A Week In Her Wallet: How One Couple Manages $200K in Income, a Toddler, and Four Pets

Summary

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HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Episode: A Week In Her Wallet: How One Couple Manages $200K in Income, a Toddler, and Four Pets
Date: November 7, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode is part of the "A Week in Her Wallet" series, where host Jean Chatzky profiles a real woman’s finances over seven days, exploring not just spending habits but the emotional and practical reasons behind each choice. This episode features Caitlin (32) from Madison, Wisconsin, who balances a busy life as a state program manager, side hustler, wife, mom of a toddler, and caretaker to four pets. Caitlin’s story highlights intentional spending, redefining priorities after motherhood, and the emotional aspects of money.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introducing Caitlin: Life, Career, and Finances

• Background: Caitlin works full time for a Midwestern state as a program manager, and her husband is a pharmaceutical supply chain manager. Together, they earn just under $200,000 gross, with about $140,000–$150,000 after taxes.
  “We get hit on taxes pretty hard, but I would say we're still around probably the 150 take-home or one maybe 140 take-home.” – Caitlin, [05:47]
• Homeownership: They own their home and are debating whether to renovate or move for more space, particularly for their daughter and pets.
  “We just recently made a list of the things we do love about our home and the things we'd be willing to fix…so it is kind of a goal, but we're still making it work.” – Caitlin, [06:20]
• Financial Unity: Money is managed jointly to support the family, with all income going into a shared account before being distributed into various “pots” for bills, travel, gifts, etc.
  “We have our money come into a joint account and then we have separate funding accounts…It all starts together in this one 100% fund that gets divvied out automatically.” – Caitlin, [10:42]
• Relationship Dynamics: Caitlin is the “big picture” thinker, while her husband is the “numbers” person, creating a balance in their approach.
  “Turns out I have the ideas and then he has all the skills behind putting those dollars to work. So we very much need each other.” – Caitlin, [11:33]

Tracking a Week of Spending

Day 1: Conscious Start, “Girl Math,” and Accountability

• No online shopping intended, but Caitlin rationalizes (“girl math”) a $13.70 mug purchase before canceling a shopping club membership for the free shipping, and counts on her husband to handle essentials.
  “I did girl math and I bought a mug for somebody sometime in the future. So I spent $13.70…But I'm going to do better. No more excess spending, or at least that's the philosophy I am trying to create for myself.” – Caitlin, [08:10]
• Daily Total: $113.70 (includes household essentials by husband)

Day 2: Intentional Outsourcing and the Joy of Less

• Monthly cleaning service charge of $150 hits – described as a prioritized, intentional spend to maximize family time.
  “We pay for a monthly cleaning service...because we found that it is so worth it. We want to prioritize spending time with our daughter…deprioritize how much time we spend cleaning the house.” – Caitlin, [12:32]
• Caitlin deposits $1,500 into savings from a side job. A credit union teller compliments their saving habits, prompting a reflection on the role of intentionality in financial security.
  Memorable moment: “I panicked and I said, world economic collapse.” – Caitlin, on being asked what they're saving for, [16:35]
• Reflections on shifting priorities after becoming a parent—outsourcing cleaning is justified by the value of quality time with family.

Midweek: Side Hustle Burnout and Family Moments

• Both Caitlin and her husband are winding down from bartending side gigs to reclaim family and rest time. “I was losing days at a time from doing that.” – Caitlin, [20:36]
• Emotional experience visiting her late grandmother’s belongings with her mother and grandfather.
  “It was weird to see them without her in them…Her working studio…was difficult, but we got to reminisce and remember her in an amazing way.” – Caitlin, [21:33]
• Donates her grandmother’s clothes to a local interview closet for women in need. “So women who were experiencing homelessness…could choose clothes from this interview closet and hopefully make a little difference in their lives.” – Caitlin, [23:05]

Philosophy on “Stuff,” Gifting, and Experiences

• Values have shifted toward experiences and meaningful connections rather than acquiring things.
• Gifts for her daughter and others often focus on experiences (swim classes, zoo visits, museum membership).
  “For my daughter…we request them to be more experience based.” – Caitlin, [24:08]
• Adopts a decluttering mindset, keeping only sentimental items.
  “I feel my mind is less cluttered when my home is less cluttered.” – Caitlin, [24:08]

Day 5: Work Travel, Thrift Magic, and Family Bonds [28:07]

• Purchases: $9.42 at a local coffee shop, $15.34 and $34.43 at two thrift stores (including “dream” record player), $3.37 for car snacks.
  “I found an incredibly perfect condition vinyl record player. I have been looking for one for years…that one's more than just clothing for my kid. That's also my dream record player.” – Caitlin, [29:43]
• Husband’s hobby of selling sports cards netted $500 this week.
  “I'm glad he has fun doing it, but I cannot imagine spending that much on a card.” – Caitlin, [30:36]
• Emphasizes that money enables memorable experiences and family connection, not just consumption.
  “Money is the vehicle to cultivating the life that my husband and I want…” – Caitlin, [30:37]

Day 6: Gift-Giving Strategy

• Budgets year-round for gifting, keeps gifts labeled in secret spots, and tracks them carefully to avoid duplication or scrambling around holidays.
  “I also have a couple secret hiding places. If my husband ever listens to this, it's not in our house. They're out. Don't bother looking.” – Caitlin, [34:24]

Managing Kids’ Expenses

• Relies on network of friends and thrift stores for her daughter’s clothes; rarely buys new.
• Enjoys a trusted, reasonably priced daycare due to a personal relationship.

End-of-Week Reflection and Mindset Shifts

• Realized she’s more willing now to spend on fleeting pleasures or experiences, valuing the memories more than the material.
  “We treated our family to a round of ice cream…previously, I don't think I would have been as excited about doing that…Now my mindset is like, but we shared that memory.” – Caitlin, [38:17]
• Her total spend for the week ($584, though a phone bill was missing) feels in line with their usual habits when not traveling.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On intentional spending:
  “We actively decided to budget in a monthly cleaning service and it has been phenomenal…It’s so much more important than the time I was spending cleaning.” – Caitlin, [12:32]
• On saving goals:
  “He asked what are you saving for… I panicked and said, world economic collapse.” – Caitlin, [16:35]
• On decluttering:
  “I feel my mind is less cluttered when my home is less cluttered.” – Caitlin, [24:08]
• On family priorities and money:
  “Money is the vehicle to cultivating the life that my husband and I want and even the relationship that my mom and I have.” – Caitlin, [30:37]
• On experience vs. stuff:
  “I'm much more willing to spend on things that are experiential than just saving for the sake of saving.” – Caitlin, [39:06]
• On legacy gifting:
  “This is morbid, but in case something happens to me, people know that I was thinking of them and this will go to them.” – Caitlin, [35:39]

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Key Timestamps

• 05:17 – Caitlin’s background and combined income
• 06:20 – House goals: stay and renovate or move?
• 08:10 – “Girl math” and online shopping rationalizations
• 10:42 – How the couple manages joint finances
• 12:32 – Monthly cleaning service as an intentional, values-driven spend
• 16:35 – Banking moment: “World economic collapse”
• 20:36 – Winding down side hustles for family and self-care
• 21:33 – Sorting through grandma’s things and charitable donation
• 24:08 – Evolving philosophy on possessions and gift-giving
• 28:07 – Local coffee shops, thrift finds, and the value of experiences
• 34:24 – Year-round budgeted, intentional gifting
• 38:17 – Mindset shift to valuing experiences
• 39:06 – Final reflections: prioritizing experiences over savings alone

