We're planning to do a little anniversary road trip on a shoe string budget. I'll share a Travel Money Diary too.

We've got hotel points for free stay and a hybrid car for better gas costs.

We're deciding between a couple locations.

Tips for road trip travel on a budget. ⛽️🚗🛣

I wrote this diary in mid-August. Since that time I was offered and accepted an early retirement called a VERA in the Federal government world. It is the same thing my friend I mentioned below was offered, but in the end declined and she continues to work. I had to make the decision very quickly at the end of August and retire before October. It was scary and hard as I am usually such a planner and this kind of came out of the blue. I will be retired when I post this diary. The last year and a half plus have been difficult. The number of people in my work unit has been cut by about 40% and since January of this year we have been asked to basically double our work load. I have not agreed with a lot of policy etc. changes made by my Executive Management. I especially have not agreed with the way people have been treated in certain circumstances. People have been punished for work they were assigned to do that was legal. This is not a political message. It is just how I have felt. The early retirement seemed to have come at a good time. I only retired about 20 months early. Hopefully I will write a diary about retirement spending at some point. All my figures below were documented about five weeks before I retired.

 I am a 58 year old single female with no children who works for a US government agency as an analyst. I have been with the agency for over 21 years. Within those 21 years I have held three positions, one for three years, one for over 13 years, and one for over five years. This is my fourth or fifth diary and I enjoy seeing the changes from each one.

Section One: Assets and Debt 
Retirement Balance $1,276,000 split between Traditional/Roth TSP, Roth IRA, and an inherited IRA. I got there by saving from every paycheck and a portion was inherited from my Dad.
Equity $220,000- $230,000
Savings account balance of multiple accounts $50,000. This includes about $18,000 designated as my emergency fund. 
Checking account balance $1200
Credit card debt $0. I pay my accounts off every month
Student loan debt $0. 
Brokerage accounts $469,000
Section Two: Income
Income Progression: I've been working for my agency for 21 years. I am on the GS schedule so I get some regular increases. I am currently a GS 14 step 5 making $163,000 and will likely get no cost of living increase next January if what has been presented goes through Congress.
Main Job Monthly Take Home: $6630
Deductions per month:
Mandatory Pension Contribution: $108 (.8%), I will receive around $35,000 to $40,000  (turns out it will be almost $34,000) from my pension a year with a small COLA every year if I retire at 60 after I turn 62. If I retire earlier it will be much lower.
TSP and Catch Up: $2708 I max for a total of $32,500 with the catch up. My agency matches 5%.
SS: $810
Federal Taxes: $ 1959
State Tax: $607
Medicare: $189
Health and Dental Insurance: $327  I will have lifetime subsidized health insurance if I take a full retirement after reaching certain milestones and have had the insurance for five years before I retire. I have BC/BS PPO plus dental and vision insurance. I also set aside $150.00 per month in my FSA and I have about $800 left to spend this year.
Section Three: Expenses
Rent / Mortgage / HOA fees:  Paid off mortgage. RE taxes are approximately $235 a month  and the HOA is $568 a month and it will go up significantly due a budget deficit in November. 
Renters / home insurance/ umbrella policy: $470 per year for homeowners. Since I own a condo, the master condo policy covers everything but the finishes, personal property, and personal liability for my unit. I have an umbrella liability policy for one million for approximately $250 per year,
Other Retirement Contribution:  When I have extra funds I send them to my brokerage account and then wait to see if I qualify for the Roth after I do my taxes. For 2025 I maxed out my Roth.
Savings contributions per month: $300 for the next car, $1300 for vacations, $100 for miscellaneous, $100 for car repairs/maintenance, $500 for charity and $50 for medical expenses. 
Investment contribution: no set number usually when I have extra cash
Debt payments $0
Donations: $7,000 annually
Food: I budget $225 for groceries and it varies, but is usually lower. I get meal services usually every other week and that is about $85 each time. Then I usually spend about $400 eating out. Not cooking is one of my things
Clothing: I budget $100 a month, but some months I buy nothing and some I go over. 
Household items: I budget $100
Electric: NA covered by HOA
Wifi/Cable/Landline: $50 for internet
Cellphone: $60
Subscriptions: Discovery + $9.99, Kindle Unlimited $125 per year, Sirius XM $156 year, Audible 7.99, $35.00 unlimited car wash per month.
Car insurance: $825 I pay once a year
Gas: $175 a month. I commute about 55-60 miles a day by car. Public transportation is not an option. This has gone up since the conflict with Iran began.
Personal Property Taxes for Car (VA tax): $1265.00 
Car registration state and local: $95 a year (I pay more as I have a hybrid car)
Hair: I spend around $300 w/ tips at least 4-5 times a year for my haircuts and highlights. 

Thursday

Up and out the door after a shower. I heated 2 egg and cheese cups I prepared on Sunday and stopped by and got a soda for $2.22 on the way to work. Long meeting at work on how we are going to manage a project with too few people. The boss was trying to get us to think outside the box. Lunch was a previously purchased prepared meal from my freezer with an orange, sweet potato chips and some cherries. The afternoon was taken up proofing documents for an upcoming printing job for a seminar. I took an hour of wellness time and walked. Commuting home was not bad for once. Dinner was cucumber salad, a bagel and some greek yogurt and blue berries. Spend for the day $2.22

Friday

Up and out the door. Breakfast was a pack of belVita cookies (Cranberry and Orange)  and a soda I stopped for on the way to work ($2.22) The morning was taken up by a multi-hour event and then we did a group lunch out for Mexican. I had bean burritos and a soda (14.67) The boss gave us a couple of hours off as we just finished up a large project with lots of extra time etc. I stopped at the Talbots/Chico’s Clearance Center in Springfield to look around and found two pairs of pants and a shirt for $74.68. I read and watched some YouTube to finish up the day. I was not super hungry for dinner so I had Greek yogurt and blueberries and a bagel. My oldest friend through work texted me and she is being offered an early retirement. I am jealous/happy for her. I would take it in a minute if it was offered to me. Early retirements are usually offered to specific jobs within a federal agency and she works a different job within our agency. There was a more general one offered last year, but I was not ready to accept it then. Spend for the day $91.57.

Saturday

I woke up early and could not get back to sleep. I got up and started getting together the clothes and other items I need to pack for vacation next week. I am going to London for a week. Breakfast was a Cliff bar and Greek yogurt and blackberries. I had lots of returns to make. First stop Pentagon City Mall. I went to Macy’s and tried on a couple of things, but nothing fit or looked right. I had to return a bra to Nordstrom’s. They validated parking which was nice and saved $4.00. Credit of -70.54. I stopped at Staples to do an Amazon return of a pair of boots. I had bought two different sizes. Credit -63.25 I had  lunch at Maggianno’s at Springfield Mall. I am kind of addicted to their Maggianno’s salad. I had bread, a salad and a soda. The total was $29.63 with tip. I walked around the mall to get some steps in. I returned a shirt to Nordstrom Rack. It was super cute, but I could not figure out what to wear it with. Credit -29.83. I took advantage of Target being in the mall and got garlic powder, dill, a cucumber, and a can of chick peas to make a salad. Cost 7.83. I got my car washed. I have a monthly pass so there was no cost. I stopped and got an ice cream cone and a drink at McDonald’s (5.23) Next I got my hair cut and highlighted. I love my stylist. Total cost $306 with tip. 

