Author Topic: Celebrations Thread  (Read 1648237 times)

grantmeaname

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #400 on: November 10, 2013, 02:48:01 PM »
Alright! Are you going to trim a little bit and hit 50% for bragging rights?

avonlea

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #401 on: November 10, 2013, 03:12:09 PM »
Alright! Are you going to trim a little bit and hit 50% for bragging rights?

Yeah!  I think that's a great goal for 2014.  With college accounts included, total savings of 60%?!  I'm hyped!

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #402 on: November 10, 2013, 05:48:53 PM »
I recently bought a BOB bike trailer, with the goal of schlepping my hockey gear to and from the ice rink via bicycle.  After the assembly of the trailer and a couple of tweaks to the bike, it all came together this past week.  I had a game Thursday at 9:15pm (well past dark, of course).  Packed all the hockey gear in the BOB waterproof bag, use plenty of bungee cords to strap it and the hockey stick down safely, and lit up the whole rig with three flashing lights, in addition to my handlebar mounted light and a headlamp.  Oh, and I put pieces of reflective tape on the bike's wheels as well as on the frame of the trailer.

The bike ride to the rink is only 1.5 miles (one way), but I found that it's a good way to get the legs moving and the body warmed up before a hockey game.  Also, I loved the feeling of badassness and self-sufficiency when hauling the gear by pedaling.

The weekend, I was in a tournament, which meant two trips to the rink on Saturday, and another this morning.  (Then after all the hockey, I dumped the hockey gear at home, took a much needed shower, and headed to work--on my bike, of course!)

One of the best parts was biking past my parked car about 10 times this weekend!!

Oh, I did the math (using 50 cents per mile), and it looks like it will take around 260 trips to the rink before the BOB trailer has paid for itself!!  Yikes.  But I will make that many trips during this season and next season.  Plus, I hope to use the trailer in other ways as well.

JessieImproved

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #403 on: November 10, 2013, 07:39:19 PM »
Ran errands on bike two days in a row.  I also bought a bike trailer - now currently working on getting strong enough to schlep the kids up and down hills... :-P

Strawberrykiwi75

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #404 on: November 12, 2013, 01:13:06 AM »
My celebrations:

Getting my job at the bank and graduating my training program with a 99% final grade

Saving 60% of my take home pay

Renegotiated a new salary today, with an increase of 2.5% I've elected for it all to go to one of my superannuation schemes

happy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #405 on: November 12, 2013, 04:24:48 AM »
Congratulations, three excellent things to celebrate.

Mine is purchasing a second hand Prius ( due to the demolition of my SUV) is saving me at least $250 a month on petrol compared to the old gas guzzler.

wing117

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #406 on: November 12, 2013, 06:44:17 AM »
Several wins culminated today:

Paid off the car 3 years ahead of schedule today, saving me ~$2,000 in interest!
Removed car payment, reduced insurance and S.O. was able to pick up her portion of the rent again after securing a steady job - $600/mo additional savings combined!
Had the lowest electric bill, and lowest kWh/day usage ever this billing period! (18.75 kWh/day)
I'm now at 68% savings rate!

2014 is Tax Optimization Year for me. :)

KatieSSS

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #407 on: November 14, 2013, 02:08:45 PM »
Totally wasn't expecting this - but I got a bonus of $1,100! It will be a little less after taxes, but still! I didn't think I'd be included in the bonuses since I got the position reclassification that came with a pay raise.

You all know what that means - I'm throwing it all at my debt and will be DEBT FREE even sooner! Hooray! Right now I'm at about $2,700. Shave off $1,000 and I'll be at $1,700. Factor in my automatic payment of $275 later this month and I'm down to about $1,450. That will be a breeze to pay off before the new year!

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #408 on: November 14, 2013, 05:18:40 PM »
Yay KatieSSS!!  Great news for you!!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #409 on: November 14, 2013, 06:54:32 PM »
Congratulations, three excellent things to celebrate.

Mine is purchasing a second hand Prius ( due to the demolition of my SUV) is saving me at least $250 a month on petrol compared to the old gas guzzler.

