Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.
Today: a physician assistant who makes $127,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on a leather passport cover.
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Occupation: Physician assistant
Industry: Healthcare
Age: 28
Location: Oregon
Salary: $127,000, with the potential for about $40,000-$60,000 extra in call weekends, late pay and bonuses.
Assets: HYSA: $32,500; checking: $5,500; Vanguard brokerage: $2,300; employer 401(k): $48,000; Vanguard Roth IRA: $22,000; car: about $25,000 (per Kelley Blue Book).
Debt: Student loans: $13,500.
Paycheck amount (2 x/month): About $3,000.
Pronouns: She/her
Monthly Expenses
Housing costs: Rent: $1,350 (my half for a two-bed, two-and-a-half-bath condo I share with my boyfriend, M.). This includes utilities, wi-fi, TV and a storage unit that has a bunch of my stuff in it.
Loan payments: Student loan: $800.
Health insurance: $39
FSA: $1,000 for the entire year.
Retirement: 17% of my paycheck. I had a lower percentage earlier this year while trying to pay down student debt but recently increased it to try and max out my 401(k) for the year. My employer matches 4% yearly.
Car & rental insurance: About $500 every six months (bundled).
Gas: $50 — I can walk to work most days now but still drive to the hospital one or two times a week.
Phone: $0. I’m still on my mom’s plan and have offered numerous times to pay her but she always declines.
Spotify: $10.99
Apple iCloud: $2.99
Disney+, Amazon, Paramount+: $0 (from my dad).
Netflix: $0 (from my mom).
MAX & Apple+: $0 (from M.).
Savings: About $3,000 a month (this definitely varies).
Annual Expenses
Ski pass: $900
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
There definitely was. I grew up in the suburbs in Colorado and my public high school had about a 95% graduation rate. My friends and I were all in AP classes and almost all of my friends went to college. My dad has his bachelor’s and went into the navy after graduating college. He eventually opened his own business and has become successful from this. My mom finished her master’s in computer science when I was a baby and has always been an advocate for women in STEM. I never really thought of another option besides college. My parents had 529s set up for my sister and me so I knew that if I went to an in-state college, I would have most (if not all) of my undergraduate education paid for. Prior to undergrad I knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare but I wasn’t sure if it should be as a physician assistant or MD. I applied to several BA/MD programs but did not get into any. After my first year in undergrad, I decided to move in with my mom again to save money since she offered to let me live rent-free and cover groceries. I commuted 30-45 minutes a day to my campus (on the bus) and it saved me so much money. I also worked a part-time job for all of undergrad. By the time I graduated, I still had money left in my 529 and used this for an EMT class and to help pay for grad school. I got into PA school in NYC right before the pandemic (I moved there in February 2020). My parents agreed to cover my living costs (which was HUGE given the cost of living in NYC) and I was responsible for my tuition. I had enough savings (between working during/after undergrad, money from a car crash settlement, and selling my car) that I did not need to take out loans until my last year. My total PA grad loans ended up being $41,000, which was significantly less than most of my classmates.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My parents started talking about money from a very young age. Starting around kindergarten, my parents would pay us an allowance for doing chores. My sister and I received $5 total but only got to keep $4 as the extra $1 was put away into “savings”. My parents then opened a savings account for us. Growing up, I was extremely scared to spend money; I refused to buy almost anything. I’m not really sure why — maybe because my parents kept reinforcing the idea that saving money is good and debt is bad. It was not until after undergrad that I started to feel more comfortable with spending money on myself, including on clothes, going out or travel. Although my parents had a good mindset about money, it was usually my mom who was the most savvy. She grew up low-middle class and had to pay her way through college and life. She never had savings growing up. She has worked her way up in the IT world and taught herself about stocks and real-estate investments. She could technically retire now but continues to work to help build her nest egg. She was always adamant about spending money on things she enjoys most like skiing, traveling and trips to see family. My dad has become better with money over the years but he definitely struggled after my parents’ divorce. My sister had to lend him money at times. After starting his business he became fairly successful. He states that all his assets will go to my stepmom and he plans on spending all of his money by the time he passes away (which is hopefully many decades in the future).
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was as a soccer referee when I was 12; this lasted about three months because the parents on the sidelines were too mean. I started babysitting shortly after that. In eighth grade, my mom moved to a new neighborhood with all new, young families. I quickly became the go-to babysitter for about 10 families. One of the families had me babysit every Friday night for about two years. I would also house-sit for families (sometimes several at a time). By the time I was 16 years old, I was basically babysitting every weekend night, plus some weeknights. I mainly did this to build up my savings because I was too scared to spend any of my money.
Did you worry about money growing up?
I worried that I did not have enough money. However, in the grand scheme of things, I lived a very comfortable childhood. Looking back we were definitely upper-middle class. All of my friends received cars (usually used) for their 16th birthdays. Everyone was enrolled in extracurricular activities. We always had ski trips in the winter and beach vacations in the summer. My mom did save in other ways. We always shopped the sale racks/clearance items. I always carpooled or biked to after-school activities. I think it was my parents arguing after their divorce that gave me some negative connotations about money. My mom made more money than my dad, which definitely made him feel insecure. He was also not very good about saving his money, or at least not as good as my mom. My mom is still better off than my dad but they have both done very well for themselves.
Do you worry about money now?
Yes and no. Since finishing grad school and starting my job, money has been less worrisome. After grad school I had $41,000 in student debt and $25,000 for a car loan. I paid off my car in one year and have paid off the majority of my student debt. Trying to pay off debt while maxing out 401(k)s, Roth IRAs and savings has been hard. I’ve also been spending more money on travel and things I like, since I had to sacrifice most of my personal life for the two and a half years of grad school. My biggest concern is that my boyfriend and I are not on the same page about money. I know I’m much better at saving money and paying off debt. My coworkers and friends like to discuss our salaries and job growth as most of us work in STEM or healthcare and constantly feel like we have to break the glass ceiling compared to our male counterparts.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
At 26. I finished grad school and had the summer living at home with my mom prior to starting my job and moving to Oregon. Once I started my job I was 95% responsible for all bills and expenses. This felt like a long time coming but also hit all at once between rent, student/car loans and the cost of life in general.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
Yes, for undergrad and part of grad school. I never received an inheritance but my parents paid for all of my undergrad and NYC living costs while in grad school. I know my mom has a large net worth but I hope both of my parents live long enough that I don’t have to think about an inheritance for several more decades.
Day One: Tuesday
6:15 a.m. — Wake up after snoozing my alarm for 30 minutes. I’m the girl that sets 15 alarms five minutes apart because I struggle to get out of bed so bad. Go downstairs to start the coffee in the French press, then go back upstairs to get dressed (joggers and a comfy T-shirt) before heading back down to finish getting the coffee made. Kiss my boyfriend, M., goodbye and walk to work. Since I moved in with M. in March, my work is only a five-minute walk away. From October to March it rains, so we’ll see if I keep up this routine throughout the rest of the year.
7 a.m. — Get to work and change into scrubs. I work as an orthopedic physician assistant (PA) and today is our operating room day. We have about 10 cases and run two different rooms. I’m in charge of positioning the patient, suturing the skin and placing any splints on the patient. I also have to place medication orders and discharge orders for all patients. It’s been a while since I haven’t had a trainee working with me so the booked schedule is definitely going to make me tired. Luckily the doctor I work with is in a good mood.
11:12 a.m. — Finally have a break between cases to go to the bathroom and grab a snack/lunch. I’ve been stuck in heavy OR lead (to protect from all the X-rays we take during cases) and I am sweating! Between retracting, wearing OR gowns, and hot OR lights, I feel like I sweat out my body weight every day. Grab a Chomps stick, fruit snacks and Perfect bar to hopefully sustain me for the rest of the day. Cases have been going well overall and we have good OR banter. Fun fact: We learn that bats have nipples in their armpits — the more you know.
