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.
Job and salary:
IT consumer service. $145K with another $30K in bonus. My wife brings in just over $60K. So in total, we’re about $225K.
Salary journey:
My first job out of college paid $15K per year! But it was a start.
I worked for myself for a while mid-career, but the relentless pressure of health insurance premiums put an end to that.
Entrepreneurship in America is not all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve worked for small companies and big ones. Changed careers twice.
Work-life balance:
Excellent. I am fortunate. This job has never really followed me home.
Living situation:
We rent. $2,500 per month. I’m tired of having the “you should own” argument with people. My eyes are wide open on the pros and cons. We have owned before and it is not all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, you build equity, but that’s a “someday” proposition. Meanwhile maintenance, insurance, taxes, and most importantly time are very much problems of the here and now.
I owned in 2008 and although I was never upside down, I knew plenty of people who were. That was scary. Post-Covid the market has priced us out of buying in our neighborhood, but we can easily rent.
Renting gives us flexibility which is increasingly important as we approach retirement. And our rent has actually gone down each of the past three years.
I know too many people who feel chained to their houses and cheap interest rates from ten years ago. Not us. Plus we are trying to leave a smaller environmental footprint. It works for us. I’ll never own again.
Family:
4 grown children! 3 of them have zero college debt. The 4th makes the most money. So they are all fine.
Debt:
Zero dollars and zero cents. Paid cash for our car. Pay credit cards in full always. No mortgage (obviously).
Credit card:
I have a bunch. Capital One Savor is my go to at the moment. But I play the points games — have a Marriott card and an American Airlines card for travel.
Budgeting:
Not really. Empty nest and good salaries with a big rainy day fund.
We never do anything too crazy, but we are in a spot where we don’t need to count nickels. So we don’t.
Splurge:
We travel… a lot. International two or three times a year. Domestically whenever we want. I like watches. She likes shoes.
Charlotte money hack:
Live close in. I have lived in Charlotte for 35 years and know firsthand what it’s like to live far out and be car dependent. It’s crap. Nobody likes to talk about the time, money, and stress that costs. It’s a lot.
We picked our current neighborhood largely for the commute. It has been life altering.
Restaurant pick:
Albertine. It feels like it should be on Fifth Avenue in NYC. It’s a special place.
Net worth:
$1.2M or so. Most of it is in retirement accounts. I have always contributed aggressively to my 401k.
It’s not sexy, but I have a lot of cash in certificates of deposit and money markets. It amounts to about $6K per year. I also have a robo-managed brokerage account.
My workplace offers free financial advisers. The peace of mind that offers us is immense.
Retirement:
Not yet. I like my job. I like the money. I like being needed. I plan on waiting until 70 to take Social Security. We are healthy so why not keep going?
If we end up with $2M in retirement savings we should have a pretty cush retirement.
We plan to move to Europe. Even paying out of pocket, healthcare will be a lot cheaper in Europe based on my back of the envelope calculations.
Rich in Charlotte:
If you’re smart about where and how you live, you can be okay in Charlotte making $85K per year.
I felt personal financial freedom in my early 50s. I realized I was likely to never want for food on the table and a roof over my head. Everything else is gravy. I was probably making $100K at that point.
Best money decision:
Selling our second car and becoming a one car family. I didn’t realize how much owning a car costs, until I sold it.
My worst decision was buying Bitcoin thinking I’d hold it for a week and make a quick 10%. I watched the value collapse almost immediately. Never again.
Financial goals:
- Get my kids through college with no debt. Achieved already. It meant they had to go to state schools, but they went to Chapel Hill and loved it. My oldest has already thanked me multiple times.
- Build up my HSA. I am currently at the contribution limit for that.
- Stay healthy. Yes, that’s a financial goal.
On your mind:
I worry we are in a market bubble. I have a lot of money in stocks. As much as I love the upward trajectory, I also feel the risk.
Knowledge:
Both my parents were good with money, although in different ways. My dad was strategically good. My mom was practical good.
I don’t recall them teaching me per se, but I was aware of how they handled their cash, how they treated material things, both good and bad.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
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