Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317647 times)

Blondie

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #150 on: June 12, 2012, 08:32:11 PM »
Hello.  My name is Carol and my DH is Ian.  We are not the target market for Mr. MM, however, since I found him while googling early retirement, I have not been able to turn away.  I read back through the articles and most comments.  I absolutely love the philosophies, cheeky attitude and best advice available, including relevant and thoughtful comments.
We are retiring at the end of this year, me at 56 and him at 58, and moving to a small village in central Mexico where a beer is 60cents and 2 large bags of wonderful produce is about a buck and a half.  I am looking forward to continuing to live my aspiring Mustachian lifestyle.  I sincerely wish I had young, hip people talking to me like Mr. and Mrs. MM 30 years ago.  All the advice I got as I floundered through my financial life was sales pitches on mutual funds and very little on how to get the Saving Money Punch in the Face I so desperately needed.  I raised my 2 sons mostly alone and got to the $90k salary range in time to meet my 3rd and last husband and move to a small town in southeastern BC, Canada.  I work at a small government job now that has more than met my needs for the past 4 years: small, DB pension.

I have raved about MMM since I found him, in particular to my sons who are most definitely in the target market: 30ish, high earners, single and needing sound financial direction they can relate to.  I, sadly, was a lousy role-model.  Son #2 is a MMM subscriber and we often talk about the latest article.  He told me on Sunday, his goal for FI is when he turns 40 in 12 years.  Now, we have to work on the #1 son.  At 32, definitely needs the Punch in the Face.  Maybe we could do a MMM make-over.

Thanks very much for doing this, you are truly an inspiration.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2012, 05:02:48 PM by Blondie »

jbhernandez

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #151 on: June 13, 2012, 11:14:06 AM »
My last intro post disappeared, but it was too long anyway.

I'm John, dba CuencaSolo on this and a few other sites.  I'm a single guy of 63, retired in Cuenca in the Andes of Ecuador for nearly two years now.  Before that, I maintained ancient mainframe programs at Dallas City Hall.  ("Cobol?  You mean I get to work on the new stuff?")  Only for 13 years, and Texas cities don't allow some of the scams you hear about in places like California or Illinois, but my civil service defined benefit pension would still embarrass a gangster.  That was more comfortable back when most big companies had traditional pension plans, so government employees did not stick out.  Now I have to blush as I say:  Thank you, Dallas property tax payers!

I'm good with crossing cultural boundaries, and pretty good at languages, so it was an easy decision to cut my basic living costs in half by moving to a relatively pleasant Third World country.  I won't be getting a car here (walkable small city, usable buses and taxis.)  Other than that, I would rate myself low in Badassity and high in WussyPantsitude.  I rent in a secured condo building, with weekly visits from a cleaning lady, and call for a repair person if I need anything much more complex than changing a light bulb.

I'd be glad to give details on living costs and ways of doing things if people are interested, but this is an extension of the basic MMM themes.  My lifestyle here is an instance of what you do after FI, rather than how to attain it.

Hello John,

I love Cuenca, Ecuador for that matter, and it's a great place to live. I'm going to guess you are paying $300 for that rental?

I would not call it Third World, but I can understand why others might. Here a a few pics from my most recent trip in March for those who may want to look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9452251@N06/sets/72157630058245337/

Uncephalized

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #152 on: June 14, 2012, 02:10:57 PM »
Hi!

I'm Uncephalized. I'm 24, recently married to a lovely young lady, and a mechanical engineer working in Phoenix, AZ. I don't know my net worth, because my parents and relatives are compulsive investment-account funders and so by the time I graduated high school I had more stocks, IRAs and investment accounts than I knew what to do with. I mostly ignored them for several years because I had no clue what I was supposed to do with them. Then I spent a bunch of it to live on for a couple of years when my parents were no longer supporting me and I was finishing my degree, then unemployed for 6 months.

So now I'm in the extremely exciting process of figuring out how much I am worth--which happily, despite my former cluelessness, seems to be a significantly-positive amount--as well as exponentially increasing my Badassity. I'm figuring out all my accounts, combining, streamlining and simplifying my investments, and paying off the relatively small amount of credit card debt my wife and I accrued recently related to our wedding expenses. I read MMM obsessively from the first post to the current one in about 4 frenzied days, and now I'm putting his principles in action! I want to be self-employed well before 30, and financially independent not too long after that. But for now I'm sticking with my pretty-cool engineering job, 'cause it's easy money, baby!

