Finally catching up with technology

So I've been thinking about this for a while. How was I going to share my message with the world? How was I going to educate, inspire and prove that "thrifty," "frugal," or "tight-wad" living wasn't as scary, hard, nor as bad as the titles imply. During my daily 'research' (aka fluffing about on the net) I came across a site where a group of like-minded people came together to share ideas on saving the almighty dollar. This was my first source of inspiration for sharing my own message to the world that living the good life doesn't have to mean working 3 jobs until 65, selling your first-born or committing yourself to a lifetime of mortgage hell...

However to put this realisation in context, it's probably best I explain a little about me and my background in personal financial planning. I'm 27 years old, educated (somewhat), I work full-time in a public service job and I've scrimped, saved, over-spent but come a long way my 27 years. I earn a slightly above-average living, but it hasn't always been that way.

I moved out of home when I was 18 years old (mistake number 1), I worked 3 jobs, went to university full-time doing nursing (which I then inevitably dropped out of) paid rent, maintained a car and generally kept my nose clean. It was during this phase in my life that I started to question "is it always going to be this hard?" I'm sure you've heard the soliloquy of the cash-poor uni student living on 2 minute noodles, fishing through next door's garbage cans looking for the daily newspaper...(well maybe not that part) but yes that was me Mrs Xu!

It was this first encounter with independence that drove me to aspire for more. I was distraught with the concept of paying someone else's mortgage, albeit a pittance of rent I was paying. I knew without a doubt that my first ambition in life was to own my own home. At 19 years old I set out to try and achieve just that and by 20 I had secured my very first property in a very dodgy end of Goulburn NSW.

My parents always meant very well, however the old-school thought of "go to school, get good results, get a good job" (in that specific order) was often heard at the Allen dinner table. So, in the hope I could remove that inscription from my forehead I enrolled myself in accounting (dad wanted me to be a doctor, but doesn't every dad?) I completed this course in 12 months and walked away astounded that the basic concept of debit and credits was not taught in schools. I was also however, further inspired that I had now learned a concept that I could apply in my everyday life.

To be continued....