Author: mymillenialfinance

I wanted to take this week’s post to really go deep into my purpose and explain my “why” behind starting On Top of Your Money. I just became passionate about personal finances in the last 3 years for a couple of reasons – first, I had just graduated college in May of 2017 and was managing my finances entirely on my own for the first time and was beyond afraid of how to do so and that I might fuck up, eager to learn as much as I could and was overly cautious in preparation for the worst. Second, I purchased my first car that August and suddenly had just under $15,000 in debt (not including my federal student loans because at the time I wasn’t concerned about them and took full advantage of my grace period *facepalm*). 

The additional $15K scared the shit out of me and all I could think about was what I would do with an extra $265/month when I was done making payments. It was a 5-year loan but I was determined to pay it off before then and with no plan as to how to do this I began aggressively saving and working side jobs to put every additional penny I earned toward the balance. It ended up taking me 26 months but I paid off the loan and was extremely proud of myself.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until around that time that I discovered the debt-free and personal finance communities on Instagram and learned that I would never be *chill* about my money again. It was addicting to watch my VW Credit account balance drop with each passing week. I was so excited to take on extra babysitting jobs while my friends went out (or more realistically, going straight from babysitting gigs to the bar) knowing I would be putting an additional $85 to my loan in the morning. As a result of paying off my car, I am now the extremely proud OWNER of a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta complete with plastic hubcaps, a missing side-view mirror cover and slight damage from a minor accident last May but SHE’S ALL MINE. 

The drive I discovered while paying off my auto loan got me excited about all the possibilities when I one day paid off all my loans (I had in the meantime discovered I had another private student loan in my name, another story for another time) and would be able to save, invest and in theory live the life of my dreams although I really didn’t have any grasp of what that would look like at the time or just how possible my dream life was. 

In diving deeper into the debt-free movement and personal finance community I learned in hindsight what I would have done differently, how to set proper goals for my money and continued to soak up any and all resources I could find on the subject – Instagram accounts, blogs, books, YouTube videos etc. But in my search for knowledge I came across some statistics that really stopped me in my tracks. We’ve been taught about the wage gap between men, women and minority groups our whole lifetime but that really is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been a ~feminist~ arguably my whole life yet I had never thought about how this wage gap combined with the limitations and hidden scripts instilled by society about women and our roles from the day we are born sets us on a path for failure. 

I’m still searching for the exact article I first read on the subject that had my eyes bulging and stomach dropped (I believe it was a research piece put out by my firm and thus not google-able) but I will sum it up for you with a few of the stats I found while writing this post: 

• Women keep 71% of their assets in hard cash (Blackrock) – with inflation overtime your cash savings are literally losing money. Hence why I will never get off my soap box telling you to get yo’ damn high-yield savings accounts. Moreover this is just not necessary. You need your 3-12 months cash (this amount depends on your personal situation and stability in career) in a high-yield savings account and that’s it. Above that invest, save for specific short/medium term goals, upscale your lifestyle, be generous etc. 
• Millennial women have 34% less saved for retirement than our male counterparts (PNC Investments 2018 Millennials & Investing survey) – hopefully as I continue to post you all will understand the severity of this but the earlier you start saving/investing in your 401K or IRA the better. There are a million reasons to do this but to name a few – we live longer than men, you may not want to get married and thus can’t rely on a husband’s retirement savings, you fall madly in love one day with a man who was not one of the named male counterparts in this survey, your future self lives a boujee lifestyle which will require funds to upkeep and lastly, compound investing. 
• Less than half were socking away 6% or more in their 401Ks meaning over 50% of millennial females weren’t taking advantage of their employer matches whereas 6 out of 10 millennial men put 6% or more into tax-sheltered retirement accounts – a more frightening stat from the same survey. Again, hopefully this isn’t news to some and this blog will help literally just one woman start saving for retirement and/or investing but if your employer offers a match to your 401K that is FREE MONEY and you absolutely should be contributing that minimum 6% (or whatever your employer matches) at the very least. 

Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and founder of Ellevest, sees the gender investment gap as a catalyst for change and hope. While the gender pay gap absolutely needs to be addressed, making progress on that front will be a long fight for systemic changes that is out of hands for the average millennial woman. The way Krawcheck sees it, investing is an actionable step any individual woman can take into her own hands to fight the good fight towards equality. On top of that, the gender investing gap will cost women hundreds of thousands if not millions over the course of our lifetimes in missed earnings. Moreover, a lack of performance is not the reason many young women don’t invest. In reality, a Fidelity analysis of 8 million clients found in 2016 that their female clients outperformed men due to the fact that they don’t overtrade, pay less in fees and don’t panic in a down market. Similarly, Ellevest found that women aren’t risk-adverse but risk-aware.  We are rational investors who want the full picture before proceeding unlike our overconfident male counterparts and this will pay off in the long run so long as we just get started. 

Feminist undertones aside, our society IS changing and that’s great news. But the way young women plan for their financial futures has to change in correlation. More of us than ever are working successful careers, will be breadwinners for our future families, will be business owners/CEOs or learn that we just want to be the cool aunt who goes on lavish vacations and brings the best gifts home every Christmas. Whatever your reasoning is, I personally believe it is so important that we as millennial women step up the game and pave the path for the generations to follow us by planning for our financial futures now so that we can live our absolute best lives. 

Nearly two years and a name change later I’m back! It’s funny reading my last post. Currently I’ve been in isolation for over a month from the COVID-19 pandemic and with that my grocery store trips have been limited and I haven’t stepped foot in Trader Joe’s in over two months. Pre lockdown it was just getting too busy for my liking and post lockdown the lines to get in have not been worth my time. I’ve been doing my grocery shopping at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in the meantime and while they don’t have the best produce selection I’ve been able to find most everything I need and the prices are unbeatable. They don’t have quite the product selection as TJ’s but they do have an impressive inventory of health-conscious foods such as flax seeds, nut milks, Perfect Bars and their fridges have been stocked with Happy Egg’s and Vital Farms – a rarity these days. 

Like most people I’ve been searching for more productive ways to use my free time especially as I live alone now (an exciting update!) which has created its own quarantine challenges. My plan with this blog is to post entries twice a week on various topics relating to personal finance – if you have any requests or questions feel free to send them my way, I’d love your input!

The virus has brought on a whole slew of new issues when it comes to our finances – unemployment, loss of income and a bear market… I won’t drone on as I think we’re all aware of the severity. While we have little control over our current situation, I wanted to focus on topics we DO have control over – starting with our student loan repayment plans. 

If you have federally held student loans you’re likely aware the CARES Act included an administrative forbearance on most federal student loans backdated from March 13, 2020 to September 30, 2020. This means the following for you as a borrower: 

1. All auto-payments have automatically been suspended between these dates.
2. No interest will accrue during this time period. 
3. Any payment made during the administrative forbearance may be refunded to you. 

With these temporary changes now is a perfect time to take a look at your student loan repayment plan and make adjustments where necessary. Some potential ideas to think about – 

1. If your employment status has been impacted by this pandemic, your student loans are one less thing you need to think about right now. If there’s any way I can help, don’t be afraid to DM me. 
2. Do you have an emergency fund saved? Usually this would qualify as 3-6 months of expenses but seeing how quickly things can happen 12 months is a great goal too. Decide how much best fits your situation and use this time to save, save, save. 
3. Do you have higher interest rate loans like credit card debt, auto loans or private student loans? First, call these lenders and ask what they’re offering in COVID-19 response. Second, think about redirecting funds to pay these loans while your student debt is interest-free. 
4. EF in a good place, no high-interest-rate debt and fortunate enough to have a steady income right now? Great. Determine how much (if any) you can continue to pay towards your federally held student loans and chip away at that principal balance. You can make manual payments yourself or reach out to your lender to request your auto-payments continue. 
5. Lastly, this virus has hit our communities hard. Look for ways you can help support your neighbors with your wallet by donating to causes that resonate with you. Living intentionally with your finances gives you a unique opportunity to help in situations such as these. 

Phew, that was lengthy. Let me know of any topics you’d like covered or questions you have. I hope you’re all staying safe and your friends and families healthy. This is only temporary, we will overcome. 

Hey there, welcome back to Millennial Finance!

Today I’m here to share with you how I save the most money and keep my grocery budget in check each month. Personally, when I take a look at my budget searching for places I can trim, my food budget is the first to cut. Now, typically I spend about $35 give or take at the grocery store each week. Some weeks I spend $50 but some I spend a mere $25. It all depends how flexible I can be with my budget that week and what other expenses I have coming up. I’ll also note, I only go to the grocery store once a week. I don’t supplement throughout the week I simply limit myself to what’s on hand. Now let’s get into it!