I hope you love your Prius as much as I love mine!

kkbmustang

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #410 on: November 14, 2013, 06:55:58 PM »
Totally wasn't expecting this - but I got a bonus of $1,100! It will be a little less after taxes, but still! I didn't think I'd be included in the bonuses since I got the position reclassification that came with a pay raise.

You all know what that means - I'm throwing it all at my debt and will be DEBT FREE even sooner! Hooray! Right now I'm at about $2,700. Shave off $1,000 and I'll be at $1,700. Factor in my automatic payment of $275 later this month and I'm down to about $1,450. That will be a breeze to pay off before the new year!

Woo hoo!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #411 on: November 15, 2013, 08:17:47 AM »
I recently bought a BOB bike trailer, with the goal of schlepping my hockey gear to and from the ice rink via bicycle....

This was exactly the motivation I need. My trip to the roller rink is 1.5 miles also! My BF and I have been trying to build a luggage rack to carry my roller derby gear on my bike. I still think I will go with a rack, unless I find a cheap used trailer. BUT it's not a safe area + my practices are at night, so I feel safer driving for now until it stays light later. Then I will cycle to derby practices as much as possible!

MY recent celebrations are:

I PAID MY FINAL VERIZON BILL. Early Termination fees were costly, but the ROI worked out to switch, using IP Daley's calc . First 2.5 months of Ting are basically free because of referrral/Termination Fee Help. YAY.

Also I just got back from a cushy business trip to Palm Springs CA where I had lots of fun, good food, met new people, talked about color trends!, and realized that whole city is totally unmustachian, and ridiculously unsustainable.

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #412 on: November 15, 2013, 09:42:52 AM »
Good luck building the bike rack for your roller hockey gear.  That's a much more badass approach than mine (I simply ordered a BOB trailer from REI).  I have really been enjoying my trips to the rink with my trailer (6 trips so far).  One danger is that many of the hockey players drink beers in the parking lot after the game and then, of course, hop in their cars and trucks to drive home.  I'm hoping that the inebriated ones live in the other direction from where I am headed!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #413 on: November 15, 2013, 10:12:45 AM »
One danger is that many of the hockey players drink beers in the parking lot after the game and then, of course, hop in their cars and trucks to drive home.  I'm hoping that the inebriated ones live in the other direction from where I am headed!
Does your trailer hold people? haha Maybe you could tow them home.
But seriously, that's terrible that they drink and drive. eeps

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #414 on: November 15, 2013, 11:18:13 AM »
Yes, it's not a great situation.  Every now and then, the city police will swing by and act menacing, but not often enough to cause any change in behavior.  Funny, now that I don't drive a car to the rink, I suppose I could have a beer now and then after a game, but I haven't had alcohol since 1/3/12 and have no plans to start up again!  (Another reason for celebration!)

cheeselover91

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #415 on: November 20, 2013, 10:52:55 AM »
Well I just completed a major Mustachian accomplishment. Rode my bike to work this morning! 7.8 miles, with an embarrassing 80 minute ride time. I told my mom there are two things aren't going to work; the bike and the bike trail. The bike was a freebie from my dad's shop; pumped up the tires but gears are going whacko on me and it weighs like 500 lbs. Not really, but it felt like it when I lifted and dragged the bike under 500 fallen TREES on the bike trail! Thanks to a nice storm that just came through.

Going home I'll just take the bike trail the first mile with only 1 fallen tree. Then backroads. I'm sure this will make things a lot easier.

I was a little concerned about getting cold and had about 3 layers everywhere, but with the combined strength/cardio of the bike trail I got too hot and took off one pair of gloves and my under-helmet stocking cap. My feet did get a little cold, but not unbearably so. Might stick some toe warmers down there when the temperature drops.

jrhampt

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #416 on: November 21, 2013, 08:48:09 AM »
I somehow managed to get three (!) different raises this year without switching employers.  Total increase: $22k.  Total effort: one new master's degree (paid for by employer) and some negotiation.  My mind gets blown every time I get a raise.  We are already maxing out the 401ks and investing in taxable accounts, but we doubled our mortgage payments several months ago and are adding another $1k per month starting in December.  We should have the house paid off in another 2.5 years if we keep up this payment schedule...just on time to hit FI.

NinetyFour

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #417 on: November 21, 2013, 09:07:01 AM »
Wow.  That is awesome. 

