{"id":1169,"date":"2025-08-27T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/?p=1169"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:15:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:15:59","slug":"a-week-in-the-bay-area-on-a-715000-joint-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/27\/a-week-in-the-bay-area-on-a-715000-joint-income\/","title":{"rendered":"A Week In The Bay Area On A $715,000 Joint Income"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to<\/em> <\/em>Money Diaries<\/a> where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We\u2019re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period \u2014 and we\u2019re tracking every last dollar.<\/p>\n

Today: a medical director who has a $715,000 joint income and who spends some of her money this week on baby ultrasounds.<\/em><\/p>\n

Occupation:<\/strong> Medical director
Industry:<\/strong> Healthcare
Age:<\/strong> 32
Location:<\/strong> San Francisco Bay Area
Salary:<\/strong> $170,000 base and bonus
Joint Income\/Financial Setup:<\/strong> $715,000. My bonus last year was $70,000, but it can be highly variable. My husband, J., is a physician and makes $475,000 a year. We share all our finances, and our paychecks go directly into our joint accounts, which we use to cover all expenses. We still do have our individual personal accounts, which we both keep at a minimum level, but otherwise don\u2019t regularly deposit money into.
Assets:<\/strong> Primary home equity: $1,000,000; total joint savings and checking: $53,900; my total retirement accounts (401(k), 503(b), etc); $110,000; total money market\/investment\/brokerage accounts: $96,000.
Debt:<\/strong> Mortgage: $1,400,000; car: $28,700; J.\u2019s student loans: $20,000.
Paycheck Amount (2x\/month):<\/strong> $3,900 (post taxes and 401(k) contribution deducted).
Pronouns:<\/strong> She\/her<\/p>\n

Monthly Expenses<\/p>\n

Housing Costs:<\/strong> Mortgage: $11,800
Home Maintenance:<\/strong> $675 (cleaner, landscaping, pest control etc.).
Utilities:<\/strong> ~$150
Loan Payments:<\/strong> J.\u2019s student loan: $1,024; car loan payment: $781.50.
Wifi: <\/strong>$65
J.\u2019s Disability Insurance:<\/strong> $223
Car Insurance:<\/strong> $151.60
ClassPass:<\/strong> $20
Nuuly:<\/strong> $107 (clothing rental service).
Peloton:<\/strong> $130
Cell Phone:<\/strong> $0 (we\u2019re both on our respective family\u2019s plans, so our parents pay).
Home Alarm System:<\/strong> $33
Streaming Services:<\/strong> $0 for Hulu and Netflix \u2014\u00a0these are shared among friends and family; we provide HBO Max (free from prior employer).
401(k) Contribution:<\/strong> $1,830<\/p>\n

Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
<\/strong>Yes. My parents are immigrants and value higher education as a way to build success in the United States. They both went to college, and my dad went to a very competitive graduate school program, despite his humble beginnings and had to support himself financially through it. I went to a private undergraduate program and medical school, and I was extremely fortunate that my parents paid for most of it.<\/p>\n

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
<\/strong>Both my parents are self-employed in the same industry, so they spoke of their work and compensation often. However, I don\u2019t think they ever sat me down and taught me how to plan a budget and stick with it, or other practical advice.<\/p>\n

What was your first job and why did you get it?
<\/strong>My first job was in college in a research lab. I mostly did it to get experience in research and was paid minimum wage ($12 an hour at that time).<\/p>\n

Did you worry about money growing up?
<\/strong>No. I grew up in an upper middle class family and was extremely fortunate that, although my parents were self-employed, they did well in their field, and if they had a tough economic period, they shielded my siblings and me from knowing. I felt very secure knowing that my parents would help me with education.<\/p>\n

Do you worry about money now?
<\/strong>Sometimes, although my husband J. and I are doing very well financially on paper, with our mortgage and living in a very high cost of living area, it feels like we aren\u2019t able to save as much as our peers living in different places or who had different career paths. As physicians, J. and I both went through many years of training where we were making a little over minimum wage when taking into account how many hours we worked. Being in the San Francisco Bay Area, most of our friends work in tech, and it is hard not to compare their high salaries, great benefits, and better work-life balance, which they were able to enjoy with a lot less education and training than with a career in medicine. Additionally, I am currently pregnant and about to be on maternity leave, and the loss of income is something we are nervous about.<\/p>\n

