Section 0: Background Hi everyone! I’m trying to tailor this a bit more to reflect the UK Money Diary style where I give context on the week before and reflect on it after. I also added in some of the questions from the recent thread about what Refinery29 should ask diarists (
see here).
I wrote this the week of Thanksgiving; my partner and I stayed in NYC instead of going home to either of our parents’ homes. We wear masks and stay socially distant when we leave the house. I’m thankful that we live close to a park and live on a block where we know and enjoy talking to our neighbors.
This was a relatively normal week for us during a pandemic, save for me spending a bit more than normal and it being Thanksgiving. We’ve both lived in the city since college and have so-so relationships with our families, so we didn’t leave for “home” when the pandemic hit.
I also just named my boyfriend instead of giving him an initial. He’s the only person I actually saw this week, but the initials always throw me off when I read these.
What do money and success mean to you? What are your end goals? It helps me to see money as a tool. I never resonate with people who say “money doesn’t buy happiness” because to a certain degree, it does. Money enables me to live the life I want.
I’m pursuing FIRE (financial independence, retire early) and hope to be financially independent (able to live off my investments) by my early 30s. To do so, I save 60%+ of my income per month. I want this because working for 40 years isn’t sustainable for me—I have a very cushy tech job and
still get anxiety and rage about waking up every morning to work, the rat race, and being paid inequitably to male peers. I’d like to give myself the option to leave this world as soon as possible.
As an alternative, I could see myself successful if I open a product consultancy, where I advise early-stage startups on product management, what to build for their MVP, and product-market fit. I’m really interested in tech ethics and the questionable practices in venture capital, so I’d love to be in a place where I could be picky about what clients I take and help truly mission-driven businesses thrive. I could see this also working as a small business incubator—why not apply what works in startups to small businesses?
I don’t yet have a firm picture of what I’d like my life to look like when I retire. I’m interested in spending a lot of time reading, traveling to new places for extended periods of time, and potentially writing a book. I get extremely interested in niche topics. Right now if I had to guess, I’d be writing a book about the ways multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) manipulate women.
Are you a spender or a saver? Definitely a saver. My partner is more of a spender, and we’ve influenced each other well. Seeing him spend money on himself for video games helps me realize I can spend more money on myself for things I just want (see my big purchase for myself this week).
In turn, seeing me save a lot of money has motivated him to up his 401k contribution and overall savings. He’s also interested in FIRE, although I’d say my timeline is more aggressive.
If you could go back in time, what's the one piece of financial advice you would give to your past self? Learn about investing, look up the terms you don’t know, and start doing it as soon as possible. Ask questions to people you know or on the internet.
On to the diary!
Section One: Assets and Debt Investment Balance $131,175
- Retirement (includes 2 company 401ks and 1 rollover IRA): $55,730
- Brokerage: $27,233
- Roth IRA: $25,439
- Managed account: $17,923
- HSA: $4,850
Equity if you're a homeowner N/A, I rent in a HCOL city. No plans to own anytime soon
Savings account balance $10,270
Checking account balance $3,433 in checking account for bills
- This fluctuates, but I try to invest anything over $2k. I’m pretty conservative with my checking account buffer, and don’t worry much about the interest I’m “losing,” especially because interest rates are so low right now
$2,518 in checking account for rent
- I keep a holdover account that’s connected to Venmo and Zelle to pay rent
Credit card debt N/A. There’s $1,348 currently on my credit cards, but I pay them all off in full each month. My parents signed me up for a credit card as soon as I was old enough and taught me about how important it was to pay in full. In fact, I think this was so hammered into my brain that doing anything other than that each month was never an option. Because of this, I’ve always thought of credit cards as similar to debit cards—only spend money you have.
Student loan debt (for what degree) I was fortunate to go to college on a full scholarship, including living expenses. I studied psychology and sociology, and I graduated without any student loan debt.
Section Two: Income Main Job Monthly Take Home: $6,570/month
I maxed out my 401k early this year, so for 8 months I was contributing $2,500/month out of my paychecks. That ended in September, so it changed my monthly take-home from about $4,650 to $6,570/month.
Deductions: - 401k: $0/month (was $2,500/month)
- Medical: $128/month
- Dental and vision: $11/month
Income Progression - I started in customer support right out of college, making $40,000/year + overtime, which ended up being about $52,000/year (thanks OT!).
- About a year later, I moved into an entry-level product role at the same company and received a raise to $60,000/year.
- The next year, I moved to a new company for a half-step promotion where I was making $82,000/year + 15% yearly bonus. The bonus was dependable enough that it was assumed as part of our total compensation, so let’s call it $95,000/year.
- Early this year, I switched companies again (noticing a theme?) for a promotion and now make $122,000/year.
I don’t have any other sources of income outside my main job. My partner makes a similar amount to me—about
$117,000/year with bonus.
Section Three: Expenses I live with my partner and we don’t have combined finances, but split many expenses 50/50. We use Splitwise to log transactions. He’s more laid-back about being paid back, but I’m much more “I don’t want to owe anyone anything, and I don’t want anyone to owe me anything” (I know, rigid, but I’m working on it!).
Splitwise is nice because it’d be ridiculous to Venmo request each other for a $4 coffee, but we can see how expenses are adding up. If someone has racked up a few hundred dollars of spending for both of us, the other person will cover our expenses for awhile. It works for us!
Rent $2,200 for a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment in Brooklyn. We split rent 50/50.
Renters insurance About $7/month for my portion. This covers all our possessions plus my boyfriend’s watches. He pays 75% of it because half of the monthly cost comes from the extra watch overage.
Savings contribution I try to have about $10,000 sitting in my savings account at any given time, because it makes me feel safe in case of an emergency. I also like the freedom it enables, in case I wanted to leave my job and take a significant amount of time off. This is already at the $10k I want, so I don’t contribute to it monthly.
Investment contribution It varies but on average I contribute $2,500/month to my brokerage account and Roth IRA (combined).
Donations I try to donate about $200/month, but it’s pretty sporadic. This month I donated to the Yellowhammer Fund and Northwest Abortion Access Fund. One of my major goals for 2021 is to step up my donations and create an actual strategy around them, potentially involving a donor-advised fund.
Gas/electric Our gas is $20-25/month and electric is $50/month. I pay gas and Will pays electric, both go in Splitwise. About $37/month total for me.
Wifi Our wifi is $60/month, which goes into Splitwise—I pay $30/month.
Cellphone I’m still on my parents’ phone plan—sheesh! This is convincing me that I should Venmo them for it each month.
Subscriptions I pay for Hulu with ads, $5.99/month. My boyfriend pays for Netflix and we share a Spotify family plan with a couple of his friends, which I chip in $4/month for.
I also pay for the budgeting software YNAB (You Need a Budget) which is $84/year. I only pay it once a year in September.
Medical I recently had to go to the emergency room for an overnight stay and follow up with some specialists. (I’m okay!) Because of that whole shindig I’m expecting to max out my deductible (and potentially my out-of-pocket-max) right at the end of the year. This will be about
$4,000, but none of the claims have come through yet so I’m not sure of the exact total. I have a category in my budget for my deductible, and the rest will come out of my emergency fund.
Physical therapy This month I’m starting pelvic floor physical therapy for dyspareunia (pain with intercourse).
I’d tried everything the internet suggested (“just relaaaaaax”) before getting the courage to find a new ob-gyn and ask her about it. She had some recommendations, but ultimately physical therapy was the “last resort” option that I’m now exploring.
My new physical therapist comes highly recommended but is out of network with insurance. Each session is
$250, and I’ll go once every 2-3 weeks for the next few months as part of treatment. If you’ve worked through this problem (or are experiencing it now!) I’d love to hear your experience.
Section Four: Additional Questions Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Absolutely. My dad was the first in his family to attend college and my parents made pretty calculated decisions about where they would live so I could go to the absolute best public school possible. Over 90% of students at my high school attend a 4-year college, and we start talking about it freshman year. To say college was encouraged in my environment is an understatement.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances? My dad has worked in finance since I was about 10. He’s always been really knowledgeable about both higher-level economic concepts and the minutiae of personal finance. My family is frugal, too: we clipped coupons and got clothes on super-sale at Kohl’s and Goodwill. I know there was a period of time when he became self-employed and money got very tight for a few years, but the bulk of those worries were largely kept from me.
Did you worry about money growing up? Yes. While we were comfortable, we lived in such an affluent place that our family was in “the middle class” of the town and it made me worry more about money than I probably needed to. Think The Stepford Wives for context.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net? In college, I became maybe 80% financially independent as I had a scholarship and worked part-time during school and over the summer, but I was still on their insurance.
I remember being frustrated in college because even though I knew I was extremely privileged, my friends in college had their parents pay their summer apartment rent and gave them an “allowance” of spending money, and I was “limited” by the options I could afford with the job I had. My dad told me at the time, “This is frustrating but it’s preparing you for actually having to live off the money you make in the near future.” (Great, great advice Dad.)
I’m technically still financially dependent on my parents for my cell phone bill, but otherwise I pay for everything: rent, insurance, utilities, food, therapy, and all wants in the form of clothing, workout classes, etc. I could ask my parents for money if I absolutely needed to, but would use it as a last resort.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain. I have an account (mentioned above) that a family friend who’s a hedge fund manager, well, manages. I believe the initial deposit was $1000 over 10 years ago, but that money wasn’t mine either, it’s all a gift. It’s not very liquid—it’d take me several months (and some very good reasoning) to get any of that money withdrawn, since it’s supposed to be for “the future” (which I guess I could argue is now?).
I might receive a small amount of money when my grandmother passes, but it’d probably be around $1-2k, if at all.
Day 1 Wednesday, November 25, 2020 8:30am Wake up and shower, take my vitamin C gummies, then make coffee. I wasn’t much of a daily coffee drinker until my offices had it for free, and now I’m definitely addicted. I don’t really care if the coffee is shitty or not, I just put some milk in it and it’s great. Right now I’m trying to drink half or three-quarter cups so I can attempt to pull back my addiction a bit. I log onto work at 9am.
11:30am Eat leftovers from last night for lunch—quesadilla + Spanish rice. There’s an incredible Mexican restaurant by us, and now I am ruined for the tacos, quesadillas and nachos from any other place.
12:30pm Will picks me up in the U-Haul. We’re driving about 20 min away to pick up a butcher block desk he bought off Craigslist, which ends up being from a small office that’s downsizing. The desk is $150 which he pays for. We love the office’s style (and the owner is super nice!) and walk around while he shows us what else he’s trying to get rid of.
We end up buying an extra-large ZZ plant and two side tables from him for an extra $120, way less than we would have paid for the quality elsewhere. My half will be $60, and I’ll split the U-Haul too, $44.51.
$82.26 2:45pm That ended up taking a lot longer than we expected! We get back and unload the van, then I bring stuff inside while Will returns the van to the U-Haul location. I jump back onto work—so much for a slow afternoon before Thanksgiving. AWS is down, which powers a lot of our engineering work (and a lot of the internet!) so a lot of our teams are basically twiddling their thumbs. We chat about how to message the outage to customers.
5:45pm Will starts making dinner (braised chicken and veggies) and I sit down to read with a strawberry Chobani, but I end up just reading Reddit and searching for new podcasts to listen to.
7:45pm Dinner was great! Now…ice cream.
9:43pm I remember that my mom sent me ideas for her and my dad’s Christmas presents, so I order on Etsy and Amazon. My dad gets a mug with an Ernest Hemingway quote (“write drunk, edit sober”) ($21.54) and a book on writing ($16.63), and my mom gets this food warming tote contraption she wanted ($43.52). We’ve been paring down Christmases over the years—this year I asked for the Europe version of Ticket to Ride.
$81.69 11:15pm I finish up the first episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with some white cheddar Cheez-Its to snack on. After, I start on the dishes from dinner. I listen to the
Product Market Misfits podcast while I do dishes—the episode with Kristen Anderson from Catch is great, highly recommend if you’re tired of just hearing stories about stereotypical Silicon Valley tech companies.
Day 1 Total: $166.69 Day 2 Thursday, November 26, 2020 10am Wake up super late since I stayed up scrolling on my phone too late last night. We make coffee and set out for a long walk around 11:15am.
12:05pm At the end of our walk, we swing by our local liquor store and buy 4 bottles of wine (red, white, rose, champagne). Will pays, total is $63.15 for everything. We haven’t had wine in the apartment for ages and I’m excited to have some stocked up.
$31.57 12:30pm Get back from the walk, shower, then turn on football. I actually don’t really care about any NFL teams (I like college football a lot more), but it’s such calming background noise for me that I find myself looking for games when I have downtime. We also recently found out that Will’s friends’ dog only has a few months to live, so we order some jerky treats and a squeaky toy for him.
$14.07 2:30pm We head out to the restaurant we’re going to for Thanksgiving lunch, a local place a short walk from our apartment. They’re doing a prix fixe menu of the classics—turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and a phenomenal tarte Tatin with ice cream for dessert.
We eat outside under heat lamps. It’s super cozy. With our bottle of wine and tip the total is $208 (I try to tip over and above the norm because it’s a pandemic
and Thanksgiving). My half will be
$104.
5:53pm Get back from the restaurant. We have a ton of leftovers which is awesome (I think it’s excessive frugality, but I almost expect to stretch takeout or restaurant meals into two meals). Exchange some texts with my friends about their socially-distant Thanksgiving celebrations.
I turn on the Washington vs. Cowboys game right at the halftime show, which is Kane Brown with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They’re all wearing masks (except for Kane) and it’s so odd to see them dancing in masks. I mean, I’m glad they’re wearing them, but it just seems like we could have gone without the halftime show this year.
9:21pm I order contacts from Contacts Direct. I got a new prescription but didn’t have a great experience with the eye doctor, so I’m hesitant about this order—only ordered one box of 90 lenses for each eye instead of a year’s worth of lenses. I’ve been getting headaches pretty frequently, so I’m hoping getting a new pair of glasses and alternating those (instead of wearing my contacts for 16 hours a day, every day) will help.
$29.98 after insurance benefits
Day 2 Total: $179.62
Day 3 Friday, November 27 8:56am Wake up super last minute, run to sign onto Slack and then start grinding coffee beans. I’m online and drinking a big mug of coffee by 9:10. (So much for half cups.)
