- Alexis is a 26-year-old living in San Francisco earning $90,000 a year as an account supervisor.
- She shared her monthly budget for a studio apartment, beauty expenses, and debt repayments.
- She’s more interested in investing in travel experiences than buying a home, she said.
Welcome to Gen Z Dollars, a series covering what Gen Zers earn, save, and spend. We asked Alexis, a 26-year-old San Francisco resident, about her biggest spending categories, biggest money mistakes, and financial goals.
Occupation: Account supervisor at a marketing firm
Annual salary: $90,000
Student debt: $38,000
Monthly spending: around $3,500, including:
Rent: $1,650 for a studio apartment, which she negotiated down from $1,800
Utilities: $50 for utilities and $55 for internet service
Groceries: $475, spent at Trader Joes, Safeway, and Costco
Groceries became so expensive she started spending $75 a month for a service that delivers ready-made meals — saving her the chore of doing dishes.
Beauty: $100 manicure; $200 haircut and color
Pet care: $40 for cat food
Entertainment, food and drinks: $800 — above her budget of $550
Comfort food: “I really like this kebab place. It’s not like a nice place, but a takeout meal is $22!”
Loan repayments: $200
The following is based on an interview that has been edited for length and clarity.
Childhood dreams brought me here to San Francisco.
I grew up in a small town in Iowa, went to college there, and then moved to Phoenix. I thought Phoenix would be the big city I always dreamed of living in. When I realized that wasn’t the case, I started looking for my next spot.
I moved to San Francisco in March. My partner lives here and we had been doing long distance. Plus, plus I thought it would be good for my career. My company has an office here, but people rarely go in. So it hasn’t been the experience I expected.
San Francisco is a beautiful city. But, unfortunately, I think it’s slowly deteriorating. I’m very happy to be here, but I would be lying if I said that my partner and I aren’t already exploring where to move next.
What has your salary journey looked like?
When I started my first job out of college, I was making $40,000.
I’ve since switched companies and have been promoted multiple times, first to $60,000 then to $75,000. My latest promotion, in March, came with a salary of $90,000.
But I moved to San Francisco at the same time as that raise — and taxes are much higher here — so my post-promotion paychecks only increased by $50.
What is your guilty pleasure when it comes to spending?
I spend a lot of money each month on beauty. I get my nails done every month and my hair done every other month.
Shopping is another thing I’ve spent too much money on in the past. That’s something I’m so mad at myself for because when I cleaned out my closet to move, I found so many items with the tags still on them.
Two years ago, I realized I was spending too much money on things I didn’t need. That’s when I started budgeting really carefully.
Now I have a detailed spreadsheet where I track every dollar I spend.
What is your biggest financial struggle?
Repaying debt is something I’m prioritizing right now.
When I graduated college I had nearly $13,000 in credit card debt. Everything just added up — like shopping, convenience-store runs, and one big spring break trip.
I paid that credit card debt off through a personal SoFi loan of $8,000, and my partner loaning me $5,000 at zero interest. I now spend $200 a month paying those loans back.
I have not yet had to pay off my $38,000 in student loans because of COVID-19 and the repayment push-backs. But I know I’m going to have to factor that in soon.
I know I’m going to have to be more conscious about eating out to make room for those payments. Also, do I need to be getting my nails done every month? That’s probably going to get nixed from my budget, too.
What are you most interested in investing in long term?
A lot of people that I went to high school with in Iowa are starting a family or buying a house. I know buying a home is a good investment, but I just don’t really have the desire to do that.
This is as young as I’m ever going to be and I want to take advantage of that.
It might seem a little backwards, but when I paid off my credit card debt I signed up for a new credit card with good benefits. That allowed me to book a flight to and from Europe for free, just based on my bonus points. I’m going in a few weeks.
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