FreeBy2020
Confused about dryer sheets
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2008
- Messages
- 5
Hi everybody, FreeBy2020 here. I just turned 25 last week and I set myself an ambitious goal of being FI by 40 years old. Not necessarily retired at 40, but able to choose any job anywhere at any pay and not have to worry about my eventual retirement. My moniker is even more ambitious, because in 2020 I'll be only 37. But I'm aiming high and I'm the type of person who expects great things of myself.
I'm so happy I found this website/forum. Anytime I try to talk about financial stuff with my friends my age, they either start sleeping or look to change the subject as soon as possible. Talking about FIRE-type things with people my age just doesn't typically prove fruitful.
A little more about me. I'm an English teacher in Japan. Though pretty much topped out (foreigners here can't climb the ladder), I don't have to pay any taxes whatsoever. So, my $30K salary is not much but it's not taxed. I plan to return to the US in late 2009 and either continue teaching or attend law school. My fiance is a Japanese woman who shares most of my beliefs about life and money, so I'm not worried about her ruining my financial plans in the future. I paid for 3/4 of my college by working in a salaried position for the university itself, so I managed to graduate with zero debt and two degrees (both with honors).
After 3 years of working full time and going to school full time and not having done anything fun in an eternity, I quit my job and cashed out my retirement account and maxed out a $7000 credit card. I used the money to take a couple vacations and just do anything I wanted for about a year. In retrospect, that year was the best mistake I ever made. I didn't work, I didn't spend all that much, really (about 10K in a year, with two trips to Japan). I got to spend time with family I hadn't seen much for about 5 years. Financially, it was a waste. But the overall experience taught me a lot about what I want from life.
WHAT I WANT IN LIFE:
-First and foremost, day-to-day freedom do decide how I spend my time.
-A companion to experience life with.
WHAT I'M DOING TO GET THOSE THINGS:
-Staying debt free. 6 months after moving to Japan, I had eliminated all debt.
-Trying to educate myself financially. I was never taught about money growing up. I started with "Rich Dad Poor Dad," and though I thought he said some good things I felt uncomfortable with his presentation (sort felt like I was reading an info-mercial, you know?). I moved onto "Millionaire Next Door," "The Wealthy Barber," "The Richest Man in Babylon," and a number of others. I read financial news as much as possible to familiarize myself with terminology and strategies.
-LBYM, or L(W)BYM (well). I tend to create an environment of relative scarcity. Every month when I get my paycheck, I send a giant chunk of it to my bank accounts back in the US. This way I know I have only 'X' dollars/yen to last the month.
-I leave myself an allowance to play with. Realizing from my experience of working in college and not having fun that I sort of "cracked" after 3 years of relative deprivation, I am taking measures to make sure I have enough fun so that I'm not tempted to "crack" ever again.
WHERE I AM FINANCIALLY:
-In 18 months I went from -$7000 to about $9000. Considering the interest on the credit card was significant, we're talking about about $1000 a month being added to my overall net worth. Not bad, right! That's about 40% of my salary.
-Of my $9000, I have about $2000 in CD's, $6000 in stocks/ETF's and $1000 left in a money market account.
-So, overall, I realize that I don't have much. But I'm confident I'm on the right track.
One of the things that really makes me happy nowadays is that my fiance is a natural born saver. Working together, I'm certain we can reach the goal of FI by age 40. On her own, and making about 20% less money, she has managed to save over $15,000 in just over a year of working. She's a force to be reckoned with, I tell you!
One of the side benefits of getting out of debt and building a (small) portfolio is that my father has become much more interested in making sure his retirement is being planned for. He's paying more attention to his future because he saw me doing it. And now my mom is, too. So, I guess what I mean to say is that having my actions mimicked by my parents tells me that I must be doing something right. And that inspires me more. So, I sort of feel that it doesn't take much for a snowball effect to start.
I don't have a lot of questions right now, but I'm always listening up for advice and little bits of information. I realize my post is long and maybe a little bit of a "tooting my own horn" sort of thing. All I can say is that I am an upbeat and enthusiastic person who is really happy to have found an (online) community of people who appear to think along the same lines as I do.
Nice to meet you all.
FreeBy2020
I'm so happy I found this website/forum. Anytime I try to talk about financial stuff with my friends my age, they either start sleeping or look to change the subject as soon as possible. Talking about FIRE-type things with people my age just doesn't typically prove fruitful.
A little more about me. I'm an English teacher in Japan. Though pretty much topped out (foreigners here can't climb the ladder), I don't have to pay any taxes whatsoever. So, my $30K salary is not much but it's not taxed. I plan to return to the US in late 2009 and either continue teaching or attend law school. My fiance is a Japanese woman who shares most of my beliefs about life and money, so I'm not worried about her ruining my financial plans in the future. I paid for 3/4 of my college by working in a salaried position for the university itself, so I managed to graduate with zero debt and two degrees (both with honors).
After 3 years of working full time and going to school full time and not having done anything fun in an eternity, I quit my job and cashed out my retirement account and maxed out a $7000 credit card. I used the money to take a couple vacations and just do anything I wanted for about a year. In retrospect, that year was the best mistake I ever made. I didn't work, I didn't spend all that much, really (about 10K in a year, with two trips to Japan). I got to spend time with family I hadn't seen much for about 5 years. Financially, it was a waste. But the overall experience taught me a lot about what I want from life.
WHAT I WANT IN LIFE:
-First and foremost, day-to-day freedom do decide how I spend my time.
-A companion to experience life with.
WHAT I'M DOING TO GET THOSE THINGS:
-Staying debt free. 6 months after moving to Japan, I had eliminated all debt.
-Trying to educate myself financially. I was never taught about money growing up. I started with "Rich Dad Poor Dad," and though I thought he said some good things I felt uncomfortable with his presentation (sort felt like I was reading an info-mercial, you know?). I moved onto "Millionaire Next Door," "The Wealthy Barber," "The Richest Man in Babylon," and a number of others. I read financial news as much as possible to familiarize myself with terminology and strategies.
-LBYM, or L(W)BYM (well). I tend to create an environment of relative scarcity. Every month when I get my paycheck, I send a giant chunk of it to my bank accounts back in the US. This way I know I have only 'X' dollars/yen to last the month.
-I leave myself an allowance to play with. Realizing from my experience of working in college and not having fun that I sort of "cracked" after 3 years of relative deprivation, I am taking measures to make sure I have enough fun so that I'm not tempted to "crack" ever again.
WHERE I AM FINANCIALLY:
-In 18 months I went from -$7000 to about $9000. Considering the interest on the credit card was significant, we're talking about about $1000 a month being added to my overall net worth. Not bad, right! That's about 40% of my salary.
-Of my $9000, I have about $2000 in CD's, $6000 in stocks/ETF's and $1000 left in a money market account.
-So, overall, I realize that I don't have much. But I'm confident I'm on the right track.
One of the things that really makes me happy nowadays is that my fiance is a natural born saver. Working together, I'm certain we can reach the goal of FI by age 40. On her own, and making about 20% less money, she has managed to save over $15,000 in just over a year of working. She's a force to be reckoned with, I tell you!
One of the side benefits of getting out of debt and building a (small) portfolio is that my father has become much more interested in making sure his retirement is being planned for. He's paying more attention to his future because he saw me doing it. And now my mom is, too. So, I guess what I mean to say is that having my actions mimicked by my parents tells me that I must be doing something right. And that inspires me more. So, I sort of feel that it doesn't take much for a snowball effect to start.
I don't have a lot of questions right now, but I'm always listening up for advice and little bits of information. I realize my post is long and maybe a little bit of a "tooting my own horn" sort of thing. All I can say is that I am an upbeat and enthusiastic person who is really happy to have found an (online) community of people who appear to think along the same lines as I do.
Nice to meet you all.
FreeBy2020
