Broke Millennial Happy Hour
Today is the last Friday of the month and in case you are new to this blog or my podcast, on the last Friday of the month, I host a happy hour on my podcast where the happy hour ladies and I talk about various money topics while drinking cheap drinks! Today’s Happy Hour is a special happy hour as we welcome Erin Lowry, personal finance expert and author of the new book Broke Millennial – Stop Scraping by and Get your Financial Life Together. Erin will always hold a special place in my heart and for this show as she was actually the first guest ever of Martinis and Your Money. She joins me and the ladies to talk about the book and we all discuss lessons we’ve learned in our 20s and now here’s my friends. I hope you enjoyed this happy hour.Don’t forget to check out The Financial Gym and its tools and resources to help you break free from your financial challenges and live a financially healthier life!
What are we drinking?
Melanie from Dear Debt — Malbec
Tonya from Budget and the Beach — Shots of vodka (water)
Mrs. Frugalwoods from Frugalwoods.com — Hot cocoa
Erin from Broke Millennial — Dirty vodka martini with three olives
Shannon — Vodka & tonic
Podcast Notes
Erin was Shannon’s very first guest on Martinis and Your Money!
She is an obsessive dog-mom and loves milk.
She started Broke Millennial in January 2013 to help demystify personal finance for her peers.
She moved to New York and was earning $23,000 a year between 3 jobs but she was able to manage it because of her upbringing and learning about personal finance so she wanted to pass that knowledge on to others.
Shannon says if you like sarcasm, you’ll love Erin’s book!
Erin explains the Fuck-Off Fund mentioned in the book.
The only way to truly have any kind of freedom is to have money.
Frugalwoods loves Erin’s no-nonsense approach to tackling money issues and her explanations for what you need to do.
Tonya loved the first chapter and Erin’s origin story which she calls the Krispy Kreme Donut story.
Erin says her dad seems like a villain in a bunch of her stories because of his tough love but she is thankful for it!
The ladies agree that receiving financial support from parents often hurts rather than helps.
Even though Erin’s family was comfortable and could have afforded to pay for her college education, they made her pay for half.
Because of that she chose to go to a college where she received a significant amount of scholarships and graduated debt-free instead of the school that was going to cost her between $80k-$100k.
They discuss different debt repayment methods and agree the best method is the one you are going to stick to.
Shannon asks the ladies about the best money lesson they learned in their 20s:
Tonya – Don’t spend money on random stuff.
Liz – Frugality gives you options.
Melanie – Be consistent in learning your values.
Shannon – Make more and spend less.
Erin – Always negotiate.
Melanie talks about how she is scared to negotiate and Erin says the worst they can say is “no”.
Erin’s book is interesting to read and has a lot of great information – you can find Erin at com and can purchase her book through a link there or on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book sellers.
TAKEAWAY: It’s important to focus on money as early as you can. If you’re in your 20s listening to this, don’t let time pass you by!