A story about a certain F.FIRE tribe I know (2)

 

내가 아는 어떤 F.FIRE족의 이야기 (2)

In retrospect, I was lucky.

At least I got a job where I got a salary if I worked hard.

Moreover, I was able to commute to work while living at my parents' house.

Among my peers who came up to Seoul from the countryside, there were many who had no money left after paying rent, management fees, food, and student loans with their small salaries.

So I was able to save more than 90% of my salary.

I stayed away from people who liked to smoke.

It's not my problem if I, a smoker, die early because of cigarettes; it's my problem.

But I didn't want to get involved in his personal problems by being a passive smoker.

Even though I worked in the same workplace as them, I stayed away from people who liked to drink.

People who like to drink said that if they were good at entertaining their bosses, they would be able to get promoted easily and get into a good department.

But still, I stayed away from them.

Such people couldn't save money until they got married because they had to pay for alcohol.

In fact, most of the money they spent ended up in the pockets of the bar madam's husband.

No matter what my boss told me to do, I would stop immediately after work hours and leave work on time. Instead, I never showed up late or was absent, and I focused only on work during work hours without making excuses.

Meals were always taken care of at the cafeteria.

If you go out for lunch and come back, the 60 minutes for lunch will pass by quickly, but if you eat at the cafeteria, it will only take 15 minutes.

So I maintained my regular work schedule without having to work overtime.

So, my work performance was better than that of my colleagues who worked overtime.

After work, I always looked for a place to move to that would pay me better.

I thought this was a truly American way of thinking.

At the time, companies admired the American job-hopping culture, but they were unable to abandon the Japanese work style, which had already lost its bubble.

I never listened to my boss or CEO telling me to have a sense of ownership in the company.

After all, these companies weren't offering Japanese-style lifetime employment.

From the beginning, I never thought I would work at the same company until I retired, getting a few more pennies in salary through promotion.

Behind me, I could hear my boss and colleagues gossiping about me like this.

But they disappeared from my life after a few years anyway.

In a time when companies were failing and society was in upheaval, the opinions of those who were being left behind were not important.

So I saved up money little by little and even got a bank loan to buy a small apartment on the outskirts of Seoul.

And that was only after three years of getting a job.

And I paid rent for that house.

Even if the company I was working for went bankrupt, I could live off the rent from this apartment until I found my next job.

At the same time, I got a job abroad.

I went to work at a remote foreign branch of a Korean company.

Since there were no Koreans willing to work in remote areas, it was easy to change jobs, and there were even many allowances added to the salary.

A few years later, he added the money he had saved to a bank loan and bought another small apartment.

And I paid rent for that apartment again.

I never bought a car.

I also stayed away from people who buy cars.

In fact, since my main place of work is abroad, even if I buy a car in Korea, it will just sit in the parking lot for months.

By not buying a car, we save millions of dollars every year.

Because there was no need to pay for gas, repairs, insurance, or any other fees.

Even when dating, I always stayed away from women who were wasteful compared to how much money they earned.

I stayed away from women who went to famous restaurants and spent a lot of money buying souvenirs when dating.

I would definitely reject any woman who graduated from a prestigious women's university but said she didn't want to get her hands wet.

Instead, I chose a woman who does not deny but acknowledges her family's poverty and her own shortcomings, and who confidently strives to develop herself and saves money.

Even if they were relatives, I stayed away from people who sold insurance.

Insurance companies consider insurance purchased by people in their 20s and 30s as pure profit.

Conversely, insurance companies consider insurance for seniors in their 70s a net loss.

Knowing this, I never signed up for insurance.

It's better to save up for insurance premiums.

Then came the C19 pandemic, which started with Wuhan pneumonia.

I got a hint while talking to a foreign banker I met while working abroad.

It was a story about his Middle Eastern clients who made money during the 2008 financial crisis.

I immediately invested all the money I earned by collateralizing my apartment into stocks.

Half in dividend stocks, the other half in growth stocks.

And they have brought me a lot of profit.

In addition, the price of apartments that had been owned for a long time more than tripled.

Various government notices were sent to my company's office in Korea, addressed to me abroad.

When my boss realized that I was richer than him and the executive director of my department, he couldn't give me any orders.

I didn't even dare to nag him about work-related matters.

I no longer need to go to work.

I had to leave that company on my own to put my bosses at ease.

I am not one of the so-called N-jobbers, a pseudo-FIRE tribe who say they have FIRE but still have to work to make a living.

Even though I did FIRE, I am not one of those poor FIREs who have little savings and have to survive on minimal food expenses.

I am Fully Financially Independent, so I retired early.