A Week In Pennsylvania On A $80,000 Salary

Occupation: UX designer and part-time reseller
Industry: Technology
Age: 29
Location: Central Pennsylvania
Salary: $80,000
Assets: Roth IRA: $6,000; stocks: $1,335; 401(k): $23,150.35; HYSA: $22,000.
Debt: Student debt: $3,330; car loan: $14,334.
Paycheck amount (biweekly): UX design: $1,900; reselling: $50-$150+.
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing costs: Still living with Mom and Dad, $0!
Loan payments: Student debt: $49.50; car payment: $771.
Car insurance: $80.41
Hulu: $3.17 (I pay upfront yearly; Disney+ is monthly charge).
Apple storage: $0.99
Adobe Creative Cloud: $10.59 (for personal projects).
Spotify: $12.71
Reselling automation services: $51.42
Investments: ~$220 (post-tax).
Meal prep kit: $60-$100 per week.
Gas: ~$55
HYSA: moving and travel savings: $500; holiday fund: $60; local taxes: $21; portfolio website hosting: $18.

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, it was expected of me to attend higher education. I graduated with a bachelor’s of science in web design. I had around $30,000 in scholarships and grants, my parents paid for a portion, and I had a loan of around $30,000. Attending community college and transferring all those credits helped me cut costs and graduate early.

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents encouraged me to have financial independence starting in high school. Before then, I had an allowance/chores starting in grade school. Their goal was to teach me that work = reward.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was at McDonald’s in high school, after I got my driver’s license. It was so I could have my own spending money and pay for my car expenses. I always liked making my own money and discovered eBay reselling while I was in community college.

Did you worry about money growing up?
I didn’t worry about money as a kid. My dad was laid off a few times throughout my childhood but my parents always managed money well. We may have had to sacrifice taking family trips for a bit but we always had a roof over our heads and good food on the table. As I got older, I didn’t like having to rely on others to pay for things or ask for more money.

Do you worry about money now?
Not really, even despite the housing prices. I’m fortunate to work in the tech industry and the internet offers an expansive number of ways to increase income.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I moved back home with my parents at 22 and that was when I became financially responsible for myself. It’s not ideal to spend my savings but I do have that if anything were to happen. PA has comprehensive unemployment laws so I wouldn’t have to dip far into my savings. If worst comes to worst, my parents would help me out, but that would be last resort/worst-case scenario.

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

7:30 a.m. — Monday is my most work-heavy day. I like to stack it with the most important tasks for ease the rest of the week. I start off all weekdays nearly the same: 7:30 a.m. wakeup, get ready, spend some time with my cat and take care of his needs, a short meditation, and have breakfast.

9 a.m. — First call of the day/work week. I’ve had my current job, which is fully remote, since 2021 — I’ve worked remote most of my career. I had one position in-office and it didn’t last long; I found it distracting, and difficult to complete tasks. I like to make sure my space is clean before diving into deep work. Design work and another call before lunchtime.

1 p.m. — Lunch and finishing up a design project. Today’s lunch is a salad from a local place I purchased over the weekend.

2:15 p.m. — Time for a workout. I prefer a morning workout but with my head start on Mondays, I push it to the afternoon. Most of my workouts are done at home, apart from the occasional outdoor hike. The nearest gym is 30 minutes away and that’s not convenient. I’ve tried online workout programs but I prefer YouTube — saves time and money.

3 p.m. — Finished my book last night so I purchase Fire and Blood on my Kindle. Not paying for Kindle Unlimited at the moment as I am either reading physical books or Kindle purchases. I’ve been a fan of Game of Thrones for years but never dove into the books. $8.47

3:15 p.m. — I have a concert with some friends coming up this week; it was rescheduled from earlier in the summer. Ticket upgrades are pretty minimal so I text the group and see who wants to upgrade. Our group is split; we decide to keep the tickets we have and stick together.

4 p.m. — Finish up with work and now it’s time for dinner. I don’t like traditional meal-prepping (yuck to eating food that’s four or five days old) but I don’t mind a serving or two of leftovers. I subscribe to a meal plan service with two to three meals a week. One of the downsides of being in a rural part of the state is that our produce in grocery stores isn’t that great. We don’t have many options for farmers’ markets and those we do have are very limited. Like the gym, our nearest healthy grocery store is 30 minutes away. Tonight’s dinner is pasta with chicken, butternut squash, and cooked kale. $31.97

5:30 p.m. — With dinner finished, it’s time for chores. I do not pay rent to my parents but my “payment” is in cleaning. I take care of the areas I take up, clean up after myself and help out with some other chores. I struggle to pay attention to podcasts while designing, so this is my time to catch up on any podcasts or something new I am learning. I recently enrolled in a coach-led self-development program. I listen to that and journal on the module outside with the sunset. Warm weather will come to a close soon so I’m taking every moment of it I can get.

8 p.m. — Take a self-care shower, prep breakfast for the morning, pick out my outfit, and plan my day. End the day reading Fire and Blood.

7:30 a.m. — Do my everyday morning routine. Slow morning with work, finishing up some job applications and clocking in my daily 30-40 minutes of reselling work. Unfortunately, layoffs have been rampant within my organization and it doesn’t look like our company is paying out a 2023 401(k) match. I have a few sales to ship and bookwork to complete; I finish that up before a few calls in the early afternoon.

