Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317842 times)

LWYRUP

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4150 on: July 13, 2020, 03:16:33 PM »
Hi, I’m GrahamCracker. I joined this community so I could read my friend’s journal and perhaps start one of my own one day. At 95, I’m probably the oldest member of this community. I grew up in Alaska, when hard-core frugality was a way of life. I left Alaska for collage at UW. After graduation a friend invited me to visit her in Berkeley. I liked the milder CA climate and never left.

I’ve been widowed for about five years, after nearly sixty six years of marriage. My husband and I started with very little and gradually worked our way to financial freedom. He retired at 59, which was pretty early in those days. I got my real estate license once the kids were up and out and had fun with that for about a decade. Together, we bought six rental properties. We maintained and managed them ourselves, eventually selling them off one by one.

My friend and I enjoy being frugal pals. We speak the same language, so to speak.

I look forward to spending a little time here and getting to know you.

That's great!  You must have some fascinating stories from your childhood in Alaska in the 30s.

catlady

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4151 on: July 25, 2020, 11:56:19 AM »
Hey all,
I am just starting my FI journey and currently fighting with our budget... Unfortunately I am 33 with nothing to show besides a mortgage, car load and fortunately an emmergency fund. Still trying to get my SO on board with stop bying crap. I'm so glad that I found this forum

Buffaloski Boris

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4152 on: July 26, 2020, 08:18:01 AM »
Hey all,
I am just starting my FI journey and currently fighting with our budget... Unfortunately I am 33 with nothing to show besides a mortgage, car load and fortunately an emmergency fund. Still trying to get my SO on board with stop bying crap. I'm so glad that I found this forum

Welcome @catlady !  Great to have you aboard.  33?  Beats the heck out of being 53 and being in the same situation. The first step to fixing something is acknowledging that that there is a problem and might be a better way. 

As for the SO, people who have gone before you have put together a great thread on persuading SO's.

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-to-convert-your-so-to-mmm-in-50-awesome-steps/
   

spaghetti1awk

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4153 on: July 27, 2020, 07:00:27 AM »
Hi All-

Happy to be here and for the opportunity to learn from you all. I'm a single mom of three, trying to make wise financial decisions and help my kids learn to do the same. Starting this FI journey a little late in the game, at 39. Hoping to find more resources and information to help continue the progress I've been making recently.

LWYRUP

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4154 on: July 27, 2020, 07:08:13 AM »
Hi All-

Happy to be here and for the opportunity to learn from you all. I'm a single mom of three, trying to make wise financial decisions and help my kids learn to do the same. Starting this FI journey a little late in the game, at 39. Hoping to find more resources and information to help continue the progress I've been making recently.

Glad to have you on board.  :)

Dicey

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4155 on: July 30, 2020, 08:38:46 AM »
Hi, I’m GrahamCracker. I joined this community so I could read my friend’s journal and perhaps start one of my own one day. At 95, I’m probably the oldest member of this community. I grew up in Alaska, when hard-core frugality was a way of life. I left Alaska for collage at UW. After graduation a friend invited me to visit her in Berkeley. I liked the milder CA climate and never left.

I’ve been widowed for about five years, after nearly sixty six years of marriage. My husband and I started with very little and gradually worked our way to financial freedom. He retired at 59, which was pretty early in those days. I got my real estate license once the kids were up and out and had fun with that for about a decade. Together, we bought six rental properties. We maintained and managed them ourselves, eventually selling them off one by one.

My friend and I enjoy being frugal pals. We speak the same language, so to speak.

I look forward to spending a little time here and getting to know you.

That's great!  You must have some fascinating stories from your childhood in Alaska in the 30s.
Indeed, she does ;-)

englishteacheralex

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4156 on: July 30, 2020, 09:53:24 AM »
Hi, I’m GrahamCracker. I joined this community so I could read my friend’s journal and perhaps start one of my own one day. At 95, I’m probably the oldest member of this community. I grew up in Alaska, when hard-core frugality was a way of life. I left Alaska for collage at UW. After graduation a friend invited me to visit her in Berkeley. I liked the milder CA climate and never left.

