About Me
My Background:
Male, mid-twenties, single, residing in Vancouver, Canada. A self made thousandaire, planning to become a millionaire one day. I have really supportive parents who helped pay a portion of my college tuition, but I’ve received no inheritance other than that. In 2008 I graduated and began my humble career at a multimedia company with a $35,000 starting salary. In early 2009 I used my savings to buy, and move into my own apartment. My salary today, even after a few increases, is still nothing to brag about. On an hourly bases I’m making less than the average Canadian in my age group (which according to the government is $26.01/hr as of Mar 2013.) In the last three four years that I’ve lived on my own I have learned a lot about financial management. Between working a second job, controlling my spending, investing in a diversified portfolio, and a little bit of luck, I now own three times the amount of equity in my home than when I first bought it. My ~$14,000 student loans have all been paid off 
I contribute annually to both my TFSA and RRSP. Plus I have over $50,000 $100,000 worth of additional investments, mostly stocks and farmland. I’ve shared my tax statements from previous years to show that how much income one makes is not nearly as important as how one manages that money to maximize long term prosperity. My wealth should continue to grow exponentially because I’ve learned how to make my money work for me, and achieve greater success through fiscal prudence and investing, rather than relying on a paycheck alone. I’m Liquid Independence, and welcome to my freedom 35 blog (^_^)
My Strategy:
I have a typical middle-class income, and my expenses are also quite typical for a guy my age. Overall I’d say my lifestyle is pretty average. But I believe even an average person can become a millionaire with the right mindset, without ever having to make a six figure income or live on a strict diet of instant noodles and oatmeal. In order to do this, I have been developing an investment strategy which combines the wealth building tactics used by successful individuals all around the world. These tactics may include but are not limited to, leveraging, value investing, working at a part-time job, swing trading, dividend investing, alternative investing, multiple income sources, hedging, starting a business, etc. Most investment decisions I’ve made have been profitable. However I have also made some costly mistakes along the way, but I hope others can learn from my experience. When my career began in 2008, I had more debt (mostly student loans,) than assets. But today my net worth is over $100,000 $150,000 with my main investment portfolio already generating over $4,000 a year from dividends and interest alone. Eventually I plan to reach financial freedom, which means I’ll have enough income generated from just my investments to live a comfortable life. And I plan to achieve this goal when I am 35 years old, hence the name for this website. My strategy is not a get rich quick and easy scheme because it does require a little discipline and a lot of patience. But it’s simple, realistic, and very doable. I often post about the individual strategies I use on the home page.
My Philosophy:
Life is about balance and moderation. I try to balance my spending to make my life just as comfortable today as I plan to be in the future. I don’t want to save money so aggressively that I’d miss out on life right now. But not saving enough would leave me with financial difficulties when I start a family, or eventually retire. So currently I save around 1/3 of my total gross income, which I find is the right balance for me.
I have a similar mindset when it comes to investing. Penny stocks are too risky, but the safest investments like US treasuries don’t have any growth potential. So I balance my portfolio with investments like real estate, commodities, and blue chip stocks, as well as a small handful of more volatile and higher risk equities.
My Goals:
These are my life long goals
-Become financially free
-Donate at least a million dollars to charity
-Become part of the 1% wealthiest people in the country
-Start a company and create jobs for my community
-Qualify and become an accredited investor
-Fly into space
My Disclaimer:
Even though most strategies I describe on this blog can be easily duplicated by almost anyone else, some methods, such as leveraging, are quite risky. Everyone’s financial situation and risk tolerance is unique so before listening to any advice you come across on the internet, including this blog, please speak to a trusted professional. See full disclaimer here.
Very kool man, very kool!
I like your philosophy and have the same Freedom 35 goal. I stumbled on your blog just by chance.
Like yourself, I started in 2007 with around $25000 student debt, but now an getting close to 6 figure net worth. I have 2 income streams and various investment vehicles.
One avenue that I am strongly trying to tap into is the real estate market. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Have a great day,
Mark, in Moncton, NB
Heya Mark, thanks for dropping by. I’m glad to see others who have similar aspirations as myself (^_^). I personally think real estate is a great investment in the long run. Unfortunately as of now, 2012, interest rates are near historic lows, and the banks are very happy to lend, so this pushes up the demand for housing and artificially inflates prices to above market fundamentals. So for investment purposes I would not buy any real estate in major cities like Toronto or Vancouver today, but there may still be some opportunities in alternative real estate investments like REITs, or farm land, that has potentially less risk.
