Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317800 times)

Mister Fancypants

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #800 on: August 21, 2013, 01:24:05 PM »
Hi my name is Jay, I'm married with 2 children, we live in NY and I write financial software.

We have assets of about $1.6m with a net worth of just over $1m.

I love the blog, but am only part mustacian, there are places that MMM and I just completely disagree.

I am not FI, but that is by choice, I could sell my house and move somewhere less expensive and shift other assets and retire immediately, but that is not what we are looking to do.

I look forward to becoming more involved in the mustacian community.

-Jay

porkchop

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #801 on: August 22, 2013, 01:33:41 AM »
Howdy,
36yo living in South Texas, divorced, 2 daughters,  trying to live the mustachian way to ensure our futures are squared away. I've been reading the blog, and forum for awhile now, figured I should post.

Hit a few milestones recently, mainly my _total_ debt is now $118.00!! Will be paying that off this month as well.

Excited to read and learn more!

SpinGeek

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #802 on: August 22, 2013, 09:44:03 AM »
Hi, I've been lurking for over a year and wishing I could respond to various posts. Finally decided to JFDI already and sign up!

I live outside St. Louis, MO with my husband (26 years), two cats, three spinning wheels, and no kids. I'm an accountant, and I've always been fairly responsible with money. I started my first IRA when I was 21, and bought our first house shortly after that. Currently our only debt is the mortgage. I wish this site had been around twenty years ago, though; we could have done so much better than we have.

My biggest goal right now is to save enough to at least semi-retire when my husband hits 65 in eight years; that cuts 15 years off the "normal" retirement age of 67 for me. I've learned a lot here, and I've already saved a lot of money (added directly to the retirement accounts). I'm even getting my husband on board; I convinced him to kick DirecTV, and we're working together on the dining out -- definitely room for improvement!

MaineSteve

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #803 on: August 22, 2013, 06:33:16 PM »
Hi!  I'm Steve, and I'm starting this journey much later than ideal (at 47).  But still doing my best to make what's left of my life worth living.  Been reading Mr. Money Mustache for at least a couple years, but only now realized there's this awesome forum!  That wasn't very badass of me....

BritishBob

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #804 on: August 24, 2013, 04:06:16 AM »
Hi I'm Bob, I'm from the UK.
This is a great site, and I'm on board with the whole frugal lifestyle thing. I have a neat little pile of savings, but I need to invest in shares.
I'm struggling to find the British equivalent of the Vanguard. I want a passive income of about £24000 per annum (I think that's about $40000?).

The reason I need more than I currently spend in a year, is that the husband and myself are hoping to travel extensively in retirement (flights cost).
So that's kind of the plan.

Anyone got advice on where to go for British advice on this site? Cheers :)

nsarwark

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #805 on: August 27, 2013, 04:13:42 PM »
I've been reading the blog and ERE for a few months while researching ways to deal with a relatively low salary vs. expenses.  I live with my wife and two young children south of Denver.  Financially it's a mixed bag, with a cash-flow positive rental property in Maryland and a decent IRA account, but also $110K in law school debt and some debt on a HELOC from medical bills and a vacancy/repairs on the rental.  I'm trying to find ways to simplify our financial situation and get to a place where there's some positive movement instead of just treading water month-to-month.

-Nick

mx905

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #806 on: August 28, 2013, 12:20:56 PM »
Hi I am fairly new to the MMM blog, I happened upon it as it was mentioned in another blog I follow.  I was raised on a farm and grew up in an area that most people follow the frugal lifestyle.  My problem is after college my carreer path took me to Boston, Philadelphia and NYC.  We lived in the suburbs and got into the keep up with the Jones lifestyle.  It never felt right, and a couple of years ago we moved to a small town well off the beaten path and again took up the frugal lifestyle.  I still work in the city a few days a week, but the commute is well worth the trade off's.  We have paid off all debt except the mortgage.  I enjoy working on cars, so we buy vehicles and pay cash and I fix what is needed.  We are diversified into several different investments strategies (real estate, dividend stocks, bonds, P2P lending,stocks, and selling  monthly equity and future options.) I look forward to reading about everyones journey to independence!

Watchmaker

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #807 on: August 28, 2013, 09:09:39 PM »
Cheers,
I’m new to the site (been lurking about a month).  Just wanted to introduce myself as I’m really impressed with what I’ve picked up here already and I wanted to start contributing to the conversation.

My story is probably fairly typical for these forums.  I’m 30 years old (live with my SO and a dog, no kids).  Scientist by day, food blogger by night.  About a year ago, I realized I needed to alter my financial course.  Have been exploring and learning since then.  Finding MMM and this forum (and also playing with FIRECalc) really helped a few synapses fire off in my brain and got me motivated.

I’ll post more detailed economics here eventually (to keep myself honest), but briefly, I’ve just recently realized I have a spending emergency.   The SO and I were recently going over our expenses over the last 12 months and found out we had spent (this includes all expenses but excludes debt pay down) north of 60k.  We make enough that we still managed a 40-45% savings rate, but this level of spending is just too high.  For both of the 12 month periods before that, our expenses were ~40k.

I’d like to get lower than that 40k, but my first priority is to get spending levels down to less emergency levels.  Oh well, this will give us the chance to have some big early progress to report.

So, all that aside, let me say “Hello everyone!”

superknudsen

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #808 on: August 29, 2013, 01:31:25 AM »
Hi

My name is Nicolai and I have been reading about ER for  a couple of months and I am really bidden by it:-)
I am 40 and from Denmark.
I am at the moment trying to make and overall plan to get out of debt/save money and convince my wife that it can fly.

Happy savings for all
Nicolai

galliver

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #809 on: August 29, 2013, 09:32:06 AM »
this thread has been viewed over 45 thousand times.

But I'm pretty sure the thread counts a 'view' or a 'read' when someone goes in and posts an intro; doesn't mean they read all (or any) preceding posts (particularly on an intro thread). Still, glad someone found out I exist, haha. :)

My most favorite "do not read" type message is the one banks put...at the END of the email ("This email was intended for Mr X's eyes only and if you're not Mr X and you've read it you have now committed a federal crime, men in suits are on their way as we speak.") Typically, you have to read through the contents to figure out that it's not intended for you so the disclaimer at the end is useless!

pichirino

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #810 on: August 30, 2013, 08:58:55 PM »
Hello Everyone,

My name is pretty irrelevant but I am in the same boat as many of you.
26 year old dude and working a full time job without kids.(yet)
I guess the only exception would be to be living on an island called Aruba.
It is sunny,warm and paradise like but costs of living here are far higher then the US and average incomes
seemingly far lower.Transportation sucks royally since busses don't drive in alot of corners and there is no such thing
as bike roads on my side of the island which is why most everyone considers a car vitally important.I want to challenge this conception after sharing all detaills but dont know if its possible or recommendable over bus transport +walking.

There are many plus sides but I hope to get advice and explore these issues and possible solutions.
I am however saving over 50% of my income and following most advice to the best of my possibilities.

Thank you all first and foremost for sharing your stories and comments,I gather inspiration and wisdom from many of them!

« Last Edit: August 30, 2013, 09:01:05 PM by pichirino »

Hemlock

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #811 on: September 02, 2013, 11:14:33 AM »
Hello, all!

I've lurked in this forum for a little while, but now want to jump in on the fun!

I'm 23 years old, and found MMM through ERE, and found ERE after some gentle financial prodding from my girlfriend. It's been a great start so far, and I've definitely changed my perspective. I've never spent too much consciously (since I like reading, hiking, and biking) but reading these have made me think more about the big stuff like housing and transportation.

I'm from Orange County, California, but I'm considering moving elsewhere someday where the average house price is not hovering around 750k. ;)

Take care, all.
Hemlock

chasesfish

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #812 on: September 02, 2013, 03:07:16 PM »
Hi,

Enjoying the reading on here, 31 and getting close to the ability to walk away.  Then again, the job isn't that bad and pays really well.  Travel addict.  Reading all the mustachian ways reminds me of 6-10 years ago, was first married, little income, and supporting my wife through school.


canadiansaver

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #813 on: September 02, 2013, 07:11:40 PM »
Hi,

I'm one month shy of forty, and began to get my financial act together two years ago.  At that point we had had our third child, $80 000 left on our mortgage, maxed out $9000 credit card, and a few thousand on our line of credit.  Since being debt free by forty was not possible given our choices, I am aiming for debt free while I am still forty! 

After two years of getting a financial grip, our debt is down to $28 000! and we are one track to pay it off in a year.  I'm pretty pleased with myself.

We will have what looks like no savings, but there are a few pluses:  our home will be paid for, our two cars are paid for, I have been working in a job with a pension for eighteen years, we have some RESP (education savings in Canada) for our three children.  Also, I only get 80% of my pay so that I can take a year off work with income every five years.


I love the MMM blog!  It is what is keeping me on track and helping me to think outside the box when it comes to how we do things and live life.

Thanks MMM family!

ofthebeststuff

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #814 on: September 03, 2013, 08:30:48 AM »
So, I came across the blog last week, and it's really kicking my ass.

I'm 30 years old, a Canadian living in Ireland. I've spent my life since childhood being "kind of poor" but spending wastefully on things like cappuccinos, fancy sandwiches, books, and beer. I have some natural moustachian habits...I don't care much about "stuff" or clothes or makeup or haircuts, (in fact I once spent a year in a spiritual experiment where I gave away all my clothes and just wore three rotating identical dresses for a year) I cycle everywhere, I don't pay for TV (I watch some box-sets online) I buy most of what I need second hand. (which isn't much, mostly jeans when the butt wears through on my current pair, from cycling.) 

I've almost always worked low-income jobs, being a bit of a drifter and a daydreamer by nature with very few go-getter bones to call my own. I'm now a freelancer, living on about 15,000 euro a year (actually I have no idea what I earned this year, because I only exist week-to-week, until tax time. Shameful.) ...but that's doing the very bare minimum I need to do to keep the wolf from the door. As in, like, 10-15 hours of work a week. I have no debts, but no savings, either.

I was looking up financial stuff for the first time because a.) I am in constant need of new ways to procrastinate, and b.) hey, suddenly I'm 30 and that carefree student live-for-today kind of lifestyle I've enjoyed for more than a decade doesn't look so practical now that I am thinking about maybe getting married and having kids. In Aesop's "Ant and grasshopper" fable, I have been a big old grasshopper.

I've felt like I have life pretty great, loads of free time to pick berries and make jam, ride my bike and read books, enjoying the "little luxuries of life" like 5 euro feta cheese from the goat farmer at the farmer's market. And it is pretty great, but I now see, thanks to MMM, that I am living life as if I'm retired, when really I squeak by invoice-to-invoice, with scary months when I end up needing to see a doctor, or a client pays me late, and I'm reduced to apologising to my landlord for being a week late and eating stale ramen from the back of the cupboard.

SO! I am trying to get my shit together. My freelancing gigs are quite new, but I know I'm capable of doubling or tripling my workload while still retaining some semblance of free time....it's just that I suck, am SUPER lazy, and a complete complainypants. I'm wondering now if I should try to get a regular kind of job instead, to stashe away as much as possible, since I'm starting kind of late, but that scares me so much I think I'm going to spend these first weeks cutting off the cappuccino, feta, and other assorted crap out of my daily spending, while kicking my ass to get a few new clients (just signed one yesterday) and then a few more, etc.

Financial independence seemed like such an impossible, ridiculous goal for me that I never even considered the option. My real hope for myself is that this new motivation to think about FI will the the fire (heh heh) under my ass that I've lacked all my life. I've just never had any drive to work hard and earn lots of money, because I'm pretty content without it. But now that I'm (very belatedly in some ways) growing up and thinking about the fact that uh, the future is coming (is here, etc) I think this new lifestyle might be the trick that gets me off my ass and into badassity. I'm already an eccentric, so I might as well be an efficient one.

I've enjoyed lurking these boards the last few days. Lots of brilliant bad-asses. I'm excited to join you.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2013, 08:36:58 AM by ofthebeststuff »

Kay Bradley

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #815 on: September 03, 2013, 12:05:55 PM »
Hi!

I'm Kay.  I'm about to be single at 53 (not my choice - but life goes on).  I'm in debt beyond eyeballs and am trying to figure out how to get back on track.  I used to make $20k a month and had no debt.  But I did the early retirement/pursue your passions and made all the wrong choices (OK, some were made for me - it was a Murphy's Law - everything that could go wrong did go wrong).  I'm trying to be positive and look at all this as a chance to hit the reset button.  I am very healthy and not worried about the work ahead of me. 

I'm trying to figure out what to do next and have several ideas ... so I'm off to another forum to post those and get feedback.  To be honest, part of the reason I want feedback is it's been less than a week since I found out I was going to be single (is there a positive way to spin this?  I'm trying!), and I need objective feedback because I'm not sure I'm thinking totally clear.  And I know clear thinking it what I need right now.

jimnavarro2000

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #816 on: September 03, 2013, 02:48:43 PM »
Hi, I am 51 years old bachelor, living in Alaska. I find this blog very interesting and has wealth of information for someone like me. I would post a question later and solicit some opinions. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Moustache for creating a fantastic blog!

zendenise

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #817 on: September 05, 2013, 01:34:50 PM »
Hi Mustachians!

My god, you're all so young, lol. I'm Denise, not quite a spring chicken anymore. At 50, I am waaaaay late getting my financial act together.

My financial situation is actually not too terrible. The only reason it's not is because I was widowed three years ago, and I got some life insurance money (not enough to pay off my house, but enough to wipe out all the other debt with a little left over, plus my husband's 401k). Prior to my husband's death, we were a mess. Living paycheck to paycheck, with two car loans and a mountain of credit card debt. He had a good job with benefits, but we lived way beyond our means for years. So stupid! I wish Mr. MM had been around back then to punch us in the face. I'm currently living on survivor's benefits, plus what I make as a waitress (no college degree, started having babies right out of high school, and have mostly been a SAHM ever since).

We were SO not prepared for this tragedy. You never think it will happen to you, until it does. He was young, only 42. Please, if you're married with kids, make sure your spouse will be taken care of. TALK about a game plan if the worst happens. Have a list of all accounts and passwords where your spouse can find it in an emergency. Ok? Ok.

