Author Topic: Celebrations Thread  (Read 1648420 times)

rubybeth

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #300 on: September 02, 2013, 01:06:52 PM »
We paid off the last of the student loans last week. It was our only debt. I wrote about it on my blog: http://rubybeth.WordPress.com We also paid for my DH's first semester of grad school tuition out of savings for that purpose this month. Hasn't quite sunk in yet... paid off $52k in less than 4 years, now paying cash for the next 3 years, likely $22k in tuition and books. Pretty exciting stuff! What a difference a mindset makes. :)

zendenise

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #301 on: September 06, 2013, 10:53:41 AM »
First victory! This is probably a no-brainer and everybody on here has probably already done it, but I'm new to this mustache-growing thing. I switched to Geico, and (not to sound like a commercial or anything) it is literally saving me 600 dollars a year! And the coverage is better! When I think of all the money I've thrown away over the years I want to stab myself in the eye with a fork, but what's done is done. Onward! Next up: getting rid of my cable.

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #302 on: September 06, 2013, 11:06:34 AM »
Congrats to rubybeth and zendenise!  All great stuff!

My recent accomplishments:

1) got my internet bill down from $55 to $30 per month
2) switched to Ting (had to buy a phone (used) but still will come ahead)--and I LOVE Ting's customer service! This will probably lower my phone bill from $50 to $30 per month
3) moved an inherited IRA from a local bank (where is was earning a pitiful amount on interest) to my TIAA Brokerage account
4) opened checking and savings accounts with Capitol One (will get a $50 bonus plus way better interest rates)
5) paid for repairs (instead of replacements) of two pairs of shoes
6) have done NO CLOWN CAR DRIVING since late May!!
7) spent less than $200 on groceries last month (had only done that one other month so far this year, but am hoping to repeat it this month!)

Loving the mustachian lifestyle!

sununderwood

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #303 on: September 07, 2013, 10:26:40 AM »
I just got two telephone customer service representatives genuinely excited about the idea of early retirement -- real human tone of voice, personal anecdotes about their lives and families -- AND I talked down my auto insurance by $100 a year.

$33 a month for a 23 year old in one of most expensive states to insure? Costs me $16.50 a month cause I split it with my beau in our one car family? I'll take that! ;)
« Last Edit: September 07, 2013, 10:35:05 AM by smai »

Will

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #304 on: September 08, 2013, 10:09:14 PM »
I noticed the other day that I hadn't spent any money this month.  The earliest I will probably buy something is Tuesday, and the last purchase I made was August 29th, so that will be 11 days (at least) without spending a cent.  I wasn't stocking up on anything to prepare for this; it just happened.  And I'm sure someone else out there has gone much longer than this, but still, I think this is pretty good.

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #305 on: September 09, 2013, 04:46:13 AM »
Awesome job, Will!

SavingMon(k)ey

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #306 on: September 09, 2013, 02:28:59 PM »
6 weeks without buying anything at a coffee shop! That's a serious change for someone who had an almost daily habit. The key will be to keep this up now that school is in session again. Going to the coffee shop on my lunch break was a daily breather from being in a stressful place. Today was sooooo tempting but I didn't do it.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #307 on: September 10, 2013, 09:39:28 AM »
I was futzing around with Firecalc today and realized that even if I didn't add another penny to my retirement accounts, the current balance will grow to sufficiently cover a traditional retirement at 67yo. 

Looking at it that way, now all my savings are going towards EARLY retirement.

smalllife

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #308 on: September 10, 2013, 10:56:55 AM »
I was futzing around with Firecalc today and realized that even if I didn't add another penny to my retirement accounts, the current balance will grow to sufficiently cover a traditional retirement at 67yo. 

Looking at it that way, now all my savings are going towards EARLY retirement.

That's awesome!