10:45am Come up for air from work and grab the stuff to make a bagel. Everything bagels and plain cream cheese are my go-to combo.
12:03pm I grab a bag of clothes to drop off at the donation bin and a couple library books to return. The library is about a 25 minute walk so it’ll be a nice lunch break diversion.
12:56pm After the library I stop by the grocery store for some paper towels and sponges, since we’re almost out. Total is $22.62, my half is
$11.31 1:09pm When I get home I jump back into work and put the USA vs. Netherlands game on my second monitor. By the 75th minute, the US is up by 2 goals so they start putting in some younger players—it’s fun to see Midge Purce and Sophia Smith play! I also throw some bagel bites in the oven for a quick snack and promise myself dinner will be healthier.
4:23pm I zone out of work and start playing Among Us. I end up playing for over two hours. We open a bottle of wine at some point and I get super tipsy.
6:50pm Turn on the tail end of the Notre Dame vs. UNC game. It turns into Jeopardy, which turns into Wheel of Fortune, which I’m not mad about. P isn’t as into the game shows and leaves to microwave a plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner and play video games.
8:40pm Finally getting hungry after my bagel bites and Cheez-Its this afternoon and make a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers—turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and cauliflower. Yum.
Will and I end up getting in a tiff about the mess in our apartment so we take a break, cool down and talk it through. I watch a couple episodes of Sister Wives and go to bed around 1:30am.
Day 3 Total: $11.31
Day 4 Saturday, November 28, 2020 10:05am I stayed up late (again) so it’s nice to sleep in. I play Among Us for awhile and have a couple rounds where I’m the impostor and get some great kills and wins. I run out into the living room and celebrate with Will. We laugh because it’s silly how much we love the games we play. Around 10:45 I start making coffee.
11am We desperately need new sheets because our fitted sheet has a huge hole at Will’s feet (and it’s growing). I search a women’s personal finance group I’m in on Facebook for recommendations and we end up buying a queen sheet set from Belk. Total was $100.71 with their sale.
$50.35 1pm I was planning on returning a package to the post office today, but forget it closes at 1pm on Saturdays so I decide to run to Target instead. I have a lampshade to return and want to look for a shower caddy as well. I also have an old iPad to return, which Will tells me I can do at Best Buy. He finds an old iPod and flip phone I can take too.
Take the MTA there ($2.75 for a single fare). When I get there, it’s a madhouse and I remember that I have sillily (is this a word?) decided to come on the weekend of Black Friday. I stand in the returns line for about 15 minutes and get $10.89 back, but ditch the idea of trying to look for a shower caddy. The checkout line looks like 100 people long.
-$8.14 because of return Next I go to Best Buy, but who am I kidding—the line to get in the store is even longer than the Target checkout line. I walk back to the subway and get on to go home.
$2.75 2:30pm Since Best Buy was a no go, I search for electronic recycling around me on the way home just to see where I could drop off the devices I have. Apparently there’s an EcoATM not too far from my subway stop. It’s more for selling devices, but if they can’t give you money for something, they’ll recycle it, which is exactly what I wanted. I put each of the pieces in the scanner, and end up getting a whopping $2 total (for Will’s old iPod). Still cool because I was just expecting to recycle it all. I’ll give Will the $2.
2:44pm There’s a Dunkin nearby so I pop in to grab a couple donuts ($2.90). There’s a woman outside asking for money, so I give her $5 cash.
$7.90 3:00pm Last stop—our favorite deli is nearby and Will mentioned he wanted to get bacon there recently. I get a 1/2 lb and salivate on the way home. This is one of those things I won’t put in Splitwise because it’s small and because it’s fun to get for P as a tiny little present.
$3.50 3:45pm Once I’m home I’m super hungry from only eating carbs all morning so I have a snack of carrots, hummus and some pepperoni. I head back out to drop off a bag of clothes and shoes at a drop box a few blocks away. The neighbors are outside at the park near our house so I stop and chat with them for a few minutes. Their kids are the cutest.
6:47pm For dinner I make a ham and cheese sandwich (panini style with rosemary butter) and more carrots and hummus. I put on another episode of Sister Wives. These people are so fascinating to me—first off, I think the husband is completely full of himself. But I’m also so curious about the wives. There are a lot of talking head testimonials where the parents explain that they’re “oppressed” because they’re different and want to go public so the world can see polygamy as a valid family style (I’m only on season 2).
I know they’re probably playing up the “we love our other sister wives and have so much fun together even without Kody” aspect because people expect sister wives to be catty and hate each other, but I can’t help but wonder why they need to be in plural marriage to get the same friendship they seem to value so much. I also doubt they’d extend the same grace and tolerance they want to people who are “different” because they’re LGBTQ, or “different” because they’re in an open relationship or marriage.
9:15pm I mix together oatmeal chocolate chip cookie batter and put some cookies in the oven. While I’m waiting, I browse Zocdoc for well-reviewed providers—I want to make a podiatrist appointment for a lingering toe issue and an audiologist appointment for a routine hearing screening. I got the idea to make these appointments since I’ll hit my out-of-pocket max with the hospital visit, making them free or very discounted. I make two appointments for next week.
I also lust over a Farm Rio puffer jacket that feels overpriced but I just love. Maybe I’ll buy it tomorrow since they’re having a 30% off sale.
Day 4 Total: $64.50
Day 5 Sunday, November 29 8:58am Wake up and switch between scrolling on Reddit and playing a few Among Us games. After a bit Will gets out of bed and makes coffee for us.
9:45am Will finishes the movie he started last night and we start on breakfast. We’re making the bacon I bought yesterday, breakfast potatoes with onions, and a fried egg for Will (I can’t stand the taste or smell).
11:00am Yum! Breakfast was great. I watch a couple episodes of Sister Wives and mull over buying that ridiculous but amazing puffer jacket from Farm Rio. I’ve still been thinking about it since last night and I might take the plunge.
1:25pm I get a jolt of motivation to work out and do a 20 minute Sydney Cummings video on Youtube. I heard about it from a recent Money Diary posted here! After it’s done I’m so, so tired. I stretch and unpause my episode of Sister Wives.
2:22pm I help Will move the butcher block slab for his desk out to our backyard. We live on the first floor of a single-family home that was converted into apartments, so we get the backyard too—it’s awesome to have outdoor space in the city. P works on sanding it and applying poly for the next couple hours.
5:07pm Will suggests pizza for dinner and I am always, always down for pizza. I order pickup from the spot down the street—one grandma, one cheese and 2 orders of garlic knots come to $38.60. We’ll have leftovers for tomorrow too.
$19.30 5:50pm We pick up the pizza and dig in. While we’re eating we turn on the Chiefs vs. Buccaneers game; Will has a few players on his fantasy team in this game.
6:57pm I sign up to write letters to Georgia residents encouraging them to vote in the Senate runoff elections in January. This is through Vote Forward—I did 20 letters for the general election in November and want to participate again. I’ll print the letters at a local coffee shop since we don’t have a printer at home.
Will sends me
this Reddit comment about campaign finance since we’ve been talking about it recently. I decide I’m convinced by the argument and set up a $5 monthly donation to Brand New Congress.
$5 8:19pm After texting back and forth with my friend all day, I buy the puffer jacket—so excited. She encouraged me to get it and is pumped for me too.