So, I AM doing some things right:

1. I have a fantastic credit score, in the 800s.
2. Because of that, I was able to refinance the mortgage to a 15-year at 3.75. (Two points lower than the old 30-year.) The house is 900 sq. feet and perfect for me and my 11-year-old son. Even if I don't pay one extra dime toward the principal, it will be paid for by the time I'm 65. But I plan to pay it off way before then.
3. I use a cashback credit card for groceries and gas, and pay it in full every month.
4. I have the rest of the savings in an online high-yield savings until I figure out what to do with it.
5. I drive a tiny Nissan that gets great gas mileage, and I only live 6 miles from my job.
6. I spent a year getting certified as a health coach, so I do have training that could lead to a career doing what I love. Getting clients is another story...
7. I record every penny I make and spend in a spreadsheet, and have been doing so for almost a year. I know exactly what's coming in and going out at all times.

...And I'm doing some stuff wrong:

1. For months now, the outgo has been more than the income. I've been watching what's left of the life insurance money slowly dwindle. Must stop the hemorrhaging, STAT.
2. Groceries. Currently at 700, want to get it down to 400. I'm a super-healthy, organic, paleo-leaning foodie, but if Mr. MM can do it, so can I.
3. Cable. I know! Just ordered a Roku, will be cutting the cord posthaste.
4. Never shopped around for cheaper car insurance, cell phone plan, etc.
5. Co-signed a car loan for my oldest. He's responsible, but still. I wish I hadn't done it.
6. I spoil the 11-year-old. He lost his dad, so I tend to overcompensate, but I know I'm only hurting him in the long run.
7. Books! My kryptonite. Must. Stop. Buying. Books.
8. Waiting for some man to come along and save me from this mess. I finally got the memo: Prince Charming is not coming. And if he does, he deserves a woman who can stand on her own two feet. Time to be my own Queen, and take responsibility for my own future!

Thrilled to have found this forum, and Mr. MM's blog. Will be sharing here while I work on growing a sexy new 'stache. Nice to have some company along the way.

SMP

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #818 on: September 06, 2013, 02:24:43 AM »
Hi,

I live in western part of Germany. I am 30 years old, a mechnical engineer working in automotive industry. My wife is 31 years old and a teacher.
We have no debt except the mortgage for the house (1600 sqft) we just bought earlier this year.
We just married this year and the wedding was not frugal, but it was totally ok.
We do not have any kids by now, but this may change in the next 2 - 3 years.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2015, 01:27:50 AM by SMP »

lcg377

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #819 on: September 07, 2013, 11:23:11 AM »
I joined the forum, because we are tackling student loan debt, saving for a house payment so that we can move to a cheaper part of our state, and then can get started on FI! Retirement investing is a couple years away, when we are debt-free, and I have a million questions about that. :)

1kickassgal

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #820 on: September 07, 2013, 09:52:47 PM »
Hey everyone, I'm probably on the older side of the goers here, 51, but better late than never.  I've got 3 grown kids, divorced 3 years ago.  Not really what I planned, but life is so much better now.  Thanks to MMM, I have been motivated to save almost $20K this year alone, an accomplishment I NEVER would have dreamed of previously.  Glad to read everyone's postings and stories here, keeps me on track and positive about the future!  Best of luck to you all! 

Elaine

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #821 on: September 08, 2013, 11:27:41 AM »
Hello!
My name is Elaine, I'm 26 years old and in a long term relationship (5 years tomorrow, actually!), and we both definitely do not want kids. I guess a couple of years ago (when I got my first office job) I started thinking about how each time my peers would get a raise, they would also increase their lifestyle expenses. I personally never felt this made any sense, but even my own parents always said that saving didn't make much of a difference and that having a high salary was key. Naturally my dad is in his 60s and still working.

My Job: IT at a university, 60k a year
My Fella's Job: Full time warehouse ($10/hour, full time student (Actuarial Science) He's 29 and going for his bachelor's, he has about 2 years left. Obviously our money situation will change quite drastically when he begins work in his field, but we're both dead set on keeping our spending the same.
My Cat's Job: having a sensitive stomach that necessitates insanely expensive cat food.

We live in NYC so we don't have a car, we live in a 471 sq ft, 2 bedroom apartment ($750/month each), and honestly I can't even imagine having more space than this, I love it!

So glad to have found this site/forum, I've been feeling like I'm insane or something what with all the designer bag talk I hear at work, and the out to lunch co-workers! Now I have the best explanation, I'm simply MUSTACHIAN!


sf_raskol

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #822 on: September 09, 2013, 05:09:11 PM »
Hello,
I'm a 29yo software engineer in San Francisco, and have been reading the blog for several months.  My wife and I are definite Mustachians, solidly on our way to FI.  I am very fortunate to work at a successful startup tech company that was recently acquired, resulting in my stock options being worth real money.  We cashed in the vested options and bought our first house, which is enabling us to avoid the crazy rental market here in SF (>50% increase over last 4 years).  Renting an equivalent apartment would cost us $1200/month more.  We're also eligible to convert the TIC into a condo next spring, which is likely to increase the home's (market, not assessed) value by ~80k after fees.  In other words, I've been extremely lucky.

