I spent about $2,300 eating out and going out with
friends last month.
I definitely, absolutely went over my budget, but for
me, it was all about kind of having that experience.
My name is Lenerson Pyrrhus, but everyone calls
me Lenny. I'm 26 years old.
I make $130,000 a year.
And I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For me. I actually grew up in a Caribbean household, so
we were very frugal.
And, you know, my dad definitely tried to instill
in me not only understanding the value of
money, but definitely, you know, not spend too much and
make sure, you know, I stay humble.
So for me, I used to have really terrible financial
habits coming into school.
I remember that first time you walk into the cafeteria
and there's a table where they're offering credit
cards. And for me, you know, not knowing any
better, starting up in school, you know, I went to
one of those tables and I picked up a credit card.
You know, luckily, you know, because I was a
college student, they gave me a terrible, really low
limit. So I really couldn't splurge or do anything dumb.
Just one day I was watching YouTube and I see Millennial
Money come up and I see a guy that actually lived in
my area that was looking to actually be debt free
by the age of 30. And that inspired me.
I was like, I want to definitely change my
trajectory and definitely, you know, get some type of
financial, you know, freedom.
I would like to describe my financial habits as
balanced. I like to kind of really take the philosophy
of really making sure I pay myself first and whatever I
need to take care of, whether it's my student
loan, whether it's investment opportunities.
So, you know, just my fixed expenses, then I have a lot
more variable expenses.
So the last part of my budget is called, you know,
have fun where I really kind of take that time to,
you know, enjoy myself to spend on different things,
especially when it comes to going out with my friends
hanging out.
I definitely spent a little bit too much on, you know,
going out with friends, but it was well worth it.
I like doing boulder climbing right on my street.
There's actually a place called the Boulder Lounge,
so I go at least twice every couple of weeks and I
definitely, you know, try to enjoy myself and kind of
like, you know, train up so I could be able to climb all
the way to the tops and try different challenges.
My grandmother's name was actually Mercedes.
And, you know, she was like, Hey, Lenny, when you
grow up, you know, you got to get in Mercedes, you
know, and you got to name it after me.
So I always used to joke with her about that.
I'm currently financing it right now and I pay about
$495 a month on it.
Our budget around $350 a month to kind of pay that
down. And I typically try to take the strategy of, you
know, paying down one loan at a time.
So I have two credit cards and both of their limits are
$5,000 each.
My big financial goal for next year is to definitely
cut down my student loans by half.
I'm looking to go from $30,000 of student loans to
$15,000 in student loans.
And I'm also looking to eliminate all of my credit
card debt. The most important thing I've learned
about money is really not to, you know, put too much
emotion into money.
I think a lot of times, you know, people look at money,
you know, as almost a saving grace.
And sometimes, you know, you have to kind of look at
money as really a tool to get you to the next step.
And, you know, however you feel about money one way or
the other, it's not going to change.
You know what it could do for you, your family and
your friends?