I got a late start in personal finance….

Generally speaking, things have been good. I’m in my mid-30s with a career, a decent paying job at a company where I’ve been contributing to my 401k and most recently maxing it out over the last few years. I add to my IRA, sometimes maxing that out as well. I contribute roughly 20% to my savings account. Then after, a few thousand a year to a brokerage account in mutual funds, ETF that climb the stock market. Most would say that’s successful, my family is proud of me – but as far as achieving finance that personalized to me, my future goals, I’m so far from it. I didn’t learn about these things til now.

Living in an expensive area

I live in the Bay Area, it’s expensive. It wasn’t always that way – when i was little, it was a bit more affordable. These days, it’s near impossible to buy a home and not be house poor even if you have a good paying job.  And it’s scary to think about all the outside forces that can bring unexpected rainy days. The worrying of losing a job, stock market crashes, and this pandemic we’re in – life is unpredictable. Although thoughts of moving away come up, my family is here – lots of them so my personal choice is to stay in the area.

I grew up in a small family, my parents immigrated to American in the late 70s/early 80s from their country in Asia. Growing up we were poor, living off one income. My mom worked at a restaurant cooking just to supported 4 children and send them to college. We were taught to study hard in school, go to college, get a successful job and save your money. We did all that – yet it’s still hard to get ahead.

My approach for this blog

Today, I’m just starting to get hold of my personal finances now. I’m starting to learn about the ways of diversification of funds, F.I.R.E, and how people are retiring early. Which is why I’m writing this blog. I’d like to write about how to get better at money management, things I learn along the way, and if it benefits people that are not as familiar as well. For experts, discussions on improving would be great.

This blog is an evolution of my personal finance, to achieving basic goals of financial stability, and understanding my basic worth.