We have no debt other than the mortgage, no cars - we get everywhere in the city by bike or walking.  I can walk to the grocery store, and Costco is just a mile away, allowing for bike shopping.  Our monthly expenses are approximately $3500 - 2500 for mortgage interest, HOA, and property tax, 750 for food, 85 cell phones, 40 power/gas, 35 internet (awesome local ISP), and 1-200 for odds and ends (clothing, netflix [no cable], car share, public transit, etc).  Our income has increased significantly over the past few years but we have thankfully been able to avoid lifestyle inflation.

Our non-mustachian aspects of life are probably food, not renting out our second bedroom, and having a smartphone.  One of our favorite parts of this city are its amazing restaurants, so we're actually likely to increase our $150/mo restaurant budget as we get older; we also enjoy occasional gourmet cooking and baking at home with some expensive ingredients, although our staple weeknight meals are quite frugal.  We are currently missing out on a potential $1500+/month income if we rented out our empty second bedroom, but we are pretty quiet, private people and just don't like the idea of sharing our home (only 1 bathroom) with strangers for now.  Next year that room will (fingers crossed) be home to our first child. For the phone, I just plain caved into the tech worker peer pressure of everyone around me having a smartphone, so that's that!  The company does give me a 20% discount and the minimum size data plan is all that I need.

I recognize that I'm not likely to see another lucky break like my startup's acquisition (90% don't see success like ours did), and also that the currently insanely awesome job market and work environment that software engineers like myself are enjoying is not going to last forever.  I plan to keep our lifestyle frugal over the next 10 years, cash out my stock options and invest them in index funds, lending club, and more real estate.  I'd also like to build up my non-software skills, semi-retire at 40, and switch to doing occasional contract software work and work on repairing/maintaining rental properties, with the rest of my time spent with family.  Oddly enough, this is pretty much exactly why my father did 20 years ago; having Dad around the house growing up was such a great part of growing up that I really want to do the same for my kids.

I'm really looking forward to reading and participating in this forum; I'm particularly interested in picking up more home improvement/repair skills.  I've done a few small projects since moving in - painting, light fixtures, etc - and had a lot of fun.  I'd like to tackle some bigger projects involving drywall, tile, plumbing and electrical, as well as detail/trim work such as wainscoting and crown molding, so as to have the experience if a real estate opportunity presents itself once I am FI and have the means to invest in rental houses/apartments.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2013, 06:27:25 PM by sf_raskol »

Bigderhak

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #823 on: September 09, 2013, 09:29:35 PM »
Hi everyone!
I am Derick 32 married with 3 four legged kids.  I found the site when my wife and I started really looking at saving. I had been leading the consumer life but never in debt except for my house and car.  The cars are payed off but looking to down size. So many things have just started to click just from hanging around.

I started at the beginning of the blog and am almost caught up in about 6 weeks.  Just really getting into the forums, so hope to see all of you around and help each other start/grow our mustaches.

jeepsleep1

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #824 on: September 10, 2013, 08:48:42 AM »
Hi I'm Narcolepto. My wife and I have recently celebrated our 1st anniversary, and 2-6 kids at any given time. I've spent most of my time living "like I'm in college" financially after mistakes followed by more mistakes, yet have had some decent incomes over the last few years. Recently realized that my way of living was always perfectly fine. Just need to figure out how to fix what we've broken (really already know,) keep living simply, and put that extra money where it should be. Have lived in Colorado the last 4 years and love it... Just happened on MMM while thumbing through a 5280 magazine yesterday. Approaching mid 40s, and Very motivated.. Cheers!!

young_one

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #825 on: September 10, 2013, 08:31:09 PM »
Hey all. My name is Connor.

I am 22 years young living in Southern California and have been working for almost 3 full months at a large engineering firm. I will be brought on full time soon from my current intern position. This means a much higher paycheck as well as some great benefits.

I live with my girlfriend and have brought her into this Mustachian lifestyle. Savings haven't been great as car ('97 Chevy Malibu) troubles have come up and I also purchased a bike (but will pay for itself in less than a year.) I have just began riding to work last week, which is a great money saver.

I don't have many assets to speak of, but I am already making payments towards my $10,000 in student loans and also paying into my 401k to take advantage of my company match.

My early life goal is to reach financial independence (FI) by 35 years old. I also want to pick up a few different trades such as electrician, carpentry, and welding either along the way or after initial retirement. I would love to be able to design and build my own house one day. Connections I make while working as an engineer could greatly reduce some of the costs of design work and other elements.

