FI Before 30

[aMOnglew]

Goals with This Journal:

• Provide value to you where I can (maybe in areas of money/health?)

• Exchange ideas with like-minded individuals

Questions and Suggestions are most welcome. I'm open if you see a way I can be doing things more efficiently, effectively, etc.

About Me
I'm from USA, but have been living in SE Asia. I'm in my mid-20s. I never had a "real" job. I've always made my money online. I made the mistake of spending way too much when I first started making more than I've ever experienced. I then learned about the very marginal difference in happiness I received from things that comprised most of my income (i.e. Housing, Food). And I also developed the mindset of applying the Pareto's Law 80/20 to everything... so I feel these principles brought me to ERE.

Money: I write sales copy in return for a fee and/or percentage of sales. I feel this fits well with my Gallup strengths and personality. I get intellectual stimulation, constantly learn about new things, and craft messages in a focused, deliberate way where I can then analyze actual data and monetary stats. I also have another business where I "flip" products/services; so I write copy to close a deal but then just outsource all the work. I'm using Harry Browne's Permanent Portfolio for keeping my money.

Health: I cook my own version of Mung Dal for my meal each day. I only eat once per day and do Intermittent Fasting for a minimum of 16 hours. I do not like thinking about what to eat or buy; I shop for groceries once per month (the store is literally across the street from me). Three days a week I do Tabata Protocols (6 mins) and Gymnastic Exercises (10 mins). I do Jiu Jitsu on days I don't work out for fun; I like how it stimulates my mind to think how to use my energy efficiently for a desired end result. Also, I brew my own Kombucha. I drink a half gallon a day (it's great for gut health, among other things). I also live on the beach so I get Vitamin D at least three times per week.

Things I'd like to improve: Maximize my PT Lifestyle. Monetize other hobbies: learning how to write and sell movie scripts. Get a blackbelt in Jiu Jitsu. Have more like-minded friends to exchange ideas.

Expense Breakdown
Monthly: $502.76
Yearly: $6,033.08

Monthly:
Food: $58.03 (Kombucha $17 and Mung Dal ingredients $22; plus water and occasional luxuries i.e. chicken)
Health: $23.87 (Biggest expenses here are laundry, haircut, coconut oil)
Housing: $393.13 (Rent is $326, Internet is $38, Phone $8, and includes water/electrical bills)
Transport: $30 (Uber for occasional social events)

Any questions, suggestions are welcome

[frihet]

Welcome to the forum.

Very low monthly expenses. In what country/s do you reside?

[aMOnglew]

Welcome to the forum.

Very low monthly expenses. In what country/s do you reside?

Hey frihet!

Currently, in Philippines.

I just stalked you and read you're a Swede doing some oil rig work, right? It's almost freaky reading your journal and posts... and digitally meeting what I feel to be extremely similar minded people!

[frihet]

Yes Swede on the oilrigs. Have quit work once before in 2011-2012 and spent that time living a similar cost lifestyle as you in India/Nepal.

But found out that I needed more money and choose the oil rigs as that was the best way to leverage my previous career as a mechanic.

Looking forward to read what you're up to!

[Viktor K]

Hello and welcome! In China currently. Spending nearly 3x what you do on food in a month. Thank you for introducing the terms Kombucha and Mung Dal, I will now have to look up what those are

[aMOnglew]

Yes Swede on the oilrigs. Have quit work once before in 2011-2012 and spent that time living a similar cost lifestyle as you in India/Nepal.

But found out that I needed more money and choose the oil rigs as that was the best way to leverage my previous career as a mechanic.

Looking forward to read what you're up to!

Curious... how come you chose India/Nepal? Got any stories about India? Pros or cons? I'd be open to living there short-term as I find the food amazing. Watching some videos about it makes it look like some areas of Philippines to me.

Also, floating monks in Nepal? Any experience or truth behind that?

And what did you find out you needed more money for? If it's personal I can understand, but also curious if I may be overlooking something especially if you've lived a similar lifestyle to me.

[aMOnglew]

Hello and welcome! In China currently. Spending nearly 3x what you do on food in a month. Thank you for introducing the terms Kombucha and Mung Dal, I will now have to look up what those are

Spotted your journal... I got some catching up to do.

3x a month on food than me... doesn't sound that bad at all to me. I've spent $3,000/month on food before--yikes! What does your grocery list look like?

FYI, I feel like this is one of the best resources for information about kombucha: https://www.kombuchakamp.com/

Mung Dal... seems like frihet would know this... but in short: mung bean curry? I just cook mung beans then add tumeric, cumin, cayenne, clove... add rice... ghee... and pink himalayan salt and thyme.

I like food that has a long shelf-life, easy to cook up, cheap, and enjoy eating it every day. Open to other options.

Will also be adding veggie ferments... and maybe superfood smoothies... if so, I'll update how that affects food costs.

