First consistent paycheck, I catered for 5 years
(senior year of highschool through all 4 years of college).
Mostly weddings
(a few expensive holiday parties)
and I loved it.
I loved that I could pick my own schedule,
made great money,
and I loved the progression of the evening
(setup, cocktail hour, dinner service, cleanup).
I couldn't understand how my friends could stand at a cash register for 8 hours;
my mind would implode from boredom.
2) Tell us about the best and worst job you ever had.
It was the same job.
I started working at global helicopter manufacturing company.
My job was in helicopter pricing.
(E.g. "We sold the helicopter for $35 Million. What did it cost us to build it?")
It started out my favorite job I'd ever had.
It was exciting, engaging,
and I worked for one of the best executives ever.
He had the highest of high standard for his employees
but when you met his very-high standards
(which I sure as shit did),
he made sure you were recognized and rewarded.
It was a deeply satisfying working environment.
He was truly a phenomenal leader
and I hope he's making millions as a CEO somewhere.
B
at the time, the world's fastest helicopter
Then, it all turned.
That phenomenal executive moved within the company
to another location.
A new leader was brought in who was, by far,
the worst person I ever worked for in my life.
She embodied everything about bad leadership.
Her presence turned the place into straight up hell,
a Toxic Work Environment.
I got so anxious I developed severe insomnia.
The day I quit, a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
I will never forget how horrible that experience was.
In fact, I still suffer from management-change-PTSD.
When Oliver's preschool had a management turnover last year,
I felt near panic, constantly emailing his teachers
to see if they would stay
(they did, and the school remained the same).
3). Are you a saver or a spender? What about your significant other?
Adam and I both lean heavily to saving.
We have a "safety nest" untouchable fund,
equal to 6 months' salary,
to be used only in the event of unexpected job loss
(so far, never have had to use it).
This was a great source of mental relief during COVID uncertainty.
We also put 15% of all paychecks to 401K/investments,
which means our retirement accounts are fat and healthy.
We also are extremely debt averse.
The only debt we have is our mortgage
(and we just refinanced to 15 years at 2.5%!!!!).
We save for our cars years in advance so we can pay in cash.
We have never carried a balance on our credit card.
I acknowledge this financial freedom has a deep root in privilege.
I know this and I am very aware of this.
I also know people who make much much more than us
who are in far worse financial shape.
All that said, we do LOVE to spend money
on fun things that bring us joy
or make our lives easier.
E.g. Adam just got a new electric mower.
and I just got a new expensive blender.
4) Have you ever played the stock market?
Do you play the lottery?
Ever gambled?
Ever won big?
We invest in the stock market,
but we don't "play" the stock market.
As I said, we put 15% of our salary into retirement funds
which we will not touch for another 30 years.
I used to play the lottery with coworkers for fun.
If the pot got big enough, we'd all throw in $5
and someone would go buy tickets for the group.
I put in not because I expected to win,
but because if everyone in the department won,
I didn't want to be the only one left in the office!
Aside from the lottery pool above,
I do not gamble.
I have tried it twice
(once in Vegas, once in Atlantic City)
and HATED IT.
My mind cannot comprehend "wasting" money.
"There goes $50 I could have spent on shoes.
There goes $20 I could have bought a cute shirt.
There goes ..."
You get the point.
Vegas 2010. Spent most of my money on booze
5) What is your favorite way to splurge?
What do you dislike spending money on most?
Adam's splurges are mostly golf related,
but also really nice brand-name home equipment
(e.g. that new electric mower)
My biggest splurges are purses, shoes, and jeans.
I also love spending money on babysitters.
My 13yo sitter who watches the kids while I get a pedicure.
The 11yo sitter who plays with Carson in the basement
while I reorganize a closet or clean out the car.
Best money spent ever.
I dislike spending money on restaurants and fast food.
Yes I do enjoy a nice dinner out,
but for me to spend money on restaurant,
it damn well better be a very memorable meal.
Most times, the food is great and all
but I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.
out to dinner for our 10th anniversary (hooray full vaccination status!)
6) How do you save money?
First of all, 15% is taken out of our paycheck to retirement investments.
(I often forget about this because we never even see it.)
For big yearly expenses (insurance, vacations, etc),
I devised a spreadsheet system to save and spend.
Every month, our bank automatically transfers
a certain amount of money
from our checking to our savings account.
As we pay for these big expenses,
I withdrawal from the saving account back to checking
during the month the credit card is paid.
These categories accumulate
and excess spills over to following years
(mostly vacation).
This ensures we have the money to pay
for the things we want without constricting our bank account
during the time being paid.
When I started doing this in college,
I transferred about $200 dollars a month,
to cover insurance and gifts.
With income and privilege increases, the savings increases.
Now, we transfer $1,120.
This amount is subdivided into:
$140 car insurance ($1,680 per year)
$160 charity (about $2,000 per year)
$410 gifts (about $5,000 per year)
$350 vacation ($4,200 per year)
$60 swim club ($720 per year)
To clarify, the gifts account covers the full year,
with about half being birthdays, weddings, and events during the year
and half being spent at Christmas/Hanukkah.
It includes gifts for our kids and each other
but also extended family,
kids' friends, adult friends, coworkers, etc.
I never wanted to worry
about my credit card bill in December,
so this is how I've taken care of that.
7) Who pays the bills? Who does the taxes?
We are a single-income household so if you mean
"whose paycheck pays the bills,"
well then that's Adam for everything.
As to who actually makes sure bills get paid,
that is 100% me.
Adam has no idea what or when anything is due.
I run our finances out of Quicken for the last 10 years.
We do taxes together.
We download Turbo Tax and spend a night doing it together.
I feed him the numbers to enter into the software
and we check everything together.
8) Name brand or generic? Favorite stores to shop at?
Grocery delivery? Pickup? Coupons?
We are probably 50/50 generic / name brand.
Things like Cheerios, Heinz ketchup, and Philadelphia cream cheese
are non-negotiable brands.
Rice, flour, butter, milk... couldn't care less.
We shop at Wegman weekly
and I supplement with Whole Foods
and our local generic grocery store as needed.
We don't do grocery delivery or pickup because I am too damn picky.
It took Adam months during COVID to get the hang of my grocery habits,
but he has finally got it.
He knows what can be substituted and what can't.
He knows when to text me if something is out,
because that may be a main meal staple
and will require list adjustments elsewhere.
I don't coupon.
The short answer is too much time, not enough money saved.
The long answer is that my mom's couponing habit
contributed greatly to my parent's hoarding habit,
and thus I have a strong aversion to the pitfalls of coupon adrenaline rush.
first family grocery shop trip after Carson born. then covid hit and we never went again!
9) Do you shop thrift stores or yard sales?
Ever use Poshmark or ebay?
No.
I recognize the vital role these stores and industries play
in environmental conservation.
Our excess materialism has lead to the climate crisis we have now.
I encourage everyone to use these resources.
But... I am not there... yet.
10) Is there anything you collect or save
thinking it may be valuable some day?
No.
Collecting = clutter, the bane of my existence.
I will collect things I use and that bring me joy
(purses and shoes)
but I do not collect for investment purposes.
