Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3318078 times)

Truckman

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #850 on: September 24, 2013, 08:55:04 AM »
Hi everyone.  I'm Matt. Just discovered the blog and forums yesterday. Fascinated with the possibilities. Getting a late start at the "early retirement" thing since I'm 42 already, and nowhere near able to retire. It's going to take a lot of hard work, but I'd like to be there in the 8-10 year range.  Most of my life has been on cruise control, letting life happen to me instead of making my life what I want it to be. Horrible, horrible, horrible money manager and have a train wreck of a financial situation.

Anyway, I hope to be able to turn things around with the things I've found, and have yet to discover, here.

Thanks!

mahima

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #851 on: September 24, 2013, 11:26:15 PM »
Hi I am Mahima from India. I like beading jewelry, reading novels and traveling.

supertrill

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #852 on: September 26, 2013, 08:07:37 AM »
Hi Mustachians!

Jordan here. Been reading MMM for months and finally starting in on the forums. Whenever I lose focus an MMM post always helps get me back in the right mindset. This is my get out of debt year started with 18k, currently have 6k to go. I'm 29 and would like to hit FI by 40. Live in Atlanta without a car so used to people thinking I'm crazy. I currently work in journalism/video production but am taking web dev classes to switch careers and increase my salary.

Any Atlantan's out there???? Just started a "Mustachian Meetup" http://www.meetup.com/Mustachians-of-Atlanta-Financial-Independence-Group and am really anxious to get together with some like-minded folk!

Norrie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #853 on: September 27, 2013, 08:01:54 AM »
Howdy. I'm Nat, I'm 37, and live in Oklahoma.
I'm a researcher/assessment analyst who focuses on social justice and program evaluation, and my husband is in a punk rock band for a living. We have two kids, ages 12 and nine, and they are totally bad ass.

We're completely debt-free aside from the house, to which we owe about $74,000. We're hoping to have it paid off by the end of next year. Though we're on solid footing debt-wise, we are brutally behind on retirement and kids' college funds.

I found MMM through the Dave Ramsey message boards (look, I know, alright, but his wee baby steps helped us pay off over $65,000 in debt). The timing couldn't have been better, because while the DR thing worked really well for us for debt, it's not been fitting well for me in terms of retirement, investing, etc.

I'm a total novice at this stuff, and I'll be the first to admit that it is completely over my head right now. I'm gonna spend a lot of time lurking and just soaking up your brilliance. Hopefully you won't find me creepy.

I'm really excited to get our shit together. Thanks for having me!

Li

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #854 on: September 27, 2013, 03:18:05 PM »
I've been reading MMM's posts for well over a year through an RSS reader and just discovered the forum a few days ago.  I live in Ontario, Canada (about 1 hour west of Toronto).  I'm more on the frugal side and would love to retire early although I may still work for fun.  My husband on the other hand is definitely not mustachian.  I'm hoping to find ways to turn our life a little more mustachian without him even realizing it. 

Love the posts and enjoy getting Mrs. MMM's view too.

Golikety

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #855 on: September 29, 2013, 05:22:36 AM »
Howdy - I happened to stumble across MMM while researching Peer to Peer lending a week ago.  His positive and informative review lead me to dig more on this Moustached Man, and boy am I glad I did.  I am in my late 20's, military, and single.  I have been reading books upon financial books while deployed with the goal of being financially responsible with my money when I return.  I want to make the most of my situation and how better to do that than to follow Mr. Money Moustache.  I look forward to meeting discovering fellow Moustachians and learning what is no doubt amazing advice on this forum.  I also want to be held accountable for my actions and goals so I plan to use this forum to help keep me on track. 

Thomas

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #856 on: September 29, 2013, 04:29:26 PM »
Hi, I've been lurking for a while and realized I never even bothered to post an introduction.

I'm Thomas & have been in the Air Force for about 12 years. I discovered Jacob at ERE about a week or so before he quit and sent everyone here to MMM. Very glad he did that. I've got two kids & want to be able to spend as much time with them as possible both while I'm in the service and once I'm retired.