I realized a little while ago that if all I did was max out my Roth IRA, my "traditional" retirement would be completely funded.  It makes the light at the end of the tunnel a little brighter.

iamsoners

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #309 on: September 10, 2013, 01:14:28 PM »
Since having a baby in June I haven't been able to post as much but I've mostly still been reading along--hi everyone!  Now that I'm not working--and not finding a desire to start anytime soon--and the tyke is sleeping slightly longer, I've been focusing on decreasing our expenses as much as possible.  I've had a couple of big wins so far I thought we could celebrate:

Insurance: Cobra for my insurance plus putting the kiddo on my husband's work insurance cost about $960 for the first two months of his life. I got the kid and myself an independent plan for $180/month. This was, obviously, huge--making it so that we're in the black every month just on my husband's salary, as opposed to losing money each month if we stayed with those plans.  The plan will end at the end of the year when Obamacare comes in, so I'm quite anxious to see the rates--I'm expecting an increase in cost but the new plans will also cover maternity, which this doesn't, so that's helpful.

Mortgage Payment: We re-roofed and re-wired the house when we bought it last April--I contacted the insurance company and they dropped our annual premium nearly $160.  We were also sent a tax re-assesment notice from the city right after we bought with a value $25k above what we paid--I submitted our closing docs and the yearly tax liability dropped by about $440.  Contacted the mortgage company and they'll take all of that into account and our new payment will be about $50/mo less.  Yay!  (I have some temptation to plow the savings back into the mortgage but I'm learning to trust my head, which says the numbers are better elsewhere, over my emotions which say it'd be nice to have it paid off).

Up next are cell phone (hoping to drop $25/mo now and another $25 in a few months when hubs can switch) and utilities (energy audit has been done, just need to do the work! Hoping we can find at least $25/mo in savings here).


...and the baby's crying, which reminds me--biggest celebration--I have a kid now and he's wonderful and it's been a wild, wonderful journey so far!

wing117

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #310 on: September 13, 2013, 06:23:23 AM »
Congrats on the baby, soners! The difference in insurance costs is staggering!

My celebration for this week:

I'm taking my first week-long vacation in over 5 years! My uncle is coming down and we will be hiking different mountains around NC, taking a winery trip and may do some fishing. I couldn't be more excited!

Oh, and I also just broke 700 miles on my bike, having started cycling in June! I'm healthier, much more fit, happier, have less stress, sleep better at night, really hate driving these days and eat better naturally (and have gone from 160 to 133 pounds).

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #311 on: September 13, 2013, 09:19:05 AM »
Wing117 - 700 miles wow! That's awesome - and so are all the other benefits you've experienced. Definitely motivating me to ride mine more.

And your vacation sounds very fun and fulfilling (and well deserved)

MelodysMustache

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #312 on: September 14, 2013, 01:33:14 PM »
I paid off my 401k loan today.  It was a five year loan for part of my house down payment, and I paid it off in 18 months.  Now I am debt free except for my very low interest 15 year mortgage.  Yay me!

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #313 on: September 14, 2013, 03:08:17 PM »
Great job, MelodysMustache!

smalllife

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #314 on: September 17, 2013, 05:28:37 AM »
I have been so focused on debt pay down and long term goals that I failed to realize I have over one year's expenses saved! 

Jwesleym

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #315 on: September 17, 2013, 10:29:16 PM »
Just went over 400 miles on the bike!

blake201

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #316 on: September 18, 2013, 10:12:20 AM »
What a cool thread, and so many awesome celebrations!

