10 Questions with Gwen from Fiery Millennials

Today is the 62nd edition of our guest post series called 10 Questions. It also will be one of the last. Everything must come to an end and 10 Questions will say ‘”Good bye!” at the end of 2016. If you’ve already sent me your answers or told me that you’re going to be doing so, don’t worry; I’m still going to publish you.

I love the Financial Independence (FI) community. By far, the best part of blogging is connecting with like minded people. In some cases, I’ve been able to meet some of you in my real life. Gwen, from Fiery Millennials, is one such person.

Gwen is a great example of someone who has studied life, figured out how to optimize it and is pursuing the good goal full throttle. The best part is that she’s only in her 20s!

In my opinion, the most inspirational folks are the ones who have somehow acquired wisdom far beyond their years at a young age. Gwen is going to kick some serious ass in life. Pay attention folks!

Tell us about your blog

Tell me about your blog and why it’s great.

I started Fiery Millennials to help other Millennials realize not only can we still retire, but we can retire way earlier than normal. At 25, I’m one of the youngest people in the FIRE world, so I have trouble relating to other blogs that are written by older married couples with kids and I thought others might have a similar problem so I started my own. I demonstrate saving for retirement, living below your means, and having fun while doing so!

Tell me how you’re going to change the world with your blog (dream big or don’t dream at all!).

By starting Fiery Millennials, I aim to help cure the world of world hunger. In all seriousness, I want to help Millennials learn to manage their money better. Most of us received approximately zero help from our schooling in this regards, and have no clue what we’re doing. Some have never ever seen a functioning budget! By helping young people manage their money, we can create a stronger and more stable economy going forward if people start to understand the implications of their financial decisions. Some of my other popular posts are:

• My review of Camp Mustache 2016 (http://www.fierymillennials.com/camp-mustache-2016) (I highly recommend you go!).
• My Ten Year Plan (http://www.fierymillennials.com/my-10-year-plan) and the update for 2016 (http://www.fierymillennials.com/my-10-year-plan-2016-update), hitting the big $100k Milestone (http://www.fierymillennials.com/mega-milestone-100k).
• My impressions of the Google FI phone plan (http://www.fierymillennials.com/google-project-fi-review).

1500 Days is about early retirement. Do you have early retirement dreams? At what age do you think you will retire?

My goal is to be retired by the time I’m 35. As I am on the cusp of turning 26, this gives me slightly less than ten years to accomplish it. So far, I’m slightly ahead of schedule thanks to the strong market in 2016. After I’m retired, I plan to enjoy spending more time outside in the sunshine and fresh air, focusing more on my crafty/creative hobbies and giving back to society through volunteering with various organizations.

Money, money, money

Did you grow up with money? How did your money situation growing up influence you?

I did not grow up with money. In fact, we grew up with basically no money. My family lived in Section 8 housing, got free breakfast and lunch at school, and relied on food stamps. That changed when I was 6 and my mom got married to my stepdad. We moved from the ghetto to the rich suburb of a different city with the best schools in the state. I experienced just enough of poverty that I remember what it was like and have zero desire to be back in that situation. I really hated being poor and not being able to afford anything (which was light up shoes back then).

Random silliness

I notice a lot of frugal people are into board games – what is your favorite?

My favorite board game is definitely Monopoly. I love the strategy behind crushing my friends and family into bankruptcy. It’s weird no one will play with me anymore. I wonder why?

What is the best thing you’ve read lately?

I’ve been re-reading the Harry Potter series (for the umpteenth time) in preparation of seeing the new Harry Potter play in London! Still one of the best series ever written in my opinion.

My friend recently introduced me to m and I’ve gotten a kick out of playing it as well. It’s less ruthless than Monopoly by far.

What is your favorite style of beer – and what is your favorite beer in that style?

I’m gluten-intolerant and beer does bad things to me. However, I absolutely love  hard ciders. My current favorite is J.K.’s Scrumpy Cider. I’ve also really gotten into various kinds of mead lately, although those can be more expensive so I don’t get to drink as much mead as I’d like.

What is the best money management or investment tool you have come across?

I love Mint! It really helped me control my spending in the beginning. I also appreciate getting a quick look at all my accounts in one place. Recently, though, I’ve also been spending a lot of time on the OnTrajectory website playing around with my numbers. I love to see the pretty pictures they come up with.

If blogging isn’t your full time gig, what is?

I work for a global corporation as an IT Analyst. I test the changes people make to the databases. Yes, that means I’m a nerd and I’m proud of it 🙂

Tell us about you

Do you enjoy writing?

I do enjoy writing. One of my sisters has her B.A. in English, so she was always pushing me to write better. I also received an excellent education (both k-12 and in college) that further helped my hone my writing skills. Now that I have an IT job, writing serves as a creative outlet from the boring hum drum of sitting in front of a computer and coding for 8 hours a day.

What post are you most proud of and why?

I’m pretty proud of my 2015 Review and what it represents (http://www.fierymillennials.com/2015-year-end-review/). 2015 was a huge year for me. I traveled to the Chautauqua in Ecuador and met a lot of cool FI people, I (almost) doubled my net worth, and I started a new job. I’m really excited that I got to share such a good year with everyone!

Thanks Gwen for contributing! Keep kicking ass!

Be sure to follow her on Facebook, Twitter and at Fiery Millennials.