Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317637 times)

G-dog

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3500 on: November 20, 2017, 04:50:33 PM »
Hey Hey!
I found MMM about a month ago and have been on a bit of a binge reading (almost) all MMM's posts and now into the forums. 

Bullet Point Profile:
-I'm 33yo and just relocated to South Carolina with my wife for her career and to get away from the cold (we're Canadian)
-Based on my reading, i'm pretty certain I am a Mustachian and luckily my wife is pretty darn Mustachian as well...although we didn't know that was a thing until very recently
   
Examples:
 - We own one car that is 16 yo
 - I ride my 20 yo mountain bike as much as I reasonably can
 - Our primary residence for the last 18 months has been a sailboat with the equivalent of about 300sqft of living space
 - Although we love the sailboat, we just bought a fixer upper house within a short bike ride of my wife's work in a great community, with cash
 - Our yearly spending is about 25K
 - We will only buy wine that comes in a box
 - There is currently a piece of tinfoil in our drying rack that has been re-used at least 5 times
 - I do a bit of work from home as a consultant, but left full-time employment 18 months ago

I feel like I've found my people here and just wanted to say Hi!!

You may want to check out the meetup threads for local informal meeting and more formal camps. Then you can see your people in person!

AR

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3501 on: November 20, 2017, 05:47:04 PM »

You may want to check out the meetup threads for local informal meeting and more formal camps. Then you can see your people in person!

Thanks G-dog, I will do that!  Cheers.

BookLoverL

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3502 on: November 24, 2017, 12:34:51 PM »
Hi everyone! I'm BookLoverL, I'm 24, and I live in England.
I first discovered MMM about two years ago and have been lurking since, but decided to finally make an account. Originally, I planned to do the recommended route of get a job, save money for 10 years, and then retire, but then I realised that I hate office jobs so much that even 2 years as an employee would be too long. Therefore, I'm currently living off the savings I had left from my university student loan (the year I graduated means that paying it back is basically set up more like a tax, so if I'm not earning, I don't have to pay anything) combined with some leftover money from a grant I got when I tried teacher training (also not for me, it turns out), while setting myself up as a freelancer/entrepreneur.
If I'm setting my own hours and doing my own work, I've achieved half of the things I wanted to retire early because of anyway. I'm still definitely very much into frugality and against needless consumerism. I'm not earning much yet, but I'm sure that I will be soon. I really don't want to go back to the mind-numbing tedium and conformity of office work, so I've got the motivation.
I'm looking forward to participating more actively in the forum.

Anatidae V

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3503 on: November 25, 2017, 03:32:15 AM »
Hi everyone! I'm Quackersnatched. My favorite TV show is Duck Tales.
I've got the theme song stuck in my head now! Welcome!

MoneyMouse

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3504 on: November 28, 2017, 01:25:49 PM »
Hello, everyone!

I'm MoneyMouse, from Alberta, Canada.
I discovered Mr. Money Mustache about two or three years ago, but haven't been thinking about it a lot until recently.
I'm still young in my working career (3 years out of University, but fortunately working in my field for now), but have no debt and am definitely a "dragon" with my money - I like to sit on a big pile of coins. But I need to invest this pile of coins for sure, and I'm resolving to make that my first step followed by trying to embrace more Mustachianism in my spending to boost my currently 8-10% savings rate as high as I can.

I already live within walking distance of work and my gym, and only use my car 2-3x a week for trips to my long-time karate club in a neighboring city (30 mins away in an ittybitty used Honda Fit).

I'm a little scared because my current job situation is very tight and I may not have a job for much longer at the time of writing, but I also know I'm in enough financial security right now that I don't need to throw myself into another job right away. My biggest worry right now in following Mustachianism is that both my partner and I earn less than $50,000 a year (each), and being in public and pseudo-public organizations, we're not likely to get a raise anytime soon. But for now, I can certainly work on cutting down my spending a ton.

Thanks, guys, and I'm looking forward to learning and adventuring alongside you!

desertkender

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3505 on: November 28, 2017, 05:21:46 PM »
Hi, I'm Desertkender. I'm 24, live in Vegas, and studying to be a highschool science teacher. I love nature and like to draw fauna and flora. They make very pretty Christmas cards and calendars.

The goal is to be financially independent by 40 so I can dedicate the rest of my life to helping people fall in love with, protect, and preserve wilderness.

I'm here so that I can learn how to beat my debt down and make my 'stache grow quicker!