I'm nowhere near the level of mustachian demonstrated on these boards, but I'm one of the few people in my office that consistently brings in lunch, so I satisfy my competitive streak by knowing I'm at least doing better than a few. I've been consistently increasing my biking and using the phrase "what do you mean you don't own a bike" more often than I ever thought I would. Looking forward to seeing what the future brings.

anneinpdx

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #857 on: October 01, 2013, 05:44:51 PM »
Hi! I'm Anne.  I live in beautiful Portland, OR with my husband, 2 kids, and 1 old mutt.  I started my financial turnaround in Jan 2012 when our credit card had ballooned to $5600 after unpaid maternity leave and some unexpected major expenses.  Prior to this, we never carried a balance but also never really saved with any purpose.  We had a bit of a scare with the big bill and big increase in childcare costs with our 2nd baby.  I started with YNAB which totally helped turn our finances around.  I just checked and found that our net worth has increased $120,000 since starting.  Some of this is from growth in stock accounts but a lot is due to just plain old buckling down and saving/paying down debt. 

I found MMM about 6 months ago and this site has helped kick up our goals another notch.  We are planning to pay off the $21000 remaining on my private grad school loan this year.  After the loan is paid off, I am planning to stay home with the kids and just do some per diem work to pick up some income (I am in healthcare). I am also working on learning some programming skills on Treehouse and hoping to do some type of flexible work with that. 

Since finding MMM I have: learned to fix my broken car window and broken turn signal, cut my car insurance by 60%, cut my grocery bill by another $100, and am working on cutting ~$100 off my cell phone bill.  The site also inspired me to learn to build computers and I am volunteering at my local computer recycling center...learn skills, help build donated computers for others, and get free desktop at the end for me.  Win!   The MMM site has helped me shift from a "just stay within budget" mindset to "just how low can I keep my spending without sacrificing the things which bring true satisfaction?"   

lizfish

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #858 on: October 02, 2013, 08:24:42 AM »
Hi, I'm Liz. I found out about this website from the YNAB podcast. I am 30, married with no kids (yet) and living in the UK. I am currently self-employed and under-earning by some margin, my husband commutes 60 miles round-trip to a job which is OK, but not great - which I would love for him not to do. We do not have any debt other than the mortgages (we will have about 2/3 equity in our house once we pay off one of them with a recent inheritance from my mum's passing) and we both have some personal savings. Not sure about my DH's pension pot, but I've not contributed to mine in the 3 years since I left employment (pensions tend to be linked with jobs here) and in all honesty I doubt it's much above £20k GBP right now which is pitiful. We both maintain separate bank accounts and contribute to a joint account for all household expenses inc holidays and home improvements (many of them to stop heat-loss)

I am a newbie at this early retirement stuff. I am an avid YNAB user, and a natural saver and don't really shop much. My DH has a taste for electronic equipment and loves his car. (always used) I have various hobbies and generally just don't earn enough to make what I feel is a significant contribution to our mortgage-free future, and early retirement beyond. I've never invested in the stock market, and I have a natural distrust for the people looking after my pension because I don't understand it and I feel that the person making money out of it is almost certainly not me.

All in all, I am very glad to be here. I know that we have half the battle won by not being knee-deep in consumer debt, not buying a house we could barely afford, and not spending hundreds of pounds a month on restaurants and new clothes like so many people we know. BUT I do not know if we have what it takes to strip down our spending to reach the level of saving 50% (in fact I don't even know how far we are from it - as a couple that is) But I know for certain that I am not up for that 9-5 stuff. I am not up for my husband spending 10-12 hours driving a week to a job he doesn't really enjoy that much. I am not up for buying stuff because people think it's a bit odd that we don't see shopping as a leisure activity.


But I don't own a bike. Is all lost?



lizfish

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #859 on: October 02, 2013, 08:51:20 AM »
it's just that I suck, am SUPER lazy, and a complete complainypants.

Right there with you on that. Since leaving a super-stressful 9-5 to 'work out what I wanted to do', and then going self-employed in the industry I thought I wanted to get away from, I've barely worked more than 3/4 days a week and most of the time not even that. I don't really enjoy freelancing that much. I hate having the money conversations, and am really bad at starting off client relationships well. Yes I get to set my hours, listen to music, take whatever breaks I want, but in reality I just sit at a desk just the same, just on my own instead. My DH leaves the house at 6.45 most days and gets back at 5.30/6. I feel so guilty for that.

I wish you well in getting your sh** together. I'll let you know how mine goes.

JessieImproved

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #860 on: October 02, 2013, 09:49:06 AM »
Hi, I'm Jessie.  I found MMM from NW Edible and I've been hooked ever since.  I started growing my 'stache long when I decided to start trying for kids (great timing, I know).  I now have 2 girls, one preschool age and one barely over a year.  My husband is frugal at heart but definitely not Mustachian - I'm slowly but surely working on the conversion. :-)  I'm hoping to start my journal soon - I'm sure you guys could give me some face-punches to get this ball rolling faster.

mnpsatan13

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #861 on: October 02, 2013, 11:07:18 AM »
Greetings everyone,

I'm Prabhakar from India. (Yes, MMM has reached India!)
I work in a beeg multinational firm as an Assistant Manager & live with my wife & daughter.

All my debts will vanish next year, thanks to MMM blog.

Keep rocking!

salocin

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #862 on: October 03, 2013, 10:03:18 AM »
Hey there, salocin here. I'm 26, almost 27 and work in IT. I too, cannot imagine doing this job for much longer. I found MMM via reddit.com/r/personalfinance

I need to learn to be less compulsive, more frugal and stop trying to buy things to make me happy.

greenmimama

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #863 on: October 04, 2013, 08:29:52 AM »
Hi, I'm Suzanne my hubbby and I live in MI with 3 young boys, where we are currently trying to build a bigger mustache, I just recently found out about this but have been a huge Dave Ramsey fan for 20 years, so it follows a lot of the same principles, but we are now going to shift a bit and really hunker down to build it up!

potatoface

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #864 on: October 05, 2013, 05:06:09 PM »
Hi I'm Tony and I'm an alcoholic aspiring early quitter. After suffering from buyer's remorse one too many times I fell into minimalism & taking better care of my finances. I eventually found MMM after seeing a link to a guy who retired at 30. While I'm 3 years too late to do that, I'm making a goal to cram as much money as I can into my savings hole.

I've spent the last 11 years working in a northern Virginia hotel, father to a teenager, and I believe the reason my hair is failing out is because it wants to escape my ugly head. Glad to be here!

Anatidae V

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #865 on: October 07, 2013, 12:39:13 AM »
Hi! I'm a 24 y.o. environmental engineer, living in the most remote city on the planet, which coupled with it's cute little resources boom, has made it one of the more expensive as well. Supported by family through university, I delayed moving out of my grandmas for nearly a year in order to save cash.

Been devouring personal finance advice since I left uni - got a drive to prove my family's investment in me was worth it! Partner of 6 years found YNAB, I said "sounds nice..." 6 months later, I actually downloaded the free trial, and two weeks ago we paid for it, and then they mentioned MMM! Feels like home *sigh*

I have some good mustachian tendencies (It's broken. Can we fix it first?), some bad ones (house is a $475p.w. 3 by 1.5 for 2 people and a cat, walking distance from tiny shopping center and a train station). These extra bedrooms are used as a study and craft room, in my defense... oh, and I drive to work every day because I don't actually have the option of public transport or bike riding (I HATE it). Working on my boss to allow more time in head office (train!) or home (roll out of bed!) Looking for tips for living in my expensive lovely city - who knows, maybe its' as cheap as America sounds but I've just been doing it all wrong? My goal is to become FI in 10 years, start a family within 4, and convince my SO of how great an idea all of this is :)

**Forgot to say: I have no debt, but my darling SO has a HECS/HELP/Whateverit'scallednow debt, which we have no intention of deliberately paying back ever. Why? Because the government indexes against inflation, with no interest, and we are under no obligation to pay any of it unless he earns above a certain threshold.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2013, 12:57:55 AM by anatidaev »

Fyzbo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #866 on: October 07, 2013, 09:38:55 AM »
Hi everyone, 31 year old living in Cary, NC.  Still working a day job, but only debt between my wife and I are two student loads and a mortgage.  All fixed with very low interest rates.  Joined the forum to gain insights and find help in how best to invest our growing savings, it currently sits in an extremely low interest savings account.  Will be asking many questions in other topic groups.

RobertBirnie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #867 on: October 07, 2013, 10:06:44 AM »
Hi Folks,

I just joined the forums so that I an chip into the discussions on here. Looks like a great resource!

I'm a 26 year old with a wife and a 15mo baby daughter. I'm from San Jose, CA and work in the tech field. My wife and I had been starting to save like crazy for about two years now and we were super excited when I found MMM and like minded people! Currently we're max on 401k/IRA accounts and putting a substantial amount into our student loans ( ~ 3 years left till gone). So just starting out really and excited to share the ride with you all.

FirePaddle

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #868 on: October 07, 2013, 04:19:16 PM »
Hiya folks.  This blog has inspired me to get our asses in gear.  Thanks MMM!

My wife and I don't want to work until I'm old and tired.  Over the last week, my wife and I have paid off our last student loans ($10k), and now are on track to pay off our one car loan ($15k, 2010 model) in less than a year.  We also have goals of reducing our "misc" spending category from ~$1200/month to $525 (50/wk/person allowance and $125 for restaurants), and reduce our grocery bill from $700 to $500.  This is just the start.  I feel like we have a decent start already, as our net worth is [deleted] right now, 34 years old, no kids, but we have 2 cars, don't carpool enough, have been spending too much for short term happiness, etc.  I'm already looking at selling my V8 dakota and getting a mini van, because I've always wanted a van!  We have somewhat unique needs living in AK (which I know is not cheap!) such as taking our own garbage to the dump, hauling our own water in a 200gal tank (1600lbs) to our house, and steep roads and winter for 7 months of the year, etc.  I hope to adjust the principles here to our life in the north (and then maybe retire in a new location where our money will go way further!)

I hope this is the start of a great time.

Tom
« Last Edit: March 27, 2015, 02:31:02 PM by tkurkcanoe »

Scrooge McDuck

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #869 on: October 07, 2013, 08:58:03 PM »
Hi all - been a massive fan of MMM for about a year now but first time in the forum.  A New Zealand couple in mid/late 20's and on a mission to reaching the point where we have the freedom to take on whatever work when and where we want.  Although pretty good with money the blog has enabled us to reinforce why we spend money on some things but refrain on others.  We feel very empowered and are now riding the front of the wealth building wave.  Surfs up!

trombonedadio

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #870 on: October 09, 2013, 06:42:18 AM »
Hi I am Trombonedadio.  I spent 20+ years totally immersed in a professional music career, which although I loved it, caused me to be living an unbalanced lifestyle. At a certain point my playing career came to a grinding halt, however I have managed to keep my educational career continuing. When I first stumbled upon the MMM blog two or three years ago, I realized that I have been living the MMM lifestyle for many years. You can check it out - most professional musicians do not make a $&*tload of money....  so, largely due to necessity, frugality has been at the top of our list, like, forever.

Now I am "retired" from the orchestra job I don't really feel "retired" but rather "busy." Some of those "busy" things pay me money, some save me money, and some have no noticeable impact on our finances.

As always, I make an effort to enjoy life to the fullest - especially to recognize when I am wasting energy on unnecessary stuff as opposed to when I am investing energy in useful/fun/rewarding stuff!

Glad to be here!

reginna

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #871 on: October 09, 2013, 07:53:27 AM »
Hiya folks.  This blog has inspired me to get our asses in gear.  Thanks MMM!

My wife and I don't want to work until I'm old and tired.  Over the last week, my wife and I have paid off our last student loans ($10k), and now are on track to pay off our one car loan ($15k, 2010 model) in less than a year.  We also have goals of reducing our "misc" spending category from ~$1200/month to $525 (50/wk/person allowance and $125 for restaurants), and reduce our grocery bill from $700 to $500.  This is just the start.  I feel like we have a decent start already, as our net worth is ~$450k right now, 34 years old, no kids, but we have 2 cars, don't carpool enough, have been spending too much for short term happiness, etc.  I'm already looking at selling my V8 dakota and getting a mini van, because I've always wanted a van!  We have somewhat unique needs living in AK (which I know is not cheap!) such as taking our own garbage to the dump, hauling our own water in a 200gal tank (1600lbs) to our house, and steep roads and winter for 7 months of the year, etc.  I hope to adjust the principles here to our life in the north (and then maybe retire in a new location where our money will go way further!)

