📝 Minimum Wage to $101K in Waco

Good morning, Waco. This is The Waco Buzz. Baylor move-in starts this week, and by next Sunday, more than 20,000 Baylor students will be back in town.

In today's Sunday Sip:
🐻 Baylor's Back This Week
🦪 Restaurant Review: Opal's Oysters
📅 3 Things to Circle This Week
📝 Good Life in Waco: Minimum Wage to $101K
🏡 Home of the Week: 740 Castleman Creek Rd

Let's get to it!

- Sam Harper

🚗 Found a lower tire price? Chevy of West will match it.

Back-to-school means more driving: school drop-offs, practices, errands and everything in between.If your tires are getting close to replacement, you don't have to spend next Saturday price-hunting.

Chevy of West's Tire Price Match Guarantee means they'll match a lower price on eligible tires at the time of purchase. Find a lower price within 30 days after, and they'll refund the difference.

👉 Check eligible tires at chevyofwest.com*

For locals, three things to know:

🚗 Traffic: Give yourself extra time around University Parks, 5th Street and I-35.

🍽️ Restaurants: If you've been meaning to try somewhere downtown, go this week. Things are about to get busier.

☕ Coffee: Your favorite quiet weekday spot is about to get louder.

Summer Waco had a good run, but 20,000 students coming back also means more people downtown, more customers for local businesses, a whole lot more energy around town and one step closer to football season.

We're ready for it.

My wife and I went for the first time this past weekend. We sat at the bar and accidentally got dinner and a show. The chef team was shucking, slicing and plating seafood a few feet in front of us, so dinner came with a pretty good view.

Normally, my rule of thumb is to order seafood if I can see the water it came from.

Opal's changed that rule.

Start with the crudo. I had no idea what it was: thinly sliced raw fish dressed with sauce and seasonings. Ours came covered in a citrus-wasabi vinaigrette that had us chasing every last drop with bread.

What to order: Crudo Plate

Where: Opal's Oysters, 228 S 8th St

Cost: $19

Buzz take: The crudo was the perfect starter, the lobster mac & cheese was a must, and somehow the hamburger was the surprise hit. Add a seat at the bar and you've got a pretty great date night.

🤔 Know a Waco spot I should try next? Hit reply and let me know.

🍺 Sherwood Forest Faire & Pint Night
Friday, Aug 21 | 6-9 PM | Fabled Bookshop & Cafe, 215 S 4th St

Fabled is throwing a medieval-themed pint night complete with a poetry contest for the heart of Maid Marian, a stein-holding contest, and a Robin Hood lookalike contest. $5 taps all evening, bread from Sam's Bread. RSVP here.

🥤 Summer Sips
Saturday, Aug 22 | 11 AM - 4 PM | Downtown Waco

Grab a $10 tumbler and it unlocks free drinks at more than 20 downtown spots, including Kilwins, Marie's Wine Bar, and Southern Roots Brewing. Pick up your tumbler Friday at 25N Coworking, 510 Austin Ave, 9 AM-1 PM, or Saturday morning at the Farmers Market. Get your tumbler here.

🏐 Baylor Volleyball vs. UTSA (Free Exhibition)
Saturday, Aug 22 | 3 PM | Ferrell Center

Free Baylor volleyball? We'll take it. The Bears host UTSA before the regular season starts. No ticket needed, and there's a good chance you'll end up on the jumbotron.

Waco: “My parents brought me here when I was young, and I liked it enough to stay.”

Job: “Remote cybersecurity consultant working from home.”

Income today: "$101,000 a year. I started at minimum wage at a construction company at 18, then moved into restaurants. When my first daughter was on the way, I taught myself AWS and earned a certification that got me into a remote cyber job."

Housing: "I rent a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house for $1,600 a month. Got it as a great deal a few years back."

Budgeting: “I keep a detailed spreadsheet for my budget.”

Favorite recurring expense: "My favorite is a $25 gym membership that's changed my life for the better."

Best Waco money tip: “Get a library card. It's a great weekly family outing, and you can get free zoo and museum passes for the family.”

Freedom number: "$150,000 would make me debt free and let me build my own home."

What's wealthy in Waco? "$175,000 would be comfortably wealthy. But real wealth is having a great family."

Best health decision: "Cutting out soft drinks and desserts, and getting up at 5 AM to exercise before the day gets loud."

Building relationships in Waco: "Friday nights are a standing date night: phones off, kids go to grandma's, and my wife and I go out. It doesn't have to be expensive. El Ranchito is our favorite. Get the Queso Flameado."

👉 Got a Waco money story worth sharing? Share it anonymously.

Welcome to Home of the Week, where a 1988 house gets a backyard that makes you wonder why you're still inside on a day like today. I'll give you the details. You guess the price.

👉 Take your best guess at the price, then peek at the listing here.

Thanks for reading The Waco Buzz today. If you found something helpful, share it with your friend who has the best backyard swimming pool.

Whenever you’re ready, here are three ways to get more involved:

1. Dinner Club: Meet five other locals (recent movers and lifelong Wacoans) over dinner on August 26. You’ll make new friends regardless of stage of life and help make Waco a smaller town.

2.Want to reach Waco? This newsletter lands in 15,600+ local inboxes every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. There are nine ways to partner with us, and one of them is probably a fit. See all nine ways to partner here.

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