MrsBFI

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3506 on: November 28, 2017, 05:56:23 PM »
Hey Everyone!

I'm a 20 something that recently graduated college and came to the realization that I'm not cut out for the rat race. My S/O and I are doing what we can to try and become FI as quickly as possible (at this rate, looks like that should be in my 30's for me, and a little later for him). We currently are house hacking our first property and are paying down debt as quickly as we can.

We are chronicling our journey if you would ever want to follow along (this includes the newest adventure of planning a wedding without going into debt!)
Look forward to becoming a part of this community and learning as well as hopefully passing on some knowledge as well!

www.befindependent.com/

waffles

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3507 on: December 02, 2017, 11:18:22 PM »
Hi everyone!

I'm 51, and became eligible to retire just over a year ago. I had been told early in my career to put money into the retirement fund (TSP), be sure to get full matching, and leave it alone and let it grow. So I did.

Upon realizing I was eligible to retire, I suddenly realized I didn't know how to use all that money I had barely looked at in my retirement fund. So I turned to some internet research and found this site. I really wish I had found it earlier in my career but I am glad to have found it now! I have been reading here and jcollinsnh and feel like I have a better idea of how FI works.

Despite paying very little attention to my TSP I've done okay. Since I wan't looking at it in 2008 I didn't panic and left my stock investments alone, and continued putting money into stock funds.

So now I am looking at retirement affordability, and y'all are going to laugh at me and my fears. Because our accounts have gone up so much in this amazing bull market, it feels like pretend money, not quite real. Like vapor. So if DH and I retired now, a thumbnail of our finances would be:

My retirement:  70,000/yr
DH retirement:  30,000/yr
Total in retirement funds and taxable account: 2 MM
No kids, no debt beyond a small mortgage

And I am terrified of a giant market crash...yes, I've read about the 4% SWR and still am afraid the recent large increases in our accounts will melt away like snow in summer and leave us without enough to weather medical/inflation/emergencies ahead. I have mandatory retirement in just under five years from my current job but I am burned out NOW and am trying to figure out how much longer to stay. I swing between "we only get one life and we should have enough" and "a responsible adult would keep working to maximize retirement in 5 years, and age 56 is still earlier retirement than many".

Just typing this has actually helped organize my thoughts a bit. I am finding leaving my steady paycheck frightening and staying for now is safer but at the same time I would love to leave my stressful job and do my own thing. The pre-FIRE checklist on this site is very useful, and I am starting to do the steps there so I will be ready. Whenever that is.

If I'd found this site earlier in my career I'd be even better off! I grew up in a family that never discussed money and really have only been better educating myself about finances for the last few months.


mid-atlantic minimalist

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3508 on: December 03, 2017, 07:11:07 AM »
Hello! My adorable dog and I live in the Washington, D.C., area. I found myself struggling with health crises for him and my other now-deceased dog this year, and these experiences inspired me to look more carefully at my habits to ensure I am prepare for the next emergency. I'm grateful to have found this resource. Thanks!

EarlyInJourney

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3509 on: December 04, 2017, 04:16:59 PM »
Hi all,

After learning about FI/RE earlier this year and doing lots of reading and lurking on the MMM site and this forum, I want to get a bit more involved and (hopefully) make myself a bit more accountable re: goals.  As my profile name would suggest, even though I'm 40 years old, I'm not very far along on this path.  I have certainly not been frugal or very smart with money, and my current finances/net worth bear this out:

Not so hot:
- Student loan debt  61K
- Credit cards     11K
- Car lease remaining  5K

On the positive side:
+ HSA  7K
+ 457B  3K
+ Cash  4K

So yeah, not great.  But there are 3 things that make me feel much better about my financial situation:

- My partner and I are earning and saving -significantly- more now than we had been, due to new, much better paying jobs in a new state.  Over 200K/yr joint income, currently saving 50-60% of net.
 
- I'm vested in one state pension (this one very solid), which will/should pay 2K/mo starting at age 65.  I'm 3 years away from vesting in my current state's pension (this one a bit less solid), which should/will pay $3200/mo IF I work here until age 60 or $4900/mo if I make it to age 65.

- Assuming Congress doesn't mess with it in the meantime, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program should wipe out a big chunk of my student debt in 4 years - about 50K!

I'm much more about FI than RE, since I actually like my job and the thought of working for another 20-25 years doesn't make me cringe.

