Lucas, Brazilian, 24 years old, hard mode.

Where are you and where are you going?
Lucas
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:36 pm
Location: Brazil

Lucas, Brazilian, 24 years old, hard mode.

Post by Lucas »

Lucas here. I'm Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, an INFP.

Here's an introduction to myself, my circumstances and goals.

About Brazil

Brazil is not a developed country. Since "third-world" is now considered politically incorrect, I hear a lot about mine being a "developing country," but that's doublespeak—unless it refers to Charles de Gaulle's observation ("Brazil is the country of the future... and always will be."), in which case it's rather accurate.

Local retirement of the usual sort goes "8-to-6 (including Saturdays) till you're 65," then there's a lot of waiting in lines for social security—our contribution over the years is automatic, we don't get to choose how it's invested, and when the time comes we start receiving a fixed, monthly stipend.

We pay an incredible amount of taxes, but the return is terrible—the country doesn't have proper infrastructure; our public hospitals lack medicine, beds and doctors; we have absolutely no safety.

Then there's education. I remember the time when the Brazilian students got the last place on the PISA, and the Minister of Education commented that he was pleased and surprised with Brazil's performance, for he had expected "worse results." (?)

My background

Before being enrolled into middle school, I used to be a nice kid—you wouldn't believe it. Once there, being literally the only introverted person, also the only one who read books, I was the perfect victim for bullying. It wasn't the best period in my life, and by the time I finished high school I was badly depressed and self-medicating.

I moved to a bigger city and started "making a living." Sending over my curriculum—a blank slate at first, filled with accusing blanks later—never worked, but some companies used to simply ask people interested in an opening to go there, answer a few written questions (local equivalents to "who was Ben Franklin?" etc.) and write a short dissertation—and those I always rocked, so I landed the interviews, and to date I've never failed to get a job if I could actually talk with someone endowed with hiring capacity.

They were far from being "nice" jobs, of course. Brazilian businesspeople know exactly what our "education" is worth, so the requirements for the simplest of functions have inflated exaggeratedly. I did have a "good" job once, though it was highly stressful—some people actually had mental breakdowns there—but the others were just slow death—the kind of drudgery a high school diploma makes available.

Renting in Brazil usually requires two guarantors, each owning amortized real state and willing to stake it in vouching for someone, and I didn't know anyone who could do that—an alternative was insurance ("pay R$ 4,000 up front, but you don't get the money back after you leave!"), which I also couldn't afford (never mind the "wouldn't"). So I lived in places destined for people who couldn't get anything else—dark, dirty, damp holes, in bad neighbourhoods, shared with some unbelievable types, owned by psychopaths. That accounts for the ambience. Now add clinical depression and PTSD as factors, plus a constant lack of food, and you get an interesting mix that represents my inner landscape back then.

The routine: I'd go out to a meaningless toil, come back feeling less human, walk through the hood—children smoking crack, prostitutes soliciting, muggers lurking at every corner—to get "home" and discover that Crazy Neighbour I had tried to flush many half-smoked somethings down the toilet, and Crazy Neighbour II had added his biological contribution to the mess, thus clogging everything, and it all had overflowed, so the whole place, flooded, stank, and when the landlord comes in, drunk, and yelling... no, forget about it.

The point is, after a few months of that, I'd invariably be going nuts—so I'd move to another dungeon, find another job, and go for another whirl on the merry-go-round. At some point, I decided to go to college, and, whoa! Just... whoa! Some people say "higher education" in USA is a scam? Sure, it may cost two legs to afford Harvard, but I bet they give SOMETHING in return, right? But here? The bastards barely pretend! What a waste of time, money and sanity!

All in all, I spent years just keeping myself alive. I've survived hunger, people trying to shoot me, nasty bosses, perverts, you name it. And I managed depression, I learned to cope with it all by myself. So I am not exactly worthless, nor weak. But for all that, I haven't learned any marketable skills; I've wasted a lot of time (and money), and I have nothing to show for it.

I'm back at my home town now—returning always feels like waking from a nightmare into a different nightmare, an older, slower one—and living with relatives. Though the town is as dangerous and harmful as they come here, the cost isn't monetary, for a change. Not that it kept me from wasting what little money I got here, or getting myself into more debt, but this started to change a few weeks ago.