5:55 p.m. — Finally finish cases. We ran behind and had an add-on case that no one knew about. My body is exhausted after the day. I usually try to run three or four miles after work on Tuesdays but it is not going to happen today. M. texts and says he’s at the grocery store (thank god). Change out of scrubs and walk home.
6:45 p.m. — M. cooks quinoa bowls for dinner (he bought groceries). He’s definitely the cook out of the two of us. I have no desire to cook and could sustain myself on packaged salads and frozen Trader Joe’s food (Girl Dinner, anyone?) but he prefers to make really nice dinners. We catch up on work (he just quit his job as an ortho rep and there’s always drama to be had). We just started watching The Bear so we watch a couple episodes before bed.
10:30 p.m. — Finally head up to bed. I read a couple pages of a book I’m not interested in and scroll on Instagram for a bit, then finally get to bed around 11 p.m.
Daily Total: $0
Day Two: Wednesday
6:10 a.m. — Another day of snoozing all my alarms. Go downstairs and start the water for the French press. Get dressed in sweatpants and a shirt (it should be illegal how I show up looking for work, but no one sees me in my Crocs-sweatpants combo so I stopped caring). Kiss M. goodbye and wish him a happy two-year anniversary, then head to the main hospital for work.
7 a.m. — Get to the main hospital for another OR day. Today it’s total joint replacements (hips and knees), plus a couple of trauma add-ons. These days are also physically exhausting but luckily no 20 lb OR lead. As the assistant I’m expected to hold and retract. This basically means that I hold the legs of patients and help dislocate/reduce them. What patients don’t always understand is that I’m holding their 50-100 lb leg and manipulating. What this basically means is that my work can feel like a workout. I see the other PA that’s helping out during cases today and we catch up on life since it’s been two weeks since we’ve worked together.
3:48 p.m. — Finally get a break in the day to eat a snack. We usually try and have a quick 10-minute lunch break between patients but we’ve been too slammed today to fit one in until now. I’m pretty shaky and hungry, and scarf down an oat milk yogurt, banana and peanut butter before the next cases start. This hospital expenses all food for PAs, doctors and NPs so no cost for me.
5:07 p.m. — Finish cases. Luckily I’m not the late PA today as M. and I have our anniversary dinner tonight at a local restaurant.
7 p.m. — Head to a town just outside of where we live for dinner. The place we are going to is a family-run restaurant that is really hard to get reservations at. While on the drive there, M.’s oil light comes on, which is worrying. Earlier this summer, we were driving to Washington for a concert when his oil light came on and a full weekend adventure ensued of trying to fix a blown-out oil pan, riding in the car on the back of a tow truck (not sure if that’s legal) and driving home in 100-degree heat with no A/C for fear of stressing the engine. When we get to the restaurant there doesn’t appear to be any leaking oil. I try not to get too anxious but it definitely puts a damper on the mood. We still have a nice anniversary dinner. M. pays — we spent the past weekend on the coast and M. paid for the Airbnb but I bought food.
10 p.m. — Get home from dinner after sitting in construction traffic. I tell M. his anniversary gift is flights to Colorado for a ski trip with my mom and sister in February; he says my anniversary gift is a weekend in Portland. Head to bed, honestly too tired to do much besides immediately fall asleep.
Daily Total: $0
Day Three: Thursday
7:50 a.m. — Finally get to sleep in a little. I work four days during the week and always get Thursdays off, which is a godsend. I try to sleep in more but I’ve become pretty bad at it. Usually I try to go on a trail run on Thursday morning but my body is just not feeling it this week. I try to respect it; maybe I’ll be motivated for yoga later. M. brings me coffee in bed (my favorite) and we have a nice lazy morning.