$228.64 I also notice my paycheck has started processing in my checking account (I get paid tomorrow), so I enter the amount in YNAB and budget it all. I earmark about $1500 to go into my brokerage account tomorrow. I won’t include it here as “spending” since it’s included in the overview section above.
Day 5 Total: $252.94
Day 6 Monday, November 30 8:43am Wake up and turn on my Slack. Will started the coffee process and I finish it up by pouring the water into our Chemex and letting it steep (I know there’s a coffee-centric word for this...).
8:56am I check my Citi card and my YouTube TV trial rolled over—I was going to cancel it this morning, which I thought was the last day. I email support to see if they’ll refund me, because (I promise I’m not just saying this!) I did have a pretty bad experience. The Roku app was glitchy for us every time we watched something. Maybe they’ll feel nice today!
$64.99 9:35am After responding to a few work messages, I run out the door to the post office to avoid a long package line. I did the Warby Parker 5-day home try on and have to return my box of glasses today. I found a pair I really like and am excited to get in the habit of wearing glasses again, instead of just my contacts.
Thankfully the line is only a few people long. The employees are also super nice every time I go, so I try to be really pleasant too. The lines are usually long and I’ve seen more than one adult have a fit at this post office. It’s rainy today and I couldn’t find our umbrella, so my flimsy rain jacket gets pretty soaked through on the walk back.
11:35am My podiatrist appointment is supposed to be tomorrow morning, and they call me to tell me since I haven’t hit my deductible, I’ll have to pay out of pocket for the visit. I explain that I’m 100% going to hit my deductible, the claims from the hospital just haven’t processed yet. I ask her to bill my insurance first for the visit, then I can pay whatever ends up not being covered (if anything). She agrees!
Maybe this is standard, but I’ve never had it happen before—even if I haven’t hit my deductible, I’ve always been to offices that bill insurance first, then I pay the remaining balance.
1:05pm Lots of meetings today. I break for lunch and heat up the braised chicken with veggies. It’s definitely on its last good day, so I’m glad I used it up. Still yummy!
2:20pm Woohoo! Get an email that my YouTube TV charge was refunded.
-$64.99 Will ran to Home Depot today to buy some tools for his desk and also got a shower curtain liner since ours is ripping. I go to put it up in the bathroom but my arms are so sore—like I got my flu shot type of sore.
5:05pm Sign off work after trying to wrangle a supremely frustrating SQL query. I don’t get it but figure I can ask our analyst team for help tomorrow. Will will have a late night working, so pizza and Sister Wives is in my near future.
While watching, I update YNAB to reflect the end-of-month balances for my investment accounts. I get a huge dopamine hit by seeing my net worth number go up. I’m also anticipating it going down a bit next month because of my medical bills, so I relish the moment.
8:09pm It suddenly dawns on me that my arms are sore because I worked out yesterday. It’s so rare now that I literally forget when I do it. Ha!
9:15pm We watch the Eagles vs. Seahawks game and I absentmindedly play Among Us. I end up getting ...bullied by a person playing it? They get mad that I figured out they were the imposter and start saying all these schoolyard-type digs throughout the next couple rounds, but level 100 of cruel.
I’m embarrassed by how sad it makes me but think maybe it’s a good thing I don’t immediately know what to say to bully people back. Such a weird experience. I end up going to bed around 11:30.
Day 6 Total: $0
Day 7 December 1, 2020 7:07am Wake up late for my alarm at 7. I’m up a lot earlier today because my podiatrist appointment is first thing. I get dressed in the dark, kiss P goodbye, grab my water bottle and run out the door to the subway by 7:30.
$2.75 8:10am Get to my stop and swing by Starbucks before the appointment. I get a vanilla latte and the bacon cheddar and egg sandwich. Total is around $10 but I have a gift card loaded onto my Starbucks app.
My spending here went way down when I switched jobs to an office not close to a Starbucks, and then stopped going into an office at all.
8:30am My appointment goes great, if a little painful when she numbs my toe. I had to get an ingrown toenail removed. I danced ballet and pointe for years so I’m (unfortunately) used to them, but this one was terrible. The doctor and I bond over both being dancers with bad feet and they schedule me for a follow up two weeks out.
She actually says there’s been a rise in these procedures because people aren’t getting pedicures since the pandemic and aren’t cutting their toenails well! Wild.
I look silly on the subway in December wearing Birkenstocks and socks with a huge toe bandage. It looks like one of those cartoon characters who stubs their toe and it becomes 10x bigger than their other toes.
$2.75 9:40am I get off at the stop before mine to stop at Rite Aid. I grab Neosporin, band-aids and epsom salt and check my notes for anything else she mentioned about caring for my toe.
$12.97 10:00am When I get home, I hop into work and working with our engineers on a promotion for the New Year. I also catch up with Will since he stayed up late last night and I got up early for my appointment. He says he ended up staying up until 3:30am (!!) cleaning up his tools, working on his desk and putting up the shower curtain. I’m floored that he is functional right now after waking up at 8.
12:15pm Heat up the last of the pizza for lunch, along with hummus and carrots.
5:20pm Work is average-paced for the rest of the day. Not doing nothing, not totally over my head. Will puts in potatoes for baked potatoes to have later, which we’ll pair with a salad. We’re getting close to needing a grocery run again, so the meals are becoming more of a mishmash.
We listed a couple things on our local Buy Nothing group last week, so a woman comes by to pick up a wifi router we can’t use anymore. Would totally recommend looking up if there’s a group in your area—they’re usually on Facebook.
6:30pm After dinner I watch more Sister Wives and look up RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit one of my friends shared for Giving Tuesday. They buy unpaid medical debt from collections, so $1 ends up paying off $100 of someone’s medical debt. I give $50 to the Arkansas campaign, which will clear $5,000 of medical debt.
As Will said earlier today, “medical billing in America is a racket” so I really hope this helps clear a burden from an individual or family. Doing this reminds me to check my insurance portal, which is steadily going up as each separate claim comes in. Ahhhh, modern healthcare!
$51.49 At the end of each day please tally up your daily expenses. Then at the end of your diary please tally up all expenses in the following categories: Total: $719.33 - Grocery + Dining Out: $157.77
- Fun + Entertainment: $0
- Home + Health: $164.67
- Clothes + Beauty: $228.64
- Transportation: $11.00
- Gifts + Giving: $157.25
Reflection This week felt like a big spending week for me. I checked YNAB and since January, I’ve spent about $1600 per month, not including rent—so about $400/week. That’s why this week’s $719 feels so high!
Writing this diary helped me understand how many things I have going for me. I’ve recently been in a huge funk—about my health, my performance at work and my relationships with family, friends and P. Going to the hospital, needing physical therapy to have sex and being in a pandemic will do that to you.
I was able to zoom out a bit and understand how stable and gratifying my life is. That being said, I’m so glad this community exists. I really love it and learning about all your spending and saving habits. Thanks for being here and sharing :)
submitted by - 1 Info on how to tell the age of your carhartt
- 2 Is my carhartt a counterfeit or fake?
- 3 Can I sell my jacket here (covers sale posts in general)
- 4 Why can't I post?
- 5 Do the mods work for carhartt?
