Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
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Egg
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Egg »

Sabaka wrote:
Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:26 pm
@Egg @Ertyu
Congrats on all of it. I don't know how your peers found it, but you sound very relaxed about your initial training - it's not meant to be that chill (unless the army's gone soft of late)...!

Smashing the financials too - good job, Sabaka.

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

@Egg

Cheers! To be honest the army has probably gone softer. Compared to some of the stories I've heard from people who went through the same process as little as 10 years ago, what I experienced was very relaxed. Although how accurate those stories are I can't judge.

March 2021 Summary

What's new? My training has been on hold a little due to factors outside of my control, however I'm hoping things will get going again soon. Any other readers with experience of the military will be familiar with the phrase 'Hurry up and wait', I am experiencing an example of it at the moment :lol: . I've been trying to use the time productively, catching up with my language learning and reading. In fact I've decided that learning Russian and Polish wasn't enough, so I've decided to start with Croatian too. I will probably regret this at some point :lol: . I've also decided to make my fitness a focus for the remainder of 2021, ideally I want to gain a bit more muscle and strength.

In terms of financials, I experienced a lesson in humility this past month. A property came up for auction in my local area and I dived head first into the idea of purchasing this property without doing some basic first-post analysis: Why do I want to buy this property and why now? If I had done these things I wouldn't have then wasted approximately £800 on surveys and solicitors etc. Ultimately I am trying to see this as a lesson learnt, namely to always do a basic analysis before spending quite large sums of money.

Luckily I've done okay with investments and financials this year in general, so I'm not so devastated. I am still looking at purchasing a property in the next 12 months, so therefore I almost have no money in stocks & shares or other higher-risk assets at the moment. Hoarding cash essentially :lol: . My current net worth is approximately: £56,000.

Targets for next month:

- Continue with my language learning (structured better, less haphazard).
- Bulk (at a rate of approximately 0.5-1kg weight gained per week).
- Read at least 4 books in April.
- Better apply principles of Stoicism.
- Don't make any stupid money decisions.

That's about it, see you all next month!

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Bankai
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Bankai »

Sabaka wrote:
Wed Mar 31, 2021 2:44 am
- Bulk (at a rate of approximately 0.5-1kg weight gained per week).
Nice metabolism. I'm stuffing myself with a surplus of 800 kcal a day for 3 weeks now and weight is not moving at all. Unfair!

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

@Bankai

Cheers! Can't say it's anything I'm doing... I'm naturally very lazy when it comes to anything to do with exercise :lol: We'll also see how much of that weight gain ends up being fat as opposed to muscle!!

April 2021 Summary

Another month passes, still stuck still. I'm the type of person who always needs to have a clear goal in sight, otherwise I kind of lose motivation in everything else that I am doing. I have been keeping up with language learning, etc however, and these things help to provide some structure in my life. Reviewing the targets I set last month then, here is how I feel I've done with them:


- Continue with my language learning (structured better, less haphazard). - Feel I've done okay in this area, I was using an audio course so it was easy to do. Now that I have finished that course it will be interesting to see if I can maintain good structure next month.

- Bulk (at a rate of approximately 0.5-1kg weight gained per week). - Generally on target, however occasionally I have to eat much more on specific days to make up for lack of progress on others. It would be better if it was even progress throughout the week.

- Read at least 4 books in April. - Big failure, however the book I am currently reading (The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky) is very long.

- Better apply principles of Stoicism. - Mostly a failure, have barely thought about them.

- Don't make any stupid money decisions. - Done okay, still spending quite a bit altogether though.

So not so bad, not so good in terms of my targets.

Regarding finances, things continue as normal... I'm in the process of disinvesting into cash in preparation for a property purchase later in the year. Whilst disinvesting I have been quite lucky with my investments, resulting in an increase of £2,500 in my net worth to approximately £58,500! About 25% of this increase is as a result of my salary, the bulk is from investment returns :)

Additional targets for next month:

In addition to the targets set last month (which are basically still applicable), I also have an additional target:

- It is essentially to find a girlfriend. This is perhaps my most important target at the moment. So I am actively working towards this goal, however so far not having much luck :lol: I also find this process quite time consuming, and much of the effort feels sort of wasted (not dates, I actually enjoy these, but rather the online messaging, setting up profiles, etc).