11 a.m. — M. gets called in to drop some stuff off at the hospital. We make a game plan for the day. M. will run over to the restaurant from last night because the owner texts us letting us know we forgot half our steak. I’ll then run to Home Depot to pick up some paint for the bathrooms. We recently replaced the light fixtures and there is some ugly paint underneath. I look through the five shades of white paint buckets we have in the closet and try to find the best match. Head to Home Depot to buy some more and it sort of matches but doesn’t seem perfect. I’ll go back later next week with a paint chip to see if that works better. $15.93
4 p.m. — Time for pottery! I started making pottery in May as a way to destress and have a creative outlet. At the time, I’d just finished a half-marathon and was feeling like I needed another outlet in life. I’m absolutely hooked. I buy the classes once every two months and am halfway through this current batch. I glaze a couple of pieces, trim a couple of mugs and throw (on the wheel) what I hope will be four tumbler mugs.
8:30 p.m. — Get home from pottery and make some mac and cheese from the pantry. Also eat a couple of peaches that I got from my aunt’s peach tree. Catch up with M. and watch the reunion episode of Love is Blind UK. Despite M. protesting watching it initially, I think he secretly loves the drama and relationships. Now we just need another US season. In bed by 10 p.m. after struggling through a couple more pages of my book, which isn’t great.
Daily Total: $15.93
Day Four: Friday
5:20 a.m. — The struggle of waking up today is real. Make coffee and kiss M. goodbye. I have to go round patients admitted in the hospital from the OR two days ago. One guy is super grumpy about the nurses from yesterday and the other guy just wants me to close his blinds.
7 a.m. — Finally get to the other hospital (I work out of one surgery center and two hospitals). We normally have clinic today but once every four months we pick up a Friday at this hospital. Today is another day of total joints and my body is TIRED. I run into M. as he’s here repping a case for another surgeon — it’s always fun to see him. Today’s his last day of work and he is over it.
12 p.m. — Grab a vegan chicken salad and jerky stick from the doctors lounge for lunch. I’m feeling more laissez-faire today and not really rushing to set up cases. We have a really tough total knee replacement after lunch, luckily everything looks good by the end.
5:36 p.m. — Finally finish work. Change out of scrubs and into the sweatpants/Crocs combo I showed up in. Now it’s time to rush home as I’m getting dinner with the girls from work. We all started as PAs within two months of each other and have become pretty close over the last two years.
6:47 p.m. — End up being a little bit late and struggling to park. Two of the other girls are here so we stand in line to order tacos. I get fried tofu (delicious) as well as fried scallop (sorta good). I also order a taco for the one girl who is running late, since the line is super long now. Everyone finally arrives and we have a great night catching up. Half is catching up on personal life (engagements, babies, boyfriends), the other half is venting about work. We have high-stress jobs with patients who aren’t always happy and it can take a real mental toll. Trying to balance the personality of the surgeons, patients and other support staff can be difficult at times. We all love our jobs but can get pretty exhausted by them. $22.42
8:50 p.m. — Finally get home and chill with M. He plays video games and I catch up on YouTube videos (I do love a good vlog or Future Proof episode). I end up scrolling on Amazon and buy a new passport case on sale for $55 (for my British passport, which I got two years ago. I’ll probably just use my US passport when I go to Spain and Portugal on a family trip in October but it’s fun to have options). I also buy some hat hooks ($27) for the guest bedroom since I had a cleaning spree yesterday and need to do some reorganizing. $82
11 p.m. — Finally get to bed and PTFO.
Daily Total: $104.42
Day Five: Saturday
6:10 a.m. — It’s Saturday but it’s one of my call weekends. I do my usual morning routine but start by just wearing scrubs since I most likely won’t be in the OR. Kiss M. goodbye.
7 a.m. — Get to work and start looking at the patient list. I’m responsible for rounding on all of my practices’ patients. The other PA shows up around 7:30 a.m. and will be in the OR helping the hand surgeon as well as the trauma surgeon.
