budget breakdown, episode one

organized finance's december 2024 spending, social media growth tips, and lifestyle favs

Welcome to the first episode of Budget Breakdown, where I feature online finance creators’ budget for a designated month — this includes their real numbers for income, expenses, and savings/investments. In addition, they answer my questions about their 9-5, academic and career trajectory, side hustles, and/or monetization surrounding their social media presence. Most importantly, I end each breakdown with lifestyle-related questions to shine light on their qualities outside of just finance. We finance creators aren’t that boring, alright!

I am so delighted to feature Organized Finance as my first guest on this series — please give her a warm welcome.

organized finance’s vision board

Name/username + pronouns:

@organized.finance + she/her

How old are you, what is your job title and field, what type of city do you live in (high/medium/low cost of living, etc.):

25 years old, software engineer working at a tech company, HCOL (San Francisco Bay Area)

organized.finance

A post shared by @organized.finance

Where did you attend? What degrees do you have?

I have a BS and MS in Computer Science from Stanford.

Is your degree related to the career you're pursuing at this moment?

Yes, very!

What does your career trajectory look like?

I’ve been working full-time as a software engineer for over 3 years now. I was affected by a mass layoff in early 2024, at which point I received a big ($65k+) severance package. I took a few months to interview and find my new (current) job, which I plan to stay at for 2 years before job hopping for higher pay.

What do you use to manage your finances?

My finances are mostly on autopilot at this point. I automate contributions from my paycheck to my checking account, brokerage account, and HYSA (for sinking funds). I’ve used budgeting apps on and off (such as Monarch), but I’ve stopped being so strict with budgeting lately, since I know that even when I’m not tracking the numbers, my expenses tend to stay within a reasonable range. I use my net worth tracker to track my net worth after every paycheck – it’s so rewarding seeing the numbers go up over time!

What are your short-term finance goals?

In 2025, I want to max out my 401K and backdoor Roth IRA, invest an additional $60k (not including retirement), secure a raise/promo at work, earn $20k or more from side hustles, and spend at least $4k on travel.

I'd also love to see my net worth hit $500k in 2024, but I know that that's dependent on external factors like the stock market, so I won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen!

Do you recommend any resources that have been integral to your financial independence journey?

I recommend reading I Will Teach You to Be Rich and Die with Zero!

Net Worth:

$344k

• Investments: ~$312k (401K, Roth IRA, HSA, brokerage accounts)

• Savings: ~$33k (HYSAs, checking accounts)

I also have an old Honda that is probably worth a few thousand dollars, but I don’t include it in my net worth.

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Income:

• $14,509 → Income from software engineering (gross pay)

• $2,693 → Income from social media (mostly digital product sales, some referral bonuses)

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Essential Spending:

• Rent - $1,450

• Groceries - $198 (lower than usual because we stayed with family for about a week in December)

• Internet - $33

• Gas - $62

• Car insurance (pro-rated) - $70

• Water bill - $46

• Gas + electricity - $83

Non-Essential Spending:

• Flights (we visited family for Christmas) - $429

• Gifts - $231

• Restaurants/eating out - $168

• OrangeTheory - $129

• Contributions to family - $113

• Netflix - $6.99

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Which sinking funds or retirement accounts did you allocate money to?

I contribute to sinking funds for: travel, car repairs/maintenance, gifts, eating out, and contributions to family.

Pros and cons of living in the Bay Area?

• Pros: amazing food, cultural diversity, pleasant weather, job opportunities, and great pay for tech jobs

• Cons: high cost of living, terrible traffic during rush hour, and the social pressure to be “successful”

How do you deal with family members asking for money?

Last year, I lent $10k to a family member…despite everyone advising me not to. Fast forward one year later, and it turns out that person was dishonest about why he wanted the money. I’ve accepted that I probably won’t be getting it back.

If a family member asks you for money, my advice is this:

• If giving the money to the family member will not negatively impact your financial situation (and you want to give it to them), then treat it as a gift and assume you won’t get it back. If you do get it back, it’ll be a pleasant surprise!

• If you can’t afford to give them the money, set boundaries. If possible, explain your situation and offer to lend a lower amount.

How do you grow a finance Instagram account?

Here are some tips:

1. Be authentic: Share content you actually care about – people can tell when your content has no meaning behind it. Be transparent, share your background, interact with your audience on stories, post behind-the-scenes content, and keep your audience in-the-loop about your life.

2. Curate your aesthetic: I know some social media gurus say that aesthetics make no difference in social media growth, but I really believe that having a clean and consistent content aesthetic is an easy way to set yourself apart! It also helps people recognize your content immediately when they see it in their feeds.

3. Create quality content: Your account will only grow if people want to engage with it. Make sure your content is interesting, eye-catching, and of high quality. Before designing a post, ask yourself: if you came across this post in your feed, would you engage with it, or would you pass over it?

I captured all my learnings from growing my anonymous social media account from 0 to 100k followers here 💕

How do you start making money as a finance social media creator?

I would recommend sharing the tools you use in your own personal finance journey, gauge your audience’s response to those tools, and use that feedback to either create your own offers or partner with relevant companies.

For example, I update my my net worth tracker after every paycheck, and I’ve been posting those updates to @organized.finance for years now. Early on, I noticed that whenever I posted my net worth tracker, people would ask where it’s from and how they can download it. I took that as a sign that my audience wanted a tool to track their net worth, so I created a digital download version of my own tracker and put it up for sale.

organized.finance

A post shared by @organized.finance

Three things you cannot live without:

My laptop, my running shoes, and the Libby app

Currently listening to:

• 🎵 Del Water Gap, Hozier, Post Malone, and Gibran Alcocer (while I work)

• ✏️ The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast

• 📕 Jim Dale’s audiobook narration of the Harry Potter series

Things you love:

Curating hyper-specific spotify playlists, group fitness workouts, “bean” salads, crosswords, chocolate chip cookies, designing cute collages, puzzles, everyday interactions I have with people through @organized.finance, limited series that I can binge watch in a day, audiobooks, my fitbit, heated blankets, and cozy nights in 🥰

Things you've regretted spending money on:

Laser hair removal, salsa classes I never went to, a non-refundable flight I ended up not being able to take

Your last day of earth meal spread:

Baked brie, blackberries, sparkling cider, chocolate fudge cake, & thick-crust pizza

Items on your wishlist:

Plane tickets to one of the many countries I want to visit!