Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3315946 times)

babysnowbyrd

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1800 on: December 12, 2014, 08:57:32 AM »
Hello,

I'm babysnowbyrd. New to MMM, and super excited to get debt-free and start growing a 'stache!

Threedog

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1801 on: December 12, 2014, 01:41:48 PM »
Hi, one of my buddies at work introduced me to this site, and I'm extremely excited to start buying myself back from my boss and the bank! I'm an active duty Staff Sergeant in the USAF (E5), married, no kids, and though I've got a long way to go, my job offers a number of unique opportunities not necessarily afforded by civilian employment. So, are there any other military Mustaches on here?

LackOfSense

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1802 on: December 12, 2014, 03:05:23 PM »
Hi everyone,

Been viewing the MMM site and forums for a few months based on the recommendation of a coworker. I'm 29 and married, no kids. I've enjoyed MMM and have picked up a quite a few tips that I turned into practice. I'm far from "badassity" but am getting more and more frugal minded every day. Look forward to sharing ideas and achievements.

-Brian

TheCheeses

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1803 on: December 12, 2014, 05:39:46 PM »
Hi Everyone!

Found MMM through the Dave Ramsey forums actually...Hubby and I are 23 and 24 and digging ourselves out of a mountain of SL debt (we are both Mechanical Engineers and went to private school...) Plan is to be debt free by 2017 and then start investing everything we had been paying on loans (at present, about 70% of our income). No kids yet, waiting for the debt to be gone first!

Katagal

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1804 on: December 12, 2014, 10:38:18 PM »
Hi I'm Kerri

I've been reading post on Facebook from MMM for a fair while, I live in Brisbane Australia and I am 42 happily single no children and am a librarian by trade.  I seriously enjoy my work so consider myself very lucky really.  Just want to focus on finalising car debt and chew down the mortgage.  Do we have any other Aussie MMM's on here

Cheers Kerri

Nords

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1805 on: December 13, 2014, 06:58:01 PM »
Hi, one of my buddies at work introduced me to this site, and I'm extremely excited to start buying myself back from my boss and the bank! I'm an active duty Staff Sergeant in the USAF (E5), married, no kids, and though I've got a long way to go, my job offers a number of unique opportunities not necessarily afforded by civilian employment. So, are there any other military Mustaches on here?
Seems like quite a few active duty and Reserve/National Guard, with even more veterans.

We should take a muster.

catpartm3nt

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1806 on: December 14, 2014, 04:46:33 PM »
Hello!

I have lurked here for a long time (mostly because I kept forgetting my password) and would like to be more involved in the forums as I amp up my financial goals in 2015.

No kids, no debt. Together my boyfriend and I have a savings rate of about 45%, but we didn't try very hard in 2014. I'd like to trim the fat, so to speak, and develop some better habits to get to at least 60% this year!

Cheers,
Catpartm3nt

AvisJinx

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1807 on: December 15, 2014, 09:39:37 AM »
Hello to the forum!

Another long time lurker, first time poster here. Someone at work had mentioned MMM a few months ago and I've been hooked ever since. It's been a pleasure learning new things from you all thus far! 

noisyninja

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1808 on: December 15, 2014, 01:57:55 PM »
New guy. I'm 34, my name's Mark. I've been a professional audio engineer for about a decade now and have been extremely successful at it. The downside is I'm a workaholic, regularly doing insane hours (60-80 hour weeks for months at a time), and my health is in pretty bad shape. I recently realized I have a lot of cash piled up (in a 'Stash as you folks call it, I'll learn!), and I have enough to retire now if I set up investments properly, throttle down our expenses and change our way of life and way of thinking.

So my wife and I are now absorbing all of this, learning what it means to be Mustachian, and we're making a plan to land this crazy plane over the next year or so. I don't want to walk away from the job yet for two reasons:

01) I've got a pair of big paydays (project completion bonuses) coming in the next 15 months, and they're pretty sure things, as I've received quite a few of these in the last five years

02) I feel like we should start cutting our expenses and adapting now before I cut off the cash firehose, rather than cut it off, screw up and find ourselves in a bad place

So that's who I am. Happy to be here, excited to learn and shooting to retire at 35 :)

jordanread

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1809 on: December 15, 2014, 04:36:28 PM »
New guy. I'm 34, my name's Mark. I've been a professional audio engineer for about a decade now and have been extremely successful at it. The downside is I'm a workaholic, regularly doing insane hours (60-80 hour weeks for months at a time), and my health is in pretty bad shape. I recently realized I have a lot of cash piled up (in a 'Stash as you folks call it, I'll learn!), and I have enough to retire now if I set up investments properly, throttle down our expenses and change our way of life and way of thinking.

So my wife and I are now absorbing all of this, learning what it means to be Mustachian, and we're making a plan to land this crazy plane over the next year or so. I don't want to walk away from the job yet for two reasons:

01) I've got a pair of big paydays (project completion bonuses) coming in the next 15 months, and they're pretty sure things, as I've received quite a few of these in the last five years

02) I feel like we should start cutting our expenses and adapting now before I cut off the cash firehose, rather than cut it off, screw up and find ourselves in a bad place

So that's who I am. Happy to be here, excited to learn and shooting to retire at 35 :)

I'm glad you said that. I was going to point you at the username meaning thread since I immediately thought that ninjas shouldn't be noisy. What a great place to be, though. Welcome!

llabruce4

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1810 on: December 16, 2014, 06:00:18 AM »
I am Laurence, and work in golf course construction.  I am 34 and spent the last eight years spending what I made, and am tired of that lifestyle.  Been creeping around here for a month or so and managed to save about $500 just in last month, so figured it is time to jump in 100%

awsmvodka

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1811 on: December 17, 2014, 02:26:18 AM »
Hello, Yuriy, 26 from sunny San Diego, planning on moving from here to PA in 10 days don't know if it is a good idea. It is cheaper and my wife feels a bit happier there hence the move. I also have an Aveo with a malfunctioning transmission that I wanted to sell and get a wagon instead. I have been following the posts for over two years and just yesterday stumbled upon the forum. Looking forward to gleaning much wisdom and connecting with Mustachians.

RecoveringGearhead

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1812 on: December 17, 2014, 07:38:29 AM »
Hello,
Been lurking the blog and recently the forums and decided to join up.  Been a victim of my past self's actions for a while now and have started making some strides in all areas to dig out and get ahead.  Plan to put together a Case Study in the next week or so to get some suggestions. 

Also want to say thanks for all the advice and knowledge here and via MMM on the blog.  Its pretty scary how easy it is to be clueless about the wool pulled over our eyes and its nice to get a big punch in the face to snap out of it and realize what is going on. 

Roamer

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1813 on: December 17, 2014, 07:53:30 AM »
So I found this site, but I'm about 30 years too late. I had my chances when I was younger, as my mom have me The Wealthy Barber. But I just spent more than I made. Now I'm 50 and I'm trying to save for my retirement.  I have way more bills than I should but I do manage to pay off my credit cards every month. I am putting 30% in my Roth at work and since I am 50, I am also doing the catchup.
But still I feel like a slave to my job and would quit today if I had the money.  My 401k is around 190k (we won't talk about the annuity that I bought).
So while I am doing some of the right things, I feel like I am doing more of the wrong things.  I hope to learn more about investing here.
My job is medical field service for a big company that actually still has a pension. So I imagine I will need to work at least 12 more years to do that FIRE thing. 

NinetyFour

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1814 on: December 17, 2014, 08:01:51 AM »
Hi Roamer--

Don't worry--you are not the only 50-something here.  I didn't find MMM until I was 52.  I have made several changes and am on my way to retirement in 3 - 4 years (fingers crossed).  You will learn a lot here, as folks are smart and friendly, for the most part.  Ask lots of questions!

Welcome!

94

lastlaugh

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1815 on: December 17, 2014, 12:18:20 PM »
Hi, my wife and I have been reading the blog for about 6-9 months now and just decided to register. We are both active-duty military stationed in San Antonio, TX. We think we have made huge strides since first opening our eyes about our finances, and what we wanted in life. We have eliminated over 100k$ in debt in the past nine months, and are now 95% debt free. We have many questions on how to proceed from here but I'm still earning the forum and what goes where. We will be posting more and asking for advice soon!