- 6 Is the sub for the classic line or WIP
- 7 Has the quality of carhartt dropped since it stopped being made in america?
- 8 How old/what is the name of this product.
- 9 My carhartt is super stiff, how do I make it feel softer and more worn in?
- 10 Is this product warm enough/too warm?
- 11 Will this item fit me?
- 12 Whats the hole at the top of my overalls/bibs for ?
- 13 Why was this carhartt product discontinued ?
- 14 Where is the best place to buy carhartt?
- 15 Vintage carhartt buying and selling guide.
- 16 Info on womens workwear and sizing.
- 17 what is the Carhartt jacket from the movie interstellar?
- 18 Offical Carhartt FAQ
. .
- 1 Info on how to tell the age of your carhartt
Best info to find the age of your carhartt
Here its the best timeline I could find for the logo with a bonus timeline for products/features. It and the individual product histories below are direct from the Carhartt archive.
Chore coat history
Here Detroit jacket history
Here Double front pants history
Here K87 t shirt history
Here Date Code
Some tags have a 3 or 4 digit date code on them. First one or two are month, last 2 year. We are trying to figure out exactly when it started and the finer details but here are some examples of different ages and styles. It seems around 2000 the code became always four digits while older versions might drop the 0 for the month. The examples below show the change from the 1998 to 2001 version.
Top left 10/16 Top left 02/05 Top middle 03/01 Bottom left 5/98 Top middle 9/89 Top middle 3/85 (we have limited examples pre 1987)
WIP top right 07/04 There are many variations and the tag is usually the first thing to wear out so this isn't always an option. I can't find anything offical on it so we are still working out the kinks. You might have to make an educated guess here
The info above is the best I could find. If that does not help you feel free to make a post. Include pics, make sure to include the tag in a pic as clearly as possible. Pics of the pocket placement and lining also help.
All credit to the carhartt archive. They did most of the work and it is great that someone is putting the time into preserving the history of this iconic brand. Dave J. Moore the resident historian for carhartt also has a blog on the carhartt site full of more info in the discovehistory tab. If you are interested click
Here He also has a lot of interesting factoids on Twitter @ArchiveDave like when carhartt made cars. Seems inactive now but lots of great info between it all. Its like a little highlight reel. I hope to see more public stuff from them in any form. They are clear about confirmed info and best guesses. They have access to a treasure trove of information sources from carhartt directly while we are stuck with what scant info we can piece together online and personal experience. I have only ever seen one possible mistake in all the stuff I have seen from them and it was more a formatting error than bad info.
u/statusremoved had the idea of using the way back machine to track fairly recent products. It goes back to 1996 but I'm unfamiliar with it and need to put more time into it. This could be a great resource if you have more knowledge than me with it.
I wish I had more info, but this is most of the concrete info I have. One day I would like to have histories for all the major products in a similar format as the links above but It seems unlikely unless the archive has more I have yet to find. I have tried to contact carhartt but every option I can find is geared toward customer service and has not helped. Behind the scenes we are making good progress on a better timeline. One that includes as many major changes that might help with dating.. (secondary indicators like take tag/label placement and styles, secondary tags, and features that are less likely to wear with age)
u/carharttmichael has been a huge help with this . We have to get the pics together and get someone to do the graphic work and try and polish the info as best we can. Dates are still a little hazy on some versions. We will put it out as soon as possible and make it an open community project where we all work together to get the best info. If you have better info than us or we got something wrong then please let us know. We need your help to make this work.
- 2 Is my carhartt a counterfeit or fake?
As best we can tell probably not. It does not seem that common, I don't even have any specific examples. Most big brands have a guide to tell if your product is authentic with a direct comparison to fakes. Carhartt doesn't have anything like that on their site so I don't think they consider it much of a problem with most of their products either. With that said I have heard of fake beanies and a few bad things here and there about amazon. So like with pretty much any product that is fairly easy to counterfeit, if the price is too good or it seems goofy and the seller is shady then be wary. With vintage be wary of seller claims too. Items are often dated decades before they were actually made, most often in favor of the seller. There are a few replicas of classics that carhartt made for anniversaries that could also be conveniently mislabeled as well. I have seen people trade tags on other vintage items but not carhartt specifically. So even tho its not a huge problem from what I have seen, if you want to avoid the hassle buy from carhartt directly.
There is a large inconsistency in carhartt tags, fonts, logo, country of manufacture, and the amount of detail and polish from product to product especially over the long time span they have been in business. A tag sometimes looks a little goofy or lightweight, a logo sometimes seems like its sewn on loose. So if your item just has a goofy little detail that seems off, I wouldn't worry. You can make a post asking but make sure to include a pic of the tag and interior. If you know of any specific examples of fakes or have anything to add reply below.
The only thing even close is some replica stuff for the j001 and rnj001 related to the movie interstellar that featured the jacket in the movie. If they are marked as replicas I don't consider them fakes but someone shady might try to pass them off as real. Here is an example
https://www.slimfitjackets.com/matthew-mcconaughey-Interstellar-jacket - 3 Can I sell my jacket here
Sure, if you got the wrong size or w/e feel free to make a post. If you are a vintage seller from depop or eBay or something, feel free to post here. Within limitations of course, try to keep it to one or 2 a week tops. If you just happen to have a ton of unique items and thats not enough. I might make an exception but try to group em together or something . Retail sellers can post a sale, deal, or w/e twice a month. If you don't fit into any of these and are still unsure go by retail rules or message me. To the custom guys who do stuff like take vintage items and tye dye them or alter them, same rules as vintage sellers.(even if it does not include vintage items)
On a side note if you want to alter a vintage item to sell it, it hurts my soul sometimes to see an item older than me that was in great condition tarnished for lack of a better word. To each their own tho. Just keep in mind if its in good condition then it can probably already get a good price. Items with a little wear or stains are pretty common and usually much cheaper and might be unnoticeable depending on how you alter it. There is a limited amount of good quality vintage items, and that gets worse with time.
- 4 Why can't I post?
Either your karma is too low because this is a new account or the automod does not like the link you are posting. If neither is the case for you, message me. I will do my best to help.
- 5 Do the mods work for carhartt?
No, carhartt has never even offered me a beanie to shill for them. Kind of insulting but I'm at peace with it.
- 6 Is the sub for the classic line or WIP
Both. Old, new, workwear, even pet clothes are welcome.
- 7 Has the quality of carhartt dropped since it stopped being made in america?
It comes up every once and a while in the sub. I think its an interesting discussion. Carhartt isn't perfect, no company or person is. Seems like people tend to attribute every flaw or design change they don't like to this. Which might be true, but after 100 years in business and going international you have to expect some issues. Of all the issues I have heard of in my 7 years here I have never seen any that involved a negative interaction with customer service. They go above and beyond in a lot of cases. One old example was a post complaining about a jacket with mesh lining wearing out in 2 years. In the post it mentions carhartt sent them an upgraded j140 as a replacement. The post and comments focused on the quality drop (comments actually had good examples) No one even mentioned she had picked the cheapest lining option, kinda like a lightweight jersey mesh. Then expected it to be as durable as the warmer and thicker options. I don't think anyone commented on how carhartt did great fixing it even tho the customer had unrealistic expectations. I own a good bit of vintage carhartt from as far back as the 60'S, most holding up very well. We can't know if the new stuff will last as well for another 30 years. Older is not always better, I prefer the modern sherpa. Has a smoother feel in my opinion and seems more breathable. The duck fabric seems pretty consistent. Overall I have not seen a noticeable drop in quality in either the materials or quality control. I have seen multiple people complain about the same issues tho. Bib zippers, modern pants and shirts wearing out fast, and cuff durability.I love the look of vintage items but the modern versions usually have been improved with new features and upgrades. They were oddly picky about what they gave inside pockets in the old days , and the front pockets aren't nearly as ergonomic. Some features like insulated pockets they use at random. free to post your opinion below, specific examples especially. If you do think the quality has dropped try to include in what way(ex=cheaper materials) and about when you think the quality started to drop.
