What inspired me to start journaling on today of all days on the ERE Forum is that I no longer have access to my debit card while I am abroad. This means that between the 5000 Thai Baht in cash I have on hand and the $-184 balance on my credit card, any other method of acquiring cash while I am in the very cash based society of north Thailand is going to be a huge pain in the butt. I have always been financially conscious, budgeting and planning obsessively since I was 21 in college, and now this development has pushed me over the edge to begin journaling.
A recap from my intro post found here: viewtopic.php?t=12719
24 years old. Some college debt. Decent savings. Moving back to Western North Carolina in April.
Read ERE in the Fall of 2022. Began lurking the website in January 2023. Finally posting now in March of 2023.
Starting two new jobs in April, one in person and one online, with Uber Driving on the side.
Purchasing a NEW car next month. Potential disaster? Follow here to find out!
Goals for the next five years (by the time I turn 30 in August 2028) include:
- Buying land in the mountains of Carolina and building a small home on it (potential rental income, no mortgage)
- Going to graduate school (The master's program I am interested in is fully funded and on the edge of the world)
- Joining the Military Reserves after school is concluded. I was really dead set on this path when I was 21 but have been having doubts as I grow older. Only the coast guard, as an officer, remains appealing.
- Starting a family. This I imagine to be more difficult than anything else.
- The financial independence to do whatever I want for work. I believe work that we WANT to do is fundamentally good, especially if we have a WHY behind it. Unfortunately that type of work usually doesn't pay enough to support your WHY if you're not following ERE principles.