About

Hi, I'm Megan. I grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, a village on Lake Michigan just north of Chicago, with my mom and dad, my younger brother Nolan and a succession of family dogs (the current one is Juno, a black Lab mix who thinks she's a lap dog). I went to Illinois State University, studied health information management and graduated in May 2022 with a degree, a lot of good friends and about $31,400 in federal student loans.

Since then I've worked as a medical billing specialist for an outpatient practice group in the northern suburbs. It's a good, steady job, but an entry-level paycheck doesn't stretch far around Chicago. After two years sharing an apartment in Rogers Park, a credit card balance I wasn't proud of and a loan balance that barely moved, I did the thing a lot of people my age are quietly doing: in the summer of 2024 I moved back home.

I started this blog in March 2025 to keep myself honest. Living with my parents only makes sense if the money goes somewhere, so I write down where it goes: student loan payments, my credit score, my budget, the insurance forms I never used to read, the side money I make pet sitting and, in 2026, the move into my own studio apartment in Evanston. I also write about the cheap ways I have fun, because a plan with no fun in it doesn't last.

I'm not a financial advisor, a tax preparer or an insurance agent. I'm someone in her twenties figuring this out one paycheck at a time, and I share what I did and what it cost so you can make your own decisions with better information.

Thanks for being here. If you want to say hi or tell me about your own small wins, my contact page is always open.