Saving to $10K

[haypug16]

3/31/2017 (52,848.85)
4/30/2017 (48,076.67)
5/31/2017 (47,110.22)
6/30/2017 (46,540.28) +605.94
4 month average Net Worth increase = $1,577.14 (this makes me very happy)

Not bad considering all the expenses I had this month. Going in the right direction. Most of the increase is from reducing my credit card debt by $420. I hope everyone else had a good month and here's to an even better July!

[recklesslysober]

Quote from: recklesslysober on April 12, 2017, 11:08:10 AM

($110,100) - student debt
$15,100 -retirement
$4,700 - cash

= (90,300)

I think I forgot to post in May. Still steadily working away at the debt.

June

($106,300) - student debt
$16,700 -retirement
$3,000 - cash

= (86,600)

[Trifle]

($110,100) - student debt
$15,100 -retirement
$4,700 - cash

= (90,300)

I think I forgot to post in May. Still steadily working away at the debt.

June

($106,300) - student debt
$16,700 -retirement
$3,000 - cash

= (86,600)

Nice job!  Way to slug away at the student loans RS.  You'll be leaving six figures behind you soon!

[recklesslysober]

Nice job!  Way to slug away at the student loans RS.  You'll be leaving six figures behind you soon!

Thanks!!! I can't wait. At $105,700 today, getting a head start on July payments.

The plan is $99,900 on September 29 at the latest. ;)

[Bella78]

Joining in.  Currently working towards a positive net worth. 

Debts = (35,803.96)
Assets = 5412.64

Total = (30391.30)

[Trifle]

Welcome Bella78! 

There are lots of us that started way further in the negative.   You've totally got this!

[runbikerun]

I'm in, at least to make myself as accountable as possible for any shortfalls or slip-ups. Aiming to hit a €10k emergency fund to ensure I'm covered for six months' expenses if anything happens to my job.

Balance as of 1st July 2017: €3,540.
Target: saving €420 per month.
Target date for clearing the €10k figure: October 2018.

Any raises between now and then will be directed straight into the same place to speed up the process.

[Trifle]

Welcome, RunBikeRun!

[BeautifulDay]

I love looking at this thread.  You guys are killing it.  Getting over this first hurdle is the hardest part but you'll get there!

And Trifele, thanks for being the constant encourager on this and several of the other race threads. 

[DieHard_772]

AS of 6/2/17:

Money set aside for Self-Employment taxes: $1162 (Doesn't include nearly $1000 my wife also has set aside for it, which is reflected in "Savings" below)
Money in Bank Accts and Savings for spending : $4569
Savings:  $3348
My IRAs:  $7042
HSA: $1166
Wife IRA:   $1038
Money to be invested this month:  $516

TOTAL ASSETS: $18842

Current Liabilities
Credit card: $3365
Student loan: $4526

TOTAL LIABILITIES: $7892


CURRENT NETWORTH:  $10,950!

I'll enjoy it while we got it: this includes several thousand dollars that are going to go out this month for expenses, so the networth will soon shrink.
Yet it's nice to have passed the $10k networth for at least a little while... soon it will be permanent!

Oy, what a month.  I won't even go into it, I'm just glad to be done with it
Moving on...


Money set aside for Self-Employment taxes: $95
Money in Bank Accts and Savings for spending : $3948
Our Savings:  $2836
My IRAs:  $7284*
HSA: $1333
Wife IRA:   $1176
Money to be invested this month:  $129

*My IRAs are currently being transferred from Betterment to Vanguard, so I don't know the exact number.  Hopefully transfer will complete early next week.

TOTAL ASSETS: $16802

Current Liabilities
Credit card: $3262**
Student loan: $4480

**doesn't include about $160 I used a card to charge new glasses.  But that is 0% apr for 6 months and will be paid off.

TOTAL LIABILITIES: $7743


CURRENT NETWORTH:  $9059


This last month was definitely a chance to practice non-attachment.  Things really did not work out how I hoped, yet as they say,
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger... Onward and upward!

[DieHard_772]

I love looking at this thread.  You guys are killing it.  Getting over this first hurdle is the hardest part but you'll get there!

And Trifele, thanks for being the constant encourager on this and several of the other race threads.

I LOVE this thread... it is like my lifeblood, keeping me focused

[Slanhirn]

Hi - I'm in!

I'm aiming for £10K net worth which should happen hopefully towards spring 2018.

I started really focusing on my net worth last august when I started with -£13K (student loans were -£19K)!

June

Tracker funds = £8,558
Pension = £1,300
Emergency savings = £4,984

Assets = £14,842

Student loan = (£16,791) - interest at 1.25%
Other loan = (£1,228) - interest at 8.5%

Debts = -£17,719

NET WORTH = -£2,877


Hopefully pass the £0 net worth mark in September!

[Moonwaves]

Not sure how I missed this before, my eyes do tend to glaze over a bit when I see topics like race to 500k. This is much more my speed. And even then, it still feels ambitious.

After struggling for years and finally getting out of debt, I ended up back in debt after moving last year. I should be getting tax refunds for 2014 and 2015 soon (was not on top of this at all) and have just spent the entire weekend working on a big job for my side gig and between those two things my overdraft should be just about cleared. Then I owe my sister 3,000. But at the same time, I really badly need to get some savings in place so that I have at least a baby emergency fund. I started this in May when I set up a savings plan for my very first ETF. What I think I'll do is 1,000 for me, 1,000 for sis, 1,000 for me and so on. Or maybe once I have 1,000 for me, I'll just save to pay her back in full first. We'll see. It's very early days yet.

I have savings in a couple of different accounts. I also want to get back to saving at least some of my spare change in my sealed pot. That gets opened every year at the start of December and I buy myself something for my birthday. Won't include that here. :)

Savings on 4 July 2017
BoI savings a/c: 12.62
DiBa ETF: 144.75 (this is a savings plan that €50 goes into every month)
CmzBank savings a/c: 100.00
Total:  257.37

[DieHard_772]

Hi - I'm in!

I'm aiming for £10K net worth which should happen hopefully towards spring 2018.

I started really focusing on my net worth last august when I started with -£13K (student loans were -£19K)!

June

Tracker funds = £8,558
Pension = £1,300
Emergency savings = £4,984

Assets = £14,842

Student loan = (£16,791) - interest at 1.25%
Other loan = (£1,228) - interest at 8.5%

Debts = -£17,719

NET WORTH = -£2,877


Hopefully pass the £0 net worth mark in September!

Great progress, keep it up :)

[memorytoast]

Just wanted to say kudos to everyone here! Way to set goals and work hard to reach them. It's gonna feel so awesome when you're debt free with a nice safety net!

[DieHard_772]

Just wanted to say kudos to everyone here! Way to set goals and work hard to reach them. It's gonna feel so awesome when you're debt free with a nice safety net!

That's for dang sure

[LittleWanderer]

End of June update:

Emergency fund: $3619
401k: $1221
TOTAL: $4840

Little late checking in this month.  Another bad month, although my total still went up.  I guess that's something! 

[twistedfirestarter]

My first update, have been working in reducing our spending, fewer takeaways and less eating out. Have now increased payments into savings to 2k per month (~60%) and avoided spending this year's bonus putting it straight in here.

April £1250
(+1250)
May £2515
(+1250)
June £3841
(+1250 +1750)
July £6774 / $8705

Can't believe how well this is going. So glad I found MMM.

[fluffmuffin]

This is my first post ever! I've been reading MMM for a while but discovered the forums more recently, and want some accountability for my down payment fund. I'm very lucky to already have $12,000 from a one-time windfall, but sometimes I feel like that makes me lazier since I'm already (almost) halfway to the eventual goal of a $30k downpayment. I don't work as hard as I should on this and the money going into the house fund is always the first thing I cut from my budget if I over-spend somewhere else. That needs to change.

7/13/2017: $2,238.41

Goal for 8/31/2018: $10,000. I don't have as high of a salary as a lot of folks on here so that might be ambitious, but I've done the math and I have the $325 per paycheck I'd need to make it happen, as long as I stick to my budget and don't have any major unanticipated expenses.

