Where do you live? City and State (or Country if outside the U.S.)
Nampa, ID
Do you like where you currently live? Why or why not?
Yes, it’s a nice smaller town, but right next to Boise, so we have all of the big town amenities.
Do you have any hobbies? What are they?
Reading, hiking, camping, crafts, baking
What is your highest level of education?
Bachelor’s
Where did you go to school? What did you study?
Psychology
Are you currently employed?
Yes
What is your current occupation?
Content Specialist
Do you like your current occupation / job? Why or why not?
Yes overall. Currently frustrated because I work for the state, and they are delayed in having my promotion/raise go through.
What is your yearly salary (or approximate yearly compensation)? Feel free to include any bonuses or other compensation perks you may receive this year.
$51k pre promotion, $58,900 after.
Have you ever been promoted at work? What position(s) were you promoted to?
I am going from Content Coordinator to Content Specialist.
Have you ever negotiated your salary? If so, how did that go / what was the outcome?
Yes for a previous job. I was only going to work hourly on a part time basis and since I was going to be putting in 4-8 hours a week, I negotiated a higher hourly wage and got it. Then with this promotion, I have been (politely and professionally) hounding my manager about it going through.
Do you have a second job or side hustle? If yes, what is it and what do you do?
No
If you have a second job or side hustle, about how much money do you make *monthly* from your second job / side hustle?
What is your relationship status?
Married
Do you and your partner have joint or separate finances?
We have a joint account and use it to pay our rent or if we need to split something. Everything else is separate.
What is your *monthly* rent / mortgage for your household?
$1800
Do you have any children / dependents? If yes, how many?
Yes, one
About how much do you spend on groceries *each week*?
$80-100
Are you debt free?
No
What kinds of debt do you have?
Car payment
Student loan
Credit card
How much *cash* savings do you have currently?
$1,000 – $5,000
Are you currently investing/saving for your retirement?
Yes
About how much money do you have invested/saved for retirement? Are you satisfied with this number?
$10k. No – my previous job did not have retirement benefits so I spent 4 years working there and barely contributed to my personal retirement fund (RothIRA).
What’s been your favorite purchase this year?
I’ve bought/thrifted some nice dresses that are good for every-day casual wear. I’m 5 months PP and trying to find clothes to fit throughout pregnancy and after has been a challenge. Having some flowy dresses that were comfy and flattering has been so nice.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
DO NOT USE CREDIT CARDS. (Not really, but dang – just want to shake my past self.) While the points for flights are nice, we relied on them too much for moving/travel/medical bills. Also while you’re child free – get a second job to help expedite paying off debt faster.
What current goals do you have? (ex. Health goals, Fitness, Money, Career, Travel, etc.)
Money: Continue to pay off debt. We sold our adventure van that we owe’d $18k on and used the rest of the money to pay off half of our CC debt! -Save to buy a house in 2026 -Save to move in 2026 (location to be determined) -Become a stay at home mom in 2026
What are you currently struggling with, if anything?
Thinking I need to do everything right now. Ex. I need to pay off all of my debt *right now*. I need to lose 10 lbs *right now*.
What accomplishments of yours are you most proud of?
Having a healthy and adorable baby girl!
What makes you imperfect?
See the above statements about *right now*. I used to be such a planner and would have the next one to two years planned out, but within the last 5 or so years, we’ve had so much uncertainty that I think it’s made it easy to get off track so much with finances and other life goals.
It’s Personal is an anonymous blog series about the personal lives and finances of women.
