Introducing: What We Spend

Summary

Podcast Summary

Title: What We Spend
Episode: Introducing: What We Spend
Host: Courtney Harrell
Release Date: April 12, 2025

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Introduction

In the inaugural episode of "What We Spend", host Courtney Harrell sets the stage for a revealing exploration of personal finances. Emphasizing the necessity of confronting often uncomfortable financial truths, Courtney introduces the podcast's unique format designed to demystify money management for listeners.

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Podcast Concept

Courtney Harrell outlines the show's premise, highlighting its focus on intimate and emotional discussions about money. Each episode features a single individual who documents and shares their financial activities and experiences over the span of a week. This approach aims to provide a transparent look into how money influences daily life, decisions, and emotions.

Key Highlights:

• Intimate Conversations: Participants discuss their income, savings, expenditures, and the emotions tied to their financial decisions.
• Engaging Format: The show combines emotional depth with entertaining elements, making financial discussions accessible and relatable.
• Weekly Documentation: Each guest records audio diaries detailing their spending habits, providing a granular view of their financial lives.

Courtney's Introduction: "Here on this show, I hope you enjoy this preview for the full episode search for what we spend on your favorite podcast platform." ([00:00])

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Participant Spotlight: Kelly

The first guest featured is Kelly, a 32-year-old residing in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kelly's story encapsulates many of the financial challenges faced by her generation, particularly regarding student loan debt and aspirations such as homeownership and starting a family.

Background:

• Education: Kelly holds a master's degree in mental health counseling from Belmont University.
• Career: She is the Director of Client Experience at a medical spa and also works as an online mental wellness coach. Previously, Kelly was a therapist.
• Income: Kelly earns approximately $50,000 annually, while her husband Ben, an engineer, makes around $78,000 before taxes and benefits.
• Debt: Together, they carry a total debt of $202,728, primarily from student loans.

Notable Quote: Kelly reflects on a significant debt payoff moment:
"I remember pressing submit on $150,000 payment and just being like, holy sh t. And they were like, yay. Doesn't that feel so much better? And I was kind of like, it feels like 50% better. And it still feels like I have still $150,000 of debt." ([03:00])

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Financial Management and Budgeting

Kelly provides a detailed breakdown of her monthly expenses, highlighting the challenges of living on a moderate income while managing substantial debt.

Monthly Expenses:

• Rent and Utilities: $2,800
  "Anytime I tell someone that, they're like, that's more than my mortgage. I'm like, yeah, I know. Please don't tell me what your mortgage is. I don't want to know." ([05:46])
• Gym Memberships: $108
• Car Insurance: $254
• Gas: $125
  "We just buy used cars. Ben's car, basically the roof flies off, but, you know, just don't take it on the highway." ([06:08])
• Pet Insurance: $76
• Physical Therapy: $250
  "It helps with Kelly's chronic back pain and osteoarthritis." ([06:22])
• Groceries: $600
  "This one sucks the most right now, and I really feel like everyone will understand." ([06:34])
• Subscriptions: $28 (Dropbox, SoundCloud, Spotify)
• Hair Care: $40
  "I put $40 next to my hair, and that's so I can spend that $40 and get my hair washed by somebody else one time every month." ([07:28])

Total Regular Expenses: Approximately $4,800 per month, excluding debt repayments.

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Emotional Relationship with Money

Kelly candidly discusses how her financial situation impacts her mental and emotional well-being.

Key Insight: Kelly describes her relationship with money as "all consuming," likening it to a persistent struggle that she constantly battles.

Notable Quote: "It feels like that. And I try really hard to, like, be in control, like, maintain my control." ([05:18])

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The Burden of Student Debt

A significant portion of Kelly's financial stress stems from her student loans, which total $202,728.

Educational Background:

• Undergraduate and Graduate Studies: Kelly attended Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, investing heavily in her education with an annual cost of approximately $40,000.
• Rationale for Education: Kelly pursued higher education believing it was the next logical step, influenced by societal pressures and expectations.

Notable Quotes:

• Reflecting on educational choices:
  "I thought I was supposed to because I was told that, you know, this is. This is the next step. And I think this is part of, like, the. The dream or the lie that was sold to my generation was like, if you don't go to college, you're going to end up working at McDonald's..." ([08:26])

• On financial awareness during education:
  "I had no clue what I was doing. It wasn't like, I wonder how I'm going to pay this off when the, you know, average annual salary for a therapist is 40 to 60 thousand dollars a year." ([09:25])

• On feelings about debt:
  "Ultimately, I don't regret anything because I am who I am and I'm happy, but I'm financially trapped." ([10:08])

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Financial Tracking and Self-Reflection

As part of the podcast's format, Kelly agrees to document every financial transaction and the emotions associated with each for one week. This exercise is intended to provide deeper insights into her spending habits and financial stressors.

