looking backward...
2014 - negative net worth, few clues - investments $45k, student loan $43k, car $8k
2015 - 0 net worth and getting face punches - $40k in school debt, $3k+ car loan
2016 - $65k net worth, hello baby stash - 0 debt
4 short years later... ~150K net worth and growing
401k $125k
RothIRA $12k
VTSMX $13k
emergency fund $3k
I look back at where I was when I started lurking the MMM forums and can't believe how far I've come. My mindset has changed from "everyone has student loans for 20 years" and "everyone says being an adult means financing a car" and "everyone is stuck working until 60" to one where savings come out of my paycheck before I see it and I get excited about my Vanguard quarterly statements. I got a raise this week and gleefully told my boyfriend about the increase I'm going to make to my investment contributions. He's so proud. Yet another life change is finding a partner who's positive, encouraging, and fairly frugal instead of settling for the negative-based relationship like so many of the ones I see around me. Changing my finances has changed more than just my finances.
2017 had a good deal of coasting and 'make it easy' based lifestyle inflation as I focused on getting that promotion. Now I'm more excited than ever to get back into tracking my spending, paying attention to how I spend my free time, and looking for ways to right-size my spending for both the life I want now and to make things like becoming a SAHM or moving to part-time work possible down the road when kids are in the picture.
I feel incredibly blessed to have had a headstart in life and a job with income to help me make this change. Lurking this forum and MMM in general has been not only inspiring, but really helped me define a new set of goals for my life and a practical plan to start living accordingly.
So thanks everyone. I wouldn't have decided to do this without you.