10:30 a.m. — Finish most of my rounding and talking to patients. Now I just need to write some notes. Grab some food with the other PA from the doctors lounge (kombucha and a brownie). We love free hospital food. Finish up my notes. I realize I’m also on office call and have to field the calls from patients coming in. Some need more emergent care but most just need reassurance.
12:30 p.m. — Finish up at the hospital and decide to head to Costco. It’s surprisingly empty for a Saturday — I think it’s because there’s a big college football game today. Pick up groceries, including strawberries, raspberries, avocados, two caesar salad packs, four cases of Olipop (my favorite, especially since I don’t really drink alcohol), one case of coconut water, Q-tips and two sweaters for a total of $175. I always consider it a win if I leave Costco without spending $200. I then run to get Costco gas ($30) and run into one of my coworkers who’s also getting gas. $205
1:45 p.m. — After unloading the groceries, I decide to go over and do some pottery. I’m not a member so can’t go on Sundays and they’re closed this Monday. M. is watching college football all day (which is not my favorite). I field some more office medical calls but for the most part have a great time doing pottery. I trim some of the pieces that I made on Thursday and throw a couple more pieces. Basically I’m planning ahead for Christmas gifts this year. Everyone will get a mug whether they like it or not (mainly because I don’t have space for 40 mugs in our kitchen).
5 p.m. — The pottery studio closes at 5 p.m. and I’m rushing to finish everything. I get home and M. is still watching football. He ran to the store earlier today for nacho supplies, which will also use our leftover steak from two days ago. M. makes delicious nachos; he has a beer and I have an Olipop (Olipop, please sponsor me). We finish the night watching football and the teams M. was cheering for win. Towards the end of the games I realize that a Broadway play on tour has finally released tickets. I convince M. that it’s going to be a great time and buy them. When living in NYC, I was able to go to 12 Broadway plays since I would win the lottery tickets that cost $40 or less. This is the one play that got cancelled because of COVID-19 so I’m stoked I’ve finally got tickets. $134
10 p.m. — Read a couple pages of my book (I am still struggling to get through this one). Head to bed. Hopefully no patients call me in the middle of the night.
Daily Total: $339
Day Six: Sunday
6:15 a.m. — The joy of a call weekend. Up again after snoozing alarms. Dress in scrubs, drink an exorbitant amount of coffee and head to the hospital. When I wake up I notice my neck is pretty sore. It’s been sore the last two days but holy smokes, today I can barely turn my head. I think it’s from three super-long OR days lifting heavy patients. This happens to me every four to six months but ugh, not what I want to deal with today.
7 a.m. — Get to work going over the patient list and rounding on patients. Same deal as yesterday. The neck gets a little more loose throughout the day but still isn’t great.
10:30 a.m. — Finish notes and rounding. Call is way too easy this weekend. Normally I work until 3 p.m. and cover cases at another hospital but I’ll take it. Grab a kombucha and jerky on the way out from the doctors lounge and head home.
10:45 a.m. — Get home and put a heating pad on my neck. Try to do some yoga exercises. Complain to M. about my sore neck. We’re planning for another chill day. He decides to go golf (his main outlet for fun/stress when not training for marathons/triathlons). He’s been pretty stressed with the job change coming up so I encourage getting out and blowing off some steam.
1 p.m. — Eat some caesar salad from Costco and try to continue to massage out my neck. I decide that some movement will help so I go on a three-mile walk along the river while listening to Girls Gotta Eat (my favorite podcast). Walking and stretching the shoulder and neck helps a little but it’s still pretty sore. When I get home I decide to organize our camping stuff and spare closet. I’m trying to make the spare bedroom less of a disaster zone and a place where I can hopefully do yoga this winter.
