How'd you do in 2013? A year-end review.

[clutchy]

As of right now.

Debt down $10,000
Assets up $93,000


Total net worth of $225,000.  NW increase of 82% this year...

attitude change and making a little more money.  Honestly this is staggering for me.

[frostymustache]

1. Found Mr. Money Mustache after his Biking article was posted on reddit.com/r/bicycling

2. Bought a bike and have lost a large amount of weight by biking everywhere instead of driving.

3. Put less than 300 in gas into my car.

4. Offered promotion, declined, but then accepted when offered a few months later(after management change.)

5. Had my retirement account contributions upwards of 25%(at 0 for the month of December, changing apartments.)

6. Was able to convince people to be concerned about their retirement, all my close work friends have upped 401k contribs to 10%+

7. Beginning of the year I had decided on going 100% aggressive on my 401k and IRA. With a mix of TRowe Price Global Technology Fund and Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund, but accounts are both up 25%+.

8. *biggest one in my opinion* - Realized(with the help of MMM) that there is more money to be had by changing how much I spend, instead of trying to get paid more. If I can cut my cost of living down, it will benefit me no matter what. If I sit and chase a higher paying job(which I still will,) it wouldn't have mattered because of my old mindset that getting paid more = buy more.

9. Girlfriend graduates in 17 days, will the go full time as a graphic designer for a very large hardware store chain. She is on her second freelance job for 25/hr and will continue to get referrals. This will allow me to put 15k towards my loans. This means I will have a credit card, car loan, and kwik loan(from bank) paid off by February. My car insurance will no longer have to be Full Coverage, so I'll gain the 155 from the car payment, 50 from insurance, 25 from credit card, and 25 from kwik loan. This will all add in and continue to pay down my loans.

10. Realized that there are no negatives in self-betterment. I am compiling a list of books for my new years resolution, which will finally be something I feel is attainable.... read 1 book a week. Since I avoid the bars now am living away from the college life I had last year, I am working on finding cheap hobbies that will help me in the long run. 2k Miles ridden on my bike + 52 books read

Looking forward to 2014!!!

[aj_yooper]

2k of bike miles as a new adopter is serious!  Along with your other changes-Wow!

[lauren_knows]

2013 has been an interesting year.

- First full year of having a child (just about 20 months old now)
- I dropped from 40hrs/week to 36hrs/week at work to keep myself sane and see my son more.
- Student Loans were eliminated
- Refi'ed our mortgage to a pretty low rate (with the equity we had, our mortgage is just $1200/mo, which is pretty much insanely cheap for the DC area)
- We still managed to dump ~$30k into 401k's, $11k into Roth IRA's, $5k into a 529, and some into our brokerage accounts.

[frostymustache]

2k of bike miles as a new adopter is serious!  Along with your other changes-Wow!

Yeah, I logged about 500 miles last year passively. Found a Trek 700 series for 210 with new tires and tuneup.

Riding is a thrill for me always because I'm usually extremely slow, due to my size and old laziness. Hopefully with my new cheap hobbies...the simple joy of them will keep me preoccupied while the benefits of weightloss and money savings occur in the background.

[El Gringo]

Good point including miles ridden! I've ridden 2,437 miles so far, and that's included about 3 months in which I've been away from home and off my bike.

bo_knows - have you joined our DC Mustachians google group yet?  http://groups.google.com/group/dc-mustachians

[KatieSSS]

Fantastic thread! I'll add my stats to the list.

2013 was a great year. I took a two-week vacation to Europe, got a raise, got some great news in a few personal areas, and will have paid off my debt. Financially, this is how it went:

Total income (after pre-tax contributions and deductions): ~ $41,500
Total increase in retirement account value: ~ $11,000
Total debt paid off: $21,472.55 <----- WILL BE MY CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR! NAY, THE DECADE!

The above doesn't even look financially possible, because that leaves only $9,000 to live on. But most of the retirement increase is due to employer contributions. I also probably didn't account for the miscellaneous income I earned from selling stuff. I never counted it because that extra cash just went right towards the student loans.

