Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317624 times)

stinkindog

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #500 on: April 14, 2013, 08:03:06 AM »
My name is Trish. I am 48 and live with 3 dogs and a herd of cats.
I live in a small town/rural area and work full time for the local public library. I also mow two yards during the summer for extra cash. I am pretty frugal but I know there is always room for improvement.
I just inherited a small amount of money and have been wiping out all of the debt I have. I had one cc balance (now gone-yeah! )and I paid off the Jeep. I paid off the debt to my parents.  I have started setting up savings and retirement funds and have upped the deferred comp. and employer IRA amounts. I started a stock fund and this week I will be setting up tiered CDs. I am going to make some gifts to my siblings, the local spay/neuter clinic and an animal rescue that does good work. I have set aside some money for home improvements too. When I get those things complete I am going to pursue a refinance of my mortgage.
I do some bartering with my mom-as in I do her shopping and she buys my groceries. I mow her yard and she does my laundry. I drive a 2000 Jeep that I am going to sell and have a 92 Chevy pickup to haul wood.
Once I refinance I am considering renting out my home and living in a smaller trailer/tiny home to get the mortgage paid quicker. I'd like it to be paid off by the time I go to take care of my parents. It will happen-just not sure when so I am really trying to get everything in order as soon as possible.
So hi to everyone.

misstache

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #501 on: April 15, 2013, 04:51:18 PM »
Hi!

I'm Misstache and I'm just starting to take my finances seriously, at the ripe old age of 31. I'm the opposite of MMM and Mrs.MM in that I was born in the US and made my way to Canadia, where I now have permanent residency.

I am super grateful to have found this blog, and plan to be involved on the forum. I'm stoked to see there is already a well-established section for Throwing Down the Gauntlet, as the last  online community I was part of I tried to start stuff like that, and rarely was anyone interested.

Currently reading She Laughed All the Way to the Bank, and plotting my business-to-come-this-year.

I happily live in a place where there is basically nothing to spend money on except housing and food. So I'm well positioned to make my way quickly to living off of a small percentage of my income, with just a few well-needed tweaks, hopefully!

Looking forward to getting to know ya'll.

Love!

Misstache

adesertsky

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #502 on: April 15, 2013, 07:24:00 PM »
Hi!

I'm Alison.  I'm 32 and live in the Chicago Northwest suburbs with my dear husband, 38, and a doggie and kitty with no plans for kids.  I work 7 miles away as a project manager and hub-a-lub takes the Metra downtown where he is a medical research assistant.  We have one 11 year old car- a VW Passat a bought new when I graduated college (which was probably a mistake but I plan I driving it until it is a classic and beyond).  We have $285K on the mortgage, $2,144 on credit cards, and $86K in our 401Ks.  Even though I am a pretty organized and logical person in general, money makes me weird.  I get a bug in my head that I *should* be able to afford something because I work hard and yadda yadda yadda and so use that as an excuse to just do/buy things. 

My turning point was upon returning from vacation in California a couple weeks ago, my water heater busted and, upon reviewing my finances, realized that I had to spend the last of the $15K inheritance I got from my Grandparents to pay the plumber an my credit card.  How depressing and I felt like crap for just letting it all go down the drain!  I sat down with my husband and told him that we couldn't continue to do things the same way anymore.  We made a budget for the year and a plan to pay off the credit card quickly so we could start to rebuild our savings. Still- it didn't seem like enough. 

After googling around for money info, I  found this site and I AM TRANSFORMED!  I actually think I can be FI in my early 40s!  I told my husband and he laughed (he requires a little more convincing).  I'm excited to keep learning more and see progress.  I even rode my bike to the library and picked up a copy of YMOYL.  Yay!

Mo Money

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #503 on: April 15, 2013, 08:02:00 PM »
Hi, I'm Mo Money.  I'm 50 (a relative oldster in this environment, I guess) and am at this point FI, but pondering whether to "jump" and get the heck out of my boring, high-pressure, health-killing office job.  (My favorite song is Radiohead's "No Surprises":   "A heart that's full up like a landfill, a job that slowly kills you....")   

I just discovered this blog a week ago, and I confess it's like I've just found a parallel universe where perhaps I'm a much better fit.  I do like nice things, but I buy 'em on sale and wear 'em out.  I am really pretty dull. 

As to money?  I save a relatively paltry (by MMM standards) 40ish percent of my income.  But at my ripe  age, that amount of savings -- coupled with time -- has put me in the low seven figures of net worth.  I'm a hard-core indexer, though I could still use some advice on my portfolio -- absolutely no bonds in it right now.  That's for another post, however. 

Anyway, here I am, in my PJs, in my study, lights out but blue computer screen glowing, saying hello.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2013, 03:53:38 PM by Mo Money »

KingMe

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #504 on: April 15, 2013, 08:53:49 PM »
Hello. First post, but recently I became an active reader. My wife and I live in Washington, DC, and have two kids - 4 years and 3 months. I'm looking forward to participating in the forums.

teamzissou00

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #505 on: April 16, 2013, 11:03:52 AM »
Hi all!

I'm just now realizing there is a forum after a month of furiously reading all the blog posts.  I think I just found my new home. 

I'm 32, married with a 10 mo. old boy.  I've been working on a budget to track all our spending, and find ways lo lower it.

Basic questions:
1) do I budget an amount for vacation, or spend from my savings...or both..?
2) do I count the principal I pay on mortgage each month into my % saved amount?
3) how do I add back my 401 k contributions in figuring my % saved?

