Always On the Clock

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Always On the Clock"

Podcast: What We Spend
Host: Courtney Harrell
Episode Title: Always On the Clock
Release Date: July 16, 2025

---

Introduction

In the episode titled "Always On the Clock," host Courtney Harrell delves deep into the financial life of Erica, a 42-year-old professor and bartender from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Erica offers a transparent look into her multi-job lifestyle, financial management, and the interplay between her upbringing and current financial decisions.

---

Erica’s Background and Work Life

Erica's journey into juggling multiple jobs began at a young age. Reflecting on her early work experiences, she shares:

"One of my full-time jobs now makes more money than both my parents ever did combined."
(00:01:29)

Currently, Erica balances six jobs, including two full-time positions at different universities—one in-person and one online—and adjunct roles at three other institutions. Additionally, she bartends at a local LGBT establishment. This demanding schedule allows her to earn a substantial income, reaching up to $250,000 during peak times.

"The pandemic helped, right? ... I sort of had like, all of a sudden, like these skills that were super in demand."
(00:04:36)

---

Income and Financial Management

Erica's annual earnings hover between $190,000 and $200,000. Her financial obligations include a $1,500 monthly child support payment and a $1,700 mortgage. Remarkably, she has nearly paid off her mortgage, maintaining a balance lower than her savings.

Monthly Expenses Breakdown:

• Mortgage: $1,700
• Child Support: $1,500
• Utilities: $300
• Wi-Fi: $60
• Phone Bill: $27
• Car Insurance: $100
• Gas: $140
• Health Insurance Premium: $90
• Therapy: $50
• Groceries: ~$600/month
• Dining Out: ~$500/month
• Subscriptions: ~$36/month
• 401(k) Contributions: $1,958/month (23:00)

Erica prioritizes saving and retirement, contributing the maximum to her 401(k), amounting to approximately $23,500 annually. This disciplined approach allows her to maintain a comfortable lifestyle while preparing for the future.

---

Financial Philosophy and Upbringing

Erica's frugality is deeply rooted in her upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness. She explains how her early life instilled values of self-reliance and financial prudence:

"I just learned not to ask my parents for anything, to always take care of myself."
(00:01:29)

Her religious background emphasizes putting the kingdom first and encourages voluntary and charitable giving, shaping her cautious approach to personal spending.

"If I'm paying for something exclusively for myself, it's a challenge."
(00:24:44)

However, Erica finds a balance by being generous towards others, such as buying a plant stand for her daughter without hesitation.

---

A Week in Erica’s Life: Financial Diary

The episode provides a day-by-day account of Erica’s spending over a week, offering insights into her budgeting strategies and financial priorities.

Day 1: Groceries

• Spent: $38
• Notes: Needed to replenish essentials after returning from a vacation where dining out was prevalent.

Day 2: Beef and Groceries

• Spent: $110
• Reflection:

  "I recognize that I have a privileged position where if eggs were $12, I could still buy them."
  (00:08:02)

Day 3: Groceries and Personal Reflections

• Spent: $40
• Insights: Balancing frugality with maintaining a comfortable lifestyle, Erica discusses the importance of saving for her future and her children’s well-being.

Day 4: Social Life and Dining

• Spent: $17 on Thai food
• Additional Expense: $500 for an unexpected car battery replacement (00:30:45)

  "I believe in an equalization. I don't think people should have to contribute equally into a relationship, especially if they don't make equal money."
  (00:31:06)

Day 5: Minimal Expenses and Savings

• Details: Focused on household supplies with a $70 Amazon purchase, mindful of end-of-semester expenses.

Day 6: Supporting Partner and Future Plans

• Spent: $500
• Plans: Considering a trip to Paris with her daughter to foster cultural exposure and educational experiences.

Day 7: Balanced Spending and Social Commitments

• Spent: $26 on lunch and $70 on household supplies

  "Finding a $5 lunch is a real challenge."
  (00:36:00)

Overall, Erica’s weekly spending totaled $1,026, highlighting her ability to manage a significant income while maintaining disciplined saving habits.

---

Insights and Reflections

Erica's financial narrative underscores the challenges of sustaining multiple incomes to meet substantial financial obligations. She acknowledges the necessity of her work demands but also recognizes the personal costs, such as reduced quality time with her children and partner.

"Work has always been an escape, at least... And I'm cutting back because I don't need the coping mechanism anymore."
(00:39:20)

Erica emphasizes the importance of balance in relationships, especially concerning financial contributions and support. Her story reflects how personal values and upbringing can profoundly influence financial behaviors and decisions.

