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.)
Fort Wayne, IN
Do you like where you currently live? Why or why not?
Yes. I grew up around the area so family is close. I really love my job and the area is incredibly affordable. It is quite around here, but if you look, there is a lot to do.
Do you have any hobbies?
Kinda a homebody. I really enjoy reading and playing cozy games on my Switch.
What is your highest level of education?
Bachelor’s
If you went to university/college, what school did you attend? What did you study?
Trine University (Angola, IN). Mechanical Engineering.
What is your current occupation? If not currently employed, please say “Not Employed”
Design Quality Engineer
If you are currently employed, do you like your job? Why or why not?
Yes! I get to be on the front end of a lot of cool innovations. Though the job can be stressful at times, it comes in waves and in general, the job is pretty low-stress.
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.
$101,000 (eligible for up to a 12% bonus per year)
Have you ever been promoted at work? Please elaborate if so.
Yes. In my career so far, I have done some job hopping, moving positions that way.
In my last company, I started out as a quality engineer and after successfully leading quality initiatives, taking on additional roles, and being a leader on the team, I was promoted to a senior quality engineer then a quality manager.
Have you ever negotiated your salary? Please elaborate if so.
No
Do you have a second job or side hustle? If Yes, please explain.
No
If you have a second job or side hustle, about how much money do you make monthly from your second job / side hustle?
N/A
Are you single / in a relationship / married?
In a relationship / living together
If you are in a relationship / married, do you and your partner have joint or separate finances?
We share a HYSA & checking for home expenses and joint goals. We each have our own separate checking accounts.
More It’s Per$onal:
Do you have any children / dependents?
No
Do you have any pets?
1 dog (Milo)
What is your monthly rent / mortgage for your household?
1478
About how much do you spend on groceries each week?
125
Are you debt-free?
Yes
If you are debt free, how much debt have you paid off and how long did it take you to pay it all off?
$85k in 3 years (1 car, my student loan, bf student loans)
If you do have debt, what kinds of debt (i.e. credit cards, student loans, car) and how much debt do you have?
Only thing we are left with is our home loan. We just bought our home last year, $256k left on it.
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?
$109k. I am happy (for the most part). We focused really hard on debt payoff when we were first starting out.
My company didn’t offer a 401k and I didn’t know a lot about personal finance at the time.
Bf’s job offered a 401k that he was investing the company match into which gave us a early start, but I feel behind because I have only started to catch up in the last 2 years.
What’s been your favorite purchase of 2023 so far?
I get to go to the Era’s tour at the end of June!
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self? (Doesn’t have to be money-related)
Take a deep breath. Enjoy yourself. Live life (you only get one).
Do you have any current goals you want to accomplish? (Health, Fitness, Financial, Travel, etc.)
Travel / vacation! I have been so invested in financial goals the past 7 years and am incredibly proud of all of my accomplishments, but I have made a lot of sacrifices because of it.
I also became a bit of a workaholic and carried a lot of stress with my job as well as didn’t take much time off.
This led to a lot of burnout that I am recovering from. I want my present self to start using and enjoying the vacation I’m offered and the money I’m making and not just stashing it all away for my future self.
What are you struggling with in life at the moment, if anything?
Going out and living life. I am an introvert and honestly have a fear of doing new things. I have let so many opportunities pass me by because I talked myself out of doing something alone.
I have been working on going out and trying new things with my sister (new things are easier with a buddy) and have even successfully ventured out on my own once this year!
What accomplishments of yours are you most proud of?
My journey to financial freedom. I am the first in my immediate family to graduate college and I am incredibly proud of my engineering degree, but I had been working on that since high school; it was something that I was kinda pushed towards whether by my family, teachers, or society.
When it came to the financial burden of adulthood, that was a bit of a different story.
I was never really taught what to model, how to reach my goals (or honestly, what goals I should even strive for). Being able to come from basically 0 to where I am now in 7 years is nothing short of amazing and I have to pause to appreciate how far I have come.
What makes you imperfect?
I’m quick to anger / can be a bit judgy. Won’t make decisions on where to eat.
Tend to perfectionism so won’t pull the trigger if I have too many questions (too many = at least 1).
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It’s Personal is an anonymous blog series about the personal lives and finances of women.