I’ve been widowed for about five years, after nearly sixty six years of marriage. My husband and I started with very little and gradually worked our way to financial freedom. He retired at 59, which was pretty early in those days. I got my real estate license once the kids were up and out and had fun with that for about a decade. Together, we bought six rental properties. We maintained and managed them ourselves, eventually selling them off one by one.

My friend and I enjoy being frugal pals. We speak the same language, so to speak.

I look forward to spending a little time here and getting to know you.

That's great!  You must have some fascinating stories from your childhood in Alaska in the 30s.
Indeed, she does ;-)

Dicey's friend! We welcome you!!! You sound really neat; maybe you should start your own journal!

felirod

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4157 on: August 08, 2020, 09:34:28 AM »
Hello all from SoCal!
I’ve come here to get back on track. My wife and I are 50 y/o educators and have an 11 year old son. I’ve learned a lot so far.


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Buffaloski Boris

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4158 on: August 13, 2020, 05:28:05 PM »
Hello all from SoCal!
I’ve come here to get back on track. My wife and I are 50 y/o educators and have an 11 year old son. I’ve learned a lot so far.


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Hi @felirod and welcome to the forums! We’re glad to have you.

BoatSnack

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4159 on: August 14, 2020, 11:15:08 AM »
Hi everyone! Long time listener, first time caller. (How many times is that written in this thread?)

My name is Matthew, my wife and I are in our early 30s DINKs in Washington State. Reading about the 4% rule and the direct link between savings rate and time to retirement changed my financial life. Best I can tell, we're now in the FI Class of 2025.

I'm really interested in credit card/bank account churning, among various other spare-time side hustles, real-estate (we'd like to invest in multifamilies starting next year), and optimizing our taxes (limited tricks in W2 world).

FrugalPole

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4160 on: August 20, 2020, 01:31:22 AM »
Good morning fellow mustachians!

I am a long time reader of MMM's blog and it has completely reshaped my financial life.

Few years ago I had a lot of debt and it was the worst kind of debt because I borrowed money to buy some stupid things. MMM made me move to a frickin' cheap and ugly place that allowed me and my future wife pay off all of our debt and start getting that money! We progressed just fine until we got married and decided to buy a house in the suburbs. Man... I can't describe how much money it consumed. We got back to the place where we had nothing but this time it wasn't just me and Mrs. It was me, Mrs and this other guy... Mortgage.

Since we were back to square one, for some reason we decided that it's a good idea to go back to the old habits. We maxed out our credit cards to get the furniture we wanted, we bought a huge (for european standards) 18MPG car to accompany our previous car and we made a lot of other questionable financial choices.

I can only thank God that this episode lasted only for more than a year and somehow we've slapped out of it and got rid of most of the debt except mortgage and no-interest loan on some electronics and we are saving like crazy.

My name is Matt, I live in Poland (any eastern europeans here, huh?) and as you can see - this is my second approach to becoming financially independent. I plan to be on FIRE in 2030 on my 40th birthday.

mindfulrun

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4161 on: August 29, 2020, 08:54:54 AM »
Hi all!
My name is Dan and I'm 43.  I stumbled across this blog about a year ago and it really changed my perspective on everything.  Since then, I've been reading/researching everything I can get my hands on.  I've been planning on retiring around age 45, but seeing that Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther actor) just passed away at the age of 43 is making me rethink that - I may just have to pull the plug on my 9-5 in months, not years.  Life is too short!

verntc

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4162 on: September 10, 2020, 02:40:28 PM »
Hi there, glad to have found this forum! My husband and I quite our biotech jobs last Oct to take some much needed time to recuperate and figure out next steps. Very glad we did so before the pandemic. We are currently in the PHX area but wanting to relocate to CO next year to be closer to family/friends and nature (of course!). We have a 2 yr old boy and a dog. Nice to meet everyone!

Jakestersquat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4163 on: September 20, 2020, 08:15:57 PM »
Jakestersquat here. I’m married with 4 kids. I am a lineman by trade. Been a lurker for a few years but decided to actually join.

Jesse W

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4164 on: September 21, 2020, 11:14:22 PM »
Hi Everyone,

My name is Jesse. Its interesting, I've been advocating moustachism for a while now, but never really participated with others till now. Maybe it is the shared values, but I certainly feel part of the community and look forward to being more active rather than reading from the sidelines!

I've always been a saver and was lucky that my parents always taught me that you can't rely on the government to look after you when you retire. I discovered MMM a few years ago and it really resonated with me. While I was some way on track, the blog really opened my eyes and has helped me take things to the next level! I've still got plenty more to learn and very much look forward to doing that on the forum.

I reached FI at ~35 (Currently 37) but have not yet bitten the bullet to leave my job. I certainly made a few mistakes on the journey which I like to think I have learned from. MMM has also done a lot to help clarify and verbalise things which I felt but could never really articulate. Thank you!

I am very lucky in that my wife has come on board as this was a big change for her. (There are still few diehard habits/views that are tough to shake though. We now have happy healthy 7 month old. I look forward to spending lots of time with my family and being able to prioritise them.

My current job allows me to work form home at hours that suite me which is one of the reasons I haven't left. While I have reached FI, I have decided to keep working a few more years so that I can build up a bit more of a safety buffer and have some more passive income to play with. I also haven't quite yet worked out what I want to do when I finish. I would like to start a charity, and am starting to spend some time thinking about the vision and purpose of the charity.

 I look forward to speaking with more people, especially anyone in Sydney Australia or Cambridge U.K!


bwichner

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4165 on: September 30, 2020, 11:07:22 AM »
Noob here, located in Cincinnati and been reading this page off and on for a few years.  Just read Your Money of Your Life and now energized more than before. 

Looking forward to learning from others!

Ben

uniwelder

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4166 on: October 02, 2020, 11:21:56 AM »
Hello, New to the forums but started following this site 4 years ago when my wife and I started to really begin saving money and began wondering at what point we could quit working (at least full time).  We have three rental houses and a reasonable chunk in savings/retirement funds.  I just cut my hours from full time to about 10-15/week to fade away from my current job and spend more time doing house projects.  We've never been big spenders, but this site has brought up an enormous amount of information I didn't think about before and I really appreciate all the intelligent people that post on the forums.

Highlandfool

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4167 on: October 19, 2020, 09:19:58 AM »
Hi! I'm Hal and I FIRED three years ago. I was introduced to the concept of FIRE through "Your Money or Your Life" and have been a longtime lurker here on this site. I am based out of Virginia, but have a GF in Latvia (currently visiting) and I'm contemplating making the big move (a topic for another thread). I appreciate all the information and support this community shares and I look forward to participating.

Cheers!

Mjolnir

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4168 on: October 25, 2020, 02:11:48 AM »
Hi,

Long time reader (wanted to say"lurker", but that makes me sound creepy), first time poster.

I've always been responsible with money. I buy whatever i want, but i don't seem to want a lot of stuff... Give me a good book and a pot of tea and i'm ready for a lovely evening.

The classic financial advice always seemed a bit odd to me. So when I discovered MMM, I quickly went through the entire blog post by post. Now i'm doing a good job trying to devour the whole forum.

MMM succeeded in making me question some of my pre-conceived notions about how to live. I always assumed having a car was a basic necessity. However shortly after discovering MMM, we managed to transition from 2 cars to 1 car for our family. Haven't missed it at all! The simpler my life becomes, the less stress it gives. I truly feel like i have everything I need. Not to mention that one less car impacts my wallet and the environment.

I intend to contribute from the perspective of a western European  high tax country. I believe some of the tenets of MMM could be tweaked a bit in order to create a more efficient path to FI within the European context. Hoping I can contribute something to the discussion from my European perspective.

Happy to be here.
& Greetings from across the pond.

Segare

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4169 on: October 28, 2020, 06:56:59 AM »
Hello, just getting on board.
Hoping to save and invest more.

Sunder

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4170 on: November 09, 2020, 10:01:31 PM »
Hi All,

First post, after hearing about this forum years ago, reading articles, but never engaging (not even reading) with the forum.

It's time. I am starting to feel I have squandered the last 23 years of working, but as the old Chinese proverb goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 23 years ago. The second best time is now".