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Conclusion

Caitlin’s week in the spotlight reveals how high-earning couples balance aspirations with day-to-day intentionality, prioritize family, and actively reshape money mindsets over time. Through candid stories—sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt—listeners see the emotional core of budgeting and the evolving meaning of wealth for women and families.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Welcome back to Her Money. I'm Jean Chatky. And today we are back with another episode in our special series A Week in Her Wallet where we follow real women from the hermoney community as they track their spending for seven days and reflect not just on what they spent but why. Because money is about more than numbers. It's about priorities, emotions, relationships and how we want to live. Today we're heading to Madison, Wisconsin to spend time with Caitlin. You'll be hearing from her in two ways. Live right here with me as we look back on her week, but also in her own word, stay through voice notes she sent us each day as the week unfolded. Kaitlin's 32, she's a full time state employee who also juggles multiple side gigs. She brings in between 5,000 and 8,000amonth. Caitlin lives with her husband, toddler, three cats and a dog. And while life is busy, her goal this week was clear to be more intentional. We are gonna take a quick break.

[C]

All right.

[B]

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[C]

Hi Jane, thanks for having me.

[B]

Of course. So let's just start with some basics. What do you do? Where do you live? How much money do you make and does your partner make and if you rent or if you own?

[C]

Well, I work for a Midwestern state, I am a program manager for a federally funded program and my husband works for a pharmaceutical company as a supply chain manager. And together we make growth. Just under, I would say 200.

[B]

Okay, 200,000 together.

[C]

And we have a two year old daughter.

[B]

Oh I love that. And what does that mean in terms of your take home?

[C]

We get hit on taxes pretty hard, but I would say we're still around probably the 150 take home or one maybe 140 take home.

[B]

Okay. All right, that makes sense. Do you. Do you own your house or do you rent?

[C]

We own it. We pay a mortgage still. But, yes, it is ours.

[B]

Okay, that's amazing. And are there any big financial goals on your to do list right now?

[C]

We have been considering buying another home to move into. Not to own two homes, just for some more land to give our daughter the opportunity to be outside more and play. And we also have animals, too, so it'd be nice to give them some room to roam. However, the housing market we live in is kind of wild right now, as I'm sure it is in most of the country. So we also just recently made a list of the things we do love about our home and the things we'd be willing to fix to make it work just to stay here. So it is kind of a goal, but we're still making it work.

[B]

It sounds like an episode of love it or list it kind of.

[C]

And we're still on the fence about both. We love it.

[D]

We also like to list it.

[B]

What made you decide that you wanted to track with us for a week?

[C]

I've been wanting to track myself anyway, so I thought if I joined up with her money, I might have a little more accountability and transparency in what.

[B]

I'm doing in day one. In your very first voice note, you told us this week came at a perfect time. It was right after you and your husband had a budget night.

[D]

Today is day one of the audio diary, and this is coming at a great time because my husband and I recently did a budgeting night to find out where we are in meeting our goals or if we need to do better. Spoiler alert. We need to do better. So I'm trying to be more conscious of my spending. And I even wrote a little note for this week after we had had our budget meeting. I wrote no online shopping just so I could try to support myself in.

[C]

The sense that I need to do less online shopping.

[D]

But joke's on me because I wanted to cancel this specialty membership I have at some, like, odd Gifts. Let's say it's an online store for odd and just interesting, unique gifts gifts. And I'm canceling the membership. But you get, like, free shipping with the membership. So I thought, well, I should buy whatever I need to get before I cancel the membership. And then I don't have free shipping anymore, which is a long way of saying I did girl math and I bought a mug for somebody sometime in the future. So I spent $13.70 on this specialty mug. And that is my shopping total for the day because I won't do any more shopping. And I'm getting around this by the fact that my husband is doing a little bit of grocery shopping for the essentials, where he will probably spend about a hundred bucks on diapers and milk and just other essentials. So I will say my total for today is $113.70, but I'm going to do better. No more excess spending, or at least that's the philosophy I am trying to create for myself.

[B]

What do you do in budget night?

[C]

We have budget nights regularly, probably quarterly, because too often and I will zone out and I will not be a part of it.

[B]

So.

[C]

So quarterly is just enough. And my husband happens to be an Excel wizard, so he's the one that creates the entire spreadsheet and breaks it down to what we need to be putting into our different pots. And it just covers all of our expenses, all of the necessities that we have to pay for, you know, daycare, our mortgage bills, et cetera. And then also the pots of would love to do, such as my travel. I have a travel pot of money in there that I'm frequently dipping into. I need to work on that. But also we have a pot for like, gifts and celebrating family and family situations, things that we really want to prioritize in life. So all of that, most all of it is represented in our budget.

[B]

And how do you. How do you handle the money coming in through your paychecks and then getting into the pots?

[C]

We are very much trying to have a unified front on that. So his and her money, we don't do that. We more do our money because we're supporting our family and our life together. So we have our money come into a joint account and then we have separate funding accounts. Because I'm a type of person that I need to see it be in its own account. Like my travel account is its own high yield savings account, and our bills come out of its own account. But it all starts together in this one 100% fund that gets divvied out automatically.

[B]

It sounds like your husband is sort of more dollars and cents and you're more big picture. Am I getting that right?

[C]

Yes. I thought I was a big picture. I mean, I thought I was a dollars and cents person, but turns out I have the ideas and then he has all the skills behind putting those dollars to work. So we very much need each other.

[B]

That's a good thing, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Unless sometimes, I mean, sometimes when you've got a, a real numbers person with a real big picture person. There's some butting of heads. Does it ever get in the way for you guys?

[C]

It does in the sense that I would love to be traveling more. I will tell you, we do travel a lot, but I just more. I want more of it. And then he's more like, okay, let's make the money before we spend it. And he brings me back down to earth and I'll just say I married the right person. We're very good for each other.

[B]

That's amazing. In day two you said you spent $150 on cleaning, but you called it intentional.

[D]

Okay, day two of the audio diary and I will say that today has been great. Spending wise, no expenses. Except yesterday was the day a cleaning crew came and did their marvelous work. We do pay for a monthly cleaning service that we just decided to start budgeting for and add into our monthly budget because we found that it is so worth it. My husband and I want to prioritize spending time with our daughter, our toddler, and want to deprioritize how much time we spend cleaning the house with three cats and a dog. Also the toddler and the husband himself. It can be kind of a mess around here. So we actively decided to budget in a monthly cleaning service and it has been phenomenal. So today was the day that expense was charged to our credit card, $150. So even though I didn't spend anything today, it was charged to my card today. But on the reverse of that, I will also say that both my husband and I have day jobs and then we also have side jobs because we like to have multiple streams of income just to feel financially supported. And so today I was able to deposit about fifteen hundred dollars into our joint savings account, all from my side job. And while I was there, the funniest thing, I guess it's not super funny haha, but just it had never happened before as I was at the drive through and trying to make my deposit. As he's processing the deposit, the man says, Ms. Caitlin, good to see you. I just wanted to say that you guys are doing a phenomenal job of saving one. He had never told us that before, but he also says, and I was just wondering what are you saving for? And to me we're saving for a lot. But this in particular was just our joint savings account. So nothing in particular it could be for a future family vacation, just future family bills like our mortgage or potentially a down payment on a new house if we Ever want to expand the family a little bit and grow outside of our current humble abode or it could be for anything. We had never actually tied a name to that savings account. So I panicked and I said, world economic collapse. And I don't really think he knew what to say to that, but he said, well, anyway, since you're doing such a great job of saving, we wanted to introduce you to the concept of our high yield savings account. You don't have to pull everything. You can just pull over a little bit and you'd be making a bit of a higher percentage by keeping your money there instead of your regular joint savings account with us. And he asked if he could send me the details and I said, sure, why not? My husband already has a high yield savings account elsewhere and I have a version of like a short term bond fund elsewhere, but we didn't have a high yield savings account through this credit union. So I thought it was worth looking into and it just would be another place, another vehicle for us to do some more heavier savings. So I thought that would be worth looking into. Yeah, between all the side jobs and all these family things and home life going on, we are doing a really solid job. I think, of trying to prioritize what is important in life. And I think our budgeting process has been instrumental in detailing that out for us. So I'm excited for where this is going to take us. Today's daily total comes to the $150 for the monthly cleaning. For my day job, I travel a little bit around the state and tomorrow my mom and I will be leaving for for a county in the middle of the state. And we'll also get the chance to visit my grandpa. My grandpa is finally ready to start going through my grandma's things that she had left behind since she passed a couple Februarys ago. So we're gonna do that as a family and then celebrate her birthday on Friday. And all of this really helps solidify in me the things that I want to prioritize in my life.

