Hello! I've been reading MMM for a few months now, and I have just a tiny mustache so far. Mostly just stubble. But I'm feeling some badassity today. Three and a half years ago, I hit a wall. Too much credit card debt! I was barely making the minimum payments. I had just about $22,000 worth of debt. This Friday, once my paycheck is electronically deposited in the bank, I'll be making the very last payment on that debt. $22,000 in 3.5 years, and I'm making under $30K (and I'm single, so there's only my income). I think that's pretty badass! As of Friday, my only debt will be student loans. They're $60,000. That seems like so much, but I got a third of that paid in under 4 years without really being good at Mustachianism yet. As I grow a larger, more luxurious mustache, I'll likely find out I can pay that off faster than I think I can. i have a 401(k), but it's small right now since I've been living paycheck to paycheck for years. But as my mustache grows, my retirement savings will grow. There's a Roth IRA in my future too.
I only started to learn about Mustachianism in the last few months, but it's already saved me money. I was with Sprint for my phone, spending $72 a month because I'm a smartphone addict. I'm with Republic Wireless now, and I was using the $25 plan. I just switched to the $10 plan to see how that works for me. I don't have WiFi at work, and the $10 plan will force me to concentrate on work rather than my phone. It saves money and forces me to unplug for 8 hours each day, hopefully breaking some of my addiction. I stopped spending the $15 a month on World of Warcraft this year. I love the game, but there are free games online I can play. Kingdom of Loathing is free and very funny. I don't have cable. I got a Roku. $8 Netflix and the HD antenna I have give me a lot of TV choices. I'm thinking of adding Amazon Prime. Free ebooks to check out, free music streaming, and free movie and TV shows. If you break the $99/year cost down, it's $8.25 a month, so that would bring my movie and TV cost to $16.25.
My stubble has plans for me. I'm living in an unsafe house in an unsafe neighborhood right now, with no kitchen: only a dorm fridge, a small microwave, and a toaster oven. I've been here 5 years too long, but it's been cheap and I couldn't get out with the credit cards taking so much of my income. Now I'll save for a couple months and then, once I have a deposit saved, I'll move closer to work. I'll have a kitchen to do more cooking, which will save me money on groceries. I'll learn to pressure can because I can get a giant grocery sack of green beans at the farmer's market here for a buck or two and I hate having so many go to waste. I'll start riding my bicycle to work, too. It might take me a while to work up to that. I'm morbidly obese. I don't have the stamina for a long ride yet. But I can start with short rides and work up to it. I'll save gas and get in shape at the same time. These are my goals for the next year. By July 2015, perhaps my mustache will be almost fully grown in!