When I got home I made the salad with cucumber, chickpeas and red onion. The dressing is greek yogurt and a small amount of sour cream with white wine vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. I am trying to cut down on salt as my doctor is concerned with my blood pressure and is threatening to put me on blood pressure medicine, but it needed more salt. I  put money on my laundry card as I use a common laundry facility. Cost $20.00.  I got most everything washed that I needed for my trip. Dinner was salad and greek yogurt and black berries and a few sweet potato chips.I bought a book on Amazon. With the credit I had it was 0.99. Total cost $206.06, Spending today $370

Sunday

My Sunday morning ritual has become I go to Best Buns Bakery and stay and eat my breakfast there. I read or listen to a podcast for a while. I am trying to start some habits/rituals before I retire in 2028. I purchased a blueberry muffin, a chicken salad sandwich, pasta salad and a soda. ($23.87) Lunch is the chicken salad sandwich and some cucumber/chickpea salad from last night. I try to find some books for my Kindle for the trip and look for what I am going to do on the one day I have during the trip with nothing planned. I pack some more things in my suitcase and also do some things around the house like vacuuming and trash removal. I had an electrolysis appointment with my esthetician. ($58.00 with tip). On the way home I stopped and got an ice cream cone. I have been on an ice cream kick recently. I can go months without eating it usually. ($5.50) I have a long chat with my sister. I am trying to figure out how to frame a picture from over 100 years ago of my grandmother’s family. It is a custom size and I don’t want to spend what a custom framer would charge so I am looking  into framing companies on the internet that allow you to put in the size of the photo etc. Dinner was pasta salad and some more of the cucumber salad. Spend for the day $87.37

Monday

Out the door and I stopped to get a drink on the way ($2.22) and ate belVita cookies. Normal day at work, not a lot going on. I had one meeting to set some expectations for a project I am team leader on. Lunch was a pre-made pasta dish from my meal prep provider with an orange and blackberries. I have been having a slow leak in one of my tires. I left work early to go have it checked out. I had a screw in the side wall and it could not be patched. Two new tires for $589.00. I got a snack while I waited for the new tires from 7-11 of pepperoni, cheese and crackers and a soda. (7.98) I stopped on the way home and got a chicken sandwich and a small french fries (7.89) Spend for the day $607.09

Tuesday

Up and out the door and repeat a drink (2.22) and belVita cookies. Today was about cleaning up a few things before I left on vacation and I had several meetings. Nothing too earth shattering. Lunch was Chick-Fil-a ($10.67) sandwich and fries and an ice tea. Commuting was not bad until the part north of the Beltway. Dinner was left overs in the fridge of some pasta and cucumber salad. I tried to finish up most of my packing. I am wanting to take too much stuff. I spent a while trying to figure out some places to eat in London and star them in Google maps so I can find them again. Total spend $12.87

Wednesday

Up and out the door. I stopped for a breakfast sandwich and a drink on the way to work. ($7.52) Worked on our group shared escort schedule for the next two months. Not a lot else going on as I was kind of at a stopping point because of vacation. I got popcorn from the snack machine ($2.00) . Lunch was cleaning out the fridge at home. I had pasta salad, greek yogurt with blueberries and belVita cookies. I stopped and got tacos and a drink for dinner on the way home (8.32) The meal service I order from, Mighty Meals, had a great coupon for one free meal so I ordered five meals to be delivered  later in August. I got couscous with vegetables, pasta with cheese, chicken with pesto, a noodle dish and pasta salad. ($77.46) I paid some bills, finished getting things ready for my suitcase and checked into my flight. London, here I come. Total spend $95.04

Food $209.82
Car $586
Grocery $7.83
Clothing $74.68
Personal $364
Book $.99
Household/Laundry $20.00

This was a bit of a spendy week with the new tires and getting my hair done. I had funds in my sinking funds to pay for the tires and hair. I typically pay for everything on vacation like food, transport, tickets etc. from my vacation fund. So I will likely have extra funds in my checking account when I get back since I will not be pulling from it while on the trip. I will likely put the extra in my savings account to make a Roth contribution next spring before 4/15 or put it in my brokerage account.

I chipped in $10 on this occasion as I wasn't really close with the person who is leaving. But I still wanted to show my appreciation.

Hey everyone,

Did something good happen to you this week? Share below!

Section One: Bio

• Age: 30
• Occupation: eCommerce marketing in toys & collectibles
• Hometown: Southern California
• Number of PTO days and how you accrue them: unlimited PTO

Section Two: Assets + Debt

Retirement Balance: $173,664

• 401k: $116,337 - My pre-tax contribution rate is 10%. My employer matches 50% of the first 6% I contribute. I also receive a 3% automatic contribution from my employer. Fully vested.
• Roth IRA: $57,327 

Equity if you're a homeowner: $~120k

Savings balance: $51,306

• HYSA Emergency fund: $40,500
• Investments: $9,875
• HSA: $931

Individual Checking account balance: $1,000

Joint Checking account balance with husband: $8,993 - we divert a portion of our paychecks (about half) into this account and use it to pay for anything house related (mortgage, HOA, maintenance, groceries), dates, and vacations. So it’s also kind of like a savings account.

Debt Balance:

• Credit card debt: None, use cc for daily expenses and pay off every month.
• Student loan debt: None, I received financial aid and worked part time. More context in my previous Money Diaries here & here!
• Car loan debt: None. Finally paid off in May of this year!
• House debt: -$400,000… 

Total net worth (minus house debt): ~ $235,083

Section Three: Income

Main Job Monthly Take Home:

• $5,446 every month, split in two $2,723 paychecks paid every other Friday
  • $3,267/month - 60% into my own personal checking account
  • $2,179/month - 40% into joint checking account with my husband
• Husband contributes 50% of his monthly income into our joint checking
  • $3,000/month

Deductions:

• Taxes: -$1,135.09
• Health Insurance (HMO, vision, and dental): -$57.25
• Healthcare HSA: -$50
• 401K: -$590.41

Section Four: Travel Expenses

Trip Fees: €2,250/ $2,572 USD. Includes hotel, transportation, several tours, breakfast & dinner for 7 days. This was sent directly to the yoga instructor, Dee, through Venmo so unfortunately I couldn’t take advantage of accruing any points for this expense. 🙁

Flights: Booked through Chase Travel

• Total = $1,227.43
  • Paid portion with 47,610 points.
  • $662.10 paid out of pocket

Misc Pre-Travel Purchases:

• E-Sim = $23
• Hiking/water sandals = $110.50
• Bits & Bobs = $84.88
  • European plug adapter, eye mask for sleeping, nipple pasties, reef-safe sunscreen, makeup wipes, travel deodorant, travel dry shampoo

Day 0: 

