10 Things You Don’t Know About My Finances: Lucky Editor in Chief Brandon Holley

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Brandon HolleyHere at LearnVest we don't shy away from asking all those awkward and fascinating money questions. How much did that cost you? Do you have a big investment account? What's a secret splurge you haven't told anyone else about?

In our new series, 10 Things You Don't Know About My Finances, we get interesting people to reveal their funny, head-scratching and refreshing approaches to finance.

Last time, LearnVest's editor in chief Maria Lin told us everything from what she's most proud of to her most awkward money moment.

This time, we sat down with Brandon Holley who first came to New York City to be a writer and rose to become the editor in chief of magazines including ELLEgirl, Jane and, now, Lucky. But that's not all: She's also a wife and mother and, therefore, an obsessive budgeter!

Click on the first photo below to hear why she spent a year living on $10 a day, her favorite Etsy buy and the type of shopping that truly terrifies her.

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  • Hollye1986

    That had little to do with living on $10 a day. Many of us are forced to do this as students, moms, and some just to invest and grow. I dare Learnvest to write a REAL 10 step article on how to live on $10 a day, not just what some editor of some magazine splurges on consistently.

    • Charlotte Orzel

      True that.

      • Mistysjunk

        My thoughts exactly.  This isn’t the first time the subject line has been misleading to me.  If it keeps happening, I am going to unsubscribe.

  • Baycis

    I thought ten dollars a day meant trying to only spend ten dollars a day, in the real world outside of magazine editor’s lots of people are living on ten dollars a day because they have to. This article was such a waste of time for those who researched and wrote, and for me who read it.

  • Kirsten Peterson

    Wow.  Join the real world.  

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Susan-Bewley/100000644207137 Susan Bewley

    Very misleading. Didn’t even bother reading it after skimming. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kaye-Lin-Baker/100002248416712 Kaye Lin Baker

    Very disappointing.  I’m looking for tips on how to save from REAL people w/REAL lives. Who wouldn’t love to budget in $10 a day for yourself?–not something I can do right now. I pack lunch everyday, except for Wednesday & Saturday, when I eat lunch out w/my hubby. I don’t stop anywhere for coffee or breakfast or snacks–if I want it, I bring it from home.

  • Anonymous

    This article is so out of touch it’s frightening!  Unless, of course, LearnVest is aiming for those ladies lucky enough to be in Brandon’s position .  Disappointing!  NEWSFLASH:  how about a simple story of how a woman is putting her husband through college, living on a total household income of only $40k, and managing to save a $10,000 emergency fund in less than 3 years.  THAT”S REAL LIFE!!!  Get with the program.  This isn’t a fashion magazine!

    PS
    That woman is me! 

    • http://senseofcents.blogspot.com/ Michelle

      You sound very similar to me!

      • Suzzanna Amanzio

        I’m in a similar situation as well. sf98. Times are tough. I don’t want to hear about how you splurge on a handbag  – I want to learn how to budget what I have, and  learn about strategies to save money.

    • Karenlee_Ray

      i want to hear how you are doing it! that’s amazing!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=621845792 Maria Morgan

    I think I will stick to Real Simple for tips on how to save money.  They offer more realistic solutions.  I find that LearnVest tends to profile the same kinds of people over and over, and is a bit detached from the reality of today’s economic situation.

  • jenmoney

    I think some of you need to lighten up. I like reading about how other people handle their money. Even if its just to compare because their lives aren’t just like mine. so this woman has a good job. good for her. what about going to the farmer’s market and eating at home every night is so out of touch? 

  • guest

    half a million dollars for a year of school? I’m a NY’er as well, and I know Private schools are expensive, but that is INSANE. Clearly, she doesn’t NEED to live on a  budget if shes ok with paying that for freaking grade school. Talk about pretentious!

    • Britt

      I think she was talking about college – She mentioned finding the calculations for tye year 2026.  That’s a long way off so I’m thinking her son will be out of grade school by then

  • Abby

    This had NOTHING to do with living on $10 a day.  There were no tips, helpful hints, or inspirational tid-bits.  What a waste.  

  • Carrie@LearnVest

    Thanks for your comments. We really appreciate your feedback. At LearnVest, we realize that everyone’s money situation is unique, and we like to provide insight into how women of all backgrounds handle their money. We do plan to profile women with various financial situations, so in fact, we think sf98 might make a fantastic next profile for our reader issue of “10 Financial Things You Don’t Know About Me.” SF, let us know if you’d be interested in speaking with an editor about a potential story on your financial tips.

    • Bellabear10023

      I appreciate that you will profile women with other financial situations, but I’d really love it if you’d give honest teasers…how to live on $10 a day was a total mis-lead, a bit of “switch and bait” advertising if you will!

  • Patricia

     I was looking for an article about saving and being thrifty not an  editor in chief’s personal finances.  Odds are we are in different financial brackets and the article is meaninless to me.

  • Pinkfuzzyslippers

    P U

  • Gjack71

    Why is this a slideshow? Not only is the info not that useful or interesting, but it’s presented as a pageview-grab too? Bad user experience. Boo.

