A Week In Los Angeles, CA On A $105,000 Salary

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.

This week: A video editor working in film marketing who makes $105,000 per year and spends some of it on Dune tickets.

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This diary was written in 2026.

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Occupation: Video Editor
Industry: Film marketing
Age: 29
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Salary: $105,000
Joint Income/Financial Setup: n/a
Assets:
Checking account: $7,236.02
HYSA Savings: $32,130.66
401k: $65,698.31
Roth IRA: $13,570.41
Debt: $19,144.63 (in total)
Auto loan: $18,343.73 (5.91% APR)
Student loans: $800.90 (1% interest)
Paycheck Amount (every two weeks): $2,435.16
Pronouns: She/her

Monthly Expenses

Housing Costs: $905 (I rent a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with my partner and a roommate).
Loan Payments: $495 ($445 goes toward my car; $50 goes toward student loans).
Monthly savings: $1,540
401k: $640
Roth IRA: $450
HYSA: $250
FSA: $200
Car insurance: $243
Apartment utilities: $120 (my portion, split with my household)
Storage unit: $78 (my half, split with my partner)
Therapy: $60 (about to increase to $520 because of insurance changes… RIP)
Gym: $30
Adobe: $30 (they think I’m a student; normally it would be $60!)
Annual subscriptions: $30 (Google storage, Vimeo, Dropbox)
Meds: $30
AMC A-List: $28
Renters insurance: $22
Paramount+ subscription: $14 (I cannot for the life of me figure out how to cancel this!)
Phone: My parents kindly pay for this
Apple Music: My parents kindly pay for this, too!

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 — less so from my parents, who both hold degrees, but from the prep school I attended, where 100% of graduates went on to college. I always knew I wanted to go to film school, but wouldn’t have been able to do that without scholarships. I ended up going to a private university in LA with a great film program. $30k/year was covered by a merit-based scholarship, I took out $8,250/year in private (1% interest) and public (4.29% interest) loans; and my parents covered the other $15k/year of tuition/room and board. I covered daily expenses and some of my housing costs by working two on-campus jobs ($13/hr), plus unpaid internships in the industry (which actually cost me money since I was Uber-pooling to commute across LA).

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s) educate you about finances?
My parents made it clear how much our activities cost, but I was never expected to cover my own extracurriculars. We never budgeted together, but they would watch what we spent with our debit cards and would have conversations as needed. I was always a saver, so I didn’t talk about it with them very much. My brother, on the other hand… Ironically, he now works in finance, so most of my financial literacy comes from him.

What was your first job and why did you get it?
I babysat for between $10-20/hr. I also worked at my church’s nursery twice a week for around $10/hr. I was probably making about $200/month and I usually just pocketed the cash or put the direct deposits into my savings account.

Did you worry about money growing up?
Pre-2008, I didn’t think about money much. This is partly because my parents moved from the expensive Bay Area to a relatively cheap (and rural) part of Oregon to raise my brother and me, so we were able to have a wealthier lifestyle than we would have had in California. Around 2004, we inherited a bunch of money and that’s what funded my private education for middle/high school. My parents also bought a rental house, a cabin, a jet boat, and remodeled our house. Very upper middle class/borderline wealthy stuff for the area we lived in. Then, 2008 happened. This was probably the first time I internalized anything about my parents’ finances. My dad took a 30% pay cut and my mom was unsure if she’d keep her job, and while they didn’t really talk about this in front of me, I knew enough to be worried. They’d tied up so much of their money in those big purchases and didn’t have much cash on hand (something that probably informs why I currently have way too much money floating around in my HYSA). We had a much more middle-class experience after that, aside from my brother and me going to the fancy prep school.

Do you worry about money now?
Yes and no. I’ve never been housing insecure or unable to afford groceries, but I’ve been known to have a meltdown over an unexpected bill (a car break-in or medical bills). I’ve managed to negotiate promotions each year so my salary has gone up $45k in the past five years, which has more than covered my other rising expenses. If I get too existential with it (having a wedding, affording a house, affording to have kids, retiring in my 60s), I start to get really stressed.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
I became financially responsible for myself slowly throughout college. When I moved off campus, for instance, I covered my rent, while the dorms were previously covered by my parents. After college, a family friend in Ireland offered for me to move in with her, so I was lucky to have no rent for a year and a half over there (and ride out COVID in another country!) When I got back to the US, I paid for all of my expenses (aside from my phone, which was — and still is — on a family plan). I’ve always had roommates, and I now live with my partner as well as a roommate to keep rent cheap. If I were to lose my income and housing, I would likely move in with my grandma or with my partner’s family and pay minimal rent. No one would give me money to pay rent.

