Better know a Blogger: Featuring WalletSquirrel. Double Trouble Edition
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be featuring some of my favorite bloggers and try to shed some light on their personal lives, investing philosophies and more.
I hope you have been enjoying the previous interviews. You can view them on my blogroll page HERE
Welcome to Volume 4 of “Better Know A Blogger”!
Today I will be featuring Adam & Andrew from Wallet Squirrel. That’s right – today you get 2 for the price of 1. These guys have set out to create a 10 million dollar portfolio from strictly side hustle income. No that is not a typo! Are they crazy? I’ll let you decide after reading their answers.
I’ve broken down my questions into 4 sections:
- Personal Info
- Financial Info
- Deep Thoughts
- Lightning Round
Without further ado…I’d like to introduce you to Adam & Andew from WalletSquirrel
Name: Adam Olson
Age: 32
Where do you live: Denver, CO
Tell me something awesome about your city: It is a Mile High (by altitude not because of the legal marijuana)
What do you do for a living: Data and Analytics
Are you married: Yes
Do you have any Kids: Yes, an 18-month-old boy.
Pets: Yes, a Siberian Husky
Website: walletsquirrel.com
Twitter: @walletsquirrel
Why do you blog: To learn more about and better my own personal finances. Then to share my personal experiences with the readers so they do not have to reinvent the wheel.
What is the best thing you’ve ever published: https://walletsquirrel.com/18-lies-making-you-broke/
Name: Andrew Kraemer
Age: 31
Where do you live: Denver, CO
Tell me something awesome about your city: It’s a very athletic city, you can wear athletic gear into pretty much any store or restaurant and people think it’s normal. That’s pretty cool!
What do you do for a living: Marketing at an Architecture Firm
Are you married: Nope, I have a girlfriend though. Our relationships just isn’t contractualized yet.
Do you have any Kids: Negitive Ghost Rider
Pets: I have a plant, it’s a fern. I call him Steve some days.
Website: walletsquirrel.com
Twitter: @walletsquirrel
Why do you blog: There is this whole world of finance I never knew about growing up. People are terrified to talk about money so I missed out on so much! Now that I’m learning there’s more to life than a 8-5 job, and I’m finding new ways to make money and I share my stories about what does/doesn’t work.
In your opinion – what is the best thing you’ve ever published (link): Good question! I’d say https://walletsquirrel.com/what-happens-to-debt-when-you-die/
Why do you invest/What is your ultimate financial goal: To pay off all of our debt.
What will you do in retirement: Travel and pick my photography back up (adamolsonphotography.com)
What % of your salary do you invest/save each year: 20% plus we are aggressive in paying off our debt
Do you invest in funds or individual stocks & why: Right now, we use Betterment to manage our portfolio which invests our money in a variety of funds and stocks. We do this because we do not have time to research the market ourselves right now and find that Betterment offers the service/performance best for our money.
If I gave you $10,000 right now to invest in 1 stock – what would you pick & why: Right now in my life I need a something conservative so I would probably pick one of the giant tech companies like Google, Apple, or maybe Amazon.
Andrew’s Responses
When did you start investing: Ugh, I think age 28. I’m a late bloomer.
How long until you will be financially free (won’t NEED to work): I need to make $12,000 monthly on WS till I can say I’m financially free and go full time blogging.
What will you do in retirement: Psh, Retire. I plan on blogging forever!
Do you share your holdings/portfolio? If so – What is your current portfolio value: All the time on WalletSquirrel.com, my current stock portfolio (all dividends) is $5,400. That seems low, I can do better.
Do you share your net worth? If so what is your current net worth: I do! It used to seem like an odd thing to share, but it opens a lot of great conversations. I’m worth less than when I was born at -$32,000. Oh student loans….
What % of your salary do you invest/save each year: Good question, I just dump all my extra money every month into my stock portfolio. I should calculate that as a percent.
Do you invest in funds or individual stocks & why: Individual stocks that produce dividends. I don’t like the idea of selling things to make money. I rather hold long term and live off the interest/dividends.
If I gave you $10,000 right now to invest in 1 stock – what would you pick & why: I’d probably pick Adobe (ADBE). It’s not a dividend stock, but has practically no competition. It’ll likely be bought by Apple down the road.
Adam’s Responses
Is there a God: Yes
When you die, what is 1 thing you hope people think of/remember you for: Caring
Do you vote? Who did you last vote for: Yes, not Trump or Hillary
What do you think the next big technological advance will be: Something hidden away in Elon Musk’s head.
What is the single biggest threat to humanity: Greed
What are you most proud of & why: My wife, she never ceases to amaze me with what she is able to accomplish. Plus she is able to stay sane while being married to me 😛
If you knew you only had 1 year to live – how would you spend it: With my family & travelling.
What is one thing most people don’t do – but everybody SHOULD do to make the world a better place: Take care of the resources we have left.
Andrew’s Responses
Is there a God: Yes
When you die, what is 1 thing you hope people think of/remember you for: Someone who beat the rat race
What do you think the next big technological advance will be: Energy related
What is the single biggest threat to humanity: Complacency
What are you most proud of & why: An insane and at times, incomprehensible optimism about everything
If you knew you only had 1 year to live – how would you spend it: With my family & travelling. (I agree with Adam)
What is one thing most people don’t do – but everybody SHOULD do to make the world a better place: Replace curse words with “Gibbidy Gook” or “Fla ah la la, Lah Lah la”
Adam in Blue. Andrew in Red.
Favorite Movie: Anything Marvel. Get Shorty
Favorite TV Show: Silicon Valley. Doctor Who(I’m a huge nerd)
Favorite book: Pacific Crucible. The Alchemist
First Job: De-tasseling corn in the fields of Iowa. Post hole digging for a construction firm. It was brutal but I used my first paycheck to buy a guitar.
Have you ever been fired: No. No.
Which website do you spend the most time on: Facebook. Flipboard
Favorite Cocktail: I only drink Beer. Margaritas
Favorite Beer: Anything by Weldworks. Can I say Margaritas again
Favorite Sports Team: Denver Broncos. Denver Broncos
Have you ever been arrested? No. No.
Dogs or Cats: Dogs. Dogs
Does your spouse/partner read your blog: No. No
How often do you check your portfolio (be honest): Daily. Daily. Sometimes 5x/Day
How often do you check your website stats (be honest): Too Much. Ugh, sometimes I just leave them up and watch them. It’s sad. I should get out more.
**Bonus question submitted by my wife (I asked her what ONE question I should ask):
What do you put on your hotdog: Ketchup, mustard, onion, Relish. Ketchup & Mustard
If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming “Better know a blogger” piece, or have any specific questions you’d like to ask others in the community let me know!
3 Comments on “Better know a Blogger: Featuring WalletSquirrel. Double Trouble Edition”
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Hey Guus, great to see you here on the interview series! Have been to your website a few times in the past weeks. You gave me the idea to investigate IRM!
Alas 2/4 with an arrest record :p
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Another good interview and another good blog. Thanks Jordan, Andrew and Adam. Tom
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