About Us

Magnolia Money started as a vision in 2011 when I personally crashed into all of the typical money questions of early adulthood:

• How much rent can I afford?

• What are health insurance premiums, deductibles, and co-pays?

• What is the stock market, and who is Dow Jones?

• What are IRAs, 401(k)s, and HSAs? Which one is best for me, and how do I use it?

Like almost everyone in my generation, I made it through nearly 2 decades of schooling without the slightest idea how these things worked, and I was too embarrassed to ask for help from older friends, coworkers, etc.

I worked quite hard to figure these out on my own, and noticed two important points:

1. It was actually not as complicated as I thought (once explained properly).

2. The personal finance industry mostly seemed like really rich people paying slightly-less-rich people in order to avoid paying taxes.

In an industry where manipulation is rampant, I wanted a service to exist which empowered normal, everyday people to at least understand the rules and structure of the money games we're all forced to play. In that light, Magnolia Money was founded in order to democratize that understanding in order to put people in the driver's seat of their financial situation instead of being a victim of it.

Money might not buy happiness, but it absolutely buys your way out of certain problems and stressors. I believe everyone deserves to start on the same financial footing of understanding in that game.

-Jeffrey Madison

Founder, Magnolia Money

Money has a yin-and-yang between hard and easy. We work hard in order to retire to a life easy.

"Magnolia" embodies that same dichotomy.

Magnolia Road outside of Boulder, Colorado is a well-known training ground for some of the world's best professional marathon runners. Here, they go to put in the necessary hard work to become the best, but this hard work is unseen by all but their coaches and training partners. My wife and I are avid runners, and ran at Magnolia Road on our honeymoon while my wife was 1 month pregnant with our first child.

Magnolia is also the name of a tranquil but nondescript park near our home where families and friends gather to enjoy nature and make lasting memories together under the shade of a flowering Magnolia tree. When I think about an easy life, spending time in nature with my family is prominently featured.

And so "Magnolia Money" represents the yin-and-yang of my values: hard work in pursuit of life's goals, and the easy relaxation enjoyed as a reward.