Author Topic: Saving to $10K  (Read 462533 times)

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5877
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1350 on: November 30, 2019, 11:56:38 AM »
I like the attitude @jdhansen!  You've got this.  Keep on chugging and you will get there.   

cari8285

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 209
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1351 on: December 03, 2019, 08:27:49 AM »
November 2019
Credit card: $521.24
Car loan: $7,868.05
401K: $604.75

Net worth: -7,784.54

December 2019
Credit card: $208.72
Car loan: $7,719.02
401K: $1,072.31

Net worth: -6855.43 (+929.11)

Credit card will be completely paid off this month, and then I'll start throwing all excess money at that car loan. Woo!

ItsALongStory

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 528
  • Location: Somewhere in Europe
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1352 on: December 03, 2019, 09:10:25 AM »
Awesome progress @cari8285

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1353 on: December 03, 2019, 09:13:21 AM »
Goddammit! Just checked my credit card balance online to make sure the payment had gone through and instead of plus twenty-ish euro (I rounded up the payment), it was minus almost ONE THOUSAND! Strange transaction for €998 has me questioning my sanity. I mean, I am sure I would remember buying something for that much but I'm still going round and round in my head wondering if I did accidentally order something I'm just not remembering.
Card has now been locked and I should get a new one in about a week. The credit card company has sent me an email with a form to fill out and then they will check with the vendor and, assuming the vendor can provide no proof of purchase, will refund me the money. I didn't think that was the way it worked, so now I'm anxious to see exactly what the form is that I have to fill out.
This is just exactly what I don't need. I am particularly hating my uncertainty - it's like I'm gaslighting myself!

cazio

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 114
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1354 on: December 03, 2019, 04:14:39 PM »
10/2/18 - $(2742.60)
10/29/18 - $(1899.81)
11/25/18 - $(1660.04)
12/31/18 - $245
3/14/19 - $(5,212)
3/31/19 - $(882.10)
4/25/19 - $(16,545.33)
5/29/19 - $(14,275.68)
6/28/19 - $(13,578)
7/26/19 - $(12,692)
8/23/19 - $(11,219)
10/4/19 - $(12,227.77)
11/30/19 - $($15,648)

Life is really trying to kick me in the ass. New job ended unexpectedly last week (long story, it was a political "firing" to stick it to my coordinator) so instead of being 2 paychecks ahead, I'm now going to end up behind unless the next show starts up before January (50/50 chance). Quarter-life crisis is hitting hard both for me and my close friends. Oh, and I went to highly recommended dentist who basically told me my previous dentist did not so great work (as I guessed) and I have to get probably $10k+ worth of work done, of which my insurance will cover $2k max. I've always had bad teeth but ugh.

My EF hasn't been this low since college and I'm seriously running the risk of using all of it between the dentist and covering rent for December and potentially January. I'm trying not to stress but things are really not lining up for me. I've been adamant about never falling back on family for financial help but I'm really cutting it close this time and I think I'm going to run negative.

Right now just getting to negative 10k net worth seems out of reach!

Dicey

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 22281
  • Age: 66
  • Location: NorCal
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1355 on: December 04, 2019, 01:48:56 AM »
Goddammit! Just checked my credit card balance online to make sure the payment had gone through and instead of plus twenty-ish euro (I rounded up the payment), it was minus almost ONE THOUSAND! Strange transaction for €998 has me questioning my sanity. I mean, I am sure I would remember buying something for that much but I'm still going round and round in my head wondering if I did accidentally order something I'm just not remembering.
Card has now been locked and I should get a new one in about a week. The credit card company has sent me an email with a form to fill out and then they will check with the vendor and, assuming the vendor can provide no proof of purchase, will refund me the money. I didn't think that was the way it worked, so now I'm anxious to see exactly what the form is that I have to fill out.
This is just exactly what I don't need. I am particularly hating my uncertainty - it's like I'm gaslighting myself!
This happened to me once. Someone in Buffalo, NY had charged 150 stethoscopes to my CC.

Bank to Dicey: "Are you sure you didn't buy 180 stethoscopes?
Dicey to bank: "What would I do with even one?"

It was corrected in relatively short order. Hope yours is, too.

I'd like to believe it was some kind of altruistic medical Robin Hood, but I rather doubt it.

Dicey

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 22281
  • Age: 66
  • Location: NorCal
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1356 on: December 04, 2019, 01:56:07 AM »
10/2/18 - $(2742.60)
10/29/18 - $(1899.81)
11/25/18 - $(1660.04)
12/31/18 - $245
3/14/19 - $(5,212)
3/31/19 - $(882.10)
4/25/19 - $(16,545.33)
5/29/19 - $(14,275.68)
6/28/19 - $(13,578)
7/26/19 - $(12,692)
8/23/19 - $(11,219)
10/4/19 - $(12,227.77)
11/30/19 - $($15,648)

Life is really trying to kick me in the ass. New job ended unexpectedly last week (long story, it was a political "firing" to stick it to my coordinator) so instead of being 2 paychecks ahead, I'm now going to end up behind unless the next show starts up before January (50/50 chance). Quarter-life crisis is hitting hard both for me and my close friends. Oh, and I went to highly recommended dentist who basically told me my previous dentist did not so great work (as I guessed) and I have to get probably $10k+ worth of work done, of which my insurance will cover $2k max. I've always had bad teeth but ugh.

My EF hasn't been this low since college and I'm seriously running the risk of using all of it between the dentist and covering rent for December and potentially January. I'm trying not to stress but things are really not lining up for me. I've been adamant about never falling back on family for financial help but I'm really cutting it close this time and I think I'm going to run negative.

Right now just getting to negative 10k net worth seems out of reach!
Hang in there, @cazio, it will get better. Maybe look into dental tourism. Google "Los Algodones". 
Bad teeth due to heredity is not your fault.

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1357 on: December 08, 2019, 10:28:44 AM »
Student Loan Debt:

01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)


Net Worth per Personal Capital:

03/04/19: -$30,065
07/05/19: -$21,711 ($8,294)
08/10/19: -$18,173 ($3,538)
09/01/19: -$12,615 ($5,558)
10/02/19: -$10,089 ($2,526)
11/04/19: -$6,559 ($3,530)
12/08/19: -$1,673 ($4,886)

I'm so close to having a positive next worth, I should be there with the next paycheck thanks to some help from the stock market this past month! Excited to see what the new year brings for everyone here!

Yasha

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 65
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1358 on: December 08, 2019, 01:52:14 PM »
I haven’t posted in ages, because we had some expenses (both planned and unplanned) and we went backwards. It’s felt a bit like a roller coaster. When I finally stopped hiding my head in the sand yesterday and graphed it out, I can see why it felt like that!