Anticipated Experience: Kelly expresses a mixture of nervousness and curiosity about the process.

Notable Quote: "I'm feeling nervous because maybe I will just realize through tracking every expense that I'm actually just a dumb, dumb. And I'm very irresponsible and this is all my fault. But I'm feeling curious." ([10:33])

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Conclusion

The introductory episode of "What We Spend" successfully sets up the podcast's mission to explore the intricate relationship individuals have with their finances. By featuring Kelly's candid and comprehensive financial narrative, Courtney Harrell promises listeners a blend of emotional depth and practical financial insights. The episode concludes with an invitation for listeners to follow the series, anticipating subsequent episodes that will delve into the financial lives of other participants.

Closing Remarks: Courtney wraps up by encouraging the audience to subscribe to "What We Spend" on their preferred podcast platforms, ensuring they don't miss future episodes filled with relatable financial stories and actionable advice.

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Speaker Attribution: All notable quotes and sections are directly attributed to the speakers (Courtney Harrell and Kelly) with corresponding timestamps as provided in the transcript.

Transcript

[Courtney Harrell]

Hey gang. Around here we're no strangers to direct and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about money because we know how important it is to face the reality of our personal finances. That's why I'm here to share a preview of a new podcast you may enjoy. It's called what We Spend. In each episode, host Courtney Harrell talks with one person as they document and share all the ways money factored into their lives over the course of one week. They'll share how they make money, save money, spend money, and and all the thoughts and feelings that come up along the way. The conversations are intimate and emotional, but also sometimes fun, like here on this show. I hope you enjoy this preview for the full episode search for what we spend on your favorite podcast platform.

[Narrator]

A heads up before you listen. This podcast is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not financial advisors. You should always do your own research and consult your own financial advisor before spending or investing your money. Please note that all income, financial information and expenses in what we spend are self reported.

[Kelly]

You know how you always want to know about everyone else's money? You do, right? Like you'll see someone buying something you want or taking some amazing vacation and you think, how can they afford that? Or you meet your friend's new girlfriend and she has some very impressive job and you think, how much money does she make? I think when it comes to money, even if you don't want to admit it, we're all a little nosy. But I don't know, I actually think that's good. I think we should be talking about money more and all the ways, big and small, that it impacts our lives. On this show, we are actually going to do that. We are going to go somewhere that we almost never get to go deep into the heart of someone else's finances. Here's how this is going to work. Each week I'm going to introduce you to a new person from somewhere across the country and they are going to tell us everything about their finances. How much they make, how much they want to make, what they worry about, or if they don't worry at all. And then for one week, we'll follow them through their daily routine. Every day they'll record an audio diary with all the nitty gritty details of how they're spending their money. I mean, the coffees, the groceries, the rent that's due, the car accident that suddenly upends everything. And after that, we'll talk about what the week brought up for them, what it's made them feel. Because whatever you're buying or not buying or saving or spending. At the end of the day, money is always about more than your balance. I'm Courtney Harrell, and this is what we spe. How much school debt do you have?

I have 150,000. I had more. I had 300,000 after my master's. I had a great uncle pass away who was an artist. And my parents chose with their share of that that they would help pay off all my private loans. And so that was a crazy night. I remember pressing submit on $150,000 payment and just being like, holy sh t. And they were like, yay. Doesn't that feel so much better? And I was kind of like, it feels like 50% better. And it still feels like I have still $150,000 of debt.

This is Kelly.

I turn 32 in one week, and I live in Salt Lake City.

Kelly is One of the 42.8 million Americans who has student loan debt. And also, like a lot of her generation, she wants to buy a home and have a baby, and she's trying to figure out if it's possible to make all that work. Kelly married her husband about a year ago, and eight months ago, the two of them moved from Tennessee to Salt Lake City, Utah. Ben is an engineer for a software company. Kelly's a director of client experience at a medical spa, and she's also an online mental wellness coach.

I used to be a therapist, and for lots of reasons, I'm not right now, but I will always have therapy or coaching in my life, and I will probably go back to that full time at some point.

