Who We Are and Where We've Come From

Introducing, Mr. K and Ms. C!

After some careful discernment, we've decided to go ahead and share our names: Khang and Camilla. Not only will it be easier to grow the blog, but it'll allow us to be even more transparent in what we're trying to achieve here at Faith and FI. Originally, we were a little hesitant because what employer would want their employees to pursue early retirement? We think the risk is relatively low at this point, so we're willing to take the chance. We've enjoyed sharing our dreams with you since we have such high hopes for our future together. With this post, we'd love to share with you our individual stories - how we were raised and some of the factors that helped mold us into the people we are today.

Khang

I was born in Vietnam and my father passed away when I was about 6 months old. When I was about 1 year old, My mom, along with my 4 siblings and I, were sponsored by our aunts & uncles to come to the United States of America. My sister is the oldest and I have 3 older brothers. We were very fortunate to live in a 4 bed/2 bath house that was also sponsored by family members. My mom also took care of my grandmother for over 10 years, so in total, there were 7 of us in the house. We had very little to our name, we spoke no English, and needed a lot of help.

Growing up, I would always remember simple meals that cost very little. I grew up eating ramen noodles nearly every day. I remembered eating rice and seasoning sauce as a snack many times. We would eat a lot of pasta and sauce, too. We loved our school programs - it's where we learned all of our core subjects, but it was also where we learned English. On top of that, my siblings and I depended on free lunches at school during the school year to keep my mom's pocketbook healthy enough to afford other necessities (think about 4 growing boys and you'll see why). My mom would always take me grocery shopping and I helped pick out food and I nearly always got to see what our food budget was. It wasn't much, but my mom made it work. This went on for about a decade before we really had our finances stabilized. We never really talked about our overall budgets, but I knew we were poor and I knew that we could not spend what we did not have. That particular lesson has stuck with me until this day.

My mom always did odd jobs that allowed her to stay home. Many of her jobs allowed her to take products home, work on them, and return them to the business. I imagine payment was based on a per-item basis. Many years after coming to the U.S., when my siblings were old enough to get jobs, they got to work and helped provide for the family. I guess maybe I was the most spoiled because I got my first job near the end of High School - I was a waiter at a Red Lobster not too far from my house. As the children got older, my mother would have some children dropped off at our house for her to babysit. She was always busy with something or watching over someone (and even now, she's a babysitter for my nieces and nephews).

The happiest times in my childhood were when my extended family gathered. They were often more well-off than we were, but they were so loving and generous with their time and their money. We owe our aunts and uncles so much for filling in the gaps. I am filled with so much love for them when I think about those memories. We especially owe our uncles a lot for stepping up to help our family - to help their sister, my mom - when we needed fatherly guidance. It was truly a blessing to have them in our lives.

Our Vietnamese culture is deeply rooted in helping one another and it was especially true at our church. My mom was deeply faithful (and still is) which means we went to mass nearly every single day after school. It kept us out of trouble (well, mostly) and gave us purpose. It was a routine that we could depend on. It was a routine that we could have probably done in our sleep (though I do remember sleeping a lot in church as a kid...). We grew up being Alter Boys at my church and going to our Vietnamese Youth Group gatherings on Saturdays. The church was an extension of our family. Everyone at the church knew my mom and grandmother, and by default, knew us (for better or for worse). It's the reason why I know a good Catholic community can do great things.

All of these things happened very routinely until I was 18. By that time, I was.. bored of the routine. I was somewhat of a wild child around my senior year of High School. I had a bit of money in my pocket from my job, and things were looking bright. I kind of lost my way with my family and my church. I lost a little bit of my identity.

Fast-forwarding a little bit, I got accepted to Texas A&M University on a full ride (which included Scholarships, Loans, and Work Study). During that time, I was able to rekindle my desire to be involved in the church and participate more in my Catholic faith. It also resulted in a lot of self-reflection and identity-seeking. I reconnected with my family after reconnecting with the church. There was so much that came out of Texas A&M and from St. Mary's Catholic church in College Station. It's where my adult life really started and was the springboard for the person I have developed into today.

I remember the camaraderie and support at Texas A&M, I remember having scholarship money go into my bank account but also receiving the thousands in loans, I remember having to work nearly every night at the library as part of my work study, I remember the prayers, the fun times, and the great involvement at St. Mary's, I remember the love of the students, staff, and priests at St. Mary's, I remember the professors that affected me most, I remember the friends I hung out with on weekends during football games, I remember the good times and the bad, and I would not trade it for the world.

Overall, I'm grateful for so many of the things that helped me to become who I am - especially the people who loved me so dearly. I find it more important than ever that we focus on our families and our churches. Things could have been a lot worse, that's for sure. It's been a long road, and will probably continue to be a long road, but I'm happy to help wherever I can to make your journey a little easier. My family and I have been at the bottom before, but with love and help from others, we were able to grow and thrive. I hope that Faith and FI can help you, even just a little bit, to become successful in all of your endeavors.

Camilla

I was born and raised in Cincinnati with three older siblings. My mom was able to stay home with us until I started school. Our money situation never felt unstable. I am immensely grateful to my parents for this. They also spent the time instilling guiding values for finances in my life. For instance, just because everyone else has something doesn’t mean you need it. We never had cable tv (and this was before any sort of streaming services). We got the channels that were accessible to everyone with an antenna. Wifi also arrived later to our house than any of my classmates. My brother one time asked my mom point blank, “are we poor?” because my parents would frequently say “we can’t afford that.” My mom answered that no, we weren’t poor, but that we choose not to spend money on certain things, like electronics, going out to dinner, buying expensive clothes, so that we could save money for more important things, like a Catholic school education, sports, traveling and other things we valued.

They taught us early on about how to manage our own money. I opened my first savings account when I was in middle school for my tiny craft business making woven headbands. My parents encouraged me to take risks in talking with boutique managers to land consignment deals. I’m sure these women were humoring me, but it built my confidence and allowed me to practice making decisions about how to manage money I had earned.

My parents also showed us that money can be well spent, especially on experiences. We traveled as a family during middle school and high school, using frequent flier miles earned by my dad’s business travel. These experiences opened my horizons beyond my Midwestern bubble.

When I was applying to colleges, my parents laid out for me what their savings plan had been and my choices in school. I ended up choosing The Catholic University of America where between a scholarship, a job on campus, and my parents generous help, I was able to graduate without any student loans. This has been the number one factor in my current financial security.

While my background is vastly different from Khang’s, my faith has shaped my understanding of the purpose of money more than anything. As I took my faith more seriously, I began to think of money not just in the categories of spend or save, but also to give away. Studying the Scriptures, the early Church Fathers, and the moral teachings of the Church, I could see that money goes one of two places: to myself or to others. As I try to live out my faith in terms of my finances, I look to grow in both prudence and generosity.

Our Stories

It's pretty clear that we both had very different experiences growing up. We think that it's a great characteristic about our relationship and how we've been able to connect with one another. We continue to apply the lessons we've learned from our families and past experiences, and are always searching for more knowledge. We're constantly talking about our finances, our future together, hopes, and our dreams. We've learned a lot from one another and we hope we've been able to connect with you in some way, too. There's no doubt we've got a lot more to learn, especially after we're married, but we're excited about the journey. We're so passionate about sharing our ideas on faith and financial independence. We hope you join our community and help us spread the love!

Openly yours,

Khang and Camilla