Hey neighbors, happy Friday (yes, I didn’t send an email yesterday).

Sunday is the NYC Marathon. I will not be running 26.2 miles through all five boroughs, but I will be thinking about how much money this race generates.

50,000+ runners generate $692 million for the city in a single day. That matches the economic impact of the entire NYC holiday shopping season. Wild.

The marathon alone drives $178M in hotel bookings, $109M at restaurants, and $51M in shopping. Tourists staying extra days to eat bagels and buy I❤️NY shirts.

NYRR (the nonprofit that runs this thing) puts on 60 races a year. Total impact: $934 million. That's equivalent to what the Yankees and Mets deliver across all their home games combined… ⚾ 🥊 🏃‍♂

Anywho, on to this week’s content 👇

🥫For Sale: Hands-off ecom can crusher brand asks $90K. $122K revenue, 22% net margin. Amazon FBA fulfillment. Run from anywhere (based in NYC). Growing YoY since 2021. $30K inventory included. 3 months training. Buy it.

🍣 Last Call: Smorgasburg season ends tomorrow, Nov. 1 in Williamsburg. Final chance to feast on 100+ vendors. Sushi rice balls, cinnamon rolls, Brazilian snacks, loaded fries. 11am-6pm. Don't miss it.

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Nasdaq | $23,752 | +23.19% 🟢

S&P 500 | $6,849 | +16.71% 🟢

Bitcoin | $109,178 | +16.82% 🟢

Cash Confessionals are anonymous, weekly stories where NYC locals peel back the curtain and expose their money habits. Wanna submit one? Go here.

Financial goals: My only overarching financial goal is to have enough money to live a comfortable and dignified life in my old age. I don't want to be bagging groceries in my 80s to get by. I feel reasonably secure about my financial situation. I run simulations on Fidelity and it says I'm on course to cover 90% of my expenses in retirement. I want it to get to 100% though.

On my mind: The cost of living is my biggest stressor. Inflation, tariffs and the uncertainty about whether the stock market's bull run is justified is another stressor when it comes to my forward looking goals. Whether interest rates should be cut or maintained. The works, I guess.

Rich in NYC: From a salary perspective, anyone making $200K+ is rich to me. In terms of lifestyle: owns a place with in-unit washer/dryer and dishwasher, eats out multiple times a week, travels domestically and internationally, and carries no interest-bearing debt. Net worth wise, north of $500K in your early 30s. Minimum to live comfortably? Depends on your definition, but I'd say $100K+ pre-tax, pre-bonus. Anyone who doesn't live at the mercy of a roommate breaking a lease is comfy in my book.

Net worth: I'm very close to $200K in net worth. It's not a lot, but considering I started pretty late (around the time I married my wife in 2023 and got my Green Card), I'm not as upset. I just got there by being disciplined and having recurring investments with every paycheck. My only advice is to start as early and as young as you can. Even $100 out of every paycheck goes a long way when you consider the benefits of time compounding.

Living situation: I rent an apartment with my wife and cat in Crown Heights. I pay $3,300 a month in rent (including water and heat, excluding other utilities) and the apartment has an in-unit washer/dryer and dishwasher (I'm living the dream, I know).

Career: I work as a Business Analyst AVP at a Foreign Bank. I like it because it helps me maintain my lifestyle and my financial goals. I hate it because it's not exactly linked to my passions. I love to run and be outdoors, and this job requires me to be a desk monkey. I'm also worried if AI is going to make my job redundant in the next couple of decades.

Salary: I make $143K a year before bonuses pre-tax. My bonus varies between 10-20% a year depending on my employer's financial performance and my individual performance assessed against an annual plan.

Salary journey: Some background: I moved from India to the States in my late 20s for graduate school. I started working at a fintech firm in Manhattan while living in NJ in 2019. My first year at that firm was as a contractor making $98K a year with shit benefits. I needed a work visa so my employer offered to hire me full time and sponsor my H-1B work visa if I took a pay cut to $73K in 2020. I had no choices and I said yes to my exploitative employer. In 2022 I found a Swiss bank in NJ willing to bump me to $115K and transfer my work visa. In 2023 I married my American wife and moved to Brooklyn. I decided to change jobs to a city-based Japanese bank who bumped me to $140K. I got bumped to $143K this year on COLA adjustments.

Career advice: I'm an immigrant, so I am gonna be real: Hustle. Hustle. Hustle. No one's going to give you a leg up or a handout in this city. Be real about your prospects. Be pragmatic. And I learned to not feel indebted to any employer and kept trying to find the next pay bump over getting a promotion. It's how I got to where I am today.

Other income: Not really. I would love to diversify my income streams though!

Side hustle: Man I'd love to make my passion for running into something viable. Right now all I do is manage a run club I co-founded for a hobby. Who knows, maybe something's around the corner...

Spending: We're a typical DINKOC (Double Income, No Kids, One Cat) household. A typical week of spending looks like, going to Trader Joe's 1-2x a week, going to the movies a couples times a month, dinner or drinks with my wife or friends 1-2x a week, and buying supplies for my cat or stuff related to the household.

Biggest expense: Groceries, dining out, and household/pet supplies. I'd say $150-250 a week.

Favorite credit card: My Chase Sapphire Preferred card because it caters the most to my lifestyle and the annual fees don't burn a hole in my wallet. Given my discretionary spending skews more towards eating out, ordering in and commuting, the card's benefits such as DoorDash DashPass, 5x points on Lyft rides, and Dining and Travel points make the most sense to me.

Splurge: Pet supplies. My wife will kill me if I don't ensure our cat is comfortable.

Debt: I was lucky that my parents invested in my college fund more than on their discretionary needs. My only debt is a floating credit card balance. I keep it minimal without paying purchase interest charges by paying in the ballpark of my purchases to prevent the balance from ballooning. My approach to debt is simple: Don't be in debt to anyone and Don't let anyone be in debt to you. Which means I always Venmo or Zelle my friends when I go out, and I send requests promptly. Sure, my friends think I'm a miser, but that's how I stay on top of my cashflow.

Emergency fund: I keep an emergency fund of about 1-2 months of my household expenses. I'd say it's right now at $10K in cash. Half of it is in a HYSA, a quarter is in my personal savings account, and another quarter is lying in my investment accounts for an investment opportunity. I built it up by squaring away my savings and bonuses over the years.

Saving for: Nothing right now. I mean, I would say that I'm eyeing home ownership eventually in my 40s so you could say I'm saving for a down payment on a home, but in this economy, I don't know if that will ever happen, ha!

Best money decision: The best money decision I made was to invest passively in index ETFs and target-date funds.

Worst money decision: The worst money decision I made was to delay beginning my investments in the stock markets because I was worried about my immigration status and let my cash stay stagnant even as inflation went up in the 2020s.

Investment strategy: I have significant funds in pre-tax investments like my HSA and traditional IRA. I also have a taxable investment account for myself and joint investment account with my wife. My approach is simple: Invest in index ETFs, and target-date funds because that takes care of diversification. I only speculate on individual stocks with money I'm fine with losing. In other words, I treat individual stock investments like expenses. I like what Warren Buffett said about how investments ought to be like something that shouldn't keep you up at night. I also believe in dollar cost averaging. I don't panic when the markets crash, like they did earlier this year.

Financial freedom: I know a lot of people believe in FIRE but I'd rather have a balance between working and living my life. Freedom or independence would be for me to be maintaining my investing habits while continuing to enjoy the ability to make discretionary spends on my lifestyle like the occasional travel, running marathons, and spending money on equipment like shoes and assorted running gear.

Retirement: My plan is to keep investing in my 401(k)s, HSA, and IRAs. When? That's a good question. When I started out, I thought I'd want to retire at 65. Now, I'm thinking 60. Maybe in a couple of years I'll aspire to 55 or even 50, lol. It all depends on how much my income increases. How much money do I want to have? IDK. When I saw my Fidelity simulation, it said my funds will hit zero in a significantly below-average market in 2083, when I'll be 90 years old. Will I live to 90 though? IDK. Do I want to live to 90? IDK either. But if I do, I want to make sure I'm not destitute. Most people can't relate to who they are when they're older, and I honestly don't know what I'd do in my 50s, 60s, or beyond. So I'd imagine I'd live a modest lifestyle that is within my means and isn't kowtowing to the fads of that time. I know this much about myself: I don't chase trends, and I'm happy marching to the beat of my own drum.

Long-term goals: Besides managing retirement, my goals are to own a house someday, help my wife rescue cats in our neighborhood (cats are very expensive to rescue, rehab, and rehome), and run all the world's major marathons. I'd also like to help out any friend or family member in their time of need.

Submit your own Cash Confessional for an upcoming newsletter. Go here.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition. If you have ideas for stories, know about new business coming soon, or want to do your own anonymous Cash Confessionals submission, let me know!

Josh

P.S.

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