[wolf]

Welcome. Looking forward to hear more about food and health from you.
Intermittent Fasting sounds good. Do you feel any negative side effects?

[Viktor K]

Hello and welcome! In China currently. Spending nearly 3x what you do on food in a month. Thank you for introducing the terms Kombucha and Mung Dal, I will now have to look up what those are

Spotted your journal... I got some catching up to do.

3x a month on food than me... doesn't sound that bad at all to me. I've spent $3,000/month on food before--yikes! What does your grocery list look like?

FYI, I feel like this is one of the best resources for information about kombucha: https://www.kombuchakamp.com/

Mung Dal... seems like frihet would know this... but in short: mung bean curry? I just cook mung beans then add tumeric, cumin, cayenne, clove... add rice... ghee... and pink himalayan salt and thyme.

I like food that has a long shelf-life, easy to cook up, cheap, and enjoy eating it every day. Open to other options.

Will also be adding veggie ferments... and maybe superfood smoothies... if so, I'll update how that affects food costs.

My diet now is simple: street food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I will update you when it changes in about 1 month and we start cooking our own meals. Hopefully the cost will drop! Then again, I eat 1/3 of the meals you do so maybe spending 3 times what you do is reasonable

I kid. As for my journal, please, save yourself the trouble. I find I ramble and repeat myself, even when I read my own stuff. Maybe check the 12 months of graphs and skip to the good stuff when I finally get to my senses and go back to Asia

[thrifty++]

Money: I write sales copy in return for a fee and/or percentage of sales. I feel this fits well with my Gallup strengths and personality. I get intellectual stimulation, constantly learn about new things, and craft messages in a focused, deliberate way where I can then analyze actual data and monetary stats. I also have another business where I "flip" products/services; so I write copy to close a deal but then just outsource all the work.

Your work sounds interesting. Its awesome you have some remote gigs. Mind if I ask how you ended up getting into it and what the pay is like?

[slowtraveler]

I tried making Kombucha some years back and ended up turning tea to vinegar. Lol

[James_0011]

Hi,

Welcome, I'd also like to hear more about your job and how you got into this type of work if you don't mind sharing. Thank you.

[frihet]

Curious... how come you chose India/Nepal? .....
Also, floating monks in Nepal? Any experience or truth behind that? ....
And what did you find out you needed more money for? ...

I choose India because I was heavily drawn to spirituality at the time, specifically advaita vedanta. India has a lot closer to an undercurrent of spiritual energy, than the west. That is my experience. You also get a 6 month visa so staying for long is easy. I went to Nepal mostly to renew my Indian visa but it turned out to be a nice break from hectic India, majestic Himalayas and trekking, but no floating monks

The money issue is because I don't want to diverge my energy towards working next time I dive deep into this energy current. In fact I don't want money to be an issue ever again. I'm a one thing at a time person and would prefer to focus on spirituality fully without the need to monetize it or wonder were money will come from. Yes I have enough to live that life in India, but want to be able to afford a simple life in Sweden as well.

[aMOnglew]

My diet now is simple: street food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I will update you when it changes in about 1 month and we start cooking our own meals. Hopefully the cost will drop! Then again, I eat 1/3 of the meals you do so maybe spending 3 times what you do is reasonable

I kid. As for my journal, please, save yourself the trouble. I find I ramble and repeat myself, even when I read my own stuff. Maybe check the 12 months of graphs and skip to the good stuff when I finally get to my senses and go back to Asia

Heh, whole point of me joining the forum was to get to know like-minded people. Plus, I like seeing how other people think!

By the way, while I eat once a day the meal size is all my meals in a day.

[aMOnglew]

Money: I write sales copy in return for a fee and/or percentage of sales. I feel this fits well with my Gallup strengths and personality. I get intellectual stimulation, constantly learn about new things, and craft messages in a focused, deliberate way where I can then analyze actual data and monetary stats. I also have another business where I "flip" products/services; so I write copy to close a deal but then just outsource all the work.

Your work sounds interesting. Its awesome you have some remote gigs. Mind if I ask how you ended up getting into it and what the pay is like?

I never had a "real" job because I could never work in a "normal" environment. At the time, I completely disregarded the possibility of bureaucracy, inefficiency, and couldn't see how a J-O-B would effectively help me get me to my goals of freedom. Years ago, I did go interview (rarely) just because my mom insisted... but when I did I think the interviewers sensed how much I hated being there (or how I thought they were idiots). So you can probably imagine, I never got hired... and I had to look for alternative ways to make money that satisfied how I wanted to do things. FYI--today, however, I'd probably do things differently and probably wouldn't completely disregarded a job.

For my remote gigs now... that's how I got into it... because I had to and because it fit my vision of how I wanted to be making money. I made my first money online playing poker though. The DOJ shut down online poker in USA... and while I could still find some places to play online I realized that I was still trading my time for money. I realized how limiting so, again, I looked for alternative sources.

