Introducing: What We Spend

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 Hi, Simmons City listeners. I'm Courtney Harrell, and I'm here to share a preview of a new Odyssey

spk_0 original podcast. It's called What We Spend. Like Simmons City, what we spend dives deep into the

spk_0 day-to-day lives of people you might not normally get to spend time with. But this time, what we're

spk_0 talking about is people's money. It's a new weekly series, and in each episode I talk with one

spk_0 person as they document a full week of their lives, recording audio diaries and sharing all the

spk_0 details of what came up for them around money. You will hear about everything they purchase,

spk_0 the ways they've thought about their finances over the course of their week, what their relationship

spk_0 to money was like growing up, all kinds of things. I think the stories are intimate and moving,

spk_0 but some are also super fun. I hope you enjoy this preview. For the full episode,

spk_0 search for what we spend on your favorite podcast platform.

spk_0 You know how you always want to know about everyone else's money? You do, right?

spk_0 Like, you'll see someone buying something you want or taking some amazing vacation and you think,

spk_0 how can they afford that? Or you meet your friend's new girlfriend and she has some very

spk_0 impressive job and you think, how much money does she make? I think when it comes to money,

spk_0 even if you don't want to admit it, we're all a little nosy. But I don't know, I actually think

spk_0 that's good. I think we should be talking about money more. And all the ways big and small,

spk_0 that it impacts our lives. On this show, we are actually going to do that. We are going to go

spk_0 somewhere that we almost never get to go. Deep into the heart of someone else's finances.

spk_0 Here's how this is going to work. Each week, I'm going to introduce you to a new person from

spk_0 somewhere across the country. And they are going to tell us everything about their finances,

spk_0 how much they make, how much they want to make, what they worry about, or if they don't worry at all.

spk_0 And then for one week, we'll follow them through their daily routine. Every day, they'll record

spk_0 an audio diary with all the nitty-gritty details of how they're spending their money. I mean,

spk_0 the coffees, the groceries, the rent that's due, the car accident that suddenly upends everything.

spk_0 And after that, we'll talk about what the week brought up for them, what it's made them feel.

spk_0 Because whatever you're buying or not buying or saving or spending, at the end of the day,

spk_0 money is always about more than your balance.

spk_0 I'm Courtney Herell, and this is what we spend.

spk_0 How much school debt do you have?

spk_0 I have 150,000. I had more. I had 300,000 after my masters. I had a great uncle,

spk_0 pass away, who was an artist, and my parents chose with their share of that that they would help

spk_0 pay off all my private loans. And so that was a crazy night. We like, I remember pressing submit

spk_0 on $150,000 payment and just being like, holy shit. And they were like, yeah, it doesn't

spk_0 that feel so much better. And I was kind of like, it feels like 50% better, and it still feels like I

spk_0 have still $150,000 of debt. This is Kelly. I turned 32 in one week, and I live in Salt Lake City.

spk_0 Kelly is one of the 42.8 million Americans who a student loan debt. And also, like a lot of

spk_0 her generation, she wants to buy a home and have a baby. And she's trying to figure out if it's

spk_0 possible to make all that work. Kelly married her husband about a year ago, and eight months ago,

spk_0 the two of them moved from Tennessee to Salt Lake City, Utah. Ben is an engineer for a software

spk_0 company. Kelly is a director of client experience at a medical spa, and she's also an online mental

spk_0 wellness coach. I used to be a therapist, and for lots of reasons, I'm not right now, but I will

spk_0 always have therapy or coaching in my life, and I will probably go back to that full time at some

spk_0 point. Kelly is paid hourly, but she makes about 50K a year, and Ben makes about 78K. That's before

spk_0 taxes and health insurance. Together, that puts them just under the average income for married

spk_0 couple families in Salt Lake City. How would you describe your relationship with money?

spk_0 Consuming. I would describe it as all-consuming. The thing that keeps coming to mind is when someone has

spk_0 an addiction or a struggle, and they call it the monkey on their back, because you just can't get

spk_0 away from it. It's just clinging, and it's present with you all of the time. It feels like that.

spk_0 And I try really hard to be in control, maintain my control, but it's this tug of war.

spk_0 What do you do on a weekly basis to manage your expenses?

spk_0 On a Sunday, I will sit down and look at the budget, and I made a spreadsheet.

spk_0 Okay, yeah, so walk me through your spreadsheet, so I would love to hear what all of your regular

spk_0 expenses are, and what you typically pay in each category. So rent and utilities, 2800,

spk_0 that's pretty expensive for rent. Anytime I tell someone that, they're like,

spk_0 that's more than my mortgage. I'm like, yeah, I know. Please don't tell me what your mortgage is.

spk_0 I don't want to know. Two gym memberships, 108. Car insurance, 254. Gas, 125. Do you have a car

spk_0 payment? No, we just buy used cars. Ben's car basically the roof flies off, but you know,

spk_0 just don't take it on the highway, you know, and we don't have a car payment. Who needs a room?

spk_0 Yeah, who needs that? It's a convertible.

spk_0 Phone payment, 75, pet insurance, 76, and physical therapy for 250. It helps with Kelly's

spk_0 chronic back pain and osteoarthritis. And then groceries, this one sucks the most right now,

spk_0 and I really feel like everyone will understand. I put 600 a month for groceries, and that, I mean,

spk_0 that includes like toiletries and stuff too. They have a Costco membership, but they pay that

spk_0 yearly fee with the cash back they get from their credit card. Medications and supplements like

spk_0 Ben works out, so he has like this huge bag of protein batter that he gets from Costco.

spk_0 So Ben's is mostly workout supplements and just one medication. And mine is I think like

spk_0 four medications and like a probiotic and some multibitamins. Total for that is 650.

spk_0 Streaming platforms? No, we move trough of our families. Some of the subscriptions are on them,

spk_0 though. Dropbox for 12, SoundCloud for 6, Spotify for 10. Hair, my hair. I put $40 next to my hair.

spk_0 And that's so I can spend that $40 and get my hair washed by somebody else one time every month.

spk_0 And it is like the gift to me to have somebody else wash my hair every once in a while.

spk_0 Isn't that shitty that like even now just reading my own budget, but it really is just my business.

spk_0 I still feel the need to justify like I just need to treat myself sometimes and have my hair washed.

spk_0 What does that make your expenses altogether? Here regular expenses.

spk_0 Around 48 hundred a month. But then you get to debt. How much debt do you have? A lot.

spk_0 If you are including my student loans, we have $200 and $200 and $728 in debt.

spk_0 Where did you go to school? I went to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

spk_0 Why did you go to school? I thought I was supposed to because I was told that

spk_0 this is the next step. And I think this is part of the dream or the lie that was sold to my generation

spk_0 was like if you don't go to college, you're going to end up working at McDonald's.

spk_0 And you're going to be a debt bee and you're going to have to live with your parents and you're probably

spk_0 going to use marijuana even. You're going to be a bad person essentially if you don't go to college.

spk_0 Kelly's degree cost about 40 grand a year. And after undergrad, Kelly went on to grad school

spk_0 at the same university. She has a master's in mental health counseling. But as Kelly sees it now,

spk_0 the math doesn't make much sense. I want to ask you something about that. And I mean no judgment

spk_0 with this. How did you think you were going to pay off that amount of tuition or were you at the time

spk_0 I know I can't pay this off. How did you think about it then?

spk_0 Oh no, it's a good question. I didn't. I did not think about it. I had no clue what I was doing.

spk_0 It wasn't like, hmm, I wonder how I'm going to pay this off when the average annual salary

spk_0 for a therapist is 40 to 60 thousand dollars a year. I was not thinking about that. I had no idea what

spk_0 I was doing. And I didn't really have anyone around me who was explaining what I was doing.

spk_0 Like your prefrontal cortex is not to be developed when you are making those decisions.

spk_0 Yeah. Ultimately, I don't regret anything because I am who I am and I'm happy, but I'm

spk_0 financially trapped. So that's Kelly. And this week, instead of just tracking it in her spreadsheet,

spk_0 she's going to tell us about every dollar she spends and every feeling that comes with it.

spk_0 How are you feeling about tracking your finances for a week?

spk_0 I'm feeling nervous because maybe I will just realize through tracking every expense that I'm

spk_0 actually just a dumb dumb and I'm very irresponsible and this is all my fault. But I'm feeling curious.

spk_0 I'm just curious to see what comes with it. Yeah, me too. I will check in with you on the other

spk_0 side of your week. Okay.

spk_0 For full episodes, follow what we spend and Odyssey Original Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Introducing: What We Spend

Interactive Transcript

Topics Covered

Related Episodes

Out on a Limb | Nov 2nd | Hillhurst United Church

How Do You Respond to Jesus? John 5:16–47 :Daily Devotional, Daily Bible Study

Episode 240: Otto Aerospace CEO Paul Touw talks teardrop, laminar flow, and Phantom 3500

Burnout, Breakthroughs, and the Power of Getting Back Outdoors | Gun Talk Hunt

Share Episode