So, I'm 42, male, Australian, married, 2 kids. Smallish mortgage, but no other debt, decent superannuation (retirement fund). I'm on a stupidly high income, but my wife is about to finish up a 2 day a week contract. While we have savings and investments, compared to what we earn, it's not really that much.

We've had an interesting financial journey together. We met when my wife was a povo student doing her masters while doing a couple shifts as a waitress. Literally she had to decide between enough food and making rent many weeks when bills became due, while I was already earning >100k. So when we got married, she pressured me into being more careful with money, and I had to teach her that it was okay to spend somewhat... Was aware of FIRE at the time, but no desire to do give up all of life's luxuries. Anyway, I kind of feel like the tables have turned, and now she's working, she buys a lot of "conveniences", and I feel we're not saving enough for our future, especially compared to what we're earning.

I think my two greatest assets right now, are:

1) My earning ability.
2) I'm content. I had sports cars in my 20s. Traveled the world in my 30s. My house is as big and as fancy as I want. There's nothing I really want to plough money into.

I think my two greatest liabilities are:
A) I like eating out. A LOT.
B) My wife still isn't done traveling. Pre-Covid, we'd spend upwards of $10k a year holidaying. Thank Covid that's going to slow down expenditure for a while.

Let's see where the journey takes us from here. Despite what MMM says about being "too extreme" being a cop out, my wife is a psychologist, and says that change introduced suddenly is unlikely to be long term. If you want change to be lasting, making one change at a time until it's habit and it requires no more willpower to do, then pick up another habit to change, and the habits become permanent.

So that's my goal. Find where the money is going, and find just one thing to change every month. And hopefully, over time, we won't miss those things, but will appreciate the growing investments.

Segare

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4171 on: November 10, 2020, 07:28:42 AM »
Hi All,

 my wife is a psychologist, and says that change introduced suddenly is unlikely to be long term. If you want change to be lasting, making one change at a time until it's habit and it requires no more willpower to do, then pick up another habit to change, and the habits become permanent.


Welcome, you mention something that I thought just the other day for the first time in a while. 
The Kaizen Way

DarkWoods

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4172 on: November 11, 2020, 01:34:11 PM »
Hi everyone.

I just discovered this forum a few minutes ago while searching for advices about becoming financial independent.

So who I am?

I'm a canadian in his forties. I lost my job about six weeks ago after working in the same place for more than twenty years. I take this opportunity to learn how to work for me instead of always working for others.

My goal is to learn more about finances, investing in the stock market and create an online business. I know that's a lot but if I can just earn 1000$ of passive income per month, I would become financially independent. I just need to find a way to do that.

Have a great day :)

Segare

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4173 on: November 19, 2020, 05:20:06 AM »
Hello all! Janet from Florida here. Been reading MMM's blog for a couple years and I think I discovered the Forum about a year ago.

I actually started on my FI journey 25 years ago when I started reading stuff about what was then called "Voluntary Simplicity". That led me to Joe Dominguez/Vicki Robin's book "Your Money or your Life", Amy Dacyzyn's "Tightwad Gazette", "Affluenza" and that ilk. I attacked with a vengeance and actually thought I'd be retired fairly quickly. But things changed, I went back to school, bought a house, yada yada yada, and I finally got around to retiring officially 4 years ago. One of the reasons it took so long was that I found myself employed by one of the last remaining unicorns, a company with a defined benefit pension plan...so I limped along for a few extra years for that carrot.

Glad to be part of the group, although I'm guessing I'll still be more of a lurker than an active poster...but who knows?
Welcome, new myself, still working.

spaghetti1awk

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4174 on: November 19, 2020, 09:42:37 AM »
Hi everyone! Long time listener, first time caller. (How many times is that written in this thread?)

My name is Matthew, my wife and I are in our early 30s DINKs in Washington State. Reading about the 4% rule and the direct link between savings rate and time to retirement changed my financial life. Best I can tell, we're now in the FI Class of 2025.

I'm really interested in credit card/bank account churning, among various other spare-time side hustles, real-estate (we'd like to invest in multifamilies starting next year), and optimizing our taxes (limited tricks in W2 world).