NinetyFour

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1816 on: December 17, 2014, 01:14:33 PM »
Welcome!  Since you are military, you may want to know about this:  http://the-military-guide.com/

The author of that blog is a member here, but he may not see your post.  I know he has been very helpful to many posters here.

Roamer

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1817 on: December 17, 2014, 03:00:07 PM »
Wow, last laugh that is awesome!  (On the debt reduction) Thanks for your service. My son just went through basic so I got to visit San Antonio earlier this year (when it was 108 at 8pm!) We are new to the military family so we are just learning as we go.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2014, 03:01:58 PM by Roamer »

lostamonkey

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1818 on: December 17, 2014, 03:44:42 PM »
Hi everybody, I am 22 years old and living in Canada. I have always been fairly frugal and it's awesome to find a website devoted to the frugal lifestyle. One of my goals is retiring in my mid to late thirties. I have a $110Kish networth and no debt (thanks mom and dad and highly subsidized Canadian education). I know this isn't much but I think it's decent for my age and I am going for a 60% savings rate next year.

Friar

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1819 on: December 17, 2014, 04:43:51 PM »
Hey guys,

I'm 25 and living in the UK. I've been reading MMM for about a year now and trying to apply some of the principals to my life.

Nice to meet you all.

No-stache

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1820 on: December 17, 2014, 10:29:55 PM »
Hi, my name is Meredith.

I'm 33 and getting ready to move to Nashville, TN. My salary will be a little over $33k.

...I have over $75k in student loans and that is my only debt.

The last five years or so I've lived kind of frugally and following my modified take on the Dave Ramsey plan and haven't made much progress.

I have about $6k in a 401k and lost out on $28k in match as I was laid off 8 months before I was fully vested at my previous job.

I really want to find a way to get these student loans gone. I feel like I'll be paying them off until I die.


VeritasMurdoc

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1821 on: December 18, 2014, 09:29:27 AM »
Hello! Brandon, 27, from Tucson, AZ. Just started following this blog/forum a couple weeks ago and decided to jump on in.  I've got quite a bit of student loan debt ($52K) and the dreaded car loan debt ($16K).  My first priority though is to wipe out my credit card debt of $3K.  I've greatly enjoyed reading all the wealth of information and ideas on this site and look forward to applying some of the ideas to my life and hopefully begin having a comfortable and financial worry free future!

DSKla

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1822 on: December 18, 2014, 12:42:18 PM »
Hi,  I'm DSK. Age 29, just discovered this lifestyle. I was an unconsciously mustachian kid. Mowed the lawn for $5 a week, went to work at age 14, and had saved over $12k by college graduation while never earning more than $5.15-6/hr. Moved to L.A. For grad school, and promptly lost it all paying for school and living expenses. Had to go into cc debt to make ends meet.

Finished with $10k cc debt (no student loans thankfully, that was just bills/groceries/beer).

Just before finding the site I got it down to a little over $6k (11% apr) and am highly motivated to destroy it before the end of 2015. I'm cutting expenses like crazy and knocking off $500-600/month, which will only go up as i continue to dial in my spending.

Looking forward to freedom.

Flash445

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1823 on: December 19, 2014, 05:36:32 PM »
Howdy y'all! I'm 25 and graduated with a degree in biochemistry/biophysics, minor in global business, and currently work in upstream oil and gas. I previously worked in environmental testing and agriculture. My move to the oil and gas industry provided me with almost double the pay from my previous jobs and I knew I had to make the most out of the money I earned and stumbled across this website and blog.

Details:
NO DEBT! (Just paid off my auto loan after acquiring my latest job and discovering mustachianism through badassity, $3.5k in 3 months!)
Gross ~ $52k annually
Still living at home with parents - saves $$ on rent and allows me to save up for a down payment for a home
I plan on maxing out my 401k in 2015 with a 5% company match and also maxing out my traditional IRA.

sagebrushmama

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1824 on: December 19, 2014, 09:52:50 PM »
Hubs and I were mustachians for years and didn't know it.  Because we were grad students/seasonal employees and had no money.  Up until 5 years ago we had no money.  But now we've been making money for the past 5 years and need to get serious about saving money and cutting expenses. 

