Some Background
At the time I’m starting this project, I’m about 40 years old, and I’m a software engineer. I’ve always liked computers, and that’s pretty much the only thing I know how to do. Right now, I have a job that lets me live comfortably enough. I’ve got about $70,000 in debt, and I’m paying it down at around $3,000 a month, so hopefully, in 2 years, I’ll have it all paid off.
I’m an immigrant; I came to the US from Mexico for college, got a degree in electrical engineering, and then started working. My career’s been mostly okay, and I eventually became a software engineer.
I mention being an immigrant because, for the longest time, I felt like the whole visa process was holding me back. I still don’t know if that was really true (where there’s a will there’s a way, right?), but it felt like it. I couldn’t legally work for anyone other than my employer, and I couldn’t change jobs easily while my green card was processing—or at least, that’s what I believed. You know how it is; sometimes, there are things you *can* do but don’t because of fear. For example, I wouldn’t even move cities or travel internationally because I was scared of messing up my green card application. So, I stayed with the same employer. I finally got my green card almost 4 years ago, and even after having it for a year, I was still doing the same thing, not realizing I could’ve started something new.
About two years ago, my income improved, and I almost paid off most of my debt. But then my wife and I decided to invest in a larger home—not really as an upgrade, but to give her the space she needed to start a home-based business she’d been thinking about for a while. So now, here I am, back in debt, and feeling like the $200K+ I make (which could disappear any moment, given the tech industry layoffs) isn’t enough.
I work from home, which gives me the flexibility to try other things without my coworkers watching over me. This puts me in a unique position to experiment with some new ventures or business ideas from home, on my own schedule. That said, it doesn’t mean I don’t work hard—I’m usually busy with my day job for more than the typical 8 hours—so figuring out how to carve out time to build something on the side is going to be a challenge.
The Wife
I think it’s really important to have a partner whose goals align with yours. In my case, at the time I’m starting this project (the second half of 2024), I’ve been married for about 10 years, and we have one child in elementary school. We get along well, share similar goals, and are working together toward this financial objective. While I see the “5 in 5 Quest” as my own thing, I’m sure she’ll contribute with her support, and hopefully, her business will help us pay down the debt.
I’ll try to be consistent and specific when I document the financial aspect of this quest, but I won’t dive too deep into trying to separate my progress from the overall progress of our household.