My parents were definitely indoctrinated in the matrix... and I wasted years of my life with that thinking as well. So when I discovered entrepreneurship my mind was blown. "The Millionaire Fastlane" by MJ DeMarco was the book that changed my life.

From there, I realized that salesmanship is probably the most leverage-able? skill I could learn. And I liked copywriting because I liked the efficiency of writing a sales message once and just having that multiplied via advertising. Plus, I realized I didn't have to actually create products... I could just partner with someone that does... but has crap marketing that could use some help. Also, I learned I could get "jobs" by closing the deal with my copywriting and just outsource all the work (and just "show up" for dealing with the client). Essentially that's all I was doing anyway... selling... without my own product, but getting a cut.

As far as earning potential goes... the real answer is it depends on a few things: the type of "copywriting" and the client. Some copywriting jobs are fixed and you'll probably never (or very rarely) get a percentage of sales (i.e. article writing, B2B writing). For article writing, I can find people that'll pay $150 for 1,000 words or more (which I'll outsource to). I find it's better to find clients that hire you on retainer that ranges on a similar "salary" as a part or even full-time employee.

The most lucrative is writing for entrepreneurial people that are smart; meaning they'll pay you percentage of sales. I've written email autoresponders that have generated $20,000 per month of which I'd get 10% each month. Plus, that autoresponder would only be to a just a small segment of their entire list (in this case that's only to a list of 1,000 people). And I can keep writing more autoresponders for the rest of their list. It's not all roses though--I've gotten kicked out of commissions because of new management, people getting jealous, etc. Also, the level I want to get to is to be like the top names where I can charge $20,000+ (along with a percentage of sales) for writing a sales package.

I believe a salesman will definitely be of high value in a free society where people must persuade, not coerce, people of products/services that may of value to their target audience. So if it fits your personality, strengths, etc... then you should probably check out some resources from: Gary Bencivenga, Gary Halbert, AWAI.

[aMOnglew]

I tried making Kombucha some years back and ended up turning tea to vinegar. Lol

On a more serious note, it's inspiring seeing how many expats making it work. I'll be heading out of California soon. I'd love to hear more about the copywriting and South East Asia, they sound interesting.

For the Kombucha that turns into vinegar it's great to use as a cleaning agent. I also use it for my skin.

I answered questions about copywriting here: viewtopic.php?p=147112#p147112

For info about SE Asia, let me know a specific question you have

[aMOnglew]

Hi,

Welcome, I'd also like to hear more about your job and how you got into this type of work if you don't mind sharing. Thank you.

See here: viewtopic.php?p=147112#p147112

Curious... how come you chose India/Nepal? .....
Also, floating monks in Nepal? Any experience or truth behind that? ....
And what did you find out you needed more money for? ...

I choose India because I was heavily drawn to spirituality at the time, specifically advaita vedanta. India has a lot closer to an undercurrent of spiritual energy, than the west. That is my experience. You also get a 6 month visa so staying for long is easy. I went to Nepal mostly to renew my Indian visa but it turned out to be a nice break from hectic India, majestic Himalayas and trekking, but no floating monks

The money issue is because I don't want to diverge my energy towards working next time I dive deep into this energy current. In fact I don't want money to be an issue ever again. I'm a one thing at a time person and would prefer to focus on spirituality fully without the need to monetize it or wonder were money will come from. Yes I have enough to live that life in India, but want to be able to afford a simple life in Sweden as well.

Advaita vedanta... interesting. How exactly do you pursue that; is there some sort of retreat for that? And is that offered in Sweden? What benefits have you noticed? If someone was interested in this and the benefits it could provide what would you say are the 20% of habits that'd deliver 80% of the results, in your experience? New to me and interesting. I also feel I understand your statement about having more of a spiritual energy than the west.

[thrifty++]

@aMonglew - your work sounds very cool. It sounds like things have worked out very well for you by going this totally different path.

[Jason]

I'm a salesman but I'm not that good because people bore the crap out of me unless they happen to be a fat chick because I like fat chicks and that allows me to tolerate their bullshit a bit longer than others. People think they're never going to die. I have a customer who is 82 and smokes more cigarettes than Joe Fuckin Camel but every time a deal falls through he raises the price. Then he wants to have a cup of coffee to talk about it but my "stupid old man" amnesty finally fucking expired and I said "The cigarettes are killing you and you are fucking killing me you stupid old fuck." He just lets out his big old cancer laugh and says "I know. I know." And I realized that he is afraid that if he sells he is going to die so I said fuck it and left him to light up another cigarette and ruminate on his meaningless fucking existence.

[giskard]

@aMOnglew so I'm actually really interested in talking with you about a project / partnership if you are interested. I'm a software developer and I have a software product / service that I built for the construction industry. The product is finished and I have a working system with a beta user. But I suck at sales / marketing / getting customers. So far I have only gotten one other real paying customer. Anyway, I'll PM you some details to see if you are interested.