Reflecting on Privilege and Perseverance

When originally writing this it was a new decade, a new year, and the last few months of my 20s. I was surrounded by people making powerful new goals with excitement and anxiety about the future (…that didn’t age well).

At the time, everyone was focussed on the future but I owed it to myself to reflect back. So that’s what I’m about to do.

And even before that, I want to preface this discussion. If at any point you read this article and think that I’m trying to tell you why my life is/was harder than yours, why anyone can do what I’ve done, or basically anything about anyone else… Then I have failed in conveying my point.

This article is solely about myself, my experiences, and my learnings. It’s not a complete story and never will be.

So Who is this “Saving Sherpa” anyway?

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Justin. A (now) 30 yr old who grew up in Mississippi. I graduated with 34 people in a public school generally filled with students from the lowest income households of my rural county.

Today I earn a solid six figures, I have no children, I live in Boston, and am 80% of the way towards FI. I’m white, heterosexual, and Christian. A quick look at me today and things might seem so easy for me that you find me to be unrelatable.

But you might be surprised…

Let’s Step Back a Couple Generations

My maternal grandparents moved up to Cleveland, Ohio from rural Alabama. Escaping an area of true poverty to search for success in the factories of the north. There are pictures of them with my aunt and uncle posing in a black and white photos looking like a  middle class family in pea-coats.

Then tragedy struck.

My great-aunt was murdered. This sent my grandmother, Honey as we called her, into a serious depression and mental instability. The family moved back south and into Mississippi and Honey was committed to a mental institution for sometime.

Then my grandfather, Bud as we called him, would become an alcoholic. While he was able to maintain a solid factory job in Mississippi, there was no sign of the money.

My mother was born into this lifestyle. One in which steel traps would be set to catch snakes as they came through the holes in their floor and clothes for school came from the trash dump.

The Setbacks Continue

My mom would become pregnant at age 14 and have my brother at age 15. She never got past the 9th grade of high school. The biological father of her first child would not be a part of her life or ever support in any fashion.

With no car and being underaged, she managed to lie about her age and land a sewing job at a factory. She’s told me stories about going to the store while pulling him in a little wagon.

This might sound like the great depression but this was the 1980s in America.

Breaking the Poverty Cycle

My mom overcame many abuses to this point both physically and emotionally. She continued to work in factories and eventually would meet my dad. She completed her GED just before having me at 23 while my dad was entering the best job of his career as Sheriff.

They would later get divorced when I was eight. My mom would continue working for a few years in a furniture factory that was an hour away. She’d receive what was left of $275 per month in child support after health insurance was taken out, but things were tight.

In my early teens she left the furniture factory to go to cosmetology school. It was a rough year of no income but we survived on noodles and free expired ground beef we got from a family member who managed a grocery store.

The biggest thing I remember is that we made the most of it. I found joy in finding ways to make things work and find the best deal. I also remember how some material items like clothes still had a priority. These items made sure that the outside world saw me as an equal and gave me confidence.

Today she owns her house, her car, and is her own boss. She isn’t wealthy, but her unrelenting willpower broke the cycle of poverty and inspired me to do the same.

I Set My Eyes on Education

I don’t know exactly where it came from but sometime after the 10th grade of high school, I knew I wasn’t going to be happy staying in my little town.

I now know this desire too can be considered a privilege. I have no idea why I had it and others didn’t. To be fair, we were just kids. I can’t blame my classmates, even though I often did in the past.

It raises an interesting nature vs nurture discussion.  My Mom always said that she thinks she’d be just like me if things had played out a little differently. She was smart in school, good at math, adventurous, and wanted to see the world. Maybe it was simply genetics. 

My parents didn’t have any money for my college so I went to my “guidance counselor”. I asked him what I would need to do if I desired to go straight to a four year university instead of the community college down the road. He replied, “If you want to put your parents in debt for the rest of their lives, I won’t be a part of it”.

You have to understand that I didn’t want to skip a community college because I was too proud. Where would I gain the right to believe it was beneath me? I wanted to skip it because I needed to push myself and put myself in a situation that didn’t allow me to be content or settle down back where I started.

I was angry that day, and thankful for it everyday since.

