Homeowner’s insurance: $1,650
Car insurance: $1,850
Car registration: $900
Property taxes: $25,000
Amazon Prime: $119
Chase credit card fees: $650
Amex credit card fees: $650
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?
Yes — my parents were adamant from a young age that we attend college. They focused on education, and doing well in school was super important to them. My parents told my brother and me that no matter what school we got into or chose to attend, they would cover our undergraduate education. My brother chose to do a bachelor’s and master’s degree over his four-year education. I chose to graduate early with a bachelor’s degree.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My dad has always worked in finance and is a CFO, so money has always been part of our conversations at home. My parents openly talked about how much they made, how much we were spending as a family, how much their investments were appreciating, and so on. My parents strongly believe that other than a home and car loan, you never carry debt.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first professional job was a summer internship in college at a financial services firm in NYC — I got the internship to build my résumé (my parents paid for my summer expenses). My parents would not let me get a job in high school, since they wanted me to focus on my education and participate in extracurricular activities that would help me get into college. I was an RA in college and got paid for it, but I was required to save the money in a CD.
Did you worry about money growing up?
My parents always bought us what we needed and wanted. We knew we were growing up upper-middle class and never had to worry about money. We never got an allowance but always got money when we wanted to buy something or to spend socially. Any money we got from family for birthdays was deposited in a savings account that we were not allowed to touch.
Do you worry about money now?
We don’t really track our expenses or worry about what we are spending on a daily basis. I do worry about the future, especially as we start to grow our family and have to consider additional things like private school for our son. I leave most of the investing to my husband, W.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I started being self-sufficient when I graduated college and started my first professional full-time job. I covered all of my own expenses but knew that I had a safety net (my parents) if I fell on hard times. I was fortunate to have a job that covered all of my expenses and also let me save annually. Most of my childhood and college savings went into the down payment for our house. My parents would still gladly help us if we needed it but my hope is that I will never need to ask them to help W. and me. W. grew up in a more privileged socioeconomic position than my family so his parents are also available as a safety net if we ever need to tap into it.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I received passive income in college to pay for expenses outside of room and board and tuition — this worked out to be about $20,000 over four years of college. My parents contributed $20,000 for my wedding, W.’s parents contributed $20,000 as well, and the remainder we covered. When our son was born, my parents gave me $25,000 for the baby. We used that to start a 529 for him.
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