Here are my recent wins in the past two months (just started on all this two months ago) and before this we were spending more than we earned each month, dipping into our savings and accumulating debt. This is for me and husband and a three-year-old living in Brooklyn:

  • Reduced food bill from $1200 a month ($900 for groceries and $300 for eating out or buying lunch) to $625 a month ($600 groceries and $25 eating out) by cooking pretty much everything from scratch, meal planning and avoiding waste. Working on getting it down to $450 or $500 a month (we live in NYC and have to buy special food-allergy-free foods, so any lower might be pretty difficult for us).
  • Cut cell phone bill from $95 a month for two flip phones to $39 a month for two refurbished smart phones (via Ting).
  • Switched mostly from subway to bikeshare commuting, estimating I will save $70-$90 a month.
  • Cut internet bill by $15/mo. by threatening to cancel and by purchasing a modem myself on eBay.
  • Reduced family clothing budget from $200/mo. average spending to $50 or less budget. Asked all my friends with older daughters (not planning to have more) if they had any clothes that might fit my daughter... and got bags of great clothes and shoes they were about to donate (no back to school shopping!) Finally got my husband to agree to a "second-hand clothes only" rule once I showed him how nice they could be.
  • Biggest win... went from negative net income of $500-$1,000 each month to a positive net income and increasing savings...
« Last Edit: September 18, 2013, 10:16:30 AM by blake201 »

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #317 on: September 18, 2013, 10:16:48 AM »
Wow, blake201, those are amazing changes in just two months!  Very impressive!

blake201

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #318 on: September 18, 2013, 09:12:31 PM »
Wow, blake201, those are amazing changes in just two months!  Very impressive!

Thank you! Although now I'm almost more EMBARASSED by how lavishly we were living while thinking "hey, we've cut our expenses to the bone and are still broke!"

viverl

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #319 on: September 19, 2013, 03:57:54 AM »
Hey y'all!

I am currently on my last two days at work No.1 ( 40h/week) where I have to go by train, bus and bike every day for about 2.3h/day. My calculated Real Hourly Wage (http://mustachecalc.com/#/) was €6.77.

In October I will start my new job 5 km from my doorstep, which has 30h/week with a commute of approx. 1h of going by bike. The Real Hourly Wage will be about €15.20!

I am so giddy to finally leave this place!

slackface

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #320 on: September 19, 2013, 05:26:15 AM »
I've been working on big ways to cut down expenses in the past couple of months. For example, I started carpooling and taking public transportation, which is saving me $200 a month in gas and parking costs. I also cut down on my car and home insurance by switching providers, saving me an additional $45 a month. Felt great with those savings!

Yesterday I received amazing news, which helps me save even more! After 15 months of working really hard at my most current job, I got a much delayed annual review which was not only glowing, but rewarded me with an unprecedented (for me!) 25 percent raise! This puts an extra $1200 into my monthly savings goals. It was hard work earning that, and it came really unexpectedly. I feel like this will make me want to save even more aggressively!

livetogive

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #321 on: September 19, 2013, 03:07:30 PM »
I just want to say "Thanks" to everyone on this board and to MMM for turning my SO and I on to something big.

We're still 15+ years away from FIRE but I'm incredibly excited to be planning on retirement in our 40s.

So, thanks!!!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #322 on: September 19, 2013, 11:29:33 PM »
My net worth is at $890,000!! Most of it is in our 403B's.  Only debt is our home, which I plan to pay off in 5 years.

ChiStache

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #323 on: September 20, 2013, 02:22:18 PM »
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally done paying for law school. About $200,000 in debt eliminated.

Thought I would feel relieved, but I just feel stupid that it took this long and cost so much. Albert Einstein said it best: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

arebelspy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #324 on: September 20, 2013, 05:12:55 PM »
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally done paying for law school. About $200,000 in debt eliminated.

WOW!  Well done.  Think how fast that 'stache will grow now!
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Freckles

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #325 on: September 21, 2013, 09:00:26 PM »
So I'm actually feeling pretty sad but maybe if you guys help me celebrate my choice, I'll feel better about it?  This is small beans stuff; I'm just learning the ways of the mustachian, but here it is.  Tonight my whole family from all over the country is together in Arizona for my cousin's wedding.  I'm sure they're dancing up a storm and having a ball right now, as I type.  My little family is not there, were just at home in Oregon having a typical Saturday night.

