Author Topic: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks  (Read 5619 times)

Finallyunderstand

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Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« on: April 01, 2017, 06:52:08 AM »
paid off our mortgage last week in a big lump sum and sold my Lifted Jeep Wrangler (3rd vehicle) the week prior to that.  Looking to get a used Chevy Volt instead of my current Ford Fusion.  The Fusion isn't too  bad as it gets 27mpg with my driving habits around town but most days I'm under 40 miles so the Volt could be perfect.  Trying to talk my wife into selling her 3 row SUV but it's a delicate subject.  All vehicles are paid off so not a huge issue but the mpg on the SUV is 17.  Yikes.

Slowly making other changes.

We are going to try to save about 70% of my income and retire when I'm 40.  She stays at home with our two kids and I'm tired of missing out!

Morning Glory

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2017, 08:14:15 AM »
Welcome and great job. It sounds like you were already very frugal if you were able to pay off the mortgage and save 70% of your income. You could post a case study and get some suggestions on how to optimize further.

You definitely don't need 3 rows with only 2 kids. I would keep working on this one, but it isn't a huge issue if she doesn't drive much.

Brother Esau

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2017, 09:54:02 AM »
Welcome! I'm so happy that MMM made me "finallyunderstand" as well.

sisto

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2017, 02:56:00 PM »
Awesome, keep up the good work!

mamagoose

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2017, 03:08:10 PM »
paid off our mortgage last week in a big lump sum and sold my Lifted Jeep Wrangler (3rd vehicle) the week prior to that.  Looking to get a used Chevy Volt instead of my current Ford Fusion.  The Fusion isn't too  bad as it gets 27mpg with my driving habits around town but most days I'm under 40 miles so the Volt could be perfect.  Trying to talk my wife into selling her 3 row SUV but it's a delicate subject.  All vehicles are paid off so not a huge issue but the mpg on the SUV is 17.  Yikes.

Slowly making other changes.

We are going to try to save about 70% of my income and retire when I'm 40.  She stays at home with our two kids and I'm tired of missing out!

Last year I switched from a Jeep Liberty (around 16 mpg) to a used Chevy Volt and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. We have the 2015, so it has the battery pack in the middle but can still fit two carseats and we have plenty of storage room in the back. We also put a tow hitch on the back for a cargo carrier when we go camping or need to haul something big (the hatch back is great). I bought it in April, and have been to the gas station twice in a year, we just recharge at home at night. Our electric bill went up about $30/month, which is much much less than I was spending at the gas station with the Jeep.

Car Jack

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2017, 06:45:30 AM »
Why does your wife want to keep the 3 row SUV?

We had one at one point because our kids were impossible and if they could physically touch each other, there were constant battles.  We had a Yukon XL for a while (I used it to snowplow, pull a boat and pull a racecar trailer back then) and it was great because one could be in the 3rd row passenger side seat and other in the 2nd row driver side seat.  They couldn't touch each other.  Great for vacations.  Gas is so cheap these days that who cares if it gets 15 mpg? 

Finallyunderstand

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2017, 01:16:46 PM »
Why does your wife want to keep the 3 row SUV?

We had one at one point because our kids were impossible and if they could physically touch each other, there were constant battles.  We had a Yukon XL for a while (I used it to snowplow, pull a boat and pull a racecar trailer back then) and it was great because one could be in the 3rd row passenger side seat and other in the 2nd row driver side seat.  They couldn't touch each other.  Great for vacations.  Gas is so cheap these days that who cares if it gets 15 mpg?

Typical reasons.  It's bigger, feels safer, can easily fit things, it's newer/nice, etc.  She also made a comment  that she doesn't want people to think we aren't doing well if we sell her vehicle and get a cheaper vehicle.  She knows that's not a good way to look at it but she voiced her concern.  Even though she knows with almost near certainty I earn more money than all of my friends while we also spend considerably less.  I told her we would get the last laugh with early retirement.  I've been harping on a lot of things lately so I'm letting the SUV conversation simmer and see if she brings it up again on her own.  Without prompting she has started to drive my car exclusively when she does errands without the kids so she's making conscious choices for change!
« Last Edit: April 04, 2017, 01:21:10 PM by Finallyunderstand »

MasterStache

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2017, 01:26:55 PM »
Why does your wife want to keep the 3 row SUV?

We had one at one point because our kids were impossible and if they could physically touch each other, there were constant battles.  We had a Yukon XL for a while (I used it to snowplow, pull a boat and pull a racecar trailer back then) and it was great because one could be in the 3rd row passenger side seat and other in the 2nd row driver side seat.  They couldn't touch each other.  Great for vacations.  Gas is so cheap these days that who cares if it gets 15 mpg?

Typical reasons.  It's bigger, feels safer, can easily fit things, it's newer/nice, etc.  She also made a comment  that she doesn't want people to think we aren't doing well if we sell her vehicle and get a cheaper vehicle. She knows that's not a good way to look at it but she voiced her concern.  Even though she knows with almost near certainty I earn more money than all of my friends while we also spend considerably less.  I told her we would get the last laugh with early retirement.  I've been harping on a lot of things lately so I'm letting the SUV conversation simmer and see if she brings it up again on her own.  Without prompting she has started to drive my car exclusively when she does errands without the kids so she's making conscious choices for change!