Kelly is paid hourly, but she makes about 50k a year, and Ben makes about 78k. That's before taxes and health insurance together. That puts them just under the average income from married couple families in Salt Lake City. How would you describe your relationship with money consuming?

Oh, I would describe it as all consuming. Yeah. The thing that keeps, like, coming to mind is, you know when someone has, like, an addiction or a struggle and they call it like the monkey on their back? Yeah, because you just can't get away from it. It's just clinging and it's present with you all the time. It feels like that. And I try really hard to, like, be in control, like, maintain my control.

Yeah.

But it's kind of this tug of war.

What do you do on a weekly basis to manage your expenses?

On a Sunday, I will sit down and look at the budget. And I made a spreadsheet.

Okay. Yeah. So walk me through your spreadsheet. So I would love to hear what all of your regular expenses are and like, like what you kind of typically pay in each category.

So rent and utilities. 2,800. That's pretty expensive for rent. Anytime I tell someone that, they're like, that's more than my mortgage. I'm like, yeah, I. I know. Please don't tell me what your mortgage is. I don't want to know.

Two gym memberships, 108. Car insurance, 254.

Gas, 1 25.

Do you have a car payment?

No, we just buy used cars. Ben's car, basically the. The roof flies off, but, you know, just don't take it on the highway, you know, we don't have a car payment.

Who needs a roof?

Yeah, who needs that?

It's a convertible phone payment. 75. Pet insurance, 76. And physical therapy for 250. It helps with Kelly's chronic back pain and osteoarthritis.

And then groceries. This one sucks the most right now, and I really feel like everyone will understand. I put 600amonth for our groceries. And I mean, that includes like, toiletries and stuff too.

They have a Costco membership, but they pay that yearly fee with the cash back they get from their credit card.

Medications and supplements. Like, Ben works out, so he has like this huge bag of protein powder that he gets from Costco. So Ben's is mostly workout supplements and just one medication. And mine is, I think, like four medications and like a probiotic and some multivitamins. Total for that is 650 streaming platforms. No, we mooch off of our families.

Some of the subscriptions are on them, though. Dropbox for 12, SoundCloud for 6. Spotify for 10. Hair.

My hair. I put $40 next to my hair, and that's so I can spend that $40 and get my hair washed by somebody else one time every month. And it is like the gift to me to have somebody else wash my hair every once in a while. And isn't that shitty that, like, even now, just reading my own budget, that it really is just my business? I still feel the need to justify, like, I just need to treat myself sometimes and have my hair washed.

What does that make your expenses altogether your regular expenses?

Around $4,800 a month. But then you get to debt.

How much debt do you have?

A lot. If you are including my student loans, we have $202,728 in debt.

Where did you go to school?

I went to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Why did you go to school?

I thought I was supposed to because I was told that, you know, this is. This is the next step. And I think this is part of, like, the. The dream or the lie that was sold to my generation was like, if you don't go to college, you're going to end up working at McDonald's, you know, and, like, you're going to be a deadbeat, and you're going to have to live with your parents, and you're probably going to use marijuana even.

Like.

You'Re going to be a bad person, essentially, if you don't go to college.

Kelly's degree cost about 40 grand a year. And after undergrad, Kelly went on to grad school at the same university. She has a master's in mental health counseling. But as Kelly sees it now, the math doesn't make much sense. I want to ask you something about that, and I mean, no judgment with this. How did you think you were going to pay off that amount of tuition? Or were you at the time, like, I know I can't pay this off. Like, how did you think about it then?

Oh, no, it's a good question. I didn't. I did not think about it. I had no clue what I was doing. It wasn't like, I wonder how I'm going to pay this off when the, you know, average annual salary for a therapist is 40 to 60 thousand dollars a year. I was not thinking about that. I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn't really have anyone around me who was explaining what I was doing. Like, your prefrontal cortex is not developed when you are making those decisions.

Ultimately, I don't regret anything because I am who I am and I'm happy, but I'm financially trapped.

So that's Kelly. And this week, instead of just tracking it in her spreadsheet, she's going to tell us about every dollar she spends and every feeling that comes with it. How are you feeling about tracking your finances for a week?

I'm feeling nervous because maybe I will just realize through tracking every expense that I'm actually just a dumb, dumb. And I'm very irresponsible and this is all my fault. But I'm feeling curious. I'm just curious to see what comes of it.

Yeah, me too. I will check in with you on the other side of your week. Okay.

[Courtney Harrell]

For full episodes, follow what We Spend and Odyssey original Podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts.