Hi. This is Sandy L from First Gen American. I want to start by saying how excited I am to become an official member of Yakezie. Although I’ve on only been blogging since July of 2010, I have been commenting on blogs for quite a long time. I have a soft spot for personal finance blogs, so finding such a great group of bloggers through Yakezie was like hitting the jackpot.
About First Gen
In case you’re wondering about my background, here’s a very brief bio. I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and I’m currently working full time as a technical sales rep for a large global chemical company. Over the last 15 years, I’ve done a variety of roles in Product Management, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Marketing, Technology and Supply Chain for a Fortune 100 company. As a result, I can be pretty opinionated about a variety of topics.
With regards to my personal life, I am 37 and married with two children (ages 5 and 2). We live in the Berkshires in MA. My husband also works full time as an engineer. He’s great and I don’t know how we’d be able to juggle 2 careers and a family if he wasn’t so hands on, fun loving and hard working. I’m a serial learner and I always have some side project going at all times. Currently that project is blogging. In the past most of my side interests have been practical in nature such as home improvement, gardening, cooking, etc.
So what is First Gen American All About?
Just about all of my personal finance tendencies can be traced back to my immigrant upbringing, hence the name First Gen American. One of the lead characters of my blog is Babci (it that means grandma in Polish and is pronounced Bahbchee. She’s my mom but took on the permanent role of Babci after my boys were born). She falls into the extreme frugal camp and always is coming up with crazy ideas for trash. She’s had a pretty hard life and I’m always inspired by her ability to maintain such a great attitude despite the hardships she’s gone through.
Babci came to America when she was 36 and within 10 years, she bought an apartment building with cash. She provides a lot of inspiration for those who want to know how to live on a bare bones budget. I’m not nearly as frugal as she is but I do think her story helps those who think they can’t cut any more out of their limited budgets. I’m definitely more mainstream with the way I save and spent, so I feel I provide a good buffer to the articles. For example, although my mom has never had a credit card, I do. I also believe both ways can be effective ways of saving and spending. I really don’t think there is only one right way of managing one’s finances.
Another reason I started the blog is because I have a horrible memory. Blogging allows me to document my experiences with my mother before they are lost and forgotten. In fact, when I was asking my friends what I should write about, quite a few of them voted for stories about my mom. For those of you who’ve read some of the stories, you know that Babci could care less about social convention and she can be a little out there at times. It was always a bad sign when a person meets her and can’t see beyond her eccentric quirks. As a teenager, the things she said and did were often extremely embarrassing. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve found that if someone likes her, it’s a pretty good barometer that they’re a good person too. That’s why I adore my readers. Not only do they get her, but they can’t get enough of her.
I also blog about all kinds of other random topics. Some days I’ll write about a business topic, and on other days it could be about personal development or child rearing. I never can quite tell where inspiration will strike next. Writing for fun has been a fascinating experience. It is so different from problem solving and engineering.
My favorite things about blogging:
So I think I should end by talking about my favorite parts of this blogging adventure so far.
- Meeting like minded people – I love the community that has formed by supporting one another’s blogging efforts. I’ll admit that many of my friends are engineers. It has truly enriched my life networking with people who have similar life goals, but have different careers and life paths getting there.
- Diversity – I enjoy reading opinions from people with completely different backgrounds. Everyone has their own perspective on Personal Finance and it’s so fascinating.
- Learning how to improve my writing/communication skills. I believe these skills can always be improved no matter what level you’re at.
- Documenting my mom’s story. Quite a few people have told me I need to write a book about Babci. I’ve heard this for years and never did anything about it. At least with blogging, the story is being written one post at a time.
- Being able to dispense advice to those who need it. As we get older, it almost becomes a natural tendency to want to share your wisdom with others. A blog provides an outlet for that information without annoying your family and friends with an endless stream of unsolicited advice.
- Learning to respect the power of the internet. It’s a big deal publishing information that can be out there indefinitely and read by anyone. It could be your boss, the dude you wrote a bad review about, a potential employer, a publisher, a big time media outlet, etc. I’m still intimidated by this at times, but I think that’s a good thing.
- There is potential to make a little side income. I haven’t focused on this at all yet, but hope to develop this a little more in the coming year.
Thanks
Although I feel close to many of the Yakezie members, I want to give special thanks to Kris at Everyday Tips for being the one that kicked me in the pants and encouraged me to take the plunge and graduate from commenter to blogger. I also want to thank Crystal at Budgeting the Fun Stuff and Kevin at Invest it Wisely for their constant positive reinforcement. Last but not least I want to thank Sam and all the other members of Yakezie that have provided the moral support to keep on writing.