First steps

I heard Jim Rohn speaking about financial independence. It was basic stuff—live on less than you earn, so you can use some of it to pay for your debt, increase your capital, and invest—which may be common sense elsewhere, but not here. I had never studied personal finances, and though I did take an Economy class at college, it had a different focus ("Keynes! Keynes! Keynes! Inflation! Keynes!"), so that was a refreshing new perspective for me.

In the talk, Jim Rohn recommended the book The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason, so I read it. It made a lot of sense, so started acting on it, and since then I've ceased all unnecessary spending (I've even quit smoking!), and I'm using almost all the money I get (a little average of R$ 60/month) to eliminate debt—it will take a few months to get rid of the most pressing stuff (credit card), then there's around R$ 800 of no interest, manageable amounts, and finally... R$ 10,000 of student loan (yeah...).

After finishing Clason's book, I remembered stumbling upon the MMM blog some time ago, so I visited it looking for some ideas on where to go next and found book reviews, one of them praising Your Money or Your Life, by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez. Doing some research on the book, I found the Recommended Reading page on the ERE wiki (which I had also visited before), where YMOYL was described as a "great book similar to ERE, but less technical and theoretical, and also less targeted towards engineering/INTJ type individuals." Being an INFP, I decided to use it to ease the way into ERE. I finished it yesterday.

Starting with ERE, I read this:
While this book is somewhat US-centric in its examples, the methods should work in any developed country with a market economy. Retirement plans have different names from country to country, but every country offers very similar plans to its citizens. In some countries health care is paid through taxes, and in other countries it's paid out of pocket. In any case the prices for goods and services are similar in developed countries so the strategies in this book will work, even if technical details differ.
My starting point is far below zero than the usual—I don't live in the land of opportunities, to begin with; I'm indebted; no marketable skills; no job experience that "looks good" on display. That means that improving my life and accomplishing my goals will take some creative adaptation, but that's that.

Currently, the biggest challenge is that the only places I can afford to inhabit (combined with the jobs I can get) stifle me in ways that enforce the status quo—making me too depressed to accomplish anything, hence stuck to an environment that makes me... too depressed, and so on.

Fortunately, I don't need much. I'm highly introverted, so finding some quiet and privacy from time to time is a necessity, but that's it—it may be a cubicle of a studio apartment, going through some dire straits, but if I can just be by myself now and then... whoa! Unfortunately, it's been years since I last had such an arrangement, except for sporadic, short periods.

Of course, others had it worse than me and did fine. I'm not trying to find excuses for anything, or whining—I'm well aware that I'm responsible for my life and the way it currently is. Notwithstanding, I must account for my shortcomings and liabilities, internal and external, and I do have some—in terms of reaching financial independence, I'm starting on hard mode.

I can't go on living at this town for much longer—and pinching pennies wouldn't get me anywhere, anyway—but just moving to another area and repeating the old pattern again won't do. I don't want to restart the same old cycle. I want to leave this country altogether.

My project

To sum it up: To leave this country, stabilize, become able to assist my family, then, hopefully, help their settling down in a new place as well and make sure that they are well provided for, happy and living a fulfilling life; along the way, invest, in different ways, in some good initiatives—including my own. It all starts with getting out of here, though, which is my basic goal.

But... how? I can only think of three two options (with variants), right now:
  1. Saving enough money to move to a bigger city in the South and "survive" until I got a job, after which I would bring thrift to new levels so I could eliminate all my debt as quickly as possible and invest to reach my goal.
    • Pros: The South is more developed—our big, famous cities are in the South-East (Sao Paulo, Rio), but I've had enough of being at gun point to last for some time, and South is safer. Lots of opportunities there as well;
    • Cons: If, for some reason, I couldn't secure a job fast enough, I'd be in for a world of trouble—there wouldn't be any safety net (not one I could set in place soon enough).
  2. (Like the above, but taking thrift to new levels so I could work, tackle debt... and get a degree (without paying for the course, which is quite hard, but not impossible), thus allowing for better-paying jobs, perhaps even before graduating, then invest to reach my goal.