I want FI because I always have ideas and concepts for inventions to create, businesses to start, stories to write, and a million and one things I want to DO! and FI is the only way to have both the money and the time to do them! We're also planning to start a family in a few years, and I want to be around for my kid(s).

winfield

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #153 on: June 16, 2012, 01:14:28 PM »
Hi, I am new to the forum after reading the blog posts from the beginning over the last month or so. I live in Central PA and recently became motivated to move towards a more mustachian lifestyle even before learning of the term. I spent 3.5 years driving 90+ miles one way to work 5 days a week after meeting who is now my wife online. Luckily I have found new employment and spend only 28 miles 5 days a week on the road. Having endured a 4 hour round trip for that period of time gave me a new perspective on time, life, income, spending and basically what really makes someone happy. Thanks in advance to everyone involved in making this blog/website a success as it has been my companion in the last couple of months for driving me towards a more sustainable future.

Will

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #154 on: June 18, 2012, 01:05:05 PM »
As a relative "noob" can someone please explain what the different colors of the little squares under our names represent?  And what about the number of squares?  And what are all the different levels?  I've seen stubble, handlebar, magnum, etc., but what is the "ranking" of those?

grantmeaname

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #155 on: June 18, 2012, 01:15:50 PM »
Stubble 1-49 posts
Bristles 50-99 posts
Handlebar 100-249 posts
Magnum 250-499 posts
(edit: Senior Mustachian 500+ posts)

You get another square for each named rank you achieve. Moderators and admins have administrative powers (the banhammer, but also splitting, merging, and moving threads), and they get more squares than that.
« Last Edit: June 27, 2012, 08:41:04 AM by grantmeaname »

Worsted Skeins

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #156 on: June 20, 2012, 06:39:37 AM »
It was only last week that I learned I was Mustachian.  I have been calling myself a Frugalista, a term that dates back to Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette newsletter (which eventually evolved into a series of books).  All this was before the Web, of course.

My husband (in his 40's) continues to slog away in the corporate world, but our frugality has allowed me to work for pay only when the job suited our lifestyle and my personal goals.  I homeschooled, I do a lot of volunteer work in my community, and I have the time to cook from scratch, sew, knit... I am the Chief Financial Officer of this household.

After our Dear One graduates from college, we could retire---or change our lives so that my husband does consulting work part of the year.  Hence I was thrilled to discover this community which should inspire us as we run the numbers.


apple

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #157 on: June 22, 2012, 06:54:55 AM »
new moustachian here.....

im a young professional in canada (28), immigrated here 12 years ago from southeast asia....sponsored my dad and stepbrother last year...

had no discipline with money and had tons of debt ... which causes me great stress...so i've been reading tons of money blogs and found MMM...

background:

due to PAST bad spending habits, im currently paying close to $500 in interest, per month and $1500 debt payments...to sum it up

future is looking bleak...i've been trying to get out of this terrible cycle for 5 years but had to buy a house last year for us to live in...which came with a ton of costs....

trying to do the cash spending only but very hard...i no longer buy clothes, shoes or anything else that is not a NEED.....

hoping in 3 years I can pay this off and start saving 40% of my income

a stressball until then

Tiamat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #158 on: June 22, 2012, 05:23:58 PM »
Hello, I'm Tiamat. I'm a fan of simple lifestyle types of forums and enjoy the support I find in them. I'm looking forward to posting here.

Parr0thead98

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #159 on: June 22, 2012, 07:58:43 PM »
Hi, I;m Pete, married, 2 kids.  Looking to be a Moustachian in Summer 2013!

Found this site from Nords over on www.the-military-guide.com.

On track to retire at age 47 next year, but wife will be rejoining the workforce out of a desire to get back into Nursing.

CuencaSolo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #160 on: June 23, 2012, 09:16:35 PM »

Hello John,

I love Cuenca, Ecuador for that matter, and it's a great place to live. I'm going to guess you are paying $300 for that rental?

I would not call it Third World, but I can understand why others might. Here a a few pics from my most recent trip in March for those who may want to look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9452251@N06/sets/72157630058245337/

Good call on the rent.  I have seen much higher asking prices lately in the Gringo Tree email list, but I hope they are atypical.  I pay:

$280 rent
  $63 condo charge (includes central hot water and propane for the stove, both luxuries here)
  $39 cleaning ($9 a week for about 90 minutes)
  $22 internet (pretty slow, down for hours at least once a week)
  $15 purified drinking water (in 20-liter bottles, $2 including a tip when the guard brings it up)
  $10 electricity (with a charge for street lighting!)
    $4 water, sewer (and maintain public parks!)
    $3 landline phone (plus a bit every 3 months to buy minutes for a cell phone)

$436 monthly total.  That's in an apartment of about 700 square feet, nominally 2 bedroom 2 bath.  One bedroom is really too small to use that way, and the master bath shower leaks, so I use the other one.  No heat, which is normal here even though overnight lows are often 50 or a bit less.  You wouldn't want AC; it rarely gets close to 80.