Well that is about it! See you all next month!

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fiby41
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by fiby41 »

If you are reading one book per week that's still more than most people will ever read in a year and that one is a tome so cut yourself some slack!

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How-DoesThisSound
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by How-DoesThisSound »

Sabaka wrote:
Sun May 02, 2021 12:26 pm
@Bankai

Cheers! Can't say it's anything I'm doing... I'm naturally very lazy when it comes to anything to do with exercise :lol: We'll also see how much of that weight gain ends up being fat as opposed to muscle!!

April 2021 Summary

Another month passes, still stuck still. I'm the type of person who always needs to have a clear goal in sight, otherwise I kind of lose motivation in everything else that I am doing. I have been keeping up with language learning, etc however, and these things help to provide some structure in my life. Reviewing the targets I set last month then, here is how I feel I've done with them:


- Continue with my language learning (structured better, less haphazard). - Feel I've done okay in this area, I was using an audio course so it was easy to do. Now that I have finished that course it will be interesting to see if I can maintain good structure next month.

- Bulk (at a rate of approximately 0.5-1kg weight gained per week). - Generally on target, however occasionally I have to eat much more on specific days to make up for lack of progress on others. It would be better if it was even progress throughout the week.

- Read at least 4 books in April. - Big failure, however the book I am currently reading (The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky) is very long.

- Better apply principles of Stoicism. - Mostly a failure, have barely thought about them.

- Don't make any stupid money decisions. - Done okay, still spending quite a bit altogether though.

So not so bad, not so good in terms of my targets.

Regarding finances, things continue as normal... I'm in the process of disinvesting into cash in preparation for a property purchase later in the year. Whilst disinvesting I have been quite lucky with my investments, resulting in an increase of £2,500 in my net worth to approximately £58,500! About 25% of this increase is as a result of my salary, the bulk is from investment returns :)

Additional targets for next month:

In addition to the targets set last month (which are basically still applicable), I also have an additional target:

- It is essentially to find a girlfriend. This is perhaps my most important target at the moment. So I am actively working towards this goal, however so far not having much luck :lol: I also find this process quite time consuming, and much of the effort feels sort of wasted (not dates, I actually enjoy these, but rather the online messaging, setting up profiles, etc).

Well that is about it! See you all next month!
Wow, we seem to have a lot in common in regards to military service and interests in Russian culture. I'll be sure to add your journal to my RSS. Keep going!

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

@How-DoesThisSound

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I've just been reading your journal, you're doing awesome :) . It'll be interesting to see how you progress moving into a tech-orientated career, as this is potentially something that could be an option for me over the next few years or so.

@fiby41

Thanks for the kind words mate! I'm perhaps being too harsh on myself... As an aside, I would really recommend the Brothers Karamazov (if you haven't already read it). It offers some good insights into the Russian culture/mentality I think :)

May 2021 Summary

So another month has passed! The weeks are flying by at the moment, despite the fact that I am still waiting for a course to start. This course will most likely now start in mid July also, meaning I still have a while to wait. The plus side of this is that I currently have plenty of time to indulge my hobbies, so not all bad :).

Reviewing my targets from last month, I haven't managed to find a girlfriend yet (such a simple task :lol: ). I also did not go on any dates, or make any meaningful progress towards this goal. But there is always June :lol: . I did however manage to not make any overwhelmingly stupid monetary decisions, although on average my spending has increased quite dramatically.

In fact, I worked out yesterday that my average savings rate for the past two months has been approximately 20%. Whilst this is mainly due to the stupid expense for the poorly planned property purchase (which I'm lucky I didn't go through with), I have in general been spending more money. This is mostly due to the fact that I am going out and socialising more. This is basically a necessary expense in the military I think. Whilst one could stay inside and refuse offers of socialisation, it would affect your standing within the 'tribe', in the long run making one's job more difficult.

