It’s Per$onal is a completely anonymous blog series designed to shed light on the intricate details of the personal finances of women.
Name:
Minnie Mouse
How old are you?
27
Where do you live?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
What is your highest level of education?
Bachelor’s
Are you single or married?
Married
If you are married, do you and your spouse have joint or separate finances?
Joint
Do you have any children or dependents? If yes, please explain.
Does our 100 lb doggo count? ☺️ No other kids besides our four legged fur baby.
What is your current monthly rent / mortgage?
$2420
Has Covid-19 impacted you financially in any way?
My husbands work hours were reduced by 25% for a few months this past spring (& thus his pay), but it has since returned to normal.
What is your current occupation? If not currently employed, please say “Not Employed”
Shopper Merchandising Specialist
What is your yearly salary (or approximate yearly compensation) for your current occupation?
$95,000
If you are currently employed, do you like your job? Why or why not?
Yes! My job is a fun combination of project management work and creativity. This is the first job I’ve had in my 5 year career that I truly enjoy!
Do you have a second job or side hustle? If Yes, please explain.
Just casually selling items on Facebook Marketplace and Poshmark, but I don’t dedicate enough time to really consider it a steady second source of income.
If you have a second job or side hustle, about how much money do you make monthly from your second job / side hustle?
It varies – maybe about $25 – $125 per month
Do you budget on a consistent basis? If so, please explain how you currently budget:
Yes! I use the You Need A Budget (or YNAB) system. I used to track all of our expenses & bills in a monthly excel spreadsheet tracker, but switched to YNAB earlier this year and really like the platform and tools it offers. It’s shifted the way my husband and I think about saving for certain categories (like an emergency fund, home or auto maintenance, vacations, home improvement projects, etc) and other financial goals like paying down our debt and investing for retirement. I’d recommend it to anyone!
Are you debt-free?
No
If you are debt free, how much debt have you paid off and how long did it take you to pay it all off?
N/A
Do you have any student loan debt currently?
Yes
If yes, about how much student loan debt do you have?
My husband and I view our debt as communal – I officially just paid off my last student loan (total of $20k for me and took about 5 years to pay off) and now we are focusing on my husbands student loans which total about $43k left now.
What is your monthly student loan payment amount?
$525
Do you have any credit card debt?
No
If Yes, about how much credit card debt do you have currently?
N/A
Do you have any other kinds of debt? If Yes, please explain:
We have a car loan with $6k left on it and our mortgage which has $410k on it.
Do you know what your credit score is?
Yes
If Yes, what is your credit score?
805
Are you currently saving for retirement?
Yes
If yes, about how much do you have saved for retirement?
Between my husband and I, we’ve saved about $65k in our 401k accounts offered through our employers.
What does an ideal retirement look like for you?
We’d like to retire at around age 55 without any debt payments at all (house / cars fully paid off). We want to travel regularly and ideally own a small second home in a warmer climate (maybe Orlando, FL ☺️) that we can spend the winter months in.
What’s your biggest purchase of 2020 so far?
Our new home! We sold our townhome and were able to use those proceeds and our own separate savings to put $60k down.
Biggest purchase of your life?
New home again ☺️
What do you spend money on that brings you joy?
We’re big Disney fans so even though we live in Minnesota, we’re both Disney World Annual Passholders and spend most of our vacation time and funds there. It’s our happy place ❤️ We also have an ever growing wish list of home improvement projects that we are slowly saving for.
What are your short term money goals, if any? ( < 1 year)
Save enough to buy a new to us (used) SUV in cash (roughly $15-18k) It’d be great to not add more debt if we’re able to!
What are your long term money goals, if any? ( > 1 year)
Pay down our remaining student loans within a 5 year period while also ramping up our retirement / investing contributions. Then work towards paying our mortgage off before the 30 year loan period.
What is your #1 financial concern right now?
Student loans – we want to remove those from our debt as soon as we’re able to!
What financial victory/success are you most proud of?
Being able to put $60k down on our house was a huge accomplishment for us. That’s hands down the most we’ve ever saved up for.
Anything we didn’t ask about you that you want to include?
Between my husband and I, technically I’m the bread winner, but we’ve made a point to not view our finances and debts as separate. We work towards our goals together and it helps to keep our marriage equitable and feeling like a true partnership, rather than comparing how much he makes versus how much I make. Everyone has a different style that works for them but this is the best thing for us ☺️
It’s Per$onal is a completely anonymous blog series designed to shed light on the intricate details of the personal finances of women.
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