Welcome! I'm pretty new here myself, joining from Washington St as well. (late 30s, single income 3 kids, more like FI Class of 2035 here :) )

soslo92fo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4175 on: December 05, 2020, 11:02:12 PM »
Hi, I'm Carson (24m).

I have been married for 4 months now and been incredibly blessed financially, despite the havoc covid has caused. While we are both very frugal people, but we have a lot of room to tighten up our spending and lifestyle.

I found this forum a while ago, while trying to figure out how to afford a mansion. By the time I left the forum, my concept of wealth and its purpose was drastically changed. I realized I was falling into the trap of consumerism, the old "guy buys car to get to work, goes to work to afford car" problem. After reading a bit more, I realized time (and what you do with it) is more valuable than money. Less time at work, means more time doing things, and really experiencing life.

Tldr, I want to learn how to stretch my money, enjoy my life, and be financially independent before 40.

hal

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4176 on: December 13, 2020, 07:54:13 AM »
Hello all! Janet from Florida here. Been reading MMM's blog for a couple years and I think I discovered the Forum about a year ago.

I actually started on my FI journey 25 years ago when I started reading stuff about what was then called "Voluntary Simplicity". That led me to Joe Dominguez/Vicki Robin's book "Your Money or your Life", Amy Dacyzyn's "Tightwad Gazette", "Affluenza" and that ilk. I attacked with a vengeance and actually thought I'd be retired fairly quickly. But things changed, I went back to school, bought a house, yada yada yada, and I finally got around to retiring officially 4 years ago. One of the reasons it took so long was that I found myself employed by one of the last remaining unicorns, a company with a defined benefit pension plan...so I limped along for a few extra years for that carrot.

Glad to be part of the group, although I'm guessing I'll still be more of a lurker than an active poster...but who knows?

Welcome! Are you me, but from the past?? I started this journey about 4-5 years ago by reading Duane Elgin's "Voluntary Simplicity." I came at FIRE early on from a perspective of wanting to live a more eco-friendly, less consumptive lifestyle rooted in the sort of practices of that lifestance. I devoured all the Tightwad Gazette interviews on YouTube during this phase... Later on I read "Your Money or Your Life" and so far it has been the most impactful non-fiction book of my life...

baconschteam

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4177 on: December 17, 2020, 03:28:53 PM »
Hello world, allow me to introduce myself. I am 32 years old, an artist, just beginning my FIRE journey. I say just beginning because 2018-2019 were spent paying off my $70k of student debt and I finally have a net worth above $0! This year my fiance and I were able to save around $50k thanks to the teachings of MMM. Thank you MMM!

Our plan is to become parents in 5 years and to be able to semi-retire at that point, both taking part time jobs to cover expenses, parenting, focusing more on art and activism. We will invest mostly in index funds (Vanguard ESGV), but for a little diversification I also plan on trying out a 3-4 family rental property to see how I take to it.

I'm very glad to be a part of this community!

Ben B

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4178 on: December 26, 2020, 09:50:19 PM »
Hello,


I am 31 and just recently discovered the FI movement. launched a new business this year after years of being an employee, so the timing seems perfect.


Looking forward to learning how to gain financial freedom for my family from others with experience.


"The knowledge is out there, will you consume it?"

Morning Glory

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4179 on: January 01, 2021, 04:53:57 AM »
Hello,
I have reinvented myself again. I was MrsWolfeRN, then Aunt Petunia. Neither of those fit me any more. Now I am Morning Glory, ready to greet the new day. I wish for happiness and peace for all of you in 2021.

RWTL

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4180 on: January 01, 2021, 08:06:29 AM »
Hello,
I have reinvented myself again. I was MrsWolfeRN, then Aunt Petunia. Neither of those fit me any more. Now I am Morning Glory, ready to greet the new day. I wish for happiness and peace for all of you in 2021.

Good day for reinvention!  Happy New Year!