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
As of two months ago, yes. I now receive $18,000 per year from my grandma. I have mixed feelings about it, especially because I feel it gives me a very tangible unfair advantage (although, to be honest, my whole life has been cushioned by very tangible unfair advantages). So far, I’m just keeping the money stashed in my HYSA, but I’ve been meaning to use it to pay off my car loan.

Day One: Wednesday

9 a.m. — Normally I make my coffee at home, but this is my first WFH day in a long time, so my partner, A., and I walk to the local coffee shop to enjoy the morning. I get a latte and we split a slice of coffee cake (I pay). We walk home and start working around 9:30 a.m. I’m editing marketing featurettes for a really bad movie, so it’s hard to stay focused. I keep checking on my house plants (the bird of paradise, spotted begonia, and rubber fig have new leaves!) and note that the wasp nest on our balcony has grown. Our new property manager said they’ll send someone out soon, but no word on that yet. $13.28

12:30 p.m. — We eat leftovers for lunch, then A.’s friend comes over so they can work together at the same local coffee spot we were at this morning. I walk with them and get myself an iced tea. I hang out for a while, then go back to work. I definitely don’t normally spend money like this on drinks, but since I’m working from home and the weather’s so nice, it feels like a vacation. $5.52

3 p.m. — I heat some homemade pizza with fresh veggies. I admire my plants again. A short film I edited was finally released on YouTube, so I post about it on Instagram. I still need to send the producer my invoice for $500. Oops.

7 p.m. — Chag Pesach Sameach! It’s Passover, so A. and I attend a Seder dinner with her family friends. We weren’t asked to bring anything. Yay for free dinner (and wine… a lot of wine)!

11 p.m. — My favorite band (MUNA) release a song on Bandcamp and all of the proceeds go to a charity I care about. The song kicks ass. $10 well spent. $10

11:30 p.m. — My best friend has been in a rut (lack of work, a breakup, etc) and her car got towed while she was helping another friend move. I split the tow cost with a few friends (this friend group is big on mutual aid — something I love about them)! $100

Daily Total: $128.80

Day Two: Thursday

9 a.m. — A light grocery trip to Trader Joe’s! I buy oat milk, a dozen eggs, a canister of oats, a box of Heritage Flakes (cereal), a container of mint, two lemons, two limes, four shallots, a red onion, a yellow onion, and a container of mirepoix. The cashier compliments my Lucy Dacus hat and we talk about how excited we are for Lucy to sing at the Bowl with the LA Philharmonic. Gay people really are everywhere (but especially at the Trader Joe’s cash register <3)! A. and I split groceries 50/50, but don’t review our receipts until the end of the month. I get home and realize I didn’t need to buy the red onion or any of the citrus fruits. I figure we’ll probably just pickle the red onion for later use, which will also use up one of the lemons. I’ll be making matzo ball soup this afternoon with the remainder of a rotisserie chicken I bought on Monday, so the mirepoix will help me speed up that process since I still have a full day of work ahead of me. $29.74

10 a.m. — I make myself an iced latte and eat a bowl of the heritage flakes. I notice more new leaves on the spotted begonia! This makes me happy, because the poor plant was down to one leaf just a few weeks ago. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it now has seven full leaves and a bunch of buds for more. Slay, begonia!

1 p.m. — I spend my lunch break making the soup. It smells soooooo good with the chicken carcass simmering in the broth. I eat some pita chips and hummus to stop myself from trying to eat any of the soup before it’s ready. I also start some laundry, but I only have enough quarters for one load. A. heads to her mom and bubbe’s house, where tonight’s Seder will be.

4:30 p.m. — I strain the broth and have a small bowl of soup. Okay, a BIG bowl of soup. It’s warm and rich, and I’m already excited to have another bowl tomorrow. While I’m #BlissedOut from the soup, I remember my sheets have been in the dryer for over an hour. Whoops! I grab the sheets and start to get ready for the Seder, keeping an eye on my email since I don’t finish work until 6:30 p.m.

7 p.m. — As it always tends to go, my job gets very busy around 5:30 p.m. and I end up working until 7 p.m., making me late for Seder. I catch a ride with my roommate and her girlfriend, who also kindly picked up the wine I forgot to buy this morning. I’ll Venmo them for it at some point.

1 a.m. — We get home from Seder at 1 a.m. and we’re WIPED. We are too tired to make up the bed, so A. and I wrap ourselves up like cocoons in the clean sheets. I set my alarm for 8:15.