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
<\/strong>Once I graduated medical school, I became financially responsible for myself. However, I know that we can always lean on my parents or my in-laws as a financial safety net if we truly need help.<\/p>\n

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
<\/strong>Yes. My parents gifted us part of the down payment for our home. I know that I will likely receive an inheritance from my parents.<\/p>\n

Day One: Saturday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:55 a.m. \u2014 Alarm is off, time for (remote) work. For the past few weeks, I\u2019ve been waking up early from my baby\u2019s kicks. Currently, I\u2019m almost 36 weeks pregnant with our first, and I\u2019ve been told this is to be expected. Today is one of the few days that the alarm wakes me before the baby does. I do a quick morning bathroom routine. We are babysitting my parents\u2019 dog, A., and I give him a snuggle and feed him his food. My husband, J. walks him after he gets ready for the day.<\/p>\n

9:30 a.m. \u2014 I usually work independently, and it\u2019s a light day, so I put on a hypnobirthing online class in the background. It is hosted by The Baby Academy, and they usually charge for their classes, but this one happens to be complimentary. It\u2019s pretty interesting, and I make a note to look into the affirmations playlist they recommend and review some birthing positions after work. I love my current job, which I have been at for the past year and a half. I am really grateful to be able to start maternity leave in a couple of days, which would not have been the case for my prior job.<\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. \u2014 No dedicated lunch break for me today, so J. heats up some leftovers for both of us. He works in a hybrid environment and, on average, goes in-person twice a week. On my dedicated lunch break days, I often cook a fresh lunch for both of us. I eat at my desk.<\/p>\n

2 p.m. \u2014 Today is a short day, and I\u2019m done with work. I let A. out and respond to texts. My family friend\u2019s daughter sent a thank you for some medical school supplies I gave her from my old med school days. Another friend updates me that she has given birth and sends a photo of her adorable baby.<\/p>\n

2:40 p.m. \u2014 My feet are getting really swollen after my walk with A. We are invited over to a friend\u2019s house for dinner tonight, but I don\u2019t have it in me to make the homemade dessert I was planning to bring. My mom was planning to pick up A. this afternoon, and I tracked her location and found that she is right next to one of my favorite local bakeries. I call her and ask if she can pick up some princess cake slices and Bavarian creams puffs and venmo her for them. I take a nap. $30<\/strong><\/p>\n

3:35 p.m. \u2014 I wake up feeling much better. Third trimester really has me napping all the time! My mom comes over and drops off the bakery goods and brings A. home. It\u2019s my friend\u2019s birthday party next week, and I realize I haven\u2019t gotten her anything yet. I get her a lululemon water bottle bag in black, and find that there is also one on sale in an unusual color. I decided to get both and save the odd color one as an emergency gift for my gift stash. I am very emotionally attached to my Yeti water bottle and find this water bottle holder to be a perfect fit for it, while also being able to carry my phone and card case. I hope my friend loves it as much as I do. J. has to finish some work, so I try to fit in some studying for my online MBA course. $62.22<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:15 p.m. \u2014 Oops! I end up taking a second nap instead, and it\u2019s time to go to our friend\u2019s place for dinner. Since moving to the suburbs and getting pregnant, we\u2019ve been trying to become closer with our local friends who have children. Our friends have two little ones, and we bring over a present for the little boy who just had his birthday, plus the pastries and ice cream. Their little boy loves toy trucks and spends time pointing out his favorite ones to J. and me.<\/p>\n

7:10 p.m. \u2014 Their kids are getting tired and need to get ready for bed, so we thank our friends for dinner, excuse ourselves, and head home. It\u2019s a cool night, and we decide to take a walk around the neighborhood. Evening walks are a ritual we really enjoy taking together; however, as my pregnancy has progressed, I find myself huffing and puffing excessively during them. It feels like a little victory now every time we make the full loop.<\/p>\n

8:12 p.m. \u2014 Time for my nightly routine: I shower and do my regimen. I\u2019ve been very into the Biodance collagen gel toner pads, and after, I apply my Tatcha The Dewy Skin cream. I also make sure to slather a ton of Bio-Oil on my belly to prevent stretch marks. I have heard that (sadly) stretch marks are largely genetic and there isn\u2019t too much you can do to prevent them, but that moisturizing does help.<\/p>\n

