Welcome to the eighth post of my blogger interview series. I interviewed Stefan from The Millennial Budget. Stefan is still in college, just finishing grad school. The Millennial Budget blogs about five categories: Budgeting, Investing, Debt Management, World Issues (That affect your wallet), and Other Topics. Stefan has also started a video series. In these posts he’s creating short videos to help explain investing concepts.
You can find a list of all my blogger interviews and upcoming blogging interviews on my Blogger Interview Series page. I hope you enjoy my interview with Stefan, The Millennial Budget.
The Millennial Budget Interview
Where do you live?
I was born and raised in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. Moved to the states at the age of 18 to get my undergraduate career and currently pursuing my MBA… 1 month left!
What are your hobbies?
Working out, watching sports, playing some video games when I got time and reading investing news.
Which countries or major cities have you lived in or traveled to?
My travels have been limited to the Caribbean and America. I have been Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba (before boarders were opened to the US), Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and a few smaller islands. I have been to many East coast cities in the US but plan on going to Europe soon.
Which sports or teams are your favorites?
I grew up swimming for my country and university so naturally swimming. My other favorite sports are soccer (or football as I call it) and cricket. Favorite soccer team is Chelsea and favorite soccer country is Argentina.
What’s the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
Vacations were rare for me due to swimming but my favorite was probably The Bahamas. The water there is absolutely beautiful and the people were very friendly.
When you were a child, what profession did you want to be?
As a child I wanted to be an astronaut like many younger children. Who doesn’t want to go to the moon? SpaceX needs to hurry up…
What is your career today?
MBA student currently but will be working at a Big 4 Accounting Firm in the tax department upon graduation.
What is your primary motivation to reach financial independence and retire early?
Pursue what I want in life without worrying about a paycheck. I do not necessarily want to retire early as I would love to teach and share my knowledge on personal finance, and other topics, to many students so they can go out in the world and live a responsible life rather than one ruled by debt and consumerism.
At what age are you planning on retiring?
Have not put an age on it as I need to figure out if I can get my work visa before I make any solid plans. Ideally before 40 would be perfect even though I aspire to climb to the top of the corporate world before I retire.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when you retire?
Travel to Australia and the Far East. This has long been a dream of mine.
If money were no object, but you had to have a job what would you do for a living?
Most likely teach at the collegiate level. I was a tutor and supplemental instructor while in college and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Teachers do not get paid enough yet they have one of the most crucial roles in developing the minds of children.
If you could go back in time, what investment advice would you give to your past self?
Like I said in my article, Lessons from my First Investing Mistakes, I would not look at the Yahoo Finance screen and base my judgement on the one year target of the stock… who does that? I would also say that listening to investing magazines and professionals can also be costly.
If you could only use one metric to evaluate a stock, which one would you choose?
I have recently became a big fan of dividend growth investing as I believe I can compound the dividends nicely to achieve personal finance. Based on this I would have to say that the payout ratio is the most important to me as I need to ensure they are sustainable. I usually look for 60% or less based on the company. REITs are different of course.
How do you stay the course when markets are down?
Markets are down means I need to find extra cash to invest in stocks that are hit hard. Beauty of dividends are that I will be paid regardless of how the market is doing, unless they are cut.
What’s your favorite aspect of blogging?
Interacting with my readers and other bloggers. I have learned so much from others and had great conversations with my readers that it makes the experience very rewarding.
Why should people read your blog?
I have recently became a big fan of dividend growth investing as I believe I can compound the dividends nicely to achieve personal finance. Based on this I would have to say that the payout ratio is the most important to me as I need to ensure they are sustainable. I usually look for 60% or less based on the company. REITs are different of course.
What’s your best source of traffic to your blog?
Facebook
Why do you blog?
My goal is to increase the financial literacy of my readers. I want everybody to realize that they do not need to live paycheck to paycheck, feel like consumerism is normal, and debt should just be accepted. Everybody deserves to live the life they want and being financially literate certainly helps make this possible.