Daily Total: $29.74

Day Three: Friday

8:30 a.m. — Normally on Fridays I would volunteer at the local food bank before work, but since we were up so late, I sleep in. I roll out of bed around 8:30 and spend the next 30 minutes frantically tidying up, then head to work (late) a little after 9. We have a cleaner coming to see our apartment this afternoon to give us an estimate for his monthly cleaning charges. I’m really excited to get the ball rolling on that — with there often being four of us in the apartment (plus my roommate’s dog!), it can be hard to keep up with all of the cleaning. It’s just a two-bed, two-bathroom, so hopefully the cleaning service will be affordable.

9:30 a.m. — I talk to my mom in the car and tell her today is my pre-sale slot to buy tickets for the Olympics. I have no idea which events I want to go to, and I can buy 12 tickets total (six for A. and six for myself). My mom manages to convince me to get tickets for her and my dad, so now I’m down to three tickets per person.

10 a.m. — I get to work around 9:50 and help myself to half a bagel with lox (Fridays at my company are great!). I also make myself a cappuccino and drizzle a little honey over it. It’s a half day, so I really gotta lock in for the next few hours, but I’m a little stressed about getting the Olympics stuff figured out!

2 p.m. — The workday ends at 2 p.m. (it’s Good Friday), so I eat the matzo ball soup I packed and head home. Olympics draw is in two hours and I still have no idea what I want to buy.

4 p.m. — The Olympics ticket drop is crazy, but I manage to secure twelve tickets for my parents, A., and myself. We will be seeing a men’s basketball game, men’s and women’s swimming, and the women’s soccer quarterfinals (at midnight!). My share is $282. My parents surprise me by transferring me money for all 12 tickets. I’m super thankful, not only because it’s going to make my weekly spending look a lot better in this Money Diary (LOL), but also because I’ve had a rocky relationship with them since coming out as gay and their payment included my girlfriend’s tickets. Things have been improving with them for a while, but this is definitely a huge gesture.

7 p.m. — A short film I edited a year ago is being screened at a small film festival. Parking is garbage around the venue, so I uber with A. I don’t uber very often because it’s so expensive, but this felt worth it. I also have an $8 credit on the app. $44.87

8 p.m. — I get myself and A. drinks at the venue. We each get a High Noon at $9 each (this is why I don’t go out, lol). All of the films are great, and the short I edited gets lots of laughs (enough laughs to absorb the pain of paying $19 for two cans of seltzer). A. and I dip out shortly after it ends because we’ve had such a long week, and tomorrow is about to be a doozy. She pays for the Uber home. $19.76

11:59 p.m. — At the very last second, I remember I’m doing a writing swap with a new friend next weekend, and we agreed to send our pages to each other by EOD Friday. 11:59 p.m. counts as EOD, right? I send the pages to her and then immediately fall asleep.

Daily Total: $64.63

Day Four: Saturday

11 a.m. — This is going to be a very busy day. I have four social events: bagels with friend; a pottery class with a different friend; and then two birthday parties in the evening! I expect I’ll be spending quite a bit today, so I’ll have to take it very easy tomorrow. First, A. and I meet up with two friends at a bagel spot. She and I split a bagel with lox, and I get an orange juice. She stays with those friends to go thrifting and I drive across town to meet up with another friend, who gifted me a pottery class for my birthday back in the fall. $25.97

2 p.m. — That friend and I get Uncle Paulie’s deli sandwiches for lunch. I get the eggplant parm and a prickly pear lemonade. It’s all super good. The pottery class also goes well. I make a pot for (you guessed it) more plants! $19.16

6 p.m. — I pick up some Advil and gum at a drugstore on the way to birthday party #1. $1.75

6:30 p.m. — I arrive to the party and the place is epic. I get messy fries (my food of choice on basically any menu) and two glasses of sauv blanc. I also buy the birthday boy two drinks. The fries are $15.88 after tax/tip, and the drinks add up to $67.43. This is all definitely more than I planned on spending, but it’s a really fun night, and we stay for like 3.5 hours. Then it’s off to birthday party #2! $83.31

10 p.m. — I don’t buy anything at the second party — I just drink water. I hang for about an hour and then head home feeling WIPED.

Daily Total: $130.19

Day Five: Sunday

8:30 a.m. — It’s Easter, and typically I would celebrate*, but today I have to do some freelance work. I’m also exhausted from yesterday, so I make an extra big iced latte and get to work. I snack on leftovers throughout the day. *Realizing I should clarify this after all of the Seders — A., is Jewish, and I grew up Christian. These days, I just love a holiday. So it’s matzo ball soup and Easter eggs for me!

5 p.m. — I work for eight hours, billing at $50/hour. Everything goes well, the producer seems really happy. I’m exhausted but also really want to go outside while it’s still light out, so I put on the new Emma Harner album and walk until 6 p.m.

7 p.m. — A. and I cut up some veggies and eat lots of Seder leftovers for dinner. We watch two episodes of Survivor (we’re watching seasons 49 and 50 simultaneously).

Daily Total: $0

Day Six: Monday

7 a.m. — I walk over to the food pantry and volunteer for an hour and a half before work. I put together lots of veggie bags (the local farmers’ market sells extra produce to us at a discounted rate) and what we call non-cooking bags (food that can be eaten without access to a kitchen). Almost everyone working at the pantry is Jewish, so we talk about all the Seders we went to last week. It’s a nice way to start my day.

10 a.m. — At the office, I make a honey cappuccino and eat some more (you guessed it) matzo ball soup. It’s the last drops of the soup I made last week — it’s served me well. I’m having one of the best types of days a person can have at my job: my only task is to watch all eight episodes of the new show I’m working on. Sometimes I really love my job, lol.

11 a.m. — Tickets for Dune 3 in IMAX are released and it’s a scramble in my group chat to secure spots for opening weekend. I get tickets for A. and me (she hasn’t seen either of the previous Dune movies and really doesn’t care about the franchise but I want her to come with me, so I sponsor her ticket). Normally movie tickets are covered by our A-List subscriptions, but we got tickets through a different theater chain for this. $75

1 p.m. — I eat lunch with a friend who works across the street. I keep ingredients at work to make turkey sandwiches when I don’t have leftovers, so I bring those outside and we have a little picnic by the turtle pond. The turtles are so cute — they love to sunbathe when the weather is nice (like it is today!). A one-eyed squirrel won’t stop trying to steal our food, poking its head out from behind a tree like it’s stalking us. We move to a sunny bench by a very fragrant jasmine bush to finish our food.

2 p.m. — At the end of our little picnic, I walk to the bank. There are three certainties in this life: death, taxes, and needing quarters for laundry. $40

8 p.m. — I get home from work around 7 and A. has cooked us dinner! It’s a spin on her amazing penne alla vodka recipe, where she’s replaced the heavy cream with silken tofu. I don’t notice the ingredient swap at all — success! We clean the kitchen together, then I shower and fall asleep around 11.

Daily Total: $115

Day Seven: Tuesday

8 a.m. — I find out I have to head into the office today around 8 (I was hoping for a WFH day), so A. and I make the most of the morning by grabbing lattes and a blueberry muffin at our local coffee spot (I know I sound like a broken record, but I don’t normally buy this much coffee!). We hang for a bit and then I drive to work. $21.56

9 a.m. — I buy gas on my way to work. Wooooooof, gas is expensive right now! $50.15

12:30 p.m. — I really lock in at work and suddenly the morning is over. I eat leftover pasta around 12:30 and start prepping for therapy at 1:15.

1:15 p.m. — I really enjoy therapy. My therapist is a great match for me and has helped me get a handle on my anxiety, which was pretty bad after coming out to my conservative family last year. However, for the third time in three years, my insurance changed and my therapist is no longer in-network. So my sessions are going from $15 to $130, which is obviously quite the jump. I’d like to keep my sessions weekly, but the extra $460 per month is pretty daunting.

7:30 p.m. — I get home from work around 7:30 and make dinner with A. We have tuna melts and salad, plus some other assorted leftovers.

Daily Total: $71.71

The Breakdown

Conclusion:
This was a funny week. I was very social, which showed up in my spending. I paid for A. more often than usual because she’s a freelancer and her work has been slow recently. I feel like we were good about eating homemade meals whenever possible (A. has REALLY helped me in that department, as I’m a recovering DoorDasher). There were some big purchases but also extra freelance paychecks. My parents paying for the Olympics tickets (even if they invited themselves to join lmao) was very generous and unexpected. The $75 toward Dune tickets was ridiculous but honestly no regrets. Overall, I really enjoyed keeping this diary. It helped me see how much joy I have in my life; the people who surround me are so generous and I try to reflect that back at them. While I spent more than I typically do, I look back at everything I did this week and smile. So no, I don’t think I’ll change much in the future… except finally pay off my car and figure out that therapy bill. Thanks for following along! 🙂 Hug your local lesbian!

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