Sarah Myers has had a sometimes-challenging financial trajectory.
The 33-year-old works as a forester in federal land management and lives in Hot Springs, South Dakota. But the job requires years of seasonal work to be eligible for full-time positions, which Myers took on from 2013 to 2017.
“I was making about $15 an hour,” she says, adding that, “any leave that you accumulate might get paid out at the end of the season, so you’re trying to not take any leave and bank that, just so you have a little bit of money to help you move” to the next location.
Myers finally landed a permanent position in 2018. And after overtime pay, she made $92,100 in 2024.
Despite years of low pay, Myers currently has more than $100,000 across her various savings and retirement accounts. Here’s how she manages that money.
How much Myers keeps in checking and savings
As of February, Myers has about $21,000 in liquid savings, including an emergency fund with around $5,900 and nearly $8,700 in her checking account.
“I try to keep at least a month’s worth of expenses in each,” she says, “though the goal is more like six months total between the two.”
Myers also has $15,880 in a high-yield savings account, as of February. “I got an insurance check for my current car after we got a hail storm,” she says. “They actually totaled my car, even though it’s still drivable.” She decided to keep driving the car while she can and let the $15,880 accrue interest for a future car purchase.
Myers shares another savings account with her boyfriend, which is used to cover day-to-day expenses. “We’re both putting in a portion of our paycheck into a joint account, and then that is the account we use to pay all of the utilities” and the mortgage, she says.
For retirement, Myers has a pension plan through her job, as well as an individual retirement account and a Roth IRA. The latter two have about $79,380 as of February.
‘We don’t have much of a safety net’
Despite the cushion, given the uncertainly in the job market, Myers wishes there was just a little bit more in each account.
“We don’t have much of a safety net,” she says. “I’m looking at our savings account thinking, ‘How many months would this last us if we were both unemployed?'” Myers’ boyfriend works for the federal government and earns a similar salary.
Still, if things continue the way they have been and no major changes happen to their employment, “I do feel comfortable right now,” she says. “I think our monthly expenses are covered.”
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