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 house in 2019. 30 year mortgage at a 3.75% rate. Refinanced in 2021 and went to a 20 year at 2.25%. Very lucky.
On your mind:
Daycare costs and contemplating private school. We’ve got 2 young boys. Daycare costs 30% more than our mortgage!
Job and salary:
Commercial construction. Salary is $167K with a 20% annual bonus. Annual raises are minimum 5%.
Additionally, my wife makes about $190K. Two working parents have its difficulties, but tough to argue with over $300K in total income.
Salary journey:
Started at $50K and progressed to my current salary by doing a good job and promotions. Some industries reward job hopping, construction rewards loyalty and consistency.
Work-life balance:
Not the best. Trying to get better over the years, but there’s always more to do. Work can extend beyond normal working hours when things need to be addressed.
Debt:
Just our mortgage. My wife and I both had some student loans after graduating college, but paid them off within a few years post-graduation.
Our general approach is to pay for as much on credit cards and pay them off each month – auto pay is key to not forget a due date.
Credit cards:
We mainly use our Citi double cash – 1% on everything and 1% when you pay the balance. So if you’re paying the balance every month like we do, it’s 2% on everything.
I have a Marriott card that comes with a free night each year for an $85 annual fee that I probably need to cancel.
My wife also has a Target card that gets 5% back on all Target purchases (great for diapers/wipes) and a Discover card that does rolling 5% back categories.
Budgeting:
Yes, I budget religiously. Used to use Mint (RIP) and now use Everydollar, which is a Dave Ramsey product we get for free via work.
We don’t subscribe to all of Dave’s stuff, but I like the Everydollar platform for expense tracking/budgeting.
Best expense:
House cleaning. We recently changed to a new group that is $170 every other week. They even do small things like fold random clothes.
Splurge:
I enjoy a nice bottle of wine, especially an older vintage that can be enjoyed right away. Usually enjoyed with my wife over good conversation.
Money hack:
Charlotte’s parks often have great free splash pads for the boys.
Restaurant pick:
Customshop. I’ve never never had a bad order there. Any pasta dish is going to be fantastic.
Net worth:
About $1.6M. My wife and I combine our finances. No financial advisor. Here’s a rough breakdown…
- $150K in HYSA (high yield savings account)
- $810K in 401ks
- $50K in Roth IRAs
- $190K in brokerage
- $80K in 529/UTMA (which we don’t count)
- $390K home equity
I use Fidelity full view to track/trend networth and account balances each month
Automations:
We auto-invest $1K per month into a S&P 500 index fund and put $1,500 per month into our HYSA (plus any extra per month that isn’t spent).
Investing for kids:
We put $7K into an UTMA for each of our kids when they were born. They say it would be worth $1M by the time they retire! Doubtful it lasts that long.
We also put $10K into each kid’s 529 when they were born and put in an additional $500 each month. The calculators say we’ll still be short to afford an out of state public college.
Savings goal:
Initiation fee at one of the big 4 country clubs. But I struggle with how it makes any sense to pay well over $100K initiation and $1K in monthly dues?!
We use Ally for our HYSA and it has ‘buckets’ you can break down your savings balance into that helps for visibility. Our buckets are house, kids, club, vacation, car, and a misc. If money was no object, I’d buy a lake house.
Retirement:
I’ll retire between 55-60 years old. We’d ideally like to have $5M and spend it traveling, visiting with friends/family, and hopefully time spent at a 2nd home (beach, lake, or mountain).
Rich in Charlotte:
$10M or one of the big ass houses in Myers Park.
For our family, $10M would give us the ability to set up our kids with some generational wealth and never have to make decisions around money.
Financial goals:
- Have enough income/wealth for wife to stop working
- Kids come out of college debt free
- Buy a 2nd home
Advice:
Get started investing early – I didn’t really invest anything until I met my wife who had a modest investment account balance. I didn’t know about index funds until way too late.
Also, buy a house in a developing neighborhood!
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
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