Hello from Maryland!

[cheese]

Hello everyone, I've been lurking on the website/wiki/forum for the last few years and I thought I'd finally take the time to introduce myself and share my last couple years of progress. First, I thought I'd share the general shape of my path to ERE:

1. Read a large assortment of personal finance blogs (mostly at random though Get Rich Slowly and The Simple Dollar stand out in my memory)
2. Started consuming a steady diet of personal finance books (with Your Money or Your Life and Rich Dad, Poor Dad standing out as two of the more influential titles*)
3. Pruned down my reading list to predominantly Mr. Money Mustache, Brave New Life, and ERE
4. Progressed to reading the ERE blog (and archives) almost exclusively
5. Started following discussions on the ERE forums
6. ???

*I also stumbled upon Early Retirement Extreme around this point though I'm not sure I quite grokked it at first. I've since read the book multiple times (about once a year) and just recently added it to my personal bookshelf as I've found it a useful resource and a great source of inspiration.

If you look closely you can see my thought processes slowly shifting towards the lower end of the personal finance Wheaton scale!

About me:

• Age: 27
• Gender: Male
• Location: Baltimore, MD
• Occupation: Engineer
• MBTI: INTJ (surprise!)

Before I even embarked on this journey my savings rate was somewhere around 50% without optimizing or thinking too much about it. I suppose this was at least partially due to the fairly frugal mindset I developed in college (no lentils but plenty of pasta and ramen... perish the thought). Over the course of the last couple years I've managed to progressively increase my savings rate to closer to 70% though 75%+ is looking attainable in the near future.

By embracing basic ERE principles (reducing expenses by eliminating waste, increasing efficiency, developing skills for self-sufficiency, etc.) I was able to go from graduating college with negligible savings and an appreciable amount of student loan debt to eliminating my debt and having several years worth of expenses saved in just a few years.

That said, my personal finances have been on autopilot lately and, though I'm happy with the progress I've made so far, I believe there is still room for improvement. I hope that participating in these forums will help me stay accountable, reignite my enthusiasm, and provide me with the motivation to keep moving forward.

[Open Space]

Hello from another new member. If you are interested in another personal finance resource, check out the Radical Personal Finance podcast. It covers a wide variety of non-traditional ideas and options for achieving financial independence - and they interview some very interesting people with unusual lifestyles.

[Dragline]

Hello, and welcome!

[iceet]

Dear Cheese,

I am also a fellow Marylander and was inspired by your post to introduce myself as well. Here is some more information about me:

Male
28 years old
Education: B.S. and M.S. in Physiology
Current occupation: Restaurant owner

I always wanted to be a doctor and that is what I focused on in college, afterwards, and in grad school. I wanted to explore the profession and get to know it better. I've held many different types of jobs in government, academia, and private corporations. I am currently applying to med school. However the truth is that they may not want me, it is one of the most competitive degree programs out there in terms of admissions rates (most schools have ~5% acceptance rate). That is why I simultaneously had to work on a backup plan in case I didn't get in. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, that's what they say. This is where ERE came in for me.

I actually only discovered ERE about a month ago, and just got the book. As I read through it I realize I was already following some of the ERE philosophy on my own. This is because I've always had an interest in finance and money management and have read other books on it as well. My parents are in the restaurant business and after working alongside them we started another smaller restaurant which I manage. I really hope to get in to medical school because that is how I wish to spend the rest of my life, not for the money, prestige, or respect. However it is in God's hands and He may decide that it's not best for me, which is completely fine by me. If that is the case I will continue improving my restaurant and possibly expanding. From what I've read in ERE, businessmen and women are not completely free either, since they depend on their customers and employees for their income. However they certainly have more freedom than a salaried worker (I believe).

As I compare myself as a businessman to my friends from college who entered salaried careers, I have come to a few conclusions. Some of them are making much more money then me, maybe almost twice as much. But these people do not enjoy the same freedom I do in picking how many hours to work a week (sometimes I work more than 40 because frankly, I enjoy it). Also some of them have bosses that are just straight up rude and disrespectful, perhaps they were hurt by someone higher up in the hierarchy. This is not always the case however.

What I want to know from you guys is that, is there still a benefit to salaried jobs and careers besides the money? What about building your resume? What about publications, and "connections"? What about the skills you may learn from these so called specialized jobs? Could it be worth it to work in corporate America for a few years to learn some skills and gain experience (not just for the money) before finally leaving Plato's cave for good?

[WYOGO]

What I want to know from you guys is that, is there still a benefit to salaried jobs and careers besides the money? What about building your resume? What about publications, and "connections"? What about the skills you may learn from these so called specialized jobs? Could it be worth it to work in corporate America for a few years to learn some skills and gain experience (not just for the money) before finally leaving Plato's cave for good?

I am probably in the minority when I say that there are corporate salary positions that can be aligned to your goals and values. I am one who is aggressively protective of my personal time and will manage my time accordingly.

Here are a few benefits I personally enjoy.

Paid travel and trips often combined with work including discretionary travel for trainings that can be started just before the weekend with mileage reimbursement to conincide.

I have seen much of the country and visited family often combined with work related trips.

I have nearly five weeks of paid vacations per year.

Ample airline and hotel points aquired during work trips for personal use.

100% paid relocations, including housing and rent subsidy allowances. Nationwide all expense paid relocations for promotions including all costs related to home sales, lease break fees, vehicle registration and licensing as well as transportation costs in the new location.