[nawhite]

Net worth went from -24k to +16k

Infinite % increase in net worth!!! BOOM!!! Feels so good!

Other milestones for this year: Changed jobs for a +23% raise. Bought a house walking distance from DW's work and walking distance from light rail to new job. House appreciated 20k above purchase price within 3 months of purchase. Bought a car with emergency fund cash after previous car gave up the ghost. Paid off the first of our student loans which total dropped under 100k. We started talking with friends about our 11 year retirement plan.

It has been a good year.

[MelodysMustache]

This year has been very good.

* I discovered MMM in July and realized that I didn't have to work until age 67
* Paid off the last of my non-mortgage debt. 
* My net worth has increased $120k since January 
* Refinanced my house to a 15 year 2.875% fixed mortgage. 
* Maxed out my 401k
* cut cable TV
* Cut lots of unnecessary stuff from my budget and my savings rate is now about 60% of take home pay
* I also indulged my travel habit and went to Europe and Hawaii this year

[iris lily]

Due to the insanity of the stock market we are up around $100,000 - $130,000. I won't know until December 31--we do our snapshot net worth statement then.

But I've been in these market run-ups before and have been down the other side, so it's just paper.

[iris lily]

Net worth went from -24k to +16k

Infinite % increase in net worth!!! BOOM!!! Feels so good!

That is a huge milestone to go from negative to positive net worth. Good for you.

[ender]

I just want to say I LOVE reading this thread.

[Reepekg]

It has been the best year ever. I did the following:
- Found myself unemployed when company suddenly struggled
- Spent a couple of months thinking about the future and found MMM
- Got a new job and 5 year plan
- Bumped our savings rate up to 60%
- Grew some of my own food and fixed my own car
- Learned to invest. Put $78k into investments as of 11/1
- Net worth increase of $130k
- Established projected FIRE date: my 35th birthday

[SnackDog]

Sure is nice to see everyone paying down debt. I remember when we finally got out from under student and car loans. We have always been frugal so had another nice year.

I reckon we saved at least $200k and enjoyed investment gains of another $500k.  Our most egregious expenses were a drainage repair at the house and two trips home to California, but I did get my employer to pay half of one as it was a visa run.  We got married which saves us over $10k per year on taxes since we can file separately and the spouse had zero independent reportable earnings.  We spent a bit over $100K, but that includes almost $60K on mortgages which were more than recovered in rental income.

[Kristin]

2013 has been good to us.  We sold both our rental property in a different state and our primary home to move closer to work and downsize.  We have 25% equity in our new house (purchased in October) as of now.

I graduated with my MBA this year and aggressively working on that student loan.  Also scored a new job with the same company increasing my employer 401k match by 6%.  This was a tradeoff of sticking with the same base salary.

All consumer debt has been paid off, so now just working on the student loan, mortgage, and savings/investing.

Total investments are up this year by 22% for the year (401k and IRA accounts).  Grand total is now $30,000.

2014 is looking good as we work towards paying off my student loan and start investing in non-retirement index funds.

[Mrs.FamilyFinances]

We've only been doing the mustache thing for a few months, but things have already improved for us, I'm thankful to be ending 2013 with such clarity and defined goals. Before we just did our best, which wasn't our best at all!

We have no consumer debt! We refi'ed and now have 13 years left on our 3% loan! Our primary focus for the next 2 years will be to kill my 19k student loan. Our monthly expenses went down $512, and increased our 401k savings to 15%, and fully funding a Roth in 2014. I know our 401k is still too low, but we are really moving along quickly. I hope to increase that to 20% once this temp pay cut at his job is over. We are a 1 income family, making usually 70-75k, but this year will be more like 63.

I can't wait to keep a watchful eye on every penny in 2014. I can only imagine how much greater our lives will be with a whole year of MMM livin!

[AlexK]

NW up 200k on salary of 80k. The tail-wind of compound interest is picking up speed!

[Snow White]

You are all awesome! This whole thread makes me smile.

