Before I kick things off today, I just want to acknowledge that it’s yet another week where sending this email feels very weird because of the state of our world. I don’t really know what else to say other than hug your loved ones close, help your neighbors, and GO VOTE. Early voting for the mayoral primary (and many other local races) starts in New York City this weekend.
Today, I’m so excited to publish my 30th edition of Home Economics! Running this series is one of my favorite things—I love to talk to the women who write them, and I love to see how you readers respond to their stories in the comments.
When I sit down to choose an entry to feature, I think about a few things:
- Do they have an interesting story? (And interesting is subjective, because I think it’s fascinating when writers go into detail about what they buy at the grocery store or how they feel about their health insurance premium.)
- Are they based in a city/state I haven’t featured before?
- Are their financial circumstances different from the last Home Economics?
To date, 91 people have submitted Home Economics entries. Most are written by women, but there are a handful from men. (I haven’t yet published one from a man. TBD if I will.) The majority are based in the U.S., but I have gotten a couple from the U.K. and Canada, as well as one from Africa (though I’ve yet to publish an international edition). I would wager that two are fake. (Don’t ask me how I can tell; it’s just a hunch.)
I was personally curious how many U.S. states are represented among the entries (published and submitted), so I spent an afternoon creating a map in Canva. (Yes, there are probably better ways I could have spent my time, but I have no regrets!) The red pins indicate there’s a published entry from that location, and the yellow pins indicate there’s a submission. Sorry that the map doesn’t include Hawaii or Alaska—I don’t have submissions from those states either!1
It’s not surprising that we overindex on the coasts, with many coming from New York City (three published entries and nine total submissions, plus an additional two from upstate) and the San Francisco Bay Area (four published entries and nine total submissions). But I was a little surprised that I’ve only received two entries from Florida (and also, one was written by a guy). And I haven’t received any entries from the following states:
This is all a long-winded way of saying I’d love to get more submissions so we could be closer to hitting all 50 states. I’m also always looking for diverse stories—interesting family situations, income ranges, and job titles. Really anything goes! And I *think* everyone who has participated has had a good experience.
You can fill out the form here. And feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
And now on to today’s Home Economics, which is our first from Washington, DC! You can quickly see why I related so much to this entry! I hope you enjoy it!
Age: 44
Location: Washington, DC
Relationship status: Married
Age of partner: 48
About me: I’m a very typical white collar professional in her early 40s living in the Washington, DC, metro area. I’m married to a federal government employee (fun time to be that right now), and we have a tween daughter. After 20+ years of climbing the corporate (nonprofit management) ladder, I left the full-time workforce in 2024 due to severe burnout. I was the primary earner prior to my leaving, so for the past year we’ve been learning how to live on one (relatively modest for our area) income and figure out what’s next financially. My husband and I are both first-generation immigrants, and we define financial health very differently, so we’re really relearning everything we believe about money and financial health right now.
Income:
- Your job title/salary: Self-employed consultant, $24,000
- Partner’s job title/salary: IT systems administrator, $120,000
- Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): It’s variable based on hours I can bill, but it averages about $2,300/month pre-tax (no withholding since I’m a 1099 consultant)
- Partner’s monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $6,498
- Side hustle: I make about $500/month from working part-time at a local business
- Total monthly income: $9,298
