Hello! We’re showing up in your inbox a lot this week because I wanted to make sure to squeeze in the paid edition of Home Economics before the end of the month. Plus, we’ll have Friday’s weekly roundup, and on Saturday, I’ll send the monthly receipts. I hope you don’t get sick of us!
Just a reminder that through the end of February, we’ll be donating 10% of all new annual subscriptions to the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.
Now on to today’s Home Economics!
I know featuring a high earner often raises some eyebrows (and, frankly, gets people to click), and there’s something so titillating about someone being so young and earning over $200,000 a year. But when I read today’s entry, I found it very relatable. Yes, as a third-year law associate she earns a higher salary than I ever have, even in my peak corporate media days. But she’s also like most people in their late 20s, trying to figure out where her life is going, where she will live, when she should buy a home, and how she and her fiancé (who earns a lot less) are going to build their lives together.
In the “Tell us more” section, she turns the questions back on readers and asks a good one: “I’m curious if any readers have advice on setting financial priorities when the future is uncertain.” She doesn’t plan on working in Big Law forever, and she admits this might be the highest salary she ever earns. How does she make the most of it?
I’m sure you readers probably have some advice. (I also recommend she check out Furloughed in Tucson, which featured another breadwinning lawyer who once worked in Big Law.) Leave your thoughts in the comments!
We’re always looking for new editions of Home Economics. We want to feature all kinds of incomes, family types, jobs, and locations! You can fill out the form here. It’s slightly updated for the new year!
Age: 29
Location: Houston
Relationship status: Engaged. My fiancé and I recently got engaged after four years of dating. We’re getting married in spring of 2027.
Age of partner: 32
About me: I’m a 29-year-old attorney based in Houston. Outside of work, I love reading, cooking, and needlepoint. I’m currently an associate at a large law firm, but I don’t expect to stay there for the entirety of my career. There’s a real possibility that my current salary will be the highest I ever earn. I’m preparing for that reality by investing a significant portion of my income, while also trying to juggle near-term goals like saving for my upcoming wedding, paying off my fiancé’s student loans (about $40,000) once we’re married, and buying a home within the next five years.
All expenses are monthly unless otherwise noted.
Income:
- Your job title/salary: I’m a third-year associate. My firm follows the Cravath scale, which means that my compensation is in lockstep with other Big Law firms, and I get a pay raise each year. Last year, as a second-year associate, I earned $235,000. My salary will increase to $260,000 next month. I’ve only been working for my firm for about 18 months; I started as a second-year associate. After law school, I clerked for a judge for a year and made $70,000. But Big Law recruited so heavily at my law school, and it was hard to pass up making this salary for at least a little while.
- Partner’s job title/salary: My partner graduated with a humanities PhD last August. He is completing a one-year postdoc in a different city in Texas, and he is looking for a permanent position. I don’t include his details below because we haven’t combined our finances. We plan to combine once we’re married. He makes roughly $45,000. His fixed expenses are low (his rent is $400!), and he while he has student loans, he doesn’t have any credit card debt. That said, I often pay for date nights and travel due to our income disparity.
- Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $14,557.68
- Total monthly income: $14,557.68
Account balances:
- Checking account balance: $5,684
- Savings account balance: N/A. I keep all my savings in my high-yield savings.
- High-yield savings account balance: $63,725 (3.4% APY)
- Monthly contribution to savings account: Roughly $7,500
- Retirement account(s) balance:
- 401(k): $39,596
- Roth IRA: $45,924
- IRA (from my employer before law school): $2,800
- Monthly contribution to retirement accounts: I try to max out my employer-sponsored 401(k) as early in the year as possible. I am now over the income limit to put money into the Roth IRA that I contributed to during law school.
- Investment account balance: I don’t have any money in investment accounts outside of my retirement accounts. I want to invest more, but I struggle with the short-term nature of a lot of my financial goals (buying a house, paying for a wedding, etc.).
- 529 account balance: N/A
- Emergency fund balance: I consider my HYSA to be my emergency fund.
- Goals-oriented savings accounts: I am envisioning part of my HYSA to be a wedding fund. My parents are generously contributing $50,000 to our wedding, and I will contribute around $20,000 (but I haven’t made an exact wedding budget yet). We haven’t discussed it, but I don’t think my fiancé will be contributing because his salary is so low.
Total in checking, savings, and investment accounts: $157,729
