How I got to where I am

After graduating from college I was in a position a lot of graduating seniors are in. I had no idea what I wanted to with my life. With some credit card debt hanging over my head (with interest running at 19%) I took the first job I was offered and even worse I didn’t even negotiate from the low ball salary they offered me. And I was living with my parents. Which all sounds rather sad and depressing looking back on it.

I quickly learned that the only way things were going to get better was for me to take matters into my own hands and start working toward a better future. I began saving and paying down my debt aggressively. Then the next fall I took what felt like a big step and enrolled in a part time MBA program from one of the leading schools in the area. Three years latter I graduated with my MBA, was free of my credit card debt had built up a cash reserve and saved enough to pay for a car. Though a series of promotions I had managed to get my income up over $40,000, but that doesn’t go far living in an expensive East Cost city. Unfortunately going back to school caused me to rack up $45,000 in student loans, and I was STILL living with my parents.

At the time interest rates were at record lows and I was able to consolidate all of my student loans at a low rate and by using their automatic payment option and paying consistently on time I have gotten the interest rate reduced to a mere 1.625%. Obviously I’m in no rush to pay off this debt. During this time I realized that the only way I was going to really increase my income was to change my employer, so I began my job search. I developed a list of companies that I wanted to work for and began contacting each of them.

I soon received an interesting offer from a company in San Francisco that I really admired. It wasn’t the job I was hoping for, but rather an internship. I’ve learned in life to never automatically dismiss an opportunity simply because it doesn’t fit the preconceived notion we may have for what we want. In other words, always keep an open mind! Weighing my options I decided that it was worth taking the chance of resigning from my job (which I didn’t really like anyway), driving across the country to take a low paying internship at an awesome company where I could gain very valuable experience and make industry contacts. Six months later I finished a very enjoyable internship and had landed a job with nearly double the income of the job I gave up on the East Coast. This is similar to what Ramit at Iwillteachyoutoberich.com talks about when he says sometimes you need to work for free so that you can get the job you want.

Along the way I started reading personal finance blogs and articles and received an inordinate amount of help, tips, advice, encouragement and entertainment. This blog is a way for me to contribute and possibly help someone else and also a way to keep myself accountable and motivated to continue saving and financially thriving while living in one of the most beautiful, fun and expensive cities in the country.