I second that!!! You guys rock.  It has been a good year for me too but as someone else noted...the stock market giveth and the stock market taketh away. 

[pachnik]

I quit my old job at the end of April and found MMM 2 days later.   I have been doing temporary office work to get by and didn't even need to go into my emergency fund.  This past week I have been working on a 'temp to perm' basis at an office and I am hopeful that my job search is over.  My fingers are crossed because I really like the firm, my bosses are great and they do interesting work.

So this year I haven't been able to add to my savings but I also haven't had to draw from them either.   I re-balanced my retirement savings too.

Added bonus - my husband has just about finished paying off his credit card debt and he will probably be done by January.  I didn't even say anything to him about it - he told me he picked up a bit of MMM by osmosis.

[Zamboni]

Cripes you made me look:

Compared to last year I'm up over $80K in cash and investment accounts (which is more money than I make in my day job) + another $50K in home equity just from this year.  Yes, bull market helps A LOT, and I know it's just imaginary money in some sense, but a substantial chunk was either new money invested or dividends reinvested.  That's just me, because my SO and I keep our finances separate. 

I can't believe it either.  This thread makes me happy.

[NinetyFour]

My retirement investments, so far this year, have grown from about $218K to $264K.  I also maxed a Roth IRA at $6500 (yes, I'm old) in August, which has now grown to over $6915.

At the beginning of this year, I had a first and a second mortgage (from my pre-MMM days), both at HIGH rates, totaling $289K.  I took a loan out from TIAA (using my retirement funds as collateral) and wiped out the second mortgage.  And I refinanced the first mortgage--dropped the rate by over two points.  Now my mortgage + TIAA debt is down to $278K--and at MUCH better rates.

So, a good year for me.  Hoping for a good 2014 as well.

[daverobev]

I put our New Year's Resolutions on the wall:

Mine
1. No electronics - pretty good so far, I did buy a second hand laptop and a Kobo. Considering replacing a laptop and tablet with a Windows tablet, which kinda breaks this rule but kinda improves the next one... Actually I've done really well, for me, this year.
2. 2-out-for-1-in - pretty good, not religiously but I have cleared out a small amount of stuff without having any new in (old monitor, laptop, etc)
3. Buy a low end rental in the US - done

Wife
1. Bi-lingual certificate - failed
2. Spiritual Development - succeeded I think
3. Have baby - succeeded!

Net worth is up a bit; paid off one mortgage but took a line of credit for the new house. More importantly, rent is up a little bit, and the exchange rate is moving in my favour, hurrah.

I've pretty much met the "can afford not to work" goal, but now I'm finding I'm a bit bored... hrm.

[Exprezchef]

I think 2013 has been my best year yet for me when it comes to finances. Thanks to the bull market and some additional savings I was able to increase my liquid assets by 110k to just over 680k. If Zillow has any accuracy, I now have over 120k in equity. My wife was not willing to cut the TV cable cord but after a call to my cable company, I was able to negotiate a lower monthly bill for the next 12 months. We paid off my wifes' car and now have no car payment. I was able to switch to a different propane company and negotiate a lower price per gallon. Our cell phone contract finally ended and I switched everybody to no-contract phones which saved us $35.00 per month. There was one splurge this year; my wife and I traveled to Asia for a three week vacation. In the long run the trip was not too expensive as we stayed with family most of the time. Overall I think I am doing pretty well and hope to continue this trend into 2014.

[cash_lemur]

Oh man, this is such an inspiring thread! Love you guys. It's great to take a moment to celebrate this year, instead of always rushing on to the next goal. And yet it's also a good reminder to see other people's bigger successes and remind myself to push harder :)

2013 was the year I finally understood saving, budgeting, and compound interest. I've made huge changes in my habits, saving 80% of my income, and also increased my income significantly. I've finished paying off my student loans this year, and passed the $100k net worth mark (which was my big goal). My net worth is up $109k total on the year right now. $20k of that is from the market going up, and the rest is actual income saved.