Looking forward to chatting with you all!

My weaknesses- taco time and blu rays- where is the support group?  ; ). Wink

tuomasj

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #506 on: April 16, 2013, 11:50:00 AM »
Hey!

I'm a semi-serious path towards financial independence. I invest certain amount of money every month, but there is definitely still room to grow the monthly savings amount.

Our way of tracking monthly budget is quite simple one, at the beginning of the month we put money in a "living expenses" bank account. Then we use that debit card for our living expenses and adjust our daily spending accordingly.

--tuomas


Adventure

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #507 on: April 16, 2013, 01:53:42 PM »
Hello everyone,

I've been reading the blog on my RSS reader for I'm not sure how long and it is one of my favorites! Other than Dilbert of course. Thanks to the inspiration from this blog my wife and I refinanced the mortgage, and are working our way out of the hole we're currently in. I'll be posting a question in the "Ask a Mustachian" section for advice on which to do first - eliminate PMI or payoff student loans. Thanks!

Adventure in California

davisgang90

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #508 on: April 16, 2013, 05:31:39 PM »
Hi,  I'm Rich Davis, 44 years old 23 years active duty Navy.  I need to get much more frugal and figure out what I want to do when I grow up.

Suba

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #509 on: April 16, 2013, 08:04:38 PM »
Hello!

My name is Suba. I am 31 and my husband is 32. This year will be a year of changes for us (buying a house, moving to a different state and starting a family). We have been trying to save for 3 generations (our parents - it is our culture to take care of our parents, they have pensions but we want to cover any big medical expenses they cannot handle, our future kids - we want to pay for their college and of course our retirement). We want to be financially independent by the time we are 40. Let us see how that goes :)

tuyop

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #510 on: April 17, 2013, 06:23:57 AM »
Basic questions:
1) do I budget an amount for vacation, or spend from my savings...or both..?
2) do I count the principal I pay on mortgage each month into my % saved amount?
3) how do I add back my 401 k contributions in figuring my % saved?

I don't think I understand what you're asking.

- Save for your vacation, then spend the amount that you saved on that vacation.
- That's debatable. Technically paying down your mortgage principal contributes to your net worth, so I don't know.
- No idea.

Caoineag

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #511 on: April 17, 2013, 06:49:04 AM »
Hi. My name is Crystal. I'm 31, married and have been reading here for awhile and decided to join so that I had the see new posts since last visit option. :D

TansyPants

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #512 on: April 17, 2013, 12:27:45 PM »
Hi! I'm Tansy.
I'm 26, studying computer science (for free, online from home, with the aid of my software engineer boyfriend), working part time in a cafe. The boyfriend pays 75% of the rent and all of the groceries and utilities. I do the cooking/cleaning/clothing repairs/bed warming. As his income is approximately 8x mine, and he had previously survived on take out for lunch and ordering in for dinner this arrangement works out as a net savings for both of us.

We live in Hoboken NJ where we pay a ridiculous amount for a 650sq ft one bedroom apartment (though still 1600/mo less than a similar space in Manhattan cost us, not to mention a $300/mo tax cut for him. NYC income tax is a bitch.) he commutes to work via a combination of foot and commuter train travel (except when it's raining, or he doesn't feel like going in, when he works from home. Seriously, who wouldn't want a job this flexible??) and I study at home, and work a 5 min walk away. We own neither cars nor bicycles.

My goal is to "retire" as early as possible, and live a homesteading type existence in my home country of New Zealand. His goal is to make enormous quantities of money writing software for boot strapping asteroid mining robots and eventually live on an interstellar spacecraft/asteroid/some planet more interesting than Mars. I am resigning myself to the possibility of homesteading in a zero g environment and adding a study of aquaponics (a closed system involving the production of fruit/veg and fish- we're setting up a mini system in our living room now.), plumbing, welding, and electrical systems to my existing base of construction, equine massage, farming and computer science.

In the mean time, He has nearly finished paying off his student loans and is interviewing at Google next week. I am studying and using part time income to pay off existing debt- Student loans of about 10k, nothing else. Yes, I studied music, international business, equine management/massage, environmental economics, and hospitality before deciding the best thing to do now is to learn to successfully make money and then go do more interesting things. On the bright side: I can climb trees and wield chain saws, maintain large machinery, weld, drive stick, ride horseback, provide soft tissue massage, do simple plumbing, plaster interior walls, build simple structures, make repairs, build a methane digester, knit and sew, mix cocktails, find my way around with a topographical map and a compass, make fantastic espresso, cook seriously tasty food for cheap, talk to strangers, build a solar oven/dehydrator, butcher a sheep/deer/cow/rabbit/pig, hit a target with a rifle ( I admit to still missing every time when that target is still alive. Perversely, I can hit a dead rabbit in the head 5 times out of 5 from the same distance I missed it at twice while it was still alive.), preserve meat and veg and fruit in a variety of ways, and reason moderately well. I figure most of those will come in handy eventually.

Since reading this blog (I just finished all of the posts) I finally applied for my first ever credit card ( I have NO credit history in this country. Not bad, just none and I need to fix that) Paid an extra grand off my debt last month. Doing no spending for the rest of this month in order to pull that off again this month, and have upped the time I spend studying so as to at least double my income some time this year. I've also recently gotten access to my parents costco membership and they will drive me to costco and home again in their brand new Prius for the price of a home cooked meal and a bottle of wine. This is excellent as we currently (don't hurt me) order in overpriced groceries from Fresh Direct. The boy doesn't mind because it's still under half what he used to spend on sushi in a month, but a $600/mo grocery bill for two people and 3 cats is ridiculous.

