Ages:
Her – 25
Him – 29
Occupations:
We’re both lawyers. I’m currently working as a Contract Attorney [fancy word for the temp job I have] and he’s an International Tax Attorney for one of the Big 4 Accounting firms.
Location:
Jersey City, NJ – right outside NYC [we can see Manhattan from our balcony]
Gross Income:
Me – $22/hour [approximately $44,000/year-ish], Him – $103,000FB Notes: I threw them together as a combined household income of $147,000/year or $7500 net a month
ASSETS: $11,200
Note on Assets:
Chequing Account: Not much, LOL. Varies throughout the month obviously.Example: He got paid last Friday and I got paid Tuesday so there’s a bit over $1,600 in there now and most monthly bills have been paid already.
Savings Account: Roughly $7,000 in an engagement ring account and we recently started savings $50 bi-weekly into a savings account as well
DEBTS: $328,000
Note on Debts:
Car Loan: Owe just under $8,000 on it [don't know the exact amount] so we’ll be paying it for another 2 1/2 years I believe?
Debt-to-Assets Ratio: 29.29
They owe 29.29 times more debt than in assets.
Budget: $7500/net a month
Notes on Budget:
Rent: $2460
Electricity: Ranges from $75-150 [last two months were $100 and $150 - during the summer when we used the AC, it was $75 or so]Cellphone: N/A because his cell is through work, mine is on a family plan with my parents/sister
Eating Out: We try to only eat out twice a month, if that.
Beer: Buying beer at the convenience store – $20 [we're trying to cut back on this
Clothing/Gifts: We usually don't "shop" so nothing is budgeted for this area
Savings: Depends on how much "excess" money is available. We're automatically transferring $50 into a savings account bi-weekly.
Monthly Transportation Passes: Receive $110 pre-tax reimbursement from his employer for this
Credit Card Payments: No credit card debt but balance varies each month, mine is currently $500 for this month. We don't carry a balance but pay it off in full.
We try to use these for larger purchases only [lately, furniture and other apartment furnishings] to delay payment for a month.
Student Loans: I currently pay $950/month but will increase another $300-400 in March as another loan enters repayment
Personal/Beauty: $75/month unless I get my hair done then it’s about $200
I feel like there are other expenses too but I can’t seem to think of them?
How did you decide to get into your occupation(s)?
When I started applying for colleges, I wasn’t sure what to pick for a major.I noticed criminal justice was offered by most schools and since I enjoy reading true crime books, I went with that. Turns out it grew on me and I graduated from college with a B.A. in Criminal Justice and a minor in both legal studies and spanish.
Probably my second year in I decided that law school would be my post-graduation path and here I am!
He graduated college as a history and teaching major. He knew he didn’t want to teach immediately so he opted for the law school path as well. Took a tax class and loved it. The rest is history.
Are you in debt? If yes, please elaborate how you got into debt
Yes, big time! We have no credit card debt but we do owe on a car still [I think for another 3 years?]. Mostly though is our student loans. Our student loans combined are roughly $320,000 [about $160,000 for each of us]. Monthly payments are about $1,500 each.
What are your top 3 financial goals?
[I know they're very general but it's a start...]
1. Save for an engagement ring and then once that’s out of the way, a wedding and downpayment on a house.
2. Save for a house/apartment/co-op
3. Pay off student loans as quickly as possible
What are the top 3 common budget busters for you and why?
I really can’t think of anything…
What is the most frugal thing you’ve ever done? (e.g. save tissue boxes for some reason)
Often times I reuse ziploc bags and lunch bags. Nothing really out there though…
What is your single best financial decision?
I have two… First, bringing lunch to work every day saves a LOT of money [especially in NYC]!Second, I plan a menu for two weeks and make a grocery list based on the menu and the current sales flier. The two week plan tends to last three to four weeks for us since some nights I don’t cook or I’m home alone.
Also, each meal tends to give one or two left-over meals for lunch or dinner later in the week.
What is your single worst financial decision?
None. Yes we have a lot of debt but that’s due to student loans and I wouldn’t have done that any differently.
Where would you like to be financially in 5 years and what are you doing to get there?
Married, either owning our own place or being on the way to owning our own place.Having a good chunk of our student loans paid off.
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DogAteMyFinances
on Mar 10th, 2009
@ 9:22 AM:
Wow, 7K is the engagement ring account and not even the stupid ring??? Just wow. Talk about strange priorities in an economy like this. With a temp job.
Mimi
on Mar 10th, 2009
@ 11:55 AM:
$2400 on rent in Jersey City? Where the heck do these people live? Jersey City is the largest city in NJ and also the most dangerous. Even if they live in an “up and coming” gentrified neighborhoods their rent shouldn’t be this much! I lived in a nice 2 bedroom 2 floor apartment with washer and dryer in JC and my rent was only $1200 a month. They could save a lot of money if the found a more affordable apartment…
Saver Queen
on Mar 10th, 2009
@ 5:05 PM:
This is really interesting. It’s so fascinating to read about. Thanks to the people who offer their financial info up anonymously!
I do have one question. Should the engagement ring really be considered an asset? i know that technically it is because of its value, but only if it can be resold at an equal or greater price. I tried to sell a diamond engagement ring last year and it was impossible. Ended up with about 1/10th its value. I spoke to about 20 professionals and all said the same thing – there is no market for previously owned diamonds engagement rings.
Black Patent Stilettos
on Mar 11th, 2009
@ 1:13 AM:
Interesting! I’m moving to NY next year to work in the legal field and found this really informative. Thanks for sharing.
Fabulously Broke
on Mar 11th, 2009
@ 10:59 AM:
Saver Queen: I don’t think engagement rings are assets unless you factor in that if you paid $10k, it’s worth a third of that price, TOPS.
It’s just that they had cash in that engagement ring account so I counted it as an asset.
You are totally right — no market at ALL for previously used rings.
Saver Queen
on Mar 11th, 2009
@ 11:54 AM:
FB thanks for explaining that!
LegallyBoston
on Mar 11th, 2009
@ 12:06 PM:
It was interesting to see some of the comments…
When I filled that out early January, I had a temp job. Legal temp jobs aren’t like normal temp jobs – some document review positions pay upwards of $40+/hour. I currently have a full-time job at a law firm in the city making more money.
DogAteMyFinances: Some people don’t care for diamonds or rings in general. That’s not us. My boyfriend wants a certain ring and who am I to stop him? He brings home almost 1 1/2 times as much money as I do and if we didn’t have a joint account, he’d be able to use that money as he pleased anyways.
Mimi: Yes, our rent is pricey – if you noticed, we live on the waterfront with a view of Manhattan. We wanted a place that would feel like home and had certain amenities we were looking for. We could be living somewhere cheaper but it wouldn’t be in the nicest of neighborhoods either and that’s not what we wanted. Not all of JC is dangerous though… I’m curious where in JC you lived?
SaverQueen: We don’t plan on reselling the ring to upgrade or anything like that which is why we’re saving so much to begin with.
BlackPatent: Good luck moving! Let me know if you have any questions