December 2012
 $26,292: Cash and investments
-$17,263: Student loan debt
--------------------------------------
  $9,029: Net worth

December 2013
$118,086: Cash and investments
          -$0: Student loan debt
--------------------------------------
$118,086: Net worth

In a related recent accomplishment, I just locked down the lease on my apartment for 2 more years, forcing myself to keep my cheap rent with lots of roommates through March 2016. I'll be 30 then, and hope to have a net worth of around 375k. Which still isn't FI, especially not living here in NYC... But it's not bad for a gal who only got her net worth above zero at age 26.

The first 100k is supposed to be the hardest, right?

[NinetyFour]

Nice work, cash_lemur, and at such a young age!

I posted some numbers above, but thought I'd add a couple of things about my net worth.  I hadn't even bothered thinking about it before--I thought it was just something rich people did.  But a couple of months ago, I did compute it, and I update it weekly (!).  Since September 14, it has increased from $296K to $333K.  A lot of that growth was due to the markets, but some was also the value of my home increasing, more savings, and some additional principal payments to debt.  And, truth be told, I am starting to feel.....kind of.....rich.

[iris lily]

...
In a related recent accomplishment, I just locked down the lease on my apartment for 2 more years, forcing myself to keep my cheap rent with lots of roommates through March 2016. I'll be 30 then, and hope to have a net worth of around 375k. Which still isn't FI, especially not living here in NYC... But it's not bad for a gal who only got her net worth above zero at age 26.

The first 100k is supposed to be the hardest, right?

Good job! It's a tough deal to save in an expensive city, especially when you are not using real estate run up to increase your net worth. way to go!

[sol]

I think it's a little premature to be doing a year end review with 8% of the year left to go, but looking back over the past 12 months our net worth has increased by approximately our combined net income, about half of which is from saving half of our income and half is from good market returns.

I don't normally count our property valuations in our net worth, but for the purposes of comparison here I just went and looked up our zillow values compared to 12 months ago, and found that we "made" almost half of our combined income, or the equivalent of another whole salary, in property appreciations.

According to my magic spreadsheets, the roaring market currently has "moved up" our projected FI date from 50 to 36 months.  But I expect the market will trade away part of that before we actually retire.  As you get right down to the wire, the exact crossover point dollar amounts become very noisily subject to day-to-day market fluctuations.

[happy]

Yes I agree, too early to call..if this post is still kicking around December 31st I'll update. Currently looking good for a figure just shy of double my net income.

[NeverWasACornflakeGirl]

Wow -- so great to see how much progress everyone has made!

Our net worth increased $129,800 over the past 12 months, and we have less than $4,000 left to pay on our mortgage.  Woohoo!

[Abe]

Increased net worth 40% of our take-home pay. Alas! Next year should be about 70% since our salary will be higher but our expenses will be lower.

[Petari]

In 2013 I graduated from university with an engineering degree and without debt (thanks internships and parents!). Got my first job in June, moved into an apartment less than three kilometers from my work and biked in almost every day (walked a few, took a taxi once).
I learned to cook a few vegetarian meals and got my average grocery expenses down to about $180/month (single male).
I went through my old computer parts and sold/donated to charity a bunch of things I no longer use.

Built up a three-month emergency fund, then upped it to six months after the small company where I work had a round of layoffs. Opened a discount brokerage account, chose an asset allocation and ETFs, and started making contributions to the 'stache.

My net worth at the end of 2013 should just hit $20k. Not bad for half a year of work!

[brewer12345]

Ah, this thread made me look even though we are not at the end of the year yet.  Not counting 45k of retirement goodies that I vest in next Monday after a 5 year wait, our portfolio was up 32.6% since year end 2012.  Toss in the house and total net worth appears to have increased 31.5%.  Our net worth increased 3 times what we earned (gross, before a dollar of taxes or living expenses), which is sort of mind-boggling.  We are now FI and I plan to quit the day job in 30 days.

