A Week In Illinois On A $25,884 Salary

Occupation: Graduate Research Assistant
Industry: Academia
Age: 27
Location: Illinois
My Salary: $25,884
My Husband's Income: $16.20/hour (He also has minority ownership of a small hobby business. His total income is variable, but last year it was about $40,000. We do not share finances so this is not a joint income, but we do split expenses.)
Net Worth: $33,119 ($17,610 403(b) + $15,664 (savings) + $245 (checking) - $400 debt. I haven’t been great at contributing to retirement. I saved 8% for two and a half years and nothing since. Hoping to start saving at least 15% after I graduate. My husband and I split all shared expenses and do not combine money.)
Debt: $400 (left from last year’s medical bills. I had “good” insurance at my last job and still paid several thousand out of pocket for quarterly bloodwork and biannual infusions for a chronic health issue. I also had several UTIs that required urgent care visits and antibiotics. This should be paid off in the next few months. I’m hoping to spend much less time at the doctor in 2022.)
Paycheck Amount: $1,938 (monthly stipend); $375–$480 biweekly for data entry (I’m capped at 10 hours a week); $144 biweekly for coaching (three classes a week)
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $453 (for my half of a three-bed, one-bath condo shared with my husband)
Utilities & Wifi: $100
Pet Supplies: ~$75 (This includes prescription diets for both of my cats, plus litter.)
Spotify & Hulu: $4.99
Microsoft Office: $7.56
Phone: $20
Car & Renter's Insurance: $54 (I pay $325 every six months)
Health Insurance: $120 per semester

Annual Expenses
Parking: $660

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?
My parents were both teachers with multiple advanced degrees between them, so education was the number one priority in our house. I had to convince them to let me have a part-time job in high school because "school was a job." They paid for six semesters of tuition and living expenses at a public, in-state school in a degree program of my choice. I graduated a semester early and took out an $8,000 loan for the last semester, which I paid off a year into my first full-time job. I cannot imagine a bigger leg up in life than a college degree paid for by someone else, and that privilege is never lost on me.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents never talked about money in front of my siblings and me. If we tried to probe, they would always say, "Money is for adults to worry about. Kids need to worry about school." I liked saving from a young age, so they opened an account for me in elementary school where I deposited most of my holiday money as well as paychecks from my part-time jobs, but I didn't know anything about investing until I started dating my husband. I had almost $10,000 in savings when I graduated high school and really thought it could grow into part of a house down payment if I didn't touch it in college. Of course, it was only earning like 20 cents a year in interest. I still cringe to think about everything I could have done to make that $10,000 grow even a little bit.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I think detasseling corn is every rural Midwestern teen's first job. I started at age 12, making $7 an hour, but I didn't do it for the money. I just wanted a way to see my friends over the summer, because we were spread out in the country and couldn't just pop over to each others' houses. In high school, I worked at a vet clinic on weekends and summer break and I also waitressed at a pizza place. I used those jobs to pad my savings account because I knew I'd want to go to grad school one day, and that it would be expensive.

Did you worry about money growing up?
I never worried about having food or stable housing, but I had anxiety over not knowing our family's financial picture. We took family vacations every two to three years and had name-brand groceries, but my parents would be unexpectedly frugal about certain things, so I never knew where we stood. Our family of six had a household income of $60,000 until I was in middle school when my dad finished night school and got a job doubling his salary. After that, we moved into a bigger house in a nicer area of town.

Do you worry about money now?
I worry about retirement. My first job paid so little that I couldn't justify having anything else pulled from my check. I contributed to a 403(b) for two and a half years at my second job, but I haven't done any retirement saving since. I plan to save aggressively once I graduate.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
My parents removed me from their health insurance when I graduated college at 21 and told me that living with them was not an option. I've been paying all my recurring expenses since then, but they have done me a number of financial favors (like selling me a reliable, low-mileage car for $3,000). My husband and I had a backyard ceremony instead of a traditional wedding, but our parents gave us $20,000 combined as a gift and that is our safety net.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
No.

