Jerry O. Brown He's working to pay off one last student loan.
- Jerry Brown, an $4 driver and government employee, spends and saves his $48,000 salary very cautiously.
- In addition to driving, he also runs a personal finance blog in his spare time called $4 where he describes his journey from "$4."
- For Business Insider's "$4" series, he shared how much he spends on food and fuel, and how he's saving money for his next vacation.
- Want to share a week of your spending? Email your money@businessinsider.com.
At this point in my financial life, my money strategy is simple: kill debt to build wealth.
After graduating from college with two business degrees, I made a few bad financial decisions and bought a car I couldn't afford. My main focus right now is to $4 including my car loan and two personal loans. After knocking those out, I will focus on knocking out my $6,000 in student loans, increasing my cash flow.
I still manage to save plenty of money every month from my paycheck. I deposit $25 a month into a vacation fund and utilize my credit card points for flights. Last year I used the $4 reward bonus of $200 to fly to Miami for free. This year I plan on using my $600 Southwest credit card reward bonus to travel to San Diego or some other place I have not been before.
My daily food budget is still something I need to work on. Not being the greatest cook, I tend to eat out a lot, which is not healthy and generally more expensive than preparing your own meal.
Here's a closer look at how I spend my money: