Author Topic: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM  (Read 2882 times)

JSMustachian

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FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« on: November 28, 2017, 03:28:43 PM »
Since my wife and I read about MMM our saving per month has increased dramatically! Previously, we only saved the Dave Ramsey recommended 15% and blew the rest. 2017 is the year we really started to get serious with our finances.

Savings per month:

January- $1270.24
February- $1270.24
March- $1270.24
April- $1270.24
May- $4920.24>>>Starting read Mr Money Mustache on the blog/forums.
June- $6254.37
July- $6757.90
August- $7700.50
September- $4966.53
October- $6256.66
November- $7304.72
December- $6223.74 (projected)

I currently have my 403B set to 40% contribution and my wife's 403B/457B is set to 84% to get a $0 paycheck :D

$55465 plus $14,050 in extra payments to the mortgage earlier in the year which we have now stopped for a total of $69515 on $133,000 in income (pretax).

Basically cut down on the unnecessary spending and stopped paying extra on the mortgage. We've seen our net worth grow much faster after stopping the extra mortgage payments and max out all available retirement accounts to reduce our taxable income. Luckily my wife has been completely on board. The idea of being able to quit our jobs early and be FI is a huge motivator! We are on track to be FI in 2027 with a paid off mortgage at 42 years of age.





GettingClose

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2017, 05:30:35 PM »
Wow - and congratulations!

FireHiker

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2017, 02:53:30 PM »
Congratulations! What excellent progress!

Sarah Saverdink

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2017, 07:12:43 PM »
That's fantastic progress! Great job!

Although I'm curious - what were you spending all your money on?? $3k+ a month in random expenses?? I would find it very difficult to spend money just because it was there. I only try to buy things I need or truly want :)

soccerluvof4

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2017, 07:11:50 AM »
Thats huge! congrats!

fuzzy math

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2017, 09:08:18 AM »
Great job, twin!!!

My household's income is the same, my monthly savings is about the same and I am also aiming for 2027. Too strange. Did you join the 2027 FIRE group thread?

JSMustachian

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2017, 04:03:50 PM »
That's fantastic progress! Great job!

Although I'm curious - what were you spending all your money on?? $3k+ a month in random expenses?? I would find it very difficult to spend money just because it was there. I only try to buy things I need or truly want :)

Higher taxable income because of less deductions, repetitive bills were much higher than they are now, a lot of small random purchases that added up, fancy vacations, eating out alot, ect. I've learned to live without the need for more "stuff". We lived by the thought that since we already saved 15% we should spend the rest. Once I found Mr Money Mustache, that changed everything.

One of the best quotes that has helped me stop spending I heard from Dave Ramsey, "Don't let a good sale get in the way of progress!"

JSMustachian

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2017, 04:05:44 PM »
Great job, twin!!!

My household's income is the same, my monthly savings is about the same and I am also aiming for 2027. Too strange. Did you join the 2027 FIRE group thread?

I will check that out. Ty!

HawkeyeNFO

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2017, 03:38:56 PM »
Congrats on moving on from Dave Ramsey!  He's not bad overall, but I strongly disagree with a lot of his advice.  He is great for the financially lost sheeple. 

As you have discovered, FI comes quicker when you save more.  That is how you achieve a level of freedom that many never do.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: FI journey- Savings explosion since MMM
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2017, 07:57:08 PM »
Awesome, now that you have the savings part down, there is so much more to learn and invest your time in.