Interview with Nick Solarino

I interviewed Nick over the phone on Sunday, May 11th.

Nick is a studying in the Physician's Assistant program at Drexel University. He is 26.

Nick's primary sources of income are a part-time job and money from his parents.

When asked what he spends too much money on, Nick replied "alcohol and food." He feels like these expenses as well as the cost of general entertainment (concerts, museums, movies, etc.) can get excessive, but that they're also somewhat necessary in order to maintain a social life. There a huge "social aspect" to dining out and drinking at bars, not to mention that both are enjoyable on an individual level as well.

"Too much," in this case, is relative. Nick doesn't spend money on anything else at this point in his life besides groceries, gas, car insurance and entertainment expenses. The amount for the first three is relatively stable. However, he isn't sure how much he's spending in on entertainment because he doesn't really keep track. He said that although he "plans to make purchases, [he] doesn't plan for a certain amount."

Nick's methods for managing money include:

1. Going out with a fixed amount of cash and only spending that much
2. Saving money on groceries by buying on sale
3. Charging gas and groceries to a credit card and paying the balance every month. He can then see how much he spent in these areas by looking at the credit card statement.
4. He uses online banking to periodically check his balance.

Nick mentioned that it would be helpful if he kept better track of his spending. He knows people who use spreadsheet programs or other financial programs, but he doesn't do that. He'd also like to pinpoint where his money goes by categorizing transactions and seeing the total amount for each group every month.

Nick's short-term goals include living comfortably without having to sacrifice too many of the things he enjoyed when he was employed full-time (before he returned to school). Long-term, he wants to pay back student loans, have a real job with a steady fixed income, and track his spending better. Ultimately, he wants to save money, invest wisely and buy a home.

If he spent less on alcohol and food, he would probably save that extra money.