I hope this is the start of a great time.

Tom

Look forward to following your adventure!

dude

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #872 on: October 11, 2013, 07:24:08 AM »
Greetings, all, dude here.  Been fascinated with the MMM blog since I found it about a month ago.  Revelatory is the best word I can use to describe it.  Have been on a cost-cutting jihad since I started reading it.  I'm on track to retire from a government law enforcement job at 55 (I'm eligible to retire at 53, but 55 is the age I'm planning on based on several factors).  Pension is decent (okay, it would sustain two of Mr. Money Mustache's families), but only a 34% replacement of my current salary.  Been maxing the 401k out for better than a decade now, and feel like I'm all set for an early(ish) retirement (though getting the wife on board may be another matter!).  Anyway, MMM has opened my eyes to the incredible amount of waste in my household's personal finances, and I'm determined to take control of it.  This blog's message of financial independence -- and MMM's devastating logic in presenting its possibility -- has resonated very strongly with me.  I can't wait to utter MLK's beautiful words, though obviously in a much less significant context, "free at last, free at last; thank God Almighty, I'm free at last."  Looking forward to sharing ideas and learning new methods of improvement with this community.

MammaStash

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #873 on: October 13, 2013, 05:24:05 AM »
Hi All,
Just found MMM via an interview with YNAB software founder. So I've got a lot of work to do but there are good foundations to work with - biked heaps when I was young, stopped watching TV news like forever-ago, flipped at consumerism about the same time, like to count stuff...like money for instance, hate commuting, etc. Just had a little anti-mustachian detour in life for like the last 20 years!

Ok ... so where's the Australian based data? I need to make myself total comfortable with some of those cool little formulas Mr. MM throws around.

Hope to see you all around here from time to time.

Mamma

Mitch76

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #874 on: October 13, 2013, 03:00:18 PM »
Hi,
I'm Mitch, live in the UK.
Just discovered MMM and loving it.
I'm 37, one kid, another on the way.
Mortgage paid off, no debt, about 40k stashed so far (Vanguard Lifestrategy in ISA's).
Gonna try to stash like crazy from now on, this is truly an inspirational site, thank you!

monarda

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #875 on: October 14, 2013, 12:22:32 AM »
Hi, I'm monarda

I just discovered MMM this evening. What a resource!
I'm a landlord and scientist. Real estate equity is my retirement plan, since 2001.
I'm very frugal and green and curious to find out how mustachian  I am.  I want to learn more about how I should spend (or not) in the next five or so years.

Thank you!
monarda

lauraredcloud

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #876 on: October 14, 2013, 09:09:54 AM »
Hi, I'm Laura from Boston. I'm 27. I discovered MMM and YNAB through the Personal Finance subreddit and was blown away. I'm building up from "no knowledge or interest about finance, sorta half-assedly budget, pretty sure I make more than I spend"a year ago to a 48% savings rate today. Not sure if that is sustainable, but I'm trying. MMM is a big inspiration. Financial independence is the motivating goal that really made savings seem worthwhile for the first time. I like my job, and I don't picture myself being idle after FI, but you can't put a price on freedom. I've been on a frenzy trying to optimize everything from hacking away at shopping, groceries, and and utility usage to properly understanding and taking advantage of my job's benefits to applying for side gigs. Let the games begin.

DebtBeard

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #877 on: October 15, 2013, 08:01:51 AM »
Hi there, I'm from the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario, about an hour and a half west of Toronto.  Discovered the blog about a week ago and have been devouring the articles, after getting over my shock of how awesome this site was!  Though I've yet to really use any of the awesome advice, I'm all fired up to give it a shot!  As a self-diagnosed money idiot, this is the real kick in the pants that I needed!  So I'm coming to all you more senior mustachians to help shed my ignorance and reach this financial independence thing that's become all the rage here :)

Hope to talk to you soon!
DB

stripey

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #878 on: October 15, 2013, 04:02:05 PM »
I'm 28 living in Australia. Basically, I am close a financial clean slate I suspect. I comfortably live on about AUD 25k in a city with a very high cost of living, but could cut back. I have no debt to speak of, and a little savings. (I have 'student loans' of about $31k but in the Aussie HECS-HELP system is only indexed so I will probably just ignore it).

