Welcome to Money Talks! New approaches to money have exploded. Yet, money remains taboo. Less than half of you share personal finance information with your friends and family.
But that’s all changing. Now more and more of you are talking about money because it leads to better outcomes.
In an effort to provide personal finance insights through transparency (and have a bit of fun), I’ve created a series titled Money Talks that showcases how real people in Charlotte approach money.
It’s an anonymous way for you to share your money experiences and insights with our city. Answers are lightly edited for clarity and privacy (ex, exact age). Want to participate? Take the Money Talks survey.
Living situation:
Rent. It’s $640 per month. I’ve got 3 roommates.
Job:
Full time student. Door-to-door marketer for LeafFilter and online freelance writing. If you subtract school tuition, I’ll net about $15K this year.
Salary Journey:
- $7.25 per hour at Jimmy John’s at age 15
- $10.50 per hour at Papa John’s at age 16
- $16 per hour at a local cafe at age 17
- $20 per hour at LeafFilter going door to door (current)
Work-life balance:
Does not exist, haha! I’m working and studying non-stop. But I do occasionally schedule intentional “Do-Nothing” blocks on my calendar to try and relax.
Debt:
Not too much. Just some student loans at 6.4% that I’m not concerned about. I plan to pay them off 6 months after graduation.
Credit card:
Primarily Fidelity’s 2% cash back card because of it’s integration into my Roth IRA account.
Budgeting:
Rocket Money. I make my own DIY monthly report that I print up and hang on my wall. It’s 3 pages. I track spending, total income, investment growth, key business milestones, and other fun metrics like credit score.
Splurge:
$65 subscription to the WSJ in print. I already spend all day on my phone, iPad, and laptop and don’t want to read news on screens.
Money hack:
Catch me at area Panera Bread abusing the $5 per month Sip Club and buying 0 actual menu items!
Restaurant pick:
Halal Food Cart, specifically after 11pm. Good value for the price and very quick.
Net worth:
$45K. Split across Roth IRAs (one for stock picking and the other for broad index funds) and taxable brokerage account focused on investment income and lower volatility, while minimizing tax burden.
Goal is to build a secondary income stream to be work optional asap.
Advice:
Spend less than you make! Invest as early as possible, ideally in a Roth IRA.
After graduation:
I’d like to become a financial advisor. Ideally I’d own my own RIA.
Rich in Charlotte:
Paying for parking in Uptown. It’s so expensive! If I had to give a number, I’d say $1M net worth to “ball on a budget” and $2.5M to sleep easy at night forever.
Best decision:
Working hard throughout high school. I missed out on the low-stress, carefree life of a teenager, but now I’ve built an investment portfolio at a young age.
Financial goals:
- Be independent of a paycheck. Working toward this by developing a income focused portfolio under the “L.I.S.T.” principles of liquidity, stability, income, and tax efficiency.
- Own my own home. Have no mortgage payment for extra freedom and flexibility.
- Be a force for good in my community. Specifically in the lives of young people as they begin their own financial journeys’. My dream is to stablish a nonprofit in “retirement” to service that goal.
Knowledge:
Reading finance books and publications from age 11.
Including Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps, Rich Dad Poor Dad, the Millionaire Next Door, The Intelligent Investor, the WSJ, Barrons, Bloomberg live/radio, The Warren Buffett Way and The Snowball among others.
On your mind:
It’s tough being in college and not being able to work full time.
Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate
New to Tiny Money? Join 14,298 Charlotte money nerds and subscribe to the 1x/wk newsletter