Congrats on paying off the house. I used to care about the bolded part as well. But realized it's all bullshit trying to impress everyone. Who cares what they think. If your friends care about that stuff, they aren't truly friends.

acroy

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2017, 01:44:14 PM »
Badass
You're doing fine if you've got all the big stuff paid off, saving 70%, and have possibility to retire at 40, on one income with SAHW.
Good job!

ysette9

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2017, 02:54:04 PM »
Hang around here long enough and you'll soak up the vibe that an older car is a sign of you being bad-assed and that fancy, expensive cars are for losers. If I cared less about what I drove, I too would drive something like my husband's 2005 RAV4. The valet at his work was surprised that it was manual because he had never seen one before in that kind of vehicle. His mother thinks it is unsafe because it is old and we get a good snicker out of that.

Side note: I am so pleased that I can say "bad-assed" on this forum and not get flagged by the mods. This is such a great corner of the internets. :)

Brother Esau

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #10 on: April 04, 2017, 05:53:48 PM »
Check out how billionaire Warren Buffet lives his life. Zero f*#ks given about what others think about where he lives and the car he drives. Grabs breakfast at McD's almost every day as well (I know, he's surely a major shareholder)

redbird

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2017, 12:15:07 PM »
Wow, those are some HUGE changes in a short period of time. Great job!

A suggestion to look into for the wife - if you want a great MPG small car that could fit your family and has tons of space, I've found that the Prius is awesome for that. The Prius' hatchback has a huge amount of space. Also, if there's any times she doesn't need the kids, she can fit even more in with the easily folded down back seats. People are always shocked at how much stuff I can fit in that small thing.

Finallyunderstand

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2017, 09:08:03 PM »
Wow, those are some HUGE changes in a short period of time. Great job!

A suggestion to look into for the wife - if you want a great MPG small car that could fit your family and has tons of space, I've found that the Prius is awesome for that. The Prius' hatchback has a huge amount of space. Also, if there's any times she doesn't need the kids, she can fit even more in with the easily folded down back seats. People are always shocked at how much stuff I can fit in that small thing.

I wish I could agree with you there but that's a battle I know I would never win with my wife.  :)

I'm not overly worried as she's been coming around on her own for many other things.  She now tells me about ridiculous things she notices friends spending money on that she never used to notice. I see a change comin over her!!! Haha. 

My income has risen drastically in the last 4-5 years where in 2016 made 8 times what I made back in 2012.  It was unexpected in a sense but I'm in real estate so the market got hot and so did my income.  We went from basically breaking even on two incomes  (although we could have saved just didn't know MMM) to being able to save over $100k/yr without any extra effort with just my income while she is home with the kids.  It was sort of surreal and still is.  I work hard but I don't think for a second that luck isn't also a factor.  We are just now applying even more control over our spending so hoping to save $135k this year if income can keep up.  $242k was last years income. About $65k goes to taxes.

Goldielocks

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2017, 11:52:28 PM »
Why does your wife want to keep the 3 row SUV?

We had one at one point because our kids were impossible and if they could physically touch each other, there were constant battles.  We had a Yukon XL for a while (I used it to snowplow, pull a boat and pull a racecar trailer back then) and it was great because one could be in the 3rd row passenger side seat and other in the 2nd row driver side seat.  They couldn't touch each other.  Great for vacations.  Gas is so cheap these days that who cares if it gets 15 mpg?

Typical reasons.  It's bigger, feels safer, can easily fit things, it's newer/nice, etc.  She also made a comment  that she doesn't want people to think we aren't doing well if we sell her vehicle and get a cheaper vehicle.  She knows that's not a good way to look at it but she voiced her concern.  Even though she knows with almost near certainty I earn more money than all of my friends while we also spend considerably less.  I told her we would get the last laugh with early retirement.  I've been harping on a lot of things lately so I'm letting the SUV conversation simmer and see if she brings it up again on her own.  Without prompting she has started to drive my car exclusively when she does errands without the kids so she's making conscious choices for change!

Now that you have the SUV, if you don't drive it a lot, the largest expense is the depreciation on it, not the mileage by a long shot.

If you drive 10,000 miles, an extra 15 MPG would only save you 275 gallons of fuel per year... maybe $65 per month.
You may need to trade down to a much smaller car to get 32 MPG on an older model, without paying more.   

The real advantage is if you buy a cheaper car and can pocket $10,000 right now.... if you need the money, that is.

jinga nation

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Re: Discovered MMM, made two big changes in a couple weeks
« Reply #14 on: April 07, 2017, 06:25:21 AM »
Check out how billionaire Warren Buffet lives his life. Zero f*#ks given about what others think about where he lives and the car he drives. Grabs breakfast at McD's almost every day as well (I know, he's surely a major shareholder)
Thanks for the reminder.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/10/buffett-frugal.asp
Sometimes I wonder if he's the OG of frugality. Others may simply call him eccentric but MMMers know best!

To the OP, welcome. Your life will never be the same again, in a positive way.