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 at the personal finances of a 51 year old attorney.
Living situation:
I own my own home. 30-year mortgage at 3% interest.
I’ve got two college-age children. The most stressful thing about money relating to kids at this stage in life is that you want to be able to pay for tuition and expenses and help them with things like study abroad — but your personal economics may prevent you from helping them to the extent you want to help them.
It’s very hard not to overextend yourself financially to help your kids achieve their goals.
Job and salary:
I’m an attorney. I make $139,000 a year working 32 hours per week. PTO of 4 weeks. High deductible health insurance plan.
Salary journey:
I stayed at home with my kids for 6 years, and it really hurt my career progression and salary advancement. Other attorneys with over 20 years of experience make $200K+.
If you stay at home with the kids, try to do volunteer work or work part-time, so that when you want to return to work you do not have a gap in jobs on your resume.
It’s difficult to get large salary increases at your current company. You often have to change jobs for those increases.
Work-life balance:
Pretty good. The better work-life balance is one reason I went to work as an in-house attorney, rather than working at a big law firm. I don’t have to work on weekends.
Investment strategy:
My first husband passed away when he was 45. He was a much higher wage earner than I. He left me with a 401(k) worth around $250,000 plus a modest insurance policy. I have a financial advisor who helps me manage my money, who I met through my work as an attorney.
I save around 10% per year in 401(k). My company is having financial difficulties and recently stopped matching my contributions, which is not ideal at my age.
With my home equity, I probably have around $1M net worth now. It certainly doesn’t feel like it, however. I do not touch any of the insurance money I invested because I know I will need it in retirement.
Money decisions:
My worst money decision was not decreasing my lifestyle in the first couple of years after my husband passed away 8 years ago. My household income decreased from $350K per year to $70K per year plus $2,000/month social security payments. I went through a lot of the insurance money paying the mortgage on our house and just keeping up with living expenses.
On the positive side, my best money decision was using my son’s social security payments to help us stay in the house I bought with my first husband longer, rather than downsizing immediately after his death. The house appreciated around $300K before I sold it in 2022. (It is worth $600K more than I paid for it now. Wish I had kept it even longer.)
Debt:
My only debt is my mortgage and my son’s car payment, both of which have very low interest rates. My son’s car will be paid off this year.
I have co-signed for a number of student loans for my daughter, who is in grad school, and my son who is an undergrad. I hope to get the lenders to drop me as a guarantor after my kids start working.
Credit card:
I use the Barclaycard American Airlines card. I began using that card when I moved abroad for my husband’s job and began traveling more frequently.
Budgeting:
I don’t budget, but I need to. I am like an ostrich with my head buried in the sand.
I am having to pull money out of savings monthly, mostly due to helping my kids while they are in college/grad school. I know my income stream is not high enough to support the assistance I give them. In simpler terms, I spend more money than I make monthly right now.
Splurge:
Travel! I love getting away to somewhere new and unusual. I love learning about other cultures. I love spending time with my husband without chores, work, or internet browsing interrupting our time together.
If money were no object, I would love to buy a house in Europe for summer travel or at least a house on the North Carolina coast.
Charlotte money hack:
We love entering the Digital Lottery for theater tickets at the Blumenthal. We won the lottery for Hamilton and only paid around $10 for each ticket!
Retirement:
I have a hard time believing I will ever be able to retire, since I only have my 401(k) and no pension. My parents both worked for the State of North Carolina, and though their salaries were modest, the state pension provided them great financial security in their retirement.
I don’t think I will retire before I am 67.
Financial freedom number:
$3M cash and investments outside of the house. It just does not seem like $1M is the magic number anymore with how expensive houses and living expenses are.
What’s “rich” in Charlotte:
Combined income of over $500K, or $3M plus in savings/investments (excluding 401(k) and home equity).
With this salary or net worth you could travel without worrying about expense so much, have a nice house and not worry so much about how you will support yourself in retirement.
Financial goals:
- Save for retirement
- Save some of my monthly salary to invest
- Stop raiding my savings account
I think I can achieve all of these goals once my kids graduate and once I start following a budget.
On your mind:
Depleting my savings stresses me out. Also, saving enough for retirement stresses me out.
Where did you learn about money?
I’m not sure I ever learned how to manage my money! My first husband was a business major in undergrad. I learned a ton about managing money from him.
He insisted we pay off my law school loans after our first couple of years of marriage. He did not want us to buy new cars, furniture or anything we did not absolutely need until we paid off our student loans. I hated the decision at the time, but I am so grateful now that we paid the loans off so quickly.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.
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