9:30 p.m. \u2014 J. and I tried watching the new season of Sandman<\/em>, but we both found it pretty odd, and we had completely forgotten what happened in the prior season. We end up both falling asleep through it, and when we wake up, we decide to head to bed.<\/p>\n

12 a.m. \u2014 Good night!<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $92.22<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Two: Sunday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:55 a.m. \u2014 Alarm goes off; I do my morning routine, turn on the computer, and get to work! I eat a breakfast of cottage cheese and kiwi at my desk.<\/p>\n

12:22 p.m. \u2014 I have my dedicated lunch break. J. and I are both working from home today, and I boil up some frozen dumplings for us. I\u2019m still hungry after and end up eating some cherries from the fridge. J. eats from his desk as he has a busy day.<\/p>\n

2:15 p.m. \u2014 Done with work for the day! I\u2019m feeling tired and decide to take a nap. If the baby wants a nap, the baby gets a nap!<\/p>\n

3:32 p.m. \u2014 I\u2019m feeling so refreshed after my nap, and respond to some texts. One of my friends\u2019 dogs gave birth, and the puppies are just adorable! She explained how she was her dog\u2019s midwife and that dogs typically have home deliveries without a vet. I am very impressed by both her and her dog! I study and pass my pre-test; I sign up for my proctored exam tonight.<\/p>\n

5:45 p.m. \u2014 I start prepping dinner. Most nights, I cook for us. Tonight, it is cold peanut noodles with a side of veggies. J. finishes his work, and we have dinner together, and we talk about our day. We take a walk around the neighborhood after. We see a French bulldog in a stroller living his best life and wave hello to its owners.<\/p>\n

8:15 p.m. \u2014 I shower and do my bedtime routine. I rub lots of Bio-Oil onto my belly. After studying some more, I take my test.<\/p>\n

10:35 p.m. \u2014 Woohoo, I pass! I find J. in the living room, and we both decide to call it a night and go to bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Three: Monday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:55 a.m. \u2014 The alarm wakes me up for my last day of work before maternity leave! I do my routine and start working. J. is in-person today and brings me some fruit for breakfast before he leaves. Fruit hits different during pregnancy, it really tastes so much better!<\/p>\n

11:25 p.m. \u2014 I\u2019m starving and ready for my dedicated lunch break. I spoil myself and make a carton of mac and cheese. It\u2019s *chef\u2019s kiss* and the baby kicks around happily after. He enjoyed it as much as I did.<\/p>\n

3:20 p.m. \u2014 I log off for the day and set my away message for the next few months. The last day of work before maternity leave feels especially anticlimactic. I checked in with my boss last week and we had a meeting, but I thought she might contact me today. We have no outstanding projects, so I guess I just have to assume everything is fine.<\/p>\n

4 p.m. \u2014 I have a set weekly FaceTime session with my long-distance bestie, S. We always have the best time when we are together (even virtually), and we giggle and yap about our week. My heart always feels fuller after our chats.<\/p>\n

5:30 p.m. \u2014 J. comes home from work. He does some yard work and calls his parents, while I prep dinner. I make wontons and scallion pancakes today. We eat, chat about our day, and do our evening walk.<\/p>\n

7:45 p.m. \u2014 I shower and do my nighttime routine. J. has to do some extra work tonight, so I turn on some Bob\u2019s Burgers and I fall asleep while watching it.<\/p>\n

11:30 p.m. \u2014 J. wakes me up and gets me to bed, where I fall asleep immediately.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Four: Tuesday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

7:45 a.m. \u2014 I wake up naturally before my alarm, and play on my phone a bit. J. wakes up shortly after. It\u2019s my SIL and BIL\u2019s anniversary, so we group text them congratulations. I get up and do my morning routine: wash with plain water, brush teeth, apply sunblock (currently using Beauty of Joseon\u2019s skin tint), take a vitamin, and drink a lot of water in preparation for giving a urine sample at my doctor\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n