The celebratory part is that we made the choice not to go because we can't afford it, instead of just charging it all as we would have done in the past.  This is a direct result of finding MMM a few weeks ago.  Old me would have said, "But we have to go!  It's her wedding!  Our whole family will be there!  It will be so fun!  Our kids should get to see their relatives!  It will be memories of a lifetime!  This is the stuff that matters!"  And on and on.  I actually really love and enjoy my extended family (and weddings), always have a great time with them, and do value my kids knowing their relatives.  But, we didn't have an extra $2000 so we didn't go.  And it sucks, but it kind of doesn't right?  Yea me?
« Last Edit: September 22, 2013, 08:03:37 AM by Freckles »

arebelspy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #326 on: September 21, 2013, 09:57:08 PM »
So I'm actually feeling pretty sad but maybe if you guys help me celebrate my choice, I'll feel better about it?  This is small beans stuff; I'm just learning the ways of the mustachian, but here it is.  Tonight my whole family from all over the country is together in Arizona for my cousin's wedding.  I'm sure they're dancing up a storm and having a ball right now, as I type.  My little family is not there, were just at home in Oregon having a typical Saturday night.

The celebratory part is that we made the choice not to go because we can't afford it, instead of just charging it all as we would have done in the past.  This is a direct result of finding MMM a few weeks ago.  Old me would have said, "But we have to go!  It's her wedding!  Our whole family will be there!  It will be so fun!  Our kids should get to see their relatives!  It will be memories of a lifetime!  This is the stuff that matters!"  And on and on.  I actually really love and enjoy my extended family (and weddings), always have a great time with them, and do value my kids knowing their relatives.  But, we didn't have an extra $2000 so we didn't go.  And it sucks, but it kind of doesn't right?  Yeah me?

What sucks isn't that you didn't go, it's that you didn't have the money to go.

Because you couldn't afford it, you made the right choice.

Imagine how much you'll be able to enjoy things like that when you are in a financial position to have the freedom to afford things like that.

It sucks, but well done making the tough choice.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
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dorkus619

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #327 on: September 23, 2013, 09:48:25 AM »
I am currently on my last two days at work No.1 ( 40h/week) where I have to go by train, bus and bike every day for about 2.3h/day. My calculated Real Hourly Wage (http://mustachecalc.com/#/) was €6.77.
Hey thanks for sharing that link, I hadn't seen that before. The geek in me loves that stuff.

And congrats on the new job!

dorkus619

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #328 on: September 23, 2013, 11:25:36 AM »
I just bought gas and noticed an improvement of 4 mpg due to more careful driving!

And I checked my tire pressure. It was all wrong, so I corrected that. I'm anxious to see the difference that makes.

zinnie

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #329 on: September 23, 2013, 01:50:10 PM »
I hit $500,000 net worth! This is mostly due to an increase in the value of my home, but I'll take it. It felt so great to see that number on Mint the other day. I'm about halfway there!!! :)

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #330 on: September 23, 2013, 01:50:54 PM »
That's great news--and a really nice number!  Congrats!

zinnie

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #331 on: September 23, 2013, 02:47:40 PM »
That's great news--and a really nice number!  Congrats!
Thanks :)

Mazzinator

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #332 on: September 27, 2013, 12:38:06 PM »
Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally done paying for law school. About $200,000 in debt eliminated.

Thought I would feel relieved, but I just feel stupid that it took this long and cost so much. Albert Einstein said it best: “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

This is awesome!! Congrats! My dh went to law school and we had combined $150k in SLs. Down to about $88k...i also feel stupid stupid stupid for taking so long. Somebody facepunch me!!!

As a celebration..we gave away our Kuerig (it was a gift to us) and we got a french press (also a gift, but it was $6) those K-cups are so freakin expensive.. It's about a $30/month savings!!!

ChiStache

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #333 on: September 27, 2013, 02:54:14 PM »
Quote
As a celebration..we gave away our Kuerig (it was a gift to us) and we got a french press (also a gift, but it was $6) those K-cups are so freakin expensive.. It's about a $30/month savings!!!

That's awesome. I love that you "celebrated," by saving MORE money.

As an update: Since paying off our loans, I've been kind of blown away by the impact that each payday has on our net worth.  I'm feeling much more secure and optimistic about the whole financial picture now. Just refinanced to a 15-year mortgage at 3.25%; maxing my husband's 403(b); and about to open IRAs and a taxable account at Vanguard. *Insert Rocky theme song here* LET'S DO THIS!!!

2527

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #334 on: September 29, 2013, 10:58:37 AM »
Congrats to everybody.  Those are great things.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #335 on: September 30, 2013, 01:08:22 PM »
As an update: Since paying off our loans, I've been kind of blown away by the impact that each payday has on our net worth.  I'm feeling much more secure and optimistic about the whole financial picture now. Just refinanced to a 15-year mortgage at 3.25%; maxing my husband's 403(b); and about to open IRAs and a taxable account at Vanguard. *Insert Rocky theme song here* LET'S DO THIS!!!

Wow - I'm so impressed! This is exactly what I dream for, watching that net worth go up so much faster once debt is gone! Just a few more months and I should be there....

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #336 on: September 30, 2013, 07:25:33 PM »
This past weekend, reached out of my comfort zone and asked to share a ride with a friend's friend (stranger) to a friend's wedding 6hrs away. Typical bus fare would be $60+, train would be at least 100+ and plane would be 200+. I gave my new friends $50 for gas and the trouble of driving, old me would have told myself that I didn't like making conversation with new people. The couple I drove with turned out to be a lot of fun and wealth of knowledge!!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #337 on: September 30, 2013, 09:04:49 PM »
Congrats to everyone! Love the inspirational celebration posts :)
I started my new job 2 weeks ago! This is exciting for a few reasons:

-I've gotten to bike to work a few days, and will again this week. Gas costs were down from $160 to $130 this month.
-There's free lunch at work every day, and I was never very good at bringing lunch, so that's about $25 a week worth of expenses gone. Not so Mustachian really, but it'll help the bottom line!
-Some of my coworkers go to Starbucks every day, but after the first day I didn't see the point of that! There's free coffee in the kitchen!
-Other, unrelated celebration is that I just hit the 80% mark in paying off my car and barring more unforeseen expenses I should be throwing triple payments at it for the rest of the year.


gimp

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #338 on: October 01, 2013, 11:42:44 AM »
In the past two-three years, I lived in Boston, Portland, and San Jose. Boston and San Jose are fairly expensive; Portland is a lot cheaper but it's still decently expensive.

1.

I guess this is fairly impressive. I'm a college kid and I am doing a co-op program; five years of college which include 8 normal semesters and 18 (or in my case 20) months of work. So after two years of normal college, the last years are six months at school and six months at work.

I earn enough from six months of work to pay all of my living expenses (including rent, and some spending money) for the whole year. And tuition for six months. And for my car. In short, 100% independence from my parents. Lots of people manage to do this way earlier than I did (at age 20) but supporting that from only six months' work is not super easy.

2.

I mentioned on an online forum that I eat $30/month (by choice, so I can save the money for more important things). I listed what I buy and a sample list of recipes big enough to rarely repeat dinner for a month. I was quite detailed, though I made sure to say that this worked for me, and may not for other people. I mentioned that even double my spending - making a grocery list that would work for 99% of the population - was still way cheaper than most people live.

I got a lot of disbelief, which is fine, and some choice words. But I also got a lot of thanks, which was nice. But the reason I'm bragging about this is due to the people who took it deeper. Some people asked me for help with their budget, so I would take their zip code and look at the grocery stores in their area and point out food that was just as cheap as I pay, that they had no idea existed. And some people went a step further, by taking my list to the store and seeing if I was lying - and in the end, found that some food was more expensive, some cheaper, and the overall guideline doable. I'm bragging because some people cut their grocery bill in half, and that's awesome.