  • Aloha

    Article really had no point and came across to me as very amateurish. Looks like Carrie was so excited to write about her idol that she put together a lame article with a misleading title, which seems to have annoyed the majority… and making it a “slideshow” to create more page clicks? Shameful to drag out this waste of time.
    Why bother giving it that title if it wasn’t the main focus of the article? LearnVest, this isn’t the first time. If it continues you’re going to lose your readership.

  • Djkuips

    no sense at all   unsubscribe me

  • TrooprThrn

    The subject of the email said “How to live on $10 a day”.   Where is that article? 

    This website is clear as mud.  I’m starting to agree with the other comments that this is useless.

  • Suzanne

    Funny reading the comments below. I found this article interesting and insightful. It’s good to know others are frugal too. I like that she lives frugally for a year to save up for a down payment. Great salary advice too about projecting into the future especially if you see yourself staying for a long time.

  • Donna

    This is the third time I was intrigued by a headline and left dissappointed.  No content – No relevancy to the headline.  Unsubscribe

    • Voodoochild2012

      Amen! I really wanted to read about someone who has crafted a life living on $10, so I could enhance my budget with it.  What a disappointment.

  • http://theWardrobeCode.com Nicole Longstreath

    Her life sounds wonderful. I suppose it’s something to consider as motivation – the ability to splurge on expensive handbags. I do have to agree, however, that good craftsmanship usually nets years of wear.

  • FancyFace125T

    This site is a JOKE … very misleading. Unsubscribing :(

  • Redheadquarters

    I enjoyed reading the comments, more than the article. I actually didn’t finish the article.

  • Mary

    I don’t think you’re in touch with the reality for a lot of people outside of NYC.  You’ve got to be kidding.  Half a million dollars for Smith’s school?  I know a lot of people here who can’t afford school supplies for their kids in public schools.  This nauseating article has made me realize I don’t belong on your mailing list.

  • skittycat

    This story was about as far from the email’s pitch “how to live on $10 a day” as you can get.  Clearly Brandon Holley is one ‘lucky’ lady who has expensive taste but knows how to save when she needs to.  Not a very helpful article for those of us looking for a self-help piece.  I too got more entertainment out of reading the comments than the story itself!  

  • af82

    I generally really like LV, but have to agree with a few of the comments here. The headline was misleading (I was hoping to snag some tips on how to live on $10 a day too…), and the slide shows are getting really annoying. They’re great for some things, but for that many re-loads, it better be worth the wait (esp. on a smartphone). This one wasn’t. It’s fine to feature well to do women from time to time, esp. since you aim to cover all aspects of women’s finances, but at least make your headlines a bit truer to form. This felt like false advertising. 

  • jpmk

    Hi, I’m a LearnVest addict, but you totally dropped the ball on this one.  Can you start a ‘Real Women With Real Money’ section?  SF98 would make a great first candidate! 

  • unhappy_time_wasted

    please change the slide-show format!  it is slow and time consuming to have to click and wait for pictures to load.  In fact, skip the pictures!  A good picture could be worth a thousand words; but in this case, they are WORTHLESS.

  • frugal momma

    Let me add my “totally sucked” to all the others. What the h*ll did any of this have to do with living on $10 a day?  What a bunch of crap! Talk about REAL people living REAL lives if you want to keeps your subscribers!  Want some real ideas folks…go to real simple or dollar stretcher. 

  • Gigagrrl76

    This article could have been interesting if it had the appropriate title. I was incredibly disappointed to open up my email expecting to find ways on money management as the title implied only to find an article about the editor of Lucky magazine and how she manages her (much higher than my own) income. I cannot even afford $200 a week for groceries, let alone luxury purses. Please make your stories more of a focus on living frugally, as your site implies its focus is on.

  • Carol Harris

    All of these articles were interesting, however I wanted to know how they did it; not that they just “did it”.

  • Anonymous

    Wow, $10 a day! That takes incredible diligence and willpower — very impressive. I am curious to know how much she budgeted weekly for things like groceries. Very interesting concept though! ~Social Media Manager for Pawngo, the pawn shop reimagined

  • Melody

    Totally baffled by the comments. This story was exactly what it purported to be — an inside look at one person’s finances, which — surprise! — aren’t your finances. So maybe I don’t spend $500 a week on groceries here in Texas, but I still think it’s interesting to hear about one person who does — not to mention inspiring to see that even someone who grew up financially clueless now knows how to wrangle her finances with the best of them. I’d love to see more stories like this on women of all income levels. Great job, LearnVest!

  • Marianne

    Brandon, thank you for this. My parents didn’t teach me how to save money either–and my daughter definitely has a toy cash register! I do have a question: how would you define a money-rexic?

  • Yohayes

    I just discovered this website in my InStyle magazine and I’m so totally hooked!! I’ve been looking for something like this and I like the fact that I can track my spending habits, get great deals!! I’ve already shared with family & friends!!