The stuff made in Mexico is generally considered well done too, like second best to usa. I personally only notice if its a really weird country I haven't seen yet. They are everywhere now.
- 8 How old/what is the name of this product.
Post pics with tag and the interior if possible. The inside lining and pocket placement can help with the age. Any strange features like elastic loops in the pocket is also worth noting. Colors can be tricky due to how its photographed , odd rare color variations i assume are dying errors at the factory sold as factory seconds, and natural wear over time. So if you have an item with an odd color variation it could be a lot of things. Sometimes I see versions with different color collars and such too, not sure if its a factory seconds thing or what, but I always look for them.
- 9 My carhartt is super stiff, how do i make it feel softer and more worn in?
Carhartt offers many options of its duck fabric. Some are much stiffer than others yet look very similar.
Here is a guide and
Here is carhartts offical up to date list.The sandstone duck is very soft and my personal favorite but it has a slightly faded look to it. Washed duck is a step down in softness but keeps the clean bright look. Some of the stiffer options can pretty much stand on their own so maybe find a local seller and get a feel in person before choosing. If it is too late and you already bought it, I have seen all sorts of advice like washing it a few times with a cup of vinegar. I have not tried any so I can't be much help with it. Washing and wearing it normally soften it up pretty well. Just washing it a couple times in a row will jump start the wearing process. Keep in mind the color will likely fade too. In less time than you think you won't even notice even without forcing it. It is more like the jacket breaks you in.
- 10 Is this product warm enough/too warm?
A lot of this is your preference so there is no right answer. Here are a couple guides on shell and lining options.
Gemplers shell and lining guide and
Super casual's lining guide . The main things to keep in mind are what kind of temps will you need it for and how long Will you be outside in it. Your abilities with layering and personal resistance to the cold matter too. A Florida raised person with no idea about layering vs a northern Canadian might have the Florida person preferring a warmer option than the Canadian. If a jacket is too warm you might wear it less, or if it makes you sweat then depending on the materials can actually make you colder. Budget can also be a factor, warmer usually means more expensive. The j133 was considered the warmest mainline jacket the last time i checked. It combines the warmest shell and lining options. Most of us won't need anything that warm . You won't have to sacrifice style to be warm. I recommend picking a style of jacket (ex= detroit) then pick the Shell and lining options that best suit your needs. If you would like some input or opinions from people or questions feel free to post.
- 11 Will this item fit me?
This can be simple, if you have an idea of your measurements. The carhartt site lists all its major measurements. It also has a fit guide on most products where people who bought it report back with if it fit how expected or too big or small. To figure out your own measurements without actually taking measurements then look up the measurements for something you already own. Account for extra room for layering if necessary. I always recommend finding a local retail spot to try stuff on even if you are going to purchase online. Shrinkage has never been a major issue with any of the duck products i own so i wouldn't expect it to effect sizing either way. if you want to be sure you can get washed duck. If you are trying to figure out sizing on a vintage item and the tag is missing, measurements are all you can go on.
- 12 Whats the hole at the top of my overalls/bibs for?
A pocket watch chain. It gets more use as a pen holder these days.
- 13 Why did carhartt discontinue this product
They probably didn't. Sometimes when they alter an item they "discontinue" it and bring it back soon after. Usually within a year. Sometimes they change the model number at the same time, sometimes not. Sometimes they take away some options and consolidate. Sometimes they change stuff around and don't go through the process. Its confusing and I don't understand it. If you do let me know. I do know you shouldn't worry. Even if it was really discontinued(its not) or you prefer the old option then you usually have a pretty decent amount of time to still get the old version from secondary retailers like Amazon, sierra, and dungarees. Sometimes years, depending on size. You always have the vintage option too. Same with local retail to a lesser degree. All that said I am pretty good with specific tweaks on fairly modern stuff from helping people with similar issues on the sub in the past so I might be able to help you with questions. If not someone else might be able to. So feel free to post if this doesn't help you, tagging me will make it more likely I see it if no one else can help you. If this is about the recent changes to the detroit, your not alone. A lot of people don't like the changes. Let carhartt know your feedback directly, they are usually pretty good about it. They probably made the changes based on feedback so let them know. Buy the old ones while you still can at a decent price.
- 14 Where is the best place to buy carhartt?
For the newest stuff with all the fancy features buy from carhartt directly at
www.carhartt.com For stuff that is discounted but maybe a couple years old and still new try
www.sierratradingpost.com www.dungarees.com www.supercasuals.com tractor supply and amazon. If the item says factory seconds it is slightly defective , in my experience usually unnoticeable.
For vintage ebay, depop, and mercari. Take your time and feel free to make posts here asking questions if needed. Some sellers sell at outrageously inflated prices to take advantage of newer buyers. Shop around and check prices on old sales of similar items. Just because items look so good 200$ seems reasonable, that doesn't mean you have to pay that much.
Canada
https://www.marks.com/en/brands/carhartt.html or Amazon (check your own prices, I only know they ship there)
International- I have no idea. If you can get Amazon carhartt sells directly from there
For WIP I asked our resident WIP expert. Here is the advice from
u/barnabyrowland "Speaking for buying in the UK - the main site is by far the best choice in terms of range/stock levels and they have free delivery and returns with postage included.
Big sellers such as Size, ASOS and John Lewis also have relatively smaller collections and it's often not the really nice WIP stuff but their end of season sales can be pretty good.
As for more niche sellers like End and Mr Porter tend not to offer free delivery or returns online but can have a more interesting collection/sale than bigger retailers. However I often find if something goes on sale on a third party website it will go on the main website. It's definitely important to have a good returns policy as WIP can fit inconsistently especially between relaxed and regular cuts."
If you have other sites to recommend reply below.
- 15 Vintage Carhartt buying or selling guide
This guide will focus on online listings but the information works for real world. Local vintage shops usually are more expensive but can have very nice collections.Full disclosure I don't resell carhartt, im just a collector. I have considered reselling to fund my carhartt addiction and just get access to more rare and unique examples for researching the age guide. It's tempting since i have an eye for it but i would want to keep everything at a reasonable and sustainable price so i probably wouldn't make much profit. Most of my collection was cherry picked from good deals I got from constantly searching for the weird stuff. I actually wear a lot of stuff from the 80`s so I have to keep little stockpiles in diffrent sizes incase I ruin one or get really fat or skinny and they are harder to get in the future. Which all logic assumes they will be, the real questions are how much harder to get and how soon. I have been watching the sites listed below pretty consistently for about 10 years(ebay mainly, most are newer.) with a good chunk of that time spent helping people in the sub find and identify countless items so I have an ok idea of the market. It is limited to my tastes and experiences tho so for WIP for example I am lacking.
