How Much Money I Made in 2020

I finally took a look at all of my numbers and it turns out that I made a grand total of drumroll please...$139,047.

That is insane!

I was so inspired by Investing with Kim, I wanted to share with you how I earned that money and how it broke down into my income, my expenses, and my savings.

Before we get into all the money details, if you enjoy learning more about my journey to financial independence and early retirement at 35, be sure to subscribe to my channel so we can talk more money, honey!

To preface this all, I wanted to share with you that this has been such a journey to actually make $100K.  It did not come out of the blue. I have been working for 8 years now! If you want an actual timeline and history of my salary, feel free to check out my timeline salary video.

I share my actual numbers in the hopes that we can be more transparent and break down that taboo and stigma of talking about money. I want to show you this is attainable if you work at it. It doesn't come easy but you too can earn this kind of money as a designer. 

Income

To start we have my income. The majority of that money came from my paycheck and this is my nine to five job. I work a 40-hour week in tech as a visual designer. I actually started in March of 2020 so this paycheck is reflecting that amount. If my contract extends throughout the year in 2021, I should be on track to make closer to $120,000. That is with $58/hour pay and that is actually a mid-low end rate. I might try and negotiate that, we'll see. 

To make up for the difference of not working 40 hours in January and February this year, I freelanced. So that $19,560 I made design freelancing. To be honest I got burned out freelancing this year. I think the combination of doing a visual design job during the day and then having to do visual design at night was not fun. I'm not taking on any freelance design work in 2021, but for 2020 that definitely helped cover the difference in the months of January and February where I was not working fulltime. 

My income should stay about the same for 2021 but all $120,000 will come from my 9 to 5 paycheck hopefully...at least that's the plan. I say I'm never gonna take on another freelance client and then sometimes stuff pops up. It's really hard to say no to money when you're still trying to be financially independent... I'm gonna be honest.

$3,603 came from resale. That includes things like Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, Offerup places like that, where I was selling my clothes or furniture second hand. It takes a lot of effort to resell things—coordinate pickup times, go to the post office, etc. I haven't really been putting a lot of effort into my resale businesses, but I will say it has been easiest during the pandemic to coordinate like Facebook Marketplace pickups because people can drop by and obviously most of the time we're home. So I think 2021 will still be a really great year to keep reselling all the stuff you don't use or need and make a quick buck.

Dividends this year I made $2,895 worth of dividends. That is crazy to know that my money has made me money in my sleep. I didn't do anything! All I did was invest. Most of my stocks are in a total u.s stock market fund (SWTSX) and the dividend payouts, especially in December, are through the roof. In 2021 my Schwab account is projecting that I'm gonna make closer to $3,000 in dividends. That's an additional $200, but will probably be a little more than that because I'm going to be continuing to invest in SWTSX throughout the year. 

In rewards I made $2,732.  Rewards I think of as credit card cash back. I have the Citi double cash back card that gives me 2% cash back on regular spending as well as Ebates (now Rakuten) I get cash back for shopping. Stuff like that is in my rewards category. You can see all these little two to 3 thousand dollar things I'm doing adds up to like $10,000. Every little bit counts! 

Then I have about $2,000 in gifts received. I'm very fortunate in that a lot of my aunts, uncles, and family members give me financial gifts. I think it's pretty common in the asian culture that instead of presents you'll get actual monetary gifts, which I think is really great and useful because you can put that towards things you actually care about and actually want. Sometimes physical gifts are not things you necessarily want and it ends up as clutter in your room, so I'm really grateful that my family has the ability to give me that. Because of this, I am able to buy the gift that I want, which is time eventually. 

This year I put in the income category “government.” We had two stimulus checks so that money went in there, plus my tax refund, so $2166 in total. I don't really know if it's considered income...would you consider it income? Anyway, I'm considering it as income. So again this is the two stimulus checks that I received. I didn't get the full amount because I was in the phase out period. If they do come again for 2021 I will probably not get any stimulus checks due to my income level this year, which is totally fine. And then also this includes my tax refund, which in 2021 I will owe taxes for the $19,560 in freelance work that I have not paid any taxes on yet. I will definitely owe! 

So in 2020, I started taking my Millennial Money Honey business more seriously this year. I opened an Etsy shop and was open to doing brand partnership opportunities. I haven't really earned a lot from Millennial Money Honey. I'm hoping to earn more in 2021, but in 2020 I earned $340.

