Millennial Moola - Page 16 of 21 - Personal Finance For the N64 Generation

The Million Dollar Mistake Most People Make In Their 20s

If you’re like me, your 20s are a scary time because of all the decisions you have to make. Sure, there are big life choices in every decade, but for some reason the ones you make in your 20s seem more intense and permanent. What are you going to study in college? What job are you going to pursue? Where are you going to live? Who are you going to marry? The weight of these decisions seems to make the things we struggled with as teenagers (Does he / she like me? Am I going to take Honors Math?) and the things we will struggle with as 30 and 40 somethings (Which house do I want? What school district do I want my kids in?) seem trivial by comparison. I’m here to tell you some good news. You can literally avoid a million dollar mistake and knock years off your retirement date if you follow one simple step in your 20s: Max out your Roth IRA. Continue reading “The Million Dollar Mistake Most People Make In Their 20s”

Europe on $10 a Day

Now for what you’ve all been waiting for. To wrap up the this week’s series of “Europe on $__ a Day,” I will introduce you to the frugal superstars of international travel. These folks make my $40 a day budget in Europe look like Rolex level ridiculousness. Somehow they have less money than anyone with a steady job can imagine yet still seem to wander Europe for months at a time. How do they do it? How are they are able to be tourists in one of the most expensive places in the world without ending up cold, wet, and hungry in a ditch somewhere? Their secret is that almost nothing fazes them. Because of the scarcity they must endure, they are some of the most relaxed and confident people I’ve met in Europe. Here are their tricks and how they travel Europe on 10 a day. Continue reading “Europe on $10 a Day”

Europe on $40 a Day

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Yesterday you might have seen my post “Europe on $150 a Day” about a standard two week Euro trip by an Average Joe young professional. To be honest, I was kind of trolling. I got a couple of responses from readers saying things like “Wait seriously? That’s like my weekly budget.” Truly many of you are built from the hardiest frugal stock ever to exist this side of the 21st century. I hope to regain some of your trust and credibility today because I’m going to talk about my own budget while traveling Europe on 40 a day. I’ve been on the road since July 8 and to date I’ve spent $4,090, which includes the cost of my round trip airfare from the US to Europe. This amount works out to just above $40 for each day I’ve been over here. So going on my fourth month in Europe, how have I managed to spend a similar sum to the hypothetical young professional on a two week vacation from “Europe on $150 a Day” ? Continue reading “Europe on $40 a Day”

Europe on $150 a Day

I decided to start a new series this week called “Europe on $__ a Day.” For those that don’t know, I’ve been traveling around Europe for the past 3 months and have noticed a huge variability in people’s daily budgets. I’ve been in the Ukraine where a hostel is $5 a night and I’ve been in Munich during Oktoberfest where a hotel room was $300. I think if you asked the average 20 something American worker right out of college if they could afford to wander the world, they might say no. Hence, I thought it would be useful to show you, the reader , different standards of living while on the road so you can decide if your dream trip to Europe is within reach. Today we’ll look at a normal but quite luxurious budget of Europe on 150 a day, Wednesday we’ll check out my own budget and what that looks like, and Friday we’ll examine the budget of a true frugal traveler. Continue reading “Europe on $150 a Day”

How to Get Student Loans Forgiven Tax Free

Because I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship and go to a low cost in-state university, I never had to deal with the bane of our generation, student loans. A lot of news outlets will throw around a $30,000 average balance, but many people who go to medical school, law school, business school, or other graduate program have 5 to 10 times that amount.

For those saddled with huge debt loads, it can delay big life decisions like buying a house, a car, getting married, and having children. Friends have shown me loan balances as high as $300,000, and I’ve heard of figures as high as $500,000. What can you do when loans are eating you alive? Continue reading “How to Get Student Loans Forgiven Tax Free”

What Early Retirement Means To Me

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My first viral post on Millennial Moola was How to “Retire” in Your 20s. It got well over 1000 views and it was one of my first posts. I had to go back and add the “” marks because users from various financial forums like Bogleheads and to a lesser extent MrMoneyMustache lit me up for daring to use the word retired. “This guy isn’t retired,” said one. “He merely has a little bit of savings he will burn through in no time and is in no way 100% financially independent, therefore he’s using the term erroneously and should not be looked at as legitimate. Also his grammar sucks and he didn’t use monthly compounding for his investment portfolio growth and break down specific cash inflows and outflows. This website will not be getting a second more of my time.” It was my first experience being attacked by the internet retirement police. While I’m not financially independent by the traditional definition of being able to meet my living expenses off spending 4% of my portfolio each year (read this link if you don’t know what that rule is), I’m about 60% of the way there. I have my own definition of retirement that I think will help many people out there take chances, start a business, go on a round the world trip, or take a job at a nonprofit with uncertain income prospects all because of thinking about early retirement in a new way. Continue reading “What Early Retirement Means To Me”

The Extremely High Cost of Not Saving in Your 20s

These 20 somethings are probably utterly broke. Thanks to source.

Please read this Elite Daily article called “If You Have Savings in Your 20s You Have Done Something Wrong.” It’s so bad, it makes me want to have mandatory financial education classes in high school. The blog that inspired me to retire early, MrMoneyMustache.com, wrote a powerful response to this celebration of hyper-consumerism in America, but I wanted to write another post on it to emphasize just how bad the author is at math and save others from this attitude about money. From a financial professional’s point of view, not saving in your 20s is similar to saying, “yeah keep smoking a pack a day while doing McDonald’s breakfast lunch and dinner while drinking each meal down with a liter of vodka. I’m also going to break down some of the crazy ideas Elite Daily uses to sell the dream of spending like there’s no tomorrow. Continue reading “The Extremely High Cost of Not Saving in Your 20s”

You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For, But If You Are Cheap You Get Way More

For those of you that follow NFL Football, the Philadelphia Eagles have been giving me lots material to work with lately on how to make better financial decisions. Eagles QB Sam Bradford and RB DeMarco Murray are having two of the most mediocre seasons of any blue chip contract holders in recent memory, showing us why it’s dangerous to pay a lot of money for shiny new toys. For those of you that don’t love following sports, looking at the structure of NFL contracts is a great way to learn how to think about spending, where being cheap is rewarded with Super Bowls. Continue reading “You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For, But If You Are Cheap You Get Way More”

If You Have a Six Figure Income You Can Retire in Six Years

I was talking to a surgeon friend of mine the other day and it hit me that its often the folks with the highest incomes that have the toughest time getting to the early retirement finish line. Lawyers have to deal with negative net worth thanks to law school for a long time until they finally make bank. Consultants, I-Bankers, and business types get a head start by making money right out of undergrad, but even then you don’t see that many folks retiring before 50. What gives? Why are so many millennials with big money jobs forced to work until they’re eligible for AARP? The truth is, if you have a six figure income you can retire way sooner than you think. Continue reading “If You Have a Six Figure Income You Can Retire in Six Years”

Learn How to Save by Listening to a Rap Song?

If you’ve got about eight minutes and aren’t at work, or at least aren’t in the potential vantage point of your boss, check out this new music video from Fetty Wap (of Trap Queen fame) and Lil Dicky. It is easily one of the most useful rap songs ever to have been created. I thought it’d be fun for a mid week pick me up to check out the sagely advice they are giving out for free on YouTube on how to build a successful financial life. Who knew you could learn how to save by listening to a rap song? Continue reading “Learn How to Save by Listening to a Rap Song?”