[DieHard_772]

Getting to 10k total networth is moving along, meanwhile, as of today we officially have over $10k in combined investments in
our IRAs and HSA!

Yeah baby!

[twistedfirestarter]

Getting to 10k total networth is moving along, meanwhile, as of today we officially have over $10k in combined investments in
our IRAs and HSA!

Yeah baby!

Congratulations!

[Slanhirn]

Getting to 10k total networth is moving along, meanwhile, as of today we officially have over $10k in combined investments in
our IRAs and HSA!

Yeah baby!

Congratulations!

Congrats! Well on the way there!

[Trifle]

Getting to 10k total networth is moving along, meanwhile, as of today we officially have over $10k in combined investments in
our IRAs and HSA!

Yeah baby!

Congratulations!

Congrats! Well on the way there!

Great job DieHard!  And welcome Fluffmuffin -- Congrats on starting the journey.  You'll get there!

[DieHard_772]

Getting to 10k total networth is moving along, meanwhile, as of today we officially have over $10k in combined investments in
our IRAs and HSA!

Yeah baby!

Congratulations!

Congrats! Well on the way there!

Great job DieHard!  And welcome Fluffmuffin -- Congrats on starting the journey.  You'll get there!

Thanks All.

Let's do this!

[recklesslysober]

June

($106,300) - student debt
$16,700 -retirement
$3,000 - cash

= (86,600)

July

($103,700) - student debt
$17,500 -retirement
$2,300 - cash

= (83,900)

[mathstache]

roth 4800
checking 1000
savings 2000

total 7800. Looking forward to going over 10k next month - even if just for a few days before rent and other expenses come due... I taught summer school to boost the savings and now that that's over, I've picked up a tutoring gig to make this happen! Keep going everyone, I had a few months of no progress but I know it's turning around.

[JanetJackson]

I'm jumping in!
Assets:
Emergency fund + General savings = 4716
Vehicle Emergency Fund = 1183
Pet Emergency Fund = 523
Car Insurance collection (paid from yearly) = 297
Camper/Tiny home Savings = 1627
Consistent Checking Surplus for immediate emergencies = 200
IRA = 4.10 :/

TOTAL: 8550.10

*It also makes me feel better to list these assets:
Car value: ~5000
Value if I sold literally everything else I own: maybe 600?


Liabilities
Student Loan #1 = 11,000 at 1.9%
Student Loan #2 = 5,200 at 2.3%
TOTAL: 16200


Net worth: -7649.90
(gosh, almost makes me want to sell my car and walk the 30 miles to work....)

[runbikerun]

End-of-month update: up to 3,960. I've also managed to set aside 200 in a separate account to cover any unexpected expenses without dipping into the emergency fund, so current balance is 4,160.

[fluffmuffin]

Way to go, everyone! runbikerun, it feels so awesome to have some rainy-day money saved up--I remember the first time I had two large unexpected expenses in a row, and I realized I could just write a check for it. It was so empowering.

[mathstache]

roth: 5800
checking: 1720
savings: 2000
taxable investing: 500

total: 10,020

Made it. For a moment. Rent and bills will chip that away over the month, but by next month it should be more solidly above.

[JanetJackson]

Great job!!!

roth: 5800
checking: 1720
savings: 2000
taxable investing: 500

total: 10,020

Made it. For a moment. Rent and bills will chip that away over the month, but by next month it should be more solidly above.

[Slanhirn]

Net worth

July 2017 - (£2,877)
August 2017 - (£1,852)  = +£1,025 change in net worth!
Assets = £14,339
Debts = (£16,191) -> student loans

Onwards and upwards :)

[Moonwaves]

Not sure how I missed this before, my eyes do tend to glaze over a bit when I see topics like race to 500k. This is much more my speed. And even then, it still feels ambitious.