Thankful because it fueled me and gave me exactly the motivation I needed. I would go on to take the ACT seven times. I took it until I could get a 29 which was enough to earn scholarships that fully covered tuition.

I now know that my intellect and natural gift for math is a privilege. I rarely study. I struggle to pay attention in classrooms. Instead, I can just grab a calculus book and teach myself the section the night before a test and make high scores.

Let’s be clear, I’m not bragging. I’m so jealous of people who take good notes, are organized, and are studious. I’m none of those things. I just have this ability to reverse engineer problems and teach them to myself in weird ways that no teacher would recommend.

I vividly remember getting in trouble during geometry class because I would write answers and nothing else. I did it all in my head. 

After being reprimanded for not showing work, just to be a stupid teenager, I would first only write the answer, then I'd show my work. I did this to prove that I didn’t need all that extra garbage but I’d do it to get the grade.

This natural gift for math mixed with the desire to be something and the strength learned from my mom was starting to culminate in a powerful force. 

I mentioned earlier that the ACT covered tuition, but what was I to do about a place to live, something to eat, or books?

Free Food Leads to Free College

If you follow me very long you’ll see my extreme love and talent for finding free food. This has always been true about me. When my friends came to me in high school talking about an interview with Air Force ROTC, I could care less.

I never wanted to be in what I thought the military was at the time. I honestly thought that my only option there would be constant underpaid deployments in dangerous conditions. Unfortunately, this is true for some, but luckily for me, it’s not the only narrative.

Well, I wasn’t interested in the interview until I found out the interview was almost two hours away which meant we’d get to eat out somewhere.

I completed the interview as an overweight, long haired, offensive lineman and I’d walk away with an offer that changed my life. No doubt thanks to my designation as a computer engineer, I was awarded a full scholarship.

This included tuition, room & board, stipend, and books. I actually would receive thousands every year in refunds from the college because I had an excess of money coming in.

In that moment, I didn’t appreciate the privilege that I had in being as physically sound as I was. Sure, I was overweight and had no physical talents, but I had no injuries, perfect vision, and nothing holding me back from becoming fit.

So I took the offer. I expected to take their money for a year and quit. I had the right to do so as long as my exit was after one year.

Instead, I fell in love with it. I saw the opportunities. I realized the practicality of getting real experience.  Most importantly, I saw an opportunity to challenge myself that couldn't be passed up.

Highest Highs, Lowest Lows

I loved college. I bleed that Mississippi State maroon and white. I also had the privilege of spending that time with my best friends on earth. It was only two hours from home, but it felt like a different world.

I also grew to love my brothers and sisters of my ROTC program. Commissioning into the Air Force seemed so far away at times, but was the most important thing in the world to me. Until one day, it was all done.

I graduated with a 3.5 GPA in computer engineering. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the world’s greatest Air Force. I even got the location I wanted so badly, Colorado Springs.

Then depression sat in

It was 2014, I was making around $50k a year which meant I had more money than I’d ever seen. I had completed all my biggest goals. But I was 1100+ miles from any person I’d ever known or cared about and I had no purpose.

My Money Story Truly Begins

Searching for that purpose, I went up to someone at the church I’d been attending. I asked if they had any projects, charity work, or mission trips going on. They told me about an orphanage down in Mexico.

The problem was that the team plans this trip almost a year in advance. There was planning and fundraising for the $1500 cost and I had just found out about it a few weeks prior to leaving.

I asked if I could go anyway. They said they didn’t have any beds. So I asked if I could sleep on the floor. They said yes and I wrote them a check.

It was this trip where I would meet Norma. I started sponsoring her the next year. I’ve now been lucky help and support Norma for over 5 years. She is on track to be the first child from Ciudad De Angeles to graduate college off the island of Cozumel.

It was through this experience that I realized money itself did not make me happy.  I also did not know how I could have the freedom to do things like this frequently if I still required a job to fund my life. 

That freedom was my why.

My Financial Independence Discovery

It was April of 2015 and I was 25 years old. I came across the infamous Mr. Money Mustache article. The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement.

It was this article that took a lifelong interest in saving money and gave it direction. I knew I wanted to be financially independent so that I could do those things that made me feel full.