(The big middle spike was a three pay month, with the equivalent three rent payments etc, not a windfall matched by lifestyle creep).


Back on the horse, determined not to let the expenses get the better of us! Mr is in the wedding party for a black tie wedding overseas, and already we ve spent more on it than on our own wedding (mostly because of flights). We’ve put our foot down and said we aren’t paying for anything else for the wedding, and if they want him to wear matching cuff links or whatever they need to pay for it.

Clawed our way back to +6k... only another 2k until I can go back to colouring my tracker wall -_-
« Last Edit: December 08, 2019, 02:24:41 PM by Yasha »

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5877
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1359 on: December 09, 2019, 05:02:34 AM »
Great update @TyGuy!  Looks like Santa (a/k/a your past self) will have something very nice for you this year.  :)

Welcome back @Yasha!  Your charts are the best.  The wedding expenses are a one time bump in the road.  Keep on driving!

mactastic

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 11
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1360 on: December 12, 2019, 12:45:00 PM »
Anyone mind if I join?

Currently structuring this as a goal to have make the amount we have in savings (spread across 10k e-fund, home downpayment fund, and a few various sub accounts I keep for planning purposes - gifts, car repairs, vet emergencies) more than the amount we owe in debt (one car loan and our student loans.) I'm not including retirement accounts or car values in my calculations, as I like playing the mental game with myself of "if I had to tomorrow, how much debt would be left with if we cleared out everything we had on hand?" Hope to cross the barrier to zero halfway through 2020, with a stretch goal of making it to +10k before the year is out.

I put my mileage check each month towards my car (usually 100-200 a month), and we're currently targeting the highest rate student loan ($5330/6.8%) with my husband's overtime pay. Hope to get at least this loan paid off in 2020, as it's the last one with an interest rate above 5%. Taking it one loan at a time, as the overall number is depressing, lol.

Sept 2019:
Starting Debt: $60,811.05    
Starting savings:  $46,123.39    
Where it stands: (-14,687.66)

December '19:
Debt: $57,540.39
Savings: $47,932.67
Where it stands: (-$9,607.72)

A little over 5k swing in three months! Sometimes it's encouraging to look at a bigger picture rather than the day-to-day.

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5877
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1361 on: December 12, 2019, 04:15:16 PM »
Welcome @mactastic !  You're making some great progress.  With that slay-the-debt work ethic you'll be crossing over into positive territory before you know it.   

Dicey

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 22281
  • Age: 66
  • Location: NorCal
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1362 on: December 13, 2019, 07:12:42 AM »
Welcome @mactastic !  You're making some great progress.  With that slay-the-debt work ethic you'll be crossing over into positive territory before you know it.   
What she said!

FYI no one has to ask to join this group. The more the merrier!

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1363 on: December 16, 2019, 05:52:10 AM »
BoI savings a/c: 150.00
DiBa ETF: 1,792.08
CmzBank savings a/c: 4,500.00
Total:  +6,442.08

Net: +6,442.08

And 1,150 in annual expenses/house maintenance. Down to just 150 in my travel savings but am just back from 10 days away, have paid for tickets to go back to Ireland at Christmas and have paid my registration, hotel, and train for my annual trip to Halle in February, so it's all good.

It's been a bit of a careless with money time recently. Not that I'm going mad buying expensive things, just that drip, drip of frittering it away by not bringing lunches to work, and actually attending a couple of social events and that kind of thing. The mysterious €998 charge on my credit card had not been cleared up by the time the invoice came due, so I had to pay more than was budgeted for. I just checked and the refund has now gone through so that payment I made (my minimum payment is 1/5 of the total due) will now go to cover what I have used/will use the card for this month. Pain in the neck bank won't refund me the interest that arose though. Or at least, I'd have to make a written complaint and honestly my time is worth more than the not quite €5 of interest. I'll give myself a couple of weeks to moan about it if anyone asks and then just forget about it and be happy I at least got the €998 refunded relatively quickly and easily.

BoI savings: 100.00
DiBa ETF: 1,932.66
CmzBank savings a/c: 4,600.00
Total:  +6,632.66

Net: +6,632.66

With 1,000 in my annual expenses account and 300 in travel I'm not doing too badly really. I've already sent money to the sister I'll be staying with over Christmas to cover groceries so apart from a couple of things like fresh milk this week and, I think, two dinners out while I'm away, I don't really have anything else I need to spend on this year.

I also got my annual statement from the state pension people last week. If I keep working and paying in at approx. the same rate until I'm 67, I can expect to get just over 1,300 per month. Assuming the German state is still paying pensions at that stage. I don't plan on working full-time for that long but it's always nice to know that if I needed to, at least the state pension would in fact most likely cover all of my basic expenses. It's interesting to note that in the past eleven years, I've paid in over €45,000, though, and the same from my employers. At €286 per month, it's not a small chunk of change (for anyone wondering, my gross salary per month is €2,963 and my statutory tax and social insurance deductions are €1,106). I don't include that money in my savings rate but it's somewhat reassuring to know that there are some good reasons why I don't have a lot of money left over to save every month.
« Last Edit: December 16, 2019, 06:02:21 AM by Moonwaves »

paulkots

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 80
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1364 on: December 17, 2019, 05:40:29 AM »
Joining the race to $10k, it will take some time.

12/17/19: $21,427.67

jdhansen

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 78
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1365 on: December 18, 2019, 01:20:49 PM »
11/15/2019   $ -5671.56
12/18/2019   $ -4174.34

Had a good month and made the expected progress.  Of course now my car is acting up with random misfire errors and I've fixed everything I can.  Hopefully, it just something minor I don't have the skills to diagnose.  But it always seems to be expensive. 

Fingers crossed we stay on track or don't fall to far back down.

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1366 on: December 22, 2019, 01:09:03 PM »
Joining the race to $10k, it will take some time.

12/17/19: $21,427.67

Welcome to the thread, we are happy to have you here with us!

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1367 on: December 22, 2019, 01:14:39 PM »
Student Loan Debt:

01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)


Net Worth per Personal Capital:

03/04/19: -$30,065
07/05/19: -$21,711 ($8,294)
08/10/19: -$18,173 ($3,538)
09/01/19: -$12,615 ($5,558)
10/02/19: -$10,089 ($2,526)
11/04/19: -$6,559 ($3,530)
12/08/19: -$1,673 ($4,886)
12/22/19: +$237 ($1,910)

I'm so very excited that I couldn't wait until next month to post. As of this past Friday, I have reached a positive net worth for the first time in my life! I'm very excited for the coming year. I hope everyone has a good end to the year and a great start to 2020! See you all next year :)

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5877
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1368 on: December 22, 2019, 02:19:29 PM »
I'm so very excited that I couldn't wait until next month to post. As of this past Friday, I have reached a positive net worth for the first time in my life! I'm very excited for the coming year. I hope everyone has a good end to the year and a great start to 2020! See you all next year :)

Congrats @TyGuy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                         

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1369 on: December 23, 2019, 04:10:16 PM »
@Trifele Thank you for your consistent support!