In any case, these costs will not scale up massively, and combined with an increase in salary (all going well, it will be up by 70% by the end of the year - the joys of no longer being a trainee), they do not present much of a cause for concern.

Finances:

The good news, all funds that will be required for the property purchase I hope to make later this year have now been disinvested. I also made a large contribution to my personal pension which has been topped up with a good amount of tax relief, resulting in quite a nice boost to my overall net worth. I decided to make this large contribution to the personal pension for two reasons:

- The money in the personal pension is locked away until at least age 57 (more likely age 60 by the time I get there). This basically is saving me from myself. Recently I have been feeling a lot of speculative tendencies, thinking I can make large bets on the stock or crypto markets and come off the victor. This is a stupid belief, and whilst so far I had been lucky and come off okay, this run of luck will not continue forever. The pension is locked away and it only offers index funds, so therefore there is a limitation to how stupid I can be.

- Stocks do not look attractive to me at the moment. Their valuations are sky high, almost divorced from reality completely. We have also recently seen many things which, for me, appear to be signs of peak bubble. House prices in the UK have gone insane, NFTs of youtube videos or memes have sold for half a million pounds, a joke memecoin about a dog has a larger market cap than actual companies which produce stuff. Everything is insane. When I invest in a pension however, none of this matters. In 40 years, all of this madness will be a footnote in history, and therefore I can invest in an all-market ETF and not worry what will happen in the next week.

Apologies for the rant, haha. Anyway, my current net worth is approximately: £65,000! So pretty much a £6k increase on last month, which is obviously great :) . £2k of this increase can be attributed to tax relief on the pension contribution, the rest is down to lucky investment returns and partly my salary. This will definitely be the last time for a while that I see such an increase as I have now disinvested most of my net worth.

Targets and thoughts for next month:

Whilst waiting I've decided to take some leave in order to walk the West Highland Way. It is a 96 mile long walking trail in Scotland which mostly goes through the Highlands to Fort William, which is right next to Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis. So I am planning on hiking the trail (wild camping along the way) and then climbing Ben Nevis. I will then have a day/afternoon in Edinburgh, before getting the train back down south! I'm really excited, the trail looks immense.

Other plans include trying to somewhat improve by dating life, but we will see how successful I am in this :lol: . I have finished Brothers Karamazov, now I am just finishing Aristophanes (Greek comedy is much more interesting for me than tragedy!) before starting on Emerson for next week. I think his writings will suit the trail :)

Other than that, not much else. Life trudges along. Good luck to everyone reading, and seeya next month!

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

Big update

Well, life got in the way a bit in the last few months and a lot has changed.

Briefly, by this time next month I will not be in the military any more. I was close to finishing my last bit of training when due to external circumstances I was told that I would no longer be able to go into the 'trade' (job) that I had been training for. I was offered the choice between training for a new trade or discharging (leaving). After some careful consideration, I decided to go with the discharge route. It was quite a difficult decision, but I believe it to have been the right one.

But now I am a bit of a loss. I don't really know what route to pursue. I thought about going back to education, or trying out a career in finance again, or travelling. However nothing even jumps out to me. The things I do enjoy doing are difficult to monetise, and I feel I'm getting to a point in my life where I have less opportunity to make these sorts of big, changing course of life decisions.

I'm stuck between a million different desires which are not always compatible. I want to travel, live abroad, learn and read a lot. I want to live on a smallholding, or live in a city and have some sort of societal 'status'. I want to buy an apartment and save towards financial independence. Evidently, some of these desires are not compatible with the others, so how does one decide which desires to pursue and which to not?

However, in the meantime I have applied to do a coding 'bootcamp' (a free one, not the ones which cost £10k :lol: ). That begins soon, and when it finishes they help to place you in junior web development jobs. It feels like a good opportunity, and I believe I could learn the skills to do the job. But am I passionate about it? Do I need to be passionate about it?

I don't know the answers.

Finances:

My current net worth is: £68,500.