Being with those I loved and helping others was my north star.

So I started this blog in hopes that I could convince my friends to also retire early. After all, who wants to be retired alone

Transparency

The main thing I wanted in my blog was a combination of extreme transparency and a story that could fail. Some blogs I read were transparent but had already succeeded. Some were starting out but kept things a little vague.

But with Saving Sherpa, I wanted it all out there from day one. I also started vocalizing to my friends and family these goals I had. I wanted to start the conversation openly, not surprise everyone some day.

I wanted others to follow along with something authentic and in real time. I felt that helping people feel comfortable about money was the most powerful thing I could do to help them.

My first in depth transparency post broke down all my expenses from October 2017. Since then I’ve shared every penny I spend, every single month.

The Journey from 0% to 85% Financially Independent

I have a spreadsheet which begins in April of 2015 with a $39k net-worth while making $54k per year. So technically I wasn’t at 0. But I hadn’t been at 0 ever thanks to my love for saving birthday and Christmas cash even as a child.

The spreadsheet didn’t start on Jan 1, so the stats won’t be presented as a clean calendar year.

The following is my progress through the years:

April 2015 - March 2016:

Spent: $20,857

Saved: $33,371

Net-worth:$72,656

% FI: 12%

April 2016 - March 2017:

Spent: $22,664

Saved: $57,648

Net-worth: $145,854

% FI: 24%

April 2017 - March 2018:

Spent: $27,550

Saved: $64,233

Net-worth: $227,699

% FI: 38%

April 2018 - March 2019:

Spent: $23,134

Saved: $69,305

Net-worth: $311,992

% FI: 51.8%

April 2019 - March 2020:

Spent: $21,745

Saved: $82,384

Net-worth: $362,560

% FI: 60.4%

April 2020 - July 2020

Spent: $6,391

Saved: $32,420

Net-worth: $511,924

% FI: 85.3%

****New Update from March 2021****

I actually reached FI just before turning 31! Compounding interest is an incredible force. If your progress feels slow now, don’t get discouraged, hang in there!

What have I learned about money?

Money is everywhere yet money is hidden

Money is crucial yet unimportant.

Money is everywhere because it’s how we commute, we find shelter, we eat, we drink, and generally how we gain new experiences.

It drives where we live, what we do for a living and thus often who we surround ourselves with. 

It’s also taboo because no one wants to talk about it. If they are in a “bad” position, they’re ashamed and if they’re in a “good” position, they’re fearful of being seen as boastful.

Money is crucial because of some of the reasons stated above. Where you stand financially can also be linked to risk of suicide and divorce. It can even be a predictor of life expectancy.

At the same time it has grown unimportant to me. Yes, I want this nest egg that I can pull from so that I can retire. I say unimportant because it has become simply a means to an end. This lump of money will allow me to focus purely on family, friends, learning, and experiencing. 

Money is only a piece of what I’ve learned.

What have I learned about myself?

I’m shocked and proud. I never imagined being where I am today. High tech job with a snack wall in a big city staring down the barrel of financial independence.

It’s crazy.

I’m also proud. I’m proud of taking setbacks as motivation. I’m proud I saw the strength in others and mimicked it. I’m proud that I took advantage of my skill set. I’m proud that I was relentless towards my goals. I’m proud that I didn’t settle for what I was statistically destined for.

It wasn’t all will.

I learned that I did indeed have privilege. Privilege of a strong mother, a loving family, an inner desire to achieve, a strong mind, an able body, and being born into a country full of opportunities. I learned that I don’t have to be ashamed of privilege or try to hide it. I just need to be conscious of it. 

It obviously wasn’t all privilege either.

The more I reflect the more I realize that I have micro and macro advantages over some,  and some people have micro and macro advantages over me. I’m not purely a “bootstrap” story and I’m certainly not a “silver spoon” story.

I’m a blend. I took advantage of advantages.

The next five years

This April was five years on this journey of financial independence. I’ve learned so much and so much in my life has changed.

I can’t wait to see what the next five years holds for me and I hope that I get to be a part of your journey in some way.

If you learned something, want to learn something, or just enjoyed this article, I urge you to reach out!