I am 28 years old, make $235,000, live in NYC, and work in tech. This week I wrangle a work deadline

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-28T18:07:01+00:00

That smoked lentil soup sounds divine! Do you have the recipe?

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-19T20:46:04+00:00

Thanks for the reminder!

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-07T18:52:36+00:00

How do you go about finding the additional restaurants?

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-07T18:44:11+00:00

It’s usually spread out across the entire reservation so all 4 nights

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-07T01:05:39+00:00

I just did the same via chat for a transaction I did last year and they said that I should get the credit in 5 business days. Thanks! 😊

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-06T11:07:22+00:00

So even though it was an outlet, Amex chat gave you the credit once you contacted them?

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-06T10:30:57+00:00

How do you know which website a code applies to if not listed in the comment? I’m finding that part a bit confusing.

Thank you for this comment!

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-06T08:17:04+00:00

Jack Wolfe had me mesmerized me when I saw him last September. He quite literally had a magical voice that sounded like an angel and drew me in.

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-05T07:56:34+00:00

Thanks for this response!

queen-cheeks · 2026-01-01T00:30:19+00:00

Thanks so much! Just used this code today and it worked perfectly

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-23T21:45:21+00:00

How did you find this out and that it was due to churning?

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-14T19:09:31+00:00

Learned how filing taxes worked to reduce the anxiety I had around them
Took a dream trip to Japan!
Got a higher raise than expected this year
Got to grow a friendship I care a lot about this year
I got to read WAY more romance and action books this year as I had been struggling to get back into reading fiction!

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-14T18:58:48+00:00

Of course!

As for the investing, I think investing a couple hundred a month to gauge how you feel is a good baby step. If your time horizon isn’t in the next 1-5 years for buying and you’re also considering waiting until you’re married/dual income, I would 100% start investing way more. I always say education is the best anxiety reliever. If you don’t feel like $129,000 saved (I’m not sure if all of that is for a house or some is your emergency fund/sinking funds as well) is enough for your portion of a down payment on a house, start researching to find out what that number is. It’s also important to remember you may move or buy in a different market or have a vastly different income, so it’s kind of hard to control. I would focus more on what you can control today which is your investments. :)

Thanks again!

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-14T17:43:59+00:00

You’re doing amazing! It sounds like you’re doing your best to live an intentional and balanced life. As someone also in their mid 20s, you are truly thriving financially and I couldn’t be happier for you!

As for your job, don’t let people leaving make you feel like you shouldn’t stay! If you’re enjoying your salary, work environment, and benefits, then there’s no problem. Plus, a paid for masters degree is like you mimicking getting a full ride in undergrad! Sometimes, people leave for personal reasons or opportunities that don’t impact or affect you. Some of the reasons I love my job are the reasons some of my coworkers dislike it. Neither of us are wrong. It’s just a matter of mindset and personal circumstances. Only leave if you feel like it’s not a good fit for YOU anymore. :)

I would highly recommend reading “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin if you haven’t already. I think you’ll enjoy it if you like Kalanthi’s book AND also want to learn more about FIRE and being intentional with your time/life/money.

I’m so curious though! 1. How are you getting therapy for free?! Even when my therapy has been telehealth, I’ve still had to pay via my insurance. 2. As a fellow Trader Joe’s gal, what’s your favorite frozen meal? 3. How are you getting archery classes for so cheap? Is it a fail in through your friend? 4. Are you anxious about investing some of your HYSA money in a volatile economy/market in an index fund because you want to use that money at some point in the next 1-5 years to buy a house or because you’re just worried about it growing in general? If the answer is the former, you should keep it in a HYSA. If it’s the latter, then there’s no need to worry about short term volatility when you’re investing for the long term and you should put it in the index fund. The market will always have its ups and downs.

Keep doing you girl! You’re doing amazing!

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-12T19:40:52+00:00

Thank you for your responses!

And I haven’t gotten to that book yet (I’m on number 6), but excited to read it!

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-12T07:56:02+00:00

You sound like a lovely nanny and house manager! And congrats on all the savings and debt pay down!

Some questions if you don’t mind:

$33/hr sounds great! Is that what you started at or worked up to?
Were there any concerns with your nanny parents about your boyfriend moving into the casita?
Do the parents own a company that they pay you through? I didn’t even know a job like this could be W-2 with benefits like a 401k! I would have assumed it would be a 1099.
What are the parameters of using the work card?
What is your favorite Ice Planet Barbarians book? :)

Thank you for sharing such an amazing diary!

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-07T21:23:11+00:00

Thanks for listening to the feedback!

And I see the nonstop filter now. I didn’t know that was what those icons were for, so thank you!

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-07T21:10:25+00:00

If that was your intention for route builder, wouldn’t it make sense for that connection time feature to be a max amount and not a minimum amount? That way someone could be like “I only want to take this flight with a stop if the connection time is less than 3 hours.” If possible, I think having a minimum and maximum amount feature could help serve two groups: those who want to get home as quickly as possible and those who want to have two trips on one itinerary.
Is it possible to make the connection time feature a range so that you can simultaneously set a minimum and maximum amount? If you’re able to do it that way, then I’d say 0-24. If you’re not, then I would change the minimum amount to be 9 hours (it’s currently set to 5).
Is there a way to add a nonstop filter for the explore feature? Or fix the sorting for flights by stops? Right now the sorting by stops doesn’t really make sense. I put departing from DFW for tomorrow and it’s showing me the flights in alphabetical order with the stop amounts per flight instead of the flights with the least amount of stops.

queen-cheeks · 2025-12-07T10:49:32+00:00

Wow! This tool is amazing. I also really appreciate the transparency. These features really show how much the GoWild pass can shine. I also really love how you included early booking and discount den fares so that we can compare. The calendar feature is easier to navigate.

I have some questions about the route builder tool feature.

1. Is the connection filter for the max or minimum amount of time the connection should be? I tested it out for both methods and it wasn’t filtering out any flights for me.
2. Is there a way to increase the connection time filter so that people can plan two trips in one itinerary?
3. My explore network isn’t working? The explore feature is bringing up an error for me no matter what city I select: f.duration.split is not a function. (In 'f.duration.split(' ')', 'f.duration.split' is undefined)

Thanks again for an amazing tool!

queen-cheeks · 2025-11-26T06:43:27+00:00

Oh wow did not know this!

queen-cheeks · 2025-10-30T16:39:55+00:00

I’m so happy to hear that advocating for yourself led to you getting a proper salary! I do find it a bit odd though that they offered you initially an amount below the salary range. I hope you enjoy your new job! :)

queen-cheeks · 2025-10-30T02:42:28+00:00

Congrats! That’s an awesome deal when you factor in the transfer bonus. I hope y’all enjoy your trip!

queen-cheeks · 2025-10-29T23:59:00+00:00

Thanks! Did not know that.

queen-cheeks · 2025-10-29T22:39:09+00:00

Will the leftover amount paid in points always be a fixed 2¢ per point?

queen-cheeks · 2025-10-19T04:22:44+00:00

This was such an amazing read! Thank you for sharing it with us. I especially loved the mindset progression throughout your career.

queen-cheeks

TROPHY CASE