8:30 a.m. \u2014 J. and I head off to the OB-GYN. J.\u2019s job has been surprisingly flexible when it comes to our OB-GYN appointments, and he has been able to make most of them. We pay the copay. In this office, we aren\u2019t assigned a specific provider, but instead rotate through all the delivering physicians prior to our delivery day. We meet one of the doctors we haven\u2019t met previously, and she becomes my favorite so far. She is very knowledgeable and able to cite research to answer my questions about elective inductions. $67.63<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 a.m. \u2014 We get back home and J. starts working. We didn\u2019t have time for breakfast before we left for the appointment, and I am starving. I make brunch for us with scrambled eggs and hash browns. Since I have time, I review the medical bill from the perinatologist. We had to have some extra ultrasounds, and while insurance paid for part of it, it\u2019s still a hefty price tag. It is so expensive to have a baby in the US! I pay via online portal. $539.46<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:41 a.m. \u2014 I head off to do some grocery shopping and make returns. I talk to my dad on my drive, and he wants to come visit me and have lunch together this week. I return a sun hat that looked cuter online. At Trader Joe\u2019s, I restock on some basic essentials and some specific ingredients for recipes I want to try this week. I plan on making some shrimp tacos with mango salsa tonight. The cashier compliments me on my choice of deli chips and mini apple pies, and I feel very affirmed. $98.93<\/strong><\/p>\n

12:51 p.m. \u2014 I unpack the groceries and boil some dumplings for J. and me for lunch. I try to do some more studying but end up taking an unplanned nap.<\/p>\n

3:11 p.m. \u2014 I drive to my friend H.\u2019s place to bring her some homemade egg bites and a baby swaddle I had purchased the week before. We actually met each other through Peanut, an app like Tinder for pregnant people looking to make friends. H. happened to be the only other woman in my city who was on the app and was expecting her first, and we luckily hit it off. I haven\u2019t seen her since she had her baby (she had a complicated birth,) and it was good to see she and her baby were doing well. It was a short and sweet visit.<\/p>\n

5:45 p.m. \u2014 Time to make dinner! It\u2019s shrimp tacos tonight with coleslaw, tomatoes, and green beans as sides. J. joins me after he finishes work. For dessert, we eat some delicious chocolates from Fran\u2019s Chocolate in Seattle that J.\u2019s best friend gifted us. Mine was oolong and his was coffee. They are so good!<\/p>\n

7:15 p.m. \u2014 We do our evening walk, and I immediately need to lie down and rest when we get back because my legs got so swollen! The only shoes that fit now are a pair of buckle sandals that I expanded to their maximum length. It\u2019s just one of the fun things that happens during third trimester! J. goes to check out the yard and do some garden work.<\/p>\n

8:30 p.m. \u2014 We try watching Sandman<\/em> again, but J. falls asleep immediately. I turn it off and I doomscroll on Instagram and respond to texts.<\/p>\n

10 p.m. \u2014 I wake J. up and we both head to bed. Recently, I\u2019ve gotten into the romantasy genre and I got off the waitlist from Libby for A Court of Wings and Ruin<\/em>. After a couple of pages, I find myself nodding off and decide to go to bed.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $706.02<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Five: Wednesday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:50 a.m. \u2014 J.\u2019s alarm wakes me up and he gets ready for an in-person day. I lay in bed and play on my phone, and fall asleep again.<\/p>\n

8:15 a.m. \u2014 Ok, time to get up. I do my morning bathroom routine, air-fry a mini apple pie for breakfast, and take my vitamins with mango kefir. I turn on a recorded lecture, but it becomes accidental nap time instead (clearly, there is a pattern here!).<\/p>\n

10:15 a.m. \u2014 My mom comes over for a planned day together. She is semi-retired now, and I love that we can spend so much time with each other. She brings a home-cooked meal for J. and me to eat later tonight. We end up running some errands together, including going to a thrift store for me to drop off some clothes I wanted to sell, lunch at an Indian restaurant, and walking around a mall in a neighboring city together to see if their Pop Mart had any Labubus (sadly, they did not). I treat my mom for lunch and she treats me for ice cream after. $55.07<\/strong><\/p>\n

3:30 p.m. \u2014 Mom drops me off at home and I try to rewatch the lecture, but of course, I fall asleep instead. I\u2019m supposed to go to a prenatal yoga class via ClassPass, but completely sleep through it.<\/p>\n

