TRANSPARENT MILLENNIAL LIFESTYLE FEATURING SPILLS SPOT
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.
Matt states:
"I actually LOVE avocado toast but have never bought it. My work often supplies avocados and so I make it for breakfast there, pretty great perk!"
Matt was born in 1991 and he is 27, married with two small dogs and lives in the Bay Area.
What do you do for a living?
I work in Customer Marketing for a tech company. My job is to tell the story of how our customers use our technology to be leaders and innovators in their industries.
Do you have a degree and are you currently using your degree?
Yes, I graduated with a Business - Sports Marketing degree. I started out pursuing a full-time job in sports, but after working a few seasons in part-time and intern roles, I pivoted. I started pursuing full-time marketing roles in other industries. Eventually I landed a Content Marketing role with a startup and worked there for two years. Now I've been working in this Customer Marketing role for a year and a half.
I still work in sports as my side hustle
, and I'm building marketable skills along the way. I think my ultimate goal is still to transition back into a full-time role in the sports industry someday, but right now I'm happy where I'm at!
How long have you worked in your field and what is your current salary range?
I've worked in a corporate setting for three and a half years now, my salary range is between $65K-75K.
Do you save for retirement and how?
Yes, we save fairly aggressively for retirement by investing in index funds in both of our 401k's and IRA's. We don't fully max them out yet, but we're trying to get to that point eventually.
Do you have debt? What kind of debt? What are your goals to pay off this debt?
We're debt free! We paid off $40k of student loans and a $15k car loan to reach debt freedom.
Do you have or have you cancelled your home phone/cable/satellite TV?
We cancelled cable a little over a year ago, and haven't missed it. We mainly use Hulu and Netflix, plus a digital antenna for local channels.
What percentage of your monthly income do you save?
This may sound like a strange answer coming from a financial blogger, but I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've never fully calculated my savings rate. I'm always unsure of whether to use pre-tax numbers or post-tax numbers. I would estimate that we save about 50-60%. I track our expenses closely and our net worth monthly to ensure we're on the right track.
What monthly subscriptions/memberships do use if any and why? Such as a gym membership, Blue apron, Graze, Amazon prime, Dollar shave club, etc?
We try to limit our subscriptions as much as possible. Right now the only ones I can think of are Netflix, Hulu, and Dollar Shave Club.
How much do spend on groceries monthly? How often do you eat out?
Over the last 6 months, our average spend has been $225 on groceries and $135 for eating out. For full transparency, I eat breakfast and lunch at work 4 days per week, which cuts down some of the groceries we'd otherwise have to buy. We cook almost all our meals, and we keep it pretty simple. We only eat out a couple times per month. While we were paying off debt, our eating out budget was even lower, but we've loosened it up a little bit now that we're debt free.
Do you have any passive income sources?
At this point we make about $50-100 per month in dividends. We have no other passive income sources yet. I work a side hustle with a minor league baseball team to bring in extra income and my goal is to build my blog to the point where it brings in some monthly income.
Do you own or lease a vehicle?
We own two vehicles, a 2015 Honda Civic and a 2008 Dodge Avenger.
Do you rent or own your own home/condo/apartment?
We currently rent a 1 bedroom apartment, about 700 square feet for the two of us and our two small dogs. It's cozy, but we don't need more space.
About the author
My name is Matt from Spills Spot, a blog where I write about my personal finance journey with the goal of inspiring others to be more interested in personal finance and improve at managing their money. My wife and I paid off $55,000 of debt to reach debt freedom. It was a long journey, but being debt free and building wealth is an incredible feeling, a feeling I want to help other people achieve in their lives.
You can find Matt on Twitter: @mattspills8