Gardo

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 219
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1370 on: December 26, 2019, 09:23:22 AM »
I wish to greet everyone Happy Holidays !

Let's keep on saving guys for the upcoming 2020!  :)

cazio

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 114
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1371 on: December 27, 2019, 08:49:28 AM »
10/2/18 - $(2742.60)
10/29/18 - $(1899.81)
11/25/18 - $(1660.04)
12/31/18 - $245
3/14/19 - $(5,212)
3/31/19 - $(882.10)
4/25/19 - $(16,545.33)
5/29/19 - $(14,275.68)
6/28/19 - $(13,578)
7/26/19 - $(12,692)
8/23/19 - $(11,219)
10/4/19 - $(12,227.77)
11/30/19 - $(15,648)
12/27/19 - $(12,288)

Positive progress to end the year! Feeling ready for 2020.

Imma

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3193
  • Location: Europe
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1372 on: December 30, 2019, 03:23:14 PM »
Congrats @TyGuy !!

@Moonwaves are you also paying into a company pension? I know most people don't take them into account on MMM but I think company pensions are much better funded in this part of the world.

I just got a statement from my company pension in the mail because they're changing the terms and if I keep paying in I'm looking at €1500/month in state and company pension. My plan is to probably not continue to work until I'm at 25x annual expenses but until I've paid enough into my pensions to have a reasonable income and have enough money to cover the period in between + a bit extra.

DieHard_772

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 511
  • Location: California
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1373 on: December 31, 2019, 02:42:41 AM »
Student Loan Debt:

01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)


Net Worth per Personal Capital:

03/04/19: -$30,065
07/05/19: -$21,711 ($8,294)
08/10/19: -$18,173 ($3,538)
09/01/19: -$12,615 ($5,558)
10/02/19: -$10,089 ($2,526)
11/04/19: -$6,559 ($3,530)
12/08/19: -$1,673 ($4,886)
12/22/19: +$237 ($1,910)

I'm so very excited that I couldn't wait until next month to post. As of this past Friday, I have reached a positive net worth for the first time in my life! I'm very excited for the coming year. I hope everyone has a good end to the year and a great start to 2020! See you all next year :)

@TyGuy  Phenomenal!

mckaylabaloney

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
  • Age: 35
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1374 on: January 01, 2020, 04:40:25 PM »
Helloooo I'm back!

Since I last checked in, I (1) closed on my house, (2) moved, (3) bought a car (did not previously have one and needed one in my new city), and (4) got a new job, which I will start this month.

The move and my home have been incredible. I am amazed by how much those choices have improved my quality of life. I am so happy I did it and I am loving both my house and, believe it or not, commuting (via train! I read or nap! it's great). And I am really excited about the new job. I always expected that I would have to take a huge paycut in my next job, but I won't after all -- in fact, my base salary will be higher! All in all, I am a little overwhelmed with how well things have been going for the last few months. Feeling way too lucky and trying to resist the urge to expect bad things to come balance it out...

Financially, here's where I'm at after all of that:

1/1/2018: $(170,956.12)
2/1/2018: $(166,849.63)
3/1/2018: $(161,395.88)
4/1/2018: $(156,590.44)
5/1/2018: $(152,997.61)
6/1/2018: $(149,175.48)
7/1/2018: $(143,748.22)
8/1/2018: $(138,734.38)
9/1/2018: $(135,043.66)
10/1/2018: $(131,441.14)
11/1/2018: $(133,372.50)
12/1/2018: $(128,081.25)
1/1/2019: $(80,750.78)
2/1/2019: $(73,422.02)
3/1/2019: $(60,122.64)
4/1/2019: $(54,342.22)
5/1/2019: $(48,858.05)
6/1/2019: $(49,269.97)
7/1/2019: $(29,802.87)
8/1/2019: $(25,751.08)
...
1/1/2020: $(4,873.13)

So close! I have been, uh, not especially Mustachian in furnishing my new home (the Diderot effect is...........very powerful for me). But aside from a couple small remaining projects, I'm pretty much done spending money on my house for a while (knock on wood!), and ready to return to more frugal ways. Progress ahead!

Happy New Year to you all!
« Last Edit: January 22, 2020, 09:41:31 AM by mckaylabaloney »

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1375 on: January 01, 2020, 05:49:00 PM »
@mckaylabaloney The good times are going to keep coming, especially as your nearly positive net worth grows and snowballs! Congratulations on the new Job and house, I anticipate I will spend a fair amount of cash initially fixing up a house, but I'm okay with that as a home brings me a lot of joy and happiness!

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1376 on: January 02, 2020, 02:15:29 AM »
Happy New Year everyone!

Since I last checked in, I (1) closed on my house, (2) moved, (3) bought a car (did not previously have one and needed one in my new city), and (4) got a new job, which I will start this month.

The move and my home have been incredible. I am amazed by how much those choices have improved my quality of life. I am so happy I did it and I am loving both my house and, believe it or not, commuting (via train! I read or nap! it's great). And I am really excited about the new job. I always expected that I would have to take a huge paycut in my next job, but I won't after all -- in fact, my base salary will be higher! All in all, I am a little overwhelmed with how well things have been going for the last few months. Feeling way too lucky and trying to resist the urge to expect bad things to come balance it out...
Congratulations on all the positive happenings. I know the feeling when it seems like there's too much good happening (as if there can really ever be too much good) but just try to make the most of all the positive. Your update made me smile this morning - I love hearing about when things are working out for people.


12/22/19: +$237 ($1,910)

I'm so very excited that I couldn't wait until next month to post. As of this past Friday, I have reached a positive net worth for the first time in my life!
Well done!

Moonwaves are you also paying into a company pension? I know most people don't take them into account on MMM but I think company pensions are much better funded in this part of the world.

