the sounds of kids playing on their bikes. Once I finish I head inside to throw together a salad and falafel for dinner.

7:30 p.m. — I’ve started to watch Sex and the City for the first time (I know, I know) so I throw that on while I start a puzzle. S. calls after a few episodes to fill me in on some bachelor party drama. Given the planning process for this party and the fact that there are 17 people there, I’m not surprised that there’s already drama a few hours in. I also love that I have a partner who fuels my need for gossip.

10 p.m. — My body is aching from sitting on the floor and scrunching over the puzzle on our coffee table so I’m calling it a day. I do my nightly routine and head to bed to finish up The Roommate Risk. Now that it isn’t balancing out Know My Name, I’m having a hard time justifying its sappiness, but I’m too invested now to turn back.

8:30 a.m. — There are few things I love more than sleeping in on a Saturday and lounging in bed reading. I start Guncle after doing the NYT Strands. I get up to start some coffee and crawl back into bed to keep reading.

10 a.m. — After I start feeling antsy from “too much relaxation,” I decide to get up and head to the gym. I have an apple to calm the acidic pit in my stomach I’ve created from the coffee and head out to do some interval training on the treadmill.

10:30 a.m. — If I do sprints while watching Sha’Carri Richardson sprint in the Olympics, am I also an Olympian? Asking for a friend.

11:30 a.m. — I don’t understand how some people run without sweating buckets. I leave the gym looking like I have just gone swimming.

11:45 a.m. — After I shower I call my friend R., with whom I’ve been playing phone tag. He just went to a very extravagant wedding that I want to be filled in on. As we talk, I putter around the house doing some chores and start laying out some clothes to pack for my trip.

12:45 p.m. — I realize while laying out my clothes that I threw away my trusty wedding heels after they disintegrated at the last wedding we went to. Welp. Time to go to Target.

1:30 p.m. — Target saves the day with a pair of chunky tan heels that are the perfect height for my bridesmaid dress. I want to double-check that everything is all set so I put on the bridesmaid dress, clip my hair up, put on the heels and walk a little catwalk in the apartment. Dressing up is fun. $28.66

2:30 p.m. — I have plans with some friends to go surfing this afternoon. We’re going to carpool so I grab my wetsuit and towel and head over to my friend’s place. It’s a game of Tetris to fit all our boards into and onto various cars, but after a bit we’re on our way.

8 p.m. — What a glorious afternoon. The waves were perfect and there were so many dolphins playing in the waves with us. Dolphins have been my favorite animal my whole life and I have a 100% success rate in seeing dolphins while surfing out in California. I love seeing them surf the waves with us. I had to get out a few times to get some feeling back in my toes after they got too cold and finally called it a day when the tide was coming in over the rocks and the waves were breaking way too close to shore. A few of my friends stay out for a couple more waves before we make the trudge back up the hill and to our cars. My friend cleans my board for me at the showers because there are a ton of bees around and I’m allergic.

9 p.m. — We get back to my friend’s where my car is waiting and I am STARVING. I swing by Chipotle on my way home and scarf down a ginormous bowl, which puts me in an immediate food coma. I peel myself off the couch and take a shower before falling asleep before my head hits the pillow. $11.42

7:30 a.m. — Time to get moving and grooving! I have a Lyft scheduled to pick me up at 9:45 a.m. to take me to LAX for my flight and I have a to-do list of things to get done beforehand. I sip some coffee and eat oatmeal while finishing packing, watering the plants and taking out the trash, recycling and compost. $81.11

9:30 a.m. — I feel peak put-together when I’m not rushing out the door so I’m very happy to report that my to-do list is done and I’m ready to go before my Lyft is here. I double-check that the A/C is turned off and then do the Strands while I wait.

9:45 a.m. — Aaaand we’re off! My Lyft driver is from the country where I do most of my work so we spend the whole time chatting about that and our love for the food. My mouth is watering. We speed up to LAX (a miracle!) and I get there with plenty of time.

12 p.m. — I breeze through TSA (thanks, precheck) and stand in a long line for Cava. I normally couldn’t be bothered but I have the time and it’s nice to stand before a flight. Once I get my food, I head to my gate to eat it before boarding. $15.55

12:30 p.m. — Flight time! This is the first of two legs and a few hours. I’m in an aisle seat and plan to read the whole time.

7:30 p.m. (time zone shift!) — And read I did! I love having a block of uninterrupted reading time to get really lost in my book. Once we land we have to wait on the tarmac for a loooong time because a flight with a medical emergency landed and took our gate (completely fair). Lots of people around me are panicking now about missing their connecting flights and I’m starting to get a little nervous about mine. I have some time, but not a ton, and my next flight is at the opposite end of the terminal.

8:15 p.m. — As soon as I get to my gate after rushing through the airport, they announce that my next flight is delayed. Of course! I call S. to update him since he’s picking me up and then chat with someone else waiting at the gate about watches until our flight boards.

9 p.m. — The delay wasn’t too bad and I watched part of Letters to Juliet, which I absolutely loved when I was younger. Once I’m off the plane, S. is waiting for me in arrivals with a Tupperware of leftovers, which is very welcome for my growing hanger.

10 p.m. — One missed exit later, we’re back at family’s. Thankfully the rest of the house is asleep so I don’t have to navigate through a conversation while half asleep — I can just sleepily brush my teeth and head to bed to rest up for our week of lake adventures.