After struggling for years and finally getting out of debt, I ended up back in debt after moving last year. I should be getting tax refunds for 2014 and 2015 soon (was not on top of this at all) and have just spent the entire weekend working on a big job for my side gig and between those two things my overdraft should be just about cleared. 

Tax returns came in (although funnily enough even though I got the money for 2015, I didn't yet get the actual assessment notice) and there was only some temptation to start spending. I decided instead to just transfer the bulk of it immediately to my Irish account, figuring that if I actually needed it, I could just transfer money back later but at least the overdraft would be reduced in the meantime. Very happy to report that I've made it to the end of the month without that being necessary (I did keep a little bit extra to make my housekeeping for the last two weeks of the month less restrictive, €60 well used IMO). I have used my credit card to pay for a couple of things that have been on the list for a long time (table for balcony, soil and stones for pots on balcony, replacement toilet seat - all told just over €100) but as soon as that big invoice is paid (should be next week), I'll be able to clear the remainder of the overdraft and pay the credit card when it's due. It's hard to explain how transferring that money immediately made me feel. It was like a huge recognition of where I have gone wrong in the past, i.e. receive bulk payment of some kind, tax refund or bonus or something and use it to ease up a bit and spend a bit/a lot. This time I didn't do that, although the temptation was there. And as soon as I had transferred it, even though I still felt the temptation to spend, I was looking at my still-not-cleared overdraft thinking to myself, "even if I'd wanted to, I cannot afford to spend any extra".

I've noticed similar things a couple of times in the last few years, like feeling very uneasy around this time of year when my savings account goes down to almost nothing because most of my annual bills fall due. I feel good because the money is there to pay them but very uneasy that there's little or no buffer left. It is a very slow process but I do notice a definite shift in perspective. Lots of times in the past I might have cleared half my overdraft and spent the rest of the money and felt good about reducing the overdraft by half. Now, I paid off more than two-thirds of the overdraft and still feel more of a "really need to get this overdraft cleared" than "I've paid a huge chunk off, I can relax now for a while". Sorry for rambling but whenever I notice this change it doesn't exactly feel comfortable or good, but there's a bit of a sense of wonder at just how different my perspective is.

So, savings as at 31 July 2017 (minimal changes this month)
BoI savings a/c: 12.62
DiBa ETF: 191.78
CmzBank savings a/c: 100.00
Total:  304.40

[Trifle]

Nice job Slanhirn!  You're getting there!

How did everyone else do in July?   Hopefully some nice progress.  And August is a brand new month for us to feed our 'staches.  Onward!

[haypug16]

3/31/2017 (52,848.85)
4/30/2017 (48,076.67)
5/31/2017 (47,110.22)
6/30/2017 (46,540.28)
7/31/2017 (44,354.10) +2,186.18
5 month average Net Worth increase = $1,698.95

July was a good month. I still had to pay the other half of my crown but I started working part-time and got my first check yesterday and was able to throw all of that at my Credit Card debt. :) I'll have this extra cash for part of August and all of September. Then on September 30th I leave my current full time job and my current part-time job becomes full-time. When this happens I'll get a bonus for staying at my current full-time job (plus vacation pay out) all totaled up less taxes I hope to have an extra $10K all of which will go towards Credit Card debt. This should bring my net zero date up to January 2019 and my $10K net-worth date up to May/June 2019. I even have a potential opportunity to continue part-time at my current full-time job so I may have some extra money rolling in after Sept 30th as well.

[marielle]

I'm almost worthless!

Net worth down to about -2,700 right now.

Was at -26,700 Aug 2016.

Not doing as well as some of you, but I have no 401k right now, so my after tax income is only about $45k. Around $48k in the past year because of the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Definitely could have saved more if I didn't move 3 times in one year and have a crazy long commute for a while.

[LittleWanderer]

July went pretty well for me, with August being scheduled to be even better.  It's a three paycheck month for me, which means extra savings since I operate on a two paycheck/monthly budget.  Next month I will be back to the richest I have ever been.  :)

End of July update:

Emergency fund: $4541
401k: $1764
TOTAL: $6305

[Imma]

I' d like to join!

I get paid montly at the last day of the month, so today was pay day! I earn €1093 / month and did some overtime so I made €1144 this month. Overtime goes straight to the savings account. I also automatically transfer €125 to my investments account every pay day.

Savings:
June 30: €2000
July 31: €2400

Investments:
June 30: €1860,37
July 31:  €1985.37

Total:
June 30: € 3860.37
July 31:  €4385.37

Upcoming bills: €325 in taxes.

[Trifle]

Welcome Imma!  Great to see folks from all over the world on the thread.

[Jim Fiction]

Some really inspiring stuff in this thread! Might as well join in the fun myself.

Looking to get my net worth to 10K by the end of the year. The items below include only my accounts and does not include my wife's (she's in a lot better shape financially than I am.)

Current:

Bank Accounts: $6,186
HSA: $3,956
Roth 401K: $16,146
TOTAL ASSETS: $26,288

Student Loans: $(23,427)
Credit Cards: $(92)
TOTAL DEBT: $(23,519)

NET WORTH: $2,769

I started 2017 at $(8,578) so it has been a nice turnaround, overall. I haven't been as mustachian as I would have liked, and there were some pricey car repairs and some unexpected health expenses, but I am still happy with my progress.

[Bella78]

Joining in.  Currently working towards a positive net worth. 

Debts = (35,803.96)
Assets = 5412.64

Total = (30391.30)

July update

Debts = (35297.53)
Assets = 5564.80

Total = (29732.73) +658.57

[fluffmuffin]

I originally thought I'd update once a month, but I'm going to start updating after every paycheck for some extra accountability. That will also be nice and unpredictable for everyone, since my HR department set our pay dates by getting a drunk monkey to throw darts at a calendar.

7/13/2017: $2,238.41
8/1/2017: $2,771.40

I'm not quite hitting my $325 benchmark yet, but should be in my next paycheck since my contract at my fancy gym is expiring this month. I also need to top a couple of personal slush funds back up, but once those are done (should be by the end of September?) I'll roll that extra money over to the house fund to make up the difference.

August is a tough month for me since everyone in my family has a birthday: mom, dad, grandparents, and SO. I'll get a nice card for mom and the grandparents, and a bottle of wine (or other fancy consumable) for my dad; I already bought my SO's gift, but will also need to float some celebratory beers/treats this weekend. In some ways it's nice because I only have to think about birthdays once a year. In other ways I feel like I lose a whole month racing around the state lighting money on fire.

[Imma]

Welcome Imma!  Great to see folks from all over the world on the thread.

Thanks! I'm also happy to meet some mustachians that aren't wealthy (yet!). Sometimes it feels like everyone on here has a high income and lots of money. It's more motivating to join a group of people in a similar situation.

[JanetJackson]

I haven't updated my own personal stuff on here in a while, but just wanted to say that everyone on this thread is killin' it.  It's hard to save this much on a tighter income, and with multiple life factors, and I am heckin proud to be a part of this thread. 
I'll double check today and update later this week for my own accountability, but I think I am at around $9300, but a lot of it is assigned savings. 

[fluffmuffin]

Welcome Imma!  Great to see folks from all over the world on the thread.

Thanks! I'm also happy to meet some mustachians that aren't wealthy (yet!). Sometimes it feels like everyone on here has a high income and lots of money. It's more motivating to join a group of people in a similar situation.

Totally agree, Imma! I am very fortunate to make solid money now (~$45k, with a combined household income of ~$88k although we keep finances mostly separate), but I started out at $20k/year and made less than that for two years in grad school. I'll admit that I get a little eyeroll-y at people sometimes--like, OMG, congratulations on saving 70% of the $250,000 you make every year! It must take so much self-sacrifice to survive on $20k/year more than my total salary! Not that I'm not supportive of people in that boat making the right decisions for their individual circumstances, that's awesome for them, it's just SUCH a different calculus.

But regardless of your income level, being frugal, taking the long view, maximizing opportunities when they come your way, and having some luck can help anyone at any income level make progress towards FI. When I was netting $1,462/month, I did my best to save $125 every month in a Roth IRA, and saved up to an emergency fund of around $2,000. When I ended that job, the Roth was worth $2,700; I kept chipping in as best as I could in grad school, worked for another year at $30k, and it's now worth over $8,000. That $2,000 emergency fund kept me from ever having to go into credit card debt. I'm also very privileged and fortunate to have avoided any health problems or unemployment; to have a parent who modeled frugality and who I could always talk to about money; and to have received the $12,000 windfall I mentioned in my OP. My NW is about $44k, which is just absolutely mind-boggling to me compared to where I was when I graduated from college in 2010. So no matter where you're starting from, no matter what your income is, you do have the power to help yourself towards financial security.

And I also know, which I think is just as valuable for my peace of mind, that I can survive making $20,000 per year if I ever had to again.

[Imma]

Welcome Imma!  Great to see folks from all over the world on the thread.

Thanks! I'm also happy to meet some mustachians that aren't wealthy (yet!). Sometimes it feels like everyone on here has a high income and lots of money. It's more motivating to join a group of people in a similar situation.

But regardless of your income level, being frugal, taking the long view, maximizing opportunities when they come your way, and having some luck can help anyone at any income level make progress towards FI. When I was netting $1,462/month, I did my best to save $125 every month in a Roth IRA, and saved up to an emergency fund of around $2,000. When I ended that job, the Roth was worth $2,700; I kept chipping in as best as I could in grad school, worked for another year at $30k, and it's now worth over $8,000. That $2,000 emergency fund kept me from ever having to go into credit card debt.

And I also know, which I think is just as valuable for my peace of mind, that I can survive making $20,000 per year if I ever had to again.

That sounds like the exact same place I'm in right now. And I hope to be in your place in some time :) . I make the equivalent of about $20.000/year, my s/o makes slightly less, but we keep things separate. I put away the same amount of money in my investments and my emergency fund is also about $2000. We do have a little bit of equity in our home too, but as the market has been very volatile in here, I'm not counting on that.

We're 27/30 now and we lived off about half of this when we were in our early/mid-20's and we always had food on the table and a roof over our heads and a small emergency fund. It wasn't ideal and I did feel 'poor' then, but we made it. I'll always have that sense of accomplishment that we made it then and we could do it again if need be. My grandma, who helped raise me, lived through the Depression and taught me some tricks or two growing up and many of these things have become ingrained habits. I could never throw away stale bread or leftover rice even if I was a millionaire tomorrow. Frugality comes naturally to me.

[runbikerun]

I'm in, at least to make myself as accountable as possible for any shortfalls or slip-ups. Aiming to hit a €10k emergency fund to ensure I'm covered for six months' expenses if anything happens to my job.

Balance as of 1st July 2017: €3,540.
Target: saving €420 per month.
Target date for clearing the €10k figure: October 2018.

Any raises between now and then will be directed straight into the same place to speed up the process.

As of the end of July, my emergency fund is at 4,960. I've also managed to set aside 200 in the last two months to start building a fund that will take care of replacing laptops, phones, bike tyres and the like when the costs eventually come around. My phone's quite new, but the laptop has been going for four years now, and I'm about to become an evening student again so it's quite possible I'll have to get one soon enough. Total funds: 5,160.

[fluffmuffin]

Way to make it over the 5,000 hump, runbikerun!

[Tasse]

This seems as good a place as any to start out! I just reached my $5k goal in my emergency fund yesterday so I'm riding high.

Emergency fund: $5,000.00
Roth IRA: 3267.05
Misc. cash: $562.51

"Student" debt: (2647.11) at generous 0% interest from beloved lenders who won't let me pay it off too fast

Net worth: $6182.45

I've been getting too comfy with Mint's version that includes my 16yo car and doesn't know about the debt, so that's a nice wakeup call - I'm not at 10k yet! But now that I've rounded out my emergency fund I can start following through faster on the debt. Glad to be among others still working toward 5 figures.

[Imma]

Congratulations on getting to $5000, runbikerun and Tess! I hope to join you in a couple of months.