money musings: feb 2025
saved $4.2k this month and i still hate my job
Notable mentions this month include: going on medical leave for 12 days (and pissing off my PI while at it — yeah she toxic toxic), Lunar New Year brunch, public health layoffs like no other making people like me desperate to latch onto anyone who will give me an interview, my first real no buy month (with some caveats), and healthy TikTok recipes being better than ones from blogs.
The Wheel Of Life is a self-assessment tool that breaks down different areas of your life and measures the strength of each, on a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best).
This month’s average: 6.3.
Health (9) — Physically, I felt really good! I’ll likely attribute this to incorporating more whole foods and less processed carbohydrates into my diet, because I think I have more energy to get through the day. To be fair, I do wake up whenever my body “feels” like it thanks to my medical leave, so I had the opportunity to do a full reset. However, I have weaned off of coffee in the meantime. I did experience an upset stomach after eating overpriced vegetable tempura at a Japanese fusion restaurant.
Emotional (4) — I cried a lot this month. Cried because of how much I hated my PI, fear of being unwillingly unemployed, financial anxiety, preparing to move to a different city, losing a friend, and low self-esteem. A medical leave was necessary, and I am so glad I took it otherwise this rating would be 0.
Relationship (10) — Any relationship is best tested when you’re at your worst. If you can survive that, you can survive anything. Albeit, we did go through a break last year that was one of the darkest moments in time. This year, my crisis is of a different vein. Mr. Beans has been emotionally supportive throughout this low month, and it just further solidifies how he is my person for life.
Friendship (5) — I let go of a friend who I’ve known since undergrad and once considered my one and only best friend/sister. It was sad in the moment when I closed the door on the friendship for good, but now that I’m reflecting on this, I don’t feel as much sadness as I do indifference. I spent a late birthday with a good friend who drive an hour to see me, and on a separate occasion, caught up with Bumble Beans at her new apartment.
Professional (2) — I’ve had a few interviews so far since January, but no job offers extended. I also detest my 9-5 because of my PI, so I can’t speak positively in this domain. However, a small win is drafting a grant for the first time for a PI I’m working with (who is actually genuinely supportive and kind). It’s exciting because the lead-PI is a dream to work with!
Finances (8) — Despite my net worth barely increasing, I saved/invested around $4K and stuck to my no buy. I didn’t have to check YNAB as often, because I knew I wasn’t swiping my card on miscellaneous items.
A detailed overview of my income sources, mandatory expenses, non-essential expenses, and savings/investments. I use YNAB, a budgeting tool that allows me to budget with the money I already have, instead of what I plan to make. This section does not contain any financial advice; please do research on your own prior to making any investment-related decisions.
NET WORTH barely increased to $178,932.47.
INCOME amounted to +$3,502.22.
70% Full Time Job | 30% Side Hustles
Full-Time Job +$2,448.31: Increased my 401K allocation, hence the less than usual net take-home.
Substack +$74.05: Thank you. If you aren’t able to afford my subscription cost, you can always opt for the referral program for a free paid subscription! More information can be found here.
Partnership +$406.37: I did a low maintenance partnership throughout last month, and it paid so well! I’m waiting on the last $50 because I was supposed to receive $500 in total.
Interest Payment +$105.98: With Wealthfront, of course.
Zelle +$450.00: My dad sent me money on two occasions — once to pay me back for LNY lunch, and I don’t remember the second time.
PERISHABLE EXPENSES amounted to -$1,820.74 (52% of income).
Perishable expenses significantly impact my ability to comfortably live my life. So yes, I will “perish” (and yes, I get that this is an overstatement but I am a dramatic woman) without budgeting for these expenses. These are ordered from first to last by importance.
Rent -$1,398.37: Usual monthly rent plus my application fee for our new apartment (will start in March!).
Health +$99.48: Refilled my Lexapro, paid off my orthopedic bill (I thought the charge hit last month but I guess it didn’t?), co-pay for my psychiatrist nurse and a $15 fee for her to fill out my FMLA forms.
Groceries -$278.59: My dad actually covered one of my grocery shopping runs since I restocked when I was visiting them one of the weekends. My “real” total would have been around $350.
Gas -$44.30: I filled up gas twice this month, but the second fill was covered by my dad for the same reason as above. Whenever I visit my parents, they always want to cover my expenses. I am grateful!
PRIVILEGED EXPENSES amounted to -$133.70 (4% of income).
These are items that, with my privilege, I am gratefully able to afford them. They impact my life positively, but not to the point where I would “perish” if I didn’t have them. These are ordered from first to last by importance.
Spotify -$16.99: Monthly charge for a family plan. Everyone Venmo’ed me their year’s subscription share last April ($2.83 per month * 12 months = $33.96 per person), so now each charge deducts from that balance. Rinse and repeat this April.