---

Conclusion

"Always On the Clock" offers a compelling look into the life of someone who meticulously navigates multiple income streams to achieve financial stability and personal goals. Erica's story is a testament to the complexities of modern financial management, the impact of upbringing on money habits, and the delicate balance between work, family, and personal well-being.

---

Notable Quotes:

• "One of my full-time jobs now makes more money than both my parents ever did combined."
  (01:29)

• "I think the tipping point was a pandemic."
  (14:39)

• "I just have to be able to go out and kind of just go bananas and have a good evening without stressing about the costs."
  (08:46)

• "If I cut down to one job, it’s not enough."
  (37:17)

---

This episode provides a nuanced exploration of income management, personal sacrifice, and the pursuit of financial security, making it a valuable listen for anyone interested in understanding the intersection of work, money, and personal life.

Transcript

[Courtney Harrell]

Why are more women than ever choosing Natural Cycles, the hormone free, side effect free way to take control of your fertility. Natural Cycles is a birth control app that uses your temperature to find your fertile window. It is more than a basic cycle tracking app. Natural Cycles is the only FDA cleared and CE marked birth control app and has helped millions prevent and plan for pregnancy naturally. Save 15% when you sign up today with code RADIO15. Learn more@natural cycles.com Just got a new puppy or kitten? Congrats. But also yikes. Between crates, beds, toys, treats and those first few vet visits, you've probably already dropped a small fortune. Which is where Lemonade Pet insurance comes in. It helps cover vet costs so you can focus on what's best for your new pet. The coverage is customizable, sign up is quick and easy and your claims are handled in as little as three seconds. Lemonade offers a package specifically for puppies and kittens. Get a'llemonade.com pet your future self will thank you. Your pet won't. They don't know what insurance is. 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.

[Erica]

So the day I turned 16 I walked down to the McDonald's that was like five blocks away from our house and I got hired. After high school I would ride my bike to McDonald's and I did that for a year. Then I got a job at the Einstein Bagels that was like three blocks from my house and I rode my bike to that because as a teenager I started asking my parents for things as teenagers do and they couldn't afford it. You know, like I just learned not to ask my parents for anything, to always take care of myself and so like that all like really paid off in the long term. One of my full time jobs now makes more money than both my parents ever did combined.

[Courtney Harrell]

This is Erica. She's 42 years old and she lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And what do you do for work?

[Erica]

I am a professor and a bartender. I work as an advisor at a local university. I also teach there part time and then I bartend at a local LGBT establishment. I also have four other jobs. It used to be 10 so I've reduced, I've consolidated.

[Courtney Harrell]

Right now Erica works a total of 6 jobs which is not 10 but still sounds impossible. But she's figured out how to make it work, she's got two full time jobs at two different universities. One is in person, one is online, and then she picks up online classes as an adjunct professor at three other universities. So it depends on the time of the year, but she's generally teaching six to eight classes at a time, plus meeting with students as an advisor, plus grading, and then she picks up shifts at the bar. But we actually caught Erica in a relatively slow period at the end of the semester, in a time when she was also taking a break from bartending while she recovered from top surgery. And for her, it's also a moment of more broadly slowing down, of Erica working fewer jobs, at least by Erica's standards. Today we'll follow Erica through her week and talk about how much money and how much work is enough. I'm Courtney Harrell, and this is what we spend. You said when we started that at one point you were working 10 jobs. How did you get to working so many jobs at the same time?

[Erica]

The pandemic helped, right? Because, like, there's no restaurants open and the only other thing I was doing was running 20 miles a week. Right, Right. So I had friends at different colleges who were like, erica, you've been teaching online for years. Can you help us? Because I was teaching online before the pandemic. I had already taught online classes. I already taught zoom based classes. I was already familiar with, like, asynchronous models. I had experience in designing courses for online study. So I sort of had like, all of a sudden, like, these skills that were super in demand. And so suddenly I was teaching at like 10 institutions across the country. It was great. I made like $250,000 for a couple years.

[Courtney Harrell]

$250,000 is a huge amount of money to make as an adjunct professor, which is not typically a super lucrative gig. But Erica had to pile on 10 institutions to hit that. That meant she was sometimes teaching 15 classes at a time, plus all the grading. That was only possible because of a couple of things. One, everything was online, and two, a bunch of the classes were asynchronous, meaning she didn't have to be live in a classroom. So she could mostly arrange her schedule. However, she needed to get everything from all 10 positions done. But still, it's a huge amount of work. So when the opportunity to swap some of the adjunct roles for a full time position came up, she jumped at it.

[Erica]

Because I wanted to, you know, move to a really stable university where my kids could go for free, where I could get good health insurance, especially as a Trans woman. That was really important where I could start planning for retirement because they offer a really good matching 401k. And so as I try to consolidate on things I really like to do as opposed to doing everything that I'm asked to do, that's how I've sort of dropped things down. So so far I've really only kept the best of the best. Last year I made $210,000. The year before I made 235. So I am reducing.

[Courtney Harrell]

But that's a lot in Pittsburgh.

[Erica]

It's a lot in Pittsburgh. Yeah, I do okay. I'm. I'm not mad about it.

[Courtney Harrell]

Let's get into Erica's numbers. It depends how much work she picks up at the bar, but she guesses she'll make between 190 and $200,000 this year. She doesn't currently live with or fully share finances with her partner, but she does have three kids who she has three days a week. And she pays her ex wife $1,500 a month in child support. Erica owns her home. She bought it after her and her ex split up. And the mortgage is $1,700 a month.

[Erica]

The good news is I basically have that paid off. Now I say basically because I have a balance on my mortgage of about 120,000. I have more in my savings than that and the interest in my savings is higher than my interest on my mortgage.

[Courtney Harrell]

Her utilities are about 300amonth and Wi Fi is 60amonth.

[Erica]

My phone bill, I use Mint Mobile, which you pay 320 a year, like a flat fee. It's unlimited phone, unlimited data. Plus, you know, Ryan Reynolds is kind of hot. So I'm.

[Courtney Harrell]

The phone bill shakes out to about 27 bucks a month. Her car insurance is 100amonth and gas for her car is about 140amonth.

[Erica]

I drive a little tiny Honda Fit, which you can't tell on this, but I'm six' six. I'm really tall. So when I drive a subcompact, she.

[Courtney Harrell]

Has really great health insurance through the university and the kids are on her ex wife's policy. So she just pays a $90 a month premium.

[Erica]

As a trans woman, I get electrolysis to remove facial hair that's fully covered. Otherwise it would have been $125 an hour. And I tallied everything up and I have spent something like $12,000 so far in electrolysis.

[Courtney Harrell]

That great health insurance also means she only spends $50 a month on therapy.

[Erica]

I would say groceries. And generally eating out is probably where a lot of my money goes. For groceries, I'm probably spending 150ish a week. And then I eat out a lot. I probably am spending something like $500 eating out. I like eating out. It's a luxury for me. It's a luxury I indulge in, probably too much. And then I have, like, subscriptions. And I'm usually. I'm pretty parsimonious for like, a late millennial with my subscriptions.

[Courtney Harrell]

She has an Amazon subscription for $139 a year and a PlayStation subscription for her and her son for $180 a year. And then she has a subscription to Ipsy, which sends a monthly box of makeup and beauty products for $30 a month.

[Erica]

Sometimes you get really obnoxious things. Like last time, I got two bottles of facial cleanser. I have more eyeshadow palettes than I'll ever need in a lifetime. Right now I'm like, can they please send me some eyelid primer?

[Courtney Harrell]

And finally, she puts the max she can towards her 401k, which is about $23,500 a year. That means before any fun like travel or going to the theater, she's typically spending about 85,000 a year on regular expenses. So, okay, that's a really big margin between what you make and what you need to pay to survive. How does that feel for you?

[Erica]

So I feel very fortunate. So I grew up Jehovah's Witness. My mom was a house cleaner. My dad was a carpenter. They dedicated their life to the church, and they were missionaries in Africa for a long time. And they moved back, and I was born shortly after they moved back. They worked with a French church in Chicago, and they found a situation where they lived in a little, you know, coach house. So think of, like, if you own a giant house, where do you. Where does your help live? Like, you want them close by, right? So you have a little house in the back that's, like, where the help lives. And so it was this, like, giant house in a fairly affluent neighborhood in Chicago. Chicago. You know, the. The two owners of the house were in their 80s or something like that. And my parents took care of the old lady who owned the house. And they didn't pay anything for rent. Like, their job was to take care of the house, take care of the property, take care of the lady, get her groceries, make sure she was okay. My dad, you know, he's just a really good person. We don't. We don't speak anymore. I should be fully transparent about that. Their religion doesn't align with my identity. So we. They decided to stop talking to me when I publicly came out as, as a trans woman. So my dad would go and fix people's houses in the church, and he wouldn't bill them. You know, he would do his normal job that was paying him, but then he would be, you know, at somebody's house that evening fixing a problem in the church, you know, and these were Haitian immigrants. They were, you know, displaced people from Africa. Like, they didn't have anything, so they would, like, pay him in food. You know, he would come home with a big plate of, like, Haitian beans and rice. And that's what he got paid to, like, do the fixer plumbing, which, you know, was an interesting childhood.