5:25 p.m. \u2014 J. comes home and sees that our Cradlewise crib and Davinci glider have arrived at our door. We had purchased our crib months ago and were really excited to see how well it would work. The Cradlewise crib has a camera and uses an AI algorithm to predict when your baby needs to be soothed and will automatically start moving up and down to bounce the baby. It also connects to Spotify so you can play your personal playlists. J. builds it in our bedroom while I provide moral support and play the KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> soundtrack through it. We decided that unboxing the glider can wait till another day.<\/p>\n

7:20 p.m. \u2014 I bake the moussaka my mom made for us, and after we eat, we take our evening walk. After I shower and do my evening routine, we try to watch Sandman<\/em> again, but end up both playing on our phones because we aren\u2019t really feeling it. At least we finally finished an episode.<\/p>\n

11 p.m. \u2014 Time for bed \u2014\u00a0good night!<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $55.07<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Six: Thursday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

5 a.m. \u2014 I wake up with a stomach ache and the baby kicking like crazy. I feel a bit better after I wait it out and end up playing on my phone before falling asleep again.<\/p>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 I crawl out of bed and do my morning routine, heat up a bun for breakfast, and take my vitamins with mango kefir. Pro tip: If you have a hard time swallowing large pills, taking them with a thicker drink, like a smoothie. It makes it so much easier to go down. I read a Money Diary by a woman in Seattle. I love the slice of life the diaries capture, and often learn about relevant tips or trends, and discover something new to try. After, I start a load of laundry and do some studying.<\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. \u2014 My dad arrives and picks me up. We go for some Chinese food at a nearby restaurant and get some jook, cheung fun, and chow fun, which is fantastic. My dad treats. We head back to my place, and he shows me his new DJI Flip Drone camera in the yard. We both are really into gadgets and tech, and have fun experimenting with some of the automatic features. I\u2019m nervous about it falling and crashing into pieces, but it somehow makes it in one piece, and we review some of the videos we make, which are of great quality.<\/p>\n

3 p.m. \u2014 My dad leaves, and it\u2019s back to studying for me. My bestie, M., who is planning to visit and stay the night, texts me that she won\u2019t come until later this evening, instead of the afternoon, and I tell her it\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n

6 p.m. \u2014 My stomach still hasn\u2019t been feeling great, and I don\u2019t feel too hungry. I heat up some leftovers for J. and myself and have a light dinner. I ask J. if we can skip our evening walk today, and he heads to the yard to do some yard work while I try to watch more lectures.<\/p>\n

8:30 p.m. \u2014 Oh, no! I get a group text update from my friend that they just received some devastating news about their pregnancy. I spend some time messaging and offering support. I can\u2019t imagine how heartbroken they must be. My other friend in the group texts me in a separate message about getting a care package for them. I thank her for organizing, and venmo her. $50<\/strong><\/p>\n

9:15 p.m. \u2014 M. arrives. I haven\u2019t seen her in person in a couple of weeks since she lives over an hour away. it used to be so much easier when I lived in San Francisco! We spend some time catching up and talking about our week.<\/p>\n

10:30 p.m. \u2014 We decided to all head to bed, but between the baby kicking me and thinking about the sad pregnancy update from my friend, I had a lot of trouble falling asleep. I keep on waking up, but I finally end up actually sleeping around 1 a.m.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $50<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Seven: Friday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

7:10 a.m. \u2014 I wake up, but still feel pretty exhausted. I\u2019m not able to go back to sleep though so end up scrolling on my phone.<\/p>\n

8:10 a.m. \u2014 J. wakes up. I tell him how his son is misbehaving, and we both play on our phones in parallel. He doesn\u2019t have to start work until later this morning.<\/p>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 Eventually, we both get up and get ready for our day. J. slices all the Trader Joe\u2019s everything bagels and air fries me one. I sign up for my state disability insurance claim for maternal leave: It\u2019s surprisingly very easy. The most challenging part was getting through the authentication system five times. I emailed my OB-GYN to give them the receipt number so they can help me fill out the medical portion of the claim. In my inbox, I see a reminder that my Global Entry is expiring soon. I cross my fingers and hope that enough time has passed that my credit card will reimburse me. Filling out the Global Entry form takes longer than filling out my state disability insurance claim. $120<\/strong> (Expensed)<\/p>\n