I just got a statement from my company pension in the mail because they're changing the terms and if I keep paying in I'm looking at €1500/month in state and company pension. My plan is to probably not continue to work until I'm at 25x annual expenses but until I've paid enough into my pensions to have a reasonable income and have enough money to cover the period in between + a bit extra.
Although I'm not a civil servant (Beamtin), I do work for for state so I have to pay into their version of a company pension. Since I've only been here for just over three years (and was part-time for a lot of that) I think I'm only up to about €4/month worth of pension. I have two other pension pots from companies I used to work for in Ireland. I don't count any of that money towards my net worth here but I might start once I get out of this thread and into the race to 100k - it would give me a nice head start there. :-) I haven't checked for a while and try to only look once a year but from memory it was at about 45k last time I did check. I will also have a small Irish state pension (the level I have would be about 150/week) so I do think I'll be ok once I get to normal retirement age. As you say, it's the inbetween bit that needs to be covered. It's all still a bit intangible for me so I'm just trying to concentrate on saving. Goal for 2020 is to save all of my side income.

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1377 on: January 03, 2020, 10:33:05 AM »
01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)
01/03/20: $28,335.39 (-$1,708.46)


Net Worth per Personal Capital:

03/04/19: -$30,065
07/05/19: -$21,711 ($8,294)
08/10/19: -$18,173 ($3,538)
09/01/19: -$12,615 ($5,558)
10/02/19: -$10,089 ($2,526)
11/04/19: -$6,559 ($3,530)
12/08/19: -$1,673 ($4,886)
12/22/19: $237 ($1,910) (First day of having a positive net worth)
01/03/20: $1,447 (1,210)

First update of the year, within a few months I will be reaching another big milestone in paying my students loans down to 50% of the original amount. Life is sure to happen later this year effecting my net worth, but I'm excited to continue to grow stache. Happy New Year Everyone!

cari8285

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 209
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1378 on: January 03, 2020, 11:43:55 AM »
November 2019
Credit card: $521.24
Car loan: $7,868.05
401K: $604.75

Net worth: -7,784.54

December 2019
Credit card: $208.72
Car loan: $7,719.02
401K: $1,072.31

Net worth: -6855.43 (+929.11)

January 2020
Credit card: 0.00
Car loan: $7,567.96
401K: $1,411.37

Net worth: -6,156.59 (+698.84)

I'm planning on selling my car by the end of the month (hopefully) which will cut the car loan down by about half.

TyGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 359
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Oregon
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1379 on: January 03, 2020, 02:04:55 PM »
@cari8285 congrats on getting the credit card debt down to $0, that's a big first step!

Tass

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3153
  • Age: 30
  • Location: Crossing some mountains
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1380 on: January 05, 2020, 04:27:19 PM »
@cari8285 congrats on getting the credit card debt down to $0, that's a big first step!

Seconded, great progress Cari!

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5877
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1381 on: January 11, 2020, 04:15:06 AM »
You've got it @Rimu05 -- track your spending, and use your frugality muscles to avoid buying stuff.  Sounds like you're on the right track to examine your habits and where they lead you into trouble.  You can do it!
   

mactastic

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 11
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1382 on: January 14, 2020, 09:35:16 AM »
Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! I love how supportive this thread is :)

Sept 2019:
Starting Debt: $60,811.05   
Starting savings:  $46,123.39   
Where it stands: (-14,687.66)
Targeted student loan balance: $5463

January 2020:
Total debt: $54,424.86
Total savings: $51,759.52
Where it stands: (-2,665.24)
Targeted student loan balance: $4050

December was REALLY good to us - I got a decent bonus check, and my husband's overtime was insane. This is the first time ever we've been a household making six figures, and we're trying really hard to keep living at our old standard of living while we pay this debt off and save a decent downpayment for a house. Gonna shift priorities a bit over the next few months, as my parents have offered to sell us their car (90k fewer miles than my husband's current car) for about half of what it's worth. We'll be stockpiling cash to hopefully buy it outright this summer.

Keep fighting the good fight, everybody!

Rimu05

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 290
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1383 on: January 15, 2020, 12:19:35 PM »
I don't want to revisit old posts that I made here but going to start a fresh. Maybe one day I will link them but here we go. I am focusing on paying debt more than increasing my income.

Student loan - (26,503.71)
Car Loan - (1325.77)
Credit card debt - 1413.68


Savings - $50
Checking - $110
401K - 18, 323 (Or something like that)


Goals - Pay off car loan and credit card debt by April. Have a $2000 emergency fund by end of June.

I don't think it will be a good money year for me based on expenses I need to budget for
Insurance due in April - $600
New laptop as my nine year lap top has been acting up in terms of the track pad - (1,000)
Registration for CFA level 2 in june - I did not want to take it this year but ($1200 for materials and exam) If I pass my company reimburses which is good.
Lease ends in June - Need to look for another apartment.

I feel like I haven't made much of a dent in terms of debt payment. So focusing way more on that. I want my student loans gone!

Update soon after, but I normally update mid month.

Student loan - (26,503.71)
Credit card debt - 1000 (0% until 2020)


Savings - $400
Checking - $167
401K - 20530.55


Car loan is paid off and that was far more anticlimactic than I expected.

Truly the swahili saying that "Chovya Chovya humaliza buyu la asali" while used as  a word of caution actually works for debt. Paying little by little lessens the balance. Literal translation:constant dipping finishes the pot of honey.

Also a great proverb for wasteful spending too.

Paid of a bunch of things using credit card. Insurance, car expense, vacation and debt has climbed.

Student loan - ($26,281.19)
Credit card debt - 3000 (0% until 2020)


Savings - $1300
Checking - $447
401K - 20530.55


It feels like I haven't made any progress even though I have. Unfortunately, credit card is higher than I'd like it to be. My only saving grace was paying off my car earlier this year

Student loan - ($25,603.82)
Credit card debt - 5000 (0% until 2020)


Savings - $2600
Checking - $600
401K - 23,277.66.55


Total - (4,126.17)

I accidentally deleted my previous post... Oh well, update

Student loan - ($24,871.7)
Credit card debt - 5500


Savings - $900
Checking - $200
401K - 26,696.66.55
Roth IRA - 810


Total - (1,590)

dominikm

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 41
  • Age: 37
  • Location: From Australia, Resident of Bulgaria, Currently in Thailand
  • Live YOUR Life on YOUR Terms!
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1384 on: January 17, 2020, 03:12:52 AM »
Ok i'll bite. I knew about MMM for years and did nothing about it. When 2020 hit I realised I'm not 21 anymore and have almost no savings at 32 years old. So I started reading MMM and coming up with my plan.

I found the $2M to $4M thread and posted in there as I was so excited that people like that are on MMM. I thought it was all about people who wanted to save $500K and then live off $25K/year. So I was very wrong haha!

Anyhow. I posted my story on there about my road to $3M that I'm now starting. Got a bit of backlash as expected when posting about something like that with about $5K in the bank. But also encouragement. Someone recommended I take a look at this thread.