[Courtney Harrell]

What did the religious upbringing teach you about work?

[Erica]

So, you know, Jehovah's Witnesses said, don't take a pen from your employer because it's theft. You know, that if you are working the hours that they're paying for you, you belong to them. So you shouldn't be on your phone or on social media. Right? So in many ways, those are, like, ideal, sort of like worker B qualities in a capitalistic society, you know, and that's very much the sort of values that Jehovah's Witnesses sort of instilled in me. And so I put everything into my job.

[Courtney Harrell]

Erica started working when she was a teenager and worked all the way through high school. She says Jehovah's Witnesses don't generally encourage pursuing higher education, but because she graduated valedictorian and her parents made so little, she was able to get scholarships to completely cover school.

[Erica]

I said, hey, this is free. College is free. I was also doing something called pioneering, which is like, meaning you're spending 70ish hours a month doing, like, public ministry work. So if you see Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on your door, standing on street corners, I did that for a long time, and I did that as like a, you know, 20ish hours a week. And so because I was doing that and school and working, here comes Erica balancing all the things in her life, right? That started early. They didn't have a huge issue with me going to school because they felt like, oh, you know, she's able to balance everything that she's already doing, so it's okay.

[Courtney Harrell]

Her parents were less happy when she decided to be an English major instead of something like nursing. But Erica did really well for herself. She graduated with no debt, and eventually she and her wife at the time both got jobs teaching English in South Korea. It was a government job that, between the two of them, paid them nearly $100,000 a year with overtime. And because their living expenses were just a fraction of that, they were able to put a ton in savings before they came back to the states. Over the years, Erica kept teaching and also stayed a part of the church. And then the pandemic hit.

[Erica]

I started hormone treatment in October of 2020. So I think trans issues have come to the front of our society because so many people during the pandemic started the transition. There were people who transitioned before Time magazine featured Laverne Cox in 2014, saying, the transgender tipping point. But really, I think the tipping point was a pandemic. So many. So many people I know were not going to work anymore. We were working on Zoom. They could wear makeup. They could wear whatever clothing they wanted at their house. I was really struggling. I had been struggling for a long time. I always knew I was different. But I finally talked to my partner at the time, and I said, listen, I think I really need to try hormones and see if they help. And that was. That was a start.

[Courtney Harrell]

It was the start of Erica living her life as who she really was. But it was also a really dark time. As she continued to transition, Erica left the church and lost a lot of her community. That, plus the pandemic was too much for her marriage in basically every way. Erica found herself completely starting over again. And if all that wasn't enough, this was when she was working those 10 jobs, which did ultimately feel like a gift to help her towards her new life.

[Erica]

And so then when I transitioned, former me put in so much work to really help current me where I'm at, with, frankly, opportunities that would not have been available to a queer trans woman, but that are available to a nominal CIS Christian white male, you know?

[Courtney Harrell]

Yeah.

[Erica]

And I am very appreciative for my younger self, who put in a lot of work to make this portion of my life slightly easier. I guess.

[Courtney Harrell]

After the break, we'll dive into Erica's week. Out here, we feel things. The sore calves that lead to epic views, the cool waterfall mist during a hot hike, and the breeze that hits just right at the summit. But, hey, don't just listen to us. Experience it for yourself. Alltrails makes it easy to discover the best of the outdoors. With more than 450,000 trails around the world, points of interest along the trail, and offline maps for always on navigation. Download the free app today and find your next outdoor adventure.

[Erica]

Hey, what's up, flies? This is David Spade. Dana Carvey. Okay, I know we never actually left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall. Every episode, including ones with guests, will now be on video. Every Thursday, you'll hear us and see us chatting with big name celebrities. And every Monday, you're stuck with just me and Dana. We react to news, what's trending, viral clips. Follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcasts.

[C]

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell, and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.

[Erica]

We're really doing this, huh?

[C]

Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your VIN or license, and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

[Erica]

Bye bye, Truckee.

[C]

Of course, we kept the favorite.