Anyhow, enough waffling. I have a lot to thank this blog for already, and much, much more in the future, I have no doubt.



soczab

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #513 on: April 17, 2013, 03:34:16 PM »
Hey everyone.

I'm mike, in my late 20s.  A big history buff if you want something personal!  I stumbled over this place when trying to educate myself with the internet, and in reading a bunch of the comments/blogs decided to stay!

phosgene

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #514 on: April 18, 2013, 03:24:34 PM »
Hi, I'm Eric.

I found this site on a link from Reddit and after reading through most of the posts I realized that I'd totally screwed up my personal finances.  I am a Server Administrator for a large university system so I deal with computer stuff all day long.

I am now working to correct my horrible financial decisions by implementing some Mustachian changes to my life.  As a matter of fact I just used some of my cash to buy a bike even though I am attempting to deal with my debt emergency as it will be an investment rather than a financial drain.  I live close enough to work that there's no reason to be driving my car.

My saving grace is that I don't have any substantial student loan debt (I have paid it down to having less than $1000 left).  My problem is the 1998 Jeep Wrangler I overpaid terribly for that is now about ruined and I am way, way under water on the loan I took out to pay for it, in addition to the 10 MPG efficiency.  Hopefully the bike can save me on gas and parking.  I also have a fairly large credit card debt ($5300) which I am attacking right now.  Not sure what to do about the Jeep at this point though.  Shouldn't have taken out the loan - lesson learned!

I am saving about $1100 per month through a combination of 403(b) retirement, high-yield savings account, and credit card debt repayment from a roughly $2800 per month take-home after implementing some of MMM's ideas.  Once I get my debt paid off I hope to begin investing some of the cash I used to pay off my credit cards in ETFs/mutual funds.

I'd just like to thank MMM and the forum for all the help and ideas they've given me to straighten myself out and I hope I can be just as helpful.

cgmorton

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #515 on: April 18, 2013, 03:56:49 PM »
Hi all!

I'm CG.  I'm 24, with a debt-free degree in Computer Science from a state college (US).  I've been working for 2 years now, making way too much money first in finance (saved 50% living in CT), and now health-care (saving more like 75% in the midwest).

On the one hand, I could retire if I keep this up for 5-6 more years.  On the other hand, I find big-corporation work pretty unsatisfying, so I may quit even earlier, and use my stache as a runway for some kind of self-employment gig.  Even keeping my current outrageous lifestyle (I don't even have roommates!) I could live on my savings for 3+ years.

Anyways, I've been reading this blog for over a year now, and thought I'd try to get involved in the community.  I'm interested in economics, real estate, and pretty much anything you can think really hard about.  Nice to meet you all!

Mazzinator

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #516 on: April 18, 2013, 08:05:09 PM »
Hello everybodee!!

I'm michelle 36 married, he's 39 and in the army. Have 2 kids, 9mnths and 2yrs. i found MMM through babycenter "we are debt free" group. My biggest moment is when i realized we had been on "baby step 2" for 4 years and STILL owed $100k. Um, yea..something has to give.

Since then, around Nov 2012, we've been trimming the fat and just upped our "savings" aka debt repayment to 23% BUT we finally just adjusted, as in yesterday, DH withholding allowances sooo waiting to see the exact extra money coming in to up that!!

Also, we are moving to Oahu in June!! And hope, no should, no, we WILL downsize and double or even triple our snowball...

MMM (and mint) has completely changed our life!!!

Margaret Fuller

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #517 on: April 19, 2013, 01:11:49 PM »
Hi everyone,
I've decided to call myself "semi-retired" because I work 4 days/week and go to school on the other day.  I'm in the middle of changing careers, from an analyst/attorney for a state agency to a hospital chaplain.  I don't know if I'll be able to find a "semi-retired" position as a chaplain, but I'll work on that.  I have school loans that are currently deferred that I'll be paying off until 2033 or something, but they're at a 1.65% interest rate.  We have a Dave Ramsey-style emergency fund that we're planning to cut in about 1/2 and invest the other 1/2 in higher-interest things. 

My spouse has been "semi-retired" for almost 20 years when he decided he didn't like full-time work and became a consultant, working 2 days/week.  We have a 3 1/2 year old child.  We'll rent until we have enough $ to make a 20% downpayment on a house (at least that's what I want to do, my spouse is more flexible).

I found out about this site over a year ago from my sister and am checking it out again because I am now ready to become a mustachian!

MorningCoffee

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #518 on: April 22, 2013, 06:44:32 AM »
Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and enjoying the forum threads. Thought it was about time I say hi!

I'm 35, hubby is 37 and we have a 3 year old and 6 year old. We are on our way to ER and have always been somewhat frugal. I'm starting to learn more about investing since I quit my big-fat-pension job 6 years ago to stay home and raise my kids. Since the kids will both be in school soon, I'm slowly building up a few side gigs and launching my own business to work on my terms.

Thanks for building such a fabulous community and wealth of information!

jimithng23

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #519 on: April 23, 2013, 07:27:03 PM »
Hey fellow 'Stashians.

I'm 33, DW is 35.  We have 2 kids, 4 and 2, a dog and a cat.

Complete with $47k of debt and a $106k mortgage, we're living the american dream!  /sarcasm.