Hey there,
I came across your story on the Me and My Money column in the Globe and Mail which has led me to your blog.
Just want to say nice work and very inspirational story! I’ve been investing for about 6 months now, but it’s mostly been in ETFs. Hopefully after reading more through your blog and learning more, I’ll build up the courage to get more aggressive.
Cheers,
Patrick, in Vancouver, BC
Hey Pat, nice to hear from a fellow Vancouverite. I’m fairly new to investing myself, so we can probably learn a lot from each other. And if you’re reading financial articles and choosing ETFs instead of high cost mutual funds, then I believe you are doing all the right things so far ʘ‿ʘ
Congrats on your goals! It’s nice to see someone with a good plan and another fellow Vancouverite
I bet you’ll get ahead of me in your Dividend Progress, I am just above $5,000 now.
Yeah, there’s quite a few financial bloggers here in the lower mainland. Thanks for dropping by (^_^) I still have some way to go before getting to $5K a year in dividends, but congrats on reaching that milestone yourself. Passive income all the way!
I enjoyed reading your bio. Sounds like you are on the right track to get there!
Best, Sam
Thanks for the support Sam!
Gonna be really cool if you can donate $1 million to charity!
Here’s a though, if you believe paying taxes is a form of charity since our taxes are redistributed, then it’s much easier!
I’ve paid more than $1 million in income taxes and now I want to go off the grid.
Hi
Love your plan and find it super interesting tracking your progress. My question is: where did you gain all of your financial knowledge?
Cheers
Nick
Hey Nick, great question. Finance and business news sites such as BNN, MSNBC, Globe Investor, Yahoo Finance, etc are all great places on the internet to learn about personal finance for free. What I do is browse through the front pages of these kinds of websites every day and choose just a couple of interesting articles to read. And if there’s anything that catches my attention in those articles, I would go on Google and do some further research about the topic.
Hi
Great site – really inspirational. I came across it through ModestMoney.com and check back regularly to see how you’re doing. Great job dude!
I’m based in London but have pretty similar financial goals – you’re spot on about passive income!
Michael
Cool, I don’t get many readers from across the pond. Thanks for visiting.
Thanks for the mention Michael.
I really like your financial plan too. Having so much money saved up at your age is impressive, especially knowing it’s not due to some high paying job. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from you, especially since you literally live 10 minutes away.
[...] Liquid Independence posted interesting information on the median and net worth of Canadians and Americans. While the Canadian median is higher, the American average is higher. Read on to find out more! It really struck me how much higher the average is than the median. There are some very rich people out there… [...]
Having a goal is the half of winning, congrats and good luck on your journey to financial freedom.
I recently came across your blog and I am very interested in reading it. I graduated from grad school in 2010 and I am making the effort to set myself up for financial freedom and starting a business down the road. I am a financial analyst so it will be interesting to read and follow the stock market with you. Best of luck, this should be a fun blog to interact with.
Would be great to get the professional opinion of a financial analyst on this site
. Feel free to comment on anything you like. You seem really career driven. I know you’ll be successful with your investments and future business some day. Looking forward to connecting with you as well.
Even if you do not make it to that magical million, just know you will be ahead of so many 35 year olds….It can be done and good luck!
Joe
Wow…..I like it
Good for you! I’m rooting for you to reach your goal! You can join “Mr. Money Mustache” with the retire by 35 goal 
Good to read your story! I’m sure you’re going to do well! Sam
Thanks for sharing your story. From your day job income $25+/hr you have an impressive savings rate! Good stuff.
An interesting perspective – and one might say the right perspective – hard work, sensible investment decisions and a smattering of luck! Well done on being perhaps a little more level headed and committed to your future rather than just the present as most today seem to be.
I’d love to write you a guest blog post – we cover alternative real estate – we have bought and sold farms on 3 continents on behalf of Investors, as well as participating in a range of structured real estate investments that have delivered ahead of expectations.
David Garner
DGC Asset Management
Love your blog! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to sharing your blog with friends (late 20s and early 30s) – It’s nice to find a relatable financial perspective. Best of luck with all of your short and long term financial goals!
Thanks for spreading the word around about my blog (^_-) Send me a message if you or your friends would like me to cover any specific topics