[matchewed]

Ah, this thread made me look even though we are not at the end of the year yet.  Not counting 45k of retirement goodies that I vest in next Monday after a 5 year wait, our portfolio was up 32.6% since year end 2012.  Toss in the house and total net worth appears to have increased 31.5%.  Our net worth increased 3 times what we earned (gross, before a dollar of taxes or living expenses), which is sort of mind-boggling.  We are now FI and I plan to quit the day job in 30 days.

Pre-congratulations :)

[Carrie]

In 2013 our net worth went up more than our gross income! 
We saw good gains in our investments, paid down the mortgage by almost $20k, maxed out our Roth IRAs and added to our cash savings balances.  It was a great year for us.

[YK-Phil]

Overall, I more than tripled my salary two months ago by switching jobs (going back to my old career). Financially, we were already frugal and I could afford working part time as a flight attendant, which was more a lifestyle than a real job, and I could have kept at it for as long as I could fake a smile even after reaching FI. But dollar signs danced in front of my eyes when I was head-hunted and offered this new job, unexpectedly.

Bottom line. I hate my new job. I make more money which will allow me to reach complete FI in 2 years instead of 6, but my day-to-day enjoyment level is nil. Unfortunately, I can't go back to my airline job now. I thought I had already figured out that money wasn't everything in life, but I had forgotten that it can corrupt even the most mustachians among us...

[SwordGuy]

Financially, we've done fine.  We and our employers will have contributed circa $53,000 into our 401ks.
Have no idea how well we've done in the market, won't know until the statements come in at the end of the year.  We're some years away from retiring so it's not worth checking earlier.

Expenses were way up this year due to a series of pain-in-the-rear setbacks.  I missed over two weeks of work and some pay to two separate illnesses, both my daughter and wife got to ride in an ambulance to the hospital, someone hit our parked car and two trees fell on the house.

To be fair, we spent too much on non-essentials, too. 

But we started the year with no debt and we'll end it with no debt, too.

I'll be glad to start a new year, this was the worst one since the year when my daughter and my wife both needed an operation, both our cars died, the refridgerator died, and we got to pay the lawyer's bills for our son's lawyer.  That year took 3 years to pay off the extra expenses, this time it's taken less than 6 months, so I guess that's progress. :)

But I'll be glad to see the back of 2013.

[clutchy]

Financially, we've done fine.  We and our employers will have contributed circa $53,000 into our 401ks.
Have no idea how well we've done in the market, won't know until the statements come in at the end of the year.  We're some years away from retiring so it's not worth checking earlier.

Expenses were way up this year due to a series of pain-in-the-rear setbacks.  I missed over two weeks of work and some pay to two separate illnesses, both my daughter and wife got to ride in an ambulance to the hospital, someone hit our parked car and two trees fell on the house.

To be fair, we spent too much on non-essentials, too. 

But we started the year with no debt and we'll end it with no debt, too.

I'll be glad to start a new year, this was the worst one since the year when my daughter and my wife both needed an operation, both our cars died, the refridgerator died, and we got to pay the lawyer's bills for our son's lawyer.  That year took 3 years to pay off the extra expenses, this time it's taken less than 6 months, so I guess that's progress. :)

But I'll be glad to see the back of 2013.

I would be too man;  you've had it pretty rough, chin up!

[Capsu78]

