Hello! As you may see, I am a new member of this community and as such I apologize if this posting is not appropriate for this area. That said, I feel as though my family has done pretty awesome at our initial de-clowning process, and I would like to share our story with everyone.
First, lets step back 6 months and check our financial and living status.
I have a decent job for my area as a web designer. We have a 2000 sq foot nice, but old, house that we fully financed at only 118K. Amazing! We have a huge plasma TV, smarthpones (ATT), and 3 computers (also we have an old one that can do anything but play modern games. It stays in the closet.) We have netflix and amazon prime. We also get movies from Redbox (driving 1.5 miles to get to it.) We have 2 cars, an 06 Hyundai Sonata (paid off) and a 2012 Elantra (still 10K in debt). My wife is a stay at home mom(by plan,) but a couple times per month we use both cars.
By normal standards, we are living below average. Some have even called me cheap.
Imagine my surprise when I check my finances and realize we are losing money every month. I cannot understand how others survive if I am struggling to stay afloat and I am living so reasonably. We don't have cable, we don't have dumb cars, we don't have an expensive home, nor do we live in an expensive area. I certainly don't have all the latest toys and gadgets, though I would freely admit to enjoying a new gaming computer, despite not really having the time to game anymore. Come to think of it, I seem to not have time for much of anything besides work and sleep.
I lament to a friend that I am stuck in a system I don't understand. Taking debt seems to be the only way to get ahead, and I'll be working 40+ hours a week for the rest of my life. I don't like this, it feels unnatural and, to put it bluntly, a lame existance. My friend points me to a blog.
Enter MMM.
The first thing I did was get rid of ATT for Republic Wireless. This brought us much happiness and a rediculous savings per month. After this single change, we were roughly breaking even financially each month.
The next thing holding us back was our car payment. That had to go, and it had to go fast. Why did we need 2 cars again? So we sold the 06 sonata. We cashed in the bonds from my grandmother. We sold our TV. We cancelled netflix and amazon. We replaced our computers with tablets (except for one laptop for "heavier" computing needs.) Within 3 months we had paid off the 10K debt on the car. Now we own a practically new car with 7 years warranty remaining. After this car dies (which will hopefully be 10+ years from now) its the used market for us.
Not only did we pay off that debt, but we had some left over. As I mentioned earlier, we occasionally needed both cars. To solve this small issue, I got my motorcycle license and a dirt cheap used motorcycle to transport myself instead of taking a 5 person vehicle everywhere. Trips around town are no longer car jobs, but the work of our bicycles and bike trailer.
Within a span of 6 months we went from not having enough money each month to having a surplus, though still small. Our only debt is our mortgage, which I now think we may be able to pay off 15 years early. I have a small Betterment account now ($100/month), and next year when enrollment happens again, I hope to get in on our companies 401K with some employer matching.
We somehow have more family time (I think I blame the TV for this) and we are happier in general.
But really, I want to use this post as a thank you to MMM. Not that long ago, my plan was to work 40+ hours a week until the day I died because thats what you need to do to support a family. I literally had NO IDEA there was a way out of all this silly nonsense.
Thank you.