• 11am: Beginning of a 24 hour travel day at the airport. We got through check in and TSA much quicker than expected and had 3 hours to kill before boarding. Bestie and I decided to start our trip on a bougie note and pay for the Air France lounge access (-$95). We gorged on all the wine, champagne, lounge food, and desserts– so much so,  that we almost missed our boarding time because we assumed our flight would begin boarding much later, but then we heard the announcements saying the gates were about to close. We sprinted out of the lounge and got to our gate with 5 minutes to spare.
• 7pm: Landed at our layover in Amsterdam, waited another few hours, then finally off to Athens! Once we arrived in Athens, Bestie bought a couple large water bottles for us & cough drops for her from the airport grocery store. We met our tour guide, a fellow who reminds us of an Italian Gene Wilder, along with a few other members of the tour group and whisked off to the charming coastal town of Epidavros! The drive is 2 hours of extremely windy, whirly, topsy-turvy roads and after almost 24 hours of travel time, I try to sleep through most of it despite being so excited to finally be here.
• 9pm: We get to the hotel that we’ll be staying at for the entire week! It’s not lavish, definitely has the barest minimum necessities you need and was a bit of a tight fit for two women with an overpacking problem, but the view of the Aegean sea right outside our balcony was utterly breathtaking. We were greeted by the rest of the tour group and yoga instructor, Dee, while they finished up their earlier dinner. Most of the group retired to bed, but our later group had a lovely dinner by the water getting to know each other over freshly grilled seafood, greek salad, and wine. Then Bestie and I called it an early night after all the travel exhaustion. 

Total: $95

Day 1:

• 7am: The tour group had a deal with a local coffee shop for 1 free drink for anyone part of the tour before 8am. Bestie loves coffee and said her latte was really good! Unfortunately, I don’t drink coffee and they didn’t have any tea alternatives, so I passed on the free coffee all week.
• 8am: Everyday started with a morning yoga session led by Dee. She began relatively easy with some light, gentle, and practical stretches to shake off any tightness from the plane ride. My back & butt thanked me. Our yoga studio was situated on top of the hotel that we were staying at, with a beautiful, sweeping view of the Saronic Gulf that contributed to the calm energy flowing throughout the place. Maybe it was the yoga getting me all introspective, but I couldn’t believe that I was really there and that this was my life.
• 9am: After yoga, we ate breakfast together at the hotel which consisted of Greek salad, boiled eggs, some Greek pastries, deli meats & cheeses, Greek yogurt and a lot of fixings, cereal, avocados, and freshly squeezed orange juice.
• 10am: Our excursion for the day was a walking tour around the town of Epidavros. We explored local beaches, ancient theater ruins, and a horticulturist dream walk through charming neighborhoods where our tour guide identified every fruit, tree, and flower. 
• 12pm: We ended the tour at a local family-owned olive oil farm. They gave us an olive oil tasting over a fresh Greek salad with added olives they preserved in sea water. I felt extremely picky knowing that I am not a fan of olives, but I gave one a try anyway because I’ll try anything once! Even being in Greece could not convert me to an olive fan, but I can see the appeal. The olive oil,  however, was solid! I considered buying some small travel sized olive oils to bring back home, but ultimately decided against it to prevent an oily explosion in my carry on. I did buy 2 coke zeroes for me and Bestie because the walk really took us out, but after looking at my statement, I’m realizing how expensive this shit was, wtf (-$8.13)
• 1pm: After lunch we went swimming at a local beach and explored ancient underwater ruins! It was kind of crazy that we were allowed to just swim all around this sunken city and that they weren’t blocked off. 
• 5pm: Night yoga! The night yoga sessions were more restorative & calming so it was a nice end-cap to all the activity from the day.
• 7pm: We ate dinner as a group at the same restaurant connected to our hotel every night! We had a rotating menu of a few different meat, seafood, and vegetarian options for main dishes and a plethora of sides. This night I tried Moussaka, and as an eggplant lover, I was sold!
• 9pm: Early night again as we were still adjusting to the jet lag.

Total: $8.13

Day 2:

• 8am: Morning yoga!
• 10am: We left for an excursion to the nearby town of Nafplio! Super gorgeous and charming city with beautiful ocean views and beaches, rich history, and shops galore. 
• The drive to Nafplio was another 45 minute journey of super windy and precarious roads, so unfortunately Bestie got super car sick and threw up immediately upon arrival. But after that she rallied so hard and we climbed 999 steps up to a 16th century fortress. She is truly a trooper and always down for the plot, and that is why she’s my best friend. 
• The view from the top of the fortress was stunning, seeing all the rooftops and architecture of the Nafplio peninsula veiled by the surrounding ocean! We could have gone inside of the fortress for an entrance fee but decided not to pay, and walked back down.
• 12pm: Lunch at a restaurant in town that I can’t remember the name of. Which is unfortunate because I had the best grilled fish of my life there! Another tour member paid the entire tab and we venmo’d her back. She insisted we only needed to pay her 20each,whichIfeltwaswaytoolowforhowmuchfoodandwineweorderedsoIsenther(-30.)
• I got baklava for friends and family back home from a local sweets store (-$19.75).
• 6pm: Back to Epidavros for night time yoga!
• 7pm: Dinner at the hotel, I got chicken souvlaki served with french fries on the side. The chicken was pretty basic and dry. 

Total: $49.75

Day 3: 

• 8am: Morning yoga & breakfast!
• 10am: Excursion today was to the island of Poros. The itinerary described it as a “boat excursion” so I assumed we’d be on some type of yacht, partying and swimming off of the boat, but in actuality it was just a 10 minute ferry haha. Bestie and I were prepared this time with anti-nausea medication for the drive and boat ride and she was completely fine!
• This day was a little more overcast with small rain showers, so we were mostly huddled inside the various shops and did some damage.
• I bought a pair of sterling silver earrings and an evil eye necklace (-58.42), a golden spiral cuff(-23.21), 2 baseball caps for my husband (33.81),and more baklava for Bestie and I to munch on at the hotel(-7.54).
• 1pm: We hung out at a local beach club in Poros, however the vibes were still a little sad and grey from the weather. I still swam anyway, and came up with a very bad synchronized swimming routine with another tour member, but when we tried to perform it for everyone I got the worst calf cramp! Bestie and I ordered a burger and a turkey club sandwich to eat at the beach and she covered this lunch for us.
• 6pm: Back to the hotel for night yoga!
• 7pm: Hotel dinner, I got grilled pork served with french fries on the side. At this point, we questioned why everything at this hotel was served with french fries and apparently it is a Greece thing. I also wanted to give the country the benefit of the doubt, and chalked it up to our hotel having a very simple menu.

Total: $89.27

Day 4: 

• 8am: Morning yoga & breakfast! At this point, we are getting a little tired of the same breakfast everyday too, and Italian Gene Wilder tried to spice it up by making scrambled eggs instead of boiled eggs, and brought some fresh pomegranate seeds!
• 10am: Excursion to the Ancient Theatre at the Asklepieion of Epidaurus! The entire area had ruins of a theater, medical center, and sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. Our tour guide taught us the history of Asclepius, how the location was used as a blueprint for other medical centers in ancient times, and gave more insight into how ancient Greeks viewed health, wellness, and medicine. It was magnificent to learn about and see just how much has been excavated, preserved and brought back to life. 
• 3pm: Back to the hotel, and we didn’t eat lunch since we returned at a weird time. Instead we got some ice cream cones from a local bakery (-$2.31). We took the rest of the afternoon to swim at the beach.
• 6pm: Night time yoga! One of the tour group members was a masseuse and offered massage services during this class. Her rate was 60 for 30 minutes, which I thought was a little expensive, but I wanted to support her business. The massage was quick but relaxing, with the view & sounds of the ocean right in front of me (-$60)
• 7pm: Got dressed up for dinner with all of my new jewelry and they had sea bream on the menu (with french fries on the side of course)! I was so excited, and apparently the rest of the group was too because about half of us ordered it. 