Obviously with my soon to be unemployed status the plans to buy an apartment have been shelved. I'm also doubtful about how wise it would be to buy a property any time soon when it feels like we are in peak bubble territory. A cryptocurrency for a game version of the Netflix series 'Squid Game' went up in value from 1 cent to $4.39 in the space of a few days, that has to be peak bubble right? :lol:

Is this just market timing though. Shouldn't I just be buying a world index fund whilst ignoring the noise? Should I put all my money in gold and cash?

I don't know the answers.

Thoughts for the future:

I don't know :lol: . That might be the common thread of this entire post. I'm quite gutted that I couldn't continue in the trade I was training for in the military. Going back to the Stoicism however, I think I have to chalk this up as something that is outside of my 'sphere of control'. What is in my control is how I react to that situation and the decisions that I make next.

I don't know what decisions I will make next, but I'll try to make the right ones.

Hope everyone is doing okay, seeya soon!

MeloTheMelon
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by MeloTheMelon »

I'm stuck between a million different desires which are not always compatible. I want to travel, live abroad, learn and read a lot. I want to live on a smallholding, or live in a city and have some sort of societal 'status'. I want to buy an apartment and save towards financial independence. Evidently, some of these desires are not compatible with the others, so how does one decide which desires to pursue and which to not?
I like the idea of focusing on 3 desires, although one taking up 80% of the time you can allocate to your desires.
That way you will get progress at one on a decent pace, will still being able to follow other smaller projects.
Once you get one project/desire done you can reallocate resources and move in a new project into the fold.

Now the only problem seems to be how to decide which ones to follow. There is a decision matrix appraoch that works really well for me, especially when I have to decide between many options. IIRC it's from the book What color is your parachute, but I'm not sure anymore.

You take your desires, list them, no order needed, and number them, then draw up a pyramid like this https://pictureitsolved.com/wp-content/ ... ngGrid.png making it short or longer depening on how long your list of desires is. Then start circling, If you had the choice between option 1 and option 2, what would you pick, and so on. Do that for every field in the pyramid. Then count how often you circled the number for each option and voilà you have a ranking of your desires. If you have a tie between two desires, check the column where you had to pick between them, and if you have a tie with more than two options do the same processes again but now just with the left over options.

I just realized that this sounds way more complicated than it is, especially if you did it once.

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

Back from a super extended break!

I honestly thought it had only been a few months since the last post. Turns out it about 10! Well here goes anyway with the life update!

Life update

- Met my girlfriend, online (of course :lol: ). She is from Texas, so have been out there once and she just got done spending a month here. She is now looking at coming here next year to do a master's degree. I liked the US and wouldn't be opposed to moving there (thinking way ahead).

- Got a job. Remote work for a small web agency. I am basically doing tech-support/software testing. But also doing lots of other bits. Like it so far as it is helping me to better define what job in tech would be most pleasant to me.

- Studying. Working towards a cyber-security qualification. Think next year I will start a part-time degree in cyber-security or computing. Also want to take test to achieve B2 level in Russian.

- Moving. Have fallen in love with Scotland. The scenery is beautiful, there are so many outdoor opportunities for outdoor activities there. I can also actually afford a niceish flat/apartment there, so am looking to buy something there by the end of the year.

- Started a youtube. Wanted to do something out my comfort zone and also work on my Russian. So started a youtube channel in Russian. It is here if you want to check it out (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_LDCg ... Un09Gtebsg). Most videos have English subs so my mum can watch :lol: .

Finances:

Finances have taken a hit. Only started this current job 2 months ago, so essentially went 6 months without work. During this I was also spending quite a bit, on holidays, a new laptop, etc. All of this combined with the losses the market has seen in general this year, means my net worth currently sits at £55,000. £13,000 off what it was at my last post! But more money can always be earned.

For the future:

Being in a relationship has made me much happier. My current job has also helped with this. I partly miss the community element of the military and would like to build this into my life. I'm hoping to do this after I have moved to Scotland through joining some clubs, etc. In any case that is all, thanks for reading and good luck to you all! :D

@MeloTheMelon

Thanks for the advice. Interestingly I almost indirectly done what you described, using a ven diagram instead of a pyramid however. It definitely helps to clarify and order desires. Through doing it I discovered that quite a few of my desires were very similar and could be combined into similar things. The youtube channel came about as a result of this. It combined my desire to start a channel with working on my Russian, cooking, going outdoors.