Thanks for all the insights and advice y'all have shared,
EarlyInJourney

Northaholic

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3510 on: December 06, 2017, 05:52:18 AM »
Yellow,

I am also a Mike. There are many like me, but I am my own. I currently live in North Western Minnesota. I have been try to read and get into the amazing world of money mustaches for about half a year. I am 25 now and time marches on, so there is no better time to start grooming my mustache a.s.a.p.

It seems that I am very similar to a lot of other people on here it seems. I enjoy creating things, writing, cooking, and trying to find any way to get ahead.  I live in a very ahh... unmustachian environment. The NW MN is a literal frozen tundra 1/3 of the year with punishing temps of (60 below to 10 above) and long commutes (30+ miles) to a work place are normal. You have to be a gluten for punishment to live here, my Centralized Canadian neighbors have my condolences as well.

I am not sitting to terrible financially, but it will be an uphill battle for a while. The biggest downfall I am seeing so far is loans. Specially my car loan as I had a run of bad luck with vehicles having fatal issues 1-2 years into owning them, just when I paid them off....

Where I live, unless you are very lucky, everyone needs a vehicle for at least 1/3-1/2 of the year. So I buckled down and got a new basic Subaru Impreza. Amazing on snow and ice, and on the gas. My average daily commute is about 40-60 miles.

Debit:
Student Loan -18k
Car -18k
Bank Loan -2k
Credit Card -1k
Possible house soon -45k

I work 2 jobs with a net income of about 2,000-2,400 a month. I have no issue living cheaply, but it seems like there is a never ending life tax associated with existing. I have come away with a bunch of amazing tips from this site already. But is anyone else in this kind living situation?

Thanks everyone!

Best Regards,
Northaholic

Darin Shreves

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3511 on: December 06, 2017, 07:55:05 AM »
Howdy, all!

I'm Darin, a 33-year-old un-married no-kids lawyer who rents in Kansas City, Missouri.

I learned of the MMM blog a few months ago from a close friend, a tip for which I'll always be grateful. (I wonder if he's also a forum member here?) Discovering MMM was, without exaggeration, a "Eureka!" moment; I was immediately hooked. Since then I've been reading every MMM blog post in chronological order. Thus far I've made it to February 3, 2013, so there's still lots of reading and learning ahead.

I was, in my pre-MMM life, fairly mindful of and careful with my personal finances. A few years ago I read Burton Malkiel's "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" and it was hugely impactful. However, MMM's grander Mustachianism/badassity approach inspired me to do more, particularly since it has the side benefits of promoting human well-being and protecting the natural environment, two causes I care about deeply. I've already implemented some of his techniques (such as buying a hybrid bike and using it to commute to work), but I want to do more, which is why I joined this forum today.

I look forward to swapping ideas with everyone and connecting with fellow Mustachians in the Kansas City metro!

cloudo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3512 on: December 08, 2017, 10:21:21 AM »
Hello everyone, I'm a long time lurker, first time poster.  I work for a medical device company and have a side hustle playing online poker.  I want to achieve FIRE so I can read, learn, write, and play games at my leisure.

pvilla

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3513 on: December 09, 2017, 08:32:11 PM »
Dave here. Just paid off debts but refi mortgage close to 3K per month. 61 year old. Spouse younger, needs almost 20 year to retire. 2 children - 15 and 8.

thefrugalhaligonian

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3514 on: December 11, 2017, 05:55:18 AM »
Whats up, party people?

I'm Melissa from Nova Scotia! I run a twitter account called Moneyhugger Halifax, and potentially a blog in a near future.


NiteWolf

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3515 on: December 12, 2017, 07:28:19 AM »
Hi everyone,

I'm NW and will be moving to Winnipeg from Thailand soon. I'm married with 4 kids.

speedofsound

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Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3516 on: December 15, 2017, 01:59:56 PM »
Hello. My name is John and I'm a married, no-kids guy living in the Kansas City area.  I have been working on this plan for a while. I'm a CPA and wife is an accountant. I also play the piano for money sometimes.

HHIA: $135K
Debts: $0
NW: $200K ($100K liquid, $100K invested in retirement accounts).

Monthly Expenses:
$1000 - Rent
$300 - Utilities and Insurance
$30 - cell phone (shared)
$25 - sundries (Netflix, Amazon Prime Student Account)
$250 - one or two dinners out per week.
$50 - gasoline (I live 3 miles from work, wife w/i walking distance)
$200 - groceries

We rent but are thinking of buying a small (800-1000 sf) house with cash.

My biggest struggle: dealing with family who don't get the plan and spend profligately, and pressure me. They tell me I'm not 'living up to my status', etc...I don't ever break, but I can admit to bending (emotionally) in private moments and having frustration. This is the thing I need help with most.
« Last Edit: December 15, 2017, 03:56:17 PM by speedofsound »

t185

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Hello from PA
« Reply #3517 on: December 18, 2017, 12:15:16 PM »
Been a cheap bastard my entire life.
Surprised it took me this long to find this site.

Brannen

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3518 on: December 20, 2017, 08:29:46 PM »
Hello All,

Currently binge reading the blog and planning a budget for 2018. I live in Georgia and brew beer for a living, good times are cheap and the weather is hot. Any other mustachios in the south that want to meet up and exchange stories and a drink (on me of course).

Currently crushing the last few thousand of student debt and on my way to a promotion and positive net worth!

Cheers!

froggie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3519 on: December 21, 2017, 05:03:14 PM »
Hiya,
Froggie here.
I am 36, single mom, from greater DC area. Originally from France, moved to the US 15 years ago.
I was just doing my thing and working hard to retire in 6 years. And then, just last week, I got fired (the no-more-job-unexpectedly kind):
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/who-else-got-fired-the-week-before-christmas/

My new free time led me to the MMM forums!

Yay to unplanned "holidays".

CCHQ

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3520 on: December 23, 2017, 03:31:07 PM »
Hey there. I make videos. People even pay me for them.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2017, 07:21:51 PM by CCHQ »

montgomery212

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3521 on: December 24, 2017, 02:25:25 PM »
37 yr old, single, female, lawyer, living in DC for almost 3 yrs – in NYC for ~10 yrs before that.  Just started reading here in the last few months and esp. during this Christmas time off, but I’ve always been a live below your means type.

Went to a top law school and the trajectory from there is a big city law firm where you make top dollar (while working 24-7).  You work like that for 8-10 years, and then the firm owners decide whether to make you a fellow owner (partner).  Recession hit when I was a newly minted 2nd year associate and I quickly realized that current partners were freaking out about business falling off and were not even looking to keep associates for 8 yrs, let alone allow any new owners to share a piece of the pie.  So I always thought – this is going to end and then I will be unemployed/searching for a “regular” job so take advantage of the big money now.  But reality is I worked SOOO much, there was no time to spend money anyway though rent etc. in NYC is expensive.

So as expected, I got pushed out in year 8 at age 33, then ended up unemployed for 18 months and then had to move to DC for a government lawyer job, which I hated and still do.  When I first started in the government, I had the view of – I’m not staying, I’m out of here in a year etc. We’re at 2.5 years, and I’m still here.  Reality is, the market in my industry is REALLY tight and given that it took me 18 months to find this job, it’s not like I’m going to find another one anytime soon. 

Plus this job pays well and it’s now occurring to me – I’ve already made it for 2.5 years and at 3 years, there’s another 1% of my 401k (TSP) that is a government match that becomes vested, so why even consider leaving without that.  That 1% will only be ~$5500, but I think 6 more months is worth $5500.

I feel weird posting exact numbers, even though this is an anonymous site.  Maybe I will, as I grow more comfortable here.  But for now:
–   Maxed out my 401k to the IRS max 18k (17k back in the day) since graduation in 2005 (except the 18 months unemployed). 
–   Have only had a match for the last 2.5 yrs in the gov’t though – that (vested) 7% has added up really quick and almost “makes up” for my lack of contribution for the 18 month unemployed stint. 
–   Plus I aim to save at least 33% of my net each year. 
–   Some of that savings is invested in a brokerage account, which now amounts to about ¾ of my 401k balance.  When I was first building up that account when at a higher salary, I used to move a fixed amount to funds/ETFs every month so I had a great build up thru dollar cost averaging over 3-ish years (2011-2013).  In the last 2.5 yrs, I haven’t been doing automatic investment, but still end up putting in a similar amount over the course of the year.  As the market goes higher and higher, I find myself buying the dips more.  I try to be careful not to go too deeply into individual stocks though – right now the balance is 75% S&P or sector ETFs and 25% individual stocks (blue chips/decent dividend payers w div reinvestment).

Goals
-   Get out of this government job, as the unhappiness is sucking the life out of me.  IDK if that involves a move back to NYC (much higher COL) and/or a lower salary and most certainly losing the sweet 7% match.  Just don’t want to be one of those people who stays in the government for job security and one day I realize that 20 yrs of my life went by bc I was too scared to make a move.