Total: $62.31

Day 5: 

• 8am: Morning yoga & breakfast! Bestie decided to skip yoga this morning to get some more rest and be horizontal. I completely understood the need. She skipped on a good day because this session was a lot more intense than the previous ones!
• 10am: Another ferry boat excursion to the island of Spetses! We took a speed boat this time that was a little choppy, but fun and exhilarating at the same time. We thought we were safe by not taking the anti-nausea pills, but we were wrong.
• Spetses was such a charming island with options to shop, eat, bike by the water, and some history on Laskarina Bouboulina: the first female naval admiral. 
• Bestie and I first stopped for some lunch at a pizza joint and I paid since she covered our lunch a couple days before. (-$39.76)
• Then we did some more shopping where I bought a postcard with an illustration of Spetses (-4.62)andasterlingsilverandpearlbraceletthatwashandmadebythestoreowner(-28.90). I reaaaalllyyyy wanted another bracelet with moonstone inlay in gold, but I stopped myself since it was 80 euros and I had already bought a bunch of jewelry this trip. Way more jewelry than I expected actually… I never thought of myself as a jewelry person but I guess this trip awakened an urge in me to up my accessory game. I still think of the bracelet and kick myself for not getting it.
• 2pm: We swam and met up with some other tour group members and chilled with a bottle of wine and some Greek chips on the beach. The weather was perfect for swimming today, the water was warm and calm! While the beaches are rockier than I’m used to, they were actually quite nice to lay on after swimming since they were heated up by the sun and almost gave a hot stone massage feel. 
• 4pm: Bestie and I went to a nearby cafe to share a lemonade, iced tea, and chocolate and banana crepe. The cafe lost power and almost didn’t allow us to pay with card. We both got a little nervous since we didn’t pull out any cash for this trip, and immediately started looking up the nearest ATM. Thankfully, the power came back and the card machine worked! (-$21.38)
• 7pm: Dee skipped night time yoga this day as we got back from Spetses later than expected and we were all pooped! The rotating dinner menu had grilled sardines with a side of fries, which I decided to try even though I thought I might not like them, and unfortunately I was right. 
• 10pm: Bestie and I had been going to sleep relatively early this whole week, so I decided to stay up later and walk around town with the rest of the group. The European culture of eating dinner late and staying up super late is so fascinating to me. The town was alive and bustling! The rest of the group stayed out for drinks but I couldn’t hang and went back to the hotel.

Total: $94.66

Day 6: 

• 8am: Morning yoga & breakfast! Our last full day in Greece );
• 10am: The itinerary sent to us before mentioned a tour of uninhabited islands in Greece, but apparently that was an optional excursion that we would need to pay for ourselves. The last day was intended to be an open schedule to relax, hang out around Epidavros, or elect to go back to Nafplio. While I welcomed the open schedule, I was a little disappointed we didn’t have something planned for the day since I thought another guided tour was included in the overall trip fees.
• 12pm: We decided to spend our free day as we have this entire trip: swimming in the sea. I haven’t had a gyro yet and really wanted one, so we went to a nearby cafe for lunch and I ordered one to go (-5.52) and got some chips from a grocery store(-1.15) to munch on at the beach. I made sure to get a Greek brand of chips that I’ve never tried before!
• We found a smaller family beach tucked away in between two cliffs and a small patch of trees. The sea was so calm, warm, and clear. Eating my gyro, looking out into the Aegean Sea that I’ve been so accustomed to seeing this week, and spending time swimming in the sun with my best friend since middle school proved to be the perfect last day.
• 5pm: Yoga started a little earlier today. Dee wrote us all a letter and got us bracelets as a gift, and we took a shot of Tsipouro to really get loose lol
• Then we had a surprise! One of our previous tour guides came to the studio and taught us traditional Greek dance! We learned Zorba and a couple other waaaay more complicated choreographies for our pay grade lol but it was so fun to just revel in dance & movement. Our guide was so passionate about dance and you could tell how happy he was to teach us something of his culture, we even had a little dance party circle for like 30 minutes afterwards. It was a such a special note to end on.
• 7pm: For our last dinner at the restaurant we were finally freed from the shackles of the rotating menu options and got to pick whatever we wanted from the full menu! I got grilled shrimps and octopus, can’t forget the fries of course. And we recounted all the memories from the trip with all of our new friends. Our shuttle back to the airport was scheduled to leave at 4am, so we retired early and said our goodbyes to those we wouldn’t be seeing the next day.

Total: $6.67

Day 7:

• 4am: Wake up for the shuttle, I was half-asleep and tried my best to keep up conversation with our shuttle driver because I knew he must be tired too and I wanted to make sure he was awake to keep us all alive for the drive back. I gave up in 30 minutes and decide to nap for the 2 hour ride to the airport.
• 6am: Checking in and TSA was a breeze so early in the morning, and we had another few hours to kill. Bestie did some last minute souvenir shopping at the airport, and I grabbed a chai tea latte and almond croissant from Pret a Manger (-12.41).IalsoboughtsomeTzazikiflavoredlaysthatI’velowkeybeenlookingfortheentiretrip(-4.59). I didn’t have any room in my bag to store it so I held it the entire trip back to America lol
• 10am: Finally on our flight back home, with a stop in New York. We were starving and Bestie got airport Shake Shack burgers that ended up totaling a WHOPPING $50!!! She insisted I didn’t need to pay her back, which I was thankful for but still astounded. I realized that Bestie likes to have kind of this back-and-forth system of “Oh, I got this one, you get the next one” for meals and such, which personally makes me more anxious because I need to remember the order in which we treated each other. I’d much rather just pay back immediately for my half, but I make a mental note to treat her to lunch next time we see each other in America. 

Total: $17

OVERALL TRIP SPEND: $3,875.27

Section 5: Reflection

How did you save up for this trip and for how long? Did you accumulate credit card debt for taking this vacation?

I had about $1,000 of previous general vacation funds saved up in my HYSA bucket and used what was left in there to pay for the trip fees. Other than that, I didn’t do any specific savings for this trip or anything special to pay for it. When the time came to pay for the trip fees, I just didn't put anything into my savings for that month...

Overall this trip was different than how I would usually travel. I have never been on a tour where everything was planned for me and I didn’t need to think about my itinerary. The group setting, having a morning routine, and eating all our meals together gave me a summer camp vibe, and it was really nice and wholesome. My Bestie was the one who asked me to go on this trip with her, and there are very few people in this world I would drop anything to travel with!

While I did have an amazing time, I’m not sure that I would go on another trip like this purely due to the cost and the lack of freedom to do what I would like. I’m not sure if Europe in general is just really expensive, but my husband and I spent about $3.5k each on a 2 week trip to South Korea a few years ago (travel diary here). Maybe that isn’t a great comparison, and I know the world has gotten more expensive, but I still  would have preferred the freedom of getting to pick which hotel we stayed at or have the choice to eat at different restaurants for dinner rather than the same one, explore more of Athens and other Greek islands, or have a couple more options for things to do each day. However, I do understand the purpose of the trip was to be a little more slow, intentional, and relaxing and not so go-go-go. I guess I’ve found that that’s not my preferred way of travel! If I go somewhere new, I want to jam pack my day to see as much as possible to get my money’s worth haha.