I am on more of a "decade review" since the last year I put a lot of effort into "future planning" was 2004 when I had to make a major consulting decision- "move" to the left coast to office with the "new investor" management team and getting comped on some arcane EBITA based schedule instead of my "friends and family" discount billing rate, uproot my HS aged daughter and college girl, have my wife give up a VP level position to move to a "90 minute each way on good days" commuterville location, and go from being a homeowner in Chicago to a renter in San Diego.  I had to decline after a 10 minute conversation with my wife where I couldn't clearly articulate what my income would be!
(PS Company still thrives even after 4 different management changes, but it is no Google, Linked In or FB).
So we did a good scoping of our finances then... but life gets involved in the best plans.  My wife lost her 24 year career, and was packaged out.  Very sad, but a 1 year severence package... unfortunately my wife was in demand and working exactly 2 Mondays later.  So we have 8 years of tuition payments, partial grad school for one DD... and so many expenses I stopped over calculating future planning.  In 2008, couldn't even open our 401K statements...too painful.  2009 my wife, who made regional VP again, gets packaged out of a 2nd career she loved.  This time it takes 6 months to get hired in a completely different industry by a tech firm whose name you know. We have a wedding in the middle of that and our second in college.  She graduates and gets married (on our tab and our choice) in 2011.  After a round of "boomerang kids" living with us, both kids now homeowners.
So its 2013, we find most of our major children related expenses are behind us.  Our tax advantaged 401K's and investments have doubled since 2004, even weathering the mess of 2008.  We pass a signifigant "mile marker" in our investment accounts.  In 2006-2007 we rehab the house we have lived in close to 20 years.  My wife handles the refi/ HELOC, doing what she thinks best.
Turns out it was for the best... we are 2 1/2 years away from payoff on mortgage.
So for 2013, I am thankful I found this discussion board, optimistic that we have no more anticipated "children expenses" other than spoiling the grandkids, and a decade of timeline left before traditional retirement timelines and components that could to be kicked in.  My wife loves her job and since I work from home many days, knows that RE would involve being around me many days... we both are in perfect harmony that if she were to be with me all day/ every day, our 30 year marriage would not last a month!
 

[Norrie]

This year was a bit of a mixed bag. We had good income and stayed out of debt, but we traveled a lot (Australia, Scotland/England, tons of domestic) and spent crazy amounts of money on it. The absolute best thing to come out of this year financially was finding this site and forum. I felt really adrift with the Dave Ramsey stuff; it was great for getting out of debt, but I felt that it really fell short immediately after that step. I'd been looking for something better, and MMM fit the bill perfectly.

Thanks to MMM we've gotten our ship a lot tighter, we're planning for the future, and we even met with a totally kick ass financial planner who is helping with all of our most pressing questions/needs. He's a perfect fit, and I'm so excited about what the next few months will bring.

2013 was really fun, our entire family was healthy, our daughter was not hospitalized even once, we made good strides in paying off our mortgage, and we got to spend time with family overseas. We really could not have asked for more from the year.

[Ed Mills]

This year was an abbreviated earnings year for my wife and me.  We left our teaching jobs in June, but we still managed to fill our retirement accounts, HSA and educational savings accounts:

403b accounts:  $24,660
457b accounts:  $33,012
IRAs:                  $12,000
HSA:                    $6,450   
ESA & 529:          $2,300

Total:                  $76,422

Financially, it was a good year, but I came up short on some of my personal goals.  I plan on writing a blog post on about my 2013 successes and shortcomings. 

[FIreDrill]

I started tracking my finances in YNAB at the beginning of the year and as of the end of November my NW has gone from 20k to 57k.  I'm hoping to hit 60k by the end of December :)

[bettyb]

Paid off 24K in student loans and finally hit positive net worth!

[jfer_rose]

So glad I looked at my data and so nice to see everyone else's amazing progress!

My net worth is up about $60,000 from last January and my take- home pay was only about $42,000! I also remodeled my kitchen in 2013 during which it felt like I was hemorrhaging money, so this number makes me particularly happy.

Another big accomplishment in 2013 was refinancing my home. I switched from a 5 year adjustable rate to a 15 year fixed at a great rate.

Also, yesterday I submitted my open enrollment request for 2014-- I will be maxing out my workplace retirement plan at $17,500.

[medinaj2160]

Our net worth when up 50-60k this year. We paid off my wife's car and her student loan.

I can't wait for 2014 and have no mortgage :)

[mpbaker22]

Income ~ Approximately 50K.
Net worth Jan 1 - Approximately $43,700.
Net Worth Dec 1 - Approximately $71,700
Net worth Increase - $28,000

Savings rate - 70%

The numbers don't exactly add up.  The net worth increases take everything into account, they are just difference in sums of the value of all my accounts.  The savings rate is my calculation prior to charitable donations.  I.E, to find my dollar savings, you can do savings rate times income minus donations.  Also, savings rate is calculated after tax, and I save another 8% pre-tax.  I expect my post-tax savings rate to go down to ~60% as I am upping pre-tax to 25% and 30% starting January 1.