Here are the main factors that effect the price.
- Where the item is listed. Places focused on vintage or current fashion trends like depop will charge considerably more than somewhere like ebay generally. For rarer items or sizes there might not be any other options. Don't expect to list common items for instant profit.
- Major wear, stains, rips, customization(patches or company info), or fraying at cuffs, bottom, or inside lining in armpit area. This can have a huge impact on some items or lead to great deals. Some people don't mind or prefer the "distressed" look. Sub par condition is often labeled distressed. This is your preference.
- Size. The more common sizes sell easier but the rare stuff can sell higher. Rare is small, above XXL, tall, and to a lesser degree med.
- How common the item is. The upside of some items remaining popular for over 50 years is there will be plenty of used items as well as lots of demand. If it is rare and popular or appeals to more modern fashion markets well it could be worth a lot. It could also be a common item in good condition and 30 years old and sell slow at 50$.
- Does it appeal to modern hipsters? If so they are generally more likely to spend more than the normal workwear or vintage fan base.
- Age. Use the guide at the top. If it was a graph it would be U shaped for price. It has a high point when new then drops when it hits resale then eventually works its way back up. Basically current year costs a premium, it gets cheaper after a few years even if new. Then depending on demand usually goes to at least a little under new price. Unless a funky color, size, or style. If you were just a casual buyer looking for a jacket on ebay you might not care the jacket is almost 30 years old only than its 40 bucks cheaper than a new one. A nice jacket will always have a baseline price.
- The sellers ability to take good pics and list good info If the pic or description suck then less people will consider the listing. You can find great deals because items were mislabeled or the pics were terrible. If you are listing something give a clear tag pic, front view, lining and inside pockets, and any secondary tags. Be as descriptive as possible in the title and description. Try to get your age as close as possible. Highlight the features that make it good but also make sure to clearly list and have pics of defects.
- Overall demand for the item. A detroit is always going to sell nice but unless its a rare size don't expect insane prices. Certain features are always high demand. The red nylon lining in jackets, rare lining patterns, unique undocumented variations(please share here), older logos, and pop culture references to name a few that will increase demand and price.
- Your overall reputation or the buyers trust in you as a seller Ebay has it pretty streamlined with a built in feedback reputation score and buyer protection from PayPal. The other sites usually offer similar features. If you try to hide defects with bad pics or vague descriptions or your house looks scummy in the background. People will assume you are scummy and no one wants used clothes from a scummy person. I still hold grudges on scummy sellers I bought from years ago and avoid to this day. People are willing to pay more if they are confident they are getting the product that is listed.
- How fast you want it to sell. Ebay has the most buyers so I would assume the fastest turn around. Buy it now usually gets a little more money than auction in general. If its a rarer or more hipster market friendly(sorry hipsters, no disrespect i just don't know a better term) item and you don't mind possibly sitting on it a couple months depop or etsy might get a higher price.
Where are the best places to buy and sell vintage?
Here are some options I know of with break downs
Depop - I only use this site for research or when I have absolutely no other option. One of the best options for wip. Very expensive. Usually better quality sellers as far as pics and info tho. Some very nice unique options here tho. Can often be the final option to buy a rare item in your size because the price is so high it is the only thing else. If money is no problem, you will love it as a buyer. As a seller if you have a good eye for what that kind of market likes I would assume it is a license to print money. Volume is ok.
Mercari - not super familiar with it but I find old posts there sometimes with good info. Seems to be somewhere between ebay and depOK. Volume is less than depop but respectable.
Etsy - price range more like depop. Some rare stuff but not as good as depop. OK with wip. Volume is all over the place and what you find is very inconsistent
Grained- good archive of old listings with great pics and infobut I have never ubought from them. The selections are inconsistent but diverse. I love them as idea or a kind of museum in a way but their price range is mostly too much for me. Another place you will often find as a final option.
Ebay - this is one of the better options to find deals. It was much easier in the past. Now you have to compete with professional resellers from the sites above much more frequently. Good for sellers tho, they will snipe most really good deals or raise up the price to a more reasonable level trying. Volume is the best I can think of.
Everywhere else- thrift stores, goodwill, Craigslist, amazon and retail sites like sierra can have pretty old stock sometimes. Most of the stuff on there is a couple years old at least. Buying and selling locally depends greatly on where you live. North eastern rural areas might have some great deals on Craigslist but a large city would be ideal for selling locally. If there is a demand in your area buying online and selling locally might be a viable way to make good money.
The 80's to 2010's time period has great availability and pricing. Most good deals fall into this. Most sales in general from my experience is 90s to mid 2010s. 70's isn't super rare but it is a sharp drop off and finding deals is rare. Reasonable price for ok condition isn't impossible. 60's a lot of great weird stuff like surfer related stuff. In the normal places listed above its not really common but I see it a round a lil. 50`s and before is a rare treat, especially in good condition. This is where I think it starts to go into "it belongs in a museum" territory. The price alone would make me uncomfortable to go outside in it. If you want a general price range there isn't one. Research how similar items sold. If you buy or sell any really old or weird stuff please post pics in this sub.
If you are interested in collecting WIP be ready for heart break. They make one off items that can be nearly impossible to find in any size. Compared to classic where an item could have 50 years of popularity and used listings this can be very hard. The numbers can be extremely limited so the higher prices are reasonable here. I consider myself a classic collector mostly but my list of carhartt stuff I would instantly buy for anything but an insane price is mostly wip. The list stacks up and its really hard to check anything off the list without at least 250$ to even get started. If I want something in classic even rare it feels like a matter of time, with WIP you just hope and keep looking. I won't even look at some stuff if I know its impossible to get.
I might have missed some obvious ones will add later if needed. Lots of smaller places some with local vintage shops sell online with nice selections. Now that I have given you the options I want to tell you how I feel as a long time carhartt collector about the professional resellers who buy vintage carhartt to resell it at huge mark up. In the last few years the amount of times I have had an item has been sniped out from under me and then reposted right after on somewhere like depop at over twice the price is mind numbing. If you are new to this experience you will soon come to learn. I have even seen posts on this sub sniped when people posted links for info. I used to give in and just pay what ever price and consider it a finders fee or tax on being too impatient to wait for a reasonable listing. It wore me down tho as it has gotten more and more common. Its not just rare items either. Some people do this for a living and scan listings like a job. If the price on an auction is low for a common item they will at least drive the price up to a baseline price. Those higher prices can also take advantage of a newer more casual buyers lack of information. Its sad to me that vintage Carhartt is getting harder for the working class to get. These sellers are not bad people for trying to make money, I just choose not to support them. I think of it kind of like ps5 scalpers. I'm tempted and I have the money but I don't wanna do it. If you do tho that is completely up to you so I gave you the options. Even use this guide to become one. No judgment. its not easy. A few have very good eye for rare stuff and take such good pics I have used them often in research related to the age guide and helping people with questions in the sub. It might come off as harsh or nit picky but I have seen the entire market change in the last few years. Deals are becoming very rare and reasonable prices are becoming unreasonable. I love to see more people interested but hope the prices stay reasonable enough for new people and casual fans to dip their toes in without getting a loan. At the same time I respect the hustle and understand people have bills to pay. Sometimes the item is rare enough to warrant 300$ or more .There is a limited amount of vintage carhartt especially in good condition. They will only get rarer with time. Right now someone is pouring bleach on a 30 year old jacket to sell for 200 bucks on etsy that one of us could have passed on to our grand kids. Who would have probably then sold it on ebay after.
