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Colin // RebelwithaPlan

Colin Ashby is the writer behind Rebel with a Plan, a website dedicated to people who choose to rebel against the norm of living in debt and feeling financially unenlightened. He believes everyone has an eccentric quality to embrace and that lattes are sometimes a necessity (despite what the personal finance community tells you).

Beginner Frustrations

gettingstarted

It’s 12:38am and I’m still staring at the computer screen. My eyesight filled with a cloudy outlook from being in front of the computer too long.

I’ve been trying to “get things off the ground” as they say and as expected, it hasn’t been easy (hardest part is getting started, amiright? Ha.) I’m doing the the whole laughing thing to keep from getting more nervous 🙂

Lately I’ve been trying to get back into freelance writing. I did a bit while in university and now I’m ready to get back to doing it. Back in the ring and things are fierce! The majority of the job listings I’ve seen could be divided into two types:

  1. We are looking for article writers for a well-recognized website. The articles need to be well-researched and adhere to strict deadlines. Unpaid but great opportunity for exposure! 
  2. Need well-experienced writers who write well researched, in-depth compelling content. RPW: 0.05/ $25 per post.

Why, why, why? It can be frustrating, frustrating to see how people are okay with paying writers so little for work they want to be top-notch. Scrolling through many of these types of posts has been a downer. The struggles of the beginning stages.

So, why exactly am I doing all of this? I’m sure you can already guess it: debt. Debt in question? Student loans. Da-dung… (just imagine a big bell ringing).

Student loans are like that clingy significant other you just can’t seem to get rid of. I’m going to get rid of it though. Freelance writing and some other endeavors are going to be the avenues to help supercharge it and pay down the debt faster.

My eyes have been gravitating more towards Melanie’s Dear Debt website lately. On the site, she posts submissions from people and their different variations of hatred towards debt. I’m loving it! Awesome motivation.

When it get rocky, you just have to adapt and make things work

Back in March, I bought and went through the highly praised 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success e-course by Gina from Horkey Handbook. The course was amazing and well worth the affordable price tag.

In addition to that, I purchased a better theme for this website and bought a one month membership to Contena Pro. Making those investments!

Doing all of this, I started to gear up to pitch again. Then…my life went in a whirlwind of changes. I attended South by Southwest festival for eight days, then spent a week in Oregon, then hopped on a plane to Bangkok, Thailand, leaving the USA for six months.

All of this meant I didn’t have my beloved workspace anymore. It got traded in for working on couches and dealing with crappy WiFi. Hostel life was awesoooome, but still. Adding to the pile.

iraglass_beginners

A year from now, you will wish you had started today 

This thought rings around my mind every night before I go to bed. While things may not be in the place I want them to be, I’m glad I have gotten started instead of making excuses.

Now I’m in the beginning trenches. I know it won’t be forever. I like to think of this period as the skin-thickening period. Also the sponge soaking period considering how I’ve been reading any and every freelance writing strategy article I can find.

Things are tedious and frustrating right now but I’m glad I got started. That’s what’s important.

  • Everyone has to start somewhere
  • Do what you can, with what you have, where you are (love me a good Teddy Rosevelt quote)
  • Be proactive about telling people what you do, opportunity sometimes strikes at the most random of times

What has been something you have had a rough time getting started with? How did you get through the beginning stages? Let me know. I love hearing different perspectives! 

What an Indie Filmmaker Taught Me About Money

moneytruthsjoeswanberg

Last month I got to attend the South by Southwest 2016 festival. It was awesome and being my second time attending, it felt better this time around than the first. I got to revisit one of my favorite cities, Austin, and attend several interactive panels and film screenings. The big thing making it more enjoyable this time around was that I actually knew more about the panels and what to attend. Plus, I got more knowledgable about all the free things and food being given out this time around! Wooo!

The best thing I got to do was attend a keynote session lead by independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg. He’s really known for being one of the frontrunners of the mumblecore filmmaking movement. A movement centering around ultra-low budget and DIY filmmaking.

Many of the people around me know I have an appreciation for independent “indie” film. Unlike mainstream Hollywood, which churns out superhero, remake, and reboots over and over again, indie film offers a fresh perspective.

Joe Swanberg is most known for his films Drinking Buddies and Happy Christmas. A prolific filmmaker, he’s written+directed+produced 20+ films in the last decade. The first film I saw of his was Drinking Buddies and after that I was hooked.

There’s something so great about seeing someone stay scrappy when starting out and having a solid work flow to them. When he got up on the stage at SXSW, the first thing he said was “I want to talk about money, something that people need to start discussing more.”

Money can be an empowering tool 

It amazes me whenever people turn their noses when the topic of money comes up. Money doesn’t buy happiness. I’d rather be broke and happy than have lots of money and be miserable. We’ve all heard the often cited phrases putting down the discussion of money as something crass and not worth the time.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Money management and making money are two important things that need more discussion.

