Welcome to Money Talks! New approaches to money have exploded. Yet, money remains taboo. Less than half of you share personal finance information with your friends and family.
But that’s all changing. Now more and more of you are talking about money because it leads to better outcomes.
In an effort to provide personal finance insights through transparency (and have a bit of fun), I’ve created a series titled Money Talks that showcases how real people in Charlotte approach money.
It’s an anonymous way for you to share your money experiences and insights with our city. Answers are lightly edited for clarity and privacy (ex, exact age). Want to participate? Take the Money Talks survey.
Here’s a look into the finances of a married, 35 year old construction manager.
Salary journey:
I started as an hourly construction worker, making $40K a year. I’ve switched roles and been promoted at the same company for the past 10 years.
Currently, I’m paid $91K with a bonus of $7K-$12K, depending on the price of the project vs the budget. I also have a company truck (gas, insurance, maintenance all covered) which allows us to go from two personal vehicles to one.
In terms of other income, my wife will pick up a job here and there which totals about $2K per year.
Living situation:
We bought a house in 2019 with a 30-year fixed at sub 3%. My commute is 45-55 minutes, depending on traffic.
We’ve considered moving, but we ran the numbers with a lender and it’d double our monthly payment. We can’t swing that.
Work/life balance:
Occasionally I have to travel for work, but I really try to limit this as much as possible. I wish I could get some time back by cutting the commute down to 15-20 mins, so I’d have more time in the mornings and evenings with my wife and son.
If I have to go out of town for 4 or more days sometimes my wife and son will come.
On your mind:
Whether or not to have a second kid. We wrestle with this every day. It’s frustrating and annoying and exhausting. We don’t know if we could afford two kids and still live comfortably.
Is a second kid worth giving up the life the three of us have/could have? We change our mind as often as Camp North End changes tenants.
Debt:
Other than a mortgage, no debt! We save up for any big purchases. We don’t get on payment plans.
We work hard to stick to a budget, which can be annoying at times (and we’re not perfect), but it gives us something to shoot for and holds us accountable.
Credit card:
Bank of America cash back card. At the end of the year we look at how much we saved and we use that amount as our gift budget for Christmas.
I also have a Capital One Venture Card that I used for airline miles. My wife has a Chase Sapphire card. Neither one of us really uses those, but we need to find a credit card that benefits us a bit more.
Budgeting:
Yes. This makes life questions very black and white, takes emotion out of it. My wife keeps up with our household budget, logging transactions from the previous day the following morning using You Need A Budget.
Once a month, I review our bank accounts and investments. I then consolidate those numbers into a spreadsheet. Started this about 5 years ago.
My tip for others is pay yourself first and really evaluate what you need, use, and value. If you need to reign things, trim expenses until it’s uncomfortable. Live with it for a little while and you’ll adjust. Rinse and repeat.
Best and worst recurring expense:
Best recurring expense is Spotify at $19 per mo. Podcasts and commercial free music on my long commutes or when traveling is *chef’s kiss*. My wife uses it extensively too.
Worst is mosquito service. $55 every three weeks between late March to early October.
Splurge:
For me, it’s my soccer league. It keeps me active and allows me to get out for some me-time. I just love playing soccer and I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old.
My wife really enjoys her weekly ceramics class.
Charlotte money hack:
Buy the Great Value brand of cookies and cream ice cream at Wal-Mart — it tastes the exact same as Chick-fil-A cookies and cream milkshake! It’s 4-5 milkshake servings and less money. It’s available on Sundays.
Charlotte restaurant worth the money?
Either Rai Lay Thai (order the Lad Nah) or 131 Main (order of the smoked salmon app with the cornbread).
Savings and investments:
We split savings and investing up equaling, with at least 15% of my incoming going there. Any money my wife earns is a bonus. Our approach is to set and forget. Rarely, I’ll put money into some individual stocks that I’ve held for several years now but the bulk goes into my 401k or Index Funds.
I put 7% of every paycheck into my 401k (employer matches 100%, up to 4%); $540 into my IRA; and $50 per month into our child’s 529 plan (plus a portion of my annual bonus, about $4K per year).
Savings goal:
Build up our child’s 529 plan.
We also truly enjoy traveling and set aside money every month for travel expenses. The way we travel now vs before we had our child is night and day. We’re ready to start going on big adventures again.
Net worth:
Including our home equity, car, and things of that nature, it’s around $690,000. Not including these items, it’s $210,000. This was all done through my wife and I working. She stopped halfway into pregnancy and I have been with the same company for 10 years working my way up.
Retirement:
Ideally, I’d like to quit my job at 50-55 and become a teacher, soccer coach, or university associate professor (or whatever they are called where you can moonlight as an instructor but don’t need to have a teaching degree).
How much money would you need to feel complete financial freedom?
If the house was paid off and college funds were at a good point, then I could see needing an income of $175,000 to feel “realistic” freedom. That’d cover more than enough for the hobbies of everyone in the house, a cleaner, yard care, going out to dinner 3x a week, and going on the types of trips my wife and I used to take twice a year.
What do you consider “rich” in Charlotte and why?
Eating out once or twice a week where the check is more than $100 for two and not caring. Or being able to buy a home in a hot, trendy, or established neighborhood.
Best and worst money decision:
Best is marrying my wife and having a super low-key but perfect wedding for less than $3K.
Worst is messing with individual stocks. Some I’ve done well with but others not so much. The mistakes cost me less than $5K, but it taught me that I don’t have the time to fully research and stay on top of those things to consistently make money.
Financial goals:
- Grow salary (or establish a pretty much guaranteed path) to be able to afford a second child and maintain or improve on our current lifestyle. Just grind at work to prove my worth and be successful on projects.
- Save up for our replacement vehicle when that time comes (looking at 8-10 years before that is needed but currently socking away money for that every month).
- Be on track to retire at 50-55 if I want to. Doing that by current investing and growth of salary.
It’s not without its difficulties, but I think we’ve figured out a good system that works for us and a plan that will work for us going forward. We have money for our hobbies, we travel to fun places, and we may not go out to eat or grab drinks with friends as much as we’d like, but that helps with our waistline and we’ve grown okay with this.
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