My full journal is here:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/dominik's-journey-to-$3mm-d/

It's super detailed about how I've done very well in the past. Traveled for years running an online business being in a new country and city each month. Sold over seven figures on Amazon with a business in the past. And done well with other stuff also. And the other side of things that were not so nice like the income dropping down a LOT and fast and getting sick for a long time. The issue for me has always been keeping the money. Not making it. That's why I'm at MMM to change my ways.

So this is the right place for me to mingle until I get to the $10K and move to the next challenge. It's really good to read others stories in here as I see what others post about. I reaslie now I've not added a few things in that I should be adding with some small debts.

Right now I have my living costs covered from my small online business that brings in about $3k/m. Where I live now I literally live off about $1,200. About $800 goes into my business to maintain the income. About $300 goes towards a side project to create a new income stream that is long term. So I've had about $1,000 spare to play with a month. When I had no plan that was just being blow on eating out or other expenses.

For example recently I had to renew my visa to live in Thailand and that was $2,000 for the year roughly. And I had to fly to Malaysia from Thailand to even be allowed to renew the visa. You have to leave and come back before you can apply again. So spent 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur in hotels and all the costs for that was $500 extra onto so $2,500 all up.

So something has 'always' come up. It seemed to be never ending month in month our. The bank balance staying the same. Now that's changed though and I'm saving. Dropping weight also and getting fit so no more food delivery from Uber Eats and other food deliver apps every night checking though cash. Shopping and cooking is much cheaper! Once a week I take a day off and eat what I want for the mental sainty side of things. So a bit more money spent on that day but a lot less vs eating out daily or multiple times a day.

I've also recently started a new small online business that's doing about $2K/m gross. My goal is to get it to $10K/m profit by mid year. That's my stepping stone to really kick-start things in 2020. That's really where my savings has come from these last few months as I didn't have much before. And I was slowly testing things so there was no need to reinvest it. A bit of a life saver really as I had no savings a while back.

My numbers as of Feb 1st as I have many business costs and money that will also come in over the next two weeks. It's just easier to figure it out for what will happen on the 1st of next month:

I'm from Australia originally but everything I earn and spend is in $USD.

Assets:
Cash - $5K
Super - $19.3K (Super or superannuation is the Australian word for 401k)

Debts:
Accountants - $310
Company Renewal - $425

The accountants charge me about $60/m and have been kind enough to let me pay down my balance every three months with about a $275 payment. It was originally about $1,000. And the company renewal is the same story. They were nice enough to let me do a renewal for the year and segment it.

So it's not much and I'll get it paid down. I'm dealing with good people so I don't have to do it right away. In a few months I'll get it paid off in full as I'd rather put cash into my new business that's moving fast.

I really shouldn't count the Super. I won't add it into future post as I'm 33 in about 6 weeks so I've got 32 years to go until I can access it at 65 or 25 years after I start FIRE as I plan to start FIRE at 40.

I've also got old taxes I've not filed that I need to get on top of. And who knows what that is going to be. It might even be something like $30K owed. When my cashflow situation is better and I can pay it down at say $5K/m without it impacting the growth of the businesses I'll get it sorted.

Luckily one is my final tax filing in Australia so there isn't much they will do trying to slap on fees as I know it won't be more than about $5K to $7K and I when I do file I should be able to pay it off right away in full. The others are from past years with LLC in USA and again, luckily, I don't pay tax in USA. It will be flow through tax to me in another country via a tax treaty so the accountant told me there shouldn't be penalties on that as it's literally just paper work in USA and the taxes are owned elsewhere.

Over the coming months if my numbers are right I should get to $8.2K by April 1st. Up from $5K but I'm going to stay at $5K instead. I'm going to up that $300 to $1000 starting in Feb for the small longer term business to really move it forward. And the other $1,800 I'll use to boost up the business I've started that's doing $2K/month gross as I have a serious goal with that to hit $10K/month net by mid year as that's my foundation to really move forward and fast.

So that's me! Wish me luck! I'll keep checking in and posting updates as they happen.

jdhansen

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 78
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1385 on: January 18, 2020, 11:29:56 AM »
Welcome aboard dominikm.  Sounds like you have a solid plan to move forward with.  Just be ready for the fun that life always throws at you and stick with the plan and you will make it.

January update.  We survived the car drama and then the flu.  We even made a little more progress on the Journey at the same time.  New pay raises kick in for me and DW starting next month so maybe we can get this process accelerated as well.  Either way, we should be back on track come February.

11/15/2019   $ -5671.56
12/18/2019   $ -4174.34
01/18/2020   $ -4162.83


dominikm

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 41
  • Age: 37
  • Location: From Australia, Resident of Bulgaria, Currently in Thailand
  • Live YOUR Life on YOUR Terms!
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1386 on: January 18, 2020, 08:04:21 PM »
Welcome aboard dominikm.  Sounds like you have a solid plan to move forward with.  Just be ready for the fun that life always throws at you and stick with the plan and you will make it.

January update.  We survived the car drama and then the flu.  We even made a little more progress on the Journey at the same time.  New pay raises kick in for me and DW starting next month so maybe we can get this process accelerated as well.  Either way, we should be back on track come February.

11/15/2019   $ -5671.56
12/18/2019   $ -4174.34
01/18/2020   $ -4162.83



Thanks! And I know that 'fun' all to well as we all do right! I'm so happy to be here now as I have a plan to stick to instead of just churning and burning cash as it comes in being an idiot haha.

Looks like you've had some good progress in the last few months yourself to. Happy days!

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1387 on: January 21, 2020, 01:12:49 AM »
BoI savings: 100.00
DiBa ETF: 1,932.66
CmzBank savings a/c: 4,600.00
Total:  +6,632.66

Net: +6,632.66

Finally got the bulk of the outstanding invoices from last year paid so once again I feel like I'm making progress. It is nice to get a boost from side income every once in a while - it goes so slowly when it's just my normal savings. Still hold tight to the fact that everything I save is better than spending, though.

BoI savings: 100.00
DiBa ETF: 2,051.52 (passed the 2,000 mark!)
CmzBank savings a/c: 5,000.00 (Somewhat arbitrary amount for emergency fund fully funded, woohoo!)
Total:  +7,151.52

Net: +7,1512.52

I will continue to use the EF account to save but everytime I get a certain amount, I will use it to invest. Have to figure out fees etc. - currently the only investing I do is via a savings plan so now is the time to figure out how the individual transactions side of things work. I think a lot of the cheaper/zero-fee/special offer options are for investing at least 1,000 at a time, so I have a bit of time before I need to actually do anything.

jeroly

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 604
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1388 on: January 23, 2020, 08:00:50 AM »
BoI savings: 100.00
DiBa ETF: 1,932.66
CmzBank savings a/c: 4,600.00
Total:  +6,632.66

Net: +6,632.66

Finally got the bulk of the outstanding invoices from last year paid so once again I feel like I'm making progress. It is nice to get a boost from side income every once in a while - it goes so slowly when it's just my normal savings. Still hold tight to the fact that everything I save is better than spending, though.

