Blog — Sisters for Financial Independence

“A map tells you where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going — in a sense it’s three tenses in one.”

Two Millennials

I’m not a fan of the word “Millennial.” Perhaps, it’s the negative associations that’s been attached to the word or perhaps it’s because I struggle to identify with the traits of a “Millennial.” Time Magazine once defined Millennials as “lazy, entitled, self-obsessed narcissists who still live with their parents.” Far from it. According to Pew Research, Millennials are those born between 1981–1997. According to this range, I would be considered an older millennial or as Iliza Shlesinger likes to call us #eldermillenials. My youngest sister, who is 13 years my junior, is also considered a Millennial. How can that be? We are a generation apart. We grew up in completely different times. I grew up when the internet was just starting up, when AOL was our first entry into the World Wide Web. I had my first cell phone at the age of nineteen. She on the other hand had a cell phone by the time she was in middle school. The internet was already on its way to booming with the dotcome bubble right around the corner. With 13 years between us, our financial goals are completely different yet we take similar approaches to our finances. Some days, I do feel like a nagging parent offering and telling her financial advice that she may not be ready to hear, but as the oldest sister, I feel like it’s my responsibility to share some of my knowledge so that she doesn’t have to go through the trial and error of money management.

Two Different Money Maps

Today, I thought it might be interesting to share our money maps. Basically, this is a snapshot of how we handle our money and where it’s going. Money maps provide a quick visual into the flow of your money. For someone with many accounts, this can be a good way to track and ensure things are in the right place. Money maps can and should change over time. As your money goals change, your money map should change with you.

There’s certainly a lot of personal advice that applies to everyone and there’s some that are very specific as you age. Advice that applies to everyone

Spend less than you earn.
Invest what you save.
Invest for retirement.
Negotiate your salary.

Of course there are key differences to how my sister and I grew up (even though we come from the same household) that has impacted the way we think, view and manage money. For me, I was the first in the family to go to college in the U.S. which meant I had to navigate the system of college tours, FAFSA and loans kind of by myself. I didn’t have a clue about finances when I was about to enter college, while in college and a few years after. The internet was still very new then and there’s wasn’t much information on how to pay for college. At this time too, in-state college tuition wasn’t as much as it is today. Our parents were pretty generous in that they did help to pay partially for our college education. For her, she had both my other sister and I to learn from, plus the internet. It’s important to consider that access AND availability of information can be a factor into how we learn about money.

I thankfully had a job secured before graduation. She did as well. Her salary was the same as my salary from the mid-2000s. There’s definitely a bit of wage stagnation there especially as the price of other goods has risen relatively to wages.

When she graduated, my parents retired and sold our childhood home so she had no choice but to rent out an apartment in NJ, close to NYC. I spent 2 years at home post-college while working full-time and going to graduate school part-time, paying $500 in rent to my parents. Having my old childhood home to return certainly provided a bit of financial security for me and the opportunity to save and pay down debts faster.

For her, she grew up with technology at her fingertips. There are now so many investment platforms that don’t require a high minimum that anyone who desires to invest early can do so with as little as $1. That I think is an advantage. She never desired to drive so a car wasn’t as important to her. Uber and Lyft were already prevalent by the time she was in high school so the costs of a car were not in her consideration. For me, a car helped me find some freedom. With that freedom was also the cost. I brought a brand new car for work 2 weeks after graduating from college with my parents help and with the help of the sign-on bonus I received. Monthly payments + insurance + gas ate a chunk of my paycheck in the early days. I grew up during the Sex & The City days so a good part of my pay was also on going out and having cocktails. I shudder to think how much I spent on pricey Cosmopolitans back in the day.

My goal for showcasing these two different money maps is to show you that not all millennials handle their money the same way. There’s going to be some variation. It’s important to review all of the personal finance advice that lumps millennials all in one place. I encourage you to really look into all personal finance advice and figure out which one truly fits your needs and goals. Also, try to keep your money management process simple. Take advantage of automation.

Money Map - Younger Millennial - Elaine

Graduated in 2019 with $30K in debt
Had a job offer in an engineering firm before graduation (architect)
Lived on campus while pursuing a graduate degree
Currently renting an apartment in NJ, close to NYC metro
No car
Currently one year out of school, working full-time since graduation

Money Map - Older Millennial - Catherine

Graduated college in 2005, few years before the recession with $20K in student loan debt
Had a job offer in IT before graduation
Bought a brand new car for post-college job
Lived at home while pursuing a graduate degree paid for by her employer
Paid partial rent while living with parents
Currently married with 1 child

I wanted to share this money map as part of a couple to showcase how finances CAN change when you get married. In our scenario though, my partner and I don’t have a complicated setup. We’ve stuck to our existing accounts prior to getting married and just added a joint account and joint credit cards where our expenses go. I started a 529 account when we first got married and transferred that under the baby’s name when she was born. This allowed us to get started on her future education early. You can read more about why I did that on this post: Why I Opened a 529 Account Before I Even Had Kids. Opening this account had more to do with my mindset and my want for future kids. Not all millennials may be in this boat, but it’s always important to plan ahead for the things that are likely to happen like saving for retirement or a wedding. My husband and I have also taken advantages of credit cards which has helped us travel a bit so majority of our expenses are there. To be frank, I got myself into a bit of credit card debt a few years after college, mostly due to an extreme lifestyle change: moving out of my parents home, spending excessively on going on and keeping around a car that I didn’t need. Never again though.

At this point, everything is automated. I use Personal Capital and plug in both my husband’s info and my accounts so we can see the overlap in spending and investments.

I’m no longer in corporate as I am venturing into my own so my retirement account has been rolled over though I am no longer contributing to that account. We maximize my husband’s 401K and both of our IRAs. My husband and I manage our own separate brokerage accounts. We have different investing strategies under this account so it’s best we kept it separate. We are former condo owners, but have sold our home and will wait a few years to buy a new one.

Your Money Map

Have you done a money map exercise before?

This certainly was an interesting one to do.

There are multiple way to do so. A simple PowerPoint diagram would probably work. I used Canva to create these, but I’ve seen ones done using a Sankey Diagram that can show you the flow rates relative to each other. Try it out and let me know if it helps you get a better picture of all of your financial accounts.

Will my younger sister’s money map look like mine in the next few years. Maybe? But that all depends on certain factors. I think the goal is not to make it look the same, but to chart it in a way that makes sense to her, after all, it’s her money. Who knows what kind of other investments she will hold since she’s learning so much early on. ;)