-   Corollary to getting out of the job -- do I try to establish a business so I never have a crappy layoff or lousy job situation again? And do I do that now or find a way to stick it out for another 5-10 years at a good lawyer salary and do it then? (I don’t want my own law firm – so no idea what a business would be.)

-   Kick the net worth to the next level to make FIRE even more of a realistic possibility (it’s somewhat realistic now but it matters how I handle the next 10-15 yrs).  IDK what that entails though – a rental property? More stock? I don’t own my own home and family/friends always pressure me about that, but doing the math the return on the S&P since I graduated in 2005 (including the recession) has outpaced the increase in housing value including in NYC and DC.  Plus cash/investments feel more flexible to me.  I’m glad I didn’t move to DC and buy ASAP only to find that I hate this job and then be sort of stuck bc you’d have to sell a home if you found a better job in a better city or even 20 miles away (the commutes here are killer and determine precisely where you live).  Though I do have a goal of buying/paying off an apartment before retirement to eliminate housing costs in retirement.

Would welcome any thoughts. Just reading this thread has been so helpful.

CanuckExpat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3522 on: December 24, 2017, 02:58:51 PM »
37 yr old, single, female, lawyer
...
Would welcome any thoughts. Just reading this thread has been so helpful.

You are Single Female Lawyer?!?! That is awesome.
Futurerama references are thoughts right?

and welcome

Sharkey

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3523 on: December 29, 2017, 07:50:26 AM »
Hi!

Yet another overpaid software engineer here. But with a twist: I live in Ireland.

I only really discovered the whole early retirement concept this year.

However, I'm not in too bad shape financially. I've always funded my tax-deferred retirement account, I own a comfortable but not-too-expensive apartment and I can walk everywhere and don't own a car, so my basic living costs are reasonable. I do spend way too much on travel and books, though.

Still, I'm at the point now where I could stop funding my retirement account and just cover living expenses and mortgage - it should grow to be more than sufficient by normal retirement age.
If the market cooperates by being flat or positive, I ought to be able to cover basic living costs from 4% of investments in 2.5 years.
If it continues to cooperate, I ought to be what I'd consider fully FI (including a fully paid off mortgage, keeping it doesn't make sense here) in a little over 4 years, and then I will RE. I have plans to go study afterwards in a new field, education is affordable here.

Chadbert

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3524 on: December 29, 2017, 09:43:34 AM »
Hi, I’m Chad. I’m married with one kid and one on the way. I live in a MCOL area with a frugal wife, so we are on our way. DW is better at saving and not spending and she is teaching me better habits


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hegemony

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3525 on: December 29, 2017, 05:18:15 PM »
Hi all - I've been lurking here for awhile, but I think it might be time to wade into the fray.  With the new year coming on quickly, I've been thinking through some financial plans and personal challenges for 2018.

I'm 37 and female, living in Ontario, Canada with my partner of almost three years. 

I work in education in an administrative/faculty support role.  I've been in this job for three years, after leaving a job as a part-time faculty member (reality: full-time work, part-time pay, limited benefits).  I completed a doctorate nearly six years ago after spending a good long time in grad school.  Thanks to a lot of frugal living and taking on a number of different jobs, I graduated with savings instead of loans. 

I've largely kept up the frugal living, despite needing to a buy a car for work and moving to an area with a higher cost of living.  I have a good pension, a solid savings account, and relatively few regular expenses.  But despite having savings and no debts, I still feel behind where I should be/would like to be, particularly in terms of investing.  This is something I hope to work on going forward, along with cutting back some of my miscellaneous spending and making some other health-related changes, and this forum is a great inspiration and resource.

Wintergreen78

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3526 on: December 29, 2017, 06:52:32 PM »
Hi,

I’ve been lurking for a while, finally decided to sign up for the forum and join the conversation. I live on the Central Coast of California. I’ve been with my current career for 13 years, and kept my lifestyle inflation fairly well in check. I’ve made a point of directing most of every raise toward savings. About a year ago I set spring of 2018 as a FIRE goal. About 2 months ago I sat down with my boss and picked the end of January as the date.

So, 1 more month! I’m pretty excited.

I had never set an explicit goal to retire early, but around the time I started looking at the numbers seriously, I stumbled across the MMM blog and forum, along with other sources on the web. They were a big help in realizing it was feasible and seeing some of the ways other people had been able to make it happen.

