It’s Personal is an anonymous blog series about the personal lives and finances of women.
How old are you?
28
Where do you live? City and State (or Country if outside the U.S.)
Houston, TX
Do you like where you currently live? Why or why not?
I LOVE the city and the house I live in but wish I can transport it to be closer to my parents.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love reading romance and fiction novels, going to the movies, and putting together LEGO sets.
What is your highest level of education?
Master’s
If you went to university/college, what school did you attend? What did you study?
Bachelors: University of Houston (Communication)
Masters: Syracuse University (Communication)
What is your current occupation? If not currently employed, please say “Not Employed”
Content Strategist
If you are currently employed, do you like your job? Why or why not?
Yes. I love the responsibilities and being able to have a flexible work environment.
If you are currently employed, what is your yearly salary (or approximate yearly compensation)? Feel free to include any bonuses or other compensation perks you may receive this year.
$70,000
Have you ever been promoted at work? Please elaborate if so.
No.
Have you ever negotiated your salary? Please elaborate if so.
I negotiated my salary when I was hired to my current role three years ago. I was offered $52,000 and was able to counter to get $65,000 due to a competing job offer.
Do you have a second job or side hustle? If Yes, please explain.
N/A
If you have a second job or side hustle, about how much money do you make monthly from your second job / side hustle?
N/A
Are you single / in a relationship / married?
Married
If you are in a relationship / married, do you and your partner have joint or separate finances?
Joint shared finances (mortgage, utilities, going out, etc), separate personal expenses
More It’s Per$onal:
Do you have any children / dependents?
No.
Do you have any pets?
1 dog, 2 cats
What is your monthly rent / mortgage for your household?
2000
About how much do you spend on groceries each week?
$80
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
If you do have debt, what kinds of debt (i.e. credit cards, student loans, car) and how much debt do you have?
Home mortgage ($230,000)
Student loans ($81,000)
Are you currently investing/saving for your retirement?
Yes
If yes, about how much do you have invested/saved for retirement? Are you satisfied with this number?
$16,000. No. It’s extremely low because I never had the extra money to put toward investing into anything other than my work retirement account until very recently.
What’s been your favorite purchase of 2023 so far?
N/A
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self? (Doesn’t have to be money-related)
DO NOT refinance/consolidate your student loans in February 2020. There’s a pandemic coming that will stop your loan payments for three years ?
Do you have any current goals you want to accomplish? (Health, Fitness, Financial, Travel, etc.)
Financial: I want my student loans to disappear without giving up my quality of life. Of course, I put extra money toward the loan every month in an effort to lower the balance, but it is a burden that is always in the back of my mind.
I would have an extra $700 in my budget every month to invest/save if I didn’t have to make my student loan payment. I have tremendous guilt about it and hope that it doesn’t affect my husband and I in the future as we think about expanding our family.
We have a great system and are able to save a decent amount of money to put toward savings/travel etc and have recently started travel hacking in order to cover some of those trips.
Travel: I want to travel the world. My husband and I recently took our first trip to Europe (completely debt free!) and had the time of our lives.
My heart feels full when I travel, and I want to experience different places as much as I can. My goal is for my next role to be fully remote so that I am able to visit my family in Puerto Rico more often throughout the year and travel with my husband when he goes on work trips without taking time off.
Fitness: I want to exercise at least 30 minutes a day! I get into the habit for a couple weeks and then die off for one reason or another. I want to be consistent.
What are you struggling with in life at the moment, if anything?
N/A
What accomplishments of yours are you most proud of?
I’m proud of how I’ve learned to manage my finances. I haven’t had credit card debt in a year and am very proud of the processes I’ve put in place to feel secure financially.
What makes you imperfect?
My stubbornness — but sometimes it works in my favor!
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It’s Personal is an anonymous blog series about the personal lives and finances of women.