I was turned onto the path of Badassity by starting with Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps.  Step 1 is nearly complete, and Step 2 is underway.  Funny to stumble on MMM's blog through the comments section on badmoneyadvice.com.

But I digress...DW is a SAHM, which is a blessing, and my income is north of $100k for the last 2 years.  What do we have to show for it?  Well, you saw that stat line above, + a measly $13k in a 401(k).  We had "The Talk" nearly 3 weeks ago and now that we're on the same page, the big picture is coming together and we're totally motivated to rid ourselves of the leech of debt and work towards total FI. 

Looking forward to learning more and more from you all each day.

Monkey Master

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #520 on: April 24, 2013, 09:39:13 PM »
Good morning,

I am 33 years old and I currently live in Sydney, Australia. My wife and I plan to retire at 35. I have started a blog to share how we reached that decision and how we are planning to bring it to fruition.

Until we realised we could retire early, we wasted a lot of money on restaurants, clothing, etc... and are coming from a consumerism background. It took us some time to realise it until the birth of our child 7 months ago. Since then, we are working hard towards our early retirement goal.

After silently taking the time to assimilate all the information on this site and others, I have decided to become a voice in the community as well, sharing how we reshaped our philosophy and concretely building financial independence.

Monkey Master

Constance Noring

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #521 on: April 25, 2013, 08:32:26 PM »
Months of reading over my husband's shoulder have finally gotten the best of me, and I realized I should probably just make my own darn account and try pitching in on the conversation every once in a while. You learn a lot when you're married to the Howard Cosell of MVNOs, and maybe I have some useful info of my own to share. :)

crowstache

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #522 on: April 26, 2013, 10:56:26 AM »
Greetings!  I’m 44, married with two children (12 and 9), and living in the Sacramento, California area.  I stumbled upon this blog about a month ago while searching for advice on getting a Costco membership.  The name Mr. Money Mustache immediately caught my attention as I have quite a sizeable furry lip appendage of my own!  I’ve always had some mustachian ways (although my friends would just say I was cheap), but for some time now DW and I have been struggling with a lifestyle that has simply not been sustainable on our current income levels.  What worked when we were DINKs simply doesn’t work anymore now that my wife only works part time and we have two kids.  As a result we have accumulated fairly large balances on two credit cards and have virtually no savings (insert face punch here).  Since finding MMM, I’ve been re-inspired with a new sense of optimism and a chance to turn things around.  I’ve already gotten a new home insurance provider (saving us close to $1,000 a year), modified our auto insurance (saving about $100 every six months), and started a refinance of our mortgage from 4.25 to 2.875% (saving us about $150 a month).  When our cell phone contract ends in December, I have no doubt we can save some money there too.  Although I wish I had gotten started on mustachianism earlier, I still think there’s time for us to make a big difference for our future.  what I like best about this blog is that it demonstrates so many positive ways to take control of one’s own financial destiny, save money, and still live a very good life. 

MoneyMage

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #523 on: April 26, 2013, 12:21:09 PM »
'Sup. I found this somehow via another site's discussions on Dave Ramsey and YNAB. Ramsey seems great if you are trying to get out of debt, but that's not us, we just have a mortgage with only 12 years left on it. I was drawn to this site for financial freedom and a fresh outlook on how to live.

My spouse and I are 31 and we work in software. We like our jobs, and we get excellent benefits, so neither of us has a desire to retire really early, but we like being able to do whatever we want for food and hobbies without having to worry about our money. We got off on a great start as DINKs but now that we're popping out offspring we realize we need to rethink our spending habits if we want to afford the best private schooling. Cutting cable looks to be our next move... we can live without it!

Jayne

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #524 on: April 26, 2013, 08:52:52 PM »
Hi, I'm Jayne. I'm married, working full time, and our only child just graduated college with NO debt. My husband retired 7 years ago, and he would like some company. I saw the WaPo piece, and have to ask: what are you doing for health insurance?

EMP

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #525 on: April 26, 2013, 09:01:33 PM »
Hi, I'm Jayne. I'm married, working full time, and our only child just graduated college with NO debt. My husband retired 7 years ago, and he would like some company. I saw the WaPo piece, and have to ask: what are you doing for health insurance?

A lot of people have a high deductible plan with HSA. But that question would be better asked under Ask a Mustachian.

emilylwaters72

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #526 on: April 27, 2013, 11:15:00 AM »
I'm Emily.  A year ago I worked at an abysmal job and had my three kids in child care because we didn't think we could make it on my husband's modest probation officer income.  Now I'm soooo grateful not to have to do that rotten job anymore and living better than before.  I get satisfaction out of doing things myself and my husband does also.  The house feels more "ours."  When we give gifts, we invest a portion of ourselves in them, either by carefully shopping for them or else making a portion of them ourselves.  Our kids aren't so entitled and needy as they once were.  And considering the alternative of slaving away in a widowless office, writing decisions for an emotionally incontinent 50-year-old boss, my present circumstances are heaven reincarnated. 

