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 34 year old non-profit executive with multiple side hustles (and growing).
Living situation:
We purchased our current house in 2020, right before the pandemic and then refinanced in mid-2021 at a 2.875% interest rate for 30 years. Never going to sell!
My partner moved in 3.5 years ago, and we split everything 50/50. $1,300 mortgage/taxes/insurance per month for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath on a quarter acre in South Charlotte.
Job and salary:
I work at a non-profit. Salary is $82,000. No bonus, but we do receive an annual cost of living adjustment.
100% of our medical/dental/vision is also covered and we receive a 3% employer match to our Simple IRAs.
Salary journey:
My first role out of college was FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) minimum at $23,660. Spent a couple years in the mid-$30s, then a couple years mid-$40s through low $60s.
In my current role I started at $65,000, was raised to $75,000 after a few months, and have had two COLA (cost of living adjustment) increases since.
Other income:
I own a rental property where I clear about $500 per month. I owe about $25,000 left on the mortgage, but at a 3.25% interest rate, there’s no big motivator to pay it off quickly.
Side hustle:
I built a sizable roster of dogs who I watched during the pandemic. I’ve kept 10 of them as dog sitting clients which yields about $350 per month.
Also, I just passed the 75-hour NC Real Estate Commission pre-licensing coursework and exam and hope to get into real estate part-time soon.
And my partner and I also have an eBay shop that we sell our childhood treasures and other random finds that we come across. We use the proceeds to fund our international travels — last year we sold about $7,000, which helped pay for a trip through 8 countries in Europe.
Work-life balance:
Pretty stellar. I have a flexible schedule, 26 days of PTO, and rarely have to work late or come in early.
Luckily, I’ve hired a great team to work with me and have not had high turnover and constant onboarding for the last two years.
Debt:
Luckily, I do not have student loans, credit card debt, or a car payment and neither does my partner.
My primary residence has an outstanding mortgage of $180,000 (2.875%) and a HELOC with an owed $50,000 of principal (8%). My rental property has an outstanding mortgage of $25,000 (3.25%).
All told, my monthly debt payments are ~$2,200/month.
Credit card:
American Airlines Platinum Select is my everyday card. My spend annually is high enough for AAdvantage Platinum with only a moderate (6-8 trips) amount of flying. It doesn’t lead to a lot of first class upgrades, but it does allow booking into Main Cabin Extra for free.
Amex Blue Cash Everyday has all recurring charges and subscriptions linked and the cash back is just applied toward the monthly bill.
I still have my first Discover card (opened in high school at age 18) and a Delta Skymiles card, both just kept open to boost my length of credit history.
Budgeting:
No. I have been fortunate enough to pay off my credit cards each month, save for major purchases, and still have a decent amount of disposable income to travel and go to concerts and sporting events.
Being DINKWADs (Double Income, No Kids, With A Doodle), we’re able to both work in roles we enjoy, spend money when we want or need to, and still save quite a bit for retirement.
Best recurring expense:
$44 per month Peloton All Access Membership. I have the Peloton Bike+, but love their other variety of classes as well (walking/running, strength, meditation, stretching, etc.)
Worst is the $120 every 7 weeks for dog grooming. I should really learn how to groom him myself, but after his one pandemic haircut I attempted we were both scared. I think the cost of grooming is more than fair for the work that they do, I just wish I was patient and talented enough to do it myself!
Splurge:
Travel. I will never say no to a concert or sporting event in another city, a trip across the country for a long weekend, or a wedding abroad.
Charlotte money hack:
Website named Charlotte On The Cheap. Have friends visiting that want to see Charlotte? You have a list of happenings around town. Trivia night? How about 50+ options! The site often showcases different deals at major restaurant chains and stores as well.
Restaurant pick:
Beef N Bottle. Onion ring tower and pork belly as appetizers, 6oz. filet mignon, red wine, and a slice of peanut butter pie.
Investment strategy:
$400 a month is going into my mutual funds that I utilize like a savings account. I’ve had this setup since high school and it has been a great tool to save and generally I see a decent return.
My partner is able to aggressively save based on his income level and minimum expenses. He’s been able to consistently add $25K to $30K annually to CDs that mature every 6 months.