I am looking forward to some positive peer pressure in how to manage my money better! Hope to talk soon!

Stripey
« Last Edit: November 25, 2015, 09:02:10 AM by stripey »

wilma

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #879 on: October 16, 2013, 01:58:56 PM »
My name is Michelle.  My hubby is super excited about growing his mustache.  I am not so sure, so I am trying to get more info so I can get on board.  I am the shopper of the house, I homeschool our 9YO and we have a 16YO who is a junior at the local high school.  We make an insane amount of money but we are not rich.  Would like to change that.  Need to treat our debt "like the emergency that it is".  Right now we have two car loans, a mortgage, student loans, a HELOC, and a couple of credit cards.  We have not been adding to our debt for a couple of years, but we are not paying enough of it down either.  I am not convinced that it is possible for us to get our expenses down to this level, but I am open minded.  Can't hurt to try, right?  We are 9 years from having an empty nest, I would like to be able to travel and spend time with my husband semi-retired at the age of 50, by then.


Loud Noises

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #880 on: October 16, 2013, 02:05:41 PM »
Loud Noises here.  I came upon MMM a few weeks ago and have been digesting it regularly.  MMM lines up with much of the way I have been thinking about my life lately.  I'm 28 and love what I do for a living.  In fact I hope I never stop doing it.  My goal is merely to achieve FI so that I don't have to worry about money, because my career is notoriously feast or famine.  I have a long way to go but every journey begins with a single step.  I'm projecting a roughly 50% savings rate over the next year and every dollar moves me closer to my goal!

auntbecky

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #881 on: October 17, 2013, 01:10:47 PM »
Hey everyone!  I'm Becky.  I'm 32, married and have 3 kids.  We are both IT professionals and make a decent wage.  I am currently in a disappointed/rageful (alternating back and forth) state at how much we bring in, and how we are no better off than when we first married and lived off of one very small income.  I am very thankful for the blog and forum guides and figured it was time to stop lurking and start making myself accountable.

Anodyne

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #882 on: October 17, 2013, 06:12:37 PM »
Hi guys,

I'm a 24-year old recent college graduate living in the San Diego area. I've been reading MMM and other FI blogs for a while, but as I'm starting my first "career" 9-5 job next week, I thought I'd join you all on here and ask all you wise people for some advice. :)

Sneezy

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #883 on: October 20, 2013, 11:36:31 AM »
Greetings!

I just found MMM (through ERE) this weekend. It has been quite a while since I felt so inspired and excited about my possibilities.

My wife and I live in Oak Ridge, TN (near Knoxville), and I work at the national lab. My plan of record to this point has been a traditional retirement at age 63 (2023) with a pension, social security (if there's anything left), 401k, and IRAs. However, exposure to the ideas here at at ERE has gotten me thinking about the possibility of accelerating that schedule.

Current situation: about 6K of income each month, with a mortgage (started at $153K in 2011, now at $88K, plan to finish by end of 2015) and a car loan (8K, plan to pay off with proceeds of selling already paid off 2nd vehicle next month -- we're keeping the small efficient Versa and selling the big wasteful Quest). We're currently putting about half my take home on the mortgage and see some ways to increase that a bit around the beginning of next year.

Of course, once the mortgage is gone, that 50% will be going into building the 'stache. So far, we have around $240K in assets (401k, IRA, and taxable investment account) accumulated, so we're not doing too badly.

What I hope to learn here is how to reduce our expenses further so we can get to FI with a smaller 'stache, faster.

As it turns out, I do have a bike and rode it to work for much of 2010 and 2011. Over the past summer, my wife took up running and I stopped riding the bike so much as I was running every morning with her. However, the ERE/MMM gospel has inspired me to get back on the bike. Riding to work most days will save us about $1000 a year in gasoline, not to mention the wear and tear on the car.

The ideas of simplicity/frugality/minimalism on the one hand and early retirement/financial independence on the other have always appealed to me. ERE and MMM (and I hear there are others out there) are the first sources I've encountered that show how the two fit together in such a synergistic, serendipitous fashion.