I learned of MMM from the Washington Post article yesterday.  We've never been flush with income, so of necessity my husband and I have adopted most of your foundational rules, except we send our young ones to a charter school that requires me to drive there four times a day (3 miles, one-way) for pick-up and drop-off.  Also, we haven't adopted the attitude of making every single penny work for us.  We aren't big investors and have modest college savings accounts for the kids and $80k in retirement.  And we are out of money every single paycheck.  But we're trying. . . .

citrine

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #527 on: April 27, 2013, 01:53:57 PM »
Hi everyone....found this site though the Simple Living Forums.  I am 38 and DH is 49, we have two sons 17 and 20 and two cats.  We are in the process of paying off the mortgage early, funding one college tuition, and gearing up for a second one!
We definitely can trim a lot more fat out of our budget and are aiming on living off of 25,000 once mortgage is paid off....definitely doable if we stick to it!  DH works full time and I work part time in my business which leaves plenty of time to take care of things around the house, cook, garden, refinish furniture, and read :)

TheNessaEmpire

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #528 on: April 27, 2013, 06:07:57 PM »
MMM people of the world!! I'm stepping up from up being a lurker and into a hopefully useful contributor. I'm Vanessa, 32, fabulous frugal chick with some stuff figured out about what I want from my finances, quality of life and general empire building.

Got some major personal milestones accomplished:
Lifestyle expense trimming ones
Many a friend have been converted to my ways of HD antenna + Roku instead of cable
Downgrading internet service
Switching cell phone providers a la MMM style
Grocery shopping in bulk at BJ's
Health insurance costs lowered by doing incentives and switched over to a HDHP plan, saved me like 600 bucks a year
Almost all purchases go through a few processes:
First is the waiting period. I try to wait at least 30 days for personal stuff and always search for used or previous generation.
Craigslist number one. I've bought cars, houses, electronics, furniture all sorts of stuff
Salvation Army/Flea Markets/Farmers Markets for produce, clothes, accessories, what have you 
Habitat for Humanity Stores for house materials
eBay then Amazon for price comparisons for part replacements or bulk discounts
After all that, I'll start looking at regular stores. I hate paying retail prices. It's like I'm paying a premium to give someone I don't like my hard earned money. Grr.

Financial goals I've reached: 
Maxing out my 401k
Maxing out my stock purchase plan for all the free money I can get
Opened and funding max to HSA account (The best tax savings account you can have in America, seriously)
no mortgage, no car debt, no CC debt
Student loan debt started at 70k and have about 35k left. I'm on a 4 yr plan for that
Live on about 25% of my salary or one rental property's income
Net worth went from about -85k to about 160k in the last ten years

Rental Properties for cash flow! what what!! I have 4 properties and closing on 3 more next month. All purchased cash or with owner financing. I buy crappy houses and rehab them to decent shape and rent them out at fair rates. Froufrou co-workers call me slumlord, regular folks call me awesome. I have a partner and a great team to work with. All rehab costs are paid in cash and our time so expenses and labor are on serious lock down. I find more houses than I have cash to buy. I'm actively looking to fix that lol. Had my biz partner switch the big boy Tundie work truck into a rollerskate --Scion XA thank you MMM. Since most of my time is spent driving to look at properties and not hauling rehab materials from Home Depot. That and gasbuddy cut my gas bill from  450/mo to 130/mo.

Love to speak the language of my silent life partner -the IRS. I focus on putting as much as I can in tax advantage/retirement accounts and do lots of strategic planning. This year, I'm planning to open more retirement accounts to lower my tax liability through the real estate LLCs. Taxes are the probably the biggest expense I'll pay over my lifetime, so I want to make it count.

One of my fav posts from MMM is about the utilities savings. Omg, I went crazy with the 1.0gpm for all the faucets and showerheads on all my properties and switched out all my cheapo lighting into cfl or led. None of my properties have central air, instead they have ac units or ceiling fans and dehumidifiers. My library had that energy efficiency kit so I could do all sorts of testing like a mad woman.  I'm looking at one property where the owner pays for all utils in the rent, it eats about a quarter of his gross rent income. Ouch. These are only 500 sqft units!  First thing I'd do is change all new leases to tenant pays for all utils and doing maintenance on all existing units to "upgrade" their plumbing and light fixtures to the 1gpm aerators and CFL bulbs since I'm locked into paying those costs for the next 12 months. If I get that property, I'll serenade MMM with songs of praise in KWh bc that guy makes no cashflow with that kind of overhead.

I've got lots of things to work on. My free time is very scarce with all the real estate projects I have going on with my ft job and I'm not balancing other parts of my life well. I need focus and support for things around my personal life --preparing meals at home, keeping physically active and being social. My friends don't always think its fun to look at houses or putting up a bathroom door lol. Those are areas of wealth that need as much attention as any of the money stuff. My eyes were open to that when I had hurt myself working out and had to pay muscledudes to do the stuff I normally do. Health is an asset and can have real costs over a lifetime. I'd like to keep them low by staying healthy for as long as possible. One of excesses is my bike collection. I have about a dozen bicycles in my garage that I stopped making time for and haven't ridden since in the last year. In college, I used to flip bikes it's probably my fav side gig I've ever had.  Bringing it back into my daily habits would be a twofer on the priorities list, less gas and getting exercise. I'm still not at full recovery but its a goal. 

Life was not always to the extent of today's awesomeness...
I had overdrafted bank accounts and maxed out CCs
Months where I was out of work, lived on credit and that ended about as well as you can imagine
Almost got my first car repo'd
Defaulted student loans
Failed business ventures with no zero cash left to live
Failed relationships where I've had to start over with little more than my dog and car in the assets column

pphhshh! eff that. I'm solid as a rock, partly because of my past mistakes, serious financial education, belief in myself and the ability to do things other people around me aren't doing.

desk_jockey

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #529 on: April 28, 2013, 09:19:11 AM »
Hello Everyone,

I’m David, from Atlanta.   Found the site over a year ago via the Triestoohard & gestalt162 posts over on Reddit.  Read all the posts here, some many times over, and even posted a few replies under other names.   I guess it’s time to start using the community and see what else I can learn.

