“My Story”

How J. Money became J. Money:

• Went looking for a 2 bedroom apartment to rent in 2007
• Got lost and ended up buying a $350,000 house on a whim 48 hours later and with no money down
• Didn’t have a budget so went searching online…
• Came across the blogging world and fell in love with “real life” examples and transparency
• Started BudgetsAreSexy.com anonymously to have fun and be held more accountable
• Site unexpectedly took off and started making money (20,000,000+ views / $1,000,000+ made)
• Became a full-time professional and self-employed blogger
• Increased personal net worth from $50,000 to $700,000
• Won 12 industry awards, including Blog of The Year and Lifetime Achievement
• Named a Top “Social Influencer” in personal finance & wealth
• Constantly featured in the media: Forbes, New York Times, Kiplinger, Entrepreneur, Business Insider
• Became a Blogging Coach
• Became a Money Coach
• Became a Fintech Advisor and Judge (Digit.co/FinCon Fintech Competition)
• Launched a year-long philanthropy project raising $90,000+ of cash and goods via online micro-donations (and filmed a la Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to show what generosity looks like)
• Launched Rockstar Finance – a financial community/platform/directory of tools and resources with 5,000,000+ views and named one of Business Insider’s “go-to websites for money advice”
• Turned down a million dollar offer to be bought out
• So fortunate to be doing what he loves every day and for the wild twist of fate!

Topics he’s currently passionate about:

• Tracking net worth
• Side hustles!
• Lifestyle (money is a tool for living!)
• F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early)
• Harnessing your emotions to improve your finances
• TAKING ACTION vs just thinking/reading/learning all the time

Personal facts:

• Daddy of two (soon to be three)
• Lives in the D.C. area
• Coin collector and rap lover
• Rocks a ‘hawk
• Overall positive person
• Dreamer and experimenter
• Loves connecting the online world with the “real” world