Early 30s IT professional making $85K questions loyalty over job hopping
Local advice on how to earn, spend, and invest money is hard to find. Many cultural barriers exist for talking about money, yet it can be therapeutic to do so.
Money Snacks – People Stories is a anonymous way for people in Hamilton County to share their financial journey with others.
Age
Early 30s
Children
Yes, our child is less than 2 years old so navigating childcare takes up the most stress for us right now.
Living Situation
Own. 30 year mortgage gives us more flexibility to pay ahead or pay the minimum depending on other needs through the years.
Job
IT
Salary
$85K
Salary Growth
Steady increases throughout my working career. Staying loyal at my current job has probably caused me not to realize the salary increases I could see by job hopping like some of my peers.
Debt
Only our mortgage
Budgeting
Yes, I switched from Mint to Monarch Money and track every dollar spent. For me, this gives me the most peace and clarity as to where I can spend money on wants vs money that has to be allocated to needs.
Budgeting is the number 1 reason for my financial standing today.
Splurge
Traveling and healthy habits. These might not be the categories that I spend the most money from month to month, but outside of needs these are the things that I save for and then splurge.
Traveling gives me something to look forward to (especially in dreary Januarys in Indiana) and gives possibilities to make memories with my family. Healthy habits are an investment into my future that I’ve learned to enjoy.
Local Hack
Finding budget friendly entertainment. Whether this is going to sporting events during the week rather than on the weekend, free entertainment at events/restaurants, or eating dinner at home before going to an event to cut back on the overall cost.
Favorite Local Restaurant
I prefer to try somewhere new rather than frequently visit the same restaurants. If I enjoyed the restaurant I would rather tell others about it and have them try it.
Savings and Investments
401K traditional and Roth with 15% of pretax income. I also have a brokerage account that I fund monthly that auto-buys an S&P 500 index fund.
Nothing flashy like crypto but my investments have done well for me over the years.
Best Money Decision
Learning to live on less than you make. Trusting that you can invest that money instead of spending it today.
On Your Mind
How do I stack up against my peers since this is such a taboo conversation.
Hamilton County Wealthy
People who live in gated communities or near Geist. I would assume those people all own homes over $1M and have incomes over $500K.
Total Net Worth
350K in household assets (not including our home – mortgage which would add ~215K)