[Erica]

Hello, other Truckee.

[C]

Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.

[Erica]

Okay, so this is my first. My first note, my first audio diary. It is Wednesday morning. I guess it's Wednesday lunchtime, but I got up this morning and started working right away. I've been away for 10ish days. I was in Ireland and I was trying to work while I was there, and I was doing a lot, but I definitely have a lot of catching up to do. So my goal is to try to be caught up between today and tomorrow. Maybe I might need Friday too to get everything I need done. But regarding money, obviously I came home and I have a friend house sitting here. She's been taking care of my cats and my plants and just getting the mail. And she's been staying here for off and on for a couple months because she lost her job in New York and moved back to Pittsburgh here. And she needed a place to stay for a while while she tried to figure out what was next. So I was like, you know, why don't you stay at my house while I'm gone for. For a bit? And so I'm hoping that's sort of helping her financially. But this morning I came home and there's not really any groceries in the house. You know, there's like a chub of ground beef in the fridge and nothing else. And I don't really want to just eat ground beef and nothing else. So I needed some groceries. You know, I know that I, like, needed to spend that money, but I'm kind of reluctant to do so because I just got back from vacation and, you know, we ended up eating out a lot in Ireland. We spent probably overspent on the trip. Anyways, that's where we are. It's 2 o' clock now on Wednesday, so I'm going to go ahead and. And this note.

[Courtney Harrell]

Total for day one, $38 on groceries.

[Erica]

Hi. It is Thursday. This is day two. So I wanted to talk a little bit about getting groceries today. I was in Ireland this past week and my partner really liked beef and Guinness stew and so she's coming over tonight to sleep over. So I told her I would be making some beef and Guinness stew. I enjoyed it and I'm a good cook. So this morning after I brought my kids to school, I went over to Aldi because they have cheaper groceries. So it's where I do almost all my shopping. It's also two blocks from my house, so that's always nice. I can just walk over. And so I picked up what I needed for some beef and Guinness stew. And, and yeah, I spent like a hundred, $110 on groceries. I was really surprised how expensive beef was. I just got like some cheap beef round, but it was like 6.50 a pound. And it just reminds me of like how how expensive things are. I'm putting my, putting my vegetables that I chopped up away. I'm happy to see eggs went down. I bought eggs because I didn't have any eggs in the house. But like eggs were less than $5 a dozen. So that's kind of nice. Again, I like, I recognize that, like I have like a privileged position where if eggs were $12, I could still buy them. It would just mean I ended up saving, you know, $7 less that week. But I don't want to spend a lot of money, you know, Like, I'm trying to like save for my future. I'm trying to save for my kids future. I'm trying to save for retirement. I'm trying to, you know, not have to work more than I really have to. I want to work as little as possible. Like I don't want to pick up any extra jobs. I already feel like I work enough. So, you know, I try to like cut corners wherever I can. And you know, not buying beef, not buying super expensive eggs, not paying a lot for groceries, like helps out in that regard.

[Courtney Harrell]

That night, Erica's girlfriend didn't end up coming over. She needed to stay home and nurse a knee injury. But they did talk on the phone.

[Erica]

And I was on Snapchat with her and showing her, you know, like the soup that I made dinner for us tonight and I showed her some rugs that I Just bought at Aldi because I needed to replace my kitchen rugs because they had gotten kind of ruined. And she said, you buy new things. And I just thought that's, like, a really relevant thing to bring up here, right? That, like, you know, my partner knows my general reluctance to spend money. And, you know, I just thought that was really kind of, like, cute, that that was her reaction. And, you know, she grew up really poor. But it's kind of funny because, like, our experience diverges so differently. Like, I didn't grow up with anything either. But as a result, I think I've become really frugal in my life to the point that my girlfriend can make a joke about me never spending money. And it sort of, like, reminds me of something that, like, my family used to say when I was married. They. They used to refer to me and my partner then as cheap and cheaper. And, like, it's just funny because, like, that's not where I am now. I mean, that's. That's where I am now, I should say, but not where my partner is. Right. So, like, we approach spending money. So, so, so, so, so differently, you know, for her, she is willing to pay for experiences, and saving money is not so important for her because she wants to enjoy life at the moment. Whereas me, I'm always willing to defer, you know, whatever's going on in my life so that I can hopefully have a better life and a better plan in the future. And I think it's kind of great that we can kind of bring balance to each other, that I can encourage her to be a little bit more careful, that I can be a little bit less frugal. So, anyways, I think it's always good to find people who bring balance to your life.

[Courtney Harrell]

What is the Jehovah Witness view of money?

[Erica]

They don't shame wealth, but they always say that the main goal is to put the kingdom first. They always encourage giving voluntarily, charitably, within.

[Courtney Harrell]

The church itself, but not necessarily inherently, like, anti wealth. Like, I guess. I guess the question under. My question is you have jokingly called yourself cheap. And it does sound like you have a internal monologue that encourages you not to spend or makes you feel. I'm not sure if guilty is exactly the right word.

[Erica]

Yeah, no, very much. It really is. If I'm paying for something exclusively for myself, it's a challenge.

[Courtney Harrell]

Yeah.

[Erica]

So my daughter wanted a plant stand for her room. She was using the cat tree for plants. So the cat. There's plants all over the cat tree. And I was like, Honey, we need to buy you a plant stand. Like, let's get you a nice plant stand. So I bought her a plant stand. I put it together yesterday. I had no problem spending $60 on that and just getting that for her.

[Courtney Harrell]

Yeah.

[Erica]

On the other hand, I wanted some oversized sweaters to wear, like when it's been like spring. Ish. So I can wear an oversized sweater with leggings because that fits me, you know, I can get like a guy's oversized sweater, but it looks cute in girl form when it's like three sizes too big for you, hangs down over your leggings and it looks great for spring. But I'm like, ooh, $30. Oh, I don't know. And I was gonna buy like four and I'm like, I'll get two. And I haven't even unwrapped one, thinking that maybe I'm going to like, you know, return it. So there very much is like a guilt, a subtext to don't buy things for yourself. But I'm going to say that's not just cheapness, that's also like Jehovah's Witnesses. Like, that's that little voice in my head about if you have money, you use it for other people. So this is Friday. This is day three. My kids came home tonight. I fed them, made fried ravioli for them. I'm gonna go out with a friend of mine and have some drinks tonight. We want to do a little bit of dancing. So, you know, I'm sure we'll spend some money for that. Kind of excited to go dancing to hang out with this friend. But also, you know, I'm mindful of like, when I go out, how much do I spend? Like, I don't mean to be like, I don't know, penny pinching or whatever, but it does sort of always weigh on me, you know, like, am I overspending when I'm going out tonight? Am I being like mindful about what I'm spending? And it would just be kind of nice to not have to always think about that and just be able to go out and kind of like just go bananas and have a, have a good evening and not have to stress about like, oh my God, this is gonna have to like pay for this all month long now or something like that. So. Alright, well, I will tell you more about the evening and how it went tomorrow.

[Courtney Harrell]

Erica ended up paying for two drinks, bringing her total for the day to $40. Summer's here and Nordstrom has everything you need for your best dress season ever. From beach days and weddings to weekend getaways in your everyday wardrobe, discover stylish options under $100 from tons of your favorite brands like Mango Style Skims, Princess Polly and Madewell. It's easy too, with free shipping and free returns in store order pickup and more. Shop today in stores [e-mail] or download the Nordstrom app.

[Erica]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Courtney Harrell]

Of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com.

[Erica]

So it is day four. So today after I got the kids back to their other parents, I went to a softball pre party. So I like to play softball. I play in multiple leagues. We have a LGBT league here in town and that's like my home. That's what I really like the most. It's the team I like to play with absolutely the most. So anyways, we had a pre party at one of the queer bars, actually one of the ones that I work at. I get half off at the bar, but I didn't drink anything. I just didn't kind of feel like drinking anything after having drinks on Friday night because of, you know, I just don't like to drink very much. I don't like to spend the money. But I also just like don't like really how I feel when I'm drinking. So I usually try to avoid it. I watch when I bartend. Like, I watch people come in and out and like have $100, $150 tabs. And like, it's just kind of wild to me because I know that I have three kids and I'm trying to save, you know, I put Money in my 401ks and all of that and you know, I max out my 401k every year. I give my ex $1500 a month for child support. But I still make really good money. And it's just like, I don't know, it's aggravating to see people dispose that much money. And like, I don't feel like I can ever do that. Not That I would anyways, at least not on alcohol. Like, I would rather keep my hundred dollars than to have 10 drinks or maybe if you're in New York, like three drinks, I don't know. But you know, Pittsburgh is still a relatively reasonable place to, to have a nightlife and to live here. So. But it just kind of blows my mind how people can spend that much over and over and over and you know, that's just like not where I am. It's not where I can be, you know, mentally, like financially, even though, you know, I think I do okay.