I might as well include some other prices in case anybody is curious:

Small supermarket close by, big one 20 minutes walk, poor discount store 40 minutes.  Veggies 50 cents to $1 a pound, except stuff like asparagus at $3; fruits $1 to $2 a pound; meats $4 to $8 ($1.50 for the greasy hamburger!).  Lots of the temperate zone produce like apples comes from Chile; many packaged goods come from North America or Europe, at a typical markup of 25 to 50% over home country prices.  Most irritating ripoff:  Kleenex, made locally under license at nearly 5 cents per tissue.

City buses 25 cents (crowded mostly when the school kids use them, very rough ride); taxis from $1.50 to $5, they cruise and there's lots except when it rains.  Gas is $1.48 a gallon, $1.05 diesel, but the government is looking at the cost of maintaining that subsidy and hyperventilating.  Starchy lunch specials in restaurants $2 to $3 (cheese and potato soup, rice with small servings of meat and salad, token dessert like Jello, glass of fruit juice with purified water.)  Good coffee grown nearby just went up to $3.50 a pound.  No bargains on wine, all imported; mediocre beer is reasonable.

Doctor visit $35 (that's high end, English-speaking specialist); dental checkup and cleaning $25.

Third World is an obsolete abbreviation, yes.  This is a much nicer place to live than some other countries falling in that category.
   

liquidbanana

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #161 on: June 25, 2012, 12:48:15 AM »
I'm liquidbanana. I live in a horrid but cheap place called Oklahoma. I live with my five year old son and my sexymansoulmate. We've got the frugality thing down, but not the making money part, but we're working on it!

Daley

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #162 on: June 25, 2012, 09:19:47 AM »
I'm liquidbanana. I live in a horrid but cheap place called Oklahoma. I live with my five year old son and my sexymansoulmate. We've got the frugality thing down, but not the making money part, but we're working on it!

A fellow sufferer! Hooray!

Russ

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #163 on: June 26, 2012, 06:39:51 AM »
Hi everyone, I'm Russ. I'm just finished my 3rd year studying mechanical engineering, and will be graduating next summer after a semester-long internship and one more semester of classes. Being a poor college student, I have the frugal thing down pretty well; I do, however, have more stuff than I would like, and am working on downsizing. I probably won't do that much posting, but when I do, you'll see me in the DIY and Ask a Mustachian subforums since I'm a lot more interested in the lifestyle than the analytical finance right now.

nevinera

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #164 on: June 26, 2012, 06:50:47 AM »
I'm Eric, and you've all made me tremendously excited about my future! I don't even *like* owning stuff!

John Spartan

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #165 on: June 26, 2012, 06:44:29 PM »
Hello All,

I discovered this website sometime around January.  I've been lurking around since then trying to learn as much as I can.  I am a 4th year pharmacy school student who is graduating in May 2013 (with piles and piles of debt).  I'll give my situation eventually and see if there are any kind souls who'd offer me opinions on the best way to attack it.  I just wanted to stop in and say hi first and read around the boards to see if something similar to my situation has been posted.

Have a great day!

matchewed

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #166 on: June 27, 2012, 08:45:37 PM »
Hi Everyone,

I've been reading this website and several other financial/FI blogs since 2008 when I started researching Roth IRA's to begin extra savings for retirement outside of my company's 401k. I'm 31, single, I live in CT and through the awesome knowledge gained in the ERE website and MMM I plan on hitting FI in 12-17 years. I work in Manufacturing performing a Quality Assurance and Compliance function. My net worth is 100k.

Most of what is discussed and advised in here are things I was doing on a small scale and seeing real results. Sadly I'm not much for contributing, which makes me feel somewhat conflicted as I owe so much to this community (I learn just as much from discussions in the comments and forums as I do from the articles). Some of my goals for this year is to teach myself to do winter bike riding, take up some volunteer activities, and save enough money for a down payment on my first home.

I just want to end with thanks. Although I don't speak up much I do truly appreciate this community.