Maintenance -$15.25: I’m so proud of this amount. I only purchased Triple A batteries, shipping cost adjustment for an item I shipped through Ebay last month, and a shipping label for Mr. Beans’ return.
Dates -$14.75: Went to a coffee shop with Mr. Beans and worked there for a few hours.
Social -$86.71: I covered my friend’s lunch and coffee for his birthday. The kicker was the $26 I spent on vegetable tempura that gave me food poisoning.
RICH LIFE amounted to -$148.99 (4% of income).
Rich life expenses are nice to have, but by no means necessary.
Gifts -$148.99: Lunar New Year lunch take-out for my parents and Mr. Beans (which my dad paid me back for — see income).
INVESTMENTS amounted to +$4,243.03.
I only display my net, not gross income, so the “Employer Retirement Account” amounts do not make up any part of the Income amount.
Roth IRA +$0: I’d like to point out that I actually do have money saved in this bucket to invest, but I’m holding off until I secure a new job. I’m aiming to increase my liquid funds now that I’m nearing the end of my current job.
Employer Retirement Account
401A (My Contribution) +$813.62: With my salary, it is quite difficult to max out this account, so I’m doing the best I can.
401A (Employer Contribution) +$472.70: Always grateful for that 8% match.
403B (My Contribution) +$1,558.00
Savings +$1,398.79: This amount is my income subtracted by the expenses listed above. YNAB is handy, because I don’t always have to send the full amount to only my sinking funds. I am able to “pre-fund” spending for the next month’s expenses ahead. Therefore, this amount covered a portion of my perishable expenses for March. If you’re interested in learning more, this guide walks through what I did.
As seen above, I barely spent on anything outside of the essentials. I’m currently on a no buy until I get a new job.
Here are some things I’ve learned this month:
The grocery bill will increase at a frightening rate when you go on a no buy. It seems unintuitive, since all your expenses should be decreasing. However, most no-buys, like mine, include the restriction of not eating out as frequently, or at all. I only went out twice this month, hence the social spend, but every other meal was home-cooked. I’m looking at a $350/month grocery budget and my goal for this year is to find that perfect balance of buying what I’ll actually consume without anything growing mold.
I’ve actually been buying more fresh produce, despite me saying in my Instagram post that I want to buy less. I created the post during a time of high stress and anxiety, and was living off of Trader Joe’s prepared meals. Now that I’m not, I’m enjoying the (fresh) fruits (and veg) of my labor.
Not being able to see my therapist is hard. Because she charges $210/session, I decided to remove it from my budget. It’s interesting to see how much more excited I am about seeing my therapist when I’m done with my no buy as compared to buying a new top.
A clean home does require product maintenance, but it doesn’t always have to be expensive. Even though I am a sucker for cleaning products and tools, this no buy forced me to use up a bunch of random location-specific sprays for my kitchen island even though I was tempted to buy a multipurpose cleaner.
TikTok is the place to go for the best and easy recipes. Not only can you eyeball the measurements in your cooking, but also, there are tons of “sheet-pan” or “one-bowl” recipes that taste incredible. It also helps to see the preparation in action, as compared to static pictures on a blog. The ingredients are also incredibly easy to find. Anyone else face the struggle of coming across a blog recipe and seeing a niche ingredient that you’ll likely never use but don’t want to follow the steps in the situation it turns out terrible without that ingredient? Because same.
I let go of the “auto-buy” mindset. Run out of an item? Think more carefully about whether I actually need to restock it or not. An example is my Love Wellness Multivitamin. I took it routinely and felt good while on it. I’d love to repurchase it again, but to maximize my health benefits, I purchased a B-Complex Supplement instead which targets certain vitamin deficiencies I may have as someone who’s angular cheilitis prone and vegan.
START journaling. I haven’t journaled in an embarrassingly long time, as someone who used to journal every. single. day. I actually enjoy the process of it, but I know that if I ever overdo something, I later find myself hating it. I think that’s what happened to my journaling habit. I will try to make it easy for myself and write in bullet points, since that takes up less brain power than writing in full sentences.
STOP buying pre-packaged meals. This was useful during a period of high stress, but now that I’ve faced my personal reality and have come to terms with it (thanks to 5 years of therapy that have helped me cope with ugly emotions), I don’t need it anymore. Another one is to stop letting LinkedIn layoff posts affect me. Every day, it feels like a new public health organization is doing layoffs. It’s demoralizing considering the increased competition, but I know that mindset will jumpstart all the bad feelings.
CONTINUE cooking healthy, nutritious, fiber-rich and protein-dense meals using fresh or frozen produce. Keep remaking my favorite recipes, and explore making new ones! I’ve got my eye on marry me vegan pasta and matcha balls.
