An Interview with Green Panda Treehouse

It’s time to meet another member of the College Money Network. While I was a little disappointed to discover that Green Panda isn’t really a panda and doesn’t live in a treehouse, I still enjoy reading her great personal finance blog. It’d just be even more impressive if it were written by a panda living in a treehouse. All joking aside, I’d like to introduce you to Green Panda from Green Panda Treehouse.

1. Describe yourself in 10,000 words or less, preferably less.

I’m a happy college graduate living with my husband and a cat who sometimes believes he’s a dog. My internship and first job after college has been with operations planning and working with inventory management. I recently resigned because I hated how management ran their company.

As the oldest kid in my family I helped my mom balance the budget with one income. I’ve had paychecks where half (or more) went to help with the bills and I blew the other half. I wasn’t saving any of it.

I got a credit card in college and like many of my friends, I charged on it like crazy. At the same time I was financing college on my own through applying for grants and financial aid. I was smart with money on some things, but an idiot on others. I’m learning to treat money with more respect now.

2. What made you decide to start a personal finance blog?

My husband and I were saving bit by bit, but I was thinking about life after graduation. I was reading The Simple Dollar and Ramit’s PF Blog and I discovered that there are even better ways to save and reduce debt. I already had a blog I toyed with off and on, so I re-branded it as my PF blog and I started it July 2007.

3. What has surprised you the most about blogging?

The camaraderie and competition about bloggers. I’ve seen great generosity and I’ve seen petty teasing. Many, though, are good people and I am excited to learn from them.

4. What is the most important financial lesson you have learned from college?

I learned that thinking before buying is key. My friends that did well financially did it step by step, even with only the income of a part time job. They didn’t splurge their refund from the financial aid department. They saved it for a car (with no payments), an emergency fund, and even money to give them a cushion to find a job they love.

5. If you had to pick three of your favorite posts to share with a first time visitor, which would they be?

Wow, this was a lot harder than I thought. I picked these post because they are based on financial things I’ve done personally. I learned the hard way why I needed an emergency fund. Scraping up money for the fund in college was a challenge, but it paid off. As I learn more I see that financial lessons can even be learned on a weekend trip.

• Pay Off Debt First or Start Savings (Chicken or the Egg)
  
• Easy Ways to Get an Emergency Fund Started
• Negotiating in Chinatown

Thanks for sharing your time with us, Green Panda!

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