Briefly, what stage of life do you consider yourself to be in? Did you come to grad school straight from undergrad? Did you work between undergrad and grad school? You may also include your age here if you wish.

I came to grad school directly from undergrad, so I consider myself to still be fairly new to finances (considering grad school is my first real "job," and my first time earning a yearly salary). I'm 23, not married, and don't have any kids.

Do you receive an annual stipend? If yes, approximately how much do you receive per month? 

Yes, approximately $4,000 pre-tax. Some taxes are withheld, but not all, so I end up seeing about $3,600 each month before rent. 

What are your monthly housing costs?

I pay $856 per month for rent, plus about $15 per month for electric.

Do you have any other fixed monthly expenses? (think: Spotify, Apple Music, Netflix, car insurance, child care, etc.)

I use my family's Netflix, and I'm on my parents' family plan for Spotify. I'm also still on my parents' phone bill. I just recently was given my mom's old car, and currently my parents still pay the insurance on it every month, but I intend to take that over soon, which will be around $100/month. I pay $2.99/month for extra iCloud storage (I have a ton of photos!). 

How much do you typically set aside for savings every month?

I aim to set aside around $1,000 per month for savings. Sometimes it's more; sometimes it's less.

Give us a brief snapshot of your financial picture at the moment.

I was very lucky to have parents who really value education and were able to pay for my undergraduate degree without me having to incur any debt. I have some money set aside for investing that my dad manages for me, since he's very knowledgeable with investing and I know very little. I don't combine finances with a partner, but whenever my boyfriend and I get food out or any other joint expenses, we split them. I currently have around $19,500 in my checking account, and my credit card balance is $500 (I pay this off in full every month). My parents also helped set up an IRA for me recently that has about $4,000 in it, and the investment account my dad manages for me has a value of around $11,000. I currently consider my emergency fund to just be part of my checking account balance, but I'm thinking about opening a separate savings account that has better interest rates. Overall, I would say I'm still in the very early stages of my financial journey, but I've been very lucky and I'm very grateful to have parents who are financially savvy (both accountants!) and who take an interest in my finances and support me whenever they can.

Describe your money mindset.

I would say my money mindset currently is mostly focused on saving, while also trying not to let myself feel restricted. My parents were not always well-off financially, and I remember when money was tight when I was a younger kid and always shopping for the best deals with my mom. I don't worry too much about money, but occasionally if I make a larger purchase than normal I get a sort of pang of panic about spending. My parents have both been very helpful in educating me about money and in helping me understand the ins and outs of various things, from credit scores to taxes to IRAs.

Tiger Cents Chronicle

Day One

8:10am: My alarm goes off and I’m pleasantly surprised to realize the sore throat I had yesterday seems to be much better today. I’ve been a bit under the weather, but I tested yesterday and it’s not COVID. I think it’s just this upper respiratory thing going around campus right now-- still annoying though! 

8:30am: I shower and realize I now have a pretty gnarly cough. I decide to email my students that our 10am class will be on Zoom today. I don’t want to risk getting anyone sick!

10:50am: Class is over! The Zoom situation was a little chaotic but it worked out. Hopefully by Monday I’m totally healed and we don’t have to do any more Zoom classes. While it was nice not having to leave my apartment, I was also reminded of just how disconnected things feel online as opposed to in person. 

12:15pm: Had two students visit me in virtual office hours. Went well, I think! I scarf down a hardboiled egg, a hash brown, and some avocado slices in between office hour appointments. I also pour myself some OJ. Gotta get my vitamin C! 

4:00pm: Done with my seminar! It was on Zoom this week since we had some visiting guests attend. I grab half of a Tacoria burrito I bought yesterday and eat it for a late lunch. Delicious. Would definitely recommend the brussels sprouts burrito!

5:30pm: Last Zoom call of the day done. I typically don’t have anywhere near this many Zooms every day, so today felt like a weird throwback to last year. 