I am looking forward to buying a much more efficient, used vehicle (hatchback) when my current car most likely does not pass the smog test.

Life is great!

Kevan

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #826 on: September 10, 2013, 09:18:29 PM »
Hello!  My real name is Kevan and it's spelled like Evan, which was my father's name.  My wife and I put three kids through college without loans, but I know that my financial behavior could be better, so that's why I'm here.

I found this place while researching MVNOs and have made some important improvements thanks to I. P. Daly's voluminous writings.  I hope to help others with my knowledge of DIY topics, especially plumbing, as I soak up the wisdom of those who handle their money better than I.

From A Buick 8

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #827 on: September 11, 2013, 06:58:33 AM »
Hello to everyone, very much looking forward to learning a lot from this forum and website.

The DW and I are turning 50 this year. We just paid our last debt (our house) and we are both committed to being debt free from this point forward. We have one kid in college (cash flowing the cost) and another will be there in 3 years. Our goal right now is to retire once the kids are out of college so we have about 8 years to pile up cash to support our retirement. We have a fairly small house in KY, and we have always been the frugal types. We have about 500k put away for retirement and want to double that in the next 8 years.

EveofReduction

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    • Eve of Reduction
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #828 on: September 11, 2013, 09:08:08 AM »
Hi, I'm Cristin. My husband and I have been debt free since age 34. We live a lifestyle of reduction and creativity. It keeps us at a perfect ratio of challenge and satisfaction.

non geordie beth

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #829 on: September 11, 2013, 04:01:30 PM »
So, hi. I'm Beth, I live in the north of England with my DH and our little boy who is 2. I managed to pay off all our debts in the past but unfortunately when I was on maternity leave I refused to live in the real world and went from obsessive budgeting to running up a credit card debt again, which wasn't my brightest ever moment year.

I had already started to wake up to reality when I found a link here from get rich slowly. That was on Friday. Since then I would say I've read at least half MMM's articles :) I am a little bit scared, because there is a looooooong way to go and my DH is far from being on board (not to mention the fact that about four weeks ago, before I started to wake up, we paid close to £1k for flights to go visit DH's mum and stepdad (... the main frustration is that if we'd booked earlier we could have got much cheaper)) but hey ho, what's done is done and MIL and S-FIL will love seeing their grandson!

So now I just have to plug the gap in our budget than means we currently overspend by £110 a month including our debt repayments... yeah, I'll be posting about that soon, get DH at least travelling in the same general direction even if he's not actually on board the same ship (!), and start cultivating my mustache :)

Looking forward to getting my arse kicked if it means that we end up better off :)

Dutch Engineer

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #830 on: September 11, 2013, 10:42:53 PM »
Hello Everyone,

I'm 28 years old and live in the North of the Netherlands with my girlfriend.

We are renting a house because the real estate bubble is bursting here.

I've been a lurker here for months, Were both saving a good amount but getting FI is very hard in this country.

Silvie

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  • Location: the Netherlands
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #831 on: September 12, 2013, 01:55:43 AM »
Hello Everyone,

I'm 28 years old and live in the North of the Netherlands with my girlfriend.

We are renting a house because the real estate bubble is bursting here.

I've been a lurker here for months, Were both saving a good amount but getting FI is very hard in this country.

Welcome, always good to find other Dutchies here! :)

throwerm72

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  • Age: 38
  • Location: San Bernardino, California
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #832 on: September 12, 2013, 10:51:21 AM »
Hi I'm Mike. I'm 28 married with 2 kids and one more on the way. I work in IT and can't imagine continuing in my job for another 30+ years.

I found MMM through a yahoo article back in July. I've burned through the blog and finally showed up here desperate for more mustachian reading.

Not much in savings yet as we are paying off some debt and well I still have some student loans to the tune of 13k but after that we will be saving at least 35% of our pay (hopefully much more).

Near term goals include killing my 60+ mile round trip commute by finding a job close to home, downsizing our fleet to only one car and taking up biking to work.

Also both my femurs are both original and intact.  (No fair! I started a new page so the joke isn't as relevant. )

JHC89

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  • Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #833 on: September 12, 2013, 10:57:32 AM »
Hi everyone! I'm James from Pittsburgh. I've been reading articles and forum posts for about 5 months now and I thought it was time to start paying it forward by helping others where I can.

I'm 24 and single, so it is fairly easy for me to keep a frugal lifestyle. I had been saving fairly consistently since a college professor gave a lesson on Roth IRAs when I was 19, but MMM showed me that I could be doing much, much more. I'm hoping to hit what is in my mind my first big stash milestone by the end of 2014 but still have a long, long way to go.

I can't wait to keep learning from all of you!

rochdale

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #834 on: September 14, 2013, 08:30:18 PM »
My name is Rochdale, and I am a lurker. ("Hi, Rochdale!")

Came out of lurkdom to say I hope that the Colorado Mustachians are safe and dry right now.