7 a.m. — My husband, V., and I both feel most productive on Sunday mornings from 7:30 to 10. We always use this time to deep clean our house. Last year, I started feeling a lot of resentment from V. frequently asking, “What can I do to help?” I'm grateful that he values equitable distribution of cleaning and upkeep, but having to assign and describe individual tasks required a lot of extra emotional labor for me. A few months ago, I laminated a checklist of all household tasks with brief instructions and stuck it on our fridge, and I haven't had to prompt, assign, or supervise a chore since. I'm still new to this marriage thing, but I'm learning not to discount simple solutions.

10 a.m. — My birthday and our anniversary fall on the same week, so we're doing one dinner out to celebrate. This year we hit up our favorite diner for a breakfast burger (V.) and waffle (me). We also get dessert to take home. $40

12 p.m. — Grocery run. V. and I have different dietary preferences, so we buy our groceries separately. I spend $32.24 at Aldi on carrots, celery, orange juice, strawberries, canned pineapple, granola bars, salad, garlic knots, sugar, jam, milk, butter, cashews, Greek yogurt, eggs, and bread. I round out the list at Walmart with Ritz cheese crackers, chow mein noodles, chicken gravy, marinara, frozen potatoes, coleslaw mix, green onions, bananas, and ramen noodles for $11.47. Both stores were out of a few things, so I'll check back later. $43.71

2 p.m. — I hole up in my office with snacks and Crime Junkie and spend the next six hours working on my Misty Mountains quilt coat from Patchwork and Poodles. I'm an avid quilter, but this is my first garment, so I'm expecting some quirks in the final product. V. and I turn in around 9:30.

6:30 a.m. — I listen to the new Crime Junkie episode on the treadmill, then make myself breakfast (Greek yogurt blended with fruit, spinach, and a little OJ). I hate yogurt but need more cheap protein in my life and this is the easiest way to get it in.

9 a.m. — Drive to campus and attend two classes and a meeting. I want lunch at the student cafe, but I'm on a strict budget so I eat my bagged salad instead.

3:30 p.m. — Head to the gym for the afternoon class I'm coaching.

6 p.m. — I've had the same stupid bag of mixed vegetables in my freezer for the last nine months and I need to get rid of them, so I make a chicken pot pie. I'll probably buy more frozen vegetables this weekend and in nine months I'll make another pot pie out of renewed contempt. I also make a side of biscuits. V. and I eat dinner together and head to bed at 8:30. We watch an old episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before falling asleep.

7 a.m. — My only Tuesday class isn't meeting today, so I'm working from home. I edit a group project paper, touch up a presentation, do some data entry for my side gig, and watch an assigned webinar while washing dishes. I hope I never have to work a full in-office week ever again.

11:30 a.m. — I break for leftover pot pie and Wordle (five attempts), then some more studying and data entry.

4 p.m. — V. is home from work, so we walk to the top of a parking garage downtown and look out over the city. It's our favorite fun and free date-night activity.

6 p.m. — I prep dinner while V. does payroll for his business. I find a recipe for spicy peanut ramen noodles that ends up hotter than intended. I make a cinnamon roll mug cake for dessert. We turn in at 8:30, though I scroll Reddit under the covers for another hour.

5 a.m. — Wednesday mornings are my favorite class to teach. I stay after for 15 minutes of plyometric work. My goal for the year is 10 consecutive bodyweight pull-ups and my current max is five. A year ago, I couldn't do any, so I'm motivated by my progress.

7 a.m. — It's payday! I make a breakfast smoothie and pay off the balance of my student account ($596). Even though I get a tuition stipend, I still have to pay various dumb “general fees” each semester. The billing office can't explain the specific purpose or intention of the fees, which is annoying. $596

8 a.m. — I sit down for data entry and spiral into a 90-minute rabbit hole of Bob Saget death conspiracies. I finally snap out of it and go to class, make a study guide for my next exam, and play around with the audio interface my advisor wants me to use for my research. I'm using machine learning models to predict livestock behavior, and a sub-component of this is audio sampling to try and “decode” pig vocalizations. I go home for a late lunch of chicken pot pie leftovers.

4 p.m. — I work out and stop by the store for broccoli, frozen fruit, strawberry Mini-Wheats, rice, egg noodles, a rotisserie chicken, and day-old gooey butter bars. After a quick cereal dinner, I spend two hours seam ripping the back panel of my quilt coat because a few gridlines are uneven. If I'm going to invest this much time and money in a project, I want it to be perfect. $25.68

9 p.m. — Nighttime skin routine. I've had lifelong severe eczema that I was supposed to grow out of, but I'm persistent and so is my skin. No OTC or RX product has ever helped, so I just cling to whatever doesn't make it worse. For the last year, that's been Simple face wash and moisturizer. I'm also dealing with a cystic acne breakout right now, which is super cute.