6:00pm: I head over to my boyfriend (we’ll call him D)’s place and we get a little bit of reading done. I also take a 20 minute power nap on the couch and then we make some spaghetti and sweet potato fries for a lazy dinner. 

10:15pm: Back home and laying on my bed scrolling through Instagram. I gotta start limiting my screen time. I finally put down my phone and focus up. I finish the reading I started earlier and then get ready for bed. 

12:00am: I refresh the NJ DMV webpage desperately looking for an available appointment to do an out of state license transfer. The appointments are so in demand that they only release new dates at midnight every night for 60 days out, and within a few minutes all of the appointments are typically taken. The website, yet again, is super glitchy and keeps freezing. I try about 5 times to reserve one of the few appointments available but it keeps telling me they’ve been taken already. Shockingly, though, I then get an email that says my appointment has been confirmed. I guess one of my attempts did go through after all! 

12:07am: Okay, bedtime at last! 

Daily total: $0

Day Two

10:00am: I set my alarm for 10am last night as a backup thinking I’d definitely wake up before then, but I woke up from a dead sleep to my alarm this morning. I’m still sick, so I guess my body must have needed the time to rest. I quickly make my bed, open the blinds, and crack open a window for some fresh air before stumbling into the kitchen for a hot mug of tea and some OJ. 

11:00am: Got a little reading done, now time for a Zoom call to coordinate some things for an upcoming event. 

11:40am: Done with the Zoom, and I wander into the kitchen and chat with my housemate for a bit. We decide to make blueberry and banana muffins! 

1:00pm: Muffins are out of the oven and I’m freshly showered. 

2:30pm: I throw together a Trader Joe’s salad kit and head out to meet D for his lunch break. He typically works weekends, so we usually do lunch together on weekends and occasionally Monday and Tuesday too since those are the days that I don’t have seminars in the afternoon. 

6:00pm: I spent the last few hours reading. After finishing the last text for my Wednesday class, I run to Target and pick up some cold brew, some ingredients to make soup, more milk, some Junior Mints, and two different face lotions I’ve been wanting to try out. I always spend so much at Target! $40.49

7:00pm: A group of us from one of my seminars decides to meet up and watch a film that we’ve been assigned for this week’s class. We order pizza (I pay) and we split it 6 ways. I pay the full $72 upfront, but the others reimburse me partially in cash and partially over Venmo. My portion is $12. 

Daily total: $52.49

Day Three

8:30am: Wake up to see an email letting us know there’s a power outage in our building. Bizarrely, the microwave and one outlet are still working, but everything else is out. I pour myself a little OJ and some water, make my bed, and then climb back on top of it to do some reading. 

12:32pm: Still no power… I’m starting to get worried about the stuff in the fridge, and a little frustrated that I might have to throw out a bunch of groceries that I spent money on. My housemate figured out that the stove and oven are working, but only at like… half-power? I grab vegetables from the fridge as fast as humanly possible and throw them in the oven to roast. I’m thinking this might take longer than usual. 

1:30pm: Yup, that took forever. The water never boiled and the oven stayed at 200 degrees. I head into town with my partially undercooked lunch in a tupperware to meet up with D during his lunch break. 

2:30pm: We have professional department photos scheduled for Tuesday, and I decide I want to get a trim before that. I head to Supercuts, which costs $23 in total including tip. Nextdoor is a boba place and I can’t resist. I get a watermelon milk tea boba for $6.44. It’s pretty good, but the ice melts immediately and leaves it lukewarm. I sort of regret having spent six dollars on it. 

4:00pm: The power is finally back on in our apartment! Hallelujah! 

5:30pm: I spent the last hour and a half reading one of the texts for my Thursday class about the Ville Savoy on the outskirts of Paris. It was really interesting! 

6:00pm: I swiffer the kitchen/living room floor and do some cleaning of the cabinets. Every Sunday my housemates and I try to do a collective clean of our common areas. This has been really helpful in keeping the apartment from getting too untidy/dirty. They swept and cleaned the kitchen surfaces, stovetop, and the microwave earlier today. I vacuum my room and throw some laundry in the washer. 

