Welcome! My name is Muhammad Rizwan, founder of Escapetivity. I am an engineer by education who spent his career in the Canadian oil-sands industry. The intent of my blog is to teach millennials and Gen Z how to achieve financial independence and build their personal brand. Based on my own experiences and those of others around me, I believe that combining the two elements together is a powerful strategy in today’s uncertain environment which most young people today find themselves in.
In 2007, I joined the industry in its heyday when prices were well north of $100/barrel and the prospects were bright. However, within a decade, the industry had gone into long-term structural downturn, thanks in large part due to concerns over climate change and emergence of electric vehicles. At was at this stage I began to question what lay ahead of me. I saw the possibility that my skills and experience were going to be less and less useful in the future. But after more than 10 years in the industry, it is not easy to simply switch careers. Even if I did make it to retirement, what were the chances that the company-sponsored pension fund would keep its promises?
It was during that time that I came across financial independence and the 4% rule. Its the idea that you can build an investment portfolio large enough to safely withdraw 4% each year to cover your expenses. The idea seemed a bit skeptical at first but the more I looked into it, it made sense. It took me more than a year to finally put a plan in place. The mental part took the longest time – unlearning the old ideas and learning new ones was the most difficult part. Implementing the plan was easy.
If you want to learn more about who I am and what you can learn from this blog, then click here.
If you are interested but need more convincing, that is perfectly fine! You can learn more about my strategy here.
An Interesting Tidbit
An interesting thing about me is that I had the unique experience of evacuating through a wildfire! A small tip: if you ever happen to go through such an event, make sure to take lots of pictures before you leave your house. Making a claim for insurance later on will be much easier. I know its totally irrelevant to the purpose of my blog.
Connect to Escapetivity
If you are interested, go right ahead and read through my blog posts. You can also subscribe to my email list as well or follow me on Facebook.