{"id":145,"date":"2023-04-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/how-i-started-my-personal-finance-journey\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T20:32:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T20:32:16","slug":"how-i-started-my-personal-finance-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneywithkatie.com\/how-i-started-my-personal-finance-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Started My Personal Finance Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Last year, writer and activist Gabe Dunn came on The Money with Katie Show<\/em> and said something insightful<\/span><\/a>: \u201cI can see some of [these personal finance experts] who, even if they started out as a \u2018waitress\u2019 or \u2018a child of immigrants\u2019…I know how quickly you can lose perspective<\/strong>. And it\u2019s very quickly.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Their point was that\u2014no matter how humble your beginnings\u2014once you accumulate some wealth, it\u2019s surprising how fast you can become out of touch with your past self (and by extension, other people who are in the situation you used<\/em> to be in). <\/p>\n

This week on the show, we\u2019re talking about how unexpected budget intrusions are a universal financial experience, regardless of how much you earn (more money, more problems, if you will)\u2014they just become better<\/em> \u201cproblems\u201d over time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
>
\n \u201c<\/span>Once you accumulate some wealth, it\u2019s surprising how fast you can become out of touch with your past self.\u201d<\/span>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

I was reflecting on the types <\/em>of stressors that used<\/em> to blow up my plan and was reminded of just how much things have changed in the last few years. To Gabe\u2019s point, it\u2019s easy to lose perspective, and I\u2019ll admit that earning more money has definitely<\/em> dulled my financial \u201cedge.\u201d This is a privilege that usually comes along with a higher income, simply because the edge is no longer necessary to make progress, as the denominator you\u2019re working with scales larger and larger.<\/p>\n

By that, I mean: Saving 70% of your income when you earn hundreds of thousands of dollars per year isn\u2019t that impressive. There\u2019s nothing financially inspirational about my current situation. But saving 25% of your income when you earn $60,000 per year? That\u2019s astounding.<\/p>\n

So in honor of Money with Katie recently turning three years old<\/span><\/a> and this week\u2019s episode about financial growth, here\u2019s the roadmap I followed when I took the first few feeble steps of my financial journey\u2014just a wee lass with a designer handbag she couldn\u2019t afford and biweekly paychecks worth $1,550 apiece.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Diving into the personal finance podcasts<\/h2>\n

Getting comfortable<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s almost hard to believe from my current vantage point, but there was a time (circa 2017) in which my self-concept about money was the following:<\/p>\n