NinetyFour

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3527 on: December 29, 2017, 07:36:00 PM »
Hi,

I’ve been lurking for a while, finally decided to sign up for the forum and join the conversation. I live on the Central Coast of California. I’ve been with my current career for 13 years, and kept my lifestyle inflation fairly well in check. I’ve made a point of directing most of every raise toward savings. About a year ago I set spring of 2018 as a FIRE goal. About 2 months ago I sat down with my boss and picked the end of January as the date.

So, 1 more month! I’m pretty excited.

I had never set an explicit goal to retire early, but around the time I started looking at the numbers seriously, I stumbled across the MMM blog and forum, along with other sources on the web. They were a big help in realizing it was feasible and seeing some of the ways other people had been able to make it happen.

Congratulations--that's great news!!!

You may want to join this thread:  https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/2018-fire-cohort/

Wintergreen78

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3528 on: December 29, 2017, 08:27:40 PM »
Thanks! Done.

Germanicus

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3529 on: December 30, 2017, 04:42:59 AM »
Hi guys,

I'm also new here. I am following mr money mustache for a while now and I have read a lot of his posts but I still need to read many more, but that is no problem since it is a lot of fun!

Also, I'm trying to blog about my own life en personal finance. With this I hope I can help people with some experience of my own.

Btw, I'm Dutch for whoever wants to know :)

nice to meet you all and I hope i can contribute to some discussions.

cheers,
Germanicus

dlcp

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3530 on: January 02, 2018, 07:49:34 AM »
Hello, I've lurked here for a while and finally decided to join the forum. I'm 32, female, married with two children.  I am excited to join in the conversation and learn even more about saving and investing.

chloes1

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3531 on: January 02, 2018, 09:45:15 AM »
Hi all,

I'm 49, and a single mother to a 10 yr old.  I live on SSDI and so have a fairly fixed income.

I came here after deciding to get the remnants of my life together.  Since coming here I have paid off all but two recurring bills.  The one credit card will be paid off in two months, and the car loan should be gone in January 2019.

My situation us such that saving any meaningful amounts of money is utterly counter productive... but I can at least learn to live well within my means.

Wintergreen78

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  • Posts: 620
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3532 on: January 02, 2018, 09:07:28 PM »
Hi all,

I'm 49, and a single mother to a 10 yr old.  I live on SSDI and so have a fairly fixed income.

I came here after deciding to get the remnants of my life together.  Since coming here I have paid off all but two recurring bills.  The one credit card will be paid off in two months, and the car loan should be gone in January 2019.

My situation us such that saving any meaningful amounts of money is utterly counter productive... but I can at least learn to live well within my means.

If you are paying off credit cards, you are getting rid of high interest debt, which is one of the best investments you can make.

CoconutAlligator

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3533 on: January 02, 2018, 09:29:12 PM »
Hi Everyone,

I'm a 30 year old single male living in New York. I've always been interested in living more simply but finding this community has been reaffirming in my goals. I went to college, then to graduate school in math and taught throughout my 20's. Luckily I'm not in debt I was only able to save about 30k throughout this time which I regret now and moving to New York has burned through that. I now have a job I want to save as much as a I can to make up for lost time. I'm hoping to learn more from everyone.

TikiTime

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  • Location: Gulf Coast
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3534 on: January 02, 2018, 09:36:00 PM »
Hello y'all, having enjoyed reading the forum for years, decided it was way past time to join in.  Nothing like no more lurking to force yourself into walking the walk.  Cheers!

25andfree

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  • Location: London, Ontario, Canada
  • Retired at 24. I am now 25.
    • 25 and Free
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3535 on: January 03, 2018, 10:40:08 PM »
Who is the youngest self-made early retiree, through frugality?
Hey All, I am Michael. I am a 25 year old early retiree with an awesome wife and daughter. I want to find someone my age, maybe on MMM forums?, who has done what I've done at my age. I retired early, FI 2% SWR at the age of 24 with 1,200,000 in net worth. The majority of my net worth came from saving. We lived frugally (my wife, daugther & I) on less than $1500/month. We currently spend about $2500/month before considering things like our House Hack - duplex living and our tiny house we rent out on airbnb. We saved almost all of our salaries and invested that in real-estate, and I renovated the properties (buying them well below market value because they needed work). Anyway, majority of my wealth - say $1,000,000 of it was saved over the last 7 years of hard work. I graduated school debt free etc., and didn't really have a lot of help - I left home at 17. Am I the only one who found guys like early retirement extreme at age 17 and went dead set on retiring early?