BoI savings: 100.00
DiBa ETF: 2,051.52 (passed the 2,000 mark!)
CmzBank savings a/c: 5,000.00 (Somewhat arbitrary amount for emergency fund fully funded, woohoo!)
Total:  +7,151.52

Net: +7,1512.52

I will continue to use the EF account to save but everytime I get a certain amount, I will use it to invest. Have to figure out fees etc. - currently the only investing I do is via a savings plan so now is the time to figure out how the individual transactions side of things work. I think a lot of the cheaper/zero-fee/special offer options are for investing at least 1,000 at a time, so I have a bit of time before I need to actually do anything.
Congrats, Moonwaves! That €10,000 station is coming into view.
You can look into no-load, low ER index mutual funds that might allow smaller increments than €1,000, and automatic transfers from your paycheck.  That would take a step out of your investment process.

paulkots

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 80
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1389 on: January 26, 2020, 07:23:32 AM »
12/17/19: $21,427.67
01/26/20:  $17,755.45

Moving in the right direction but taxes are coming up at the end of February, that may set me back significantly.

cazio

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 114
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1390 on: January 26, 2020, 03:02:56 PM »
10/2/18 - $(2742.60)
10/29/18 - $(1899.81)
11/25/18 - $(1660.04)
12/31/18 - $245
3/14/19 - $(5,212)
3/31/19 - $(882.10)
4/25/19 - $(16,545.33)
5/29/19 - $(14,275.68)
6/28/19 - $(13,578)
7/26/19 - $(12,692)
8/23/19 - $(11,219)
10/4/19 - $(12,227.77)
11/30/19 - $(15,648)
12/27/19 - $(12,288)
1/27/20 - $(17,036)

Stomped lol. Got hit with that dental bill, unemployed for January, but starting a new 5-week gig next week with a $800/mo raise. Made less than anticipated last year, but hopefully that means a significant tax refund to bump me back to where I need to be. Hoping like hell this is the tough part of the year. :/

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1391 on: January 30, 2020, 12:48:27 AM »
You can look into no-load, low ER index mutual funds that might allow smaller increments than €1,000, and automatic transfers from your paycheck.  That would take a step out of your investment process.
Yes, that's the savings plan I use at the moment, as it allows just €50 per month. To make a one-off purchase, even of the same ETF fund, a lot of them have seem to have a minimum of x amount. The bank I currently use does special offers a couple of times a year though, where you can buy with no-fee, and that usually has a €1,000 or €2,500 minimum. Since it would take me a while to save that much anyway, I'm going to use my savings account to accumulate that much and then when the special offers come up, I can take advantage.

In other news, I had forgotten that we were due a pay raise (3.2% of salary or min. €90/month, whichever is higher) from this month. So, I will have €53 extra per month to play with. For the first time ever, even before I have received that extra money for the first time, I have diverted it to investments. I set up a second ETF savings plan, but this time for bonds, rather than stocks. And I saw that my bank has started offering a rounding service and I activated that, too. For every card purchase, the amount rounding up to the nearest euro will be transferred to savings.

It feels a bit weird to have had an entire year without any major money emergencies or dramas or unexpectedness.

Dicey

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 22281
  • Age: 66
  • Location: NorCal
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1392 on: January 30, 2020, 04:47:34 AM »
You can look into no-load, low ER index mutual funds that might allow smaller increments than €1,000, and automatic transfers from your paycheck.  That would take a step out of your investment process.
Yes, that's the savings plan I use at the moment, as it allows just €50 per month. To make a one-off purchase, even of the same ETF fund, a lot of them have seem to have a minimum of x amount. The bank I currently use does special offers a couple of times a year though, where you can buy with no-fee, and that usually has a €1,000 or €2,500 minimum. Since it would take me a while to save that much anyway, I'm going to use my savings account to accumulate that much and then when the special offers come up, I can take advantage.

In other news, I had forgotten that we were due a pay raise (3.2% of salary or min. €90/month, whichever is higher) from this month. So, I will have €53 extra per month to play with. For the first time ever, even before I have received that extra money for the first time, I have diverted it to investments. I set up a second ETF savings plan, but this time for bonds, rather than stocks. And I saw that my bank has started offering a rounding service and I activated that, too. For every card purchase, the amount rounding up to the nearest euro will be transferred to savings.

It feels a bit weird to have had an entire year without any major money emergencies or dramas or unexpectedness.
Congratulations on your progress! Just popping in from the other side of the FIRE journey. One thing I regret in hindsight is being too conservative in the early accumulation years. Since your horizon is presumably long, you have lots of time for your investments to recover in case of a severe market downturn. I would seriously consider avoiding bonds just yet. Based on my own experience, I'd continue stuffing the ETF, because growth is what gets you there fastest.

When I was just starting out, I was afraid of losing a penny. Now, I understand that when the market dips, it's like my favorite store is having a sale. It's a chance to get more shares at a discounted price. Dips in the market are opportunities, not something to be feared. I wish I'd understood that then and been less fearful.

In 2008, I decided to really put the pedal to the metal and ratchet my savings up so I could GTFO. I saved until it hurt. I put everything into equities, even though the market wasn't doing so hot. As the stock market recovered, I was amazed at how much my 'stache ballooned! I still consider it my best financial move ever.

Just sharing things I wish someone had told me way back when. Best of luck to you In your journey to financial freedom!

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1393 on: January 30, 2020, 06:30:19 AM »
You can look into no-load, low ER index mutual funds that might allow smaller increments than €1,000, and automatic transfers from your paycheck.  That would take a step out of your investment process.
Yes, that's the savings plan I use at the moment, as it allows just €50 per month. To make a one-off purchase, even of the same ETF fund, a lot of them have seem to have a minimum of x amount. The bank I currently use does special offers a couple of times a year though, where you can buy with no-fee, and that usually has a €1,000 or €2,500 minimum. Since it would take me a while to save that much anyway, I'm going to use my savings account to accumulate that much and then when the special offers come up, I can take advantage.

In other news, I had forgotten that we were due a pay raise (3.2% of salary or min. €90/month, whichever is higher) from this month. So, I will have €53 extra per month to play with. For the first time ever, even before I have received that extra money for the first time, I have diverted it to investments. I set up a second ETF savings plan, but this time for bonds, rather than stocks. And I saw that my bank has started offering a rounding service and I activated that, too. For every card purchase, the amount rounding up to the nearest euro will be transferred to savings.