As for intros, I live in a cooperative (whence Rochdale) house with 17 adults, all of them frugal-minded. Being surrounded by moral support makes it easy to live a Mustachian life. I do like coming here, though, to see what other people are doing to grow the 'stache.


dodojojo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #835 on: September 16, 2013, 07:31:10 AM »
Forty and single.  I was in the process of house-hunting and after a weekend where my agent pressured me to buy one of two houses at prices/value I was extremely uncomfortable with--I read a post about owning versus renting by Jim Collins.  From there I discovered MMM.  That was about a month ago and all I can say is, "thank the fuck I didn't listen to my agent!"  Not that I'm entirely against buying but those houses were way, way beyond my means (not according to lender standards, but in terms of maxing out for FI).  Though a small part of me yearns for my "own place", I know that renting for now is the best way forward (I live in the DC area where real estate is unreal...).

I've always been very good at saving, not exactly Mustachian, but probably better than 95% of folks in the US.  I live in a very high cost but ultra convenient area of DC which has allowed me to be car-free for the past nine years.  My one bedroom apartment is probably the lowest cost one in the area where high end one bedrooms go for $2,500-2,800.

My problem has been that I've been incredibly negligent in investing my savings.  Just leaving wrong allocations for years and years, etc.  I'm working on that now and being much more mindful of how I invest without buying/selling too much.  I've always favored index investing anyway.  Using Firecalc, if I keep maxing out my 401K and IRA, I should be FI by 55 (high COLA and I will be supporting my mom).  Okay, it's a little depressing since that's not exactly early retirement.  On the other hand, prior to reading Jim Collins and MMM, I thought I was going to work for the rest of my life as I fretted about my and my mom's retirement plans.  So it's not all bad...

decibelle

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #836 on: September 16, 2013, 08:48:07 PM »
Hello there, My Statistically Significant Other (SSO) and I recently joined the MMM community.  His username is "watchmaker".  We're excited to get to know people here and learn some ways into the life of Badassity! :)
« Last Edit: September 17, 2013, 08:33:08 PM by decibelle »

AustinKat

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  • Location: Austin, TX, USA
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #837 on: September 17, 2013, 09:36:17 AM »
Hello! I'm AustinKat, from (duh!) Austin, Texas. I've been practicing voluntary simplicity/frugality/related points on that spectrum for over two decades now. I first heard of MMM on the Simple Living fora. I'm amazed at the community that has sprung up here in such a short time--I look forward to meeting people here and chiming in where I think I can be helpful.

YoreName

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  • Location: San Jose, CA
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #838 on: September 17, 2013, 01:31:39 PM »
Hi,
   I'm married with one child in college, living in high cost area but well positioned for early retirement from frugal living.  Been reading FIRE blogs for about a year now and repositioning to RE.  In actuality, we are FI now.

See you in the forums!

Janice

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #839 on: September 20, 2013, 10:22:59 AM »
Hi. I'm Janice from Chicago. My hubby and I adopted 2 precious boys from Russia. We've always been frugal (of course because my DH is an engineer and I'm Type A - no debt except for mortgage, max out 401ks, ROTHs, stick to a budget, etc) but since I was lead here by a Yahoo article, we are saving an additional $1500/month. Blows my mind we had that much extra money going somewhere other than paying down our mortgage. Our plan now is to pay it off in 5 years (3% rate @ 15 yr loan). We'd do it sooner if we switched the boys from private school to public. Hard decision. The public school is literally in our backyard but one of our boys has special needs and the current school has been amazing. So time will tell!

Love this blog and looking forward to learning more through the forums!

$200k

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #840 on: September 20, 2013, 12:16:37 PM »
Just wanted to say hi to everyone.  I am close to $200k in student loan debt.  I'm a hard worker so I'm not in despair.  Mostly everything I read on MMM gives me inspiration, so big thanks to everyone for their stories and encouragement.


Meggslynn

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #841 on: September 20, 2013, 12:20:32 PM »
Hello,

I found MMM a couple weeks ago and have been working my way through the blogs.

I am 3 year old female, married to a lovely person and mother to a wonderful 18 month old boy.

I have always been interested far more than the average person in personal finance. I learnt my lessons young and I learnt them quickly.

Being a mother and having a whole new set of costs (read: childcare) I have realized we need to scale back. Way back to ever get anywhere.

My goal really isn't super early retirement as I do enjoy my job and everything is gives me but been beyond secure. To know that whatever happens we will be okay and to go down to part time work in maybe 15-25 years.

I live in Canada and in a very well to do part of the country. The average income in my neck of the woods is easily $150K. The average mind set is bigger is better and more toys the better. Our frugal mind set is very very rare here so we struggle with that sometimes.

Hoping to dive deeper into this mindset and become even more confident in our beliefs and way of life.