Due to collaborations and discussions with other filmmakers in his niche, Swanberg was able to get a better perspective on industry pay. He mentioned how if he hadn’t had these discussions about money, he wouldn’t have known his monetary worth.

You don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate

After pitching and landing a gig producing a web series, Swanberg became more in tune with knowing his worth, understanding the power of his skills, and being able to negotiate good rates for his work. Throughout the run of the series, he kept understanding his worth and negotiating.

“I became aware people were watching this show and I should ask for more money. I was learning to be a negotiator and to stand up for myself and value my work.” 

Pay yourself first+invest in yourself

There’s a guideline rising in popularity in the personal finance world about paying yourself first. Automate your savings and spend what is left after saving, and not the other way around.

This concept was similar to what Swanberg talked about when discussing knowing your worth and investing in yourself.

“The only way you’re ever going to make any money is if you invest in your movies.” 

Aside from mentioning movies, the quote can apply to many different industries. It’s a concept I’ve been growing more into. Many people don’t like spending big amounts of money but if it’s really valuable and you know it will help you, get it, invest in it. This was was I told myself when I contemplated buying an e-course I really wanted. It was worth it!

Don’t half do two things, whole do one thing

*****RON SWANSON HALF ASS TWO THINGS IMAGE*****

Day jobs. Ah, those two words conjure up mixed reactions. Some people are content with their’s while others feel restless with them. The ever so mentioned “9 to 5 day job”. Swanberg had a day job while making his first several films.

The films made money but none of them had been hugely profitable. Like many who have a strong presence in a project outside their 9 to 5, he contemplated how if he just had more time to devote to his films. He wanted to fully engage with the process of being a filmmaker.

“I had a day job when I made my first two movies. Then the realities of traveling the festival circuit with a feature film became so much that I had to decide: do I keep the day job and half engage with the process of being a filmmaker or do I quit the day job and fully engage with the process. I said screw it and and [focused on filmmaking].”

Yes day jobs hold their weight in being able to provide a steady paycheck, but they be something clung to out of desperation. If you have an inking of focusing more on a side project and have figured out different ways to go about making a living then go for it.

Happiness is money

When Swanberg talked about how happiness was money, my brain went around in loops. It was such obvious yet not so obvious advice at the same time. Time is money is the frequently mentioned phrase.

What about happiness and money?

“Time is money but I would also say happiness is money. It’s often not worth the money to take a shitty job on something you hate. Anytime I find myself making money doing something I hate, I fight with my wife more. I’m snippy with my kid. I look back and realize it wasn’t worth the money.” 

When you work and do something you really hate, you’re trading your happiness for money. Yes, I know working the ~~DrEaM job~~ is not always in the cards but don’t settle with staying in a job you hate.

Look for ways to earn income on the side, figure out an exit strategy. Don’t settle. It will cost you some of your happiness.

5 Things I Know to Be True About Money

money truths money management

Lately I’ve developed a not so good habit of reading copious list articles on personal finance. You know the ones that go…

10 money things you need to know before turning 30

7 finance fundamentals you should know

8 ways to get better at money management

They’re addicting, aren’t they? This past weekend, I spent more time than I needed to scanning through LifeHack and Rockstar Finance reading several different list articles. I digress, it’s because I’m trying to learn more about finance and get better at managing and growing my money.

Throughout the trials and tribulations with life, I’ve learned something: being knowledgable about money is super duper important. I’ve always known this but have also resisted it. I would scribble down things I had spent money on for a certain day but then not want to actually go through with making a budget. I’d read about credit card rewards but then scurry away from them because I thought credit cards were horrible things to have.

Money is something we have to interact with everyday and whether we like it or not, many of our decisions involve money in some way or form.

As I’ve become more involved with my money and the personal finance world, I’ve learned some things. This list isn’t comprehensive of any and all money lessons (that’d take a while to talk about!). It’s just a few key takeaways I’ve learned so far.

1. Focus on building wealth in your early working years 

Building wealth and investing early is one of the most talked about things in the personal finance world. Most have seem the various charts showing 20-year old investor A and 40-year-old investor B. Investor A usually always comes out on top with more returns on their investments over the long run.

A while back while in my remaining semester for college, I was looking for information on retirement planning. I felt lost and needed actionable information. No one around me (twenty-somethings as well as older adults) talked about retirement planning.

Whenever I spoke about it with older adults in their 30-50’s, they would get this frightened look on their face and just say “Do it! Do it! Save anything you can!” over and over without giving any clear advice on how to go about doing it.

Things are moving along better now. I’ve been reading more about index funds, Lifehacker’s April money challenge, and even picked up The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be Complicated (Loving it! Will write up a review on it soon). 