In interest, which is why everybody should open a high yield savings account (HYSA) if you don't already have one, I earned $173 off of my HYSA. I use Ally! If you are still banking with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, etc., you've got to go open a high yield savings account. If there's one takeaway from this video, you need to go open a high yield savings account to keep your emergency fund and savings in. It’s not a ton a ton of interest you’ll make in the grand scheme of things, but it's definitely not nothing. 

So as you can see in my income breakout chart, 75% of my income is mostly from my paycheck and the other 25% is all the other little stuff. Again, every little bit counts it really all adds up to be a whopping almost $140,000.

Expenses

On to my expenses! So expenses I actually did not spend that much this year. Minus taxes, I spent close to $14,000, which is relatively nothing because I decided to move back in with my parents this year. It made a ton of sense for me and obviously gets me closer to financial independence quicker. So because of that my expenses were relatively low this year. 

I was adding everything up and I could not for the life of me figure out where $20,000 of my money had gone. I kept thinking and looking. I knew I didn't spend $40,000 this year. I had only documented $14,000 in spending, so I couldn't figure out where my money had gone. And then I realized, “Oh my God, it went to Uncle Sam!!!!” I realized I had paid $26,000 in taxes that I was not accounting for in my flow. I put it under expenses because it is like a price you pay for working,  a fee of earning money of sorts. It is what it is. 65% of my expenses are taxes right now.

House was $4,450 in rent payments. I was still paying for housing from January through May, so that's kind of where my housing expenses were. Still relatively low, but definitely not nothing.

Gifts that I gave were $1,775. This includes donations to local food banks, the World Health Organization, and towards causes supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Work expense of $1,684 includes stuff for my freelance design business. I pay for a subscription service to help me manage all of my clients and stuff called Hello Bonsai App. It sets up payment invoicing, contracts, you name it. It makes you look so much more professional if you're a freelance designer. Highly recommend it! Work also includes like a desk things like that that like really I needed as a freelance digital designer.

Food expenses were $1,510. I categorize food under eating out. I have a separate category for groceries.

Travel this year was really low at $1,429.  I did rent out a cabin for my 29th birthday so that is included in travel. I also did a camping trip with friends. We were outdoors and could be socially distant! 

Since I was freelancing in January and February and my insurance didn't kick in until April, I was paying for health insurance for like 4 months. So $878 falls under that Health category. 

Shopping I actually spent a lot more money than I thought I was going to spend this year. I was actually planning on doing a no spend year, which I share a how I've done that in this video, but this year I actually spent around $700. I bought a pair of hiking shoes and little things that kind of added up.  At $705, I'm still really proud of that number, but yeah definitely I saw that number I was like oh didn't know what I spent it all on exactly. I guess it’s only $700 for the year, so I'm gonna give myself a pass.

Car includes gas, maintenance, etc., $622. That has definitely dropped down a lot because we have been working from home, no need to drive everywhere.

Utilities were $511. Again, I only paid those from January to May.

Groceries were $4125. I try to buy groceries for my family periodically since I’m not paying any rent living at home.

Entertainment was $242. I'm not really exactly sure what I counted as entertainment...I have no idea. I need to go look at that.

Drinks were $117. Guess I was going hard in January and February and living it up!

Then transportation was $82 and that's Ubers and parking and stuff. I'm so curious as to what I spent in the past. This is like the first year I've done a full year of tracking my expenses so I really don't know how much I've spent on Uber's in the past but this year has definitely been the least in like the last 5 years. My friends and I used to go out multiple places a night and multiple nights a weekend back in the day.

In total I spent $41,128 and if you take out taxes, I spent $14,606—definitely a huge difference. I think you have to factor taxes as an expense because it shows you the full picture of where your money's going. 

Savings & Investments

So this is my savings and investments for 2020. My brokerage account alone has grown so much like at the beginning of this year with something like $30,000 at the beginning. Now I'm above the six figure range between my contributions and then the stock appreciation. I contributed $58,213 to my brokerage.

I was able to max out my 401k for the first time this year! That was really exciting. So I contributed the full $19,500 as a single young woman.

For checking and savings, I didn't really end up keeping that much cash or adding any cash to my emergency funds because I am living at home with my parents this year. I felt like it was okay to drop my cash reserve a little bit lower this year. So for checking and savings yeah I only put like $14,000 into those accounts to cash flow all of my expenses. So since I spent $14,000, I only kept what I needed to spend and then invested the rest.

My IRA, which I kind of had some complications with and my tax guy is sorting out now, but I contributed $6,000 to a traditional IRA this year. I re-characterized it to my Roth IRA and there were some pro rata complications. I definitely recommend consulting a tax professional because as much as I tried to like read blogs and do it myself, I still messed up. Having a CPA help me with my taxes and help me file in 2021 for 2020 gives me such peace of mind even if I have to pay like $1,000 for it. Honestly, my sanity is worth it!

In total, I saved $97,919—the majority of that going into my brokerage. Again I maxed out my 401k and IRA first and then whatever was left over I sent straight into my brokerage account.

So that's what I did with my $139,000 income this year! I'm so excited to share more numbers with you in 2021. If you enjoyed this video and want to see more, be sure to hit the like button, subscribe to my channel or to the podcast, and let's talk more money, honey!

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

FI/RE Diaries: A 25 year old mechanical engineer living in the Bay Area and FIRE-ing in 15 years with $2M

Occupation: Mechanical Engineer

Industry: Medical Devices

Location: Bay Area, CA

Age: 25

Salary: $90k

FI/RE Number: $2M

Years Until FI/RE: 15 years

Current financial situation: SINK

Ethnicity: Asian/Pacific Islander

How did you first hear about FI/RE?

My sister started learning about the concept of FI/RE and got me hooked on the idea. I had just started working full-time and didn’t really know what I was doing with my money. I’m naturally pretty conservative with my spending, but I had everything in a normal savings account and none of it invested. I’ve still got lots to learn, but I’m definitely making smarter choices!

Why do you want to reach Financial Independence/Retire Early?

I like the idea of having financial stability. It makes me feel secure knowing that if anything were to happen to my career, I'd have the money I need to survive without it.

What does FI/RE mean to you?

I'm mostly focused on the FI part. To be honest, I don't see it changing my life completely, but it will give me peace of mind in my financial status. I'll be able to work on my own terms and not feel obligated to stay in situations I don't want to be in because I need the money. I'm also looking forward to taking time off to travel when and where I want without feeling guilty about the expenses!

What types of big expenses does your FI number include?

Traveling! I’ve got a long list of places to explore and I don’t want to feel limited by money.

How much do you spend per month? Save per month?

I spend $1000 - $1500 and save about $2500

What is your % savings rate?

About 70% after taxes

Are you doing anything to achieve FI/RE faster? If yes, what?

Working on those side hustles and being intentional about my spending.

Any advice you'd give to someone who has a similar FI/RE lifestyle as you, especially if it seemed hard or unattainable?

Consistency is key. You may not see your money grow immediately, but looking back over a couple of years or even months, it's encouraging to see all the progress you've made. And while you're focused on saving for retirement, don't forget to set aside some $$ to treat yo self today.

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

Index Funds Explained! The Easiest Way to Start Investing

Investing can be really intimidating. There's so many complicated terms—options trading, market limit, day limit—things that make investing seem really hard and honestly, exclusionary for most people. I know I felt that way when I first started investing. I had no idea where to start. I was so confused about what to do. I'm here today to talk to you all about how I actually started investing and talk about the easiest way for anybody to start their investing journey.

Welcome back to Millennial Money Honey where we talk about all things financial independence, I share my journey to retire early, and give you all the money saving hacks. If you like this content be sure to like this video, subscribe to my channel or to the podcast, and let's talk money honey. 

I started investing about three years ago and prior to that my dad had set up a custodial brokerage account when I was born. When I gained access to it, his advice to me was just choose stocks that sound good and invest in companies you actually use. For me that was so ambiguous. What if I chose the wrong company?

I was too scared to actually pull the trigger and start investing because I didn't know what to do. Because of that, I basically did nothing for the first few years that I actually gained control of this custodial brokerage account. I love my dad so much. I am so thankful that he even opened this custodial brokerage, but it wasn't enough to actually get me to start my own investing journey. 

I finally saved enough money after working long enough. Plus I did a no-spend year. I decided I needed to learn what to do to invest. So I did what any average millennial does, I Googled it. From my research I decided that I wanted to invest in index funds. 

What is an index fund?

Even that term in itself sounds kind of complicated. If you think of an individual stock as a single flower, think of an index fund as a bouquet of flowers. Instead of owning one individual stock you would own the entire stock market made up of a bunch of individual stocks. An index fund is so much easier because you're not choosing individual stocks. You're buying, for example, a total U.S. stock market fund like VTSAX, SWTSX, or FSKAX. All of those are total U.S. stock market funds. They are all great, they are just through different brokerages, which leads me to my next point.

What is a brokerage?

A brokerage is just a place or a financial institution in which you can purchase, buy/sell, trade stocks. My favorite three that I always recommend are Vanguard, which was founded by the founder of index funds, the guy who literally came up with the idea and made it a thing, John Bogle, Fidelity and Charles Schwab. Now they all have great index funds that they run and manage and they are all good brokerages. I personally use Charles Schwab and I love and recommend them. 

The reason you would want to invest in an index fund over an individual stock is just because an individual stock can go up and down and is really subject to how well the company is doing. Versus an index fund, since it's made up of a ton of individual stocks, if something falls off of the index if it goes down to zero the stock goes away and is replaced. It is a self-cleansing, self-replenishing fund. That's why it's a little bit more safe to hold that. (As with anything financial related though do your own research. I cannot give investing advice. You need to consult a CFA or CFP.) 

Level 1: Robo-advisors

After doing my research and deciding I wanted to invest in index funds, I knew it wasn't worth it for me to pay an actual person to manage my investments. This is where a robo advisor came into play. I use the robo advisor Wealthfront and I 100% recommend a robo advisor for anybody who is just getting started. If it's a matter of doing nothing and waiting until you learn more, or starting with a robo advisor, robo advisors are great. 

What you do with a robo advisor is you take a quiz and basically you tell them your age, when you're planning on retiring, and your risk tolerance, which is just how nervous do you get if the stock market suddenly takes a plunge. Would you pull out all of your investments or would you stay the course? A robo advisor would advise you based on that and buy the funds based on what you've told them. It would be a mix of U.S. stocks, international stocks, bonds, and a couple of other indexes. All of your investments would be well-balanced.

Not only do they invest everything for you based on that, they rebalance if things get out of whack. If you have too much U.S. stocks they'll sell it and rebalance it and keep a healthy portfolio. 

I love Wealthfront specifically because they have awesome financial planning features. You can input when and where you want to buy a house, how many kids you want, if you plan on paying for the college, if you plan on taking time off to travel, and if you want to retire early you can tell them that too. It will tell you based on that information you give it what you need to be saving for all of your financial goals. 

Here is my to sign up for Wealthfront and you will get $5,000 managed for free and I will too if you use my link! I can't recommend them enough for anybody who is too scared to start investing. A robo advisor is how I got started.

Level 2: Target Date Funds

The next level up from robo advisors is target date funds. Target date funds are index funds, which also have a bunch of index funds inside of them—stocks and bonds, etc. You pick a target date index fund based on the year you turn 65 generally. I am in the target date 2055 index fund. They go in increments of five years usually, so pick the year closest to when you would turn 65. 

You can get a target date fund through any different brokerage—Schwab, Fidelity or vanguard. They all have target date funds and what I like about target dates funds is they automatically rebalance and move away from stocks closer to bonds the older you get. It automatically rebalances everything for you as you reach your retirement date. 

Not only that, they tend to be extremely low cost. What you want to look at is the expense ratio on your index funds. For target date funds they usually cost around 0.05% to 0.08% to manage it. What's nice about that is you just pick one fund, dump your money in and never think about it again. 

Robo advisors on the other hand, not only do you have to pay the expense ratio on funds, but usually you pay a very, very small advisory fee. This shouldn't be any more than two 0.25%, which is well below what you would pay an actual person, which is anywhere from 1% to I've even heard of people paying 3% for their financial advisors. Basically what you do not want to do is pay fees because fees are lost money for you. Be sure and check expense ratios on funds!

I would, for example, look up SWYJX. That is the target date fund I invest in. I can see the expense ratio on it is 0.08%. Target date funds are great once you feel comfortable choosing your own brokerage and learning the interface of the brokerage itself. 

What I like about robo advisors is their interfaces are so beautifully designed and so easy to use. Generally for Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard, their interfaces are a little more clunky and not user friendly. It is a bit more intimidating to use, which is why I put it at level 2. 

Level 3: DIY Index Fund Rebalancing (Boglehead 3-fund portfolio)

Level 3, once you've figured out which discount brokerage you like using, is to pick index funds and rebalance them yourself. One of the most common methods of doing index fund investing is called the Boglehead 3-fund portfolio. This idea is founded by John Bogle, again the founder of Vanguard and index funds. Basically what you do is pick a percentage of indexes—so you will have a total U.S. stock market index fund, a total international stock index fund, and a total bond market index fund. You choose an allocation that you feel comfortable with. 

Obviously stocks are more risky, but if you are younger you're going to have the time to be more risky. You'll be a little bit heavier in stocks and as you move closer to retirement you want to move the stocks closer to a bond fund.

I currently have my allocation at 80% U.S. stocks, 15% international stocks and 5% bonds. That's what I feel comfortable with. I'm definitely a more aggressive investor and I feel comfortable with those amounts given my current age and the length of time I am going to keep these funds in the market. 

Some people rebalance their portfolio quarterly or half yearly. Rebalancing is when you would sell some assets to put it in the right percentage balance. So if you're too heavy in bonds you would sell some to buy stocks, thus putting it in balance. Since I'm still actively buying funds on a very regular basis because I still have income and am not retired yet, I like to put in money as soon as I get it. 

When a paycheck hits I invest right away and I use my rebalancing calculator spreadsheet to decide where to allocate that money. It updates with numbers directly pulled from google finance so it's somewhat, but not exactly real time. It tells me if I have $1,000 to invest, where should I put that money to keep it in the right balance. This means since I rebalance my portfolio by paycheck I don't need to rebalance quarterly or even half yearly. 

Since I'm with Schwab my three fund portfolio is made up of three indexes: SWTSX,  Schwab's total U.S. stock market index fund, SWAGX, Schwab's total bond market index fund, and SWISX, Schwab's total international stock market fund. 

I started at level one with a robo advisor and progressed to a target date fund and only as of last year I am now DIY rebalancing my index fund portfolio myself. It took a couple of years to level up to that place. If you're scared to start, I highly recommend considering just going for it. You learn from your mistakes and you can always keep leveling up as you learn and grow.

The most important thing is time in the market because the longer you're in the market, the longer your money has to compound and grow and work for you. This way you can take advantage of retiring early or becoming work optional and achieving financial independence. Don't sleep on it! 

All three of these methods, robo advisor, target date funds, and the Boglehead 3-fund portfolio, are great options. Just pick one and don't wait. Let me know in the comments below what level you're on and what your ultimate goal is for leveling up your index fund investing game. 

If you're a novice investor, don't let investing intimidate you! I am here to help you and guide you as much as possible. (Again do your own research though because I don’t  want to be sued by the SEC.) I hope this helped you! Be sure to give it a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel or podcast, and tune in next week where we'll talk more money, honey!

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

5 Easy Ideas to DECORATE Your Space ON A BUDGET

This year I decided to officially move back into my parents house for the entire year of 2021. So yes, I am a 29 year old who is living at home with her parents all in the name of being close to family and saving money to become more quickly financially independent. 

It was actually in 2020 that I first moved in and it was a perfect year to do so with the pandemic and everything going on. I'm so glad I was able to be close to my family and I wanted to extend that into 2021 until we know for sure where things are going to be. I also want to get a clear picture of what I want to do next with my life, whether it's investing in real estate or moving who knows where—the world is my oyster.

Today I’m here to give you a behind the scenes look of where I sleep, work, play, and take you on a tour of my room. I've finally furnished it and settled in. It only took 9 months. I'm finally ready to show you what it looks and give you 5 decorating tips for how to furnish your room on a budget to get your room feeling really cozy and personal and not break the bank. So let's take a look around...

Welcome to my room! As you can see, it's very much a work in progress. The window treatment is still cheap paper blinds that we have taped up with blue tape. I know minimalism is super almost trendy right now. I wouldn't necessarily identify myself as a minimalist. The minimalist aesthetic is so sterile and impersonal to me and and when you walk into this room, I want you to feel warm and welcome and cozy, like you're living in a home. For me bare floors and walls is not my vibe. I'm a lot more like, “Come into my space let's all hang out and flop on the bed.” 

My room I would say is more...what would you call this? I don't know. Everything in here is stuff that I really love and I enjoy looking at everyday. As you can tell my colors are very warm and welcoming and soft and feminine. I would say I'm a very feminine decorator, as is my brand and everything. 

1. DIY a GIANT Canvas

The first thing I wanted to talk about that gives your room major vibes on a budget is this piece of art. I have a giant periodic table on a huge canvas and this is something that I made myself. I went to Michael's which is a craft store that always has coupons and their canvases are always on sale. This was the cheapest, most giant canvas. I believe it was something like $15, maybe $20 now, because I painted this years ago. 

My favorite DIY Youtuber is Kiva Brent and she does an amazing job of showing you how to do a simple DIY canvas with abstract shapes for super cheap and looks artful and tasteful. She's so talented and you can create art yourself that makes a huge statement.

Having a giant canvas is a truly statement piece that sets the vibe and tone for your room. My periodic table was going for a chic nerd vibe haha. But  you don't need to create as intricate an artwork as the periodic table of elements. That's a lot I wouldn't even do it again. It was so hard to do, but I'm very proud of how it turned out.

You can do simple abstract shapes and this artwork can be super unique and personal to your space and also doesn't have to cost that much. It's really no more than $30 dollars but makes a huge difference in this space. It totally sets the vibe.

2. Decorate from nature for FREE

Something that brings nature and warmth and more organic-ness to a space is plants. I do not have a green thumb. I can't keep things alive, so what I really love is dried out pieces of grass or leaves and branches. Pampas grass is trendy right now. It's also an invasive species, so I wouldn't go planting them. But if you do happen to find some already planted, I found these on the ground and picked them up. I sprayed them with hairspray so they wouldn’t shed everywhere and plopped it in a vase that I already had.

Finding decoration doesn't have to be expensive. It can be free branches that you pick up off the ground. It can be a pinecones you put in a bowl that you forage. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, but bringing the outside in gives this organic nature. That's what I really love bringing into a space—an element of outdoors in.

3. Swap your handles for an easy, elegant upgrade 

A super easy upgrade is swapping out handles on cabinets and furniture. These are affordable brass ones from Amazon but they make the cabinets and drawers so much more chic. These are the exact ones that I have. I got 5 pulls for $18 and a 10-pack of single knobs for $23—basically $40.

Buy on Amazon

The brass ties into the gold elements I have in my room. My mom originally wanted silver handles, but since these are very cheap and affordable, she can easily swap them out whenever I move out of this room. I'm not staying in here forever, y'all! Swapping out your handles for something from Amazon that's very affordable really makes an elegant statement to your space.

4. Shop for big furniture on Facebook Marketplace and at thrift shops

One of my favorite places to shop is Facebook Marketplace. The thing that I love about Facebook Marketplace is your ability to input search terms and have notifications pop up when you have a new listing that meets your criteria. For example, I am looking for two night stands. I don't have night stands right now that match and I would love to get a set of nightstands. However, I am only willing to drive and pick up in a 40 mile radius for under $200. I'll get notifications for a pair of nightstands whenever a new listing pops up that matches that radius and price range. Then I will take a look at it and decide if I want it. None of them have worked out, but I'm not married to a certain style. I'm open to seeing whatever the universe sends me.

I will eventually find a pair of nightstands. The thing about decorating a room and trying to find everything on a budget is that you have to be a little bit flexible.  The time and the price and the style you can't be married to.

Another thing that is really great to find on Facebook Marketplace and through other second-hand apps like Offer Up or Nextdoor is IKEA furniture. Everybody buys IKEA furniture! I would almost never ever buy IKEA furniture from IKEA unless I were really in a pinch because the thing is you and everybody else have all shopped at IKEA. I'm sure 90% of people who are watching this video have shopped at IKEA, which also means at the end of the day you've probably gotten rid of some IKEA furniture. 

If someone is moving cross-country, it's not worth taking it and they try to get rid of it for cheap. So you always can find IKEA furniture on the market. If you do want a specific IKEA style, you could probably put the name of that in and have it populate and you would probably get what you wanted. Facebook Marketplace is the bomb.com. 

This headboard is actually from Facebook Marketplace. I got it for $80. What I love about this headboard is that it also provides more storage for all my little knick knacks. A lot of these little knick knacks are inherited from my parents or grandma or great aunt and uncles. I really don't go seeking out tchotchkes they find me. They're all very sentimental for one reason or another. This headboard has very mid-century modern vibes but also is very functional.

Another great place to get super great quality furniture, is to shop at your local thrift shop. I always try and go into those places without a specific thing in mind. You'll end up finding randomly really great stuff. This rug I got from Jewish Thrift Council. I went in on a whim after I got a haircut one day and I saw this rug and it was price marked for $200. If you try to find kilim rugs like this, they easily go for $900+. It's handmade and I loved the colors. It was so perfect, so warm. It definitely gave me southwest vibes. I wasn't looking for this rug but this rug definitely found me. A rug truly transforms the space—a giant canvas and rugs.

5. Discover affordable art on Etsy

Another way to get super affordable art for your room is through Etsy. This “Unsubscribe” print is actually a digital piece from my own Etsy shop and you can download it and print as many as you want. What I do is get a frame from a place like Goodwill or The Dollar Store or Target and fill it with artwork that keeps me motivated on my FIRE journey. 

Yes, I'm plugging my own two pieces of artwork, which I obviously really love and I find super inspiring on my journey to financial independence. They remind me to “Stay Radical” because it's absolutely radical to be retiring at 35 and to “Unsubscribe” from not only marketing emails, but also from ideas and people who bring you down. 

I obviously love my own artwork and you can check me out at Millennial Money Honey Etsy shop. if you're watching this I have a discount code for “MMH20” to get 20% off everything, but there are so many other talented artists out there on Etsy selling their prints at a very affordable price.

So those are the 5 easy swaps I did to make my room feel my own. They are super frugal and you can easily use these tips to furnish your own space. That is how I designed my bedroom. Thanks for coming to my room and I will talk to you guys soon! 

If you liked what you saw and you were inspired to decorate your own space, please smash the like button, subscribe to my channel or to the podcast, and we'll talk more money, honey!

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Disclosure: Some links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)

My Wealth Timeline: Growing my Salary from $22K to $100K+

Everybody starts with a knowledge base of zero, including me. I had no idea that it was possible to make and grow my wealth to where it is today. I started off earning $22,000 per year after college and have since grown and negotiated my way up to earning over six figures! I’m here today to tell you exactly how I did it.

May 2013 - Graduated from college

I studied cinematic arts in college. (Legit the furthest thing from stable steady finance job you could get 😂.) Even the dean upon graduation gave a speech to parents telling them they can expect to continue supporting their children for a year out of college. Graduated college with no student debt, thank you mom & dad!

August 2013 - $11/hr

I finally got my first job in entertainment marketing. I did not negotiate AT ALL. And yes, my parents still had to help with rent as the dean anticipated.

July 2014 - I QUIT!

The job was toxic. I was legit told by the only female boss in there when I went to talk to her, to keep my head down and continue putting up with “the boys club.” They wouldn’t even refer to me by my real name…that’s how terrible it was. She told me to keep doing good work and eventually they’d respect me. I came home crying every other night and finally knew it was time to go. I legit got out of there thinking I was sh*tty designer…it took a toll. My parents did not understand why I would quit a job without something lined up and encouraged me not to, but I did.

My roommate, who was also in a toxic job quit around the same time and in the 3 months we were looking for a job we took little frugal camping trips. We explored Zion National Park, Yosemite, the redwoods, and went up north to the bay area.

October 2014 - Meaningful Work $15/hr

After my experience in entertainment marketing, I knew I had to find a job with more purpose than getting people to buy a movie ticket. I finally landed a job whose mission it was founded on was to give back. I again didn’t negotiate when they offered me $15/hr (no overtime) because it felt like way more than $11/hr .

June 2015 - $25/hr

I honestly didn’t realize how littler $15/hr was at the time so this was a huge promotion. When initially I got brought on in October of 2014, I had been told it was just a short hiring freeze and they’d hire me soon. I naiively just assumed it was out of my control and never asked about anything fulltime unless my manager brought it up.

October 2015 - $65,000/yr

In retrospect I wish I had advocated for my hire more, but finally got brought on fulltime one year later. This salary was so astronomical I didn’t negotiate it at all I was just so grateful. My senior copywriter friend insisted I push back a little bit to make up for that lost year, but again I was too afraid.

December 2017 - The Start of My Personal Finance Journey

I finally was saving enough money that I decided I needed to do something about it. I took inventory of all my assets (aka calculated my net worth) in anticipation of a 401K advisor coming into the workplace to talk over financial plans for free.

She said I was doing everything right and I coudl probably increase my 401K contributions to continue saving and maybe even a open a 529 plans if I really wanted kids. I decided to increase my 401K to 12%, opened my first credit card (Citi 2x Cashback) and started investing through what I felt like was the easiest method, Wealthfront’s robo-advisor.

I was research I did through this comparison article on Nerdwallet. I ultimately choose Wealthfront over Betterment because I liked Wealthfront’s design better.

December 2018 - $85,000/yr

The next two years I would receive a standard 3% cost-of living raise and a small bonus, bringing me up to $70K/yr. But in 2018 I start pursuing new opportunities (THANK U LINKEDIN JOBS, which let recruiters know I was available.) I was recruited to work at an ad agency. I made a huge leap from $70K to $85K. I knew you could earn more, but I didn’t realize how much more that would be by switching jobs.

I had two offers on the table both at $85K. I tried to negotiate more on both but they said it was at the top of the budget. One role was at a small energy tech company and the other a major ad agency. I think I would have actually enjoyed the smaller company more, but I ended up at the ad agency because it was a big name and so many people look for creatives with agency experience.

April 2019 - My first $100K

I had been automating my finances since December of 2017 and really did not track anything too closely. One day I opened my Weatlhfront app and realized I had hit $100K net worth in April. It was revolutionary! It was about this time that I had also started building a personal finance presence on Instagram as a hobby.

August 2019 - $70/hr

The role I had left at the ad agency was not everything I had anticipated it would be. The client I was on was difficult and not open to innovative ideas. I felt stifled as a designer. It was so bad that I felt like I couldn’t even add anything to my portfolio, which meant it was time to go. A few friends had mentioned that I’d enjoy contracting and freelancing and that I could make a lot more that way too.

I had a 5 year plan to move into the tech world and get up to the bay area to be closer to my family. When a 3 month contract opportunity came along at a major tech company in Los Angeles, I dove head first even if it wasn’t full-time. The contracting agency had full benefits and although they initially offered $65/hr, I negotiated up to $70.

September 2019 - FI/RE!

I had been posting about personal finance for awhile on Instagram when a friend mentioned to me that I should look into Mr. Money Mustache’s blog and learn more about FIRE.

When I finally did, my whole world changed forever. I started reading personal finance books, tracking my spending and binging all the Youtube and Podcast videos.

December 2019 - No work December

With the holidays approaching and my contract ending, I decided I didn’t want to even try to take on any new jobs through the rest of the year. Leveling up my finances and building a solid emergency fund allowed me to intentionally not work. I loved it so much I even extended that into the beginning of January.

January-February 2020 - Freelance $80/hr

Mid January to February I earned nothing, but I did pick up a few freelance clients. I announced publicly on my social media so my network reached out to me some opportunities. I highly recommend doing this if you’re trying to get new clients. My rate was higher than ever, but I knew I didn’t want to do it.

I also learned I did not like the lack of structure that came with the freelancing territory. When the choice was do work or watch Netflix….it almost always came down to the latter until the panic monster set in. I started looking for a steady contracting job in tech in the beginning of February.

March 2020 - $58/hr

I ended up landing a job at another big tech company for a year. I was so excited about everything EXCEPT the pay. But the team I’d be on, my role, and the fact that I could try living in the bay area for one year outweighed that negative. In the end it wasn’t about the money. That amount still pushed me in the 6 figure range so I was content. I can honestly say I’m so happy where I am right now!

July 2020 - $200K Net Worth

I reached my next next worth benchmark in the blink of an eye and am climbing my way to the next. I decided to learn to rebalance my own portfolio (with the help of my hand dandy rebalancing spreadsheet) and slowly stopped using my robo-advisor.

I’ve learned that it’s not always about the money, sometimes it’s about the experience and happiness that a job brings. Here’s to growing all of you wealth and sharing experiences so we can all grow rich!

xo,

Catie

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Disclosure: Some links on my site are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn some compensation. All opinions are 100% my own! I truly appreciate you and your support. :)