[Courtney Harrell]

On day four, Erica spent $17 on Thai food. Then on day five, she drove her partner to pick up her dad's dog and take it to someone who could take care of it while her dad is in hospice. And while they were waiting for someone, Erica's partner's car battery died and they had to call aaa.

[Erica]

You know, my partner spent a lot of money when we were in Ireland. She doesn't make the kind of money that I do. So I was like, why don't you just, you know, head home? She got a ride home and I paid for her car, you know, the battery, which was like $220 or something like that. Which, you know, to me is like, yeah, it's not like a small expense, but I would spend that going out to eat on a nice night with her. So, you know, for me it's not a big deal for her. That's a lot of money. So I told her, you know, just, just head home, you know, just, I'll take care of it. So I just got her car working, we're driving. But I'm also thinking like, wow, that was kind of unexpected expense. Didn't mean to spend $225. And you know, it's okay, I don't mind helping. I want to help her out, especially if things are tight for her. But also I kind of believe in an equalization. I don't think that like, you know, I don't think people should have to like, contribute equally into a relationship, especially if they don't make equal money. Right. So I'm happy to support her in those ways. And I think that's what's really important for a relationship. I think there needs to be like, equilibrium and balance and support, especially when, like, money is so often the reason why relationships end. And it's kind of sad that like, you know, people can get along in every way except, you know, financially. They can't seem to find agreement. So, alright, that's it. Day 6 It's like 10:30 at night, I'm about to go to bed. But I wanted to do my recording this evening and I was thinking a little bit about like the trip I took to Ireland. My partner reminded me that we had a shared credit card that we used while we were there. So I put some expenses on that. She had used it for like some souvenirs for herself and you know, she had gotten like a wool sweater and a wool poncho and a bunch of really nice stuff. And I said, why don't I help you with some of those expenses because they're our shared credit card. And so that's what I did. So that was, that was, I sent her like 500. I'm also thinking about upcoming things. So this summer I would really like to take my daughter to Paris. A friend of mine is moving there and she has a place rented and so my daughter and I could stay there. And I'm thinking about, you know, doing that with my daughter and kind of exposing her to living in France and getting around and maybe learning to speak a little French. So I guess, you know, I spend a lot of money on travel. I guess that's probably where a lot of, a lot of the money I make goes that I don't, can't seem to account for at the end of the year. And it's the end of the month and so I've paid off everything and I have about sixteen seventeen hundred dollars left this month, which I know, you know, it's a lot of money for some people, so. So I'm thinking, you know, that's some money I can put away to go to Paris with my oldest daughter. I want to be able to take her abroad and have a big trip with her. So, alright, that's the end of the recording.

[Courtney Harrell]

Total for day six, $500. Day seven.

[Erica]

I was at work today on campus. This was my first day back since my surgery. Like my first regular day back as an advisor. I had been going back to teach, but I hadn't been going in to teach my classes. So this is my first day back as an advisor, which meant that I was working a regular, you know, long day.

[Courtney Harrell]

On day seven, Erica got lunch with a friend who she often has lunch with when they're both on campus and Erica picked up the meal.

[Erica]

A few months ago I was kind of short on money because sometimes in like January I haven't been working my part time jobs yet. Like they haven't started kicking in their pay. So I'm relying just on my two main jobs. And then I hadn't, you know, bartended for a while, so I was a little short on money. And she's like, let's go out. And I'm like, I'm a little short. I'm gonna bring him food. And she offered to pay for me, so I felt like I owed her. So I bought her lunch today. We had Korean food at this little kind of like college hole in the wall. And I spent like $26. You know, it's not bad for two lunches nowadays. I think it still kind of makes me miss the days when you get a five dollar lunch somewhere. But finding a $5 lunch is a real challenge.

[Courtney Harrell]

After her day on campus, Erica headed home and made a chickpea curry from ingredients she already had. But she did spend 70 bucks on an Amazon order. All just regular household supplies like razor blades and jumper cables. But she felt extra aware of the total because she tries to start reining in her expenses at the end of the semester.

[Erica]

Summer tends to be a little lean. So it's always kind of lean in like January when I don't have all my part time jobs. And then like summer months tend to be a little lean too since I'm not doing my part time jobs as well, my part time teaching jobs. The good thing is during the summer I do try to pick up extra shifts at the bar and usually that's pretty easy to do because people are on vacation or it's busy or it's pride month or different things like that. So. Yeah.

