Keeping Up With The Bulls is a personal finance blog focused on helping people grow their network by making more money, saving money and investing money. But, who is the person behind the blog?
This blog is written by one person. I am a female in my 30s and currently reside in the midwest. I work full time in the technology industry and have been in the industry for almost 10 years. I’m currently in business operations but have also worked in marketing and program management. I majored in business in undergrad and also have my MBA. Additionally, I’ve been investing in the stock market for almost 15 years and have had a budget since high school.
Why This Personal Finance Blog Was Started
After I finished my MBA I wasn’t sure what to do with all my free time. Â I had gone part time while working full time and graduating gave me back at least 20 hours a week. Since I paid the tuition bills in full I was able to graduate debt free and I now had more money to invest. I tried being a landlord and that didn’t really work out and I was already well versed in stocks. I started looking into REITs and investing in private companies but most of the information I found was around being frugal to save money. When I did find information about investing it seemed to be more geared toward men. There seemed to be a gap in information available about investing and growing your net worth for women. I figured why not start my own blog?
Investing Experience
I’ve been investing in the stock market for almost 15 years. It’s primarily boring investing I buy stocks for the long term and some of them pay dividends. I do meet quarterly with a financial advisor but I also invest quite a bit on my own. In addition to my brokerage account I have a 401(k), Roth IRA, RSUs and have participated in ESPP in the past. At one point I tried to be a landlord and have real estate investments but I realized it was significantly more effort than I expected and I sold it. I also own a few REITs and keep my savings in a high yield savings account. My first investment in a startup was two years ago and I hope to have the opportunity to invest in several more startups.
Saving Money Experience
In order to invest and create passive income, you need to have money. The first thought should always be how can I increase my income and the second question how can I save money? I realize that investing in yourself to demand a higher income takes time, and in the short term your best bet to free up money for investing is by saving money.
My first few years out of college I was pretty frugal and tracked my spending religiously. I continuously clipped coupons and looked for the best deals. As my income grew though, my approach had to change. It didn’t make sense to spend that much time saving a few dollars. I needed to focus on saving hundreds or thousands of dollars. As a result, most of my tips on saving money and being smart with spending here focus on saving $100 or more.
Blog Goals
My goal for this blog is to help people generate more wealth. That may be through their career, through investing, through smarter spending or a combination of all. If you’re interested in my metrics goals for this blog I include all my goals for 2020 in my recap of one year of blogging about personal finance.