I have always been a saver and have lived well beneath my means.  About two years ago, due to a variety of factors my savings rate went >50% to ~30%.  MMM has been an inspiration to get things back under control. 

I was also among those that saved for retirement without really thinking about it.   Kinda guessed that I’d need some $4M to retire and would be working until age 62+.  Reading MMM has been eye opening.  I realize now that I’m only a few years from F.I.   

I chose this username for another site years ago when I was much less satisfied with work; now I keep it as a reminder...   I’ve used the knowledge and confidence gained here (and a few select other sites)  to cut back/out the “required” things in my job that I hated most and focus more on what I like.   Am enjoying my job more than ever these days and as this continues I could see myself staying on for several years beyond F.I. until I find my next adventure. 

Thanks MMM & Family, and thanks to all

TheSokols

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #530 on: April 28, 2013, 06:17:13 PM »
Hi,
We're The Sokols, family of 3 (+ 2 cats + 2 dogs), living in metro DC area, aka "Ninth Circle of Hell". Mr. and Mrs. are firmly middle-aged, older than Mr. & Mrs. MM we suspect by a decade or 2. We'll post our question elsewhere, but we are big fans of small cities, tiny houses, frugality, badassity, etc. We even like bikes but due to spinal injury, Mrs. S. is no longer able to ride a bike with loads of stuff in tow or on her back.  We have one area of non-frugality - we LOVE to travel. We do splurge on that, but don't create debt doing so and have no plans to cease.  We are planning on leaving the DC area for good once Daughter is in college. We grew up in NYC and have lived in NYC, LI, NoVa and Pinellas Co., FL.
See youse!

Old Yorker

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #531 on: April 29, 2013, 02:10:34 PM »
Hi
I live in the UK - hence Old York - and enjoy reading PF books, blogs etc. I found this through the excellent UK site, Monevator, and liked the style of what I've read so far.

I reckon I could retire tomorrow, but I quite enjoy the corporate life I lead! It's disappointing that so many people hate their jobs and it makes me feel lucky that I really don't. I do fantasise about retiring early, but wonder if I'll miss the world of work. Today, for example, I played golf with colleagues from related businesses (who are now friends) at a beautiful course, all paid for by our companies who clearly value us enough to allow us to do this sort of stuff!

Anyway, nice to join another community of like-minded folk!
Cheers

why2kie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #532 on: April 29, 2013, 04:16:26 PM »
Hello everyone,

I'm 28, single and live in Germany. I found and read the MMM interview in Washington Post, with the title "Meet MMM, the man who retired at 30. Directly after I read the half of the interview, I'm fully agree with the philosophy of MMM, since I could finish my study in 2011 by saving money from my part time job (without debt) and minimal financial support of my parents.

In the last years, I often think how I can achieve FI if I still work as an employee. I'm also thinking to become self-employed person or to start a small business. However, I still have difficulties, ideas, and capital to realize my plan, and also less courage to take a risk maybe. On the other side, I don't want to have a discussion with the most people here, who complain about the retirement at age 67 or 65.

I'm feel so lucky to find MMM's blog and have an opportunity to read and share with all of the Mustachians around the world.
Just, contact me if one of you also live in Germany.

Thanks for the share MMM

jfer_rose

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #533 on: April 30, 2013, 12:49:05 PM »
Hi,

I'm so glad to be here! I just discovered MMM and after spending the last day nosing around, I would like to try to move up my retirement age as much as possible. I thought I was in really good financial  shape since I'm putting 20% of my salary toward retirement and another 10% toward savings. I am humbled by what I've seen here so far and also inspired to do better!

Also, my career is based on making my city better for walking and biking, so I am loving what MMM has to say about those forms of transportation!

OzzieandHarriet

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #534 on: April 30, 2013, 10:31:54 PM »
Hi -- I've been lurking a bit. It seems I'm older than the average here, at 55. What got me here was I've been plotting to quit my job and so have been looking for info. I think I'm too late for ER at this point, though not by some people's standards, I guess!

I would love to get feedback on my situation, but maybe I'll post questions in the question forum.

Anyway, this is an interesting little corner of the web and I'm glad to be here.

ajh1983

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #535 on: May 01, 2013, 11:48:43 AM »
Hello!
I've been reading only for a few days, but finding this site feels like coming home.  The ideals and values I see expressed here are very much my own, despite being surrounded by plenty of very materialistic people in my years.

I am an active duty veteran ('02-'06), college grad, and will be starting medical school in two months across the country with my fiance!  We are very excited.  Although taking on the enormous debt ahead is not very mustachian of me, the following 7 years are an investment in my future.  Our plan is to live frugally and retire on ~10 years pay down the road, leaving me at about 48.  I took the long road, but I'm entering a career I find fulfilling and which is very stable during times of economic hardship.

Thanks and I look forward to learning more from you!
Adam

lunette

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #536 on: May 01, 2013, 01:23:18 PM »
Hi! I found the site last night - Mustachianism is a good frame for a bunch of the choices I've been making over the past few years, and I'm hoping that by hanging out around here I'll get some social motivation to shake off some of the consumerist schtuff that still clings to me. 

