A former product manager living in Atlanta makes $36,000 a year and spends seven days tracking every expense in a Money Diaries report.
A Week of Interviews and Expenses
The subject of this financial diary is a 25-year-old aspiring product marketing manager who previously worked in tech. She lives with her family in Atlanta and holds a total of roughly $140,000 in retirement accounts, though she also carries a small amount of credit card debt. Her monthly expenses include subscriptions to The New York Times and Spotify, a gym membership, and therapy sessions. She tithes to her church and pays for coaching to help with her career pivot.
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Monday begins with a final interview for a surprise in-person round that she had been anticipating all of last week. She prays in bed before groggily getting up to throw on some workout clothes and dash to the gym. It’s glute day, and she feels like giving up halfway through, but she doesn’t. By Tuesday, the focus shifts to preparation. She buys groceries for the week on Sunday, spending $22 on items like cottage cheese, protein cereal, and tofu.
Financial Reality and Career Pivots
By Saturday, the subject attends a movie and a club. The outing to the club costs only $7.13 because a stranger pays for her and her friends’ tickets. On Sunday, she pays her weekly tithe of $50. The breakdown for the week shows that discretionary spending was higher than usual due to social events and the Memorial Day holiday.
While she saved aggressively during her previous employment, her current unemployment has stalled that progress. The source notes that she feels “very behind” on personal financial goals despite the financial safety net provided by living at home. She pays off her car insurance in full at the start of the year, which eliminates that monthly bill entirely.
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There is a moral dilemma regarding the use of AI tools for interview prep. She finds it cheaper than hiring a career coach, especially given the tight budget, but questions the ethics of using the technology. Her therapist helps her reframe her outlook, encouraging her to stop being so self-focused and instead focus on contributing to others.
Despite the exhaustion of constant interviewing and job hunting, the subject remains optimistic. She is currently working a full-time job while interviewing for a “theoretical dream role” and exploring creative writing. The source emphasizes that she is trying to decouple her self-worth from her employment status, finding value in the odd jobs she held during her unemployment season.