We live in an expensive part of Utah (oil and gas industry), hubs teaches and I'm a federal biologist.  We have 2 kiddos, a 4-month-old and a 2-year-old.  I thought we made pretty good money, but the more I read here the more jealous I get of folks that make more than $60,000 per year, or teachers that make more than $40,000 (seriously, where does that happen????).

My plan is to read every blog post, which I have been working on every night as I lay next to the 4 month old, trying to get her to sleep.  I am wracked with guilt almost constantly for not planning better or choosing a better-paying profession so that I could have kids with stay-at-home parents. 

leenygal

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1825 on: December 20, 2014, 10:11:06 AM »
NO DEBT! (Just paid off my auto loan after acquiring my latest job and discovering mustachianism through badassity, $3.5k in 3 months!)
Gross ~ $52k annually
Still living at home with parents - saves $$ on rent and allows me to save up for a down payment for a home
I plan on maxing out my 401k in 2015 with a 5% company match and also maxing out my traditional IRA.

You and are are in the same boat! Though I'm a little younger - 23 - and gross a little less, I work professionally and still live at home w the parents & younger brother. Way to go on the retirement maxing.

TheyCallMeWiz

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1826 on: December 20, 2014, 04:48:08 PM »
Hi.

I'm the unlikely combination of an extroverted, teenage girl, hiker, future engineer mustachian.

Stache(Formerly)InAsia

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1827 on: December 20, 2014, 09:52:49 PM »
Hello, just joined the forum today. Discovered MMM earlier this year, though I've more or less always been mustachian to some degree, so MMM and Your Money or Your Life - which I read over four years ago - deeply resonated with me.

I'm from the States but have been working in a crazy Asian metropolis for several years. Not the most mustachian-friendly place to live but I manage all right, all things considered. :-)  Debt-free except for a (reasonable) mortgage.

I have been at a major fork in the road the last year or so - I estimate I could be 2.5-3 years from borderline FI, *IF* I stay in my current job which is in an industry I dislike greatly. I joined the forum to reply to a thread I saw from someone asking himself similar questions - the "painful" route to FI vs the "scenic" route, but I might as well hang around the forum more now that I'm here!

moneyhair

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1828 on: December 21, 2014, 12:51:57 PM »
My name is Jim and I am 33 years old. I live in the north eastern part of USA and recently started to focus on my lifestyle and retirement savings - that all started about 2 years ago.  I found this forum just yesterday and am excited to get started.  I welcome any suggestions and advice - even if I do not ask the questions. 

MustachianMD

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1829 on: December 21, 2014, 11:07:29 PM »
Hi All, I am in Kansas City. I am in the medical field and have been a lifelong mustachian. Saved up money for college working a friday night job in high school, ended up with a scholarship so I let that money compound through college. Grad school was a combination of loans and scholarship, then while in training I made the in hindsight bad decision of buying a condo at the peak of the housing market, which then bottomed out. I am still renting it out now just barely covering cost.

On the upside, my wife and I are saving up a good amount of our income and just working to pay down mortgage and student loan debt. Our credit cards are paid off monthly. We max out our retirement accounts, and are putting in a hefty portion into investment accounts. We have considered buying rental properties but not sure if we want another "job" and we are not sure what our long term goals are in the area since both our families are not from KC.

DavidinNOLA

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1830 on: December 22, 2014, 11:11:57 AM »
Hello, hello, hello y'all! 

I've been reading MMM for a few months after a coworker pal turned me on to it.  What a fantastic little corner of the web this is!  I'm in my early thirties, work as an auditor, call New Orleans my home, and generally live well on the cheap.

I was in grad school for most of my twenties and, whatever the subject matter was, what I really learned was how to prefer potlucks dinners and camping weekends to fancy restaurants and expensive sporting events.  Now the DW and I are a relatively high earning household, carry no debt, have no plans for kids, automate a high savings rate, and share a goal to be FIRE within the next few years. 

