Sharing Some Personal Milestones!
Life’s blessings continue to unfold and here I am again to write about some personal milestones that I have achieved recently. I want to share that persisting in life is the key to success.
I feel young and strong (again)
To begin, I am celebrating my consistent attendance to the gym for a solid year. It may seem like a silly achievement to brag about, but I know that it is very tough for ordinary people to exercise consistently. Last year, when I came back from my San Sebastian and Bordeaux trip, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my cheeks doubled in size in a matter of two weeks. Yes, I am aware of what I did and how much I allowed myself to indulge in copious amounts of GOOD Bordeaux Wine and amazing San Sebastian Pintxos. Want to read about it? Click here. I didn’t regret anything. It’s automatic for me to come back from vacation weighing 20-30 pounds more—it’s part of my career (wink wink). Although, the weight gain became my motivation to exercise once again, just like the good old days when I was doing 600-800 seat ups for 8 months straight (Oh, I’m not kidding).
Aside from the physical benefits of exercising regularly, I found out that it tremendously contributes to my mental health. My mood has been brighter and I have become more level-headed. I've always been a pessimist, always expecting for the worst, but now, I look forward to anything with confidence and a positive approach.
My Car is fully paid
Four years ago, I purchased my very first car. It’s a humble 2019 Camry LE 2.0L that I got with 7,300 miles in it. With a 3.54% interest rate, it was a good bargain. Thank goodness for having an excellent credit score! It was also perfect timing since the world was just about to re-open after the pandemic. The reason why it means so much to me is because out of five siblings, I am the very first to pay off a car using my personal money, without anybody’s help. Don’t get my wrong, I don’t compete with any of my siblings since they all have better and more convenient lives than me back in my home country (and I love them to death). I have a different story compared to them as I became independent at an early age. My father always tells me that it is more rewarding to make it on your own in life. I never looked back.
It was a daunting endeavor for me to be consistent with the payments. There were a lot of unfortunate things that happened in the past four years that really shook me to the core and worried about defaulting on my responsibility. But rather than give up, I persisted and sought ways to provide. As my car loan slowly became smaller and smaller, from 5 digits down to 3, I regained the confidence to say that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, as long as you believe in yourself. Now that my car is fully paid, I promise myself that I will allot the same amount of money to invest in my personal stock market portfolio. I can’t wait for the future to unfold and reap the rewards of what I am planting right now. The goal is to put my money in safe equities and securities that will generate a 10-11% return in dividends. Sounds boring but I did the math on a spreadsheet, once you hit the 5th year, that’s when all the magic of compounding starts to become significant. Don’t forget that some people say that compounding is the 8th Wonder of The World and I truly believe in it.
Some debts have been paid as well
In addition, I have finally paid off my home music studio and cellphone. I rewarded myself with a wonderful home studio when I first achieved a salary milestone. The installment program allowed me to pay it off in four years with a very modest payment. It wasn’t too much of a monthly payment that affects me tremendously, but the fact that I was able to pay it off means that I have more money to invest. I use my home studio all the time to compose music. As of writing, I’m about to finish a new song. If you’re interested in some of my music, let me know. I might create a new page here dedicated to my compositions. Stay tuned!
So there you have it, folks. Celebrate small victories and learn from mistakes. Moral of the story is to be consistent and persist. Persisting creates character, it makes you stronger and wiser. If you’re interested in an article regarding persistence, click here!
Until next time.