Great Medical benefits including company provided short and long term disability, 401K matching and annual pension 100% funded and managed by the company that is portable and accesible at anytime termination occurs.

50% of payroll taxes paid by the employer

No requirement to produce the customer base, somewhat flexible working hours depending on individual operational effectiveness.

Group discounts and other misc personal benefits, phone internet and laptop all provided and paid for by the corporation which I use for both work and personal as needed.

Regularly purchase food and eat out personally with staff and teammates all expenses paid.

My company has invested over 200 all expense paid days in my personal development over the years to be a more effective leader, teach emotional intelligence and to reimburse education and book expenses related.

The strongest non compensation related benefit has been becoming an effective leader and learning how to motivate others. Sometimes you just don't learn these skills on your own without the transactions.

Though some vehemenetly proclaim all salaried individuals are victims and enslaved, I can assure you my salary is only one part of the equation.

[iceet]

Dear WYOGO,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my thread, and others, and educate our community further.

I am one who is aggressively protective of my personal time and will manage my time accordingly.

I agree with you, I am starting to learn how precious our time really is. This year I learned how to end toxic friendships/relationships that are mutually harmful. At the end of the day you gotta do what's best for you. Nobody's putting a gun to our heads and telling us what to do (hopefully) so we have a certain amount of freedom in the life decisions we make.

Here are a few benefits I personally enjoy.

Paid travel and trips often combined with work including discretionary travel for trainings that can be started just before the weekend with mileage reimbursement to conincide.

I have seen much of the country and visited family often combined with work related trips.

I have nearly five weeks of paid vacations per year.

Ample airline and hotel points aquired during work trips for personal use.

100% paid relocations, including housing and rent subsidy allowances. Nationwide all expense paid relocations for promotions including all costs related to home sales, lease break fees, vehicle registration and licensing as well as transportation costs in the new location.

Great Medical benefits including company provided short and long term disability, 401K matching and annual pension 100% funded and managed by the company that is portable and accesible at anytime termination occurs.

50% of payroll taxes paid by the employer

Group discounts and other misc personal benefits, phone internet and laptop all provided and paid for by the corporation which I use for both work and personal as needed.

Those are all amazing benefits. No argument here. I've had benefits in my jobs but nothing close to that.

No requirement to produce the customer base

Sounds pretty awesome, but do you have the option to add to your own customer base for potential benefit(if you felt like it)?

somewhat flexible working hours depending on individual operational effectiveness.

My hours are somewhat flexible as well, but I'm learning to try to be as productive as I possibly can with my time.

Regularly purchase food and eat out personally with staff and teammates all expenses paid.

Do you get along with your teammates? Not trying to be negative, just asking because it's an important part of where we decide to work.

My company has invested over 200 all expense paid days in my personal development over the years to be a more effective leader, teach emotional intelligence and to reimburse education and book expenses related.

The strongest non compensation related benefit has been becoming an effective leader and learning how to motivate others. Sometimes you just don't learn these skills on your own without the transactions.

These are likely the biggest benefits of them all like you said. You will take these with you wherever you go.

Though some vehemenetly proclaim all salaried individuals are victims and enslaved, I can assure you my salary is only one part of the equation.

Good to know there's still hope in working a salaried job for a while, since it is an option I have been considering myself. If you have any advice for me as well feel free to tell me I'm always open to constructive criticism. For instance I was wondering what to do if the med school route doesn't work out for me.

[WYOGO]

1) Yes, I could work to establish customers but it would be of limited use to me personally. There is a whole division of my corporation specifically tasked with the responsibility of sales and maintenece through direct customer interaction and I am not employed by that branch of the corporation. I personally lack the infastructure to supply their need and due to somewhat anticipated high mobility on my part these relationships would be probably be temporary. I do not work in an online based customer/supplier environment that is the same no matter where you live. The services provided by my company are needed by eveyone everywhere no matter where your business or residence is located in one form or another and the scale is mostly beyond my comprehesion outside of my local version.

2) I get along with my team or rather they get along with me I guess, but that is very subjective. I am the captain of the ship. That creates a complex dynamic that does not quite satisfy friendship and companionship needs. Most of my interactions are agenda and engagement based. That is just the reality. I also tend to be one who prefers solitude to high energy and chaotic interactions, so no these interactions are not necessarily the highlights of my responsibilities but there is great value in learning how to effectively deal with a complex variety of personalities and I have benefited greatly through this rather difficult process over the years.

3) As far as your last question, if medical school is no longer a feasible alternative, you appear to have a significant investment already in the sciences. I would personally look into physical rehabilitation and other related activities that could generate reasonable income more immediately that could be invested and move the retirement ship forward. There is great benefit to helping others that is directly transfered to your life. Much of this is highly dependent on your lifestyle and primarily balancing your time to freedom with income needed to satisfy your desired quality of life long term.

At any rate welcome cheese and iceet to the community...

[Spartan_Warrior]

Greetings, fellow citizens of Murderland! I really love living here at this time of year, don't you? The orange haze of Baltimore is quite lovely on these clear winter nights, and our beautiful state crop--property taxes--are in full bloom!

[billc]

I'm in MD too... up in Harford County - not many murders up this way - but plenty of property tax!

[cheese]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! It is nice to learn there are some fellow ERE enthusiasts in the area. I thought I remembered previously stumbling upon the journal of another Baltimore resident, good to see you're still active on the forums Spartan_Warrior! I agree that the orange haze is quite spectacular, nary a star in sight...