[C]

This is the perfect week to do.

[D]

This audio diary, so thanks for letting me be a part of it.

[B]

How do you and your husband weigh the trade off between money saved by doing things yourself and the time and energy you save by paying for things? How do you draw the line?

[C]

Everything changed when we had our daughter. So now that she is in our lives, the light of our lives, we just want to be spending all of our time with her and giving her that kind of engaged experience that no matter what we're doing As a family, we're with her, and we couldn't do that if we were focusing on constantly cleaning the home. Like, we have three cats and a dog inside, and it's. It's a mess, to be quite honest. And so we decided we are going to intentionally spend the money on a monthly deep clean that'll help me feel better in our home, but also allow me to spend more time with our daughter. That I think that's so much more important than the time I was spending cleaning.

[B]

When you said you had animals earlier, I was picturing horses and sheep. So I'm actually relieved to hear that it's three cats and a dog.

[C]

Oh, my gosh, no. I could never handle that. I can't handle that much responsibility.

[B]

But three cats and a dog is, I think, a lot of responsibility, especially with a child. How did the animals react when you brought the baby home?

[C]

Very jealous. At first, they were not her biggest fan, but over time, now that she knows their names and she calls out to them now, they're getting closer. They enjoy her company, not so much her excited squeals. But other than that, it's all good now.

[B]

The Same day, day two, you deposited $1,500 into joint savings. That came from a side gig. Tell me about a side gig. And how do you all manage multiple income streams?

[C]

I am actually winding down on the side gigs now again, because I've reprioritized and I'm rebalancing, so I'm finding I want to spend more time with our kiddo. But at the time, the side gig was like bartending or picking up shifts like that. So I was picking up about two to three, maybe two to four shifts a month and just bringing in a little extra income to make me feel more secure or be able to, like, surprise myself with an extra jump to our travel account. And it was a lot to manage. Like, then we're doing some single parenting on the nights that he's bartending or I'm bartending, and it just wasn't working out as the entire family situation that we were looking for. So it was a lot to balance. And then the next day is also.

[D]

A day of recovery.

[C]

Like, we're really tired and our muscles are sore, and my feet would just ache after being on my feet for, like, nine hours. So it wasn't worth it. I was losing days at a time from doing that.

[B]

Is your husband still bartending?

[C]

He has also wound down, and I believe he has one more shift, and then he will be retired from that gig.

[B]

Is that how you all met?

[C]

I did meet him at a bar. He was bouncing, and there was nobody else in the bar to talk to, so I made him talk to me. And then we just never stopped talking.

[B]

I love that. I love that. Midweek, you took a work trip that lined up with something really meaningful. You visited your grandfather, and you went through your late grandmother's belongings. How did it feel to hold these things and touch these things and decide what to do with them?

[C]

Oh, okay. Sorry. I didn't expect that to feel like it did.

[D]

Oh, my gosh.

[C]

It was such an emotional experience. I'm so glad that my grandpa trusted my mom and I with my grandma's things, with her clothes, and it was. It was weird to see them without her in them. And she was also a very, like, fashion forward person. She was an icon in that regard. And she would create her own clothes too, like scrap things together and they would be beautiful at the end of it. And she used to do that for me too. So seeing all of her pieces, her little. Her working studio, to put all these things together was difficult, but we got to reminisce and remember her in an amazing way. The thing is, though, that her body type is or was a lot different from mine and my mom's. So we couldn't keep all of the clothes for ourselves as much as I wanted to. But I did end up taking about seven or eight huge bags full, like, stuffed to the brim, full of her nice clothes, and I sent them to an interview closet in my city. So women who were experiencing homelessness or instability at home could choose clothes from this interview closet and hopefully make a little difference in their lives. And so it's really nice to know that something good came out of.