It feels a bit weird to have had an entire year without any major money emergencies or dramas or unexpectedness.
Congratulations on your progress! Just popping in from the other side of the FIRE journey. One thing I regret in hindsight is being too conservative in the early accumulation years. Since your horizon is presumably long, you have lots of time for your investments to recover in case of a severe market downturn. I would seriously consider avoiding bonds just yet. Based on my own experience, I'd continue stuffing the ETF, because growth is what gets you there fastest.

When I was just starting out, I was afraid of losing a penny. Now, I understand that when the market dips, it's like my favorite store is having a sale. It's a chance to get more shares at a discounted price. Dips in the market are opportunities, not something to be feared. I wish I'd understood that then and been less fearful.

In 2008, I decided to really put the pedal to the metal and ratchet my savings up so I could GTFO. I saved until it hurt. I put everything into equities, even though the market wasn't doing so hot. As the stock market recovered, I was amazed at how much my 'stache ballooned! I still consider it my best financial move ever.

Just sharing things I wish someone had told me way back when. Best of luck to you In your journey to financial freedom!
Well, I'm forty-five already, doesn't feel like any horizons are long anymore.
It's more of a psychological thing, I'm afraid. I just want to have a little bit of diversity. I'm thinking I'll probably stop the bonds savings plan after I have a bit saved and divert everything to the stocks then. I know it doesn't make sense from a mathematical point of view but that's where I'm at at the moment. Meet you back here in fifteen years so you can say "I told you so?" :-)

Ze Stash

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 68
  • Age: 31
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1394 on: February 01, 2020, 06:11:31 AM »
Hi all,

I'm a long time reader of the forum and had planned to track my progress in this thread upon starting to work in the summer of 2018 after graduating. I feel like the positivity and encouragement in this thread is really awesome and had anticipated that posting regularly would help me keep myself accountable.

It took a bit to get into the groove of things of working life and some personal stuff happened simultaneously as well, so I never got around to actually posting here and graduated from the thread without actually participating. :/ Before moving on to the race to 100k however, I thought it would still be nice to document my progress in 2019 here, so here goes:

Assets:
01/01/2019:   3.914,63 €
01/02/2019:   4.106,10 € (+   101,47 €)
01/03/2019:   4.359,75 € (+   343,65 €)
01/04/2019:   4.959,75 € (+   599,82 €)
01/05/2019:   6.669,92 € (+1.710,35 €)
01/06/2019:   7.451,88 € (+   781,96 €)
01/07/2019:   8.069,41 € (+   617,26 €)
01/08/2019:   8.949,17 € (+   880,03 €)
01/09/2019: 11.310,21 € (+2.361,04 €)
01/10/2019: 10.795,59 € (-    514,62 €)
01/11/2019: 11.426,98 € (+   631,39 €)
01/12/2019: 12.123,70 € (+   696,72 €)
01/01/2020: 12.979,27 € (+   855,57 €)
01/02/2020: 14.363,54 € (+1.384,27 €)

Debts:
01/01/2019: 4.024,10 €
01/02/2019: 3.746,69 € (-277,41 €)
01/03/2019: 3.469,28 € (-277,41 €)
01/04/2019: 3.191,87 € (-277,41 €)
01/05/2019: 2.914,46 € (-277,41 €)
01/06/2019: 2.637,05 € (-277,41 €)
01/07/2019: 2.109,64 € (-527,41 €)
01/08/2019: 1.832,23 € (-277,41 €)
01/09/2019: 1.454,82 € (-377,41 €)
01/10/2019: 1.077,41 € (-377,41 €)
01/11/2019:    700,00 € (-377,41 €)
01/12/2019:    350,00 € (-350,00 €)
01/01/2020:       0,00 €  (-350,00 €)
01/02/2020:       0,00 €  (+- 0,00 €)

Net worth:
01/01/2019: -    109,47 €
01/02/2019:      269,41 € (+   378,88 €)
01/03/2019:      890,47 € (+   621,06 €)
01/04/2019:   1.767,70 € (+   877,23 €)
01/05/2019:   3.755,46 € (+1.987,76 €)
01/06/2019:   4.814,83 € (+1.059,37 €)
01/07/2019:   5.959,50 € (+1.144,67 €)
01/08/2019:   7.116,94 € (+1.157,44 €)
01/09/2019:   9.855,39 € (+2.738,45 €)
01/10/2019:   9.718,18 € (-    137,21 €)
01/11/2019: 10.726,98 € (+1.008,80 €)
01/12/2019: 11.773,70 € (+1.046,72 €)
01/01/2020: 12.979,27 € (+1.205,57 €)
01/02/2020: 14.363,54 € (+1.384,27 €)

The debts were for a private no-interest loan of 4.500 € from my parents to buy my first car (used 2012 Honda Fit for 6.500 € in total) that still had a balance of 3.750 € in the beginning of 2019 and a consumer loan for a monitor. I normaly wouldn't finance electronics like that, but financing the monitor for 0 % came with a 50 € discount. The spike on the 1st of September was due to a large tax return in August and the lack of progress in September was due to an expected car repair bill of ~ 950 € and my phone dying at the same time.

Typing this all out really motivated me to keep going in 2020, see you all back in the race to 100k.

Gingersnaps

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 40
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1395 on: February 01, 2020, 03:12:58 PM »
Hi, my first post here! Opened our vanguard accounts this week so I'm keen to get to our first 10k invested. I'm not counting pension savings and cash for this.

So as of 1/2/2020 £3000 in vanguard, mainly from moving some cash savings.

Imma

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3193
  • Location: Europe
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1396 on: February 02, 2020, 03:21:11 PM »
You can look into no-load, low ER index mutual funds that might allow smaller increments than €1,000, and automatic transfers from your paycheck.  That would take a step out of your investment process.
Yes, that's the savings plan I use at the moment, as it allows just €50 per month. To make a one-off purchase, even of the same ETF fund, a lot of them have seem to have a minimum of x amount. The bank I currently use does special offers a couple of times a year though, where you can buy with no-fee, and that usually has a €1,000 or €2,500 minimum. Since it would take me a while to save that much anyway, I'm going to use my savings account to accumulate that much and then when the special offers come up, I can take advantage.

In other news, I had forgotten that we were due a pay raise (3.2% of salary or min. €90/month, whichever is higher) from this month. So, I will have €53 extra per month to play with. For the first time ever, even before I have received that extra money for the first time, I have diverted it to investments. I set up a second ETF savings plan, but this time for bonds, rather than stocks. And I saw that my bank has started offering a rounding service and I activated that, too. For every card purchase, the amount rounding up to the nearest euro will be transferred to savings.

