Millennial Mustaches Out There?

[NICE!]

If you gave me $10m to come in naked on a wrecking ball I would do it, take the cash and promptly go back to being "normal".

Miley has a choice, she can leave anytime. She chooses not to. I don't think she's "wrecked" or dumb/being taken advantage of/drug addled a la Macauley Culkin and other fallen child stars. I think she knows exactly what she's doing and is maximising the profit from her fame. The fact that an entire industry leeches off her is a negative consequence/cost of doing business, but underneath it all she appears to be doing what she wants to do in life.

We may think it's ridiculous, but at the end of the day, she's the FI multi-squillionaire.

I agree to a certain extent, but I know full well that if I had that kind of money I'd completely change. I'm 100% human and I'd fall into all of the traps that she falls into - blow, women, expensive cars, ridiculous houses, private jets, being an idiot, wasting money on other stupid stuff, etc.

Like a previous poster said, I'm happy that I'm normal and don't have that fame/money, because it would change me. I'd like to think it wouldn't, but I wouldn't bet any money on that.

[NICE!]

You don't get paid money for being smart.

Yep yep! Of course there are exceptions, but raw intelligence doesn't equal cash.

[Auldtriangle8]

I'm 27, wife is 26, no kids and we both have always been frugal. I rode my bike to work before reading MMM but changed a lot of other habits after reading. It's also very refreshing to see so many young people on this thread! I'm an electrical engineer and I found MMM through Google searches about Roth vs Trad IRA, which led to Madfientist and I then listened to his MMM podcast.

I've always saved mainly for travel but after reading MMM I save about 60% of income and use about 5% on travel each year now. Just cracked $100k the other day but hopefully the next $100k will happen much quicker than the previous!

[slschierer]

29F Married with 2 children (3yr and 2 yr).  Hubby is 30.

I came across MMM through a handful of articles on Yahoo.  I know I found his website two or three times before I actually took to the idea.  After that, I read all of his posts and have made numerous changes!

I have always been a "rainy day" saver who could not stand taking funds out of those savings, but I was not mustachian.  My parents were split down the middle:  my father has always been a saver while my mother was a spendthrift who is now as of the last year, a follower and even teacher of Dave Ramsey's program. As a result of growing up in a very financially divided home, I have a love-hate relationship with budgets.

My  husband and I have made huge strides in the past 6 months:  sold our fully loaded Yukon to purchase a more economical Honda Accord, increased our savings percentages to our 401k accounts, set up IRAs, and he started a job today that is just 2 miles from our home as opposed to the 66 mile round trip commute he was making.  Our savings rate is now about 40%.

We should have our mortgage and student loans paid off in the next 6 years.  At that point, the children will be out of daycare.  My goal is to reach FI within 12 years.  Some days, I think we can do it in a lot less; other days, I can't imagine ever getting there!

[FIreDrill]

I'm 24, Wife is 21.  Current net worth of 124K and our only debt is a mortgage. I have been with my company about 4 years and am currently finishing up a bachelors degree.

How did you find out about MMM?

I got started following Dave Ramsey several years ago and started paying off my debt.  Although, I never agreed completely with Dave's plan.  I started hanging out on his forum and someone over there mentioned MMM.  I popped over to the MMM blog and was instantly hooked.  At the time I was more interested in the investing side of finances and had just finished reading several investing books.  I loved the whole Idea of FIRE because I always wanted to be my own boss and have a significant amount of free time just to enjoy my life.

Were you always Mustachian?

Hahahaha, no!  I was sick of not knowing where my money was going and wondering what happened to it.  About 3 years ago I started focusing on paying off debt and quickly started looking into investing after that was done. I found MMM a little over a year ago and have been working on increasing our savings rate ever sense.  We are slowly becoming more and more efficient with our finances.  There is always room to improve though!

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?

Last year we were able to meet our savings rate goal of 50% and this year we are bumping that goal up to 60%.  With our current income this will be enough to max out 2 401k's and 2 TIRA's (about 54k after matches).  We should have a little left over to pay down our mortgage.  Our stretch goal is to knock PMI off of our Mortgage which costs us about 62 bucks a month.  In order to do that we will need to throw about 20k towards the mortgage this year (maybe will get some big bonuses?).

