I'm a Dutch introvert who discovered he loves to travel. Together with my girlfriend I live in the downtown area of Utrecht in The Netherlands. We have no pets and no kids. We do have a neighbour cat who visits us every now and then, which is not very beneficial for my allergies, but I like it nonetheless. I currently work as a self employed IT Engineer who specializes in Linux and Open Source technology. My girlfriend works in a drug store in the city and enjoys going to the gym.
My logo is a picture I made of a hot chili pepper. Our freezer is full of them. Also known as a Scotch Bonnet, this is a really hot chili from Suriname where they call it an adjuma (or adjoema). My girlfriend is part Surinami and she was the one who taught me how to eat spicy food. There's no particular reason for choosing the adjuma for my logo and domain-name, I just like it :).
The reason why I'm writing this blog in English is because I want it to be accessible to people from all over the world. There are a lot more people who understand English than there are people who understand Dutch.
In 2013 a co-worker introduced me to the concept of Financial Independence and that's when my journey towards financial freedom first started. At first, my plan was to become financially independent as soon as possible. I didn't have a detailed plan at the time, because I simple didn't know how much money I would need and how long it would take me to acquire it. I just started.
My current goal is still a bit hazy, but that's because situations tend to change over time. So I think it's better to have a global idea and set the details later when needed. At the moment I no longer feel the need to become financially independent as in 'retire early'. I much rather want to be financially free. I've read several stories about people who quit their jobs after they became financially independent only to find out that the money they were making with their new lifestyle was also enough to live of. They could have quit much earlier.
For instance, a famous FI blogger once wrote that he started doing odd jobs as a carpenter (for fun) after he quit his job and then noticed that he was making enough money with his carpentry to pay for his bills. He then realized that he could have quit his job a lot sooner.
To prevent myself from falling into a big hole of nothing after I quit my job, I aim to become financially free rather than financially independent. And then pursue a different and more interesting 'career' without the need for a steady and high income.
My goal is to become financially free when I'm 45 years old (or sooner) which should be somewhere in early 2023.
