“…I was in my late twenties and did not exist in the USA [financially, that is]…”
Image: sitting on a park bench, newly arrived at Savannah, Ga. in September, 2008.
The beginning of my financial journey…
In late 2008, I boarded a flight from San Jose, Costa Rica carrying 3 pieces of luggage, a backpack, a handbag with my most essential belongings, a sealed envelope -filled with documents that would allow me to enter the US as a student upon arrival- and a feeling of privilege for being able to study abroad. However, reality was about to set in harshly, I was in my late twenties and did not exist in the USA [financially, that is]. I had no bank accounts, no previous physical addresses, no credit history, no cell phone, no prior cable or utility usage, and a brand new, temporary social security number. I was a ghost.
Thankfully, with the help of friends of friends in common, emailing and social media, I was able to find a roommate and secure a place to live in Savannah -before even getting there. Once the Greyhound hauled me and my unwieldy luggage from Atlanta to downtown Savannah, the fun was about to begin. Why did I not fly directly to Savannah, you ask? Simple, I saved money by flying SJO to ATL and then “Greyhounding” it the rest of the way. Yes, I wish I had purchased a direct flight once I found myself carrying all those bags from the plane to the plane train, to the bus, and finally to my friend’s house the last week of August, in the muggy, summer weather of beautiful Savannah, Georgia. Nevertheless, I was 26, full of energy, and had nothing else to do that day, but get myself from point A to point B. I did not get to travel down I-75 everyday in Costa Rica -so why not save money, and gaze out the bus window at the interstate scenery that was fairly new to me, while I was at it?
Even though that is where my financial journey began in the United States, that is not where it started in my life. There were many principles that I had learned and put into practice back in Costa Rica during my first quarter of a century on this planet.
I will illustrate how I learned and practiced the concepts of saving, planning, budgeting, researching, frugality, living under your means, and other financial basics in the posts to follow.
“There were a number of principles that I had learned and put into practice back in Costa Rica during my first quarter of a century on this planet..”
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