I'm very excited and happy to be here. Looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Tom

RockinRobin

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #884 on: October 20, 2013, 03:49:26 PM »
Hello,

I came upon MMM through Reddit, one of my other addictions. I am a 52 year old nurse in NC who has three grown children and a wonderful husband and one old dog. We are currently trying to whip our finances into shape for retirement in the next few years. We have quite a few assets, but I really don't know what we spend since we have been flying by the seat of our pants for years.

Since I started reading the blog, we have seriously downsized our spending on many things, but the food budget is our biggest problem area. I am still trying to figure out what the monthly food budget is exactly...I tend to stock up on things when I find a good deal so it's going to take a while to break it down.

Let's just say I'm still working on it. I'm hoping to get our expenses down to a point where we can retire even sooner, maybe in the next year or two. Thanks for reading :)

NearlyThere

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #885 on: October 21, 2013, 01:16:29 AM »
Morning guys and gals,

I found MMM via monevator well over 6 months ago and digested the entire blog in one sitting. It wasn't a pretty sight the following morning. I'm 31 years old, married (no kids) and have 2 successful small businesses. I think I live frugally, but then again I last Wednesday I easily spent £100+ on eating out. Not mustachian and deserved of a Major Facepunch, hence the name.

The plan is to curb my frivolous food spend first and foremost as this is the largest area of concern for me. The rest will follow suit!

« Last Edit: October 21, 2013, 01:19:54 AM by MajorFacepunch »

random_nobody_23

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #886 on: October 23, 2013, 03:44:10 PM »
Hi all,

22 y.o. just about to begin my career as a teacher. Living with partner and my dad to save money.
Moving west soon.

Have always been frugal due to necessities of being a student but been actively working toward FI since 20.

Some savings between the two of us, a $22,000, newly acquired debt from university.

Would love to be FI before 35.

2girlsdad

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #887 on: October 23, 2013, 04:06:42 PM »
Hi.  I'm Brent, and I'm new to MMM blog.  It's an awesome site--I've spent better part of day at continuing education seminar cruising around and I'm really enjoying it (the site, not the seminar).

Mrs. Brent and I are early 40's and are proud parents of 7 year old and her 5 year old sidekick sister.  We live in Northern California and look forward to growing our family mustache.

xingcat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #888 on: October 24, 2013, 08:29:28 AM »
Patrick here. 45 and living in the Boston area.

I found this board from Get Rich Slowly (which I think has gone a bit downhill) and found that I'm really interested in the tenets of early retirement and financial independence.

I've been very good about saving, and now I have to make the leap into investing.

surfastarian

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    • My Story
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #889 on: October 25, 2013, 10:17:16 AM »
Travis.  29 and 21/24th's years.  Around 34 days until my 30th birthday.  Just counted them.  Seemed easier than doing the math.

Live in the Atlanta area.

Am sometimes fond of beginning sentence fragments with verbs.

Been a long time reader of the blog.  Brilliantly written.  Love the style.

Awful debt.  Made stupid decisions.  Surrounded by crap.

Read intro thread and rules.  Never heard of a hierarchy of disagreement, but may work it into a lesson one day.  Liked it.

Thought suggestion to post an introduction thread was a good idea.  Did so.  Wrote a poem.

Hope you like it.

Empire Business

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #890 on: October 26, 2013, 03:34:02 PM »
Hey guys.  I am 42 and live in Seattle with my husband, no kids.  Our small "starter home" (lol, I plan to die in it) is almost paid off, and I am trying to decide what to do after that.

I have always done pretty well with being mostly frugal with a few glaring exceptions.  Now I am looking to trim more, but I am finding in some cases it may take an up front expenditure to save money in the long run.  For example, the home does need some repairs, and I am looking to change its heating system to a different type.

It seems like you have a great community here, and I am looking forward to getting all of your advice and pitching in if it's something I happen to know about. 

Siamond

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #891 on: October 26, 2013, 06:39:56 PM »
Hi there. After spending a little while on the ER forum (on my way to FI/ER... maybe 2014, maybe 2015, the sooner the better!), the cFIREsim author (Hi Bo!) suggested that I join this friendly MMM forum. So I did. And from the little I've read so far, this certainly seems very worthwhile. Many thanks for all the contributions of the community here.