Great introduction Sandy! There’s a wealth information we can learn from our family. Your mother’s frugal ways lead her to achieve some great financial accomplishments. Thanks for sharing her tips and advice. Looking forward to 2011!
Elle, I agree about learning from your family. I think we spend the first half of our lives trying to disprove our parent’s wisdom and the second 1/2 kicking ourselves for not listening to them sooner.
What a wonderful way to honor your mom Sandy! I look forward to reading your blog and learning from your mom’s frugal lifestyle! I understand completely about having a terrible memory… Blogging is a great way to keep your important thoughts close at hand. Happy Blogging!!
Cents to Save – I look forward to checking out your site as well. Thanks.
Sandy, You never cease to amaze and inspire. Your post was informative, inspiring and well organized-it doesn’t get any better than that. I love the stories about your mom and her wisdom. Totally get her as my heritage is Russian and my relatives are all outspoken to the max. Never needed to guess what anyone was thinking. Finally, how do you (and the other mom’s and dad’s) maintain such an awesome blog with a full time job and 2 young children? I loved your article!
Barb – many eastern europeans are the same in so many ways. To answer your juggling question, I feel like one of those performers spinning plates. You give time to the wobbliest ones first and then ignore the rest until they get wobbly. It’s really nice to know that despite the hectic nature of my schedule I still can produce a product that is worth reading by at least a few folks.
Another engineer to add to the list :) I really enjoy reading these backstories of the members since those are what seem to form the foundation of our personal finance preferences/beliefs.
FinEngr – Yup and proud of it. Engineers do fit the stereotype of being cheap. Heck, a lot of us became engineers because we wanted to get our money’s worth out of our education costs. (I know that was one of my main criteria before I even forked out a penny in college tuition). I look forward to getting to know you better.
Welcome, Sandy! Glad to have you aboard.
For everyone else – I’ve relayed this to Sandy before, but I really enjoy how the respect and admiration she has for her mother shines through in her blog. As someone who respects elders in his own family, I think it’s cool how Sandy shares her wise mother’s tips (and her own perspectives too) through her posts. Her blog is on my short list of favorits for that reason.
Hey Squirreler,
You must have not been reading my blog yet when I posted this article:
http://firstgenamerican.com/2010/07/24/bi-lingual-perks-pitfalls/
Yes, I’m trying to respect my mom more now that I am one myself. I think having children of my own opened my eyes to how much I used to disrespect her. We fought like cats and dogs for years and I am so glad we finally learned how to get along.
Sandy, it was awesome to read about your background. I also agree with #6 and #7. I never knew as much about how the web works until I started blogging, and a little side income is great!
Yeah, there is a lot that I’m learning and I don’t even realize it until I start talking to someone that’s not as web savvy. It’s definitely a neat skill that I hope to capitalize on someday.
Sandy already knows this but I feel as if we have lead parallel lives. It must be the commonality in many immigrant stories. I love reading Babci’s stories and adventures. I want to thank Sandy for contributing an article to my new venture, MyTenantFromHell.com and for generally just being a great inspiration.
Sandy – it is really fun reading your stories as well. It’s comforting knowing there is someone out there who’s gone though similar things and understands my point of view. I hope you are wildly successful in your online ventures, so I’m happy to help any way I can.
Sandy, First Gen American is one of my favorite blog. Your posts are always fun and passionate and your personality came though very clearly.
You should encourage Babci to write a diary with all her experiences. I bet there are many things that she haven’t told you.
Babci write? Ha. Well, she loves to talk, so that’s a start. She has a bunch of favorite stories that I’ve heard over and over but there is still a lot I don’t know. It’s amazing that I can still learn new things about her even now.
Great intro! I always enjoy reading about Babci and not because it reminds me about my own upbringing (which it does) but also because I thoroughly enjoy your writing.
Aloysa – I’m touched. As an engineer, I’ve never thought of myself as a “good writer”…that’s what english majors are, so I’m really humbled by that comment. Thank you. Your blog is great too. I’m glad you decided to come back.
Great into sandy. I always enjoy your posts because of babci – it always amazes me what the first generation americans can accomplish while more “established” ones sit on their thumbs.
Jeff – yeah it really is amazing what people are capable of when they put their minds to it.
I love reading your Babci stories and your blog. I noticed that today you posted about cutting the budget down to the basics and how most people just won’t do it (I’m one of those people!) Your blog is an inspiration to me.
Little House – I don’t live that way anymore. My life is quite comfy now, and so is Babci’s, but it was the sacrifices along the way that helped get us there. I don’t advocate that people follow babci’s footsteps…just to know what is possible if you want to go the extreme route.
Sandy, it is great getting to know your story! Tell Babci we all said hey!
Look forward to getting to know you better here at Yakezie.
Dr. Dean.. babci is in Poland for 2 more weeks and she has no idea I write a blog about her. She thinks a computer is something that I do work on.
I’m another frequent reader of Sandy’s site too. Her style of writing is wonderful, and her stories of her mom remind my of my grandmother. I often come away from her articles with a warm glow of familiarity.
I have to admit, I learned a few things from your member post that I didn’t realize.
Thanks for writing such great material, you really add to the entire blogosphere!!!
Hmm..I wonder what you learned that you didn’t know. Thank you for the compliment. It really helps me keep on writing. I think everyone adds a little something special with their own style and perspective on life and personal finance. I love reading about how you’re investing style is evolving now that you’re debt free. Good Stuff.
I don’t think I have been to your site more than a handful of times…but I will make sure I get there more often your mom sounds fantastic.
There is some type of site which turns your posts into a book for you…maybe worth looking into as a present to yourself/your mom
Ooh..Cool. Thanks for letting me know about the book thing.
Thanks for sharing your story. Chemical engineering, huh? Any blog post comparing that to personal finance? It might help me understand chemical engineering :)
Chemical Engineering is like mixing a plumber with a baker. They figure out what things to mix together at what temperatures to get a good product to come out, plus we figure out how to run all the piping to move things from place to place. A few guys from my college decided they had enough of corporate live and started a microbrewery. That’s chemical engineering at it’s coolest.
Hi Sandy, your site is on my short list, and any posts on Babci gets top billing.
101-Babci will be back from Poland in just over a week, so I’m sure new material will be coming soon.
You know I am a big fan of Babci!
I am so glad you started your blog. I love the topics and how you add a personal touch to your posts.
Thanks so much for the shout out!! Oh, and if I never told you, I loved that currant jelly. (I hope I win next year! :) )
Thank you for the support. I would have never lasted as long without you pushing me along.
Awesome member post! I enjoyed learning more about you. Need to stop by more often to catch up on these wonderful Babci stories! :) Continued success!
Buck -Same here. I don’t know why I haven’t been to your site more. I need to organize my google reader.
After reading your post, I just had to check out your blog and this Babci you speak of. I’m about to update my Facebook status with this gem:
“Restaurants are for stupid people who like to eat dirty food that’s been handled by filthy strangers and surrounded by roaches.”
That’s gold.
Shawanda – I’m glad Babci is quote worthy. Having worked in many restaurants I know she’s not far off. Now my favorite places to eat are those where you see the people cooking the food.
Great member post, Sandy! I love Babci posts. As an immigrant myself from a developing country I can most certainly relate to a lot of the stories. But the way you write makes it so much better and a great article to read as well. Yours is one of the few sites I read all the posts that I missed. (I check my RSS only every couple of days). Great work on the blog! Good luck!
Thanks Suba – I really didn’t realize that people do read everything. Thank you. Every little click helps and It’s much appreciated.
First off, congratulations Sandy! I truly enjoy reading your blog (I don’t always comment, but I do read!) and your intro makes it extra interesting! I randomly followed a link to your blog and at first I didn’t know who or what was Babci! And that’s what kept me hooked! I kept reading and it made it all the more interesting!
Your blog is very different from other blogs and that’s why it stands out!
Moneycone – it’s great to see your blog post up today. It’ll be great to support each other moving forward
Welcome!!
I have not been to your site yet, but I am super excited to read all about Babci:). Thank you for sharing her!
I’ve been to your site before, but as I’ve tried to consolidate my blogs to one site, I lost you, so I just added you back to my reader. Looking forward to getting reacquainted.
Sandy, as I have said before, some interesting parallels to my own life. Great to hear the story in depth this time around. All the best
Sunil – yes, I love hearing about people’s common links.
Wow, sounds like you have one heck of an interesting perspective on life and finance (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a fellow chemistry professional (Biochemist, by the way ;) )). I’ll have to be sure to visit your blog much more often, as Babci sounds like one inspiring woman. Welcome to the Yakezie, my fellow Beta class member!
[…] Member Post; First Generation American. Read this heartwarming story about in immigrants transition into financial […]
Great introduction! I also enjoy reading the stories about your mom! I hope you do get around to writing that book about her…maybe contrasting it with how you differ from her!
My parents were also around Babci’s age when they came to the U.S. (they were 35), and a lot of my financial sensibilities came from watching them and their very immigrant-money-ethic. I’m looking forward to reading more about her!
Sandy, great story and I don’t know how you do it all! All mothers are embarrassing to teenagers so Babci was not unusual in that respect. You’ll find out someday:).
Thanks for sharing your story! Going to check out your blog now.