    • Pros: As above. A degree might also help in landing on my feet in a new country, supposing I got there before reaching financial independence;
    • Cons: As above, but harder—there's the added effort to learn despite in a Brazilian educational institution (though it couldn't possibly be as bad as my last academic experience) and conciliate classes with work.[/color]) ← This option has been impugned. *
  3. Spending 6 months to 1 year cramming up Brazilian Law to take an government entrance exam and become a public servant. While the monthly minimum wage in Brazil is R$ 880 (≈ U$ 272.97 currently) a high school level government job can pay up to and over R$ 5,000 (≈ U$ 1,551), more than enough to quickly eliminate all of my debt, and, through frugal living, invest enough to reach my present goal and move towards financial independence.
    • Pros: Good remuneration, working only from Monday to Friday, and, depending on the job, only 6 hours/day, plus some interesting benefits;
    • Cons: Rote memorizing a lot of stuff I don't care about, while being unable to do (or study) much else.
ERE being "a book that teaches you to become a navigator," I expect the options above to change—indeed, I hope that most things will change from their current state—but I wanted to keep a snapshot of my current situation and mindset so I can compare it with the result of future improvement.

Conclusion

Next step is getting on with the ERE book, intending to check back at this thread after I finish. Until then, thank you all for taking time to read this (very long) post, and thank you for any suggestions and advice you may offer. Godspeed!
----------

Edit (02/01/17): * I hadn't reminisced over my little academic stint for years now; to be sure, I had established that it sucked, but I would mostly leave it at that. Whatever I'll be able to grasp from ERE, though, I can already give it this: it's made me remember how it felt to be in college, reminding of how and why I almost got expelled. I don't think I can go through that again; those crooks shouldn't be getting more money—they should be in jail. I'm reconsidering my options (I hadn't thought they'd change this quickly...!). The one regarding government jobs is under probation for similar reasons:

From David J. Schwartz's The Magic of Thinking Big:
The story is told that the great scientist Einstein was once asked how many feet are in a mile. Einstein’s reply was “I don’t know. Why should I fill my brain with facts I can find in two minutes in any standard reference book?”
Einstein taught us a big lesson. He felt it was more important to use your mind to think than to use it as a warehouse for facts.
Last edited by Lucas on Wed Mar 22, 2017 11:38 am, edited 5 times in total.

mfi
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Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 10:27 pm

Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by mfi »

You seem to be open to immigration. I'd put Canada on top of my list. Study the system and get it done. Good luck!

BRUTE
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by BRUTE »

+1 immigration. not sure about law, but it sounds highly country-specific. maybe Pagliaccio could learn a set of skills that makes him a highly desirable immigrant?

Lucas
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:36 pm
Location: Brazil

Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Lucas »

@mfi: I surely am. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll give it the proper study.

@BRUTE: It's indeed highly specific. No questions about principles of Constitutional law, for example, but literal application of Brazilian Constitutional law—so it's rote memorization: "chose the correct option regarding what Article X says about Y, etc." I'll have to reflect on this. The idea about skills is very good, as I think it would be particularly important for me to make myself highly desirable as an immigrant. Thank you very much.

BRUTE
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by BRUTE »

de nada

Did
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Did »

first up, great post. You have skills my friend. You could write a book about your experiences. Of course nobody may buy it.

agree re immigration. study the points system in Australia and Canada. An example: many asians study hairdressing to get into Australia. Once you're in, you're in. You get more points for being young, speaking English etc. You can see if you qualify, or what you need to do to qualify, online.

Keep writing!

BRUTE
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by BRUTE »

might brute suggest going for a trade like electrician, plumber, or welder instead of hair dresser. better potential upside.

Did
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Did »

They select hairdresser as it is on the wanted list for immigration (or was). The list changes from time to time. Programmers and lawyers for example need not apply.

Did
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Did »

Correction: hairdressing seems out, programming in.

http://www.visabureau.com/australia/ski ... -list.aspx

thrifty++
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by thrifty++ »

Wow that sounds tough. I didnt realised Brasil was like a third world country. Never been to South Am. Hope things progress for you and get better.

Lucas
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2017 10:36 pm
Location: Brazil

Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Lucas »

@Did: Thank you very much! I already had both Canada and Australia in mind, and I'm considering the options. The truth is—formally, at least, I don't have anything to offer: I'm not a skilled professional, I don't have any degrees, etc. Programming seems like a good choice (see below), but of course it will take time to become proficient—and to make it profitable.

