Hello from a bureaucrat

[vojasch]

Hi! I'm vojasch, which happens to be a lousy spelling of one of my favourite (ironic) songs and activities.

I'm in my mid-twenties but have clocked in a few years now in European politics. Not as someone up on the big stage, giving speeches or whatever, but rather as one of the people working behind closed doors to develop policy. You know when the politicians promise to do X, Y and Z? How does that actually come about, how can it get implemented, and how do you (try to) ensure it's not illegal, harmful, or in breach of whatever treaty at hand? That's what I do for a living. Mainly in the energy sector right now. It's a field with lots of passionate people, lots of meaningful work to do, changes to make... and so much pressure and burnout in the years ahead if I don't carve out a safety net and set my own terms for how I want to spend my life and work on meaningful projects. Hence why I have arrived here.

I've been familiar with FIRE for a few years now, but since I spent most of my waking hours trying to limit how much student debt I was taking on over the last few years, I never had a plan or anything. I just read blogs and articles, watched documentaries, and let it simmer in my brain for a bit. I'm still quite new to ERE, but will be lurking in the forums, and maybe starting up a journal to document my journey. I have a quite minimalist lifestyle, as I move across countries for my work quite often. I still haven't really figured out my way yet, but I know I want to have more freedom in my life, more choices - and time to be a person outside of a job. Write books, spend time with my favourite people, etc etc.

Again, I don't have a big plan yet - just a few important todos for now. My first step is to get rid of my ridiculously high-interest student loan debt, which is sitting at 8% at the time of writing (from the country I was studying in). It's approx $26,400, so I want to knock that out soon. Then I have another loan of $44,500 (from my home country) with an interest rate of 4.25%, which I want to tackle alongside taking up investing again.

Happy to be here and happy to learn!
/v

[delay]

Welcome! When I was done studying, I kept living like a student for a year, and that's all it took to pay off my debt. I loved being debt free.

[NewBlood]

Welcome!

It's a field with lots of passionate people, lots of meaningful work to do, changes to make... and so much pressure and burnout in the years ahead if I don't carve out a safety net and set my own terms for how I want to spend my life and work on meaningful projects. Hence why I have arrived here.

It's great that you are lucid about the risk of burnout in your field at your young age!
Having a safety net brings so much peace of mind and allows agency. Good luck with paying off your student debt!

[vojasch]

Thank you both for your encouragement! I'm optimistic about paying the student loan down asap

It's great that you are lucid about the risk of burnout in your field at your young age!

I've definitely seen some bad cases and also felt overwhelmed during certain periods already. At least it's given me some sort of "enough is enough" moment about wanting to ensure I have sufficient backup and flexibility early on. So student loans first and then I'll find the next baby steps to take

[NewBlood]

So student loans first and then I'll find the next baby steps to take

Probably the next logical steps might be: emergency fund (1000 euros, up to 1-3 months expenses or whatever amount decreases stress related to unexpected expenses like car breaking down, big annual payment on something, etc...), and then FU stash (1+ years expenses, allowing you peace of mind if you do decide enough is enough and you need to quit tomorrow).

In the meantime, learning to say no (push back on unrealistic demands), and to protect whatever amount of work/life balance is critical to you are good skills to work on. In most jobs, nobody is going to die if a deadline is not strictly adhered to.

[gettingfired]

Hey! So you’re a Brussels bubble citizen? Me too sort of.

[vojasch]

Hey! So you’re a Brussels bubble citizen? Me too sort of.

Haha, yes I'm also a "sort of" For now at least