Hey my name is Mike from Denver, CO.
I had the opportunity to go to the CO get together last Saturday and had a great time meeting Mr. & Mrs. Money Mustache. Thanks again for hosting the event! I started reading the site about 2-3 months ago and have genuinely been inspired by the use less/spend less philosophy related on the blog!
My situation:
I'm 44 and employed in a pretty well paying but rather boring job and I live 4 miles from my wonderful cubicle in Downtown Denver (where 80%+ of my current work activity takes place). I usually drive 2 miles, park and then walk the rest of the way (another 2 miles). Yes, I've re-discovered biking...making my 1st round trip biking yesterday to the cubicle and 1st time in roughly 15 years!!
I'm recently married to a wonderful woman from Colombia who brought along her (now our!) 15 year old son in November 2013. Lots of life changes recently-with definite impact to our finances
My financial situation:
Assets:
- 865 sq. ft 2bd. 1ba. house in NE Park Hill, Denver, CO valued at a little more than $200k based on recent comps.
-$150k in retirement accounts
-$4-5k in cash
Liabilities:
-$84k in mortgage debt
-$75k in student loans
-$16k in car loan
-$16k in 401k/403b type loan-financed a 24'x24' detached garage in the backyard of the house.
Income:
-Roughly $110k per year salary and side job
Tackling the Debt 1st:
This is as close as I get to doing a budget--even though I'm an accountant by profession. Since starting reading MMM, I've sold a 2013 Ford Focus and bought a 1995 Mazda Miata for cash The remaining car loan is for a 2013 Kia Soul which we are going to keep. We make pretty decent money for our debt overhead and my emphasis is to attack the outstanding debt by paying off the 401k type loan first and then the car loan. I'm currently paying $2k a month on the 401k loan as well as maintaining the $360 a month car payment (3% note) and $669 a month mortgage (3.125% note with 13.5 years to go). After the car loan is paid off in roughly 1.5 years, I'll move on to accelerating payment on the mortgage.
Student loan and pay as you earn for older student loans:
The student loan is currently in deferred status (no payment required/bears interest at 5.325%) until November of 2015 due to being furloughed last October (I'm a federal govt' employee) and I've decided to wait until then to enter repayment. In December of 2015, my student loans will be eligible for a Pay as You Earn payment plan and I'll have about 7 years left to pay on them until the public service loan forgiveness (tax-free) kicks in. The payment will be based on the difference between the federal poverty level for 3 people and Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and figured at 10% of that level to get to an annual payment. My payment will likely be between $550-$600 a month. The remaining prinicipal balance in 2022 or thereabouts will be somewhere between $40k-$50k.
I'm very open to feedback/criticism on my base thoughts for knocking out the debt.
Investments:
On the investing side, I put away about $30k a year right now into retirement type assets- 401k type plan with passive stock investments and Roth IRA lending club account. I do not plan on doing accelerating the investment savings until the 401k loan and car are paid off.
Thanks very much for reading and I look forward to contributing.
As an opening, I though some of the folks here might get a kick out of this web link on commuting:
https://screen.yahoo.com/videos-for-you/virginia-man-commutes-220-miles-035058533.html?vp=1