I'm a single 30-something freelancer. The theory of my life is that I have gumption and creativity and countless options. This means I won't *need* to retire because I could always figure out how to make a living doing something I like.

In practice, however:
- I don't love my work (it's fine, it's even fun in low doses and it possibly does some good in the world, but I would not spend most of my time on it if money were out of the picture).
- I worry about work too much, and **oddly enough** I don't seem to have much time for strategizing a better life.
- I rarely take more than one day completely off, except when I book an expensive retreat for which I clear my calendar.
- Part of the reason is worry about money - and even more so, a general vagueness about my financial life - that nudges me to say yes to every job and court every potential client.
- Though I've tried to move toward a more DIY life, to a great extent I'm still stuck in my old rat-race pattern of keeping busy and paying for conveniences.
- My savings and investments are few.
- Plus I'm not consistently getting in the exercise and meditation that would make me happier and more efficient.

The good news:
- No debt
- I'm a recovering workaholic (literally - I started going to Workaholics Anonymous 12-step groups, though currently I'm not managing this)
- My freelance business is growing (more prestigious clients, bigger projects and I'm raising my rates), so earning potential is modestly rising
- This spring I gave up my apartment and went nomadic. I was staying with different friends around the US for several weeks and now I'm renting a room in a guesthouse in Portland, Oregon. This lifestyle hasn't been as cheap as you might think (travel tickets, restaurants, etc.), but it gives me a lot of mental freedom about where I could ultimately live and how I could organize my life, which is why I did it.

All in all I'm in a pretty good place, perhaps even teetering on the brink of happy simplicity. I think a good goal for me would be to work less than full time AND save half my income. Then I have more capacity to enjoy my life and to take steps toward better work, plus if I want to chuck it all at age 50 - or if I get sick and need to scale way way back - I can do that.

As part of this I want to try living in an intentional community (i.e. a commune) where reasonable rent, low food costs, spiritual practice and exercise (gardening, maintenance) are built in and socially enforced. So I'm looking for a good one on my travels.

Next step is to get a more detailed breakdown of my spending. Hope to post a case study soon over in the Ask a Mustachian board.

<waves>


Wyobraska

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #537 on: May 01, 2013, 04:25:04 PM »
Hi Guys,

I'm Wyobraska. I'm 33, and an aspiring Mustachian. I just found the blog a couple days ago, but since then, all I have done is read, read, read. I already follow a lot of the principles found here, but I have learned quite a bit in the last couple days.

I even opened my first brokerage account with Vanguard today. w00t! I already had my Roth IRA there (which I'm maxxing out), so adding a second account was a breeze.

Anyway, it's nice to meet everyone!

- Wyobraska

dpw13

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #538 on: May 02, 2013, 12:27:17 PM »
Hello all!

I just found this website and forum a few days ago and think its great to meet like-minded people! I'm an aspiring Mustachian - not there yet.

About me:
28 / European, live in NYC, work in finance.

While my salary is good by national standards, living in NYC tends to negate most of this. I've got a relatively small amount of savings/401k balance, so working on this but eventually I want to own several income-generating properties.

Overall goal is to be financially independent so I can travel much more and work as I choose.

Looking forward to sharing advice and experiences!

Guy Incognito

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #539 on: May 02, 2013, 12:45:31 PM »
Hi everyone.  Lurker for a few months, first time poster.

Live in Houston, TX, 31yrs old, work in the Finance industry.  Income is quite variable and not super secure (some years great, some years not so great, and I'd even admit to being laid off once before).  Got one awesome 6-month old kid and one awesome wife who's at home with him. 

Net worth is about $537k, including $42k of home equity on a $200k home (basically just b/c I put 20% down) and the rest split between $80k in cash and $415k in ETFs.  Nervous about the high-flying market right now which is why I have so much cash right now earning 0.1%...lame.

Could certainly do better on our monthly expenses ($4k-$5k/mth), but made some progress in last couple months that should help...i.e., killed the last $7k on my wife's car loan, switched her cell phone from AT&T to Straight Talk, consolidated home & auto insurance, switched all our bulbs to CFLs, no more restaurants, etc.  Goal is $3k/mth of expenses and I know we can get there with some conscious effort.

Stupid things I am still doing --
(1) Paying $133/mth for Comcast cable + wifi + home phone
(2) Commuting 28miles 1-way to work in a 2004 car getting only 21mpg
(3) Owning a 2012 Kia SUV, purchased new (wife's car)

Anyway, glad to be here - enjoy this site a lot!

EK

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #540 on: May 02, 2013, 02:05:57 PM »
Hi!  I made my first post over in the Ask A Mustachian area, so I kind of already introduced myself, but I feel like a big mooch asking for help over there and not contributing anywhere else.

I've been reading MMM for a few months and lurking in the forums.  It's kind of an exact right message at the exact right time thing for me.  Back in January, I began actively trying to simplify a life that was starting to feel out of control in terms of consumption.  For the better part of my early 20's I spent a lot of money accumulating the basic "stuff" of adulthood- furniture, professional wardrobe, pots and pans, etc., and when I'd bought enough of that stuff to function well on a day to day basis... I didn't know how to to turn the spending off and it resulted in me pissing away a hell of a lot of money.  That, combined with an expensive move from Brooklyn, NY to Fredericksburg, VA has left me and my husband in our mid-20s with no money in the bank.

But, we've buckled down, pulled the spending into control, and now we're targeting a minimum 50% net pay savings rate. 

