Finance Round 2 [Freewriting & Rant]

8 days ago, I wrote about my journey to financial independence. The plan’s in action and I’m following a strict budget. Cutting out those weeknight beers hasn’t been doable for me yet, but I’ve managed to cut eating out to a minimum. Beer drinking’s a large part of my social activity and like many other Millennials, I often feel lonely and disconnected. The real challenge lies in reducing my social activities when loneliness is linked to premature death. Sounds great, your majesty…

The most profound experience so far has been reducing my food budget. I was spending well over $600 on meals each month. Then, I moved to a home with a nice kitchen. Prepping meals consisting of roast potatoes, asparagus, bell peppers, and meats, I’ve cut that down to $200 per month. Add in eating out and I’m at about $300. Not only have I been saving money, but time as well. I know it’s hard to reduce eating to such a minimal amount, but I live two blocks away from a wonderful discount store. This has allowed me to cook $3 lunches throughout the week and drop another $.50 on dinner. They’re pretty good, too! It’s not easy going to Trader Joe’s or another supermarket to keep costs down, but if you live near an Aldi or the magical grocery outlet, you’d be in luck. I grab a meat base and add about 4 ounces of meat to each meal, cook the veggies, and other ingredients, and drizzle some balsamic on the remaining veggies. I’ve been at this ‘finance diet’ for a month now and I’ve got more money in my wallet and I’ve managed to tie my belt a notch tighter.

There’s some debt that I’ll have for years — Student loans, unless of course they’re entirely forgiven. You know who I’ve got my money on for 2020 and I’m hopeful. $1000 per month would be a nice bonus, too. I’ll take both! Making that $405 payment each month to the government that fucked me is brutal. I’ve been making payments for 4 years and reduced the principal balance on my loans from to $45,000 to $35,000. Without the loans, I’d be entirely debt free and well on my way to buying a home or quitting my day job and traveling. I don’t know that I’d recommend college (unless your parents are paying for it) — let alone the graduate counseling program that I completed. The Internet’s got plenty of free classes and videos on financial literacy and just about anything you can think of. DIY is a simple YouTube click away. Statistically, you’ll make more money with a college degree, but crippling debt will be at your side for another decade.

Then, there’s gas. You can’t live without it in Los Angeles. Goddamn fucking Iran blowing up Saudi oil fields. I average filling up 15 gallons each week. The last few weeks I was able to spend $3.50 per gallon, totaling $52.50 each week. Now I’ll be spending $60. If gas prices continue to rise, that’s another $30 I’ve gotta throw away each month. The USA continues to offer its students predatory loans and steadily sends them into generational poverty. Iran’s backed Houthi rebels blow up an oil field. How did they expect people ever to pay back the $1.3 trillion dollar loan scheme when wages have been stagnant since the 1980s? They knew no one would be able to pay it back and I’d highly recommend voting for Democracy over our current Oligarchy.

As a Millennial, you’re probably getting fucked by the government, health insurance companies, internet service providers, banks, and even foreign governments. Meanwhile the Baby Boomers could put themselves through school and buy a home with a working class job. I know gas prices fluctuate and every penny counts, and we can’t really blame the Iranians for our high gas prices. You’ll continue to have unexpected expenses and the best way to tackle these costs is by having a cash safety net and low debt. If the government’s not going to give you one, you sure as shit better know how to budget!

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