This is a first draft of the buyers guide will update as I think of more.
- 16 Info for women's workwear and sizing.
I know very little about women's carhartt compared to men's. I saw a post in
bluecollarwomen with a petition from a woman with on the job experience with the female and male workwear. I took the opportunity to ask some questions and here are the replies edited only in format from
u/mandalynnkaye and link to original post with petition that details issues she has with the women's workwear. If you have similar concerns let carhartt know. They are pretty good about feedback.
original post with petition Q: What are the downsides if any of women wearing men's products?
"So the downsides to wearing men’s clothing versus woman depends on each type of clothing. With the pants, I have a hard time finding pants that are comfortable around my waist line. Men have thinner waists due to not having hips which makes it very difficult to finding comfortable pants, they just aren’t really cut to handle women figure. The plus side to men’s pants is that you can actually find a good leg length. With women’s, you mostly just get short, regular, or long and since I sit in between regular and long, I usually end up with high water pants when I buy the regulars in women’s. Shirts in men’s are wonderful in length because I have a longer torso than most (women don’t get the choice of talls). The downside though is the bust area. Woman with a bust size larger than a full B typically need to get a size larger or more and by the time the right size is found for the bust size, the shirt can turn into a dress. With bibs, and this is one to affect me most recent a job site, the cuts have a lot of set backs. When I was looking at the same pair of bibs pattern wise, there were major variations that I was very upset with. I ended up having to buy the men’s because the durability is unfortunately far superior. Having worn them for a month straight doing outdoor work at a solar job, the men’s bibs have a very low cut crotch which really makes it difficult to walk normally in. I was waddling quite a bit. The area of the hips and lower abdomen area is built for guys build so I could not wear anything other than leggings and skinny jeans under my bibs in order for me to be able to zip up the bibs. It made it harder for me to move around the job site as easily because of the restrictions of the clothing. "
Q:What is the sizing conversion?(ex large in women is med in men)
"Size conversions can be a little difficult because we aren’t all built exactly the same. For a women wearing a large in women’s, I would suggest sizing down shirt wise in men’s unless the bust is anything over a size B. Than I would go with the same size. For jeans, I wore a size 8 in some women’s clothing and a 10 in others when I started the trades and was wearing size 32s in men’s. The inseam really depending of the height of the person. Bibs, for the first time is really something to try on in the stores first in my opinion but with mine, i sized up in the waist to a 34 and downsized in the inseam from a 32 to a 28 and they are still a bit too long. "
Q:Is there any major diffrence in cut or fit ?( i know you have more tight fit options in general i mean more like shirts or jackets having extra chest room) We get some guys interested in getting female styles or colors, what advice would you give them?
"For guys interested in female clothing, I would definitely go a size up on any top. I’m honestly not sure why any guy would want to wear women’s construction pants because we literally get a minimum of 50% less pocket area and amount but I would look up a generic pant size chart and go from there. The nice thing is when a men’s says 32, it’s a 32 waist but in women’s, this mean you could be in a 8/10/12 in every different brand which is super frustrating when it comes to online ordering. Bibs for women aren’t really that great and once again lack hammer loops, pocket space, durability, but if that is what they want, I would definitely stick to a size chart and have them try them on because one brand size will again be different than another. "
Q: how would you sum up your issues with the women's workwear for someone unfamiliar
"Honestly, I would rather give up the style and color flexibility for more durable, weathering, material with loads of workable pockets. Most pockets for women have about 4” of depth and trying to stick a tool or even a phone in a 4” pocket isn’t even possible. Also, the men’s clothing in most construction lead clothing lines is by far more vast than the female line of that same company. It’s something most guys don’t think about because let’s be honest, if it’s not bothering you, why look into it, but more women are entering trade programs and as such need more availability and durability to their clothing.
Another thing that drives me crazy is that even with the lack of options and features, we are still expected to pay the same amount if not more. Safety vests for men can be found for 8-12 dollars but women’s vest can be anywhere from 30-50 dollars. As a woman starting out in the trade, that’s a huge barrier to cross.
Any other questions, let me know! Also, the bluecollar women’s Reddit page is very helpful for questions too.
I have a lot of respect for you taking the time to ask and really understand the issues that women face in the clothing lines. Thank you for having such an open mind and I found none of your questions stupid."
This is your humble narrator again and she was kind enough to answer my questions and even pretend none of them were silly. I think its all pretty interesting so share your experiences below or tell carhartt directly.
17.17 What is the Carhartt jacket from the movie interstellar?
The RNJ001 washed duck detroit jacket is claimed in some articles. Normal detroit J001 on Wikipedia. No confirmation from any source that worked on the movie.
I'm not an expert on the movie but we get a couple posts about this a week and its one of the most popular classic carhartt products aside from this so I researched it. I got this answer from a few articles and it is the closest version in new out of the box form.
Here is the best article on it, it also lists the other 2 jackets in the movie that no one cares about. The rnj001 is just the washed duck version of the normal detroit j001. Washed duck is just pre washed and faded. It has that faded look from the movie. That is the only difference between this and the normal detroit with the standard duck. Which is fresh and sharper looking bright brown and unfaded.The sandstone version is somewhere between the two with an artifical aging process similar too but not as worn as washed duck. Both are made softer and less firm in the process. All three are the same color with varying levels of fade from the artificial wear process. Natural wear has the same effects over time so a naturally worn vintage version of any of the 3 will be hard to tell apart. So you can debate the RNJ001 is the one true version but the only diffrence is the wear process on the duck shell. Which makes little to no diffrence since they are just simulating the natural wear process used clothes experience by definition. Of the processes including natural wear all will fade them and it will lose the sharp carhartt brown look in a couple washes. So you can easily wash it a couple times and give the process a head start for the faded look. Any worn in faded looking detroit that wasn't made in the last couple years is basically this jacket. The modern version(on-sale now at main site) has some changes. No snaps at waist and they added a dove tail in the back to add a little length. Some sizes like small can be very annoying to find. If you just want a jacket that is basically the same as the one in the movie at a decent price like 50-60$ in good condition then that isn't that hard to do. The RNJ001 price is usually more expensive due to intrest from interstellar fans or who just saw the jacket in the movie and wanted it. The price increase bleeds over a little to the j001 and sandstone versions .Unless you have a weird size or get really picky about the details price should be pretty reasonable. If anyone claims to know more details like it has to be made in Mexico, unless they can cite sources or something to base it on I just write it off as speculation. There are some "replicas" which are just clearly marked fakes for this specific version but most are obviously fake like
This one. . It does not take an expert to tell the diffrence. This isn't that uncommon for movie stuff, its the only example of counterfeit workwear I have seen.
Here is a link to the Carhartt site FAQ I think that covers everything, I will edit to add more if needed.
The sub also needs mods so message me if you are interested.
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