Regarding FIRE, reading this blog and forum over the past few months has really helped crystalize for me what had previously been just a fuzzy dream.

mrmoneycleanshaven

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1831 on: December 23, 2014, 02:05:49 PM »
I've been part of many forums, and every last one was consumption driven. Despite being $$$ savy, I have been caught up with the e-joneses in all sorts of shit (can I say that here, I don't cuss much, but there is no better word for the thing's I bought needlessly), that I would have never even known about if it weren't for forums.

Glad to finally be a part of something that focuses on preservation, and boasting comes decreased spending.

Salim

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1832 on: December 23, 2014, 04:13:41 PM »
Hi, I'm Mara. I am married, have two independent offspring, own a small business, and love art and nature. We have made great progress with our finances due to reading the MMM blog, beginning last summer; I am currently reading all the old posts. My heartfelt thanks to Mr. and Mrs. MM for your generosity with invaluable information on improving finances and the planet.

ShockingBuggy

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1833 on: December 23, 2014, 05:59:55 PM »
Hello,

You can call me Buggy.  I found this community completely by accident.  I was actually thinking of investing in Lending Club and found Mr. Money Mustache's experiment with it, and after reading his research on it, I clicked and read more posts in the blog, and I was hooked.  My husband and I had gotten a scare last year from the IRS complete with penalties that wiped out our savings and along with some bad decisions such as an expensive engagement ring and a car loan with a pretty egregious interest rate, we were scraping by.  Both of us had grown up in financially turbulent households (funnily enough, my parents are still dealing with a huge IRS eff up that left me and my parents unable to pay for college so I ended up dropping out) and had vowed to be better, and it turns out we were really wrong.  It could have been worse, but it gave me PTSD-esque flashbacks of my parents' situation.  We made another vow to do it right this time, complete with a Scarlett O'Hara raise the first to sky declaration.

Mr. Money Mustache really crystallized the image I had in my head of why I wanted to do what we were doing.  Frugal living had become an instinct, and though we still aren't the best, I have been having a lot of fun figuring out how we can save more money on the stuff we use everyday without sacrificing certain qualities of life that I find important.  I am looking forward of learning even more of things we could do to cut our costs even more to propel us faster toward financial independence.  Nice to meet everyone!

Elliot

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1834 on: December 23, 2014, 06:10:05 PM »
Hello!

I'm a partnered 20something living in the USA mid South. Found these forums via the Almighty Google. I've got vague plans to retire early, but waiting until we get a few more of our ducks in a row before we can see how many dollars and working years will come into play. In the meantime, I'm just trying to walk a line between keeping expenses down and enjoying my years. In our free time, I enjoy taking classes through open course ware programs, spending time outdoors hiking and swimming, and spending time outdoors on the porch drinking wine that I bought in a box. The dog seems content to tag along either way.


crazylemon

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1835 on: December 24, 2014, 01:14:47 AM »
Hello!

24, finally a final year medical student in london. Only found MMM this this summer but it has prompted me to make changes mainly cycling most of the time unless I will be drinking etc. I now seem to cycle more than my flatmate I previously thought was an avid cyclist! I found MMM through another forum I frequent and got hooked. Add in ERE and I have the 'master plan' now.

Only debt is the government student debt which doesn't work as debt. Assets are not particularly large at the moment but  start proper work this summer which is when the real saving can begin (~£11k). Worked out if I just spent as I do now I would be saving ~50-60% of my salary just living as I do, and there is probably room to bring that up even more (I won't have time to eat out with all my friends who seem to find this the only enjoyable activity and might be rent free for the first year). Eating out is the thing I still need to get ontop of, beginning to persuade friends there are other things you can do than sit down eat and chat.

Oh and SCUBA diving. Which isn't Mustachian. But I love it. If I become a fully qualified instructor (currently only an assistant) something to do in retirement.

Essie37

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1836 on: December 27, 2014, 04:44:53 AM »
Greetings- 62 years old, plan to "retire" in about 3-4 years. I need ideas on becoming more frugal, love the idea of living on $15k a year, and starting a small home-based business.
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. MMM!

gaja

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1837 on: December 27, 2014, 06:03:41 AM »
Good day!

