This tag has been floating around the pf blogger community on other people’s sites so I thought I would chime in as well.

1) How did you come up with your blog name?

Coming up with the name Caviar & Quarters actually took a really long time. When I had a blogspot account it was savingsofia, but that sounded like it had less to do with finance and more to do with religion. Plus I kept reading it as, savings of fia. So I changed it to sofinancial but it was taken at the time. Then I recruited Matlock and her Dad to help me brainstorm names before FinCon12 and we came up with caviarandquarters. I don’t think I live too lavishly at all. I am not the kind of person who buys brands like Chanel, Dior, Gucci (brands that might be associated with caviar-type things). I do like some nicer things in life (manicures, techy gadgets, nice clothes, traveling and good food) but I don’t want to spend more than I have to, for that item.

2) Which bloggers inspired you when you first started writing?

Get Rich Slowly

Serendipity’s Guide to Savings

Give Me Back My Five Bucks

Graduated Learning 

Always the Planner

Fiscally Chic

BeachGirls’ Blog

Stacking Pennies

 3) Why write about finance?

Growing up I never had to worry about money. My Dad supported us comfortably and my Mom always reminded us how hard he worked to do that. I also  grew up  without the experience of getting an allowance. If I wanted something I would ask for it and sometimes my parents would say yes, and sometimes no- although most of the time I didn’t ask, just because it was awkward. My mom is pretty frugal, so I usually knew what her answer was going to be if I wanted something I didn’t really need (no). Overall, I didn’t need to to worry about handling money because I didn’t have any of my own. It would have been a good experience for me to make mistakes when I was much younger than start learning about finances in my early 20s. I started writing about finances right after my last day of work back in 2011. Although  I was living with my parents and not paying rent, I was financially in the red, which was not good.  I was unemployed had time and it was a topic that was on my mind a lot so I thought a good way to channel that energy was to blog about it. It was a good outlet and I didn’t feel alone, being unemployed and in debt.

4a) What do you enjoy most about blogging?

I like documenting things. The human memory can be very blurry and sometimes not even dependable enough to recall events. When it comes my finances documenting is the only way I can really be accountable, whether it’s sharing my expenses with the interwebs or just writing for myself. Of course I enjoy the personal finance community; yes I could write a diary and keep it to myself about my finances, but what fun would that be. I am always open to feedback. Yes I would love if I had my more readers, but for now I am happy with the community I had joined and help create in the PF world. I also like creating my own brand within my blog.

4b) What do you enjoy least about blogging?

I wish I knew more about wordpress and creating blogs from scratch. Luckily I have a lot of support in the pF community when it comes to the tech aspect of blogging, but I wish I could do it on my own, from creating my own header, email list or buttons. I would love to be more tech savvy, rather than paying someone else to do it for me- sometimes I just don’t know where to begin when it comes to back end tasks.

5) What’s the most helpful piece of advice you have learned from reading other PF blogs?

Advice about blogging? Keep writing. You can only get better if you add content. Advice about money: track your expenses.

6) In terms of finance, what is your main focus at the moment?

My main focus is getting my finances organized and getting out of debt.

7) If you could give your younger self financial advice, what would it be?

I would tell myself: Do NOT open that credit card in college and do not open any accounts with Bank of America.

8) Who in your real life knows about your blog?

Most of my friends know but not people at work and my family also doesn’t know I have a blog. They don’t like the idea of me ‘leaving my dirty laundry’ for the world to see, so I am pretty sure what they would think if they knew I was blogging.

9) Does your real job have anything to do with finance or money?  Nope.

10) What’s the first thing you would do if you won a million dollars?

• I would pay off any loans I had, any loans Matlock had and any loans my parents currently have for my education and my siblings’. I am estimating that leaves me with $500,000 left.
• A charitable gift to 5 non-profit organizations- still thinking of which ones
• I would then create a savings account for my siblings of $50,000 that they can access when they are 30 (I have three siblings). That is at least 5 plus years from now, so until then let’s allow that sum of money grow to grow investments until then. ($150,000)
• I would pay off my current car and purchase a car that had 4 wheel drive, heated seats and a sun roof in cash (limit $40,000)
• Organize a trip for my parents to South America ($20,000)
• Pay for my sister’s wedding ($50, 000)
• Go on a $50,000 shopping spree for Matlock and myself
• Save the rest or put it in investments.

Do you have any questions for me? Ask below!

Also, I tag ALL of you! Either run and make your own posts or answer some of the questions in the comments below.