7:30pm: I make some boxed mac & cheese and then light a candle and sit down to do some more reading. 

9:00pm: After reading for a while, I remember I’ve been meaning to submit an abstract for the 2022 NeMLA conference. I cobble together a rough draft and shoot an email off to a professor of mine for some advice/feedback before getting back to reading. 

9:30pm: I throw a frozen veggie burger patty in a pan and eat it with some cheese, onion, and avocado. I forgot to buy burger buns or lettuce so I’m just eating it with a fork. 

9:45pm: I manage to violently knock over a freshly blown-out candle full of hot wax!! It ends up all over my wooden desk and splattered on my wall. I find something on Google about using a hairdryer and a soft cloth to wipe it up, and that ends up working beautifully. Thank goodness!

11:00pm: I finished reading my last text for my Thursday seminar! I’m proud of myself. The last few weekend’s I haven’t gotten as much reading done, and it’s really added stress to my week leading up to Wednesday and Thursday. I have a short paper due on Thursday, so I pushed myself to get all my class reading done this weekend so that I could have most of Monday and Tuesday free to write. 

Daily total: $29.44

Day Four

8:15am: I wake up a few minutes before my alarm and hop in the shower. I have some Cheerios and OJ, print off a few handouts for class, and catch the TigerTransit bus to campus. 

11:18: I catch the bus back to Lakeside. I almost bought an iced latte at Frist but convinced myself to have the cold brew in my fridge at home instead. While on the bus I decide I’m really craving a specific Trader Joe’s salad for lunch, and since I don’t have afternoon class today I decide to take a quick trip to TJ’s. 

12:30pm: Home from TJ’s. I bought a few things for my housemates as well, which they reimburse me for over Splitwise. I bought myself two salad kits, some assorted produce, garlic, pasta, Parmesan, tortellinis, eggs, yogurt, and nuts. Man, I love Trader Joe’s. My portion came out to $39.14.

1:30pm: I spruce up the TJ’s salad kit with some beans, onion, avocado, and bell pepper and take it into town in a tupperware to have lunch with D. Since it’s Monday, I can’t park in Lot 10, so I have to park on Nassau. I manage to parallel park perfectly on my first try (a rarity) and see that there’s still money in the meter from the last person who parked here, which always makes me happy. I add a quarter to give myself enough time. $0.25

3:45pm: Just got off a really great Zoom call where we got a lot of stuff planned/sorted out for an upcoming project. 

4:30pm: Chatted with my housemate about his day, and then suddenly remembered I bought a coconut last week and never opened it. I crack it open with a hammer and eat some of it before heading into town quickly to pick D up from work. 

5:15pm: D and I decide to go to the Lakeside BBQ, which is really fun. There’s tons of cute dogs, which is amazing, but I get licked on the face when I bend down to pat one of the dogs on the head. Typically this wouldn’t be a problem, but I recently have developed an allergy to dog saliva that I had forgotten about. Within about 10 minutes, my face breaks out in hives. :(

6:00pm: I facetime my parents to catch up and to discuss the latest allergy flare-up. 

7:30pm: I drive to Dunkin Donuts and pick up a few donuts (I wanted munchkins but they were out!) to give to my students during our review session tonight. I pay out of pocket. $6.93

9:00pm: The review session went really well, I think. 

10:00pm: Head home, and then have an hour long discussion with C and another friend about the film club we’re trying to launch and an event we have planned for Friday. There’s so much to do! 

11:40pm: Fall into bed absolutely exhausted. 

Daily total: $46.32

Day Five 

8:15: Woke up feeling pretty good this morning, but weirdly tired even though I got eight hours of sleep. 

9:30: Hopped on the bus and got to see D for a few minutes! He often takes the bus to work at this time.

11:15: Finished teaching for today and I head to my department building for a quick meeting about some logistical stuff for the event we’re trying to plan for this Friday. On the walk over I get absolutely drenched in a downpour. I always forget my umbrella! 