JessieImproved

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #339 on: October 02, 2013, 09:53:17 AM »
I switched the hubs and myself to Page Plus Cellular from Verizon.  Went from $150/mo to $42/mo for phones.  I'm on the $12 plan and hubs is on the $29.95 plan (500mb of data was the only way I could entice him to switch ^_^). 

Also, I've gotten really good at hitting the local thrift store on "half price days" for clothing (Monday=menswear, Tuesday=kids, Thursday=women).  Also working on a minimalist wardrobe for myself.

jly224

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #340 on: October 02, 2013, 03:29:20 PM »
I got a 5% Raise, I've also transferred my IRA's over to vanguard to avoid those pesky high expense ratios, and started a blog to publicly hold my feet to the fire as I work my way out of debt.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #341 on: October 02, 2013, 03:39:53 PM »
And turned 28, all in one day? Happy birthday!

maryofdoom

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #342 on: October 03, 2013, 07:22:36 AM »
Another fabulous celebration: my husband and I hit $100k in net worth today!

Sure, it's only one data point, and sure, it won't be really real until it stays over $100k for a few weeks in a row, but still. Seeing that the spreadsheet now shows six figures instead of five is quite satisfying.

avonlea

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #343 on: October 03, 2013, 08:45:00 AM »
Congratulations, maryofdoom!

jly224

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #344 on: October 03, 2013, 02:29:33 PM »
I paid off another $738 of debt! Only $23.5k more student loans to go. I hate those things.

Mustache Fatty

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #345 on: October 03, 2013, 02:37:41 PM »
Nice job, gimp!  Where can I find the budget and recipes that you spoke about earlier?

anotherAlias

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #346 on: October 04, 2013, 04:54:47 AM »
Maryofdoom, that's a great feeling, isn't it?  It's seems to take forever to hit get that first 100k.  Now that you've got the train rolling, compound interest really speeds things up.

It took me 10 yrs to save up 100k.  Now just two years later, I'm anxiously waiting to hit the 200k mark (should be in the next couple months).  I'm so glad we have this forum to share the excitement.  My IRL friends wouldn't get it.

The knitter

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #347 on: October 04, 2013, 02:44:27 PM »
I really love reading through this thread. It's inspirational to see the small and big changes people are making every day! Congrats to all the previous posters.

Just wanted to add my little piece.

I just doubled my contribution to my Roth IRA. It's a small dollar increase (from $75 to $150 a month), but it's twice as much as I was putting in before. My goal is to increase up to the full contribution.


Jessie

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #348 on: October 07, 2013, 07:37:01 PM »
On a smaller scale, yesterday I canceled two monthly subscriptions that I wasn't getting enough value from to justify keeping to the tune of $25/month. (LinkedIn Premium and audible.com)

On a bigger scale, since I have gathered at least a few months worth of savings after graduating in 2010, and been wanting to be reunited with my boyfriend (he has been in Massachusetts with a new job while I was still in Virginia, where we had been living before, with the intention of me coming to Massachusetts when I found a new job) I decided it was worth taking the risk of giving notice and leaving with no job lined up, when my boss offered for me to continue to work for them remotely while looking for a new job!! So, beginning this weekend, I will be back to living with him and our two cats : ) I guess good things happen when you have options!

NV Teacher

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #349 on: October 07, 2013, 09:08:12 PM »
I signed the refi papers at the CU today. The last payment on my old loan - principal/$381 and interest/$635.  The first payment on the new loan - $870/principal and $394/interest.  I also went from a 30 year loan to a 10 year loan and I'll only pay a $101 more each month.  How did I celebrated?  I got a dipped ice cream cone at McDonalds for $1.40.  The next beast to tackle is my student loan.  I owe just over $15,000 and the plan is to have it paid off by December 2014.