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.
Living situation:
We bought a fixer-upper, mid-century home in the suburbs right before the rates started to go up. We got a good deal, but we have a long list of updates and improvements we’re chipping away at.
We’ve got 2 children in middle school. We spend about $450 per month on extracurriculars like music class and sports, plus another $4,000 each on summer camps. Lately, they’ve both started to eat like full adults, so it’s the grocery and dining out bills that overwhelm.
Job and salary:
I’m a marketing leader at a healthcare company. My wife works part-time for a local non-profit. I make $200K in salary, plus a 15-20% bonus and about $30K/year of future stock options. My wife’s non-profit work brings in another $20K.
Salary journey:
I currently make double what I made at an advertising agency 7 years ago, even in an agency leadership role.
I spent a decade trying to crack 6-figures in the advertising industry, and now I’ve finally achieved some level of financial freedom. Going “client side” was a big financial benefit.
Side hustle:
I also do some freelance marketing work outside of my day job industry, leveraging my agency experience. In the past 12 months, I’ve made another $50K from that work.
Work-life balance:
It’s been better — but in the ad agency world, it was much worse.
I never miss my daughter’s performances and I manage to carve out a solid couple hours every night for family time.
My wife is the real blessing as her ability to manage schedules, kid shuttling, and busy days makes my work and income possible.
Debt:
One debt consolidation loan from a few years ago at 6% interest for about $500/month. Mortgage is around $2,500/mo and total car payments for our two cars is $800/mo.
We’re also still paying off student loans to the tune of a few hundred a month.
Credit card:
We have a great travel credit card we’ve been racking up points on for years to cover a big European anniversary trip.
Currently, sitting at over 600,000 points ready to spend!!
Budgeting:
We have a rough budget. We used to budget more tightly, but found that we’re pretty consistent with or without the paper trail.
We do specifically budget to give away about 8-10% of our income, either to charities, to GoFundMes, or by trying to be surprisingly generous to friends or neighbors when they’re going through a tough time.
Splurge:
Experiences. We spend about $10-15K per year on vacations. Mostly not bougie: theme parks, beach trips, and cruises. Occasional NYC trip.
We’ve decided while the girls are still at home that we’re going to invest in giving them as many amazing experiences as we can rather than spending on home upgrades, fancy furniture, or nice cars.
Restaurant pick:
Nothing too fancy. We love Midwood Smokehouse, Moo & Brew, and Chuy’s.
Investment strategy:
All of my freelance income goes into interest-bearing savings. We’re putting about 13% of our income per year into a 401(k)/Roth, inclusive of company match.
My advice to 20-somethings — please max out your 401(k) as quickly as possible!! We’re way behind and paying for it.
Retirement:
I don’t really know yet, probably won’t retire until we have $2M in savings, which at this rate will still be late 60s.
Financial freedom number:
If I had $5M, I’d stop working and finally finish that novel in my head, for sure.
Rich in Charlotte:
I feel like we’re close enough to feel wealthy in most real-world circumstances, but a drive around SouthPark would make you think you need a $10M net worth and $1M per year in income.
Worst money decision:
Not contributing to our 401(k) for the first 7 years of work. I cry at all the wasted compound interest.
If I had contributed at just 5-6% my whole career (plus company match), I’d be close to $1M.
Knowledge:
Neither of our parents were terribly good with money, so we mostly learned from their mistakes versus their successes.
I wish I had taken a real personal finance class in high school or college.
On your mind:
We feel very fortunate for our current financial situation. We try not to take it for granted. We know we live a better life than most Charlotteans.
Lots of our friends are better off than us so it can make us feel like we need to be doing or spending more — but I know for certain, we’re lucky.
Of course we work hard, but lots of people work hard and don’t get the same opportunities we’ve gotten. We try to live with that gratitude.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
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