Mid thirties woman from the far north in Europe, not quite as far north as the midnight sun and polar bears, but it is cold and dark enough. We will be moving 400 miles south in just a few weeks, and have of course been smart enough to buy a new house before we sold the old one. The new house is smaller and cheaper, and we should be able to be debt free in just a few years, as soon as we get the old house sold. But selling a house in this market is hard work; houses that look good sell for good prices in just a few days, while more run down properties can lay dormant for months and months. So we have a lot of painting to do.

I make decent money, and since we have two disabled children and DH stays at home to take care of them we recieve more aid from the government than we pay in taxes. He has a bit of passive income from selling stock photo, photage, and music.

DeltaBond

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1838 on: December 28, 2014, 06:09:03 AM »
After several posts, I should probably introduce myself - I live in the US, 37, mother, wife, have a career - but I'm continuing to find ways to downsize and streamline my life.  Thankfully I'm not high maintenance, ha ha.  I found this community searching for how much carmax gives for a 10 month old car, and here I am.  Awesome forums!!

Superchicken17

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1839 on: December 28, 2014, 01:46:34 PM »
Howdy, I'm originally from So. Cal and now reside in the Central Coast region of California. Wife, one child and desperately seeking to figure out how to live life before it's too late. I enjoy all things financial and look fwd to learning from everyone else's achievements ad / or pitfalls.

Mommyof2

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1840 on: December 28, 2014, 06:23:08 PM »
Hi.  I'm a mom of two kids (9,10), live in Chicago and hoping to convince my spouse to leave the rat race, relocate somewhere a lot less expensive and enjoy our time.

C-note

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1841 on: December 29, 2014, 02:17:43 PM »
Greetings!

I've been reading the MMM forums from the outside for about a year.  I decided it was time to get in the pool.

I'm a wife of 29 years to a wonderful man, mom of 3, and work in public education as an administrator in special education.  My husband is an engineer.  I'm also in a doctoral program and hope to finish, coursework and dissertation, in Fall 2016.  My PhD may lead to our retirement in a sleepy college town.  Maybe. 

We live a pretty simple life and take advantage of our surroundings for our entertainment.

I probably don't have much to contribute to MMM but hope to learn a lot!

fresh

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1842 on: December 29, 2014, 08:06:37 PM »
Hello!

Just noticed this section, registered a while back but never introduced myself. 

I'm a 20 something in central TX with a student loan and modest retirement savings.  I sold my house earlier this year and through some of the profits into savings and a bit of stocks which has motivated me to be a better saver.  I had been looking forward to buying a new laptop, nice coat, etc etc once I got the check from the house but I haven't been able to stomach the thought of spending any of it yet.  It is funny how when you actually get a bit of money you don't want to spend/touch it.

Anyways, I look forward to being a part of the community!

MsPeacock

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1843 on: December 30, 2014, 08:44:39 AM »
Howdy - found the forums yesterday and decided to jump in. I am hoping to make signfiicant financial changes this year and this seems like a good place for support and information.

Details - well things were rolling along fine until my divorce 4 years ago. Angry ex with a lot more financial resources means that I have been in court 3 out of the last 4 years. He has just filed for round 3 on challenging custody and child support. I have spent $210,000 in the past 4 years on legal fees. I don't know how much round three will cost. Round 2 just ended (3 weeks ago) and I currently owe about 50,000 (included in the 210,000) on credit cards due to paying the lawyers. So far I still have my retirement accounts (IRAs, TSP, and pension). I am 45 and single mom to two kids. I work * a lot* and haven't had a raise in 5 years. My lawyers have agreed to reduce their fees for round 3. There isn't anything much I can do to avoid the legal costs, which leaves me with tighening down as much as possible every where else.

Where to tighten - well, TV cable and landline phone are going soon. I need to set up VIOP because I don't have cell reception at my house. Sprint cellular is going when my contract is up (June). Back to couponing and less reliance on packaged food (I work a lot - makes cooking hard w/ limited time). I have no gym membership. I have no household help. I am going to do a no-spend for my own clothing and costmetics. The kids keep growing - but thrift as much as possible for them. I do like to travel but I am tigthening down on the money spent while traveling (e.g. making more meals in the hotel kitchenette; staying with friends when possible). Trying to decide what else to do (e.g. stop w/ college savings) to put more money on the credit card debit. I am afraid to tap any more out of my non-retirement savings because I don't know what emergency will happen next.

Thats it in a nutshell! Looking forward to financial revision in 2015!

myhotrs

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1844 on: December 30, 2014, 11:50:59 AM »
Hello all, found the site maybe four months ago and its been awesome to find like-minded people!! I'm 35, married with a baby girl. We live in LA. I've always been frugal and a saver and dreamed of early retirement when I was young. But over the years, began to believe the work to 65 myth and spending habits drifted. I live in a high COL area and work with a lot of typical high-earners/high-spenders. Just in the past month, three co-workers bought new silly cars.

Now I'm back on the early retirement path and if everything goes well, I figure we're three to four years away! All thanks to ERE and MMM and you all here.

kbeth07

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1845 on: December 30, 2014, 06:48:44 PM »
Hi all! I'm a college student, almost 20 years old. Probably a little young here. My parents never taught me great money habits, and as a result I've gotten into the habit of spending too much money on Starbucks drinks, takeout food, and unnecessary purchases. (Like your average teenager.) I discovered MMM pretty recently and want to change my habits and become more frugal. I figured it would be more helpful to create an account than just lurking constantly. The earlier, the better, right? I'm going to community college right now, planning to start working full-time next month, and will be working part-time while finishing my last two years of university, starting in the fall. My goal right now is to graduate with as little student loan debt as possible. Financial independence is definitely a goal as well.

Kstar

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1846 on: December 30, 2014, 09:39:02 PM »
Hi!  I'm a 35 year old living in Vancouver, BC (for now).  This year was pretty big for me.  I finished my PhD in February and got married in September.  Being a graduate student and getting married are costly things.  Somehow I managed to rack up $9000 on my LOC after my wedding, even with financial help from both sets of parents.  I think moving from a moderately expensive city to a much more expensive city accounted for some of that debt.  I'm happy to report that I finally paid off that LOC yesterday, but only after talking myself into dipping in to my savings.   I discovered MMM through another local financial blog about a month ago, and am looking forward to working towards proper badassity over the next year!

Roadhog

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1847 on: December 31, 2014, 05:00:40 PM »
Hi!  I have finallly joined the forum after discovering MMM a little less than a year ago.  I have read through all of the posts, start to finish and most of the comments.  I've been working my way through the forum.  I have learned a ton and have made big adjustments this past year.   I am 55 and through what I have impemented so far with my husband we are now less than 3 years away from retirement.  Not early, but it will be possible...which was in question at the start of the year.

We can do more, but so grateful for what I have learned.  It's been life changing.

morning owl

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1848 on: January 01, 2015, 01:19:51 PM »
Hi everyone, and happy new year! I've been lurking on this site for ages, but would like to start participating. I think about FI all the time, but know very few people IRL to talk with about it. I'm interested in investing (particularly DGI), and the more philosophical subtleties of this journey.

I live in Canada with my husband and zero children. I'm in my early forties and though I've always been relatively frugal and debt-averse, I didnt really understand FIRE as an option until relatively recently. My husband is semi-on board. Most of our friends are quite spendy. It is great to have resources and the support of a community like this and I look forward to sharing more of my journey.

Drakmon

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1849 on: January 01, 2015, 05:06:13 PM »
Hi folks,

I just started reading MMM today, thanks to my wife who turned me on to it (who heard of it on NPR). Wow, I never thought I could retire early unless I "hit it big", but now I really seem to have "hit it big" with MMM.

My wife (37) and I (34) are both high-earners (~$300k) living in an expensive city (NYC), but we're committed to reducing our expenses (from $150k/year to something more like $50k/year) and retiring early. Thankfully the only debt we have is an almost-nuked school loan. I'm excited about the journey, and what lies at the end. Now excuse me while I read some more MMM blog posts and get educated! ;D

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!