It feels a bit weird to have had an entire year without any major money emergencies or dramas or unexpectedness.
Congratulations on your progress! Just popping in from the other side of the FIRE journey. One thing I regret in hindsight is being too conservative in the early accumulation years. Since your horizon is presumably long, you have lots of time for your investments to recover in case of a severe market downturn. I would seriously consider avoiding bonds just yet. Based on my own experience, I'd continue stuffing the ETF, because growth is what gets you there fastest.

When I was just starting out, I was afraid of losing a penny. Now, I understand that when the market dips, it's like my favorite store is having a sale. It's a chance to get more shares at a discounted price. Dips in the market are opportunities, not something to be feared. I wish I'd understood that then and been less fearful.

In 2008, I decided to really put the pedal to the metal and ratchet my savings up so I could GTFO. I saved until it hurt. I put everything into equities, even though the market wasn't doing so hot. As the stock market recovered, I was amazed at how much my 'stache ballooned! I still consider it my best financial move ever.

Just sharing things I wish someone had told me way back when. Best of luck to you In your journey to financial freedom!
Well, I'm forty-five already, doesn't feel like any horizons are long anymore.
It's more of a psychological thing, I'm afraid. I just want to have a little bit of diversity. I'm thinking I'll probably stop the bonds savings plan after I have a bit saved and divert everything to the stocks then. I know it doesn't make sense from a mathematical point of view but that's where I'm at at the moment. Meet you back here in fifteen years so you can say "I told you so?" :-)

I understand what you feel like. From your posts I get the impression that you are either single or in a relationship with separate finances. You're a bit older than me (I'll be 30 this year) but I have a health condition that will likely limit the amount of years I can keep working. I don't make tons of money. I don't have family with money that I can fall back on. I used to feel quite vulnerable for a long time and that is what drove me to save money (I'm a lifelong saver, even before I got to know MMM). I passed the 10k mark a year ago and hope to reach 20k in a year from now. I feel significantly less vulnerable than I did 5k ago. I think in a few years from now you will feel more secure and more able to take risks.I think not wanting to take risks when you still have a relatively low net worth is a sensible thing to do. For me, I have put away a set amount of money into risky investments for years and suddenly it has become quite a lot of money, but I've always put away small amounts of money (€100/month).

What has added to my personal feeling of security is home ownership but that's not something that works for everyone. We were able to buy a small property with a low mortgage payment (way cheaper than renting) and we had experienced terrible landlords. We wanted to know we had an affordable roof over our heads that we could afford in any doom scenario we could think of.

Trifle

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5877
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Outside, NC, US
    • In The Garden
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1397 on: February 03, 2020, 04:22:04 AM »
Hi, my first post here! Opened our vanguard accounts this week so I'm keen to get to our first 10k invested. I'm not counting pension savings and cash for this.

So as of 1/2/2020 £3000 in vanguard, mainly from moving some cash savings.

Welcome aboard @Gingersnaps!  This is one of the best threads on the whole forum.  In your other post I think you said you want to RE in 15 years?  You've probably read this classic post, the Shockingly Simple Math -- https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/ -- and know that with a ~55% savings rate that goal is within your grasp.  Ready, set, GO!   

Moonwaves

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1940
  • Location: Germany
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1398 on: February 03, 2020, 07:03:59 AM »
I understand what you feel like. From your posts I get the impression that you are either single or in a relationship with separate finances.
Yep, single unfortunately. Mind you, I am a fairly extremely introverted person and have lived on my own for so long now I think even if I met the man* of my dreams, we'd still have to live in separate houses. LOL

What has added to my personal feeling of security is home ownership but that's not something that works for everyone. We were able to buy a small property with a low mortgage payment (way cheaper than renting) and we had experienced terrible landlords. We wanted to know we had an affordable roof over our heads that we could afford in any doom scenario we could think of.
This is something that I have struggled with for a long time as it was always a huge security thing for me and it seems unlikely now that I'll ever manage to buy.

My parents used to rent out some houses, the plan was to have one for each of the children to either receive upon marriage or inherit. Unfortunately, after my mum died and my dad remarried, that plan seemed to fall by the wayside. I hadn't even realised how much I had internalised the security of having my dad as a "financial blankie" (not that we were very rich, but we were comfortable at a time of recession and lots of redundancies etc.) until after he died when I was in my early 20s. In the end, each of us kids got four thousand pounds each, and my stepmother inherited everything else (we didn't bother contesting the somewhat suspicious will because when all is said and done, it was only money). But I really struggled with that feeling of having no security, no family home to move back into if things ever went pear-shaped, etc. That was 1997, when house prices in Ireland first started going absolutely mad, too, so saving even enough for a deposit seemed totally out of reach. If only I had found (and believed!) MMM then, instead of going into credit card debt, I might have been able to buy a house that would now be worth five times what I paid. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

I still keep an eye out for opportunities to buy something small but it can be very expensive to buy in Germany, and I work in a typical university only-professors-can-afford-to-actually-buy-here kind of town. And live 10km away because even renting is very expensive. At least renter protections are relatively good here and there are some advantages to having a landlord when it comes to some maintenance stuff, too.




* Or woman or a non-binary option - I'm prettty open really but given my past, the chances of man being most applicable for me are very high. :-)


Edited to fix far too many typos - if there are any more, ye will just have to live with them.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2020, 07:12:12 AM by Moonwaves »

mckaylabaloney

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
  • Age: 35
Re: Saving to $10K
« Reply #1399 on: February 03, 2020, 08:59:25 AM »
1/1/2018: $(170,956.12)
2/1/2018: $(166,849.63)
3/1/2018: $(161,395.88)
4/1/2018: $(156,590.44)
5/1/2018: $(152,997.61)
6/1/2018: $(149,175.48)
7/1/2018: $(143,748.22)
8/1/2018: $(138,734.38)
9/1/2018: $(135,043.66)
10/1/2018: $(131,441.14)
11/1/2018: $(133,372.50)
12/1/2018: $(128,081.25)
1/1/2019: $(80,750.78)
2/1/2019: $(73,422.02)
3/1/2019: $(60,122.64)
4/1/2019: $(54,342.22)
5/1/2019: $(48,858.05)
6/1/2019: $(49,269.97)
7/1/2019: $(29,802.87)
8/1/2019: $(25,751.08)
...
1/1/2020: $(4,873.13)
2/1/2020: $(4,647.56)

A relatively stagnant month since I took a break to switch jobs and haven't gotten paid at the new one yet (plus the market's downturn in the last week or two).