5 p.m. — M. gets home from golf and goes to pick up some groceries. He’s trying to replicate a meal we had on the coast last weekend. He ends up making salmon with peaches, poblano peppers and mozzarella. It’s delicious by the time we eat, which is around 8 p.m. I try to always do the dishes when he cooks (usually there’s a lot). When motivated, I cook once a week, but I’ve been slacking this week. Our dishwasher is also broken and won’t be replaced for another week so there’s even more dishes than normal.
8:30 p.m. — Turn on a couple episodes of The Bear (such an anxiety-inducing show but so good). I make myself some tea in one of my handmade mugs, which makes me happy.
10 p.m. — Turn on the heating pad for my neck and read a couple of pages. Off to bed.
Daily Total: $0
Day Seven: Monday
6:10 a.m. — Wake up after a couple of snoozed alarms and holy smokes, my neck is stiffer than yesterday. Turn on the water for coffee and google YouTube videos on how to stretch the neck out. Put on some Voltaren gel (my go-to NSAID gel that is technically for arthritis), hoping if nothing else it has some placebo effect. Chug the coffee and kiss M. goodbye. It’s Labor Day and M. is technically unemployed so he gets to sleep in.
7 a.m. — Go over the patient list and round on some patients. Consent a patient for surgery tomorrow. Try to banter with the surgeon but I struggle every time. He’s always so serious and I only talk to him once every couple of months. I wonder if it’s me who’s awkward or him.
10:30 a.m.. — Finish work early again. Grab a kombucha and brownie from the doctors lounge before heading out. At least it’s been a fairly low-key weekend and people haven’t gotten seriously injured.
10:45 a.m. — Decide to go to TJ Maxx on the way home for shampoo. Next thing you know I’m buying some 5 lb weights for yoga sculpt, 1 lb ankle weights for yoga, two types of shampoo and four bags of artisanal coffee. I’m trying to have a low-buy year to help pay off my student loans and finally be debt-free. However, I also want to maximize my health workouts, especially when it gets dark and rainy during the winter. I justify most purchases by seeing how much I saved compared to the normal price. $75
12 p.m. — Get home and M. has the tent set up in the bedroom, lol, what in the heck. He says he wants to go on a three-day backpacking trip that he’s been wanting to do for years. Now that he’s technically unemployed for about a week, this is his chance to do it. He’s never actually gone backpacking — only car camping — but I encourage him that this is going to be great and exactly what he needs. I pull out all my backpacking stuff that I’ve accumulated and we make a list of things we need from REI.
2 p.m. — Well, so much for my low-buy year. We divide and conquer at REI. At least they have a sale. I buy some fuel for the jet boil, biodegradable soap, Patagonia Baggies shorts (on sale) and some compressible packing cubes for my trip to Spain and Portugal. At the register I double-check the price of the packing cubes because they’re supposed to be on sale, which they are. When I leave and look at the receipt I realize they forgot to charge me for one of the cubes. My guilty conscience says I should go back and tell them but I also don’t want to spend more money, especially since I’m currently failing at my low-buy year. M. gets some socks, a compass, map, eating utensils and backpacking food, which he buys himself. We get home and he gets to organizing. $70
2:30 p.m. — Decide to veg out at home. Put the heating pad on my sore neck. Contemplate going for a run but decide I’ll just run tomorrow and try to rest my neck some more. Contemplate doing more core in the future and look up better ergonomics for posture and so on to not repeat the neck dilemma. Watch YouTube videos and have a catchup phone call with my mom to go over some Spain and Portugal planning.
6:30 p.m. — Cook up some Trader Joe’s ramen that I find in the pantry. The living room is a little bit of a disaster with M.’s backpacking stuff. He says he may leave tomorrow or the next day. I become a blob on the couch and drink my daily allotment of Olipop (I’m hooked). Watch a couple episodes of The Bear.
10 p.m. — Heating pad on and book read. This week was exhausting and the neck thing is annoying me. Time to rest up before another surgery day tomorrow.
Daily Total: $145
The Breakdown
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