Millennial Moola, Author at Millennial Moola

My Dream Wedding

I don’t think I’ve made it super public on the blog yet, but I’m engaged! I hope to still be engaged by the end of the article as well haha. We’re very excited, and I’ve mentally moved on from proposal planning to wedding planning. I’m learning more about decorations, venues, catering charges, and set up and tear down rules than I’ve ever cared to imagine. For that reason, I wanted to make one futile act of resistance against the wedding industrial complex fueled with the gasoline of Pinterest. Here’s my dream wedding. If you think I’m nuts or can one up my dreams with how you handled yours, let us know in the comments. Continue reading “My Dream Wedding”

Here’s Why the NFL Sucks, and It Has Nothing to Do with Tom Brady

This story has nothing to do with Tom Brady winning his fifth Super Bowl. I thought about boycotting the whole thing yesterday. I’ve been rooting for the NFL to fall now for several years ever since the NFL became so blatantly obvious that their sole goal is to suck every last dollar from cities, players, and fans. From rotten stadium deals that burden cities, to long term neurological damage that should make us guilty for watching, to a culture that supports winning over any cost or character flaw, I’ve made it a goal to become a casual fan at best and divert my rooting interests to other sports. Here’s why. Continue reading “Here’s Why the NFL Sucks, and It Has Nothing to Do with Tom Brady”

Walmart to Drastically Increase Prices. Thanks Trump

I’m really concerned about a key part of my budget as a non corporately employed individual: all of it. Trump has been throwing a hissy fit on Twitter lately with the President of Mexico. Maybe you’ve seen it. If you’re a supporter of Trump’s trade and immigration proposals, you should know that it could very well result in soaring prices for consumers. Continue reading “Walmart to Drastically Increase Prices. Thanks Trump”

What I Learned From Spending $5000 on Facebook Ads

My business Student Loan Planner has become my full time job. Millennial Moola is my fun side hustle where I get to share random thoughts about personal finance, entrepreneurship, money, and life with a community of friends and cool people. Since I launched my startup, my spending has soared along with my revenue. In the last few months, I’ve been spending $5,000 on Facebook ads.

Things were going great, and then Trump won the election and fake news on Facebook took a big part of the blame. All of a sudden, I got caught in the cross-hairs of an extremely harsh new algorithm from Facebook. Thankfully, my business survived it, but only because of my persistence fighting their automated system. I’m the poster child for why the crackdown on fake news has had a hugely negative effect for small business people like me. Continue reading “What I Learned From Spending $5000 on Facebook Ads”

Mastering Money in Your 20s and 30s IS HERE!

After over a year of work, I’ve finally finished my second book, Mastering Money in Your 20s and 30s. Shortly after publishing my first work, 25 IS THE NEW 65, I realized I needed to work on something foundational for when friends have questions about money. There is a real dearth of books out there that address personal finance for twenty and thirty somethings while incorporating the present reality of the tech revolution. Continue reading “Mastering Money in Your 20s and 30s IS HERE!”

So I’m Not Actually Retired Anymore

Sorry for not posting in a while. I’ve been really busy working on my random and unexpectedly successful startup Student Loan Planner, LLC. While I fully planned on being retired for the foreseeable future when I started Millennial Moola, I discovered something most folks do when they hit their mid-70s: retirement can be boring. I guess I’m not actually retired anymore. Continue reading “So I’m Not Actually Retired Anymore”

Physician Financial Success Guest Post: Why Physician Home Loans Fail

(I occassionally agree to host guest posts from other bloggers and entrepreneurs in the personal finance space. I met Josh Mettle from my student loan business and discovered his awesome podcast Physician Financial Success. Josh recently interviewed me for the show and I got to speak about early retirement, taking risks, student loan strategies, and more. Josh’s firm helps doctors qualify for alternative mortgage products to buy a house. Remember I recommend no more than two times your combined income for a home purchase or 2.5 times if one spouse is the sole breadwinner. After that, there are plenty of ways to buy a home and I learned something reading this. If you’re a physician listen closely, if not I found it interesting a doctor mortgage even existed. Josh and I have no financial relationship)

In the simplest terms, a physician home loan has more liberal underwriting guidelines, whereas conventional and FHA loans are underwritten to more rigid and inflexible underwriting guidelines. Conventional and FHA loans are rarely the best solution for a young physician in training. Continue reading “Physician Financial Success Guest Post: Why Physician Home Loans Fail”

I’m Thankful to Be a Three Time Harvard Reject

I’m a complete failure, at least as far as Harvard is concerned. I wanted to go to Harvard ever since I was a kid after watching the movie Legally Blonde. I love learning, and to me being at the world’s best university seemed like the pinnacle achievement in a young lifetime. Fast forward to the present, and I’m a three time Harvard reject. Someday, I will probably need to send them a thank you note because my life would be so different right now if not for this lucky break. Continue reading “I’m Thankful to Be a Three Time Harvard Reject”

Why the Latest S&P Downgrade of New Jersey is a Big Deal

The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s recently downgraded the state of New Jersey once again. This downgrade is far more perilous to the municipal bond market than average investors realize. As a former municipal bond trader myself, here’s my take on what the downgrade of New Jersey means for investors and residents of the state. Continue reading “Why the Latest S&P Downgrade of New Jersey is a Big Deal”

Am I Missing Out on Investing in Startups?

We take kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites as facts of life now. However, that didn’t always used to be the case. The birth of crowdfunding was when President Obama passed the JOBS act in 2012. This piece of legislation made it easier for average people to invest in startups through crowdfunding. So now that investing in startups is a real consideration for most people, should you do it? Continue reading “Am I Missing Out on Investing in Startups?”