TRANSPARENT MILLENNIAL LIFESTYLE FEATURING NEW MILLENNIAL INVESTOR
Millennial… What does this word bring to mind for you? Do you have an image in mind of what the Millennial lifestyle is like? I wanted to create a series of interviews with bloggers sharing their lifestyle choices and financial decisions as Millennials. Just to clear things up before we get started, I know there is some debate on what a Millennial is exactly. The age group that is considered a Millennial for this post is represented by anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 22 to 37 in the year 2018) this is the group I am considering as Millennials. Today I welcome Shawn from newmillennialinvestor.com. Shawn was born in 1985 and never eats avocados.
What do you do for a living?
I manage a pair of furniture consignment stores that specialize in higher-end pieces. We're a small business, so I usually do a bit of everything, whether that's answering calls and emails and helping customers, to touching up furniture and moving items around the store. Sometimes I even have to do the occasional odd job, like landscaping! I also manage our website, including the posting of products with all the necessary details and photos.
Do you have a degree and are you currently using your degree?
I have a Bachelor's of Science, with a double major in Health Science and Psychology. I like to think I learned a lot in college that's helped me in my professional life, but I'm not using my degree in the sense that I don't have a career in the medical or mental health field. I kind of wish I had gotten a business degree, but I was certain I wanted to go into the medical field - but I never did.
How long have you worked in your field and what is your current salary range?
I've worked in customer service my whole life. My first job was in 2004 as a clerk at a gas station and I made $6.25 an hour. While working there and going to school, I got a job at the furniture store making $10 an hour in 2006. Throughout the next six years, I received small raises, and in 2013, when we opened a second store, I received a raise to $15 an hour. Two years later, I demanded a raise with benefits and got them. I now make $20 an hour, and both my health insurance and cell phone are completely paid for by my job.
Do you save for retirement and how?
I do! I invest using Vanguard in three types of accounts, including a Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and a regular brokerage account. I usually max out my Traditional IRA because it gives me money back during tax time, which I then either save or invest.I use my brokerage account to hold most of my investments, as I invest more than the IRA's limit every year. In 2016, when I started investing, I contributed to both a Roth and a Traditional IRA in equal amounts - now I mostly ignore my Roth since I'm more interested in getting the tax break from my Traditional IRA. I mostly invest in equities and a small amount in bonds, about a 90% equity, 10% bond allocation.
Do you have debt? What kind of debt? What are your goals to pay off this debt?
I do have some credit card debt - as of right now, about $6,500.00 worth on a 0% interest credit card until next year. I *just* paid off $3,500 of debt on another credit card, so with that one off my back, I'm more focused on increasing my savings and emergency fund. Fortunately, I paid off all of my student loans three years ago, almost $20,000.00 worth, so I don't have to worry about that at all.
Do you have or have you cancelled your home phone/cable/satellite TV?
I have Netflix that I split with my brother, but besides internet, we don't have cable tv or satellite. I haven't had it in years and I don't miss it at all. I haven't had a home phone in over ten years.
What percentage of your monthly income do you save?
I'd say it varies between 25% to 35%. Some months I save more because I don't have as many business expenses. I track my spending, but I'm not overly critical of it.
What monthly subscriptions/memberships do use if any and why? Such as a gym membership, Blue apron, Graze, Amazon prime, Dollar shave club, etc.?
I don't really have any monthly subscriptions besides Netflix. I do have Amazon Prime, which I use because they gave a 20% discount on video games, but it expires this month and I'm not going to renew it as I don't think it's worth it.
How much do spend on groceries monthly? How often do you eat out?
I usually spend about $150 a month on groceries, and around $50 a month on restaurants, with my brother and I splitting grocery expenses since we usually eat dinner together. I generally don't go out to eat that much. I bring lunch to work and we like to make dinners ourselves, though we do get pizza pretty often - probably at least once a week. My brother is part owner of a sub shop, so he brings a lot of free food home, which helps too (and is delicious).
Do you have any passive income sources?
I receive dividends from my investments, but I also have a couple sources of income that are not quite as passive. I make and sell items on Etsy, which usually brings in around $25 to $50 a month, and I also flip furniture, which has so far net me over $1,500.00 in extra income in the last six months. I find that pretty passive, as the only work involved is picking the items up from an auction and bringing them to the store to be sold.
Do you own or lease a vehicle?
I lease a vehicle, a 2017 Honda HR-V. While I'm happy that it's safer, has better gas mileage and can haul stuff around compared to my older car, I'm a little disappointed in how much I've spent on it. I'll be on track to spend over $10,000.00 on it between 2017 and 2020. I wish I hadn't been so impatient when my last car died. If I had been willing to shop around, I probably would've been able to save a lot of money. Still, it's been nice having a reliable car, and I've had no issues with it at all, which is such a relief. I'm still debating on whether I should buy the car when the lease is up or not.
Do you rent or own your own home/condo/apartment?
I rent a duplex with my brother. I've lived here for almost ten years, and after my previous roommate moved out a few years ago, my brother moved in to help us both save money. While it's not as nice as I'd like it to be, I love the area, and we only pay $650 a month - our landlord hasn't raised the rent once. I want to keep that going for as long as possible. It's definitely one of the reasons why I've been able to save so much money.Shawn is the blogger behind "New Millennial Investor", chronicling his path to reaching financial independence by age 45 through simple saving and index investing. His blog focuses on millennials, saving money, making money and investing. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, hanging out with friends and family, baking, and working on his side jobs. You can check out his blog at www.newmillennialinvestor.com. Check him out on Twitter @NewMillInvestor
Here is one of his posts that you may be interested in products-you-should-always-buy-at-costco
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