Leroy_tabane

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4181 on: January 04, 2021, 10:16:07 PM »
I thought I was special but hey, a whole website dedicated to different thinkers. At last, I found home. FI has been my goal for quite some times now. Here's a ballpark view of my situation: I'm 39 and I have worked full-time since the age of 16. I have very good manual skills, but I'm also "smart enough" to have a decent salary working behind a desk now. I have no kids but I am living with my girlfriend in a house (that is a lie...) I bought some 10 years ago. We actually live in the garage for the time being, ask me about that for an interesting story. We are practitioners of this kind of stuff me and her, I mean living simply and logically. We have been living a really basic lifestyle based on saving money, the environment and our well-being while working towards freedom from the system, which for me is the really annoying time = money equation. I am also learning to trade Stocks and FX with my personal trading account, for the same reasons. Even if I'm new here, I feel that I was already on my way to what you guys are all about and I am very excited to read and share on this forum. I have many experiences ...and mistakes to share and help others here but I also have a lot to learn and I want to retire SOON! I'm almost 40 damn it!

Thank you all, I'll see you around.

Leroy

RWTL

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4182 on: January 05, 2021, 03:41:32 AM »
Welcome Leroy!  After you get settled, it might be interesting to hear more of your story in the Journal's section.   I'd be interested to know about how you ended up in a garage, what's it like, and how much does it cost you. 


CuboCube

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4183 on: January 06, 2021, 07:19:14 AM »
Hey, I'm a thirty-something European, and was compelled to join this forum when I read this on the Wikipedia page:
Quote
He has described the typical middle-class lifestyle as "an exploding volcano of wastefulness," particularly citing the overuse of and overspending on new cars as an example.
It describes my thoughts exactly.

I'm already successful at minimalism, but I need to get myself together regarding investments. I could've had €180 000 in profit if I hadn't sold my TSLA shares (which were going nowhere at the time) due to being greedy for bitcoin. Then Covid-19 happened, couldn't bear the anxiety, and sold everything, with only €6000 in profit. Yeah, I'm kicking myself at the moment while experiencing massive FOMO and anxiety for basically throwing away two winning lottery tickets.

I realize it's all relative, and that health trumps every other thing in life, but still, it stings. So there's my introduction, now ya'll know how dumb I can be.

stoaX

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4184 on: January 06, 2021, 07:35:03 AM »
Hey, I'm a thirty-something European, and was compelled to join this forum when I read this on the Wikipedia page:
Quote
He has described the typical middle-class lifestyle as "an exploding volcano of wastefulness," particularly citing the overuse of and overspending on new cars as an example.
It describes my thoughts exactly.

I'm already successful at minimalism, but I need to get myself together regarding investments. I could've had €180 000 in profit if I hadn't sold my TSLA shares (which were going nowhere at the time) due to being greedy for bitcoin. Then Covid-19 happened, couldn't bear the anxiety, and sold everything, with only €6000 in profit. Yeah, I'm kicking myself at the moment while experiencing massive FOMO and anxiety for basically throwing away two winning lottery tickets.

I realize it's all relative, and that health trumps every other thing in life, but still, it stings. So there's my introduction, now ya'll know how dumb I can be.

The exploding volcano of wastefulness was one of the expressions that lured me in many years ago!

RWTL

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4185 on: January 06, 2021, 07:37:37 AM »
Hey, I'm a thirty-something European, and was compelled to join this forum when I read this on the Wikipedia page:
Quote
He has described the typical middle-class lifestyle as "an exploding volcano of wastefulness," particularly citing the overuse of and overspending on new cars as an example.
It describes my thoughts exactly.

I'm already successful at minimalism, but I need to get myself together regarding investments. I could've had €180 000 in profit if I hadn't sold my TSLA shares (which were going nowhere at the time) due to being greedy for bitcoin. Then Covid-19 happened, couldn't bear the anxiety, and sold everything, with only €6000 in profit. Yeah, I'm kicking myself at the moment while experiencing massive FOMO and anxiety for basically throwing away two winning lottery tickets.

I realize it's all relative, and that health trumps every other thing in life, but still, it stings. So there's my introduction, now ya'll know how dumb I can be.

We've all done dumb things at some point in our lives.  Learn from it and move on.

You might consider developing a strategy for the long term and building out an investing statement that describes how you will handle your investments.  Then, you follow the plan.  No panic selling, no lottery tickets - buying good companies and investments for the long term.

