BIO: I'm a special-education teacher. I teach basic literacy skills to students with reading disabilities. In Connecticut, I am what's called a certified dyslexia practitioner, and I do some extra tutoring on the side as well as consultation for parents who have students with disabilities. Industry: Education

Age: 27

Location: South Windsor, CT

Salary: $61,705 (plus transportation reimbursement and extended detention duty (varies) and ~$360 a week for tutoring/consultation)

Paycheck Amount (22 times a year): $2,125.21

Partner's Salary: $0 (With my full support, my boyfriend quit his job at the end of the summer to focus on finishing up school on time. He's going for a degree in electrical engineering. We made the decision that I would cover all of the bills until he gets a full-time job. We keep close track of his expenses on a spreadsheet, and he will pay back any of his personal spending. We are planning to get engaged later this year and have decided that once we're married, we will have separate bank accounts but will each deposit an equal amount towards a joint bank account to be used for household expenses. I bought the house myself, over a year and a half ago, but we searched for homes together as we'd already been cohabiting for six months prior to that. I made sure that if we ever ended our relationship, I could still afford the home on my own. He's extremely handy around the house and has saved me close to $5,000, by my count, in repairs and upgrades.)