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 own our home. We moved into our house 10 years ago. It’s in a neighborhood we always knew would be a long-term place.
Our mortgage is a 30-year fixed rate at 2.9%, so we are hoping to be in our home for the long haul!
Family:
Two children under the age of 8. School and childcare expenses are always on our mind. We have a full-time nanny that saves us from pickups, so we can focus on work in the afternoon.
Our kids attend non-religious private schools, which is a choice we’re happy with. We are happy with the decision.
Job and salary:
My wife and I are physicians. Our combined income is around $875,000, including base salary and bonuses.
Salary journey:
We were barely making minimum wage when we met as residents. Our first year out of training, our combined income was $470,000. That was about 10 years ago.
Work-life balance:
Great. We each work approximately 4 days a week.
Debt:
Only our mortgage. We put all our expenses on credit cards and pay them off each month.
Credit cards:
Amex Platinum, Citi AA Executive World Elite, and Citi Costco Visa Anywhere are our most used credit cards. We spend a ton on travel as well Costco purchases.
Budgeting:
We are luck and fortunate to not budget. We probably should. Our expenses have ballooned as our income increased, but we’ve tried to avoid lifestyle bloat.
Big expense:
Private school tuition. I grew up in an underfunded school system in Western North Carolina, so I’m grateful to provide our kids with stable educational opportunities.
I do worry our kids won’t value the cost of hard work as much as I did.
Restaurant pick:
Yunta is our favorite. We have 5 restaurants that we love and visit often. Food and travel are our splurge categories.
Net worth:
$4.9M. No financial advisor. Our portfolios consist of boring index funds split between the total U.S. stock market and international markets. We have maximized every available pretax retirement fund for the last 10 years.
My advice is to start saving as early as possible. Compound interest works, but you need to ensure there is enough time for it to work to your advantage.
Financial goal:
We’d like to donate at least $100K each year to causes dear to our hearts. And volunteer more using our medical experience.
Retirement:
Ideally soon! $10M is our number to feel complete personal financial freedom.
But we are in a very good place in our lives and we love our jobs. We may cut back more in the next 10 years, but we’ll probably keep some form of employment until 66 in order to continue to have health insurance.
Rich in Charlotte:
Anywhere from $3M – $5M net worth.
Worst money decision:
Watches. Unfortunately, this hobby is addictive and leads to poor and sometimes impulsive decisions.
Knowledge:
My parents were aggressively frugal. I watched them growing up.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
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