Note: This interview contains more identifying details than the average interview. I was given permission from my interviewee to include such details.
Who are you and how old are you? I am a male in my late 20s working as a management consultant. Tell me about your background. I was born in Taiwan and spent my childhood in South Africa. I moved to the United States when I was 13, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve as soon as I turned 18. After taking a gap year for training, I went to college in the midwest, where I studied political science. Upon graduating from college, I commissioned as a Marine Corps Officer, where I spent most of my tour in Camp Pendleton, CA, and deployed to Afghanistan as an Information Operations Officer. I left the Marine Corps in 2013, and enrolled in a top business school in the midwest. I just graduated back in June and am currently working as a management consultant based on the east coast. What does your financial situation look like? If you don’t earn money through a “normal job”, how do you support yourself? I currently work as a management consultant. How do you define rich? Rich is a relative term. I’m rich right now compared to 99% of the population and am really grateful for what I have. If I had to give a number to this answer, I’d say having one million dollars in assets. Did you grow up with money? How did your childhood conditions about money affect how you behave? I did not grow up with money. My father passed away when I was three years old and my mom raised my sister and I as a single mother. I always had enough to eat, my mom had a car to pick me up from school, etc, but we were not wealthy by any means. Because of my upbringing, I’m not as caught up with this idea of having really nice things. The following excerpt has been taken from my interviewee’s blog - it answers this question particularly well and highlights why he believes so much in giving back: “I grew up spending parts of my life in Taiwan, the United States, and South Africa. After my biological father passed away when I was 3, my grieving mother sent me to Palatine, Illinois to live with my aunt in the United States. After two years in the Chicago suburbs, essentially as a five year old illegal immigrant on a tourist visa, my aunt sent me back to Taiwan, in part because I was a mischievous rugrat. By the time I was 7, my mother moved us (me, and my then-1 year old sister) to South Africa, where we enjoyed a rather pleasant and happy 6 years. As a college educated woman, my mom was always able to find work to make ends meet – whether it was as a store manager at an upscale shopping mall or recruiting computer programmers for an US-based firm. I had the privilege of attending excellent schools that were either private and religiously affiliated, or ones that were formerly whites-only institutions under the Apartheid regime. It was in South Africa where I became conscious of my privilege, despite our relatively modest means. My heart broke when we drove by black South Africans who would get on their knees with tears in their eyes and beg drivers for spare change; it broke when I realized some of my classmates at the now racially integrated Bedfordview Primary School lived in the cramped, grimy servant’s quarters for our middle class Asian and White friends; and it broke when we toured shanty towns within our own city with residents who had no access to running water, and even less access to economic opportunity. By contrast, we lived in a modest but comfortable town home, mom drove an old but elegant Mercedes Benz, and I was sent to piano lessons every Tuesday and Boy Scouts every Friday. As a child, I resolved that one day I would do something to help. I didn’t know how or when, but I knew it would be my major life objective.” Did your mom give you money when you were growing up? What about for school? If I wanted to buy anything, I had to do chores. Eventually, I’d save up enough money to buy a video game or whatever it was I wanted. Do you still have school loans? I don’t have any business school loans because I had a $25K / year scholarship from business school. I also got $20K / year from the Post 911 GI bill and $30K / year from the Yellow Ribbon Program. I also had a $1900 / month housing stipend. The amount of money I received to attend business school was very generous and I am very grateful for it. Even though I don’t have any school loans, I have $50,000 in debt from money I borrowed to fund my living expenses during my two years of business school. When I look back, I now realize that I lived more extravagantly when I should have - I ordered out too much, etc. I am now on a 5 year plan via Sofi to pay off this $50K. Where did you learn about investing? I learned about investing from business school but do not do any active investing other than owning Amazon stock. I have stock in Amazon because I feel like they’ve always done well and will continue to do well. What does your family situation look like? I have a mom, stepdad, and younger sister. I send money to my mom every month and promised her that I would help her retire. Do you feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck? If so, do you feel that way due to your lifestyle? No, but I do feel like my expenses are a bit high due to food, giving money to various charities, debt payments, and travel. What are you doing with the money that’s left over? I invest 10% of my monthly payment in the stock repurchasing plan at my consulting firm. I try to put money away every month in my USAA brokerage account and also give my parents money every month in to put in their brokerage account. What was your most regrettable purchase? I don’t have one. I spend my money on experiences and not things. But if I did have to give an answer, I’d say something along the lines of paying $100 more for a plane ticket than I should have because I procrastinated on buying the ticket for a few days. What was your best purchase? I recently bought a $100 bike at Target and it has paid for itself many times over. I saved so much money from not taking the bus or Uber. But now that it’s getting cold, I can’t use my bike as much. Do you feel like you have a financial habit that’s out of the norm (or at least something that others have commented on)? I give a lot more to charity than the average person. I feel like I’m more willing to share my wealth than most people would. Do you feel like your success now has anything to do with luck or being in the right place at the right time? Yes, I am very lucky in many ways. I almost got kicked out of the Marines after my first year but didn’t. I felt really lucky that I got into such a great business school and that I got such a great consulting job. Do you actively contribute to a retirement account of any sort? My consulting company has a 401(k) program and will match each dollar up to 6%. However, this only kicks in after the first year. I will max out my 401K contribution after I pass the one-year mark. Have you ever jumped income brackets (either going from low to high or vice versa) and how did your lifestyle change? I feel like my lifestyle expenses increased quite a bit when I was in business school. What’s interesting is that if I had foregone business school and stayed in the Marines, I would be a Captain by now and would actually be making the same salary I am making now as a management consultant. Do you talk to your peers and family about money? I talk to my mom a lot about money. Do you worry about money? I think about money quite a bit - how can I make more so I can provide for my mom and for myself! Do you have a plan to make more money? Starting next year, I will be doing some freelance work as a MBA admissions consultant. I’m also thinking of launching a startup that manufactures powdered energy drinks for video gamers. I work out a lot so I’m pretty familiar with the fitness market. What would it take for you to feel like you are completely rich? $500K / year after taxes. This is a completely random number because I’ve never given any thought about this question. $500 / year after taxes feels like a rich number. In terms of money, what was something you did in the past that you could do differently? I wouldn’t have lived so extravagantly when I was a MBA student!
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Who are you and how old are you? I am a female in my late 20s in my second year of business school on the East Coast. Tell me about your background. I grew up on the East Coast, went to college on the East Coast, worked in financial services for six years, and am now in my second year of business school also on the East Coast. What does your financial situation look like? If you don’t earn money through a “normal job”, how do you support yourself? At the moment, I am not earning any money because I am in business school. I accepted a consulting job a few weeks ago so I will be making money soon after I graduate! My parents are helping to pay for half of my business school tuition and I am paying the other half myself. I saved up some money from my previous job which is helping me to pay for this. How do you define rich? Being able to do whatever I want without having to worry about money. If I see something expensive that I want to buy, I’m buying it without a second thought. If I want to jet off to Miami for the weekend, I’m buying first class plane tickets without a second thought. Did you grow up with money? How did your childhood conditions about money affect how you behave? I had a very financially comfortable upbringing. My mom is a doctor and my dad works in the insurance business. I would say that we were upper middle class. Even though we were financially comfortable, my parents really emphasized saving and being smart about my money. Did your parents give you money when you were growing up? What about for school? They gave me money for whatever I need (school trips, ballet materials, etc), but didn’t give me any sort of weekly allowance. Do you still have school loans? No, I don’t any other school loans. My parents paid for my entire college tuition. I know how lucky I am to have parents who were willing to help out so much for college. For business school, they said that they would pay for half and that because I had saved up money from my previous job, I would have to pay for the other half. Even though they can financially afford for pay for my business school as well, they said that paying for part of my education would teach me responsibility. Where did you learn about investing? I initially learned about it from reading Learnvest. You (editor of Money in my Life) suggested that I check this out a few years ago. I took your advice and am glad I did! Working in the financial services industry has also taught me a few things about investing. However, ever since I started to put money in Wealthfront, I’ve taken a much more passive approach to investing. What does your family situation look like? I have an older brother from my dad’s first marriage. He is also a consultant. My parents are still alive and living in the town I grew up in. Have you started to put money away for their college tuition? If so, how much is it? I don’t have any children now but if I do in the future, I will definitely start putting money away. I would like to do what my parents did and pay for their college education. However, if they want to go to grad school, they are on their own! I believe very strongly in giving them financial responsibilities. Do you feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck? If so, do you feel that way due to your lifestyle? At the moment, I kind of feel like I’m living from paycheck to paycheck. I’m essentially living off my savings and unfortunately don’t have any money coming in. What was your most regrettable purchase? I can't pinpoint any exact regrettable purchase but when I first began working in financial services after college, I lived a much "larger" life than I should have (nice apt, bought clothes I didn't really need, etc). I regretted not being smarter about my money at that time and wised up about a year later. I cringe now when I think about what I used to throw away money on and have those regrets. What was your best purchase? At this point, I’d say paying for my business school. I’m at a top ranked school and I’m hoping that this pays off in the future. Do you feel like you have a financial habit that’s out of the norm (or at least something that others have commented on)? I’m probably more aware of my finances than most people. I track what I spend money on on mint.com and will definitely try to change any of my money habits if I see any spending behavior that alarms me. Do you feel like your success now has anything to do with luck or being in the right place at the right time? I do think that I was lucky to be born into an economically prosperous household and that my parents devoted financial resources to helping me do well in school and life. I also think that I was lucky to get into a top business school. This will help me with my career in the future. How much investing do you do, if any? I invest money now through Wealthfront. I have always been meaning to open an account and finally did a few years ago. Do you actively contribute to a retirement account of any sort? Other than putting money in my Wealthfront account, I am not actively contributing to any other retirement account. During my previous job before business school, I would always maxed out my 401k and contributed the maximum amount to my ROTH IRA. Do you feel like your lifestyle reflects your income bracket? I would say that my income bracket falls in the “student” category now. I do spend money going on trips and attending other business school events so perhaps my lifestyle might make it seem like I’m spending more than I’m earning. Have you ever jumped income brackets (either going from low to high or vice versa) and how did your lifestyle change? When I graduated from college and began working, I made a ton of money! But when I left work and went to business school, I went to making no money. But this will change again when I graduate and begin working as a consultant. Do you talk to your peers and family about money? I talk to my parents and stepbrother about money sometimes but not with my friends. I’m not even sure how I would approach this topic with them so I don’t talk about it. Do you worry about money? Not at the moment but I think this has to do with my privilege. I know that if I ever really desperately needed money, my parents would provide for me. I will always have a roof over my head and food to eat. So no, I don’t worry about money. Do you splurge on anything? If so, what was the last splurge and how much was it? I splurged on a trip to Europe last winter with some of my business school classmates. I probably spent around $5000 in total (flight tickets, hotel, entertainment, etc). Do you have a plan to make more money? Other than earning money through my consulting job, I don’t any other plans. In terms of money, what was something you did in the past that you could do differently? I actually don’t have any regrets about money. My parents taught me good financial habits and would stop me if I ever tried to do something dumb. That mentality about being smart with money has stuck with me! What is your strategy for moving forward now in regards to your big goals in life? Have a good attitude, set goals for yourself, and always keep going! |
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An anthropological look at how people think about money. Created and edited by Star Li. Archives
December 2022
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