Reply to How to build wealth as an immigrant?

Forum Index » Money and Finances

Reply to "How to build wealth as an immigrant?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Not an immigrant but first generation college grad that grew up very lower class with no connections. I now live comfortably, should be okay retirement wise, and have put my kids through private school and college. I don’t have any secrets, I don’t have a system, and I don’t know if what worked for me would be useful to anyone else.

But I worked hard in high school, worked harder in college, and worked hardest to get my advanced professional degree. I didn’t have scholarships or family money, so I also worked as many odd jobs as I could did during school and summers and breaks. I took one “vacation” for 4 days as part of a family trip over 7 years of school. I didn’t do Spring Break, or anything like that. School for me was work, but I loved the chance to make my life my own so I was passionate about my work ethic and earning a great education. I never second guessed that.

As an adult, I aggressively pursued lucrative work by working my way up from the bottom. It took years and I switched jobs along with the way a few times as I built my career. I saved. I paid down debt like a crazy person as I moved up. I invested responsibly. Still do. Up market down market, doesn’t matter. I read a lot about investing and am a DIY investor. I tried not to spend on things that lose value (cars, clothes) but I spent on things that increase in value (my house, a modest art collection). I spend a lot on my kids and their education because that is what the money is for and it makes sense to me. I really don’t spent anything on myself and I don’t “keep up with the Jones’s”.

I was fortunate to marry someone who also works. My spouse’ job provides our health care and helps with retirement too. I don’t always share or agree with my spouse on spending and that is frustrating. But on the whole we are more or less on the same page most times. It helps that my spouse has entrusted me to manage our finances. We have avoided some pitfalls because I avoid big mistakes, which are unfortunately easy to make in a society that judges you by what you drive or the size of your house.

I was incredibly lucky. By working hard, I gradually got to know people. Some of them took a liking to me, mostly because I was relentless in focusing on my work and they knew they could trust me to do a good job. They gave me more work, more opportunities, and ultimately became my friends and mentors. They were my “network”, which was great because I am not great at “networking”.  I also treated people with respect. I am not outgoing but I tried to be myself and feel for other people. I learned a lot by just listening to people talk about their lives and their ups and downs. They struggled in their own way too.

I am now squarely “middle aged”. I am always nervous about the future. I worry about my ability to continue to succeed. There is an anxiety that gets built up over decades of struggling. My kids don’t know what that is like, which is good, but also I fear they are missing some of the hunger that drove me to survive. You never know if what you achieved is real, or if somehow you are going to lose it all. But you are also proud to know that your kids don’t need to worry like you did. It’s a mixed blessing to have all this in my head.

As an immigrant, you may agree that this is an odd country. It has challenges. It is not even sure what it wants to be anymore. It may not recover its purpose and it may collapse into insanity. But it still offers the best chance to make something of yourself. It can be a brutal place — there are no guarantees that working hard will get you anywhere. You might save and invest for a lifetime and then suffer a calamity. I lost my job during the pandemic. Got a new job that paid less. Then got another job that pays my twice what I was paid before. You cannot predict these things. It’s chaotic. But this country allows you the chance to try. Which in many ways is all you can ask for.

I wish you and your family all the luck in the world. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics