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Industry: Government
Age: 30
Location: Raleigh, NC
Salary: $113,000
Joint Income/Financial Setup: n/a
Assets:
Car value: $18,510
Vanguard brokerage account: $57,415
Marcus HY savings account: $20,199
TSP (government version of 401k): $88,594
Debt:
Car loan: $11,598
Paycheck Amount (Biweekly): $3,231
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing Costs: $1,316 for a one-bedroom apartment.
Loan Payments:
Car payment: $536
Google storage: $3
Oura: $6
Netflix: $8
Spotify: $13
WeGlow (workout app): $15
Union dues: $41
Phone: $55
Internet: $60
Car insurance: $80
Utilities: It varies but around $120
Pension: $384
TSP (government version of 401k): $872
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
There was an expectation for me to attend higher education because I was unusually academically gifted in my family — straight As, honor roll, etc. If I hadn’t performed like that academically when I was younger, I’m not sure if the expectation would have been there as much. I’m sure my paternal grandma would have expected it of me regardless, but I’m not sure about my parents since they didn’t attend college themselves. I attended a four-year university and it was completely free. The university had a generous financial aid plan that was simply based on your family’s income, so we didn’t have to pay anything.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
We didn’t really have conversations about money other than “yes, you can have that” or “no, we can’t afford that” that I can remember.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
Technically my first job was as a camp counselor, but it was just a two-week-long day camp. I got it because it was fun/easy and my aunt ran the camp so I didn’t have to apply. My first real job that I count was working part-time at my local State Park. I collected the fee for day passes, set up people’s camping reservations, checked them in, and answered phones. I got it to have more spending money and start saving my own money.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Not really. I knew we didn’t have a lot but we always had enough. I definitely worried about it when applying to colleges, but got very lucky that I didn’t have to worry about it once I was accepted.
Do you worry about money now?
I’m a little bit more worried than usual at this very moment due to the Government shutdown (I’m furloughed) and my job going from extremely stable to fairly unstable with the latest administration change. Other than this, I think I feel pretty financially secure, usually, but worry that I’m sometimes not saving enough. If I did lose my job for some reason, I have enough saved that I would be fine for a bit.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially responsible for myself once I went to college at the age of 18, besides staying with my parents over winter break and portions of my summer break. I have a financial safety net in the form of my own savings. If it ever came to it, my parents would let me live with them, but they wouldn’t be able to cover the cost of my current living conditions/lifestyle.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
Yes! My grandma invested her money and became a millionaire just from her investments. She very generously gifted me 50 shares of Tesla. It was about $50K when she gifted it. I sold them all in 2025 when Elon Musk decided to get involved in politics (I blame him for the fact that I can’t work remotely anymore as a government worker). I then bought other stocks with the money. I’m also expecting to receive a ~$100K inheritance because the same grandma passed away in 2025.
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