All of our eBay funds are tracked transaction by transaction in an Excel sheet.
As we travel or buy supplies, we deduct it from our sinking fund. These funds are kept in a mutual fund and have benefited from great returns the last few years. This fund currently sits around $9,000 — vet bills and a European trip chewed up 5-figures in 2024.
I contribute 15% of my pre-tax earnings into a Simple IRA, and have also maxed out a ROTH IRA for the past few years. My retirement accounts have $110,000 currently, and I have no plans to decrease my contributions. Holdings are pretty evenly split between stocks and mutual funds.
Savings goal:
Our goal by age 40 is to buy a forever home somewhere within 5 minutes of Uptown and South End. Ideally, we’d keep our current house as a rental property, meaning we would need a down payment of $300K for a $1.5 million home.
Without any major salary increases, we’re on target. If either of us were to see a sizable jump, we could accelerate the timeline.
Net worth:
I used to track my net worth religiously through Mint (RIP). Between savings, retirement accounts, and equity in both my primary residence and my rental property, my net worth is in the $450,000 – $500,000 range.
In nearly 10 years of being in the workforce full time, I have barely made a total of $500,000 – the biggest key to growing net worth has been real estate appreciation and also investing money, not just having it sit in accounts that yield a trivial amount of interest.
Retirement:
I am hopeful that retirement from a 9-5 will happen around age 50 for me. Full-time side hustles and rental property income should hopefully sustain my/our lifestyle at that age.
My partner has been in the same field of work since he was 16, and could happily work in that arena until he’s 70+.
Personal financial freedom target:
Living within a 15 minute drive of my office AND spending my time how I wanted that still paid my bills – my 30ish minute drive each way to work is my biggest headache. What could I accomplish with an hour more in my day? Better health with more time to workout, more time with my partner and dog, spending time on a side hustle?
If you can pay your bills, workout, spend time with loved ones, and spend your time at the house you desire, that’s financial freedom in my book.
What’s “Rich” in Charlotte?
I manifest living in Dilworth every time I drive through that neighborhood.
All hours of the day I see folks out walking their dogs, running down the sidewalks, and strolling through Latta park. Presumably, they have the income to support their daytime flexibility and where they live in the city, so they’re most likely “rich” by Charlotte standards.
Best money decision:
Purchasing my first home in NW Charlotte in 2016. I could’ve easily moved to South End or NoDa to be closer to most everyone else my age, but that home (and Airbnb-ing the hell out of it, because I traveled a lot for work), allowed me to purchase my rental property a year later.
When I sold that house in 2020, after 3.5 years of ownership, I was able to walk away with enough equity for a 20% down payment on my current house, which kept the payment very affordable and my current house has nearly doubled in value in 5 years.
Financial goals:
Save $300,000 within 8 years. This is a relationship goal to buy/build a dream house in a dream area of Charlotte. It breaks down to a collective $3,000 plus a little bit of compound interest.
Pay for our next vehicles in cash. Mine is 7 years old, and my partner’s is 8 years old, but we both are below 90,000 miles and take good care of them, so hopefully this expense is still several years away.
Find a way to match at least 50% of my W2 income through side hustles. Whether it’s real estate, dog sitting, eBay sales, and maybe a part time role or starting a small business that operates primarily on the weekend.
On your mind:
Our biggest stressor is paying for home improvements that come with owning a 28 year old house — in the last two years this has meant a new roof, HVAC, windows, doors, gutters, trim, and fence. Our kitchen cabinets and counters, as well as our two full bathrooms are all in need of some love.
I hope we can make the necessary upgrades without having to utilize the HELOC too much, but also not over-improve a house we do not plan to stay in forever.
How did you learn about personal finance?
My dad is the CFO of a smaller rural school district. He CONSTANTLY talked about money, ways to invest and save, and how to spend within your means.
He’s probably more conservative in his approach to spending money, but the basics were all learned on car rides to sporting events, at dinner, or sitting in his office after school.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
New to Tiny Money? Join 9,529 Charlotte money nerds and subscribe to the 1x/wk newsletter
