About Me
Hi! I am Alfi...
In 2011, I moved to Europe with 40 thousand dollars in debt just having graduated university. I moved for love, but reality struck when my credit cards were maxed out, I had no employment opportunities and had monthly payments I could not make.
Today I am out of debt, working towards financial independence, married to the wonderful woman I initially moved to Europe for.
What could make me think it was possible to move continents with no money? How did I get out of debt? How and why am I now able to think I could retire in my early 40’s? In this blog I answer these questions. In sharing my journey with you, I hope to inspire and share lessons I learned so far. As well as share my journey to become FI.
Frequently quoted statistics illustrate the importance of financial independence.
58%
Have <1K Savings
33K$
Average Student Loan
65+ yrs
55% Believe They Have To Work Past Retirement Age
70%
Say Their Financial Planning Needs Work
Why focus on FI?
In 2010, when I finished university in Canada, I had a diploma on one hand and huge bag of debt in the other. The next couple years were a painful crawl out of poverty (making minimum debt payment, rents and general life expenses). Then I discovered there was another way: the notion of living without debt and eventually the concept of financial freedom. I realised FI could provide me the options and life I really wanted.
The frequently cited statistics that less than half of people have less than 1K$ saved is scary. This was my lived reality and it is frightening! My student loan was even higher than the average of 33K$ and I knew my financial planning needed work. This is why I have devoted the last decade in learning about personal finance and I plan to spend the next decade getting myself (and my wonderful European wife) to FI.
Having studied Economics, working in finance and being an avid student of personal finance, I aim to share what I have learned over the years in my journey of becoming FI.