[Mo Money]

I'm relatively ancient (early 50s) and have been frugal for 15 or so years now.  I also have been in a job that pays me well, but believe me, extracts a toll in terms of stress.  So with those caveats, I should finish 2013 with a $667K increase in net worth.  Over $1800/day.  This posting, on the one hand, is immodest, but on the other, I think it's worth doing because I want to be one of the ones who act as proof that frugality (and yes, many MMM principles that embody frugality) actually work.  It really heartens me to see so many people (whatever the age, but many, young, and with the compounding effect of time on their side) doing something so sensible and well, damned smart.   Unless you are a Rockefeller, you need to build up your millions a thin layer at a time.  I started my job at $28K a year with a professional degree, and then plugged away, slowly, slowly.  I am FI presently, and the RE will come soon -- on my terms.  FIRE will happen for all of you if you can stick to it.  Just remember to not try (or want) to keep up with your consumer-zombie neighbors, and (good luck with this one) convince your significant other it's a worthy goal.  (I'm STILL working on that....)

[Theadyn]

How'd I do...   I bought a house w 20% down..  Got a job paying way more than minimum but it's part-time, so have been doing everything to save money..  But getting no traction.   Am kinda bummed.  Celebrated the one year anniversary of my husbands death.  Got through all the probate fun.  I got left with nothing.    Right now, just dealing.   You guys celebrate away!

[aj_yooper]

How'd I do...   I bought a house w 20% down..  Got a job paying way more than minimum but it's part-time, so have been doing everything to save money..  But getting no traction.   Am kinda bummed.  Celebrated the one year anniversary of my husbands death.  Got through all the probate fun.  I got left with nothing.    Right now, just dealing.   You guys celebrate away!

I am sorry for your loss.  I've read some of your other posts and believe you are exceptional.  I think putting 20% down is a major accomplishment.

[mpbaker22]

I'm relatively ancient (early 50s) and have been frugal for 15 or so years now.  I also have been in a job that pays me well, but believe me, extracts a toll in terms of stress.  So with those caveats, I should finish 2013 with a $667K increase in net worth.  Over $1800/day.  This posting, on the one hand, is immodest, but on the other, I think it's worth doing because I want to be one of the ones who act as proof that frugality (and yes, many MMM principles that embody frugality) actually work.  It really heartens me to see so many people (whatever the age, but many, young, and with the compounding effect of time on their side) doing something so sensible and well, damned smart.   Unless you are a Rockefeller, you need to build up your millions a thin layer at a time.  I started my job at $28K a year with a professional degree, and then plugged away, slowly, slowly.  I am FI presently, and the RE will come soon -- on my terms.  FIRE will happen for all of you if you can stick to it.  Just remember to not try (or want) to keep up with your consumer-zombie neighbors, and (good luck with this one) convince your significant other it's a worthy goal.  (I'm STILL working on that....)

Yes, this is a major motivator for me.  I don't really buy the idea that kids make it impossible to save, but I know it'll be difficult even with my frugal lifestyle.  One of my goals is to have a normal retirement (55-60) fully funded within the next year.  That way, in the event that I"m married with multiple kids, and saving 0%, I won't have to worry when I'm 50.

[payitoff]

the hardest part for me is getting spouse to come on board, i stare at my spreadsheets, calculator, almost wrote a book full of numbers, and discuss it with him, he says ok, but in the end, the effort isnt there.

this year has been great too, from 50K income, now up to 155K, spouse finally done with school, started working this year, now ready to tackle a mountain of debt. so looking forward to 2014 definitely

so far for 2013, my first dent hopefully be next week, to pay off 3 of our credit cards, i cant wait for my paycheck to come. so difficult not to have someone in the same page with me, im just glad i can air some out here.. congratulations everyone!