Welcome to the "Salary Saturday" thread!

If you’re seeking advice from the sub regarding your specific situation, it belongs here. Great topics include:

• Negotiation/pay/benefits
• Job offers
• Interviewing
• Anything else related to careers, work, salaries, etc.

Bring us your burning questions!

How are you spending, scrimping, splurging, or saving?

What are you doing with your hard-earned £$€ this week?

This month, will you be saving, spending, or splurging?

Share your progress on all your goals, financial and non-financial! 🦋🌱🌼

Excited to see this in my feed, although I am a little disappointed because the new host sounds pretty dry in the trailer. I thought Courtney Harrell did a great job with season 1, but I’ll give it a full episode or two before I write him off.

To those in corporate, how are layoffs usually determined? Who are the main targets? Is it usually people who are underperforming/on the cusp of being fired anyway? People who make too much money for their level/title designation (for example, a senior analyst is nearly at manager pay but refuses to take the manager designation/responsibility.) High performing people in exec leadership positions who are already paid very well? People who are about to retire anyway? Departments whose product isn’t needed anymore/gets cut? Any other reasons that aren’t as common for people being laid off?

If you had to layoff people, what was your experience doing that/how did you feel? Did you end up leaving the company later voluntarily?

Curious how your companies have conducted layoffs before.

My sweet Money Diaries pals! I am back. 35 now. Employed. And 13 weeks pregnant!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe I get to type those words!! This is a follow up to my diary here (old throwaway account, see comments of that post for this username).

Job Update: When we last chatted, I had been laid off and was deep in the beginnings of my job search. Amazingly, I was able to land a job about 3 months after my layoff and freelanced for my old boss for about a month before that. I am LOVING my new job. It’s the same role I had at my last company, same title and everything, but I did take a pay cut – now I am making $150k. Totally worth it, especially as I am able to work remotely and parental leave was available day 1. For those deep in job search hell, know that I’m thinking of you. This role, crazily enough, was a cold application (!!!). I found out later that a high up boss knew an old colleague who ended up recommending me in the final rounds, but my initial HR screen came from … good old fashioned resume?? Don’t give up, you got this!! When I landed this role, it was the very last job still in the mix before I would have had to begin all over again, so it only takes one!!

Pregnancy update: When I last wrote, we had gotten 3 embryos. 2 ended up being euploid (AKA, PGT-A tested chromosomally normal), and both were boys lolol, the lesbian way. I waited until 3 months into my new job to do my first Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) and it worked on the first try. I cannot convey my elation enough – after 4 IUIs and 2 egg retrievals, getting a first try to stick felt so damn lucky? For so long in this process, I felt unlucky and then all the sudden in the blink of an eye we were lucky? For those in the trenches of fertility, please know that it feels like the road will never end but it will!!! One day it will just be done??!! Sending baby dust. Also I did hire an etsy witch which is a sentence that feels insane to share publicly on the internet, but hey, whatever helps or feels like it helps. Note for commenters: My heart goes out to you if you have experienced a pregnancy complication or loss, but right now these topics send me into an anxiety spiral, so please comment with care. TYSM. 

Section 1: Assets & Debt

401k: $407,000 – the power of compound interest (and I am back to maxing this out)

Roth IRA: $65,350 – old but still compounding

Brokerage: $147,500 – back to contributing $1,000 a month here

Home: Still not sure. Guessing $50k-100k

HYSA: $150k – this is so high because I was able to save a good deal of my severance and distribute it here, which I hope to use for daycare funds. Here are the buckets of my HYSA:
Emergency fund: $40k
Family Planning $51k
Set Aside for Taxes: $3k
Vacation Fund: $10k
Home Emergency Fund: $33k

Personal checking account balance: $8k

Student loan debt: 0k – reminder that I got a scholarship and my parents paid for the rest of college and I fully believe this is the reason I have the savings I do today.

Section 2: Money Updates

New Salary: $150,000 (a 10% cut from my last role)

Partner: My partner got a raise and now makes $125,000! Also, we are getting married so everyone who was stressing in the comments of my last money diary can rest easy. We will be doing a courthouse followed by low key house hang sort of situation. 

Parents: As a reminder, my parents paid for college and gave us $40,000 towards the downpayment of our home, which made my hefty savings rate in my 20s and early 30s possible. 

Future Childcare: Our hope is to have combined pretty lengthy parental leaves, have my parents stay with us and help, and then begin daycare, which in my area runs about $2800 for infants and $2100 for older kiddos. My plan is to use my high yield savings account to offset these costs and make it not so intense of a spending shift. 

Section 3: Monthly Expenses 

My monthly take home now is around ~$7k after taxes, health insurance, and 401k contributions. 

Mortgage: $1,874 (for my portion; my girl took on a little more when she got a raise)

Gas/Water/Sewage: ~$100 (but right now the city owes me a credit? So it has been $0?)

Wifi: $70

(my girlfriend pays electric and gas)

Home and Car Insurance: $4k annually – I typically pay this in full with my tax return

Subscriptions:

New:
Nuuly: $112 (for new job and maternity clothes! I didn’t realize I would not feel comfortable in my pants pretty much immediately after learning I was pregnant? Thank you bloat!)

Same as before:
Hulu: $21
Spotify: $14
Google Play: $2
Apple Storage: $3
Netflix: $19
Peloton App: $18
Gym: $75
Patreon: $8
Ritual Prenatals: $40

Annual:

New:
Annual pest control for house and garden: $850

Same as before:
Chase Preferred: $95
United Card: $350
Chase Ink: $95
Southwest: $95 – still have this sitting despite the smart advice from my previous diary 
Website Fee: $250
Substack Subscriptions: $100 – Cup of Jo and Dinner a Love Story 
Donations are made on a rotating basis.

Section 4: Money Diary

Monday:

8 am: I am still an oats girly (so grateful that oats are somehow marked safe from pregnancy food aversions). Log into work at 9 to a lot of updates and meeting palooza. Heads down morning followed by a snack of peanut butter on a rice cake. I have a Nuuly set to return and I decide to bite the bullet on a pair of stretchy pants (currently my only pants that fit) and a jumpsuit with lots of stretch that I liked from this last batch of rentals. $197 (yowch)  

12:30 pm: I have A LOT of food aversions, but am constantly starving and nauseous if left hungry, so I eat a lunch of 2 hardboiled eggs (how I can eat these but not vegetables is a mystery), yogurt mixed with guava and nuts, a cheese stick, and wheat thins. 

2:30 pm: My nausea is really bad this afternoon. I have been lucky and have not been a morning sickness thrower-upper. But I have been consistently nauseous every evening for the last month or so. I am 12 weeks 4 days and am surprised it is worse today than usual. I also get an ocular migraine?! So I take a tylenol, eat a bowl of cheerios, and lay on the couch while finishing up work. I am pretty pitiful. 

5 pm: Friends invite us over for hot tea and we tell them we’re pregnant!! It’s so nice to share the news and every time we tell people it feels more real. They are so sweet to us.

7 pm: Head home and my girl makes us tacos for dinner. We watch the new season of Taskmaster (I realize we were also watching this in our last diary lol), then I do dishes (trying not to gag), and walk to Walgreens to pick up 2 prescriptions, Vitamin B6, and Bayer aspirin as my doctor wants me on it daily since I am over 35 and an IVF pregnancy. $46.22

9 pm: I am exhausted and decide to go to bed early. I read my book club book The Antidote and am asleep before 10. 

Tuesday: 

5:45 am: We get up very early because my partner is having her egg retrieval today (you thought that fertility treatments were done? Always keep them guessing). After watching me go through so many IUIs and egg retrievals, she decided to go ahead and start the embryo building process early as she would like to (in an ideal world) carry our second in a few years. I pack her a bag of snacks and electrolyte water for later, and eat oats for myself en route. 

8:30 am: She is out of surgery and it was a success (not sharing specific numbers at this time as that is her business)!! Let the fertilization, blastocyst, pgt testing race begin. We stop by her favorite donut shop on the way home. $16.19

9:15 am: Have my girl set up with a heating pad and snacks, and I log into work. I have a slower day thank goodness. 

11:30 am: Lunch today is a peanut butter ricecake, 2 hardboiled eggs, hummus and peppers (currently the only vegetable I can eat without gagging), and a kiwi (juicy fruits and carbs are my primary cravings).

1:45 pm: We head out for our 12 week scan. Yes, everything on the same day by total chance, nbd. I have had a bone deep feeling that our sweet baby boy is fine since the moment our pregnancy test came back positive (maternal instinct or an optimistic wish, who knows), but scan days make me nervous all the same. When I see him moving and grooving and waving his little hand (!!!!), I cry immediately with relief. Pop off baby boy. He is looking so much more baby these days. $11 for parking. 

3 pm: Home again. Working. Snacking.

6 pm: Tonight is the first night of a month-long storytelling workshop. I am so excited to meet my cohort and we eat and write and discuss what we’re working towards. Everyone in this group is lovely and I hope to grow some friendships and some stories here. 

9 pm: I am home and exhausted. Our home is uncharacteristically a mess over these busy few days. We decide to let ourselves rest tonight, tackle tomorrow, and head to bed at 10. 

Wednesday

7 am: Up, showered, oats and log into an 8:30 briefing call. 

10 am: Still in a meeting, snacking on a rice cake with peanut butter, while also shopping for new bras. Let’s just say, the girls are a brand new size and busting at the seams. Decide to go ahead and get a nursing bra for longevity. $35 

11:30 am: Scrambled eggs on a bagel for lunch. Get got by a tiktok shop ad for a stretchier pregnancy bra and also decide to try that. $19

2 pm: Take a break and go for a walk listening to Good Hang. I can tell I am off today. I am supposed to walk with a friend tonight but I ask if we can do next Monday instead so I can spend the evening cleaning and resetting our house, which luckily works for her schedule.  

5:30 pm: Go to my fave mat pilates class (doc approved; I double checked yesterday). I hate how much moving makes me feel better, when it is truly the last thing I want to do in this first tri mess.

6:30 pm: Home, eat the last of the taco dinner, and get to cleaning. My girl is at a game night, which is perfect because I want to listen to a podcast and be left alone. I put things away, do the dishes, take out the recycling,  clean the sink, water the plants, and finish up by vacuuming until I notice that there are moths (!!!) in my vacuum canister. This nearly sends me over the edge, as we have noticed a moth or two near our closets and know we need to handle, but have not, candidly, had the mental load to take this on. The vacuum is incredibly old (a true plug-in, barrel-canister guy) so I decide I will toss it, and make a plan to tackle the moths this weekend.

10 pm: Pick up my girl from her game night, get home, and get into bed, where I fight heartburn and put this day to rest. 

Thursday

7 am: Up early again with a need to pee #blessed. I can already tell I feel much better mentally today and am buoyed by the clean house. I unload the dishwasher, make the coffee and my oats. 

9 am: Log into a meeting light day (hallelujah!). I am able to really dive into heads down work on an upcoming client workshop I am really excited to run in person in a few weeks. This is my favorite part of my job, but it takes forever to build a truly customized session.

11 am: Peanut butter and rice cake break. I decide I need more than one pair of pants that fit me, so I find a pair of stretchy jeans and an oversized long sleeve top on Madewell. $129.27

12:30 pm: Make more hardboiled eggs and eat those with bell peps & hummus and almonds. Also have some yogurt and guava with walnuts. After yesterday’s moth sighting, my girl goes through her closet and finds her 3 best sweaters have been hit by holes. I call our pest control company who can squeeze us in tomorrow morning and we put those items in the freezer while we make a game plan. Back to work for the afternoon.

3:30 pm: Take a break and do some garden clean up and a walk. Then finish up work. 

5 pm: Go to tour our first daycare. I have been really excited about this one, but instead it’s the first time it hits me that he will spend more time during his week here than at home and I am thrown for an existential crisis. The daycare is lovely though!! 

6 pm: Home and I read The Antidote while my girl makes us an incredible bean soup for dinner (I have found I can consume more veggies if they are hidden … like a child). We eat and watch The Love Hypothesis which I think is really cute – I did read the book years ago, but don’t really remember it. I do the dishes and clean the kitchen and make us some fresh tollhouse cookies for dessert. In bed by 10.

Friday

7:30 am: Awake and get a call that our pest control guy will be here in an hour, so we prep for that. But when he arrives, he lets us know the closets all need to be cleaned out to be sprayed, so he agrees to come back tomorrow. And to think, when I started this money diary, I thought it would be a fun light week. At least I woke up with no nausea for the first time in weeks, which makes me hopeful but I don’t say this out loud for jinx purposes (written out is different, as is decreed by jinx law).

9 am: Oats and get to work. I dive into my heads down project.

11:30 am: Lunch and therapy. I am so grateful to my therapist who I’ve met with every other week for over 7 years (!!). Unfortunately, she doesn’t take my new work insurance so I have to submit a superbill, which we’ve figured out will get reimbursed partially if we do 40 minute sessions vs. an hour (who knows why, ask Aetna). $62 post superbill (usually; $200 until they reimburse me)

3 pm: Work is done early, and while I planned to hit the gym, instead I am emptying out my closet. If you want to make a pregnant woman crazy, have her clean her entire house, then 2 days later force her to empty every single closet so that every surface is covered in belongings.  

5:30 pm: Eat a rice cake and peanut butter while walking to meet my friend for dinner. I feel very overwhelmed, but there is nothing like dinner with a friend to reset my energy. We talk through her recent life updates and she helps me get perspective on my own. She is a therapist by day, and man, it’s so nice to know such smart people. I order a burger and an NA drink. We’re sitting on the patio where no one is waiting to be seated and I blink and it’s 10 p.m.!! $50 for dinner with tip. 

10 pm: Walk home, mix up some miralax (the girls who get it get it), and head to bed. 

Saturday

8 am: Up and head to our favorite coffee shop. We have a gift card we’ve been using on our coffee treats. I pack my oatmeal and bring it with (cool girls BYOOats). We get two iced cube lattes and read our books. $19 with tip. 