I blogged about it on 25andfree.com/about.... where I was trying to find others like me (to create my own cult of sorts) and to help others...anyone know anyone? Am I the youngest? Maybe the youngest in Canada?

TribecksMustache

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3536 on: January 04, 2018, 01:14:01 PM »
Hi! I'm TribecksMustache. I'm 24, single, and living the city life in the southeast US.

I'd always planned on retiring "early" (50ish). Imagine my joy at discovering MMM and realizing I could be FIRE much earlier! If I can find a job with a bike/walk commute, I hope to move that number up to 35, but for now my goal is 40.

gavint

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3537 on: January 06, 2018, 08:44:45 AM »
Hi, Gavint here. 

I'm a Canadian living in Germany with my wife and four kids.  Life is good, debt free, steadily accumulating wealth on a moderate income, self-employed in a job I love: I play in the dirt and climb trees for a living - my 10 year old self would be proud!

Financial independence is on the (distant) horizon, but there is no hurry - as a self-employed person I already feel like I'm free.

Corone

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  • Posts: 2
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3538 on: January 06, 2018, 12:23:10 PM »
Hi there!

I've been a hard core Dave Ramsey fan for several years, and following his plan got me from being in debt and being oblivious about my finances in 2014, to having a savings+ investment rate of 31,9% of my net income in 2017.

That savings rate needs to be cranked up a bit, so I came to the MMM blog, and now I'm on the forum too. My goal is to reach FIRE asap, but no later than 2030. I'm male, in my mid thirties, originally from Europe and currently living in the Caribbean. Investment opportunities like mutual funds are limited here, unfortunately.

I look forward to learning a lot on this forum!



arthanari

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3539 on: January 08, 2018, 12:39:10 PM »
Hi,

I am Artha, I found you through some blog. Haven't explored much of this site yet. I read a couple useful articles. I am searching for tips and advice on how i can manage my financials better and learn how to negotiate on financial areas.

I am from Alpharetta, Georgia, so if any one around this area is there here and have any local tips and tricks n how to save and handle financials better please send me a note, i will be very excited to connect with you.

Looking forward to learn and share my experience with this community.

Have a wonderful 2018.

Thanks.

Arbitrage

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  • Posts: 1405
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3540 on: January 09, 2018, 12:59:09 PM »
Hello,

Longtime Boglehead, which has been instrumental in putting me into the position where considering early retirement actually is starting to seem real.  Current age is 39, with a 41-yo DW and two young children.  Even though I don't hate my job, every time I have some time off, it reminds me how much I prefer time off to time at work. 

We've always been frugal, and I don't know that DW would be willing to make too many (more) trims to the lifestyle.  Thankfully, our incomes have risen significantly over the past few years, without really increasing our lifestyle, so early retirement is hopefully still in the cards.  I'm going to shoot for age 45.  I think the biggest challenges will be funding college for kids (would like to fund at least 75% of it) and convincing family to move out of HCOLA.  Without that move, I don't think the goal is feasible. 

MrsW17

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3541 on: January 09, 2018, 02:35:49 PM »
Hi there,

I heard about MMM for the first time through the Tim Ferris podcast a few months ago. It sounded like a nice idea, but not something my husband and I could realistically do.

But, and I’m not sure how this came back up, I stumbled upon the podcast again and gave it another listen.

Now my husband and I have talked about financial independence — and whether it’s something we could realistically achieve — every day for a week.

I started perusing the forums a few days ago, and decided it would be way more fun to jump in and join the conversations!

My husband is a software developer and I’m a self-employed writer and photographer, and we live outside of Nashville. In addition to our “day jobs,” we have plans to launch our first product business this spring — and we’re really excited about it! We’re both entrepreneurs at heart and hoping that business can help us reach our goal of buying a home with cash.

We aren’t sure where exactly we stand as far as our financial independence goes, but we’re 27 and 28 with no debt, a full emergency fund, retirement accounts, and additional savings that are currently earmarked to launch our business in a few months. Not too bad since we just got married last year and paid for all of that in cash!

SpareChangeYourLife

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3542 on: January 09, 2018, 08:09:28 PM »
Hello Mustachians,

My wife and I are new here but have been lurking the MMM website for a little over a year now.  We are both teachers who are trying to make the most of our meager incomes and pensions.  While we will probably work until our kids are on their own, we are enjoying preparing for a possibility of FIRE on teacher's salaries.  I was a finance major in college and I also teach personal finance to other teachers, many times directly quoting MMM.  It has been a pleasure to help others along the way.