Here are my top 4 tips to save you the most money at the grocery store:

1. Choose the right grocery store

Growing up I never would have thought I would one day have a favorite grocery store but here we are post-grad and not only do I have a favorite but it has become a highlight of my week. Every Sunday morning I run to Starbucks, windows down and music blaring to treat myself to an iced vanilla coffee with a splash of almond milk and make my way to the holy land – Trader Joe’s. That place is the best thing to have ever happened to me, my very own personal heaven with all my favorite things. Not only do they have an amazing selection of specialty products but as everything is store brand it is all reasonably priced and from my experience, makes healthy eating a breeze financially. You won’t catch me dead inside a Whole Foods for good reason – the same red bell pepper I’d get at TJ’s for $0.99 is $4.00 a pop. Those little price gouges add up fast. Plus – with all their uniquely branded products, the store causes huge temptations that I avoid simply by never stepping foot inside.

Trader Joe’s might not be your little slice of paradise but make sure to shop around your neighborhood grocery stores and find the one you love the most and pay attention to the prices. Find a good mix of quality products and better prices and you’ll hit a gold mine.

2. Never shop without a list

This is arguably my most important tip. Aside from not going to the store hungry, shopping with a list will best keep you on track from grabbing all the yummy things you definitely don’t need. I make my list by meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I normally try to pick-up one fruit/veggie snack and one ‘junk’ for the week. This list also keeps my shopping time to a minimum so I’m left with more time to spend my Sunday doing all my fave activities (bottomless mimosas, anybody?!)

3. Shop your pantry

This is something I’ve only recently begun practicing myself and can’t believe I haven’t all this time. As a single, young adult cooking only ever for myself there’s really no reason for me to keep an abundantly stocked pantry and fridge. Each week while making my list I look through to see what I might have leftover, need to use up or what staples I have on hand that I can make into quick and easy meals. This might mean I use the oats I have hidden away to make oatmeal every morning with fresh fruit, or cooking up the leftover pasta with roasted veggies and marinara for a quick dinner. You just have to get creative!

4. Don’t be afraid to eat the same thing every day

I know this is boring but once again, as a single, young-adult you just have to make things work sometimes and for me, that means eating the same breakfast and lunch for up to a week at a time. When you find recipes you love, you’ll want to eat them every day too. I normally leave dinner as my treat to switch things up and keep ingredients on hand to make several different, less perishable options so I don’t get bored. It might be a TJ’s freezer meal one or two nights, a homemade ACAI bowl another or my favorite – naan bread personal pizzas. The variety in my dinner holds me over throughout a week of less than exciting lunches.

Hopefully, these tips work for you and save as much money as they have for me over the past few years! I’d love to hear your favorite tips and tricks in the comments below, I’m always looking for ways to save even more!

Till next time,

Ellie

Hi there! My name is Ellie and welcome to Millennial Finance. I’m starting this blog after setting some pretty hefty financial goals for the coming years, to hold myself accountable and document the process. But let me introduce myself first – I’m 24 years old, originally from the outskirts of the Twin Cities, a true mid-west Scandinavian girl. I moved to Tampa, FL 5 years ago where I studied International Business Finance and Spanish at the University of Tampa and graduated in May 2017. I now work as support staff on a private wealth management team and have a side hustle at a local gym as their in-house Cinderella wiping down bikes and treadmills, rolling yoga mats, folding sweat towels – the works. I take every babysitting job I can get and am constantly checking Wag! for dog walks and sitting jobs.

A few months after graduation I made my first “adult” move and bought my very own car – a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta that is my most prized possession. It also came with an auto loan while I was still riding out the grace period on my student loans (more on why you shouldn’t take the grace period later). In true millennial fashion, I waste away nearly 30% of my net income on rent for one bedroom and a shared bathroom in a townhome and have recently realized I am not cut out for roommates quite like I was as a junior in college.

I now have my sights on purchasing a 1 bedroom condo in the next year or two and am scheduled to pay off my 5-year auto loan by January 2020 in just under two and a half years. As of two days ago, my previously shit credit score is finally up to “excellent” and I’ve have managed to use my new cash-back credit card wisely thus far.

At this blog, I’ll be sharing with you my personal experiences in debt payoff, saving and investing in hopes that you too can learn to manage your money while living your life realistically – because unfortunately, not everyone can live with their parents while they pay off students loans (but if you have the opportunity by all means, please save some money for the rest of us).

Thanks for reading and happy saving!

Ellie