Kibatsu

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #167 on: June 28, 2012, 04:47:03 PM »
Hello everyone,

I finally decided to sign up after lurking around the blog and forums for a week or two. I had heard about MMM around the /r/frugal community on reddit or one of the surrounding subreddits, came over to take a look, and loved what I found. Early retirement / financial independence has been a goal for me for a while (I'm 21, so I have the opportunity to do things right from close to the beginning) but hadn't realized it could happen so quickly.

Anyway, I'll be finishing up my undergrad math degree in Ohio next year and hope to get into Michigan's statistics graduate program. With some effort I cut my monthly expenses from around $900-1k to $700-750 over the last year or so and with MMM it looks like I can shave off a little more waste and put that low spending rate to good use toward FI. (Holy shit my apartment is set to 10 degrees warmer (88) than it ever was last year and I'm fine with a small fan and a steady supply of water!)

Hope I can find a way to give back to the community for their enlightening help!

grantmeaname

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #168 on: June 29, 2012, 07:17:51 AM »
Hey, college students in Ohio are alright in my book. Any chance you're in Columbus? We're trying to put together a meetup if you go to that college in Ohio.

Moose

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #169 on: July 02, 2012, 09:05:02 AM »
Jay here. Graduate student in Boston in my late 20s. Been frugal all my life, except for a stint in NYC.

Nords

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #170 on: July 02, 2012, 11:54:30 AM »
Nords here.

I'm a long-time member of Early-Retirement.org and Bogleheads.org, and I see a few familiar names here. 

I'm finally getting around to filling out my profile and putting up an intro post.  Thanks to MMM for the forum, and for sending a new blogger from here over to take a look at my blog!

Echo

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #171 on: July 03, 2012, 10:46:57 PM »
Hi everyone, my name is Robb Engen and I am the Echo half of the Boomer & Echo blog that I write with my mom, a retired financial advisor.  I live in Lethbridge, Alberta with my wife and two daughters (oldest is 3 and my youngest was born three weeks ago).  My wife stays home full time with our kids.  In 2008 she was diagnosed with MS.  She's doing fine, but the diagnosis at such a young age really made us stop and re-evaluate our life goals and finances. 

I left a 10 year career in the hotel industry where I was working 60-80 hours a week and travelling every 4-6 weeks, and now I work at the local University doing the marketing and business development for our Athletics program.  It's a 7 minute drive to work (you wouldn't want to bike or walk with the 100 KM/HR winds we get here), I'm home for lunch most days, and home by 4:45pm every day.   

My mom and I loved talking about personal finance and investing, much to the chagrin of the rest of our family and friends.  We started our own blog to continue the conversation with other like minded people who wouldn't be so put off by talking about money.  I never understood why money is such a taboo subject.

I found the Money Mustache blog through the Wisebread Forums and I'm really enjoying the badassity, which is rare in the personal finance blogging world.

I'm really looking forward to learning and contributing here in this community.

Cheers!


Robb Engen
www.boomerandecho.com

carolinakaren

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #172 on: July 05, 2012, 12:08:28 PM »
Hello Mustachians!

I found you all by way of ERE.  Started here in February this year and read through all the posts.  I haven't been using the forums all that long, but am very glad I checked them out, because there's tons of good info in here.  I'm nowhere close to FI, but my only debt is my mortgage of $137,000.  (My goal right now is to get rid of it!!)  I am a CRNA...since almost no one has heard of that, it is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.  I'm divorced with no children and have a great boyfriend who is beginning to grow a bit of a 'stache himself.  I've always been interested in money, and how to maximize it's usefulness.  I think I started searching for personal finance blogs after reading YMOYL.  That's the book that really lit a fire under my ass, and I've been chasing FI ever since!

mobius

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #173 on: July 11, 2012, 12:27:34 AM »
Hello all. I am the unending force known as mobius. I am about to be 30. Married to a beautiful woman that I actually really like too (seems a novel concept) and I really enjoy cycling.
I've always been a bit more frugal than most of my peers, but I'm extremely wasteful by mustachian standards.
I'm also really lazy.
I'm here for encouragement to reduce my expenses, increase my savings, quit wasting so much time with mindless entertainment and maybe some advice on a new career.
I also found this site a few months ago via ERE. And I had only been reading it for a short time before I realized the torch had been passed to MMM.

Thanks in advance for all the knowledge and inspiration you guys/gals will provide.

militaryincome

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #174 on: July 12, 2012, 09:07:26 AM »
Hello!

