More Money Podcast - 071 Listener Series - How Rachel Jimenez Got Two Degrees for Free

Episode Date: November 3, 2016

Rachel Jimenez is saving 40% of her income, got 60K in scholarships and bought her first house at 24. Find out how she did it by listening to our podcast episode together. Long description: Rachel Jimenez is certainly giving me a run for my money! This girl go $60,000 in scholarships, which paid for both her bachelor's and master's degrees. She also was able to save enough to buy her first home at the young age of 24. And if that still doesn't impress you, her and her husband are saving 40% of their income so they can retire early. This girl is living the dream, and I am so glad she emailed me to share her story for my Listener Series! Resources Mentioned by Rachel Mr. Money Mustache YNAB (You Need a Budget) Rachel's Tips for Success Start working at an early age to craft a good work ethic Do your scholarship research because you could make $60,000! Buy property when you can afford it and the market is low Save as much money as you can so you can retire early Talk Raw on YouTube Rachel's Talk Raw website focused personal finance and business strategy Got a story that you think would be good to share on an episode on of Listener series? Please email me! For more podcast episodes, check out the Podcast page. Shownotes: jessicamoorhouse.com/71 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, and welcome to Episode 71 of the Mo Money Podcast and another episode in my listener series. And in case you're out of the loop, the listener series I started back in September. It's kind of a new venture where I just started getting lots of emails from podcast listeners and they are sharing their stories with me. And so I'm like, hmm, that would be really cool if I just interviewed them for a special episode of the podcast. And now here we are. And so for this episode, I am interviewing Rachel Jimenez. And not only is she a listener of my podcast, I discovered while talking to her, she also has a YouTube channel about business and personal finance herself called Talk Raw.

So make sure to check that out on YouTube. But she is a very inspiring person. She basically did kind of all the things that everyone tells you are money smart things to do. And she did them and she's living the good life. She's doing really well. And basically, near the end of this episode, I want to rearrange my whole dream board because she's just like such a cool chick. So get ready to feel pumped and inspired right after this episode. And here we are. Thanks, Rachel, for being one of my listener series interviewees. I'm super excited to chat with you. And I think it's

awesome. And we'll talk about this at the end of this episode, but I found out that you have a YouTube channel. So that's pretty freaking cool. Well, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to share my story and to be here talking to you. Yes. Yeah. You have a really great story. I'm so glad that you emailed me after listening to one of my podcast episodes because you have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. Things sent me your email. I love how you broke down everything in bullet points. That was very helpful for me. But one of the things, and we'll probably get to this a bit later, but you were able to buy your first home at 24 and I moved out of my parents' basement at 24. So you have done you know, done quite a bit. You should

absolutely give yourself a pat on the back. But let's get to a little bit about you. Where are you from? So I'm from Southern California, born and raised. But not a lot of people think of Southern California and they think of the beach in LA and I live about an hour away from all of that. But in the, I grew up in a town called Fontana, um, which a lot of people call Fontucky because it's not the nicest place. Um, so Orange County and LA County are the nicest areas of Southern California. And then the Inland Empire is my home and I love it, but it's more of the, you know, middle class, the average working people generally live there. So I'm not the LA or Orange County girl. Yeah. Fair enough. Fair enough. That's it's all too much glitz and glam and Botox. So you still got all the sun over there. I always say if I

can move to anywhere in the States, it would absolutely be California. I feel it's just so beautiful there. Yeah. I love it. I don't think I'd ever move out. I wouldn't just stay there. It's good. Like I, yeah, I would move there in a heartbeat. Absolutely. Yep. I love it. It's home. Yeah. So, okay. So you told me that you started working at a very young age at 16, um, to save most of your money. Why did you start working so young? And what were your kind of plans at that age? Okay, so I'm the youngest in my family. My sister is seven years older than me. So when I was like seven or eight, she was already working.