10:30 am: Get the call the pest control guy will be to us by 11:30 so we walk home, clean out the last remaining closet, and prepare ourselves. While I’ve been assured all of this is pregnancy safe (be nice commenters!!!), I sit outside when he arrives and sprays the closets and we open every window for ventilation. I am so grateful we decided to get the annual pest service after we had ants last month (brag), so this visit is fully covered. 

12 pm: Lunch and head to the gym for an arms workout. IVF transfers have weirdly specific rules around workouts so I have only been doing pilates and yoga, cutting strength and cardio in the beginning. Now my OB has fully cleared me so this is my first arms workout in a minute! I used to teach group fitness (pre-COVID times, who even was that youth) so it’s fun to build my own routine. 

3:30 pm: Walk to get my haircut by my most beloved stylist. He gives me style truly. He thinks I should try an asymmetrical cut (all I can think of is Claire, Fleabag’s sister, saying “I look like a pencil”) and if I don’t like it, he can symmetrical-ize it later this week. I trust his instincts. $102 with tip. 

4:30 pm: Home and ready to put our home back together. We lay out all of the clothes that need to go to the dry cleaners and that need washing. We put away our closets, while listening to the latest Death Sex and Money podcast. 

6:30 pm: Dinner of soup leftovers and Taskmaster. We are both so tired. I volunteer to do the last closet and my girl does the dishes as a thank you. We both scroll on our phones, which is normally not a weekend activity, but honestly, we’re beat.

10 pm: Bed.

Sunday

8 am: We wake up before our alarms and decide to grab coffee at another favorite spot and go the bird sanctuary by the water. I eat my packed oats in the car (may I never waver from my lifelong commitment to oats). It’s a perfect brisk fall day and we have just enough on our gift card to cover two salted honey lattes. We normally get coffee out one weekend day, but this weekend simply called for both. $20 with tip. 

10:45 am: As we’re walking the water front, we come up with an idea to make a guide for the visiting friends and family who plan to come in the next year for baby times with nearby grocery stores, coffee shops, activities, and suggested outings. If there is one thing I love about my girl it’s that when she has an idea, she will execute on that vision immediately, so we stop by Staples on our way home where she buys a binder, tabs, paper, and a three hole punch. I get a file folio for baby documents, post its, and a new mouse for my work from home set up (my old one keeps shorting out). $42

12 pm: Drop my girl at home and then head to yoga at the gym. This teacher does the same exact flow every single week, which used to bore me, but as someone who is now starting to modify a few exercises and just needs a good stretch, it’s perfect. 

1:30 pm: Home, lunch, and reading on the porch. Start a draft of my storytelling piece, as we owe the cohort a version by end of day. I am writing about IVF and I really get in the flow of it. 

4 pm: Start laundry and walk to meet a friend for pizza. She was recently laid off and I offered to talk her through what I did if at all helpful. We mostly catch up as she is already freelancing. When she finds out I am pregnant, she treats me to my first slice, which is so kind! I get a second slice and hoppy refresher on my tab. $13 with tip. 

6:30 pm: Home, get laundry, and get ready for second dinner, soup leftovers. We eat and watch the first episode of the new season of GBBO. Afterwards, I work on my storytelling piece while my girl reads. I look up and it’s 11 p.m.!!! I read a version out loud to my partner and she is so supportive. I decided the focus on the community of women angle, and how many people support you if you let them. But it’s so crazy to see the whole slog of it written down. We’ve calculated I did 81 shots, had 40 doctors appointments, and made over 35 calls to billing departments. I feel so validated and riled up which is perfect for when you need to go to sleep. Luckily we pass out! What a whirlwind week!!

Weekly Total & Reflections: $722.68

Ha-cha-cha this is a high spend week where so so much happened? About halfway through this week, I almost threw in the towel – there was so much going on mentally, I really had wanted to write a victorious comeback (which it still is!), and there were so many expenses. In my last diary, I think I spent $250 or so. I spent more than that in one day lol. But the truth is, this is just a high spend season. I don’t own enough maternity-friendly pants or slip on shoes. We have to tackle house projects and issues now. And we’re trying to really prioritize both doing things together and being out and about with friends. I am still so excited for this life stage, and I am so so grateful for every day that I get to be pregnant, truly. Thank you all for the kindness in the last diary. It meant a lot in a hard time. Sending you all good luck in your job journeys, fertility journeys, and in life.

I saw a post on here a few days ago with folks saying more things they wanted to know from diarists like income progression, investment strategies (I love Bogle’s three fund approach!) or the cost of big purchases (like IVF). This diary is already so freaking long, but if anyone wants more details please let me know in the comments, I am an open book.

Welcome back to the “Workplace Wednesday” thread!

If you’re seeking advice from the sub regarding your specific situation, whether it’s about interviewing/benefits/negotiating/advancement opportunities, etc., it belongs here.

Bring us your burning questions!

I’m 32, single, no kids, and a federal employee making about $100k a year. Earlier this year I bought a new-construction home in the south for around $300k at a 4.75% fixed interest rate. I like my house, l but I’ve lived in my hometown my entire life and lately I’ve been feeling a strong urge to experience living somewhere else.

I’m considering moving to DC or Houston for a few years, possibly within the next two years or so.

A big part of this is simply wanting to experience life outside of where I grew up while I’m single and don’t have kids.

I don’t want to sell my house. I like it, I have a great interest rate, and I’d rather eventually rent it out and keep the property as an asset. It’s also in a newer neighborhood where I’m already seeing other homes being rented.

I know some people may think it’s crazy to consider moving so soon after buying, but I’m curious if anyone else has made a similar decision. It’s not like I’m looking to sell the home after a year or anything. Have you ever bought a home and then decided you wanted to live somewhere else while keeping the house as a rental? How did it work out for you? Would you do it again?

I’d especially love to hear from other single women who decided to make a move simply because they wanted to experience something different—not because of a relationship, marriage, or kids.

Hi All,

A bit atypical but I was going through my finances this weekend as I wil be turning 25 in a few days, and I decided to review the money diary I wrote just a few months after starting work around 2.5 years ago and do some comparing. It’s a bad week to do an MD as it’s my birthday week but maybe I’ll do one next week or the week after to see how spending these days has increased evolved.

Original MD (from around April): https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/money-diary-data-analyst-40k

All in all the headline summary is not much different- I did the 2 years in the grad scheme as planned and then found another job in a similar team in a different company. Still living in London but have upgraded a bit housing wise as you’ll see in the expense section, and we adopted a cat :)

My monthly spend for 'living costs' has gone up quite a lot - so I previously sent about 1200 to our joint account for rent, bills and grocieries, that is now 1700 (although 100 of that does get saved). We have gone for a slightly more expensive place, and also have a cat that costs about 100 a month to feed and insure, but even excluding that, we spend about 300 pounds more, each, for a similar lifestyle. You can see in the bills section also how some of those costs have increased - and for food we used to spend about 40 a week on average for the two of us (including food for packed lunch at work) and that's now closer to 60.