2. Just because everyone else is buying the next “life” thing doesn’t mean you have to

When I graduated college (about 1.5 years ago), I continued to drive my rickety Ford Focus with 185,000+ miles on it. I knew I didn’t want to buy a new car and have to take on a car payment. So I made a savings goal and started putting money toward buying a preowned car in the future.

Everyone questioned me on this.

The most memorable occasion was when I was over at my mom’s house one day. My brother made a sly remark about how it was “embarrassing” that I was still driving my old car. He went on and talked about how I “needed to stop being cheap” and just go ahead and buy a new car. (This is a guy who bought a truck he didn’t need and wastes his money on irrelevant things every month).

Buying a house and financing a new car were two big things repeated over and over. A lot of people around my age started buying new cars, getting really nice apartments, and so forth.

Do I regret not taking on 20-30K in additional debt by getting a car? Heck no! Not being tied to a car payment is what helped ease the transition to moving to Thailand.

3. Having good credit is super important

The importance of good credit has really been ingrained in me recently. Having good credit is so critical to financial wellness. I’ve been vigilant and made sure to pay my bills on time and my credit card balance in full every month.

A person’s credit score is now even started to affect their employment prospects. W0o0w!

4.  Credit cards can be useful (i.e. not evil) things to have

All throughout high school and college, my parents as well as other adults would give horror stories about people saddled with high-interest credit credit card debt. Credit cards were made to seem like the devil’s advocate.

I would picture Janice Ian from Mean Girls whispering: Evil takes the plastic form with credit cards.

Credit cards are not evil. When used responsibly, they can be really beneficial.

There are three big benefits to using credit cards: building credit, security, and rewards! Resolving charges from getting a stolen credit card is easier than with a debit card. Credit cards provide a myriad of rewards based on the type you get and they help you build credit.

As long as you are responsible with them and pay your balance off in full every month, they are pretty useful things to have.

5. Finance wellness takes practice and patience

When I started getting into personal finance more, I quickly got discouraged. Everywhere I looked, I would read things about people having 10,000+ in their emergency funds, bloggers making 10K+ per month, people maxing out their IRA’s every year and so forth.

Reading all these success stories made me feel less than stellar with my efforts. Almost as if I was doing personal finance the “wrong way”. I’ve moved away from that bad feeling and follow something better now.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are —Theodore Roosevelt

There are different stages to financial wellness and big things usually don’t happen overnight. The important thing is to just start. Make small steps towards a bigger goal. Everyone has to start somewhere.

I’m sure as time goes on, I will learn more “money truths”. I’m only 21 after all. Still a long way to go!

What are some things you know to be true about money? What has your journey in personal finance looked like? 

photo credit

Don’t Settle With Staying in Debt

don't settle with staying in debt

Long time, no see! Whew, as explained in a previous post, these past few weeks have brought a whirlwind of changes. I attended South by Southwest 2016 festival in mid-March, went to Oregon for a week, then two days later hopped on a plane and left the country and will be where I’m at for the next five months. I’m living in Bangkok, Thailand at the moment and loving it.

Now I’m back and ready to talk about something weird I’ve been noticing happening lately: settling with staying in debt.

Ah, when something gains in popularity, there eventually starts to be more opposition to it. Right? The main debt topic is student loan debt, but I will touch on others as well. Many people have student loans and as they’ve been talked about more, articles have been popping up discussing ways to pay down student loans faster and getting out of debt.

What I did to pay off $28,000 of student loans in three years.

How I paid off $40,000 in student loans in 1.5 years

What I did to pay off my $50,000 in student loans in five years while on a small salary. 

Most everyone has read at least a few of these articles They’re really freaking inspiring. The people featured in these articles and the ones reading them are looking for ways to pay off their debt and move on with their lives. Personally, the idea of being debt-free seems like one of the best things to experience (I still got them student loans, paying them off as quick as I can!).

Well, eventually articles taking the opposite stance started to gain more popularity.

How to consolidate your student loan debt!

Loan forgiveness programs and jobs to get your student loans wiped away

I have 90K in student loans and in no rush to pay it off fast

The articles detailing how to consolidate or get loans forgiven rubbed me the wrong way. Then essays started popping up of people saying they were in no rush to pay off their student loan debt.

In a way, I could see where the articles were coming from. Seeing countless pieces on paying down debt super fast can get discouraging. You see the big numbers people paid off every month and feel like you could never reach that level.

While at work a few months back, me and some of my co-workers talked about the high price of college nowadays. To my dismay, some of my co-workers talked about how they were in student loan debt but in no hurry to pay it off.

Paying debt off early is good, but I want to live my life you know? 

I don’t want to cut back on things in my life in order to pay off my debt faster. I wanna live life to the fullest. 

Hearing these reasonings led me to think about all the ways people settle with staying in debt (student loan debt, auto debt, and credit card debt).