And that's, I think my mom was just smart. And she did that so that both of, so her kids would always stay out of trouble. Because if you're busy, if you go to school and then you work, then you can't get into trouble. Um, so, and I always looked up to my big sister. So then when I turned 16 and could work, um, my mom had a similar message to me of like, you should get a job, but I really wanted to get one because I saw that with money came freedom and you have something to do. And I got bored really easily. So I got a job as a hostess. That was my first job. And it helped because it was the same manager that my sister had had when she worked. So that helped to have an in. So yeah, I started working when I was 16. And I would go to school and then come home and usually take a nap and

then drive to work. And then that helped me save a lot of money because I would be, most of the time I worked the weekends as well. And so even though I was making minimum wage, I hardly ever had time to spend my money because I would just go to school and then work. And I actually enjoyed working because I got to hang out with people that were my age and it was fun to me. And then I also got to be making money to be hang out with people that were my age and it was fun to me. And then I also got to be making money to be hanging out with people that I probably would have hung out with anyways. So I was like, this isn't a bad gig and I'm getting to save all this

money. And then it would excite me to think about the more and more I saved, I could buy something bigger if I wanted it. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It's funny that you bring that up. Looking back, I mean, my first job was working at A&W. So I was a cashier and wore the ugliest uniform. But even though I worked a ton, similar situation, I wanted to save money. And also I didn't spend a lot of money because I was working so much. But it was actually really good. It helped me kind of grow up in one respect and kind of socialize with people outside of school. And actually, yeah, it's like, you know, parents, if anyone's listening and you have kids and you don't know whether they should get a job in high school because you think it's too stressful, no, they should absolutely work. It's such a great way for them to learn how to balance, you know,

you know, a job and school and social life and also meet new friends outside of school. So that's cool that you got to learn that and save money. And so did you have to pay for post-secondary going to college after that yourself? No. So I actually, when I was really little, again, when I was like seven or eight, my sister was getting ready. Well, I might've been a little bit, I was probably like nine or 10. My sister was getting ready to go to college. And so my parents were, I could tell there's just a little bit more tension in our house. It wasn't awful, but they were, my sister wanted to go to a bigger school because all our friends were going there, a bigger college. And my mom was like, you have to go to a junior college first, and then you can transfer to a

four-year school because that's a way that we can save money because junior colleges are a lot less expensive. And so I just remember that conversation and my sister being a little bit disappointed about the fact that she couldn't go to the same school as all her friends. And it ended up working out for her. But I just remember being like, I don't want my parents to have to deal with this when I grow up. So even though I was like 10, I was like, mommy, when I grow up, don't worry about me. I'm just going to get full ride scholarships and as a middle class like normal kind of kid it's not like we were low income to where we could qualify for a lot of scholarships because of financial need and then I got good grades but I never actually strove or

strived to be the valedictorian when I was in high school but I actually didn't make it I was fourth in my class so I was I always had that goal I actually didn't make it. I was the fourth in my class. So I was, I always had that goal and that drove me to get good grades all the time. But then when it came down to the very end, um, I, there were two valedictorians and a salutatorian and then me. So I beat and yeah. And the valedictorian got a full ride. I was so close. The good news was though there were about a thousand students in my graduating class. Wow. And it was a pretty big school. Yeah. And so the top one percent got full ride scholarships to go to Cal State San Bernardino. And so that would have been the top 10 students.

So I was within that. So I did get a full ride to go to Cal State San Bernardino. A full ride is your full degree? Yeah, a full ride is my full degree. So the full four years of school I got scholarships for. And then the cool thing was my dad has, before I found out I got, well, I think it was around, I might've found out I got that scholarship, but then my dad, there was a scholarship for all the people in his work for all the employees. Children could apply for scholarships for college. And so I applied for that and I ended up getting that scholarship. And it was like $2,000. But this was before I'd even started school.

And literally the check just came in my name. And I was like, wait, you're not giving this to the school? Isn't there some governing body that makes sure that nobody that's already gotten a full ride scholarship doesn't get more? And then it dawned on me that, no, if you have a full ride scholarship and you get more scholarships, that's just more money and you can use it for gas or to travel to Paris or do whatever you want. And so I was like, oh my gosh, I'm going to make money from going to school. Like, this is going to be amazing. So then that was my goal. And I actually, I applied for any and every scholarship that I could.

And there were obviously there were some that I didn't get, but I did get quite a few. One of them was for the National Association of Women Business Owners, and it was like a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars. But I had decided when I was a junior in college that I wanted to study abroad in Paris. And so I got that scholarship and I got accepted to the program, the month program to study in Paris. And so I got that scholarship and I got accepted to the program, the month program to study in Paris. And so I used the scholarship to buy my plane ticket to Paris. So I, yeah, I just, I got as many scholarships as I could and I ended up making money from going to school, which was even better than getting a full ride scholarship really. So that was awesome.

You're probably one of the few people that is able to say that. That's amazing. Why do you think that's what I always wonder? It's like, I wish I kind of put more effort into getting some, you know, more scholarships because there are a lot out there. And I, I'd say, especially in the United States, there's a lot of stuff out there. How did you find out about scholarships?

Like it seems like there just isn't a lot of information about it out there. Yeah, there isn't that much. I think it helped. I got the full ride. And so that I was like, whoa, I'm covered. And then there just happened to be the one at my dad's work. And that was kind of the thing that initiated me into, you know, figuring them out. And so I had to write an essay and I had to put all this paperwork together.

But once you do it once, because it's kind of a little bit overwhelming when you're first doing it because you have to get transcripts and you have to write a letter and get letters of recommendation. Once you've done it once, doing it multiple times is easy. And all the people, if they wrote you a letter of recommendation, really all they have to do, sometimes you can just use a copy of the one they already did if they just put to whom it might to whom it may concern and you know they don't put the specific organization name but even if they have to make it specific you don't feel as bad going back the second time because they already wrote it they already took the time so it's just like hey can you take two minutes literally and just you know change the address and sign your name again and send me a new one so everything is easier the second and third and fourth time and you get and you're motivated because if you once you've won one, then you're excited because it's like, oh, my gosh, now the hardest part is over. And if I do this, you know, what's the time? Maybe it'll take me three hours max. And if I could win two or three thousand dollars, like that's a huge, you know, hourly rate. So you're making a thousand dollars an hour. So yeah, totally worth it. Yeah.

So that was just, I think it's just knowing that they exist and that you can actually be successful. I think a lot of people, there's a lot of things like I remember when I first heard about mailbox money and, oh, you know, there's people that they don't really work that hard and they do something once and then they get, they can continue to make money forever. Like having a YouTube channel or, you know know podcasting or having a blog where you can get money if you just you know you have ad revenue and things like that and when people first told me about it I didn't believe them but then once you experience it like you're like well I don't

believe you but I'm gonna try it and then you see it happen in your life then you're like oh my gosh this this is real this isn't that hard either. And it gets easier and easier. So I think that it's just trying it the first time, getting initiated into it. And then once you're successful once, then you figure it out and you keep doing it. Absolutely. So what did you go to school for?

What did you study? So I studied business. That makes sense, doesn't it? So entrepreneurship and then with a minor in finance. Ah, yes, this all makes sense now. Yeah, it all comes together. Yes, it does. That's awesome. So you graduated university debt-free and probably some extra money in the bank. What were your plans after that?

My plans were just to get a job. So I actually, when I got the scholarship at the National Association of Women Business Owners, I met a woman there that offered me a non-paid internship. And I was looking for an internship, and I didn't care that it wasn't paid. Because all through college, I also worked. I was a server. And so that was helpful. When I was 16, I was a hostess but my mom recommended that and my sister did that as well where you you know if you start in retail you're only ever going to make a job or make a wage that's a little bit over minimum wage but if you start in a restaurant industry then you can you start as a hostess but you work your way up and eventually you'll make tips so

even when I was in college I was making like $20 an hour when most of my peers, I think minimum wage at the time was like $8 an hour in the US or in California specifically. So I was making over double what minimum wage was and just saving all of that because I lived at home and I didn't have to pay tuition. So really, I just bought clothes and food when I ate out. So I was able to save literally, I think, over $10,000 or tens of thousands of dollars when I think, yeah, when I was a server one year, I literally saved $1,000 a month. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Yeah. And it was, it was like all cash, just tips. I remember having like these fat wads of cash and I would just be like, wow, this is really cool. But I would just sock it away in the bank because I didn't, I knew I didn't need it then but studying business I knew I would I wanted to be able to start a business if I wanted to do that so I was like well I know

entrepreneurs need capital so I'm going to need to sock this away and I also knew that it would be nice to buy a house one day and so I was like either I'm going to buy a house or I'm going to start a business and I know that's going to take a lot of money. So I need to save all this. So that was kind of the backstory. And then when I got the scholarship and met Michelle Skilgen, who was the person who offered me the internship, it was to work at a women's business center. So I started just being basically answering phones and doing all the grunt work. And then I worked my way up there and got hired as a student worker and then as a training coordinator. So I had a full-time job. Well, actually, I did little jobs and then I got kind of a full-time contract type job before I graduated.

And then right as I was graduating, I got offered a training coordinator position. So I had a full-time job and I was doing business consulting and teaching workshops and hiring people to come in and speak and teach people how to start businesses. So I love that job. And then at that time, I actually, I applied there. They had just started a program, a fellowship program to where you could get your MBA. And depending on your GPA and your GMAT score, they had full rides available for that. And so I was like, well, what the hell?

Let me give that a shot. And I ended up getting that. So then I got my master's for free as well. Wow. I am so jealous. That's so great. That's amazing. Wow. Get groceries delivered across the GTA from

Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit superstore.ca to get started. So I'm learning a lot. So basically the ticket is start working early to get you know a good work ethic do your scholarship research and put the time in to do that because it can literally do you know how much you made in scholarships or i think when i calculated it was over 60 000 oh my like you made 60 grand just by applying and that's basically free money out there up for grabs. And it's, you know, anyone's, you know, anyone can kind of get it. That's amazing. And you're able to study in Paris and you're able to do your MBA. And I guess the next thing is

you did buy a house at a very early age at 24. Yeah. So at that, let's see, it was, gosh. So when I was in my MBA program, I think it was right at the end of that. So that was in 2000, I think it was 2012. But I was finishing up my MBA program and I had lived with my boyfriend at the time for, I believe it was two years. We had lived together in an apartment and housing prices were really low. And so I had been talking to him for a while because I always knew that I wanted to buy a house. And I was just like, man, our rent is really high. Like, you know, we should look at houses. We should look at houses. And I would always bug him about it. And he was just like, yeah, yeah, whatever. And then his sister recommended that he she was like yeah housing prices are really low you should look at houses and this this is like a year or two after i've been kind

of nagging yeah and then one day i come home and he's like you know we should look at houses yeah and it's always like the third party i know that's my son my husband's the exact same way it's like i will tell him the same thing for a year and then he'll meet someone on the street they'll be like you know what i just found out the greatest thing i'm like i've been telling you this for a year. And then he'll meet someone on the street. They'll be like, you know what? I just found out the greatest thing. I'm like, I've been telling you this for a year. Yeah. That's the most I feel you. But I was like, you know what? Okay. But you got the message. We're on the same page. I waited for you, but okay, now we'll start looking. So while I was in my master's program, we started looking for a house and we looked at a lot like bless our real estate agent because she took us to so many different houses and we didn't know what we wanted we looked at condos we looked

at townhouses we looked at actual homes and it was funny it was the first home that I saw on kind of in the internet yeah we I that I told our real estate agent that I wanted to look at for some reason we couldn't look at it and they're you know they had like taken it off the market for a little while there was like some drama with it I was like oh that's a bummer because it looked really cute and then it you know we looked for like six months and then there was a house up the street from the house that we have now but we were you know on the fence about it and I think it was a little bit out of our price range and then so we were kind of debating it and then our real estate agent was like oh yeah but that remember that, remember that one house that you saw the pictures of? It's I, that real estate agent actually called me and like, it's available now. And so we were like, oh, interesting. Okay. And

so then we got the scoop on it and found out that we could put an offer on it, but we wouldn't be able to look at the house. We would just have to do subject to interior inspection. And so, but we had kind of stocked the neighborhood and all the houses are similar on the inside. And so we were just like, well, what the hell we'll put on the contract subject to interior inspection. So that means that we'd have to be able to see it before, you know, we go into figuring out the loan and everything. So we did that. And then I got a call, I was at work and I got a call and they said, well, hey, okay, they want you to come look at the house and, you know, take the subject to interior inspection off if you still want it and then resubmit it like today.

And so I was like, oh my gosh. Okay. So I called my parents and was like, mom, dad, come look at the house. Called my boyfriend at the time and said, come look at our, come, we need to look at this house. We looked at the house, just did a quick walk through, loved it. And we're like, okay, yeah, let's do this thing. And it actually was a short sell, but we ended up getting it. So it took a little bit longer because it was a short sell, but we lucked out with that. Within, I would say six months, a house across the street that wasn't in as good of shape sold for like

40 grand more than our house, what we got our house for. And then now we've probably not doubled, but I'd say we have like 100,000 of equity that just because housing prices have gone up since we bought our house. That's crazy. Did you ever find out why they were being so weird about showing the interior of the house? No, not really. I think they were going to sell and they were buying a different house, I think, like a model home. And they were going to short sell their house. They wanted it out of this one, but then they were going to get a different house.

And so I think it was just the timing of all that that they just took it off the market. They had two kids, so it wasn't like they weren't trying to hide anything that I know of. I think it was just they got busy with things, but it ended up working out for us. Yeah. Nice. Yeah, it did. That's probably one of the best, like besides the scholarships, like, you know, because it's, I think especially in the states where housing can be, you know, in certain pockets more affordable or when rent is the same, uh, it could be the same amount as mortgage, you know, you could have just kind of been like, ah, yeah, we'll just play, you know, we'll wait a few more years and then check it out.

But had you done that, the house that you have now could have been, yeah, 50 grand more than you paid for. So yeah, it would have been a lot more expensive. Yeah. And it actually, it worked out. So we did like 3%. We had more money, so we could have put more down. But the loans were so good and we got first-time homebuyers, all that kind of stuff. So we only put like 3% down. But then our house went up in price within the first year so much. So in the beginning, we were paying PMI, like private

mortgage insurance. But then our house went up in value so much that we were able, we had 20% worth of equity in our house, even though we put only 3% down. And so we were able to get rid of the PMI insurance after we did like a quick refinance, which didn't cost that much. So we were like, okay, we're saving like two, $300 a month because we got rid of that and we just had to do a refinance. So yeah, yeah. There are a lot of things that got lucky. That's awesome. Yeah. I bet most people don't know that they can do that. Yeah. Well, and that's what I didn't even think of it. My husband's a CPA, so that helps. And we were getting all these refinance letters in the mail and I was like, our interest rate is so low. Why are they sending us this? And he was like, I don't know. And then he just thought one day, he was

like, well, I wonder if we could, if we have enough value in our house that we could refinance and get rid of PMI. And I was like, huh, that'd be interesting. So I was like, well, I'm going to call, I'm going to find out. And we did and it worked out. Nice. And so, so you, you bought a place and then, um, you got more interested in personal finance and started reading some blogs. And you wrote to me saying that you now save 40% of your income? Yeah, if not more. I'm trying to think. Yeah, I think it's a little over 40%, but like 41, 42. But that's, it's helped that we want to be specific. So we, we bought the house and then I would say about six months later, I think it was six months, a little over six months,

we ended up getting engaged and then we got married like a year and a half later. Um, and so just getting married the whole width of that, I was like, Oh my gosh, like weddings expensive. And we had some money, but I didn't want to dip into all of our savings to pay for our wedding. So I was like, okay, let's, how can I side hustle? How can I figure this out to not go in debt to pay for our honeymoon and pay for our wedding? And so we dipped, our parents helped us a little bit. And then we dipped into our savings a little bit. And then we just saved as much money as we could over like the year and a half,

basically, that we had between when we got engaged and when we got married. So we didn't go into debt or anything. Well, I will say we got a 0% interest credit card and we put a lot of, we ended up putting our honeymoon on that. But we paid it off before you had to pay interest on it. So we just used that to kind of stretch out the payments a little bit longer to give us a little bit more time. And then we turned credit cards. So that was awesome. Like we signed up for the Chase Sapphire preferred card and both of us and got put a lot of our credit or our wedding expenses on that and then got the bonus miles and use that for our honeymoon. So that helped with our plane tickets and things like that. So we just tried to be as savvy as possible and, you know, reduce our expenses where we could. Um, and we DIY'd a lot

of our wedding and things like that. Um, but then after that, I was still, I had learned everything for the wedding and I was just like, man, like I wasn't making as much as I would have liked to at my job. And so I started doing stuff on the side. So like I opened up my YouTube channel and things like that. And then I ended up, so last year in 2015, I got a new job that came with a pretty significant raise. And so I started working there. And then this year I actually got promoted and that again came with a pretty significant raise. So that worked out. And in the past, my, well, my employer gives us 10%. Um, and it's not, you don't have, it's not a match. It's just, they give us 10% for retirement. So that's a big chunk. Yeah. That's really nice. And then on top of that, I save 10% myself that

just gets pulled out of my paycheck. But then on top of that, I save 10% myself that just gets pulled out of my paycheck. But then on top of that, we're also saving a large amount of our income. And we use YNAB. So have you heard of YNAB or you need to budget? I have, but can you explain it to me? I can't remember what it is. It is the best thing in the world. And we started using it right around the time that we were planning for our wedding.

So basically, it's just a budget. But it syncs with your computer and then with your phone. And you can have multiple people on the same budget. So my husband and I are both on it. And basically, if we go to the store and buy, even if we go to a restaurant, let's say I go out to lunch and it's $11. When I'm at lunch, I can type in $11 and hit confirm and I put where it's coming out of. So if I put it on my credit card, I can say that it's on my credit card, say where I spent the money, and then it will say what budget category it's coming out of. So if I have a category for restaurants, then it would come out

of restaurants. So every time you get paid, you basically categorize it. So it's similar to the envelope method only rather than putting things like physical cash in envelopes, you just put, you know, your digital, you know, you have a thousand dollars coming in or whatever the amount is, you put it in your budget, you allocate it. And then as you spend money, it deducts it. So you always know what your net worth is because you can put all your savings accounts and everything on there. You always know what your budget is, what you have to spend, where you need to be careful, and you can easily adjust. So if you spent too much on restaurants, but you have more money in clothes, then you can go in and adjust things. And they have amazing, an amazing YouTube site that tells

you how to set everything up. And it also recommends ways that you can, you know, formulate your budget. And they have just very simple rules to like, they say roll with the punches. So a lot of people when they think of a budget, they think of being held back and, you know, oh, now I have to save money and I can't do anything fun. I love to budget because, and at first, at first you're like, oh man, like I don't, I want to spend money, but I can't because my budget is telling me that I'm broke right now. But it really, my husband and I, we budget based on our goals. So we sit down and we talk about, well, what do we want to accomplish? Do we want to buy real estate and invest in property? Do we want to go on an amazing vacation? Like what are our big goals, our long-term goals and what are we willing

to give up for that? So then we say, okay, well, let's eat out a little bit less and or let's buy a few less things. And then we can afford to go on an amazing trip to Costa Rica or go to Hawaii or go to, you know, four different vacations a year if we want to. And so with YNAB and just budgeting and being conscious about that, like this year we went to Costa Rica earlier this year in November, we're going to go to Cancun. And then in August we went to Yosemite and San Francisco. So like we've been able to take a bunch of vacations and we haven't gone into debt at all. And we're saving 40% of our income for retirement. So it just allows you to really assess what, and you know, that's the other, other big goal is to retire early. So we're like, okay, well let's, you know, put all this money here and then we can figure out where we can cut back. And,

and if it hurts too much and you feel uncomfortable and you're like, man, I really want to just eat out more, then you just adjust. You say, OK, well, is it worth retiring a little bit later? But we can eat out more often. And you just have that conscious conversation that's very intentional. And you make the decision that way, as opposed to what most people do is living paycheck to paycheck. And then when they're at the store and they see a cute top, they buy it and never

realizing that they do that every single week. And that if all that money, if they added it up, they probably could have taken a really amazing vacation or, you know, retired a year early if they added that up throughout their whole life. So it just really helps you be intentional about what you want to achieve and what you want your money to do for you. Absolutely. Yeah. When you were talking, I Googled YNAB just to be like, is this just an American thing? Canadians get on board, but it said it does support Canadian banks. So I am going to look into this and maybe I'll even... Oh, awesome. Yeah. Because that sounds amazing. Yeah. It's amazing. That's the one thing I am

so jealous of. Um, the States is you guys have so many cool, um, financial apps that are like, I just went to, um, FinCon, uh, recently and there were so many cool FinTech companies and apps and I'm like, Hey, are you available in Canada? And they're like, no. Oh, no. Like nuts. Yeah, but for all you American listeners. Well, maybe it's an opportunity. Maybe that's an opportunity for you to create them. Well, that's true. I like how you're thinking.

It's an opportunity. I like that. But yeah, any American listeners, YNAB. Check it out. It's amazing. That's awesome. So your goal is to, what do you know, what age you kind of hope to graduate by? Check it out. for that. So he has all kinds of calculators and blog posts about how you can figure out your exact number. So I would highly recommend if somebody is interested in learning that to go check out

his blogs. But yeah, I think 16 years is what we're on. He is. Okay. He lives in the States. He lives in the States, but he is Canadian. But yeah, no, Mr. Money Mustache is definitely a go-to resource for that kind of stuff. Absolutely. He's kind of a legend a little bit. Oh, definitely. And I don't need, I don't know if I'm like, I get bored really easily and I love a challenge. So I'm part of me is like, I don't think I will retire.

Probably never. Well, yeah. But I want to be able to. Yeah. Do what you want to do. I'm like, maybe, and part of me just really wants to like go live in Thailand or something where it's really inexpensive, but it's beautiful. So I'm like, how can I, but you have to not be working a nine to five job to be able to do that.

So I'm like, well, maybe that's my plan. Yeah. No, I definitely have those dreams too, where I could just, yeah, live in Thailand. Cause I love it there. It's absolutely beautiful. And then just do whatever I want. Maybe write the next great novel or something. Exactly.

There you go. Exactly. Exactly. Well, thank you so much for chatting with me. I feel like just to sum up some of the awesome tips that you gave us today, start working early, do your scholarship research because you can make thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. Buy a property when you can afford it and when the market is low, if you can. And then save as much money as you can so you

can do what you want with your money later in life and hopefully retire early. And I'm very excited for you. I'm sure you absolutely will retire earlier and then maybe start your own business or do whatever you want, travel the world, live in Thailand. Yeah. Live the dream. Live in the dream. Exactly. Well, thank you again for chatting with me. It was an absolute pleasure. And now I just want to kind of, I don't know, rearrange my dream board a bit. You've inspired me. I'd love to hear what it is. So definitely share that with me. Okay, I will.

And that was episode 71 of the Mo Money Podcast and a special episode part of my listener series with Rachel Geminis. Make sure to check out her awesome YouTube channel called Talk Raw. I need to take some tips from her since I just started my own YouTube channel and she definitely knows what she's doing. So make sure to check that out on YouTube. And if you have a story that you want to share with me on a future listener series episode, all you got to do is reach out to me. My email is super simple, Jessica at JessicaMorehouse.com. Super easy. Or you can tweet me, Facebook me, whatever. Just get in touch. I would love to hear from you. And of course, if you haven't sent me or submitted an iTunes review for my show and you like what you're

hearing, can you help a gal out and give her an iTunes review? Would love to give you a shout out on a future episode. And that's really it. So I will see you back here next Wednesday, guys. Bye. This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.