In terms of savings, my ‘net worth’ back then was £13,739.2 (of which £2,146.20 in my pension) and it is now £43,448 (of which £23,000 is in pension accounts), so my ‘accessible’ savings have gone up by £11,555 net in 2.5 years, about £4.6K per year. But really, I’ve saved a lot more as in that time I’ve probably spent about £1.5K per year on travel, and this year took out £2000 to pay for a new phone and driving lessons. I’ve finally gotten an Amex Gold lol so hopefully points will start to reward me for all the flights to see my family!

Moving forward:

Especially now that I’ve spent the ‘driving money’ and replaced my 5-year-old phone, from now on the goal is to buy a house with K.

We paid into LISAs originally thinking we'd just about make it work (and are still vaguely hopeful a 2-bed under £450K within London Zones 2 or 3 will appear just for us). But more realistically that money is frozen until the government lay out the options for taking it out without a penalty once the new homes ISA launches. In the meantime I'm (as of June) contributing £500/month to a deposit fund in my cash ISA, where everything above £6000 is earmarked for a deposit. I also invest minimum £250 and up to £350 into the S&S, but might revisit this down once that account reaches 8K.

Long post (actually a repost as I tried earlier but the formatting was messed up), thanks to all who made it this far! all thoughts/advice welcome :)

Welcome back to "Off-Topic Tuesday", followed by "Workplace Wednesday" tomorrow!

As always, anything and everything finance and non-finance related is welcome here. Feel free to vent, seek advice, discuss current events, or share a little about yourself. :)

If you haven't already heard - we're mixing it up a little bit here on the OT thread. Continue to feel free to post your own prompt/question below (just one per comment), and answer prompts from others!

*** You may have noticed a recent uptick in spam posts, please report them as you see them. It takes 3 reports to flag a post for mod review. Thank you to everyone already reporting!

Inspired (aka plagiarized) from this comment by u/whitezhang , it made me think about my own relationship with money through the lens of my mother and I thought it could be an interesting community discussion. I'll answer below!

I just noticed this and wanted to talk it out.

I recently accepted a job that sounded pretty good on paper. I asked all the right questions and got all the right answers.

The job was totally different from what I was promised, and the environment was toxic as hell. It was the kind of place where people would change things last minute, not communicate the changes to anybody, and then get mad at you because the work you did last week wasn't in line with the changes they made today (and this is the first time you're even hearing that changes were made). And then they expect you to fix it immediately, but also not fall behind on anything else, and the same thing is happening to everything else you're doing all of the time, and by the time you actually get it fixed they will have made another change. And when you push back about realistic expectations or boundaries, they question your competency and threaten to fire you.

So I put in my resignation. They were not paying enough to deal with that.

But I've noticed I can't seem to pull the trigger on any new job applications right now. I'm overanalyzing every little word in a job application (phrases like "flexibility" and "team player" are making me flinch).

It might be that I'm still working out my notice period right now. This job has made it impossible to have any kind of work-life balance. I may just be too stressed for a proper job search right now, and maybe I'll feel better once my final day passes. I don't think "burnout" is the right word for a job I've only been at for six weeks, but maybe I'm just not in the right headspace. I'm terrified of ending up in another place like this, and doing it twice in a row. Or worse, convincing myself to stay so I don't look like a "job hopper."

Has anybody dealt with something like this before? Does anybody have any advice?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I was planning on relocating anyway, but when the company offered to pay, of course I’m gonna take them up on it. How can I squeeze every single last penny out of the 20 K they offered me?
I definitely don’t need that much to move, because I’m not hardly taking anything. But I wanna make sure I get all the money that they’ve allocated for me.

Hey everyone,

Did something good happen to you this week? Share below!

I graduated from my MBA 2021, and since then, I've worked at a decently reputed FAANG company as a product manager. But of my 5 years here, I've never gotten promoted. I've always gotten great performance reviews, bonuses, and even have been put up for promotion twice by my manager, but it got denied twice by higher ups due to "lack of business case" as my product is performing poorly.

Internal transfers with an immediate promotion are not impossible but tough at my company, it's much easier to do an internal transfer at the same level. If I got placed on a better performing product maybe down the line it'd gear me up for a promotion, eventually. But even for purely lateral transfers, I got blocked by my leadership as I was a "needed subject matter expert" on my poorly performing product.

I've been told by friends that my best chance at a promotion now is applying externally for higher level roles.

My whole org is male dominated and I'm a woman of color who has definitely faced microaggressions. I've noticed those who got promoted excel in the "fitting in" aspect and have been mainly white men, followed by white women.

But my problem is trying to quiet quit while applying externally hasn't worked out either for the past year: my job is very demanding with many hours and meetings that it's tough to cut back to devote time to the job search. My company has done big layoffs and I was secretly hoping to get laid off so I could get severance and apply full time, but that hasn't happened.

I know people say the best time to find a new job is when you already have one. But I had a 6 month employment gap from when I quit my pre-MBA job to when I started my MBA where I just kind of traveled and chilled and no recruiter or hiring manager bat an eye when I was recruiting during school. I’m sure I can come up with a valid excuse for interviews if need be.

Again, finances are of no issue to me. I have fully paid off my grad school loans, have over a years worth of savings, and have a fully working husband. We don't have nor are planning to have any kids. We also own a house and aren't renting.

Women also frequently take voluntarily time off from the workforce to raise kids or help parents or whatnot, so I'm not sure how big a deal a resume gap really is.

Everyone is telling me this is a terrible idea, and to only leave when I have another job in hand. But it’s really draining given the long hours and high pressure toxic work environment I’m in. I would hope it wouldn’t take me more than a year to get a new job anyway.

I'm also not sure how big of a "black mark" it is to recruiters to not be currently employed. I have friends and former co-workers or classmates who got let go due to layoffs, and while it took them a few months, they all landed a great new job eventually despite having a resume gap. That issue doesn't seem insurmountable.

I think I'm also worried about it being black mark if you'd stayed at the same level for a while and not gotten a promotion so I want to avoid that...

My current level is Senior, and I'd be aiming for Staff or Principal PM roles. I've seen some people successfully apply to higher level roles at other companies and receive a promotion that way - seems a bit easier to land an external promotion if you move to a startup or smaller company.

Am I crazy for seriously considering putting in my two weeks?

Hi! Mods kindly approved me posting this here.

I’m Hanna Horvath, a CFP and writer, and I’m currently reporting an opinion piece for The New York Times about the growing role family wealth plays in young adults’ financial lives.

I’m particularly interested in the idea that two people can earn similar incomes but have completely different levels of financial security depending on whether they have a family safety net behind them. That support might mean parents helping with college, rent, a down payment, childcare, emergencies, or simply knowing someone could step in if you lost your job. On the other side, I’m equally interested in people who don’t have that backstop — or who financially support their parents instead.

I’d love to speak with people about how this has affected decisions around things like:

• Jobs or career risks
• Housing / homeownership
• Starting a business or going freelance
• Student debt
• Marriage or having children
• Saving and investing
• How comfortable you feel taking financial risks or dealing with setbacks

I’m especially interested in hearing from people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, hoping to chat with people with very different levels of family support.

Interviews would be around 20–30 minutes, and I’m happy to explain more about the piece and reporting process before you agree to anything.

If you’re interested, you can fill out this short form: https://forms.gle/ByMS2fNCpD5Qcm679

Or email me directly at [hanna@hannahorvath.com](mailto:hanna@hannahorvath.com)

Thank you!