I've been an MMM poster for a year now and I wanted to share my experience with anyone who's interested in this type of thing. This is a celebration of both my wake-up call and the support I've received from you all (especially the race to 10k thread).
A year ago I'd just got back from Vegas for my sisters wedding. In a place where money is thrown around like it means nothing, it couldn't have meant more to me. You see, I'd just returned my expensive, flashy car at work. I was paying over £500 per month to drive the thing. It went back the day before I'd left. I had a burning hole in my pocket. A new car meant a new insurance policy, a deposit. I knew my friends were speculating as to why I'd gone from a top spec Audi to a basic V/W without a bell or whistle in sight. I felt embarrassed.
Worse than this, I had no savings, no investments. I received my pay cheque and it would be gone, with nothing to show before the next. I wasn't necessarily stupid with money (other than the car, face punches are welcome on that one). I'd saved over £20k by the time I was 21. I'd invested it into a property with my childhood sweetheart. The equity we've built in the property in the past 2 and a half years was more than I earned in a year! But that doesn't help you when you have what seems like a mountain of debt snowballing in your bank account. No, I wasn't stupid, I just wanted to live like all my friends did, who earn good money but live at home with mum and dad. I had no other choice than to rack up a few thousand £'s worth of debt on my credit card. The 17.99% interest rate was nothing compared to the shame associated to asking my family for a loan.
I knew it was a ridiculous position to be in. I wasn't' earning bad money, my girlfriend had a brilliant job! The only thing preventing us from financial security was ourselves. I used excuses like 'well we had to go to Vegas, it was my sister's wedding!!' 'I have to stay at Caesar's so I'm around my family, the cheaper hotels are too far away!'. Another great one was 'Yeah the car is expensive, but when you're driving a 700 mile round trip for work it's important to be in something comfortable'. Myself and my S/O had serious arguments about money. I flat out refused to ask family for help. My pride wouldn't allow it. I clung on to a persona of a young man who'd done well for himself. I wanted people to perceive I was wealthy and doing better than my school friends. My favourite compliment was 'How on earth can you afford that car at your age'. The truth was that I couldn't.
I signed up to this forum and decided to make a change.
I started posting in the race to 10k thread. It seemed like a good place to start. My goal was to graduate by December 2018. I immediately cut back on some luxuries, we started buying own-brand foods, less nights out, no new clothes and we saw the benefits quite quickly. I was out of debt by December! I'd even found an old pension pot I'd contributed too whilst working a part time job when I was younger (see, I'm not that stupid with money). However the major issue was that I had no savings. I knew if SHTF I'd have to rack up credit card debt again and the cycle would re-start. A week before Christmas my girlfriend received a call, she'd been made redundant with no severance package. She loved the job, it felt like a real kick in the teeth and we'd been put on the back foot.
She immediately sought new work, but it took time. Over 4 months in total. She's a very strong person, but she'd had a bereavement just before Christmas as and combined with a medical issue she had a really tough start to 2018. Thankfully she'd managed to save a bit prior to being made redundant. My N/W stagnated. It's so frustrating to feel like you're living frugally, but not see the benefit. I just kept on telling myself that I'm in a better position than I would have been had I not started this.
I drifted behind my targets. The thought of graduating that 10k thread by December 2018 was fading, fast. We got to April and BANG, everything changed. My S/O received a job offer paying good money, the hard work I'd put in at work paid off and I got a pay rise + a new pension contribution scheme. My first thought was to get to 3 months worth of living expenses saved. I'd done that by June.
This past year my N/W has increased by £9,483. I have £0 owed on credit cards. My pension is 6 times the size it was this time last year. I've started a side hustle that's generated over £1k already. If SHTF today, I'd have over 6 months worth of money to live on.
I can't stress how different I feel today compared to last September. I truly know that driving a nice car and wearing nice clothes offers no form of happiness. It offers an ego boost that only the insecure rely on. I know most of the people reading this will look at my £8k N/W and laugh, some of you have probably earnt that in the last week alone, but that £8k was unimaginable a year ago. The support and focus I've received from this forum has been fundamental to reaching that. I can assure you all that I WILL hit £10k by December. From there, who knows.
That financial worry in September 2017 was worth every penny. It's led me here and from here I've learnt that I can buy happiness, just not in the same way that most people think.
Thank you so much.