Good evening, friends! I’m trying a new send time for paid Home Economics, but to be honest, it may be the first and only time I send it out at 7 p.m. on a Thursday. August schedules are weird, and mine has been the weirdest. The past couple of weeks have been hectic, as I’ve been wrapping up a few big projects. (I hope you’ve had a chance to check out The Bank of Mom and Dad, and if you discovered The Purse via the series on Yahoo, welcome! We’re so glad you’re here!) On top of all the work, I’m bracing myself for back to school. I’m not ready! Are you?
But today’s newsletter isn’t about the impending school year. I’ve got a juicy Home Economics for you!
The writer of today’s Home Ec is very open about how she’s benefitted from generational wealth. I don’t think anyone would describe her as (monetarily) rich, but she and her family have been able to live comfortably on teachers’ salaries due to the support she’s received from her parents. And thanks to a windfall inheritance from her grandfather, her husband was able to quit his job and take some time to figure out a new career path.
This edition poses an interesting question: What would you do with an unexpected windfall? How would it change your life? And how would your life stay the same?
I have lots more thoughts on this, which I plan to explore later on this fall! The topic of generational wealth is fascinating to me, and if you have thoughts you want to share, feel free to reply to this email.
Age: 35
Location: Orlando, Florida
Relationship status: Married
Age of partner: 35
About me: I’m a teacher, wife, and mom. My husband and I met during college and finished our undergraduate and graduate degrees at the same university where I currently teach. While we dreamed of moving to the Pacific Northwest, our families are local, so we stayed in Florida. It has been so nice (and financially necessary) to have our family support system.
Florida does not pay teachers well, and teaching in a red state can be difficult (with book bans, censored curriculum, and so on). Our current salaries reflect more than a decade of teaching experience, graduate degrees in our respective fields, a promotion, and multiple raises. Even then, it is mostly because of our privilege, generational wealth, and family support (read: free childcare) that we can afford to live the life we do. We’re also in a moment of transition. My husband just completed his 11th year teaching at a public Title 1 high school. After feeling burnt out for the last few years, he decided not to return to teaching this fall. He is now taking a sabbatical to rest and figure out what he’d like to do for the next part of his career. As such, we are now a one-income household.
All expenses are monthly unless otherwise noted.
Income:
- Your job title/salary: Associate instructor at a local university, ~$58,000
- Partner’s job title/salary: Currently unemployed, $0 (formerly a high school teacher, ~$59,000)
- Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $4,276 for September through May; $0 for the summer months. We never chose to have our salary spread out across the whole year, so we’ve always had to budget for the summer months when we don’t receive a paycheck.
- Partner’s monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): Currently $0. In the past, he made $3,900 for September through June and $0 during the summer months.
- Total monthly income: Starting this August, we’ll only have one paycheck coming in. I just got a raise this month, and we’ll be primarily living on just my monthly take-home pay of $4,276.