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fiby41
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by fiby41 »

Congrats on the girlfriend, job and channel.. subscribed! I also have channel in the same subscriber range but lost momentum after 100 videos.

shelob
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by shelob »

Glad to read your update, and that it's worked out well for you! Congratulations on the relationship, and job, and everything else. That youtube channel looks really well-made and professional. Good luck for the move to Scotland! Keep us up to date how the apartment-buying goes. Cheers!

ertyu
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by ertyu »

How are things with you, Sabaka?

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

Thank you all! All is well thanks, busy with life flashing by it seems...

Life update:

Have made the move to Scotland! (City of Stirling to be precise). Already have fallen in love with the place. I bought a flat where I've got a supermarket 5 minutes away and mountains 15 minutes away! Work continues, I got an inflation based pay rise so a bit better off monetarily, but still earning below the average wage.

I hope to change this soon through finding a new job in a similar field (QA, software testing, etc). I really like my current company, but in terms of professional development and financial compensation it is a bit lacking. However after tasting the sweet nectar that is fully remote I don't think I could ever go back to more than 2 days in an office...

Despite being a below average earner, due to the thrifty/ERE ways (and some help from mum and dad) I managed to put down a large deposit for this flat, my mortgage payment is 1/3 of what I'd be paying to rent this place. So I will be able to save a good £500 a month hopefully...

Youtube has taken a pause... By nature I am something who does not stick at things, someone we would describe in the UK as a 'Jack of all trades, master of none' :lol: . Youtube is another thing I have tried, however I found it got to a point where I felt a 'pressure' to put out content. I am quite keen on the idea of uploading some new videos of my adventures in Scotland, but I need to figure out how to keep youtube in a fun space, not be obsessed with the time value of uploading new videos or in making it a side hustle.

GF will soon visit Scotland for an extended period, as a trial of how she would like to live here. If she likes it an engagement might be on the horizon for 2023... (more money! :lol: ).

Finances have been a bit over the place with the moving thing... However on purely 'net-worth' view I am now better off due to the parents contribution to property. I will have actual figures next month I promise :lol:

Tbh I sometimes feel as if I am a fraud writing here, as my ERE ways have definitely softened since I started journalling 5 years ago. Frugality for monies sake used to be the lens through which I viewed/done anything... Now other things have come into competition, a GF who lives half the world away, a recognition of how lucky I have been resulting in a desire to 'pay it forward' (effective altruism - giving 10% of my income to charity), wanting to support local community (expensive small grocery stores, etc). Lots of these things require spending money.

If we took current society as a baseline I am still very frugal... (isn't the average savings rate somewhere below 10?!) However that frugality has definitely been tempered. But the sense I get from these forum is that we're an eclectic bunch at various levels on the frugality index, so hopefully you'll still have me here!

Goals for the future: see below

Image

That's about it, see y'all soon! :)

ertyu
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by ertyu »

Congrats on your new flat, sounds awesome!

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

@ertyu

Thank you! I am liking it here...

Life continues... GF's stay in Scotland has come and gone, it was very nice to have a 'living trial' with her. We've both decided that the life we want to lead is in the US, so we will soon be starting the process of me moving over there! :D And of course first will be a proposal during our holiday together in July. The process should take approximately a year, so I imagine I will be in Texas by the end of 2024!

I have found a new job. Still in software testing, a higher salary and a bit more technical work. However a bit more pressured as well. I have been working hard to develop myself technically, long-term I would like to move into automated testing/dev-ops. I say "would like to", I'm not sure what this means. I cannot say that working in tech is my dream, or that it fulfils me greatly. But remote/hybrid is the norm, it is less pressure than a lot of jobs, and the salaries are relatively good.

As part of this professional development, I have started studying towards a degree in cloud computing. The aim is to be able to finish it by the time I am eligible to apply for jobs in the US (when I've got my green card basically).

