Living On $46K A Year In Denver | Millennial Money
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Published 2020-08-06
This is an installment of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which profiles people around the world and details how they earn, spend and save their money.
Read more about his budget breakdown here: cnb.cx/3ia2TKY
In order to support her kids, “my mom has always had a side hustle,” Flores-Muñoz tells CNBC Make It. “When I was younger, I sometimes felt a little bit embarrassed of the work that my mom was doing. To me, all of that felt like we were doing it out of necessity, and it really didn’t click when I was younger that it was actually an entrepreneurial spirit that lived in my mom.”
Looking back, he realizes that much of his success in business today is thanks to her: “By her trying to survive, she was teaching me entrepreneurship traits.”
Ultimately, Flores-Muñoz sees entrepreneurship as a path to wealth, which is why he’s fine making a little bit less right now. While it can be difficult to move up the corporate ladder at a more standard 9-to-5 and negotiate raises, “I don’t see a cap with entrepreneurship.”
He pays himself a salary of $40,000 a year, but expects to make closer to $46,000 in 2020, thanks to side gigs. He gives talks at colleges and universities about how to start a business and turn a side hustle into a “main hustle.”
He also runs a sunglasses business, which he started in 2012 and is planning to pass on to his younger brother, and a button business, which he started during the 2017 Women’s March. He made custom buttons with messages like “Women’s rights are people’s rights” and sold them at various marches across the country. He made about $7,000 in profit, which he used to invest in the food truck. He still sells activism buttons at large political events once or twice a year, most recently in January 2020, when he sold them at a women’s march and turned a profit of $2,000.
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Living On $46K A Year In Denver | Millennial Money
All Comments (21)
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What’s your budget breakdown? Share your story with us for a chance to be featured in a future installment. cnb.cx/32TYZ2K
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Just visited his poké business. Staff was friendly and food was great. Definitely will be coming back :)
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Love this!! More of this type of profiles please. Can’t relate to $100k - $200k plus annual salaries all the time!
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These 'normal' salaries are always a breath of fresh air. 50% of all full time workers in the US earned 34k or less (Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2018), yet most of these videos are people earning 200k, 100k, 500k, etc as if that was a typical wage. It is nice to have more regular people with regular incomes instead to show how things are for most.
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He learned a lot from his Momma. They are both to be respected for their entrepreneurial spirit. We need more people like this in our country. Well done sir.
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Finally someone I can relate to, more profiles of people in this salary range please 👌🏼
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If you live in Denver, find and support his business!!
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THANK YOU CNBC MAKE IT for finally interviewing someone from our Latino Immigrant community! I love how realistic his expenses are and especially loved the laundry expense. So many of these videos showcase a lot of privilege just within the expenses a person has. The reality is that not many of us have in-home washers and dryers. Felicidades Alejandro por todo tus logros y por ser chamba! Sigue adelante siempre! 🇲🇽🇲🇽
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When he started to talk about his mother it felt VERY personal! I could relate 150% I also felt 'embarrassed' when my mom had side hustles and didn't click until I grew up and realize that it shaped me into the person I am. To see what a parent is willing to do to provide for their own and how important I meant to her.
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hearing him speak of his mom ..melted my heart . He is going to do well.
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Definitely going to Stoke's Poke whenever I visit Denver and support him! That food looks amazing!
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If I lived in Denver, I would support his business. This is the kind of millennial money I wanna see. This guy deserves to be in the US, he has the right spirit.
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He'll be rich one day.
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This is one of the best, if not, the best episodes you’ve made
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Wow, I live in Denver and will definitely visit his poke business. I really like this web series and looking into different American lifestyles. this episode was especially endearing to me not only as a fellow Coloradoan but because of Alejandro's sincerity, drive, and love of his family. I like seeing more people in the 30-90k range because it is more relatable than the 200k+ lifestyles from other episodes.
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Geeze finally they put someone who makes somewhat of an average salary
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I wish I could like this 1000 times . His story is so relatable and inspiring.
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What I really need to know is where he has this $620 studio in Denver. I need to know!
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I felt when he got emotional, speaking about his Mom and the lessons she taught him--you could tell he respects her greatly--he has a fire in his belly and is going to be a success no matter what he does--Good for him!
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You live directly across the street from me. I have encountered you once, and you were super sweet. When I see you again, I will introduce myself, and I will also be sure to regularly patronize your food truck. The food looks amazing! You are crushing it, by the way.