12:15 p.m. \u2014 I take a break from my studying to make lunch for everyone. It\u2019s an assortment of leftovers. M. and I eat together while she works, and I leave a plate for J. to eat at his desk.<\/p>\n

1:30 p.m. \u2014 M. gets Summer Fridays and is off for the day. She drives us to the outdoor mall. She recently got engaged, so we went to Nordstrom to look at engagement party shoes. We also head to Anthropologie to look at engagement party dresses. I try to charm the sales assistant to see if they can squeeze us in for a wedding dress appointment, as the shop looks pretty empty, but she says they are booked. We also get some fancy smoothies- mine with pitaya and hers with a\u00e7a\u00ed. I treat us. $23.90<\/strong><\/p>\n

5 p.m. \u2014 We leave the mall and head to TJ Maxx where I buy some hyaluronic acid serum for stretch mark prevention and a MagSafe charging bank for my phone. $24.01<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:45 p.m. \u2014 M. drives us back to my city, and we stop for an early dinner at my favorite local Mexican restaurant. The portions are huge, and they have the best agua fresca. I\u2019m also obsessed with their freshly fried tortilla chips, which they generously refill, along with their salsa and bean dip. I order two tacos and a mango agua fresca for myself, and a birria tamale to share, and she orders herself some tacos and pays separately. $33.51<\/strong><\/p>\n

6:30 p.m. \u2014 Oh ho \u2014 I realize that I may have overdone it with the walking today because I am having a lot of trouble getting out of my seat and have to hobble to the car. Luckily, the car ride is short, and I am able to get myself into the house with assistance from J. and M. and lay down. This has happened another time during pregnancy after I overdid it at a concert, so I know to be patient and let my body rest. I\u2019m not really in too much pain, fortunately, and end up chatting with M. until she decides it\u2019s time to head back to her place. She\u2019s moving in with her fianc\u00e9 next week and will be pretty busy. I wonder if the next time I see her will be after the baby is born.<\/p>\n

9 p.m. \u2014 After some gentle stretching, I feel well enough to go shower and do my nighttime routine. When I come back to check on J. in the living room, I find that he has fallen asleep, and I wake him up so that he can do his routine. I scroll on my phone on the sofa and end up falling asleep as well.<\/p>\n

11 p.m. \u2014 J. wakes me up, and helps me get into bed and I fall asleep quickly.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $81.42<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Breakdown<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cOther than the medical expenses, this was a fairly typical week for me. Because I was on maternity leave, I had more time to eat out and spend time with family and friends, but not too much more than my usual spend. Reviewing my Money Diary was an interesting exercise for me, and as someone who has dreaded the idea of looking at all our debt and assets together, it made me realize that although there was a lot of debt, J. and I spend less than I expected on a week-to-week basis, and it made me feel like we\u2019re on the right track, financially. I also felt that my spending was used in what I feel are meaningful ways,\u00a0primarily for meals where I connect with family and friends, and gifts where I showed them my appreciation. After taking into account our expenses, I cancelled my ClassPass membership and clothing subscription membership, both of which I felt I wasn\u2019t using enough. I feel more comfortable being able to support our new baby financially, now that I understand how we spend.\u201d<\/p>\n

And A Little Update\u2026<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe had our baby several weeks ago, and reading through this diary feels like going through memories from a lifetime ago! My schedule has been completely upended by my little one, in a challenging but in the best way as well! Parenthood is wild, but has been so worth it so far!\u201d<\/p>\n

Money Diaries are meant to reflect an individual\u2019s experience and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29\u2019s point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend \u2014 to try on your own, check out<\/em> our guide to managing your money every day<\/em><\/a>. For more Money Diaries, click<\/em> here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve updated our Money Diaries submission process: You can now submit your Money Diary via our<\/em> online form<\/em><\/a> or by sending us a bit of information about you and your financial situation to moneydiary@refinery29.com. We pay $150 for each published diary. Apologies but we\u2019re not able to reply to every email.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We\u2019re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period \u2014 and we\u2019re tracking every last dollar. Today: a medical director who has a $715,000 joint income and who spends some of her money this week on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecotech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1172,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions\/1172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}