Leroy_tabane

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4186 on: January 06, 2021, 08:11:03 AM »
Hi @CuboCube , welcome, I'm new as well. Regarding your stock trades: Yo got to learn to loose well. Learn as much as you can from your mistakes and then let go, don't dwell on it. I'm saying this because if you trade stocks you are likely to loose on more than 50% of your trades so if you bash your head against the wall each time you loose, you will abandon sooner or later, or die from repeated concussions. "Could've" and "hadn't"  are among your worst enemies as a traders. You have to become a samurai if you want to succeed in this business and it's incredibly hard, unless you go the MMM way with indexes and such, which is a lot easier for most.
For example, at the time you were feeling the most anxious during the covid and closed your positions, which is a normal "reflex" to have. The thing is that these reflexes will keep you from making money. I felt the same thing and I was already flat because I was just starting to trade seriously. But then, I recognized that when everybody is feeling the same thing, a trader can make money. And when the market just crashed, you buy, and when nobody is talking about buying stocks because they are so worried that the end of the world is near, you buy, so I bought, because I knew a little bit about crashes and how they recover. If I knew nothing, I would never have put positions at this time. The trades I made in March-April were very easy, I can't wait for another opportunity like that. I could've made much more of course, but what I said about this word? See how I'm looking forward for the next opportunity instead of dwelling on the past!

Good luck man and have a great day!

CuboCube

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4187 on: January 06, 2021, 10:32:11 AM »
@Leroy_tabane @RWTL @stoaX
Wow at the amount of replies. It's probably been ten years since I've used an actually populated and active "niche" forum. Glad I'm here, cheers!

Log

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4188 on: January 06, 2021, 10:42:18 AM »
Hi all, I'm Log. Currently a classical music graduate student in New York with almost $40,000 in student loan debt and minimal income. In selecting a career path I opted for the "choose work you love" path over maximizing income, and have been learning the lesson throughout school that even the most enjoyable career paths are still work for as long as they are mandatory. Hopeful for a long and lovely career in music, just want it to be not-mandatory sooner rather than later.

Found MMM through Tim Ferriss' podcast. I've been into minimalism for a while, so now I'm just pointing my minimalist instincts towards the $$$. January 1st I calculated my net worth and started a spreadsheet to track all my spending for the year, and went back through bank statements to log all my spending of 2019 and 2020.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2022, 09:58:35 PM by Log »

crimp

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4189 on: January 06, 2021, 11:13:47 AM »
Hello! I'm crimp. 26M, cryptographer in the New England area. I'm in the boring middle, watching balances go up and staying the course. I think I may be less interested in continuous financial tracking than some on this forum, and am pretty happy with a boring index fund allocation and a comfortable glide path towards FI. I like to spend as many evenings and weekends as possible hanging off of rocks. I look forward to the day when I transition to part-time/fully-remote work and start to wander around finding new pebbles to wrestle.

stoaX

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4190 on: January 06, 2021, 02:47:24 PM »
I've been into minimalism for a while, so now I'm just pointing my minimalist instincts towards the $$$. January 1st I calculated my net worth and started a spreadsheet to track all my spending for the year, and went back through bank statements to log all my spending of 2019 and 2020.

Knowing what's going on with your money is first and most essential step. Welcome!

stoaX

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4191 on: January 06, 2021, 02:49:45 PM »
Hello! I'm crimp. 26M, cryptographer in the New England area. I'm in the boring middle, watching balances go up and staying the course. I think I may be less interested in continuous financial tracking than some on this forum, and am pretty happy with a boring index fund allocation and a comfortable glide path towards FI. I like to spend as many evenings and weekends as possible hanging off of rocks. I look forward to the day when I transition to part-time/fully-remote work and start to wander around finding new pebbles to wrestle.

Boring index funds worked for me in my journey to FIRE.

Lomonossov

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4192 on: January 12, 2021, 01:19:58 AM »
Hi all!

I've been reading MMM and other FI websites for a while now, when I faced the challenge of what to do with my personal finance. 33 yo Spanish living in Poland for the last 4 years. Although some of the content of the blog and forums may be focused on US and not that helpful for europeans sometimes (it's pretty common to bike to work where I live), it has still been a great inspiration to make some decisions.