11 a.m. — A few team meetings and design work, then lunch break, some outside time, and playing with my cat. For lunch I have the same leftover salad as Monday.

2 p.m. — I ship reselling sales on certain days for ease. Sad our local coffee spot does not serve decaf — I’d probably pick up a decaf latte on one of my weekly shipping runs. I go back home and finish up a call and design work.

5 p.m. — Feeling a bit run-down. I intended for today to be a less intense day but looks like I will be channeling that into this evening. I take a day off from working out and instead go for an outdoor walk. Have the leftover veggie pasta from yesterday and relax outside during the sunset.

8 p.m. — Finish some small chores, have a snack, and read Fire and Blood before heading off to bed.

7:30 a.m. — Morning routine to ground into my day.

9:30 a.m. — Taking care of a few emails and small design tasks. Starting some laundry and watching Housewives. Wednesday afternoons are call-heavy; I’m taking every moment of relaxation to be best prepped for this afternoon.

11:30 a.m. — Quick at-home yin yoga session to energize before calls and design work. I make a fruit bowl with yogurt and granola during a short break.

2:30 p.m. — I’ve been decluttering and downsizing a lot of my possessions, hence the reselling income. I plan to list my record collection on eBay in the coming months (I am keeping a couple to frame when I move into my own place). For my last record purchase, I pick up a limited edition of Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well. $39.15

3 p.m. — Keeping an eye on my computer but not much seems to be going on at this point in the day. Tackle some cleaning while listening to music. 

5:30 p.m. — For dinner I have another serving of the veggie pasta, then I work on some of my monthly prep. I have a bullet journal that I create some pages in each month. I finish the pages for the upcoming month and change out some photos on the vision board in my workspace. I spend the rest of the evening playing with my cat, relaxing, and reading before bed.

7:30 a.m. — Morning routine — today I take my coffee outside and read for about 20 minutes. Not something I do every day, but nice to sprinkle in on occasion.

9:30 a.m. — Clean up before my first call of the day. After the call finishes, I take a walk and do a short stretch after. While scrolling socials, I see an old friend post a Venmo for her upcoming bachelorette. I send over $20 for well wishes on her upcoming nuptials. $20

12 p.m. — Have another call, then break for lunch. Take my Kindle outside to finish another chapter of Fire and Blood. I have a final call after my break, then I’m able to finish up a couple of outstanding projects.

4:15 p.m. — Have a rest before finishing up my work day, then take a few minutes to work on reselling. I’m not hitting my half-hour a day while working on the course but instead sneaking in whatever I can until I’m finished with it. Decide to air-fry a salmon filet instead of cooking my other meal. I listen to my next module while finishing up some chores, then go outside to journal on the latest module during the sunset. Play with and brush my cat.

8:15 p.m. — Wash my hair, have a snack, and read until bedtime. I’d planned on going to sleep a little earlier but I couldn’t put my book down.

7:30 a.m. — I take this morning a bit slower. Have a smoothie for breakfast instead of my usual eggs and avocado toast. I didn’t pick out and plan my day entirely last night before bed — accomplish this before grabbing my coffee and heading out to the porch.

10:30 a.m. — On Fridays I like to condense my workload and leave as little work as possible for the afternoon. I tie up some more loose ends and take a team meeting.

1 p.m. — Break for lunch and do some tidying up. I did a load of laundry this morning; I usually wait a bit longer to clean up but today the clutter is bothering me. Send a few messages and emails (I’m waiting on some follow-ups to complete a small project) and set up some work for next week. I go hang out with my cat for a bit. This year has been really stressful and uncertain. I’ve been prioritizing any moment of stillness or rest I can find — there’s been a ton of it this week, luckily.

3:30 p.m. — Finish up the work week and head to the store for a few items. I have a picnic this weekend with some friends. $15.32

5:30 p.m. — Cook my second meal of the week: air-fried chicken sandwiches with roasted carrots. I wrap up the day with a chill Friday night once dinner is cleaned up.

7 p.m. — Finish up my cleaning for the week while listening to another module. Tonight’s post-module journal takes quite a while — just over an hour. I have an early start to my Saturday so I prepare for the day ahead, then read and play with my cat for a bit before going to bed.

8 a.m. — Have my morning routine, get ready, and go out to get a pedicure.

11 a.m. — I get my pedicures from a spa which is about a 40-minute drive away. I have a certificate from purchasing birthday presents earlier in the summer so my pedicure is highly discounted. I grab an iced latte from Starbucks before heading back home. I still have some leftover gift cards on the app so I pay nothing out of pocket for my decaf latte. $20.90

2 p.m. — Once I get back home, I decorate my office for the change of the season, do some light cleaning, and have my leftover chicken sandwich from yesterday.

4:30 p.m. — Spend the rest of the day relaxing and reading. Today is hair wash day, then I go to bed.

8 a.m. — It’s my final diary day! Get up and have my regular morning routine, then get ready and head to my friend’s house for the picnic.

3 p.m. — I get home from the picnic a bit before 3 p.m. and take a nap with my cat — necessary, as I have my concert tomorrow!

5 p.m. — Cook another meal (luckily, this one is a quick one). Do a quick weekly reset where I clean out emails, organize any notes I took from the past week, and clean out photos. I place a small Amazon order for salt and pepper shakers and travel magnesium packets for an upcoming trip. $93.06

7:30 p.m. — Finish off the week relaxing and watching TV before bed.