All of these studying and professional development is taking a lot out of me, but the mountains of Scotland help to revitalise me! :lol: Where does one draw the balance between professional development and other interests? Once the FIRE fund is sufficiently full, I do not envisage myself working in IT for the fun of it... I dream of instead making the money I need (and fulfilling my desire to work) through other methods, such as volunteering, investments in the local community, writing... Time will tell.

Financially, progression is there but it is slow. My networth is now approximately £83,000.

Life plan atm (liable to change):

1. Make the most of Scotland while I am here.
2. Move to Texas in 2024, marry, and finish degree.
3. Find a cushty IT job with a good salary.
4. Buy a smallholding.
5. When the FIRE fund is large enough (house+land paid off, funds to cover the essentials) transition to a new kind of lifestyle.
6. Peace.

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

Time for a quick little update I believe...

Girlfriend is now fiance, I proposed in July as planned, and she is currently over here for the Christmas holiday. Life is going good on that front...

Still somehow in my new job, and to be honest I struggle to fill the days. I am in the position of being the only 'Software Tester' across three different product teams, therefore I do not directly have to report to anyone day to day. Occasional busy days towards the end of sprints, but overall not much at all. Have tried to utilise the free time with: a) studying towards my degree; and b) studying automated testing, devops stuff, etc. But overall the job is unfulfilling, and I still have the thoughts of 'Is this it?'.

Regarding the degree, I have switched course and I am now studying for a less difficult 'checkbox' degree. I am 75% of the way there, hoping to finish in Spring 24 (if anyone wants to hear more about 'college hacking', shoot us a message :)).

Lots of hiking done in Scotland, it is what makes the work week worthwhile. This has helped confirm that whatever the future entails, the outdoors must be a large part of it. How to make that happen is the hard part...

Networth is stagnant. My wage is just below average for the U.K, and even with my low mortgage payments, it feels quite hard to get ahead. A recent problem with the car necessitated a £600 outlay, car insurance on top of that was another £400. £1000 is a couple month's savings :roll:

Ofc could have given up the car, but car = visiting remote parts of Scotland = life worth living :lol:

Plans are still afoot to move to the US, probably in Autumn of next year. I hope that with 2 yoe and a degree a moderately good paying IT role will be possible in Texas, but who knows?

delay
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by delay »

Congratulations on your hiking sessions! How about spicing up your journal with some photographs :D
Sabaka wrote:
Mon Dec 04, 2023 2:01 pm
Plans are still afoot to move to the US, probably in Autumn of next year. I hope that with 2 yoe and a degree a moderately good paying IT role will be possible in Texas, but who knows?
As far as I know the only thing you need to get started as a software tester is a heartbeat.

If you want to be paid well, I've seen testers rise quickly through the ranks. People like the guy who writes Rands in Repose. It seems that the key to professional success is a rational approach: what's the situation, how do I define success, and how can I achieve that? In other words, the price for succes is the joy of work.

Sabaka
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Sabaka »

@delay Thanks!

A few of my favourite photos...

Image
Image
Image
uppercase

That's how I got my start in software testing... :lol: I think the key is doing enough of the interesting/harder work (test strategy, automation, devopsy stuff) to be able to market yourself as more than a manual tester. I'm hoping that this role will allow me to do that, but who knows...

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Slevin
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Re: Freedom through Frugality: Sabaka's Journal

Post by Slevin »

I started as a QA engineer back in the day; now I'm full-on SRE / Devops, but in the middle I was: Manual QA tester -> Manual + some automation -> Automation Engineer -> Lead Automation Engineer -> Lead Devops Engineer -> (not sure of my prefix) SRE.

My advice is basically what you are saying. Learn to automate tests, Either in JS or Python. Back end will make you look better and smarter, because its easier (UI testing is generally unstable, so its nearly impossible to build stable testing, and due to that fact, you will always look bad. Backend testing is usually more stable). I did the Python route. Obvs you need to do a lot of bash scripting + groovy scripting for Jenkins / etc in the middle there as well. I would recommend getting yourself out of the role of "Manual tester only" as fast as possible, its basically a career dead end despite being incredibly important. If you need to move companies to do change how you are looked at, do that!

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