[B]

That's so nice. We did that, actually, with some of my mother's stuff after we lost her. And you just. You want. Yeah. You want the people that you love. At least I did. I want the people that I love to have what they wanted of her to remember to have what they wanted to remember. But also then you want it to do as much. As much good as it possibly can. What did this experience make you think in general, and what's your general overall philosophy about possessions and things having value?

[C]

My philosophy has changed over time, especially going through that experience. There are definitely a few sweaters of my grandma's that I was like, I don't even care if they don't fit me perfectly, I'm keeping these. They just remind me so much of her. And I'm so glad I kept those. However, the seven to eight other bags, I'm going to get diminishing returns on the feeling of being near her. So the ones that meant the most.

[D]

To me I kept.

[C]

And then the rest of them I did a little bit of that Marie Kondo and I thanked them but sent them on. And I do that with a lot of my stuff now. I feel my mind is less cluttered when my home is less cluttered. And I also want the space to enjoy time again with my daughter. Like I don't want her to feel overwhelmed by all these things or constantly told we need to clean up, we need to put this away, we need to do that before we can do that. I want it to be a more simplified life that's focused more on connections rather than things. And we've actually turned that into our gifting philosophy as well. For my daughter, specifically her major gifts, we request them to be more experience based. Hence the swim classes that were also part of my week. Her grandma does that with her. And then we'll be getting a museum membership for this year's birthday. And we've taken her to petting zoos for her other milestones. Just things that are experiential in nature, memory making because you can all take those with you.

[B]

I love a great petting zoo. We are going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to get into a weekend full of ice cream, intentional joy and chilling at home. Pop quiz. Can you name all your financial accounts right now? 401k savings, credit card, mortgage, investments. My producer, Hailey thought she could until she started using Monarch and discovered a crypto account that she hadn't touched in years. With a couple hundred dollars just sitting there, that one surprise made her realize how easy it is to lose track of your money. Feel organized and confident in your finances with Monarch, an all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. And right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering 50% off your first year with code [e-mail] Now Hailey uses Monarch to keep everything in one place. Spending savings, investments and even shared budgets. No more spreadsheets. No more surprises. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code hermoneyonarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code hermoney. You've heard this story before. When I first moved to New York after college, I was so deep in credit card debt just trying to stay afloat. Every overdraft fee, every late payment. It all made getting ahead feel so out of reach. My younger self would have seriously benefited from Chime. That's because with Chime, when you set up direct deposit, you can get paid two days early. You can access fee free overdraft up to $200 and skip the monthly maintenance fees altogether. Chime also gives you access to over 47,000 fee free ATMs. That's more than the top three national banks combined. And you get real time alerts that help you stay on top of your balance and your spending. Work on your financial goals through Chime today. Open an account in 2 [e-mail] hermoney that's chime.com hermoney Chime feels like progress. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members FDIC Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file fees. Apply it out of network ATMs, bank ranking and number of ATMs according to U.S. news and World Report 2023 chime checking account required. We're back with Caitlin on day five. You talk about hitting a local coffee shop on one of your work trips.

[D]

Okay, Friday edition of what did I Spend Today? I did have some more work in this small town and I went to a coffee shop. I love to do that. I love to check out the local coffee shops. Not a chain, but just a locally owned restaurant and support their economy while I'm filling out the reports for the work that I do around my state. So I went to that coffee shop and I spent $9.42 on some coffee and a scone, which were both really, really good. And then I had my mom and my grandpa join me as I was filling out reports and they spent more but I didn't keep track.

[C]

Let's see.

[D]

And then we did a little thrift shopping together so I could get some more summer clothes for my daughter. So I spent $15.34 at the first thrift store and then the second thrift store was a total of $34.43. But get this. I found an incredibly perfect condition vinyl record player. I have been looking for one for years. It's on my list. I have a list of things I want to find at thrift stores and vinyl record player and records is on my list and I found it and it's perfect. So that One's more than just clothing for my kid. That's also my dream record player. And for such a steal, too.