My income should also increase during the next couple of years, and I hope I will have the discipline to put all of the extra money towards debt, and not inflate my lifestyle!

earlybird

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #418 on: November 25, 2013, 06:12:49 PM »
Today I turned in my resignation at work. My last day is 4 weeks from today, 12/23. I am retiring at age 49 after working since I was age 14.  It was quite funny to see the expressions on my coworkers' faces. Some were in total disbelief that I was retiring and not just quitting to find a new job. Others were happy for me but still didn't quite understand. Me, I am just quietly ecstatic! Yay Me!!!

arebelspy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #419 on: November 25, 2013, 07:02:39 PM »
Today I turned in my resignation at work. My last day is 4 weeks from today, 12/23. I am retiring at age 49 after working since I was age 14.  It was quite funny to see the expressions on my coworkers' faces. Some were in total disbelief that I was retiring and not just quitting to find a new job. Others were happy for me but still didn't quite understand. Me, I am just quietly ecstatic! Yay Me!!!

Hell yeah!  Way to go!
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.
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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #420 on: November 25, 2013, 11:04:13 PM »
Big congratulations!...let us know how it is "on the other side"  :) OK?

earlybird

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #421 on: November 26, 2013, 05:36:48 PM »
Thanks so much! I can't tell you how free I'm already feeling knowing I have so few work days left. :-) 

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #422 on: November 26, 2013, 05:47:50 PM »
Today I turned in my resignation at work. My last day is 4 weeks from today, 12/23. I am retiring at age 49 after working since I was age 14.  It was quite funny to see the expressions on my coworkers' faces. Some were in total disbelief that I was retiring and not just quitting to find a new job. Others were happy for me but still didn't quite understand. Me, I am just quietly ecstatic! Yay Me!!!
Early Bird gets the Early Retirement ... Goodies! You are badass - congratulations and keep us posted.  : ))

Strawberrykiwi75

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #423 on: November 27, 2013, 11:57:48 PM »
Today I turned in my resignation at work. My last day is 4 weeks from today, 12/23. I am retiring at age 49 after working since I was age 14.  It was quite funny to see the expressions on my coworkers' faces. Some were in total disbelief that I was retiring and not just quitting to find a new job. Others were happy for me but still didn't quite understand. Me, I am just quietly ecstatic! Yay Me!!!


AMAZING!! Congratulations, that fantastic!

zinethstache

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #424 on: November 28, 2013, 11:33:44 PM »
Aw earlybird.... I sure hope to be following in your footsteps! Congrats, I will definitely be looking for post ER updates from you:)

JessieImproved

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #425 on: December 02, 2013, 11:52:09 AM »
Socked away $2700 and $400 in mortgage prepayment in November!  w00t!

ajmers

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #426 on: December 03, 2013, 08:55:25 AM »
Just sent in the check to finish off my car payments 2 years early! Debt-free! :)

RobertBirnie

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #427 on: December 06, 2013, 12:12:59 PM »
I've officially gone two weeks without starting the car. Been going bike only to work! Now the only issue is that my car seems to have a slow drain on the battery, its now dead and I need to find time to jump it with the wife's car. :D

Emerald

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #428 on: December 06, 2013, 01:00:33 PM »
I've gained an extra 10% in home equity this year with extra house payments.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #429 on: December 08, 2013, 01:06:19 PM »
What's up fellow badasses!  Long time lurker, first time poster.  Just wanted to share some celebration about recent steps towards my FI!

Two months ago my wife and I finished off our last car and credit card payments and went completely debt-free!  We have been on a 12-month plan to eliminate debt, and finished in 8 months.  We own our home, so we are now saving big bucks for early retirement.

This month, I kept on the full-court pressure by making some painful cuts that acknowledge the wastefulness of our former selves:
  • Switched from Verizon to Page Plus for a savings of over $100 per month
  • Cut our cable for a savings of over $100 per month
  • Cut out unnecessary services like dog daycare and home cleaning service for savings of over $275 a month
  • Got rid of our storage unit for a savings of $90 per month

We also challenged ourselves (former couple-time-per-week restaurant eaters) to cook at home every day this week and met our goal.

