Category: Personal Finance

April 2020 Net-Worth Update

My girlfriend and I have been able to get into a decent quarantine routine in Vietnam. In the morning, I run on the beach and she does Yoga.
The sunrise during one of my morning runs.
Most of our afternoons and evenings are spent teaching online, but thank God we still have an income! The remainder of our time is spent trying new restaurants (by delivery only)  and streaming a few TV shows like, Avatar: The Last Air-bender, The Last Dance, and The Fresh Prince (Yes, they are all streaming on the Vietnamese Netflix).

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January 2020 Net-Worth Update: My Net-worth Increased!

The last four weeks have been some of the most exciting in my life.
With growing hysteria surrounding the coronavirus, staying in China meant facing travel restrictions. As a person who’s chasing financial independence to gain ultimate flexibility, the idea of being “locked-down” in a Chinese city doesn’t seem too appealing.
Therefore, I left China, temporarily. I have every intention of returning once there is a realistic solution to this virus.
I’m not concerned about my health. At least not when I glance at the reported statistics.
However, when I read an article on the news or social media, I walk away thinking this is the beginning of the next zombie apocalypse. I have to stop myself from panic buying water, guns, and bullets.
I could be wrong, but I think we are far from a reenactment of the Walking Dead.

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Future Millennial Caregiver Pursuing Financial Independence

Holy s*** my parents are getting old! They are both well into there mid 60’s, divorced, and single.The more I think about my plans for the future the more I realize the realities of becoming a millennial caregiver pursuing financial independence.

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9 ways to make your lover love Budget Meetings

There is nothing sexier than watching my girlfriend fuss over cells in an excel spreadsheet at our weekly budget meetings.
For the last three months, my girlfriend and I have consistently been having weekly budget meetings. We spend a little over an hour in a restaurant reviewing our expenses and goals and thinking of ways to save more money.
 The first budget meeting was complete torture. It ended in a bunch of tears, broken hearts, and my broken ego. With some work the meetings improved, and now they have become more of a pleasurable experience. The budget meetings aren’t only a time to talk about money, but we also find ourselves talking and communicating much more than we did before.
I’m writing this post to share some tips that we’ve learned to help us stay on track and consistent.
** My girlfriend and I keep separate budgets, and use the budget meetings to talk about everything that we plan to do with our money individually**

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The 2019 Book Awards: The Books I Read in 2019

One thing that changed, in 2019, was my commute. I went from no commute to having a 1 hour commute by train. Rather than spending an hour watching You-tube or Netflix, which I would have done in the past, I thought the best way to maximize my time was to… read. Reading on the train turned out to be the best decision that I made all year!

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4 Reasons Why Its Easier to Save Money In Asia

Saving money is one of the benefits of moving to Asia. In some countries, “the Big 3”, (housing, transportation, and food costs) are almost always cheaper than in America. This alone makes Asia a perfect place to increase your net worth, but I’m starting to realize that there maybe other reasons why I find it easy to save.
The biggest reason is that I don’t feel the constant urge to buy shit here. I can go days without buying anything.
In Atlanta ,my hometown, this was not the case. From the time I woke up, I was blasted with advertisements attempting to get me to part with hard earned cash.
This article is going to explore 4 reasons why I think its easier to ignore the noise of advertisements, and peer pressure, and save money in Asia.

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Why Are Engagement Rings So Expensive

I am so blessed to have someone in my life that is willing to put up with random obsessions, constant rants about money, and my constant need to be alone. After some time (6+ years), I’ve come to the conclusion that this is probably the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with.
After coming to that conclusion, I sit down at my computer and start shopping for the one thing that is “supposed” to show that love to someone. The one thing that is “supposed” to be a symbol of how much I care.
What do I discover instead?
A f****** (excuse my language) industry that is taking advantage of peoples’ emotions by over-charging them for an item that is ‘supposed’ to make them happy.
The prices of engagement rings are ridiculous!
This post is going to cover a brief history of the engagement ring, how much they cost, and what people actually spend on them.

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The Cost of Living Abroad: Shenzhen China

I LIVE IN CHINA! I never thought those words would be coming out of my mouth. Let alone posting them on internet.  Teaching English Abroad has given me the opportunity to live in another country and continue down my road to Financial Independence.

How much does it cost to live in China? Is it cheaper than the U.S.? Well… I can answer that question now: yes , but not for the reasons you may think.

To show you an example of the cost of living, I tracked my expenses for 30 days. In this post, I will show exactly how much I spent for 30 days, while living in China. I’ll go over the following expenses: HOUSING, FOOD, TRANSPORTATION, FITNESS, and MEDICAL. Continue reading “The Cost of Living Abroad: Shenzhen China”

How I Make $3000 a Month From Home!

From driving drunk people at 2AM, to picking up electric scooters, the gig economy in the United States (U.S.) is BOOMING! It isn’t even showing signs of slowing down. I’ve invested my fair share of time behind the wheel as an UBER driver. Fortunately,  I quickly began to look for something more lucrative.
For the past year, I’ve been working as an online tutor with VIPKID. VIPKID is a Chinese  company that gives Americans and Canadians the opportunity to teach English to Chinese Students.
This post summarizes my experiences thus far. Specifically, I will talk about how much money I’ve made, the pros, the cons, and how you can get involved with the company.

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Why I Can’t Travel Hack & You Shouldn’t Either

Travel Hacking is becoming extremely popular in the Financial Independence (FI) Community. For those of you who don’t know, travel hacking is taking advantage of credit card sign up bonuses by hitting the minimum spend and canceling the card. If someone completes this cycle multiple times again they can accumulate large amounts of credit card reward points. Those points can be used to purchase travel (Aka: expensive plane tickets), book hotels, and even rent cars. Travel Hacking is a great way to save money on travel, but unfortunately it is not for me. Therefore, I will not recommend it to anyone else.

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