[GuitarBrian]

I am happily surprised by this community. So many people waste the amazing opportunity to stash at an early age. You read so much about millennials being significantly underemployed/unemployed... Nice to see all the responses to this thread.


I am 26. Single. Current Net Worth of ~270k. No debt. Self Employed.

How did you find out about MMM?

Random Google search about rental properties and rental returns, January 2015.

Were you always Mustachian?

Hmm... interesting question. I don't really consider myself to be super conservative. But, I have always been a saver. And I have benefited from some lucky investments. I am going to see where I can trim and add savings this year.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?

I didn't have a goal for 2014 (I paid off my second rental in 2013). Nor do I really have a goal for 2015. My long term goal is to buy another rental property. I am about 1/2 way there now.

Since I found MMM I am now looking through my statements and trying to see what I have been spending over the last few months of 2014... trying to get an average so I can project some for this year. I am thinking of doing a journal post, but have to get the numbers together. My spending is all over the place, from just a couple hundred a month to over 6k. Just depends on what I am doing.

[Secretly Saving]

On the older side of the millennials.  Hit the feel-good $1M net about a month ago. 

How did you find out about MMM?
I read everything I can get my hands on.  Somewhere along the way I got here. Lurked for quite a while.

Were you always Mustachian?
Yes.  Always.   The book that really got things started for me was The Two Income Trap.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?
- Continuing to fully fund our retirement accounts
- Adding to our stash of rental properties and other less commonly used investments.
- Teach our children about saving and the miracle of compounding!
- FIRE at a young age to enjoy life. 

[Dr. Pepper]

30 yo, wife is 31 yo. We have a net worth combined of 65k, we have 2 kids. I'm in my last 2yr of a surgical residency, living in a high cost of living area. Wife is also a professional, but done with training. We will be moving in 2.5yr, my income should go up by 30-40% or so.

How did you find out about MMM?
Found site through Google, after I got sick of my paycheck evaporating every month.

Were you always Mustachian?
In some ways yes, picked up cans to sell when I was a kid, saved up about 10k before leaving high school. Always fixed my own stuff, taught myself car repair, building computers, investing etc. However going through professional school/residency I kind of lost my way so to speak, working 100hr/week I basically didn't care when it came to spending money, I used up all my willpower focusing on things other then monetary.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?
-Pay off all debt (cars 40k, currently paying min only), (wife's student loans 50k, wife has been paying 4-5k a month towards this for the last 1.5yrs).
-Save up down payment for home before graduation (2.5yrs)
-Start saving for retirement, aggressively, (we only have 50k in a roth so far).
-Hit 1M in net worth within 10yrs.

[Better Change]

Couple of DINKS, 30 years old.  Net worth is a few ticks over $800k.

How did you find out about MMM?
My husband found the site after googling, "what am I doing with my life?"  His existential crisis was rather fortuitous, I should say!

Were you always Mustachian?
Mostly, yes.  We both rode our bikes all throughout grad school, saved way over 50% of our piddly grad student stipends, cooked at home, etc.  I started investing the leftovers from said stipend in 2009.  My husband has been frugal...bordering on cheap...most of his life.  ;)  But we missed out on a few years of greater investment gains, and we've only recently realized that we need to actually MAX OUT all those tax-deferred contributions.  Whoops.

We're right on MMM's financial trajectory (by age), and we've only been serious about his approach for less than a year.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?
Continuing to live on less than one salary (60% savings rate).
FI by 35, and RE not long thereafter.

[druth]

24f, about 0 networth, 10k savings and 10k of student loan debt.

How did you find out about MMM?
Don't really remember.  I research everything I do very thoroughly, probably while looking into retirement research.

Were you always Mustachian?
I grew up in a single parent home.  My mom was an electrician who probably made more alone than most of my friends 2 parent homes, so we were always doing pretty well.  Lived in a small house within our means in an acceptable but not extravagant neighborhood.  I didn't know that ordering food to your house was a thing people did until pretty recently(I knew it was an option, but I thought it was only for parties and events, I didn't know people did it casually).  So I would say the foundations were there.  Even with that during the recession my mom was out of work for almost 4 years(union doesn't let her do freelance work, she just has to wait for her turn for a job), lost the house after 2 years.  It occurs to me that

1. 2 years is way longer than most people would have made it.  Many people can't pay their next mortgage payment if they lose their jobs, let alone 2 years of them.

2.  It was still way less than it could have been.

Not long into college I realized that I don't want to be a cube slave, I'm much more well suited to doing odd jobs mostly in teaching/art/music, but those don't pay well.  Mustachianism is how I'm going to 'retire' to do what I want and also have permanent job security.


What are your savings/debt elimination goals?

I have 10k in student loans, I'm paying somewhat ahead of schedule, but they are at 3.4% so I'm not in a rush, boyfriend has 100+k(!) in loans that he is trying to get rid of.  Our combined income is 130k so this is surmountable but I hate looking at that number.

Our goal for money going towards savings or paying loans off is about 80k - first goal is getting a house(buying less than 200k, so do-able in less than a year), then paying off his high interest loans, then paying off the smaller low interest ones.  Long term is to 'retire' at 32.

[arebelspy]

How did you find out about MMM?
My husband found the site after googling, "what am I doing with my life?"  His existential crisis was rather fortuitous, I should say!

He must have dug pretty deep; I don't see anything about MMM on the first two pages of Google results (though in one of the links I suppose someone could have linked to MMM - but I did check the one reddit thread and no reference to him).

[Better Change]

Eh, the 5th link down is a blog about minimalism.  There's a discussion in there about how your job shouldn't define who you are.  I imagine he clicked through a couple of pages and then stumbled upon MMM.

[arebelspy]

Eh, the 5th link down is a blog about minimalism.  There's a discussion in there about how your job shouldn't define who you are.  I imagine he clicked through a couple of pages and then stumbled upon MMM.

Gotcha.  Well quite fortuitous, as you say.  :)

[Marian]

25, always thought I was pretty good and responsible with money.  I never bought big TVs or flashy cars or anything like that.

Except overdrawing every paycheck and having credit card and car loan debt is not exactly sound money management!

I've recently had a good (figurative) slap in the face, and am taking steps in the right direction.  I have the YNAB budget, which has already helped immensely, and hope to be debt free by May this year :)

[celticmyst08]

24 here... when I was 18 my parents made me watch Dave Ramsey's financial seminar, which got me thinking about my money/retirement at an early age. My family was also pretty frugal growing up so I already had a good foundation.

I opened a 401k at 22 after I became eligible at my job (had to be there 6 months). Looking back I wish I'd saved more, because I still spent a lot unnecessarily on clothes, eating out, etc... but eh. I now have about $11k in my retirement accounts and $10k in emergency fund / general savings (mainly for tuition since I'm about to go back to school). Pretty puny compared to a lot of you guys, but then again, I pride myself in the fact that I started out making $20k/year and was still able to save for retirement.

I discovered MMM and the concept of early retirement about a year ago. I was hooked. I had considered myself pretty good with money since I didn't have a car payment, or expensive jewelry, or whatever, but I was still living close to paycheck to paycheck and not saving as much as I should have been.

I recently got married; my husband is 31. He opened a Roth IRA after we started dating because I made him see the light. I think he has about $8k in it now. He wasn't horrible with money in his 20s, but he was never educated about finances either. He was responsible and didn't have any debt other than small student loans, but he could have been doing so much better. Oh well - better to start now than never!

We started using YNAB a few months ago and it's been really helpful, although it's taken awhile for me to get the hang of how it works. We are on track to easily max out our IRAs, contribute a good chunk to my 401k, pay for my ~$15k/year tuition, save up for a car replacement, etc. Current goal is to get me through school without taking any loans, as well as find a better job for the husband. (Only making $60k as a web developer in Seattle, and the job has no benefits. No bueno.) Eventually we'd like to buy a house but that's not on the table right now.

[johnny847]

24 here... when I was 18 my parents made me watch Dave Ramsey's financial seminar, which got me thinking about my money/retirement at an early age. My family was also pretty frugal growing up so I already had a good foundation.

I opened a 401k at 22 after I became eligible at my job (had to be there 6 months). Looking back I wish I'd saved more, because I still spent a lot unnecessarily on clothes, eating out, etc... but eh. I now have about $11k in my retirement accounts and $10k in emergency fund / general savings (mainly for tuition since I'm about to go back to school). Pretty puny compared to a lot of you guys, but then again, I pride myself in the fact that I started out making $20k/year and was still able to save for retirement.

I discovered MMM and the concept of early retirement about a year ago. I was hooked. I had considered myself pretty good with money since I didn't have a car payment, or expensive jewelry, or whatever, but I was still living close to paycheck to paycheck and not saving as much as I should have been.

I recently got married; my husband is 31. He opened a Roth IRA after we started dating because I made him see the light. I think he has about $8k in it now. He wasn't horrible with money in his 20s, but he was never educated about finances either. He was responsible and didn't have any debt other than small student loans, but he could have been doing so much better. Oh well - better to start now than never!

We started using YNAB a few months ago and it's been really helpful, although it's taken awhile for me to get the hang of how it works. We are on track to easily max out our IRAs, contribute a good chunk to my 401k, pay for my ~$15k/year tuition, save up for a car replacement, etc. Current goal is to get me through school without taking any loans, as well as find a better job for the husband. (Only making $60k as a web developer in Seattle, and the job has no benefits. No bueno.) Eventually we'd like to buy a house but that's not on the table right now.

Considering you started making $20k/yr, that's a significant accomplishment!

[celticmyst08]

Considering you started making $20k/yr, that's a significant accomplishment!

Thanks! I'm so grateful to my parents for giving me the good foundation. I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without their support and guidance.

[Kaydedid]

27 here, husband just turned 30.  We were always pretty frugal.  However, we had bought into the mindset that stuff makes you happy and fixes your problems. MMM has been incredible for opening up our eyes to the rampant materialism we were buying into.  Now, instead of fixating on organizing or buying things, we focus on getting rid of things we don't need and truly enjoying our lives.  Our only debt is ~30k on a mortgage, and net worth is ~100k.

Mustachianism has also helped us avoid potential financial catastrophe.  Our son, has been diagnosed with a birth defect that causes life-long disability.  We'll be paying over 10% of our gross income on medical expenses every year (expected to rise while wages stay the same), and I'll be out of the workforce for at least 4-5 years.  Thanks to Mustachianism and major reductions in spending over the last year, we can afford this.  We'll even be able to keep our mortgage pay-off on track, although our FIRE date has been postponed.

[MsFrugalista]

Two 32 year olds + One infant + Two dogs.  Current net worth ~$750k.

How did you find out about MMM?
My partner found the site some how. He would send me blog posts, forum threads, etc. once in awhile. I was a lurker for some time and then decided to join the forums and participate!

Were you always Mustachian?
Mostly, yes.  I was always a saver (learned from my parents), but still consumed a lot (by mustachian standards). My partner was always very good at keeping expenses low and aligning his spending with his values. These two combined made it perfect for us to start the journey towards financial independence and early retirement. Although we sometimes have expensive taste, overall we try to keep our consumption to a minimum and seek value for our dollar.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?
- FIRE by 35 (Goal is Q1 2017)
- We have a home with a mortgage which we would like to either have paid off by the time we FIRE (or shortly thereafter) or sell the home and move to a lower COL area with much lower housing expenses - we are not necessarily tied to owning a home once we FIRE.

[DenverKat]

Hey everyone!  I'm 27 and my fiance is 29.  I graduated college in 2008 (with no loans!) and I'll be finishing up my MSW in June (with lots of loans!), and my fiance graduated with his master's in 2013.  Together we have about $129k in student debt...which makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff.  We've never been big spenders but we were both brought up in traditional sucka consumer households, and thought student debt was just the norm (to be fair, we both have human-service oriented careers, so...that makes it better?). 

I found MMM through the NYTimes article last year, and fell in love - we're trying to reduce our spending, reduce our waste, eschew "convenience," be more earth-friendly (I've been veg for 16 years, and we've stopped buying products tested on animals), etc etc.  We both fall into temptation from time to time (for instance, we LOVE beer) but we want to eliminate our student debt ASAP.  Accountability and support would be AWESOME!

[jordanread]

Hey everyone!  I'm 27 and my fiance is 29.  I graduated college in 2008 (with no loans!) and I'll be finishing up my MSW in June (with lots of loans!), and my fiance graduated with his master's in 2013.  Together we have about $129k in student debt...which makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff.  We've never been big spenders but we were both brought up in traditional sucka consumer households, and thought student debt was just the norm (to be fair, we both have human-service oriented careers, so...that makes it better?). 

I found MMM through the NYTimes article last year, and fell in love - we're trying to reduce our spending, reduce our waste, eschew "convenience," be more earth-friendly (I've been veg for 16 years, and we've stopped buying products tested on animals), etc etc.  We both fall into temptation from time to time (for instance, we LOVE beer) but we want to eliminate our student debt ASAP.  Accountability and support would be AWESOME!

Are you actually in CO? Another one!!! Yay! Check out the Colorado meetup thread.

[Chuck]

26M Ashburn, VA (DC Suburb)


How did you find out about MMM?

I found it by randomly clicking around. I had a scare a few years ago where losing my first big job out of the military caused me to reevaluate my spending habits. I ended up with excess income, which got me started on investing. While reading up on index fund investing I found MMM.

Were you always Mustachian?

No, and frankly I'm still not. I don't own a bike, have a car payment and pay for cable. However, I don't spend all of my money and I max out every tax deferment account, so it's a start.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?
Pay off the car, finish my house remodel, and then actually save like I should. I should have a savings rate of close to 65%. Instead I'm stuck down in the 30's somewhere.

[spud1987]

I'm 28. But I feel older than many millennials though since I've been a practicing lawyer for 4 years now. I went to law school with mostly people born in the early 80s and most of my work colleagues are in their mid to late 30s.

How did you find out about MMM?

WaPo article in 2013.

Were you always Mustachian?

Pretty much. I've been a personal finance nerd ever since I was a teenager. Although reading MMM pushed me to try saving more by getting rid of cable, biking to work, etc.

What are your savings/debt elimination goals?

FI by 2020. Goal is 1M plus a paid off house. Should be attainable barring a major market crash. Currently at a nw of 650k.

[mizzourah2006]

Wow, I guess I'm the oldest millennial here. I'm 31, wife is 29, we have one kid on the way. I consider myself partially mustachian, but I just love to read what you all write and look at life through this lens. I got used to living frugally through grad school when my stipend was ~15k/yr and never felt I was missing anything. I dot really have the desire for FIRE that many on here have. I didn't get a PhD to do something I don't like. I actually really enjoy what I do. I'd probably like to leave the corporate world around 55, but would love to be an adjunct faculty member from 55-65.

I just really love watching my money compound, some people like to go to nice restaurants for fun, I like to buy stock :)

Love following all of your journeys though!

[arebelspy]

Wow, I guess I'm the oldest millennial here. I'm 31

According to most definitions I'm familiar with (born in the early 80s or so), that will always be the case for you, as you're about the oldest (31-32 or so) that a millennial can be before (s)he becomes the youngest Gen Xer.  :)

[DenverKat]

Hey everyone!  I'm 27 and my fiance is 29.  I graduated college in 2008 (with no loans!) and I'll be finishing up my MSW in June (with lots of loans!), and my fiance graduated with his master's in 2013.  Together we have about $129k in student debt...which makes me want to hurl myself off a cliff.  We've never been big spenders but we were both brought up in traditional sucka consumer households, and thought student debt was just the norm (to be fair, we both have human-service oriented careers, so...that makes it better?). 

I found MMM through the NYTimes article last year, and fell in love - we're trying to reduce our spending, reduce our waste, eschew "convenience," be more earth-friendly (I've been veg for 16 years, and we've stopped buying products tested on animals), etc etc.  We both fall into temptation from time to time (for instance, we LOVE beer) but we want to eliminate our student debt ASAP.  Accountability and support would be AWESOME!

Are you actually in CO? Another one!!! Yay! Check out the Colorado meetup thread.

Yep, we're in CO!  Native here :) (The fiance is from Ohio.  Silly midwest.)  I looked through the meetup thread but it seemed like people were just stating their residence, not really planning anything...I'll keep checking though!

[MonkeyJenga]

Late 20's, living in NYC. I found MMM through minimalism, don't know the exact path. I had already started purging a lot of my physical possessions (and cable) by the time I wandered over here, but now I have a clear goal to be free of work as soon as I can. My goal is to quit by 2020 with enough money to support similar spending to my current level. I don't have any debt and don't plan on buying a house/car, so this should be feasible. One ancillary goal is to learn enough about investing to take over from my dad, who currently manages my money.

I grew up in an environment of substantial wealth. Not Hilton-level, but very comfortable. I went the opposite way and have always been wary of spending money, but without real financial lessons to emulate. I didn't even know about IRA's until a few months ago! I've got some learnin' to do.

[mizzourah2006]

Wow, I guess I'm the oldest millennial here. I'm 31

According to most definitions I'm familiar with (born in the early 80s or so), that will always be the case for you, as you're about the oldest (31-32 or so) that a millennial can be before (s)he becomes the youngest Gen Xer.  :)

I always assumed 1981-2000. Figured there would be some more 31-34 YOs here. There were on the 2nd and 3rd page, but hadn't read those yet.

[NICE!]

I always assumed 1981-2000. Figured there would be some more 31-34 YOs here. There were on the 2nd and 3rd page, but hadn't read those yet.

I posted earlier - you're not alone. I was born in 1984.

[fetzer85]

I'm 29 and just found MMM this week. Our family lives in the Ohio Valley. (OH-WV-PA)

My mom was a spender and my dad was a saver. They got divorced after I moved out. (that wasn't the main reason but it didn't help) Unfortunately up until now I've mainly inherited my mom's money habits however I'm trying to turn a new leaf and think more like my dad.

Our short term debt reduction goal is to wipe out our credit card debt over the course of the next year and a half so that when my wife's student loan payments kick in we'll be able to afford making them. Our savings strategy is still up in the air at the moment because I'm really trying to attack the credit card debt. We'll see how it goes.

[jordanread]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

[millennialstache]

Just turned 20, studying Finance and Real Estate in undergraduate somewhere in the Midwest.  Got hooked on MMM a couple weeks ago, but have always lived that way to a certain extent. 

Goal is to be financially independent by 28.

Current financial situation:
Academic full ride with stipend,about 65k of debt, own two rental properties just off of campus (live in one of them). Net worth: variable but estimated at 95k.

Hope to gain some inspiration from some amazing mustachians! :)

[Pooperman]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

I'm a bit slower at somewhere between 2025 and 2030.

[boarder42]

I'm going to be somewhere between 2020 and 2025... depending on the cost of my unborn un-concieved children.  and how much more badass i become.  This travel hacking course is gonna make travel cost practically nothing now.

[nanu]

I'm just graduating from college this year (late for my age - yay for mandatory military service...), so my plan is 10 years from now - 2025.

[2Birds1Stone]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

I can't say I am not a bit jealous. I'll hopefully be joining you guys in 2027.

Its nice to see so many high income mustachian millennial out there!

[NICE!]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Yep. I'm pretty sure one of us will continue to work at that point, but we definitely have that as the first point we reach FI.

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

[jordanread]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

[arebelspy]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

[2Birds1Stone]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

 I will make this my stretch goal, thank you for the motivation =)

[boarder42]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

 I will make this my stretch goal, thank you for the motivation =)

you can do it.  i'm 28 fournd this site last year.  when i was 27 and i'm on track easily by 2025.  2020 is a stretch but still doable.

[2Birds1Stone]

Hehe. 5 years will be a stretch for me making $47k/yr. Love the encouragement  in this community. Great to be surrounded by like-minded people.

[Chuck]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

That my FI year, give or take. Will probably have a kid though, and I'm not sure how that will change things, so my Retirement will probably wait until 2025.

Unless I kick more ass. If I kick more ass I can totally swing 2020.

[Pooperman]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

 I will make this my stretch goal, thank you for the motivation =)

you can do it.  i'm 28 fournd this site last year.  when i was 27 and i'm on track easily by 2025.  2020 is a stretch but still doable.

I'm 25. Stretch goal is 2025, realistically 2030 will be very comfortable. Such is life in a one income household.

[johnny847]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

 I will make this my stretch goal, thank you for the motivation =)

you can do it.  i'm 28 fournd this site last year.  when i was 27 and i'm on track easily by 2025.  2020 is a stretch but still doable.

I'm 25. Stretch goal is 2025, realistically 2030 will be very comfortable. Such is life in a one income household.

I'm 23 (turning 24 this year). I have a goal to be FI by the time I'm 40 (so 2031), but I don't have a good idea if that's too ambitious or too lax because of a few unresolved variables - I want to get married, have kids, and fully fund their undergrad education wherever they want to go (it would take an exceptional case for any hypothetical kid of mine to not go to college, but I know college isn't right for everybody).
With that in mind, I try to save as much as I can, but I won't be down on myself if I don't reach FI by 40. I'm sure I'll revise my goal if I do get married and I have a better idea of where I stand with respect to how I want my life to turn out.

[Pooperman]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

 I will make this my stretch goal, thank you for the motivation =)

you can do it.  i'm 28 fournd this site last year.  when i was 27 and i'm on track easily by 2025.  2020 is a stretch but still doable.

I'm 25. Stretch goal is 2025, realistically 2030 will be very comfortable. Such is life in a one income household.

I'm 23 (turning 24 this year). I have a goal to be FI by the time I'm 40 (so 2031), but I don't have a good idea if that's too ambitious or too lax because of a few unresolved variables - I want to get married, have kids, and fully fund their undergrad education wherever they want to go (it would take an exceptional case for any hypothetical kid of mine to not go to college, but I know college isn't right for everybody).
With that in mind, I try to save as much as I can, but I won't be down on myself if I don't reach FI by 40. I'm sure I'll revise my goal if I do get married and I have a better idea of where I stand with respect to how I want my life to turn out.

Getting married this year, 2 kids in the next 5 years.

[BBub]

Just turned 20, studying Finance and Real Estate in undergraduate somewhere in the Midwest.  Got hooked on MMM a couple weeks ago, but have always lived that way to a certain extent. 

Goal is to be financially independent by 28.

Current financial situation:
Academic full ride with stipend,about 65k of debt, own two rental properties just off of campus (live in one of them). Net worth: variable but estimated at 95k.

Hope to gain some inspiration from some amazing mustachians! :)

Nice work.  Age 20 with two rentals, a game plan & eagerness to learn is badass.  Hope you'll stick around the forums and post a little more about your backstory & journey.

[Chuck]

Just turned 20, studying Finance and Real Estate in undergraduate somewhere in the Midwest.  Got hooked on MMM a couple weeks ago, but have always lived that way to a certain extent. 

Goal is to be financially independent by 28.

Current financial situation:
Academic full ride with stipend,about 65k of debt, own two rental properties just off of campus (live in one of them). Net worth: variable but estimated at 95k.

Hope to gain some inspiration from some amazing mustachians! :)

Nice work.  Age 20 with two rentals, a game plan & eagerness to learn is badass.  Hope you'll stick around the forums and post a little more about your backstory & journey.

Yeah, no lie. You're going to kick all of our asses, just by starting 5 years earlier than most. Those rental properties too. Very well begun.

[jordanread]

Is it just me, or does it seem like a lot of us have a soft FIRE date of 2020? That's going to be an interesting year. :-)

Maybe it has something to do with the age of MMM's site + its demographics?

Yeah, I think that's probably a huge part of it.

Agreed.  Millennials will be around 35 then, give or take, and if they found the idea around 25, 10 years is totally doable.  Plus people like round numbers.  I'd expect a bigger wave in 2025.

 I will make this my stretch goal, thank you for the motivation =)

you can do it.  i'm 28 fournd this site last year.  when i was 27 and i'm on track easily by 2025.  2020 is a stretch but still doable.

I'm 25. Stretch goal is 2025, realistically 2030 will be very comfortable. Such is life in a one income household.

I'm 23 (turning 24 this year). I have a goal to be FI by the time I'm 40 (so 2031), but I don't have a good idea if that's too ambitious or too lax because of a few unresolved variables - I want to get married, have kids, and fully fund their undergrad education wherever they want to go (it would take an exceptional case for any hypothetical kid of mine to not go to college, but I know college isn't right for everybody).
With that in mind, I try to save as much as I can, but I won't be down on myself if I don't reach FI by 40. I'm sure I'll revise my goal if I do get married and I have a better idea of where I stand with respect to how I want my life to turn out.

Well, what is it? Something like $10K put in a college fund at age 1, and it will pay for any college out there? $70K at age 1 and they can retire at 35 without ever working. Just pulling these numbers out of the recesses of my memory. But it's amazing how little it takes when you start early.

Just turned 20, studying Finance and Real Estate in undergraduate somewhere in the Midwest.  Got hooked on MMM a couple weeks ago, but have always lived that way to a certain extent. 

Goal is to be financially independent by 28.

Current financial situation:
Academic full ride with stipend,about 65k of debt, own two rental properties just off of campus (live in one of them). Net worth: variable but estimated at 95k.

Hope to gain some inspiration from some amazing mustachians! :)

Nice work.  Age 20 with two rentals, a game plan & eagerness to learn is badass.  Hope you'll stick around the forums and post a little more about your backstory & journey.

Yeah, no lie. You're going to kick all of our asses, just by starting 5 years earlier than most. Those rental properties too. Very well begun.

...And speaking of starting early. LOL. Look forward to your journey.

[johnny847]

I'm 23 (turning 24 this year). I have a goal to be FI by the time I'm 40 (so 2031), but I don't have a good idea if that's too ambitious or too lax because of a few unresolved variables - I want to get married, have kids, and fully fund their undergrad education wherever they want to go (it would take an exceptional case for any hypothetical kid of mine to not go to college, but I know college isn't right for everybody).
With that in mind, I try to save as much as I can, but I won't be down on myself if I don't reach FI by 40. I'm sure I'll revise my goal if I do get married and I have a better idea of where I stand with respect to how I want my life to turn out.

Well, what is it? Something like $10K put in a college fund at age 1, and it will pay for any college out there? $70K at age 1 and they can retire at 35 without ever working. Just pulling these numbers out of the recesses of my memory. But it's amazing how little it takes when you start early.

I could sit here and run some numbers, using some assumptions about the projected rate of tuition increases. But I don't think that would be very constructive because it is, at least to me, just as unpredictable as trying to predict future tax rates (though if you have a link to something that has tuition projections that seem somewhat trusthworthy, I would very much appreciate that).

What I do know is $10k into a college fund at birth is not going to be enough for my goal:
Suppose I put in $10k into a college fund at birth of my hypothetical kid, and we assume 8% real return. By rule of 72, that'll double approximately every 9 years. Suppose this is kept in a 529 so we can ignore tax drag. By the time this kid is 18, the $10k has doubled twice now, so it's worth $40k. My undergrad's tuition is currently $47k (assume this has inflation adjustments only, which has unfortunately not been true - it's outpaced inflation for the last ten years). I wouldn't even be able to one year's worth of tuition alone, let alone four years, and also other associated expenses like room and board.
Now some people may think spending that much money is a waste. And I won't argue against that, it's hard to slap a monetary value on education and/or a degree. But it's part of my goal.

I do agree with $70k at age 1 and being able to retire at 35 though if we ignore college expenses that are incurred at age 18. If we again assume 8% real return, and adjust the retirement age to 36 to make the rule of 72 line up, then by 36 the $70k has doubled 4 times into $1.12 million.