Bigote

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #842 on: September 20, 2013, 05:12:34 PM »


I am 3 year old female, married to a lovely person and mother to a wonderful 18 month old boy.


You're very articulate for a 3 year old.  :)

Gray Matter

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #843 on: September 21, 2013, 07:50:22 AM »
I’ve been lurking for months now and am finally taking the plunge, because I know I can benefit from the collective wisdom here.  My DH and I are in our mid-40s and we are slightly Mustachian in that our finances are in pretty good shape.  We have always put 10-15% of our income in retirement accounts since we started working in our 20s and are now up to saving about 40% of our take-home pay.  Also, we have good emergency savings and no debt besides our mortgage.

But the rest of our life is not-at-all Mustachian (stressful jobs, long commutes, wasteful, etc.).  And that’s what I’m here to work on.  My husband is not as motivated to change as I am, but I can be pretty persuasive.  ;-)

We have three kids, three hound dogs, and a piggy we stole from the shed (jk on the piggy, though I’m not sure I’d even notice what with all the chaos around here).

Am looking forward to moving towards a more Mustachian lifestyle!

Kristin

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #844 on: September 21, 2013, 09:12:10 AM »
Hi,

I'm Kristin and I can't wait for the day when I have the option to stop working my desk job.

Jessie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #845 on: September 21, 2013, 07:52:58 PM »
Hi! I'm Jessie. I'm an architect, and I'm about to go back to the Boston area from my native northern Virginia. I'll be reunited for good with my boyfriend (a computer engineer :-) ) and our two cats! Found MMM and GRS after graduating in 2010 $40k in debt, currently working my way out. 40% down and hoping to finish in the next three years.

ichangedmyname

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    • Luxe Frugality
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #846 on: September 22, 2013, 11:05:20 AM »
Hi! I'm Dyn, 33 from CO Springs. Married for almost 5 years. No kids.
Found MMM a couple of weeks ago and just reading the entries and trying to absorb all of the good info. I will be asking a LOT of questions. :D

Ayanka

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #847 on: September 22, 2013, 11:09:48 AM »
Hi, my name is Ayanka and Im 25. I am going to move with my boyfriend next month in order to escape my crazy commute (45 mins and up one way). Sadly enough we are increasing his by doing so. I amn't really looking for ER, more for FI as the economical crisis seems to limit options and makes it harder to quit a steady job, no matter the conditions. And I hope to meet some non-American people inhere. No offense, but at the other forum I am hanging around I spend a quarter of my time explaining people from the states how to sort out their financial mess. It does get old after a while. So Im off to look for European/Asian people on the board :)

Kaivalagi

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #848 on: September 23, 2013, 02:58:29 AM »
Hi MMMers! I have been reading this forum just recently but have been a fan of MMM for a while now.

'Change' would have to be my word for 2013 as I moved to Fiji, got married, tried to move back to the UK where I am from but they wouldn't have us due to strict new immigration laws, moved to Ireland instead and am now trying to get back to some sort of normality! Although I do enjoy change so who knows what will happen in the next 12 months :)

I have some debt, a student loan which works differently in the UK (repayments are income assessed and I am currently not earning enough to pay anything and the interest in minimal), but I do owe my Dad quite a bit as he leant us the cash to move to Ireland. I would like to pay that off as soon as possible really.

Anyway I'm looking forward to getting to know lots of you and to get going on the FI journey!

Clare

Mickey

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #849 on: September 23, 2013, 05:37:08 PM »
Hi. I just wanted to thank MMM for giving me a kick in the pants.  Paying off my credit card every month and making 1 extra payment toward my mortgage or lingering student loans once a year wasn't getting me deeper in the hole, but it sure wasn't helping me dig my way out to FI.  I stumbled upon the MMM blog early this year, and decided to shift toward viewing my debts as a "debt emergency." 

I'm by no means at expert level, yet, but I've actually made progress.

So far this year, I have (1) figured out what the interest rates are on my debts, (2) added a monthly reminder to my calendar to pay extra, and (3) stayed on track to pay $6k (a little more than 10% of my gross income) toward principal on my debts. I've been able to do this by (1) canceling under-used expenses like Netflix, land line, and a gourmet cellphone plan, (2) staying OUT of real and virtual shopping malls (I don't even like to shop, so what was I doing in there), and (3) re-evaluating my food expenses with the goal of maximum health for least $$ (mainly planning ahead to avoid lunch panic purchases of overpriced un-delicious cafeteria food). I'm applying the scientific method to my expenditures:  I'm thinking of spending $X to do Y.  Do I think Y will make me feel better than putting $X toward my FI? Do I need Y right now, or can it wait a bit? After, if I decided to spend $X, did Y really make me feel good? Better than another step toward FI would feel?

I've also started being more introspective about how I spend resources beyond money.  Time, energy, attention. Instead of leaving me feeling pinched or deprived, this year has me feeling like I have more time and more energy.

So, thanks, MMM!