7 a.m. — There's bad weather on the way and campus is closing early, so I get a slow start working from home. Cereal for breakfast and Wordle in five. I spend a lot of time on Wordle for someone who averages four and a half guesses. I have an elaborate setup in Word with five-column tables that allow me to visually experiment with different letter combinations. I enjoy it despite being terrible, which is true for all my hobbies.

10 a.m. — I study for an upcoming exam and brainstorm creative solutions to a research issue. I need to assess sow estrus behavior, which requires stimulation from a boar, but boars can be unsafe to handle. So I'm using an augmented boar, which means I'll be simulating the real thing with liquid pheromones and a speaker playing boar noises. I'm thinking of injecting pheromones into a car air freshener clip and then attaching it to the sow's ear tag, so I make a prototype from things around the house. Eventually, I break for a lunch of chicken pot pie, round three.

4 p.m. — Evening workout classes are canceled due to weather, so I seam rip the rest of my quilt panel before starting dinner. I make lemon-garlic pasta with broccoli, chickpeas, and nutritional yeast. V. and I play a couple of rounds of Yahtzee while the broccoli is roasting. We also send (and split) a $100 Grubhub gift card to friends across the country who just had a very cute baby. $50

7 p.m. — After dinner, we watch Losers on Netflix. Then we go to bed around 9.

6:30 a.m. — Our cats have been scratching at the door since 5, so I finally give in and feed them. I do my daily Wordle in four and make a headband out of crushed velvet to match my outfit. I send a Snapchat of the headband to my sister, and she says I look like Professor Quirrell. I also get a random craving for French toast, which manifests as soggy fried egg bread. The syrup carries this entire breakfast on its back.

9 a.m. — The roads are really rough, so I give myself extra time to get to campus. A 20-minute buffer isn't enough, and the student parking lot hasn't been plowed, so I give up and park at a metered spot right outside my lab. $5.20

3 p.m. — I squeeze in my own workout before coaching an early evening class. After class, I run into Joann's to restock my thread supply so I can finish quilting. $8.23

6 p.m. — It's Stacky Uppie night! This is V. and my favorite Friday tradition. The components are rice, shredded chicken, gravy, tomatoes, celery, green onions, shredded cheese, chow mein noodles, crushed pineapple, toasted coconut, and cashews. Everything is prepared separately and each individual stacks a plate to their preferences; I skip the tomatoes and cheese but go heavy on pineapple and coconut.

9 p.m. — I read a few chapters of Everything Is Fine by Vince Granata before heading to bed. I don't care for fiction, so I read a lot of memoirs.

6:30 a.m. — Early morning workout, breakfast smoothie, and a Wordle fail — my first time running out of guesses. Not thrilled about the decision to use the least common spelling of an already uncommon word, so I send a snarky tweet to my 13 Twitter followers and then let it go.

11 a.m. — My sister, K., is in town for the weekend, so we meet for brunch at a local bookstore/cafe where I have a gift card. After ordering, the barista tells me that my gift card is only valid on books. Super awkward, because I would not have ordered that much otherwise (it's $25 + tip for a slice of citrus cinnamon roll cake, Parmesan tater tots, mint lemonade, and a cookie). K. insists on paying as a belated birthday gift, which is unexpected and generous. I took her out for lunch every month when she was a student, so it's bittersweet that now she's the one treating me. We have opposite personalities that caused lots of issues in our teen years, but our relationship became unexpectedly solid once we were no longer sharing a room (and bathroom).

1 p.m. — On the way back to my apartment, I execute a spectacular fall and my knee bears the brunt of it. I keep it iced and elevated for a couple of hours while doing absolutely nothing. Eventually, I pick up my book and finish a few more chapters. The prose is a little flowery and verbose for my taste, but I appreciate the content.

6 p.m. — Our fridge and pantry are pretty bare, so I heat up garlic knots and marinara for dinner. V. and I play a few rounds of Runaway Train dominoes and some Yahtzee before snuggling in bed to Brooklyn Nine-Nine.