I am 51, married, I have 3 boys, 2 in college (OUCH!) and 1 younger. I live in the Boston area, and I love to fish... Once I can get out of the regular work grind, one of my side activities will be to act as an occasional fishing guide, notably with kids. I always enjoyed it very much, so I might as well make a few $$ while pleasing kids, parents and enjoying myself by the same token.

Oh, and I do have a mustache. Comes with a beard (and not much hair left on top)...

Moomingirl

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #892 on: October 26, 2013, 07:02:46 PM »
Hi everyone, I'm in NZ, and working towards (and looking forward to) early retirement.

I'm pushing 40 (hard!) and wish I had found MMM and ERE ten years ago. I'm making up for it now though.

BroncoRon

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #893 on: October 27, 2013, 06:46:27 PM »
Hi - I'm Ron.

I'm a 27 year old Engineer in NY.  I make a nice salary but am trying to kill the remainder of my student loan debt before purchasing my first home; hopefully by 30 years old.  I'd like to retire by 45.

I'm looking to learn more about investing and saving, and becoming more "frugal" with my spending


syslogv4

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #894 on: October 28, 2013, 05:12:03 PM »
Hello everybody

About Me:

I am 24, married my highschool sweetheart at 21, bought our house at 21 and have no credit card, student loan or car loan debt.

My wife is an EMT (soon to be paramedic). We are right at the national average for household income.

I drive a 1993 Chevy S10 (got for free from my dad when he bought a newer truck). My wife drives a Scion (we paid cash, salvage title, but nothing wrong with it) We also have a F350 for a farm truck (again paid cash)

Other than the last few months, we typically have a 45% to 55% savings rate.

We bought a foreclosed house and got a great deal on it (cheaper than rent). Although, we are selling to buy one with more land.

We are looking forward to increasing our savings % !!!

Heart of Tin

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #895 on: October 28, 2013, 05:13:38 PM »
Per forum etiquette I'm here to say hello. My name is Heart of Tin, but you can call me Tinny. I'm 24-years-old living in Kansas City where expenses are low, and the weather is erratic. My field of expertise is actuarial science, but I'm still waiting to get my second foot in the door so that my savings can really take off. I can't wait to meet all of you!

Leggo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #896 on: October 28, 2013, 06:36:29 PM »
I'm Leggo.  Well, technically, that is my husband's nickname that I stole because it is awesome.  I guess I'm Mrs. Leggo.  Anyway...spent a lifetime thinking I deserved the finer things.  Just now realized that stuff does not equal happiness and trying to make it right.  Have about $100k in retirement savings once you subtract the mortgage.  Also just realized I've been ripped off by paying for WL insurance for 20 years, but fixed that immediately.  Like MMM said, we're going to live to be 120, so do I really want to spend the next 80 years paying for that?

Two kids...yep, recognize that they are a money suck, but for us, SO WORTH IT (to each their own).  I have fantasies of early retirement and homeschooling them while traveling the world.  Let's get to it.

D.williams

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #897 on: October 29, 2013, 02:54:41 PM »
Hey guys,

My name is Dan, I am a landlord and look forward to contributing to the community any way possible! Until next time folks!

ejann1

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #898 on: October 29, 2013, 07:11:23 PM »
Hi, I'm Eva!  So great to have access to such an inspiring, helpful community of like-minded folks.  I posted my first on the forum on October 19, "Simple but fundamental question."  I'd love to hear from everyone. 

I'm 24 with no debt, working full time.  It's going well, but I've so many questions about how to do this whole retire-early thing...

Pixie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #899 on: October 31, 2013, 10:42:32 AM »
Hi, I am a full time sahm, homeschooling three kids 14, 11 & 8.  My dh is a public school teacher & does remodelling jobs on the side to bring in extra income.  Historically, we haven't made good financial decisions.  We got married at 23 right after dh graduated.  We didn't know how to make good financial choices, or to even how or why to think about our future.  We've had some good things happen, but we didn't capatalize on them, so we're not better off.  The one thing we have going for us is dh's retirement plan.  Currently, We try to be frugal, but still live paycheck to paycheck & can't manage to save or pay off debt.  We're about to receive an inheritance that can turn this situation around & I really want to manage it well.  I'm going to post a case study, so I won't go into more detail here.  I literally cried when I found out about this unexpected inheritance, I want to use this to change our lives.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!