It’s June 2009 and in triple digit heat, I stand proudly in front of thousands to take a with the 2009 Graduating Class at UC Davis. I hold my certificate of diploma for a B.A. Degree in Economics and force a grin to my family in the grandstands. Later, my father, an SDFD Fire Captain and I take a picture in front of UC Davis Fire Department E34 and I am smiling from ear to ear. What should have been a momentous day for educational advancement, was plain and simple a farce as I geared up to join SDFD’s 72 academy some two months later. It was plain and simple a waste in education. For this, I will forever be guilty…
When you are young, you pursue what makes you happy, paycheck be damned. When you are old and responsible to a family who counts on you, you realize you should have chosen a better path towards financial security. When you’re in between these two worlds, you have several choices to make to alter your trajectory into old age. You can live in denial and let the reality of not having enough in life to sustain you hit you swiftly in retirement. You can live in paralyzing fear, dreading the dangers of inflations, pay cuts, medical retirements and mounting pension crises. I would be lying if I said I did not have had many sleepless nights wondering about how on earth I am going to pay for my kids, their college, our house, fun, retirement, and lets face it, end of the road medical costs. The total amount is staggering, and without a significant raise, they are unobtainable. Looking back at this picture some time ago, the final alternative hit me.
I look back to that photo of my father and I in front of E34, and I shake my head. That 21-year-old me had the right ideas, but poor execution. Armed with boundless energy and drive that allowed me a year prior to that picture to climb Mt. Everest, there was nothing that could stop me. I had a lot of critics of my career in a low paying fire job, my father included. I was very nonchalant when I replied “Well, I might not get paid, but armed with a degree in economics, I’ll know how to make my money work for me.” Like I said before, great idea, but poor execution. Getting C’s and having no passion in the field of economics did absolutely nothing for my financial success. A degree without passion or utility is essentially worthless. Young me poured all his heart and soul into becoming the best firefighter I could be. Economics and financial security was an old man’s game as far as I was concerned, and it faded away into oblivion until recently.
I love being a firefighter for so many reasons, but the number one concept that draws me to the job each day is the incredible ability of our department to handle any emergency, no matter how large. Every member, no matter the rank, works tirelessly to pursue excellence. It is a phenomenal family to belong to and one that is capable of many extraordinary things both on and off duty. It’s a family that I owe so much to. I realize that every day at work, I need to be better than the shift before. It is a very heavy responsibility.
As, I progressed in my career, I also got married, bought a house, and started to grow a family. I’m a captain now, and at home I’m a father to a wonder little girl, with another kid on the way. With these joys and privileges in life, come great responsibility. As a father, and as a captain of a great crew, I find myself constantly scrutinizing every action and every decision I make. I do this because I want the absolute best for my family at work and at home. At times, life feels comfortable. Often though, I feel unworthy to be my crew’s captain or my kid’s father.
Bottom line, I need to be better. I need to perform better at work. I need to be a better husband and father. I need to make more money to provide for my family. To provide for my family, I need to work more. To enjoy my family, I need to work less. To this impossible equation, the solution has finally hit me. I realize now that rereading those dusty books from college with purpose, actually taking the time to live up to that piece of paper that says I have a degree in economics, and taking the time to increase my financial education might actually be the key to being a better fire officer and a better investor, and ultimately a better father and husband.
I don’t know where this blog is going, but I think it will start as a cathartic outlet and a record keeping of sorts in my path towards financial freedom. I have a sneaking suspicion that many of the concepts in economics can be applied directly to the fire service. I’ll keep this picture as a guiding point in my journey as I seek to relearn what I should already have known. Yes, I have failed the arrogant younger me in the photo, but the wiser and older me is here to learn, observe, and grow. I have many humbling and embarrassing stories to reference along the way. I figure I may as well reopen those wounds and allow the scars to have some function in my relearning process.
The Firefighter Economist 