[C]

Let's see.

[D]

And then I did have to drive home and bring my mom back as well. And So I spent $3.37 at Quick Trip for some car snacks, for a total of 62.56, I believe. And maybe it works this way, maybe not. But my husband has his own little side thing of selling baseball cards and other sports cards on the side, and he sold five this week totaling a little less than $500, which is crazy. It blows my mind. I won't subtract that because that's his little side gig, but that just is wild to me. I'm glad he has fun doing it, but I cannot imagine spending that much on a card.

[C]

That's crazy.

[D]

But anyways, so far this week, I know it's the end of the work week, but it has been really fun, kind of keeping track of what I'm spending spending and what I'm spending it on, how I'm spending my time as I'm spending money. And it's just kind of all adding up to me that it's all about the experiences. Money is the vehicle to cultivating the life that my husband and I want and even the relationship that my mom and I have. We were able to bond over a meal, bond over some coffee, and then we went and got my grandpa, and we were all able to bond over some stories and looking through all these old records together, we learned about so many of his favorite songs. And so, yes, I'm super stoked about this record player, but I'm kind of even more stoked about the fact that he gets to pass down his collection to me because somebody will appreciate it and share his love of music. So, so far, this has been a really great experience. And there are two days left, so we'll see how that goes. But just wanted to say thank you to you guys for offering this opportunity to talk about it. So thanks and happy Friday.

[B]

How do you find local places to support, especially if you're not in familiar territory?

[C]

I will say TikTok has done a lot for me, local places. And I also, I do the same. So I ask the establishment that I arrive at if I just happen to drive by and I haven't seen it online before. I say this is a really cool little spot that I didn't know about. I'm wondering if you're okay if I post a little video about it and I try to bring other people too. So, yeah, definitely social media influences where I decide to go, but I'm lucky enough to get to travel around the little towns and so my eyeballs do a lot of the work for me too.

[B]

This work travel is, I'm guessing, not the travel travel that you put money aside for. Where are you? Where do you want to go? What's sort of the next big place on your list?

[C]

Ah, thank you for asking. How much time do we have? We actually leave tomorrow for Thailand. That's our next big one. And then my best friend is getting married in Italy in October, so we have a couple months in between.

[B]

Are you taking a one year old to Thailand?

[D]

Absolutely not. Jean.

[C]

No.

[B]

Okay, okay. Relief is now pouring through me.

[C]

No, I cannot. We actually, we did take her on my husband's work trip to Ireland last year and that is only a six hour flight and time difference and that was still quite an experience. So based on that, we take her to more domestic trips and we saved the international for my husband and I. Oh, my goodness.

[B]

Thank goodness. All right, we're almost at the end of the week on day six. You told us that you like to shop for gifts all year long because that way the holidays are not such a scramble. I love that. But I have questions. How do you keep track of everything that you've bought through the year? How do you budget for gifts when you're buying on this kind of a regular basis? And what happens if you find something better three months later?

[C]

Those are all such good questions. So one of my pots of funding for my budgeting is gifting. Specifically gifting for other people. I never used to think of it as a love language for me, but the more that I'm doing my budget, I see that it is. When I think of people, when I see something out and about and I'm like, that is for them, then I feel connected to them. So I guess it is one of my love languages. So I budget throughout the year for that. And I also have a couple secret hiding places. If my husband ever listens to this, it's not in our house. They're out. Don't bother looking. Secret places that I put things and then I label them with the people's names so I know who they go to. And it does so happen that I will find something more exciting or better down the line. And if that's the case, if it's like a bigger purchase, I review what I already have for that person and then I either decide to add to it or I will save it for a Birthday or Christmas or whatever. The next thing is like, I can keep it going and I always label it just in case. This is morphic, but in case something happens to me, people know that I was thinking of them and this will go to them.

[B]

Oh my goodness.

[C]

Everything will end up where it's supposed to.

[B]

Your total spend for the week was $584. By the standards of what we've been hearing doing these shows, that's pretty low. How does that make you feel and is that typical for you?

[C]

Well, I will say that I actually missed a phone bill payment, so there is $184 of a phone bill that happened that same week.

[B]

So thank you for coming clean.

[C]

So it is a bit higher than that, but that the higher amount is pretty typical for me. Unless we are spending on a trip.

[B]

Or maybe spending on your toddler. Childcare, groceries, kids are expensive. What have you done to maneuver those expenses? Have you developed hacks or systems that have helped you keep those costs in line?

[C]

I like to think so. A lot of my friends now have kids and have had girls specifically too. And they are very willing to share or pass down clothing or toys or items that they're no longer using. So I rarely, if ever, maybe a handful of times, have bought her new clothes from the store. But we are always taking hand redowns and we were always thrifting. I want that to be one of her hobbies when she grows up. And then for daycare, we do have a closer relationship with our daycare provider. She is an awesome woman named Annie and we would be lost without her. But because we have, we've known her for so long, we did get a better deal on daycare than what's typical for our area.

[B]

I think. I think thrifting, when done with an eye, is so magical. Emily, our social media manager, walked into my apartment this morning wearing this fantastic pair of like green cargo ish pants that they had embroidered with a tea towel and just sort of patched it across the whole front of one leg. And I was like, I want those pants. Like, I just, I want those pants. But I can't have them because they are an original that you only get from you. Exactly, exactly.

[C]

Oh, that sounds awesome. And that sounds like what my grandma used to do. I love that. Emily, keep it up. If they ever end up anywhere, let me see them.

[B]

I want to. Now that you've gone through this week of tracking, what has that done for your mindset one, what has it done for your priorities? Have you noticed any changes?

[C]

Let's see my priorities. I definitely noticed that my priorities had shifted and previously I wasn't as willing to spend on things that would be fleeting, let's say. So at the end of my daughter's first swim class, we treated our family to a round of ice cream to thank you for paying for the classes, for being there for her, for having this memory. But previously I don't think I would have been as excited about doing that because ice cream doesn't last forever. You know, it's like this one time thing. However, now my mindset is like but we shared that memory. We have that experience of her first swim class, we have a photo of the day and that means so much more to me than the idea of the fleeting ice cream. It's what's behind it that counts more to me. So there's definitely a bit of re prioritizing going on that I'd noticed and I'm much more willing to spend on things that are experiential than just saving for the sake of saving.

[B]

Caitlin, this was such a pleasure and I think really illuminating. So thank you so much for sharing.

[C]

Thank you for having me, for asking all these questions and making me self reflect.

[B]

Absolutely, absolutely. Thanks for being part of our community. Thank you. If you love today's episode, please take a moment to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcast. Your feedback means the world to me and if you're ready to keep the Money conversation going, HerMoney has three amazing programs designed to help you feel more confident and in control of your money. There's Finance Fix. It's our four week coaching program that helps you rethink your spending, find hidden savings, and make smarter choices for the future. Our pre Retirement program runs for six weeks and walks you through building a retirement strategy that's personalized for your next chapter. Finally, there's Investing Fix, our investing club for women. It meets every other week on Zoom. It is a supportive space to learn, ask questions, grow your investing confidence and build your portfolio. And your first month is absolutely free. These programs are truly helping level the playing field for women financially. I'd love for you to join us. Her Money is produced by Haley Pascalides and our music is provided by Video Helper. Thanks so much for listening and we'll talk soon.

[E]

The average career in the US spans 40 years, but real estate investing can cut that timeline to just 15. I'm Dave Meyer, host of the Biggerpockets Real Estate Podcast, and I transformed my financial future through rental properties and so have thousands of others in our community. Every week we bring you real investors sharing real strategies with real, real results so you can build wealth, buy back your time, and even retire early. Don't miss the latest real estate insights and advice. Watch, listen and subscribe by searching for the BiggerPockets real estate podcast on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube.