Not sure if I am a Mustachian

[Stevo]

Hi, I'm new here. I just came across MMM about a week ago. Despite growing up sort of poor (trailer park in Flint MI) I have always thought that considering all people in all times, I am really one of the lucky ones. I mean I dont remember ever going hungry, historically and world wide how many people can say that? I think that thought has served me very well over the years.

Financially I am doing so much better that I could have ever hoped for. I went straight to work after high school. I got lucky and one of the temp jobs I was doing liked me and hired me fulltime. The company had tuition assistance, so I took night classes, and after 12 years, I got a degree in engineering. The last 4 years, I have been making a ton of money (80k may not impress everyone, but where I am from, it is basically unheard of) and i have managed to save up about 200k in retirement savings. Some people probably think I am wierd for driving a 10 year old kia rio, but hey im an engineer, people kind of expect me to be wierd. I never really had a grand plan, i still dont have a budget. I am 37 years old now and a quick calculation makes me think that I will be in shape to retire around 50 if i change nothing. I could probably retire even earlier if I were to rely on social security, but I like to just think of that as an extra cusion rather that rely on it.

Am I a mustachian? I dont know, it doesn't really matter. I honestly dont feel like I am scraping by or being particularly frugal. I live in a big house with wifi internet, tablet computers, cable TV, etc. Sorry if I am rambling, its just that I dont usually talk about my past (dont want to alienate my peers) and it just feels good to let it out in anonymity.

[firewalker]

You are correct! It does not matter. Nevertheless, you are on a good path financially, you know the value of a dollar, and you have found an awesome blog / forum to learn from. Financial stuff is not the most important thing in life, but life is a lot easier when money is dealt with wisely as you have. Welcome.

[Bajadoc]

Typical Engineer, smart. Really sounds like you have your stuff together. Yah, you are Mustachian.

[Retired To Win]

You sound Mustachian to me.  And let's remember:  MMM Pete didn't invent Mustachianism; he discovered it.

[PtboEliz]

Loved reading this, Stevo. I gotta get myself an engineer - you guys are the best.
You may find as you read more here that you could be on track to retire much earlier than 50 if you want to!

[StockBeard]

Inspiring story, and yeah, you sound totally mustachian to me: you found ways to make more money than people around you thought was possible, and ways to spend much less :)

[cheapbutchic]

I'm not sure if you are either, you sound a little like me.  I did grow up in a pretty dire financial situation.  It wasn't that my parents didn't make money, they did.  They both had good paying jobs but were both really really poor money managers.  I saw that as a very young girl.  So as soon as I could get a job I did and just knew how to take care of my money basically by having grown up and watching my parents fail at it.  I've had no special instructions or didn't read any special money saving tips.  I've made a few mistakes over the years but learned from them.  I don't consider myself mustachian really, especially reading how most of the folks here are SO good with their money.  But I do loving reading their stories and ideas and it helps me to continue to save and live what I think is a really rich life.

[Retired To Win]

...I don't consider myself mustachian really, especially reading how most of the folks here are SO good with their money.  But I do loving reading their stories and ideas and it helps me to continue to save and live what I think is a really rich life.

Saving and living a really rich life: that's what mustachians do, you know...

[Stevo]

Im feelin the love. Thanks everyone. I just read the article on Tiny Details Exaggeration Syndrom and I think it is my favorite one so far. Although it focuses mostly on realestate I think the concept applies equally to all consumer items. At this point in my life, I have literally EVERY tangible thing I want. I even have a few things I dont want (like a second motorcycle that just sits unridden), but im too lazy to sell them. The only thing I can buy at this point is better versions of things I already have (the origin of that second motorcycle explained, I am afraid to report). At this point it is much smarter to put down some payments on a few of those intangibles that I actually still want! Maybe one day after having secured financial independence and significantly more free time, it might make sense to upgrade to some nicer things, but not for a while. Unfortunately, I dont know how well I will follow through on this no-upgrades policy, for now I have the best of intentions...