I must say, this is a remarkable little place of the Internet.  I'm shocked at the number of kind strangers here who have had the patience to wade through my wordy and complicated ask a Mustachian post- and also how kind and thoughtful those responses have been.

So hi.  I'm very happy to be here.

MrChubbles

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #541 on: May 02, 2013, 03:11:53 PM »
Hi,
MrChubbles here. After 11 years working as an Engineer in the UK and the Netherlands, I arrived in the US 17 years ago..essentially broke...due to a LOT of living beyond my means... :-) STILL not retired, but I COULD if I adopted full-on Mustachianism...although my significant other likes to live inexpensive cities..so I may have to go half mustache ;-{

jenscaffidi

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #542 on: May 02, 2013, 05:29:18 PM »
Hi! I'm Jen and I don't remember how I found this site (a few months back), but I can't stop reading. I've been on a personal quest to eliminate waste, kill my debt, and become more financially independent for the past few years, and the blog has been inspiring me by showing me additional ways to do those things.

Let's be friends.

Abraxas

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #543 on: May 03, 2013, 12:57:28 AM »
Good Evening.

I happened on this site by complete accident but am thoroughly digging the philosophy espoused here, as it mirrors several aspects of my own worldview. I've told my spendthrift friends and family all along: it's not about what you make, but what you save. Falls on deaf ears for the most part. They've forgotten how to use that large organ .....the one above the neck, I mean (assuming they ever used it in the first place).

I registered here because I wish to interact with individuals who possess faculty of mind where money's concerned.

 
« Last Edit: May 03, 2013, 12:59:25 AM by Abraxas »

Keigan2cool

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #544 on: May 03, 2013, 01:52:17 AM »
Hi,

My name is Keigan and I am an enlisted member in the United States Air Force.
I'm in a unique position because I am currently stationed overseas with my wife.
I basically get to see the world on the governments dime which is nice but as some of you are aware there are other things expected of us as repayment. I am currently finishing up my first tour overseas in Japan and I am also finishing my first deployment as I write this introduction.

hybrid

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #545 on: May 03, 2013, 10:13:49 AM »
Hi, my name is Chris and I chose the moniker hybrid for two reasons.  One, because our lifestyle is a hybrid between what MMM preaches (I have been called  cheap-ass on numerous occasions) and what MMM abhors. Also, because I am an avid golfer and hybrid reminds me that my passion also takes a lot of coin out of my pocket (so how can I be a cheap-ass?  I golf at a country club.)

The missus and I live in Richmond VA.  We bought our first rental house last year and have money in the stock market, we have a healthy 401K balance.  I am 46, she is 59, we have two kids and two middle to upper-middle class incomes and have been married 28 years.  Other than that, no debt except two years left on the hatchback on a 0% loan, so I am in no hurry to pay that off compared to the mortgages.  We are on par (pun intended) in better shape than many we know, but I would prefer to have no debts at all, retire earlier, and am looking very seriously at ditching some of the luxuries (golf, for starters) and throwing everything we can at the two mortgages and continue investing as we have.

Found this site after seeing the article in the WaPo and have been avidly reading ever since.  It speaks to me. 

SoSouthern

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #546 on: May 04, 2013, 08:23:24 AM »
[/font Hi all, My name is Lewis. Married with a 2 year old son. I came across MMM a few weeks ago after researching the Lending Club and noticed MMMs experiment with his investments popped up in Google search. His review helped me fund my account and purchase some notes.

I turn the big 30 this month. Yay me. I don’t know how I’m going to feel, but I have been looking back on my life trying to determine if I did it right, made bad choices, did I learn anything, and trying to figure out where to go after this major milestone in my life. After reading some posts on this site I felt I needed to join. MMM is doing what I said I wanted to do and he is proving that it is very possible and turning naysayers into believers.

ScubaAZ

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #547 on: May 04, 2013, 11:51:39 PM »
Hi all,

    I am a recent law grad and new attorney in Phoenix, AZ (loved MMM's post on Phoenix!).  I've been perusing the site for about 3-4 months now, and buckling down on my budget.  I just turned 30, have some savings from before law school (and sadly the $100k of debt it took to do it), and think its reasonable to retire around 40 (or at least have the option).  I'm mostly looking for inspiration from the other Mustachians. 


nktokyo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #548 on: May 05, 2013, 05:30:55 AM »
Hi there. 31 year old living in Tokyo & FI for a little over a year. I used the MMM techniques and "escaped" before I knew this blog existed and just noticed these shiny forums. Excited to meet some like minded individuals. My thing is property so I'll probably hang out in the Real Estate area and see if I can't help some folks out. Keen to see how other people have done it (or are on the way to) - it's always good to lear new ways to stay off the hamster wheel.

bayescraft

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #549 on: May 05, 2013, 07:17:32 PM »
Hello. I am a non-prominent but active member in the LessWrong scene (http://lesswrong.com/) from which my user name comes. I'm an engineer. That's not uncommon here, but even more common there.

I enjoy building things, so I anticipate continuing to work. Thereby, I anticipate a graduated FI starting in a at least one year, where I'd be FI if I move to my ideal location, extending as late as four years from now. The long timeline is if I stay where I am (Los Angeles), so as you could guess, I've been doing this for a bit already.

Hopefully I can contribute to a more positive and deep community. I like the blog, but I have to say, in my experiences as a lurker, I've been disappointed by this community. Not a lot, but a little. Which means that I think I can make it better.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!