SAVE MONEY!

It takes a lot of discipline to save any amount of money as it's much easier and more rewarding to immediately find something worth spending.

Since I was little I have always been a saver. I remember when I went on school trips, my parents would give me money to make lunch, but I didn't spend all the money. I saved as much as I could to put the remaining coins in my safe (a cookie jar). I had no plans to spend the money that was accumulating in that cookie jar. I really loved seeing the pot fill with coins.

Back then it didn't even cross my mind that I could make money work for me. That changed when I started working.

FIRST JOB

My parents always complemented each other. While my father worked to provide for the basic needs of the family, my mother took care of me and my brothers. They always made me and my simbling's recognize the importance of studying. I was privileged in relation to the Brazilian reality, because I didn't have to work until I went to college.

I started working as an intern when I was a sophomore in law school. The money I earned was little, but I managed to keep almost everything because I lived with my family, so I didn't have to worry about paying the bills. My expenses at the time were no more than R$ 500.00 per month (almost 250 dollars). If I had kept up that amount of spending, I would have achieved my financial freedom long ago.

KANGAROO GENERATION

Here in Brazil, it is common for adults to live with their parents until marriage. I include myself in the kangaroo generation.

After I graduated from law school in 2010, I continued to live with my family for another five years, which allowed me to accumulate a good amount of money, not only because I didn't have a lot of expenses, but also because I received a good salary as an employed lawyer.

In early 2015, I rented an apartment with my girlfriend. My expenses increased. I couldn't save as much as I used to.

TAKING CONTROL

Since I graduated from college, my standard of living has changed several times and it keeps changing. But I've never had a standard of living that couldn't be covered by the salary I get. In fact, I've always managed to save more than 30% of my income.

As I am a lawyer, I have no fixed income, but variable: one month I earn more, another month less. That's why I always needed to have a controlled financial life. And excel helps me in this task.

By the way, I'm an Excel spreadsheet junkie. I organize my financial life basically through two spreadsheets: one for income vs. expenses and the other for investments. Since 2010 I keep track of my budget and my investments through these spreadsheets.

So, even though I started writing this blog in 2021, I'll be able to show you all my evolution.

Can't wait to share them with you.