I am here to learn from and contribute to a community of like-minded people.  I look forward to the ride.

PVkcin

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3543 on: January 10, 2018, 12:35:00 PM »
Hey, I'm PV Nick, 34, married with two kids, and planning to FIRE within about 5 years! I hope to join the conversations around here.

TheBeardedOfficial

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3544 on: January 11, 2018, 03:23:44 PM »
Hey all,
Just found the FIRE community over the holidays and my wife and I are very excited.  Long time DR acolytes looking for next steps in our journey after popping out our 3rd kid in 3 years.  Case study to follow in the near-ish future. 

Looking forward to getting punched in the face and moving closer to FIRE together!

bowg

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3545 on: January 11, 2018, 05:23:32 PM »
Hey all,

My parents were awesome and raised me Mustachianishly without ever hearing of it. I paid off college through summer jobs, biked to and from work and school in snowy 0 degree weather, hit up the library weekly, had lots of fun and free hobbies like board games and hiking, etc. I lived a while in Guatemala and effortlessly saved over half of my tiny part-time teaching salary. I have fond memories biking home from the market with eight bags of produce (about $15 worth, if even) balanced from my handlebars and spending twelve luxurious hours a day running, biking, cooking, reading, and socializing.

Fast forward four years to my first "real job" and somehow, gradually, I started falling victim to lifestyle creep. A Garmin running watch here, a Vitamix there, driving to work on rainy days, etc. The final wake-up call was spending $25 on a haircut. Eek!

Stumbled back across this awesome website and got inspired. I'm hoping to nip my spendy habits in the bud and rekindle my old Mustachian ways. Hopefully this forum helps and I can find some like-minded people in the Bay Area!!

Cheers,
Ellen
« Last Edit: January 11, 2018, 05:41:09 PM by bowg »

ulzxhi

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3546 on: January 12, 2018, 09:45:49 AM »
Hello! I have been planning to FIRE since before I knew it was a thing, so a coworker introduced me to MMM to give me a leg up. I've been reading MMM's blog since last year but just created my journal today. Glad to meet you all! I'd love to make some friends. Please link to your journal here, drop me a line, leave a comment etc :D

please clickity for my journal here

Justo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3547 on: January 12, 2018, 02:02:02 PM »
Hello!

My name is Justo, I'm pretty basic, I live in Atlanta, I'm engaged, I love Basketball, I have "side hustles", I work in Corporate America, I am planning for Financial Freedom one day at a time!

Spoon

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  • Age: 41
  • Location: Aus
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3548 on: January 12, 2018, 04:59:53 PM »
Hi

I'm Spoon, a 35 year old bloke living Downunder. I'm married with 2 daughters aged 5 and 2. I been lurking on the forum for just over a year and decided that it’s time to get involved.

I'm naturally frugal but had believed the world when they told me I was wrong, and am glad to have found a tribe that challenges conventional wisdom. To anyone reading MMM before starting work, I’m bloody envious.
   
I currently plan to retire when I am 40 but running my own company makes my wage more variable than most. I will probably blow the plan up by building my own house in the next few years and believe this will increase my happiness and quality of life.
     
I enjoy writing (I managed to get some articles published before the birth of my youngest) but find it takes a decent amount of time to craft something that you are prepared to send out into the world. I find it difficult to break from the formal writing rules I learnt and look forward to jamming some swearing into my posts. Fuck. Hopefully in time it will come more naturally! 

Spoon   

simonkkkkk

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #3549 on: January 14, 2018, 11:56:37 AM »
Hi

I'm Spoon, a 35 year old bloke living Downunder. I'm married with 2 daughters aged 5 and 2. I been lurking on the forum for just over a year and decided that it’s time to get involved.

I'm naturally frugal but had believed the world when they told me I was wrong, and am glad to have found a tribe that challenges conventional wisdom. To anyone reading MMM before starting work, I’m bloody envious.
   
I currently plan to retire when I am 40 but running my own company makes my wage more variable than most. I will probably blow the plan up by building my own house in the next few years and believe this will increase my happiness and quality of life.
     
I enjoy writing (I managed to get some articles published before the birth of my youngest) but find it takes a decent amount of time to craft something that you are prepared to send out into the world. I find it difficult to break from the formal writing rules I learnt and look forward to jamming some swearing into my posts. Fuck. Hopefully in time it will come more naturally! 

Spoon




Nice to meet u!