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Never would’ve thought 180 minutes away from my friends would have changed my finances for the best. I was always a [New York] city guy and I still consider myself one for the most part. Living in the city has taught me so much I credit my humbleness to the harsh lessons.
Seeing how I’m able to aggressively reduce my credit card debt in such a short amount of time, I no longer consume foolishly as I used to. Without this journey, I probably wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with my spending habits and spending a couple dollars a week couldn’t hurt.
MY NEW YORK CITY WAYS
Back then, It was a routine for me to stop by a liquor store, get a bottle and head straight to friends house. During the summer, we would take trips all over the states and sometimes across the North border. Never had a dull weekend literally speaking. I do not regret the times spent with my friends and I wouldn’t change a thing even if I could.
Yet, when I think back how costly my habits were, simply to impress my friends and surroundings, I feel embarrassed. In 2010, I traded my paid Volkswagen to finance a $24,721 2006 BMW just because most were driving a BMW. Whereas, in the city, having a car is not necessary; it’s more of a “want” than a “need” as public transportation runs around the clock.
LITTLE EXPENSE, BIG OUTCOME
I still shake my head when I think about my routine stop at the liquor store. At the minimum, the purchase of a vehicle can be considered an asset but nothing from the liquor store can.
Every weekend, I’ll spend about $20 on a bottle and sometimes I’ll chip in for food order. Let’s see how quick it compounds for at least a decade. It has cost me about $9600 in booze just to consider how a small gesture had a long term effect on my finances. That’s about my remaining student loan balance as of this post.
FROM THE CITY TO THE COUNTRYSIDE
My spending patterns have changed . Now, on weekends I’ll be home playing video games with the kids and have a drink with my wife once in a while.
However, not much has changed from what I can tell when talking to my city friends, besides traveling less due to the pandemic. Otherwise, they kept the same routine going. I was the youngest amongst them and the only one without a mortgage I was still living with my parents.
Due to the distance, I no longer get invited to the hangouts and other activities as I used to. It doesn’t bother me at all because one will be crazy enough, in my honest opinion, to make the three-hour trip every weekend just to just for some drinks. This wouldn’t be in alignment with my journey anyways, the trip alone is enough to add up to three shares of [AT&T] $T. I chose to no longer live with FOMO [Fear Of Missing Out].
Yup, strange, I tend to see ticker symbols everywhere even when it comes to my pocket money.
Sometimes, it takes a small change to have a major impact in your [financial] life.
Don’t get me wrong, I still follow them through social media. Watching them having a blast and all. Yes, I do get jealous sometimes but when I think why I have not started that financial independence journey sooner; I come back to my senses.
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Gio founded TheGrowthFocusedGuy in January 2020 because he was fed up with debt.
His mission is to document his journey to Financial Independence in order to motivate and inspire others to get out of debt and begin building generational wealth.