So far, I'd say I'm on track: the only debt I have is the mortgage of a flat I bought just before COVID hit, emergency fund is there ready in case of emergency and I'm slowly starting to build a broad index-fund portfolio. I'm also marrying a bargain-hunter and responsible with money person that shares the dream of FIRE in the Spanish Mediterranean coast a few years from now. Let's see if we're able to make it work.

Nice to meet you all, guys! I hope I can contribute to the forum content.

JimJammer

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4193 on: January 14, 2021, 03:48:08 PM »
Hi I'm Jim,

32 y/o recovering spendaholic slowly becoming more frugal.

Nice to meet y'all

Morning Glory

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4194 on: January 15, 2021, 06:47:51 AM »
Welcome @Lomonossov and congratulations on your impending marriage. The Spanish Mediterranean coast sounds like a great place to retire!!!

Welcome @JimJammer . The journals are a great place to track your frugal progress!

The Frugal Expat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4195 on: January 17, 2021, 11:51:03 PM »
Hi Everyone,

My name is Steve. I am an 34 year old American Expat living in Taiwan as an English Teacher. My wife and I are working hard on achieving Financial Independence. In the process, I am learning about finances, teaching finances to friends and family, and living an enjoyable life in Taiwan.

It is to be a part of this forum.

RWTL

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4196 on: January 29, 2021, 03:23:50 AM »
Welcome The Frugal Expat!

jsb321

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4197 on: February 02, 2021, 07:04:16 PM »
Hey everyone.

My wife and I got married in 2020 and have really been diving into our finances.  I have always had a longing for retiring early, and recently got her hooked through reading "Playing with FIRE".  Since then we have been going through YouTube videos, books, blogs, and the MMM community.

We are both roughly 30 (29 & 31) and have steady jobs that together total around $88,000.  She is working into an education pension, while I have been utilizing a 401k.  Currently my 401k has $46,000, my Roth IRA has $35,000, and her Roth has $2,700.  We have $8,000 of a car loan (3.5%), and around $12,000 in federal student loans that are comparable in interest and currently a non-issue with the current pandemic relief efforts.

While we roughly have set a barely informed goal of me retiring at 45, we are also in the process of trying to find a home.  We currently rent a 1 bedroom apartment we are happy with in a city we love, and are not having children.  Currently we have $10,000 set aside specifically for a down payment, as well as $4,500 set aside to either fill her 2020 Roth IRA or something else (pay down car, save for down payment, something else that's likely smart).  Recently we were pre-approved for upwards of $320,000 at 3% interest and 3% down, although we're realistically looking at the $200,000 range.

With all that being said, we are glad to join in on the community!  We are already thrilled with all the information we have found and are looking forward to continued collaboration.  Thanks in advance for any pointers on what direction we may want to turn towards.  We're currently taking a long look into the Order of Investments post.  Take care everyone!

AMStache

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4198 on: February 02, 2021, 07:57:09 PM »
Hello,

I am a long time lurker.  My husband and I are mid 50’s with a 20 year old son in college and a developmentally disabled 18 year old daughter at home.  My husband has stayed home for the past 17 years to care for our daughter.  We have around $4M saved for retirement and for our daughter’s care as she ages.

Her medical care runs around $200k per year and we are extremely fortunate that my employer completely covers it.  They self insure health care for their employees.  So I suppose I will be employed as long as possible so that my daughter can go as long as possible before relying on Medicaid.  I am pretty frugal and have had a tough time getting my husband on board.  I suppose we balance each other out. 😊. 

I am interested in investing topics, and anything related to food!  I look forward to getting to know you!

GremlinBrawler

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #4199 on: February 08, 2021, 02:43:55 PM »
Hey everyone!

Just wanted to say hi. I discovered the MMM blog today and I'm blown away already. Something about the positive way it is written really affected me. I started to get emotional (a very rare occurrence for me) at the end of the post about not ordering pizza.

I downloaded the app right away so I could sign up for the forums. I feel so blessed to have discovered this blog and forum and I can't wait to get to know this community.

-GremlinBrawler

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!