Next month will begin the month-long bike to work challenge (why did I decide to start that in January!!)

With these simple changes, I hope to be saving about 50% of my current take-home salary!

Wish us luck!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #430 on: December 09, 2013, 01:33:34 PM »
At the beginning of the year I was putting 15% of my salary in the 401k. That was already up from the 10% I had saved before. Now I am saving 25% of my salary and as of now, my 401k balance is higher than my annual salary.
I realize that a lot of that is because the markets have done well this year, and all those shares I bought at lower prices are worth more...but seeing that number is still nice.

We also save a LOT out of my husband's salary, when you add it all up I think we save 40%. Once February rolls around and we have the house paid off, we are going for >50% savings.

KatieSSS

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #431 on: December 13, 2013, 09:16:46 AM »
I am debt free as of this morning :) Worth a post in the celebrations thread!

Happy dance!

arebelspy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #432 on: December 13, 2013, 09:26:52 AM »
I am debt free as of this morning :) Worth a post in the celebrations thread!

Happy dance!

Huzzah!
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grantmeaname

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #433 on: December 13, 2013, 09:28:52 AM »
Alright! What's next?

KatieSSS

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #434 on: December 13, 2013, 10:02:10 AM »
Alright! What's next?

Getting my e-fund up to 6 months of expenses, then up my retirement contributions. After that, not entirely sure! I'm going to start looking into home ownership. Pros/cons, etc. And evaluate if that is what I really want.
« Last Edit: December 13, 2013, 10:48:55 AM by KatieSSS »

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #435 on: December 16, 2013, 08:56:58 AM »
OMG YOU GUYS.

So my job got reclassified from being exempt (and work-from-home-able) to non-exempt (and an hour commute away, each way). As this situation is mostly intolerable, I started applying for new jobs, with proximity to home and interesting work being the main criteria - and I just found out, I got an awesome new job, doing awesome new things, at an awesome place that's ten minutes away from my house! I will go from a 20-mile, hour-long commute, with parking to pay for at the end as an extra kick in the pants, to a ten-minute, single-traffic-light, completely bikeable commute!

I'll be talking with my new boss later today to figure out details like salary, and benefits, and all of that, but I am quite honestly most stoked about working only ten minutes away. HOORAY!!!

arebelspy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #436 on: December 16, 2013, 10:47:30 AM »
OMG YOU GUYS.

So my job got reclassified from being exempt (and work-from-home-able) to non-exempt (and an hour commute away, each way). As this situation is mostly intolerable, I started applying for new jobs, with proximity to home and interesting work being the main criteria - and I just found out, I got an awesome new job, doing awesome new things, at an awesome place that's ten minutes away from my house! I will go from a 20-mile, hour-long commute, with parking to pay for at the end as an extra kick in the pants, to a ten-minute, single-traffic-light, completely bikeable commute!

I'll be talking with my new boss later today to figure out details like salary, and benefits, and all of that, but I am quite honestly most stoked about working only ten minutes away. HOORAY!!!

Nice!

That's awesome, way to go!
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.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #437 on: December 17, 2013, 03:42:32 AM »
OMG YOU GUYS.

So my job got reclassified from being exempt (and work-from-home-able) to non-exempt (and an hour commute away, each way). As this situation is mostly intolerable, I started applying for new jobs, with proximity to home and interesting work being the main criteria - and I just found out, I got an awesome new job, doing awesome new things, at an awesome place that's ten minutes away from my house! I will go from a 20-mile, hour-long commute, with parking to pay for at the end as an extra kick in the pants, to a ten-minute, single-traffic-light, completely bikeable commute!

I'll be talking with my new boss later today to figure out details like salary, and benefits, and all of that, but I am quite honestly most stoked about working only ten minutes away. HOORAY!!!

Congratulations!

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #438 on: December 18, 2013, 07:09:44 PM »
I'm in a career where I take a series of very hard exams to obtain a fellowship in my career path (actuary). We also get raises for passing the exams. I just found out today that I passed another exam, which means a $2,500 raise! It's also retroactive back to when I took the exam (late October). Will be celebrating by bumping up the 401(k) contribution! And maybe a rare dinner out.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #439 on: December 20, 2013, 04:09:25 AM »
After several years of cost of living raises, I was pleasantly surprised to get a 6% raise for next year.

