let's get real about money, honey
a peek at my finances, because i'm on a JOURNEY to be smarter about how i spend and save (and splurge)
are you ready to see some radical accountability/total transparency/silly overspending?! you’re in the right place! inspired by
(as so many of the best things are), i recently wrote out a week of my spending, and it was… SOMETHING.here’s her most recent post:
i’ll share mine soon, but as i got into it, i realized i actually want to take things back to the basics first.
for some context!
i am a BIG FAN of being really open about my finances, because i truly believe it only helps all of us when we are honest and we don’t gatekeep and we help empower each other.
a great place i see this modeled is on ’s Substack! i LOVE her “Home Economics” series sharing the nitty gritty of different people’s finances. here’s the most recent one:
in that vein, i want to give a primer for my financial situation, because 1. i think it’s fascinating to see this when other people share, specifically through
and 2. it’s one thing to see how much someone spends, but more helpful to see that in light of their income, their context, their lifestyle, etc. and 3. i truly think it benefits everyone when we share information! i’ve learned so much from what other people have generously shared over the years (whether coworkers sharing salary info to help empower me to fight for a raise, or learning how much others save, or hearing about high-yield savings accounts, and on and on). knowledge is power!A NOTE BEFORE WE GET INTO IT:
please be kind. it is not easy to share all of these details, as they often feel loaded with pressure to explain, or guilt and shame, or the feeling of I KNOW I KNOW LET ME LIVE, or even just things i haven’t learned yet!
our money is personal, and how we spend it reflects so much, and those can be vulnerable things to share with others, so i’d really appreciate your grace in all of this! (if you’re mean, i won’t share anymore, so THERE!!! plus i’ll be sad so don’t be a meanie)
finances for me:
i have a full-time job i love, where i make $72k-ish. my once a month paycheck is now about $4,200. (the gross is about $6,000! so there’s about $1,800 of deductions: i personally deduct $100 a month from the state to be a cushion for taxes, federal deductions take into account my additional income, insurance for medical/vision/dental is all in here, etc)
i make money on the internet (lol hardly any, tiktok payouts are LOW these days), and from occasional brand partnerships (not consistent and usually around $1k each when i have them), and from affiliate partnerships (a few hundred bucks a month ish), and from substack subscriptions (something i’d love to grow, there are currently 84 paid subscribers, about $400 of income a month). i’ve estimated for this year that i’ll make about $10k on the side from all of this, but it fluctuates a TON year to year so i don’t count on it.
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