@BRUTE: Becoming an electrician is an interesting idea, but it's more than I can afford to do right now—on the other hand, I have enough programming books (and this computer) to get me started for free, so I'm giving some thought to it.

@thrifty++: I once saw a picture of some kids watching that bright opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympics from afar, on a dark spot of a grim favela,* and that's Brazil—there's always something shiny for the eyes, our eternal carnival rages on, but if we look beyond the colourful costumes and smiling dummies, poverty (of many kinds) will be there, staring at us.

(* Look for "These Photos From Rio Show The Stark Contrast Of Life Outside The Olympics" on the Huffington Post website for similar examples.)

@bigato: Sir, thank you very much.

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Ego
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Ego »

Is your spoken English as good as your written English? You write very well. How did you learn to write in English so well?

Lucas
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Lucas »

@Ego: Sometimes, if I feel I'm being evaluated, I get too self-conscious and my pronunciation may suffer—the same happens to some extent with my native language, though. When I'm at ease, when I'm engaged ("in the flow"), my spoken English is good—to the point of foreigners thinking I'm joking when I tell them I'm Brazilian. The block is psychological in nature, so I trust a short period of immersion will eliminate it.

When I was a kid, I had a battered English-Portuguese pocket dictionary I carried around and used to translate the text in electronic role playing games until I began to recognize most words and expressions. When DVDs first appeared, I started watching films with the original audio on—assisted by Portuguese subtitles, then English subtitles, and eventually none.

Then came the Internet, and with it lots of reading material. I started reading as many books in English I could find, and also communicating with people all over the world, which forced me to practice my writing. My skill developed slowly over time, due more to long-term exposure than to any directed effort on my part. Thank you very much for your positive appraisal, by the way.

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Ego
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Ego »

Exceptional fluency in English and Portuguese. Internet connection. Bitcoin. There must be some way to combine those so they produce spendable reais.

Brute?

RealPerson
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by RealPerson »

Is the way you describe life in Brazil typical for that country? It sounds like a living hell, so I can't blame you for wanting to get out of there. I have been to Brazil and found it very enjoyable. But being a tourist and a native are 2 very different things.

Your English is excellent and you have a computer with internet access. It sounds to me like you could easily build up an education free of charge and accepted in other parts of the world. Best of luck to you.

Lucas
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Location: Brazil

Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Lucas »

@Ego: I'm still going through ERE, pondering over the concept of the Renaissance man, reconsidering the way I structure my learning projects, so what currently looks like an either-or choice due to time constraints may lead to a diversified skill set in the future.

Copywriting, for example, seems like an interesting combination of the factors you highlighted, useful to learn for a number of reasons and potentially profitable, but I have to consider this: given my current goal, what is the best approach? Learning programming? Copywriting? Studying to become a public servant? All of them?

I intend to overcome my conceptual limitations and find a strategy that will help me in answering those questions (or asking more meaningful ones) as I "learn to become a navigator."

@RealPerson: At least for me, it feels just like it sounds. Given enough time, though, even the bizarre can become typical, and people do get desensitized—while the "bread" is costly, there isn't any shortage of "circuses" in Brazil.

The pervasive sense of insecurity's become a fact of life, and the population's adapted—for example, most Brazilians carry photocopies of their documents with them, so they won't lose the originals if they're mugged.

There are some very good things about this country, and some nice places to visit, but living here does get tiresome, to say the least.

Thank you for you comment and for the useful advice.

ether
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by ether »

The government job sounds really promising!
I know you can pass the exam!

Did
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Did »

What sort of hourly rate is reasonable in your position in Brazil?

Lucas
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Lucas »

@ether: Thank you very much for your support!

@Did: Minimum wage, currently at R$ 880 (≈ U$ 272))/month, thus an hourly rate of R$ 4.23 (≈ U$ 1.31) — Brazilian work week generally extends from Monday to Saturday, 8h/day.

Kriegsspiel
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Re: Pagliaccio, Brazilian, 22 < X < 28 years old, hard mode.

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Pagliaccio wrote:I remember the time when the Brazilian students got the last place on the PISA, and the Minister of Education commented that he was pleased and surprised with Brazil's performance, for he had expected "worse results." (?)
:lol:

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