[Courtney Harrell]

Is there a financial goal for you? Like, I have to say something that I think is striking is that you work a lot and I don't get the sense that it is actually driven by money. I understand that you need to be able to like meet your needs, but I, I don't get the sense that you're like, I really must make this amount of money in order to like feel okay. But am I hearing that wrong? Is there a financial goal for you?

[Erica]

So here's the reality. If I cut down to one job, it's not enough. Yeah, I wouldn't be able to pay my mortgage and cover child support. Like, we don't live in a world where even one job with a graduate degree is enough money for a lot of people anymore. And especially living on my own, one job is not enough. So if I did my two full time jobs, I make about 60,000 at one and I make about 53 plus classes at the other. So if I teach a full load of classes all year long, I'll make about 85. So 1685 is 145. I could live on that without a problem, but I wouldn't be able to do everything I want. I wouldn't be able to buy lunch for friends whenever I want. I wouldn't be able to have people at my house and there to be drinks and food and give a place for people to feel welcome. I wouldn't be able to, like, just take my partner out to eat whenever she wanted. And I don't want to give those things up.

[Courtney Harrell]

So when you were at that moment of kind of peak jobs, was there a moment for you that you were like, this is too much?

[Erica]

Yeah, my ex told me that. She's like, this is not sustainable. And I was like, I know, I know.

[Courtney Harrell]

Did you know, though? Like she said, it's not sustainable, but do you feel that?

[Erica]

So my friend in Arizona, one of the people in the community college, said, how do you know the pizza man has too many pizzas to deliver? I mean, how do you know? How would you know that this is too many pizzas for, you know, whoever to deliver?

[Courtney Harrell]

They're getting cold.

[Erica]

They're getting cold. That's exactly what he said. And he's like, when the quality is not there, that's when you have to realize it's too much. I don't feel like my quality was ever not there legitimately. I feel like my quality was always still there, and I could keep up with all that. That being said, here's. Here's the issue is the quality was there for the students. It wasn't there for the partner.

[Courtney Harrell]

Right.

[Erica]

The quality was there for the students. It wasn't there for the kids. And perhaps most poignantly, the quality was there for the students, but not for the church. Yeah, work has always been a escape, at least. As somebody who was clearly gender diverse, you know, the way I would avoid really dedicating time to myself, which if I had dedicated time to myself, I would have realized that I was different, and I would have figured out how I was different, and I would have, you know, done my homework instead of just thinking I was a weird kid and a weird young adult, you know, was that I didn't ever give time to myself. And so, like, I. I used work as. As an escape, as a coping mechanism. And I'm cutting back because I don't need the coping mechanism anymore.

[Courtney Harrell]

Erica's total for the week was $1,026. What we spend is an Odyssey original podcast. It's written and hosted by me, Courtney Harrell. Our producers are Margot Gray, Kristin Torres, and Justine Dahm. Our editor is Jonathan Menhibar. Our executive producers are Maddie Sprunkiser, Pasha Saludja and Leah Reese. Dennis Theme song and original Music by Matt McGinley. Additional music from EPM Music Mixing by Pedro Alvira. Special thanks to Dress for Success. You can learn more about [e-mail] Special thanks also to Zach Clark, Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Kurt Courtney, Hilary Schuff, Sean Cherry, Laura Berman, and Hilary Van Ornam. If you want to be on what We Spend, we'd love to hear from you. Write us at whatwe spendpodcastmail.com we'll be back next week.

[C]

Starting your own business can be intimidating. Suddenly you're wearing all the hats. Designer marketer, Customer support, Shipping expert. It's a lot. That's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is the global commerce platform powering millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US Shopify has your back. With hundreds of ready to use templates, you can launch a beautiful professional online store that looks and feels like you need content. Shopify's AI tools can help you write product descriptions, headlines, even enhance your product photos. Want to grow your reach easily? Create email and social media campaigns to meet your audience wherever they're scrolling. And with Shopify's world class support, you'll have expert help for everything. Turn your big business idea into With Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com Odysseypodcast go to shopify.com Odyssey podcast shopify.com Odyssey podcast.

[Erica]

Hey, I'm Ben Stiller. And I'm Adam Scott and we host a podcast called the Severance Podcast where we used to break down every episode of the TV show Severance. Severance isn't back just yet, but the podcast is. Each week we'll discuss the movies, TV shows and ideas that influence the making of Severance. We're going to talk to the incredible artists who inspire us to do what we do. The Severance podcast returns Thursday, June 26th. Follow and listen everywhere you get your podcasts.