JessieImproved

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #440 on: December 20, 2013, 04:52:45 AM »
After several years of cost of living raises, I was pleasantly surprised to get a 6% raise for next year.

Congrats on the raise!  DH just got a 7% raise (and a promotion)!

But my BIG accomplishment this month is over 6k in savings!  I maxed out my IRA and about 60% of DH's IRA!  I project we'll max out his IRA in January, and after that it's tackling our second mortgage@9% until the tax year rolls around (and we can contribute to IRAs again).

grantmeaname

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #441 on: December 20, 2013, 05:09:14 AM »
You can contribute to 2013 or 2014 IRAs for the first four months of 2014.

JessieImproved

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #442 on: December 20, 2013, 05:15:39 AM »
You can contribute to 2013 or 2014 IRAs for the first four months of 2014.

Well I just learned something today.  Luckily Vanguard tells you how much you have left to contribute, so I probably would have been pleasantly surprised when I went in there in January.

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #443 on: December 20, 2013, 06:34:25 AM »
I know this is chump change to most of you, but I'm pretty excited: my savings and investments are now worth $25,000! That's $1,000 for every year I've been alive. :) I should be able to hit $30,000 in a couple of months, and that's almost one third of the way to $100,0000, which is one third of the way to FI if I stay where I'm living now!

Russ

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #444 on: December 20, 2013, 06:08:27 PM »
Got my first dividends today! +$100 to the investment accounts :-)

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #445 on: December 21, 2013, 06:10:10 AM »
I had a goal of saving up a £50k stash by the end of this this year, and I've just made it! It's taken us 21 months (since paying off our mortgage, which was our previous big goal). My next target is hitting £100k by my 40th birthday, which is 27 months away - not as easy as it appears as I've recently had to take a 25% pay cut, plus we've got a second baby on the way, but I'm starting to flex my newly acquired frugality muscles so we should do well :)

arebelspy

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #446 on: December 21, 2013, 06:48:02 AM »
I had a goal of saving up a £50k stash by the end of this this year, and I've just made it! It's taken us 21 months (since paying off our mortgage, which was our previous big goal). My next target is hitting £100k by my 40th birthday, which is 27 months away - not as easy as it appears as I've recently had to take a 25% pay cut, plus we've got a second baby on the way, but I'm starting to flex my newly acquired frugality muscles so we should do well :)

Well done.  :D

I'd bet you'll make your next one too.  You can do it if it's important to you, and clearly this goal was.
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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ajmers

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #447 on: December 22, 2013, 10:12:55 AM »
In 2013 I cut my spending on clothing by HALF compared to last year!

dorkus619

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #448 on: December 23, 2013, 11:16:04 AM »
A couple months ago I switched up my strategy a bit. As I have no debt except the mortgage and I'm paying some ridiculous PMI crap (I was young and uneducated when I bought my house), my goal is go pay down the mortgage ASAP to eliminate the ~$121/month mortgage insurance payment.

In November I put an extra $300 towards the Principal. In December I put $615! I'm hoping to keep up with  $600-700/month extra (on top of the $931 payment). Which is A LOT for my paycheck.

captainawesome

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Re: Celebrations Thread
« Reply #449 on: January 03, 2014, 05:56:58 AM »
2013 was a significant turning point in my life. Wife lost her job nov 2012 right after we got married (the day we got back from the honeymoon). We went from a very comfortable DINK situation to living off my income, which should have been enough given my salary (somehow we were still tight on money). It wasn't until I found this blog that I saw the error in my ways. Fast forward one year: sold the jeep, bought a mazda3 in cash, my wife's student loans will be paid off as of the 15th of this month. Increased our savings rate to around 50-55%, converted my Roth IRA to vanguard, switched cell phone providers, bought a commuter bike just yesterday off craigslist and will bike to work 4 days a week (9 miles each way), AND got my wife on board with all of these changes. She fought me at first, and it wasn't until recently that she realized we had no debt, her student loans would be gone, and we were putting away a significant amount of money each month. She's even on board with purchasing a cheaper, fuel efficient car when her lease is up in May. Thanks to all of those who have helped along the way