This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation for our video series, The Pay Check, with Sondre Pettersen, 25, who lives in Oslo, Norway. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I live alone in a one-bedroom apartment in Oslo, Norway, on a $74,700 annual base salary.
Buying an apartment has been a big financial goal of mine for a long time. I saved money working throughout high school, university, and internships. I used to live with seven people, so I’ve been getting used to living alone, but I mostly enjoy it. It’s really nice to own my own place.
I bought my apartment for $465,000. My down payment was $50,000, and I pay $2,060 a month on a 30-year mortgage with a 4.29% interest rate. I pay $496 a month in building amenities fees, which cover my heating, water, and maintenance. For utilities, I pay $57 a month, with $32 for electricity and $25 for streaming services.
I work as an incident response analyst in the financial sector. My base annual salary is $74,700, but with my annual bonus, it can range from $78,000 to $79,000. I also have access to my employer’s stock purchase program, which allows me to buy company stock at a 25% discount once a year, paid through an interest-free salary advance.
I get a few perks from my job: financial counseling, affordable company cabins in Norway and abroad, a subsidized canteen for $5 lunches, discounted insurance, a higher interest rate in my savings account, and lower interest rates on my mortgage, subject to tax. During the summer, our working week is shortened to 35 hours a week. In Norway, there are 25 statutory vacation days, and my company gives us 3 more, for a total of 28 days a year.
I have $88,000 in student loans. However, since I’ve finished my degree, the government will pay 40% of my student loan debt, leaving me with $53,000 to repay at a variable rate of 4.6%. I will start paying around $400 a month in January 2027.
I pay $1,380 in taxes each month. If I didn’t have a mortgage or student loans, I would pay $1,700 instead. This is because locals get a 22% tax deduction on any interest we pay on debt in Norway from our income. I also pay $71 for benefits per paycheck. That includes $31 for my employer-preferred mortgage, $9 for my employer-paid mobile plan, and $31 for my comprehensive group insurance. This leaves my net monthly income at around $4,774.
I save around $1,000 a month. I have an automatic $400 transfer set up from my salary, which is invested in index funds. In stocks, I have $3,700, and in my index funds I have $14,000. My employer pays 7% of my pre-tax income into my pension, which equates to $5,230 a year, and it is 100% employer-funded, meaning I don’t have to save anything myself or match it in any way.
I consider myself reasonably financially disciplined. I try only to buy things I really need and really want. If I want something, I usually wait a week or two, which filters out a lot of bad purchases.
I connected an AI agent to a grocery app, which plans my weekly meal plan and creates a shopping list. I then use an app that tells me which grocery store is the cheapest for those items, where I budget around $295 on groceries. Besides that, I spend $112 on my workplace canteen and $100 dining out a month.
I don’t own a car. It would be expensive and impractical here in Oslo, especially because of parking. I budget around $32 a month for single rides, bus tickets, and city bikes, since I can bike to work in 10 minutes. To me, a car is a depreciating asset here.
I also pay $40 a month to avoid being bald. Unfortunately, I inherited some bad genes from my dad, so I pay $30 a month for minoxidil, which is like a serum I rub into my scalp, and $10 for another medication. I’ve been on medication for one and a half years, and I am very happy with how it turned out.
Usually, I spend around $100 a month to go out clubbing or to bars about twice a month, which is way less than when I was a student.
Skiing is my most expensive hobby. I do downhill skiing and ski touring, where I walk up the mountain and ski down. A weekend ski trip could cost anywhere between $200 and $400. I’ve spent up to $5,000 on ski equipment in the last seven or eight years. My skis, bindings, and boots have been worth around $2,400.
I pay $0 a month for healthcare; it is 100% funded by the National Social Security scheme here in Norway. If I see a doctor for any reason, I will pay $25 out of pocket each time; this amount is capped at $330 a year, and it also covers medicine.
I take vitamin D supplements because it gets very dark in Norway during the winter. I also take omega-3 supplements because fish is quite expensive. I spend around $12 a month on those supplements; my dentist appointments cost me around $20, but they are heavily subsidized for young adults.
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