11:35: Quickly open Zoom for an office hours meeting with a student which lasts about 45 minutes. 

1:30pm: D has his lunch break at 1:30 and I’m hungry too, but since I’m still on campus I decide to just order us some burritos from Tacoria, since I don’t have time to get back to my apartment to cook anything. In total with tip it costs $27.41, but D Venmo’s me for his portion. My portion comes out to $14.00. I’ve been stressed today but seeing D for lunch puts me in a better mood! 

2:30pm: I catch the bus from campus back to Lakeside and flop onto my bed doing nothing for about an hour before finally convincing myself to get up and do a little work on my short essay due Thursday. 

4:45pm: I head back to campus for our department photos. I pay $1.50 for street parking on Nassau. I think the photos went well? I always feel so awkward in front of a camera. 

6:00pm: I pick up some munchkins from Dunkin for my students since we have another review session tonight. It comes out to around 7 bucks, but then I also decide to get myself an iced matcha, which raises the total price to $10.74. The iced matcha is delicious and I’m really glad I got it! 

Daily Total: $26.24

Day Six

8:15am: Wake up, hop in the shower, and head out the door early to catch an earlier bus than usual since I have to pick up some things from my mailbox before my class today. I have to give an exam today, so I’m a little nervous for them, but I’m sure they’ll do well. 

11:00am: Even though I should be working on my response paper I feel compelled to start grading tests!

1:30pm: Seminar time! It’s pretty interesting; we’re discussing the film we watched this weekend and a few other texts.

4:30pm: I catch the bus back to Lakeside and continue to grade tests.

5:45pm: I drive back to campus for the grad student happy hour that the Financial Literacy Initiative is sponsoring! It’s a good time.

8:30pm: Finally home and exhausted. I finish grading the last of the tests around 9:30pm and then take a half hour to tidy up my room and my desk before transitioning into working on my response paper.

11:45pm: I’ve got a decent amount written on my paper, so I transition to planning for class tomorrow and writing myself some presenter notes in PowerPoint for an activity I want to do with the students. 

1:00am: Finally time for bed! 

Daily total: $0

Day 7

7:55am: I wake up a bit earlier than usual, shower, and sit down to work some more on my response paper before eating some Cheerio’s and heading out to teach my class. I bring a Tupperware of salad with me so that I don’t have to waste time or money on getting lunch somewhere today. 

11:00am: I work on my response paper for about an hour and a half, eat some lunch, and then submit the paper. 

1:30pm: Seminar time! Some very interesting discussions of darkness and lightness. 

4:30pm: Immediately after class I hop onto our weekly Zoom meeting for the lecturers of the class I’m teaching. It goes until 6pm. 

6pm: I catch the bus back home. I’m absolutely starving so I devour half of a leftover burrito from Tacoria when I get home.

7:00pm: I unwind and respond to some miscellaneous emails. A few hours later, I decide to walk to Wawa to breathe in some night air and buy some sparkling water and some sweet tarts, my two biggest vices. I also buy a small bag of hot Cheetos. It’s been a busy week! $6.34.

10:00pm: I walk back home and decide to FaceTime my parents to chat with them while munching on my Wawa purchases. After hanging up, I prepare my class for tomorrow.

12:00am: I hit the hay, exhausted but feeling pretty content! 

Daily total: $6.34

Weekly total: $160.83

Reflect on your week: Do you feel this is an accurate reflection of your typical weekly spending? Why or why not? Any other thoughts?

I would say this is a fairly accurate reflection of my typical weekly spending, if perhaps a little bit on the low side. I tend to end up buying clothes or shoes around once a month, so whenever that happens, the week’s spending will end up being a bit higher (maybe closer to $200). This week, I didn’t buy any clothes/shoes. This also was a particularly busy week, which I think also translated to me not spending quite as much as I usually would since I just didn’t have much time for extra trips to the store. The experience of tracking my spending was pretty interesting-- I realized it made me reflect more on whether I was happy with or regretted certain purchases. Overall, I was happy with most of my purchases this week.