1. People view frugality and/or cutting back as limiting rather than empowering. 

It sucked to hear my co-workers say these things about their debt because it showed how people still view cutting back as something limiting rather than empowering. Cutting back on things in your expenses, in order to put more toward debt payoff, is  does not have to be limiting. It’s all about assessing one’s priorities and goals.

Do you really need to have a top of the line apartment without roommates? Do you really need that fancy gym membership or deluxe cable package? Are you sure there isn’t any way you can drive your vehicle less so you can save on fuel and auto insurance expenses? The list goes on.

2. Failing to see long term 

We can all agree that life can be expensive. Yeah you can cut back and do without this but there are always unexpected costs and things you can’t avoid. You know what makes handling these occurrences easier? Being debt-free.

Being debt-free opens up more opportunities for you and gives you more flexibility. Ask yourself, what could you do with the extra money you save on interest from paying off debt early?

Being debt-free allows you to embrace your future without being held back by your past.

3. Seeing debt as something inevitable

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think having debt is some horrid thing that should be avoided at all costs. Although it should be minimized. Debt taken on should be thought through and something you know you can manage and have a plan of action to get rid of.

Ask yourself how the debt will affect your life. Be intentional and really know why you are taking on debt.

4. Paying off debt early makes you more awesome

I super duper like people who make it a goal of theirs to aggressively pay off their debt early…and then actually do it. Many of these people understand their priorities and assess their situations. They understand doing some thing for the short term to pay off in the long term.

The take on second jobs, look for additional sources of income, reduce their spending, hustle, and increase their overall grit and work ethic.

People who willingly just pay the minimum amount and move on? They’re too passive.

Debt shouldn’t be something that’s seen as commonplace. It’s limiting and something to be avoided. After all, not too long ago in America, having debt put people in a bad place.

How do you view your debt? Do you consider it a fact of life or something to be rid of as soon as necessary? 

When In Bangkok…

ridesurf_LA

I’m writing this from a hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand.

Wow, these past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I didn’t think I would take three weeks off from this site but things got busy! Ha ha. The last time I published a post, I was in the midst of attending the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, TX. All day was filled with attending panels and doing activities. There is so much great stuff to do while going to SXSW.

Just a few days after SXSW was over, I went to Portland, Oregon. The state is so freaking beautiful. Oh my gosh. There’s so many breathtaking hikes and views to see. Definitely put Oregon on your list of places to visit for your next getaway.

I was supposed to meet up with another personal finance blogger, Melanie from Dear Debt, while up there, but unfortunately schedules conflicted. Next time!

Just two days after getting back from Oregon, I hopped on a 14+4 hour flights and headed to Bangkok. I’m going to be in Bangkok for the next six months, teaching English. Woo!

Yeah it’s weird and something slightly unexpected. I decided on it back in January of this year. I was driving to work, to a job I was less than happy about, and wondering how to get out. I job searched for a bit but came up frustrated. (finding a decent paying job, that has benefits and is satisfying is like hitting the jackpot).

While job searching, my mind kept trailing back to a TESOL program I had heard about from a travel blogger a while back. I kept thinking about it and eventually applied, thinking “What the heck, it’s not like I’m actually going to do it.”

I had a conversation with one of the coordinators and then put it to the back of my mind. A week later, after another morning of waking up and wondering what was next, it hit me: this is it. Do it. 

And I did.

I applied and got my passport, got a visa to enter Thailand, gathered my documents, bought a one-way ticket, and set off.

Being here now feels weird (in a good way). You see, I was never one of those people who studied abroad or got to spout off all the places they’ve been. Studying abroad was never an option for me. I was always focused on working to pay my bills and get through school.

I would always roll my eyes whenever I would hear other people talking about how studying abroad was a “must” and to “just do it and not worry about the money”. Yeah, right. The study abroad programs were always out of reach for me financially.

When I graduated college and started a full-time job, I thought my time for extended travel was over. I was okay with that. Taking one week trips to places isn’t so bad.

Now, I’m getting to be in a new, unfamiliar, exciting place for six months. Something I never thought was possible. It’s crazy to me that I’m still even able to be here. Yesterday I was looking at inexpensive flights to India, Hong Kong, and other places…and it’s actually a possibility for me to take them!

I’m not some world traveler now. I do have a job teaching English, making a micro-salary (that I’m actually able to somewhat live on). Although, I will have breaks from school and do plan to take as many trips as I can.

In comes this site. I’m going to back at posting financial stuff next week. (back to the routine, yo!). I’m still pondering how I’m going to incorporate my life abroad into the mix. I really want to address some of the financial stuff of traveling and already have some ideas.

Now I just gotta get started!

This post is kinda choppy since I’m writing it at 8am in the morning before I got to training. Starting to carve out a time for writing, though! I look forward to getting back to the routine! 

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