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 a very successful 38-year-old couple in Charlotte who recently moved to Charlotte from New York City.
Living situation:
We bought a home in late 2023. We saw high interest rates as an opportunity to get a decent deal. Mortgage is $1.1M and all-in payments are $7,800 per month.
2 kids under 3 years old. Most stressful thing for us isn’t really money, but more about dedicating enough time to them as well as advancing our careers. We are in a fortunate situation that they both go to part-time daycare and we have an Au Pair.
Though it’s not a decision we have to make yet, we’re starting to think about whether we send them to private school and how that cost would impact our savings/lifestyle.
Job and salary:
I’m a partner at a boutique consulting firm. Base is $400K. My spouse is a product leader at a technology firm. Additionally, I get about $250K in equity, $50K deferred comp, and a $15K cash bonus.
My spouse’s base salary is $200K and $125K in equity. Both of our companies are private so the equity isn’t super liquid.
Salary journey:
Progression has been crazy. I started my career as an accountant. My spouse started as a teacher.
The big salary jumps have been over the past 3-5 years, where we went from making a combined income of $225K to now being all in $1M. Best money decision was betting on ourselves.
We made some big bets (prior to kids) on career changes, which required us to move to NYC as there was more opportunity at the time then we moved back to Charlotte during the pandemic.
Work-life balance:
LOL… I wish. I try my best to create some boundaries, but wouldn’t say I’m good at it.
Debt:
Other than mortgage and car payments, nothing that isn’t paid off each month. I did carry student loans until recently, it was at a super-low interest rate so I didn’t feel pressure to pay off.
Credit card:
I’m lucky here. I travel a ton for work and I’m allowed to use my personal card(s) for all expenses. Average month I probably spend $10K in reimbursed travel expenses.
I’m pretty simple. I use Amex Platinum for flights (only fly Delta domestically) and then I use Amex gold for most other expenses.
Only other card I use is Amazon Prime which is used at places where it would be 1x on Amex.
Budgeting:
I’m not a “down-to-a-penny” budgeter. I think of things as categories and I don’t go beyond that. I respect people who keep detailed budgets, but it’s not for me.
Expense management:
As I’ve gotten older/busier my “worst” expenses are more paying people to do things I don’t want to do like pool cleaning, lawn maintenance, house cleaning. These add up to 4-figures each month, but in my opinion it’s worth it to get that time back.
Splurge:
Watches, suits, and never sitting in the back of the plane on international flights.
Restaurant pick:
Due to my job and travel, I eat at a lot of fancy places. So when in town, I love Superica or if going for some bar food (which I love) it’s Moosehead Grill.
Net worth:
Probably around $3.5M, but hard to know given the illiquidity of our company equity.
Total investments and savings portion of that is around $750K. Given our equity situation, investments are pretty boring, mostly Vanguard ETFs. VTI for the win! I do have some exercised equity from a startup job, but TBD if/what that is worth. Rest of net worth is in home equity.
Overall, each month, we max out our respective 401(k) plans and we max out Roth IRAs (backdoor conversion). Our remaining income goes into our brokerage account.
Retirement:
I don’t think I will ever retire. I always want to do something, but have the flexibility to own my time.
Rich in Charlotte:
Wealth is relative to what you want your life to look like. If you want all the bells and whistles, probably $10M. But you can live a comfortable life with way less.
Worst money decision:
Selling our house in Madison Park in 2016 for $250K.
On your mind:
I wonder how many people look on TikTok or Instagram and think they are so behind on money stuff? Everyone has a different journey.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
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