I've been reading the blog ever since a friend posted the cost of commuting article on Facebook.
I graduated high school in 2007, spent a year in college, decided it wasn't for me at the time and joined the USMC.
My parents, who albeit provided with an awesome quality of life, always tended to ignore monetary issues.

I got married this April and want to ensure I can provide an awesome, low-stress life for my family.
I am looking forward to learning more about investing and growing my 'stache.

MsD

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #175 on: July 13, 2012, 01:43:02 PM »
Hello, everyone.  I'm MsD, husband is MrD.  I don't recall how I found the site exactly, but I enjoy it very much.  We've been saving for a long time and have just made the leap into early retirement. 

I have moments when I freak out and think, "what the *bleep* are we doing!?!"  I like to come here and read and remind myself that just because what we're doing is rare, there are others who are doing the same thing.

MsD

mustachecat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #176 on: July 13, 2012, 01:54:59 PM »
Hey all! I'm mustachecat. I'm 27 and I live in New York with my dude and two cats, one of which actually has a mustache. It's not as big as the one in my avatar, alas.

My dude and I are getting married later this year, and we've started gunning for early retirement. We've been together for six years, and it definitely stings to know that had we been smart with our money from the start, we would be so much closer to financial independence and the lives we want. But, hey, better now than later.

I can't remember when I started reading MMM, but it's been my favorite personal finance blog since the day I discovered it.

elincolnp

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #177 on: July 13, 2012, 02:27:54 PM »
Hi Everyone!

I always thought I was just a cheap-skate, and never really imagined a life where I wouldn't have to work until...forever. But ERE and MMM definitely opened my eyes to not working~gasp!

Now, only 6 months later, I'm about to buy my first rental investment property, sell my car, move to a cheaper city (Boston to Portland, OR), and I've pretty much stopped shopping and eating out completely. I was always great at saving money, but it feels so much easier when there's a goal in mind (like getting to keep my own time!)

I just turned 22, work as a marketing consultant, and my fiance and I are aiming for FI in 8 years. I was homeschooled as a kid, and I know first-hand that there's nothing more valuable then spending everyday playing with your parents/playing with your kids. I'm so excited to have the chance to spend that kind of time with my own kids.

kisserofsinners

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #178 on: July 16, 2012, 03:49:02 PM »
Hey there,
My name is Rebekah. I'm 33, married, and the wife and i have just been forced to really look hard at our finances. Our land lords are selling our SF apartment. We've chosen the hail mary pass; we're going for it!

However, we were both raised really poor and without any real money education. I've been working (starting with spreadsheets in 2006) growing my 'stach. I clawed my way out of debt (for the 3rd damned time) over last summer.

I know we're doing really well, but my optimism pumping two people is hard. I love the blog and love having other kids around who know i'm not crazy.

Thanks. Looking forward to joining the ranks.
Peace

FausseBourgeoise

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #179 on: July 18, 2012, 08:23:20 PM »
Hi guys and gals!
Turning 25, in long-term relationship with a guy set on professional school(he comes from money; I don't), Canadian (raised in Vancouver suburbans), grad student, I teach. Speak a bunch of languages. Have +8 to disguise self when speaking to francophones as they believe I am from France, but I have never been there. Love to cook. Facing $6,198.77 in student loans from my undergrad. Trying to figure out how to kill it in the face while paying full time student fees and still writing papers.

Sylly

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #180 on: July 19, 2012, 11:02:34 AM »
Hi!

I'm Sylly, and yes, I can be a bit silly at times.

Found my way here from No More Harvard Debt a couple of months ago. Been slowly reading through the backlog of MMM posts, and lurking in the forums every now and then. I'm drawn here by the intelligent discussions as much as by the message of the site.

Financially not too bad off (no debt, good paying job), but still building my nest egg, since I didn't finish grad school and enter the workforce until 30. Currently in early 30s, with major expense(s) in the horizon (some sort of wedding, and then a house). Compared to most Americans, I'm frugal. Compared to most Mustachians, I still have fat to trim. In this forum, I'm mostly looking to build up my knowledge of retirement planning & investing and to be inspired to build my frugality muscles by observing the examples of those more muscled than I.

Cheers.

TheFuzz

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #181 on: July 20, 2012, 10:33:06 AM »
Hello!
My name's Chris. I'm 23 and living in Seattle.
When I moved out here after college, I started off my mustachian journey with $1500 in liabilities and $0 in assets (having lived off my meager savings before finding my first job). I have a lot to learn but I'm making progress (Net Worth is well on the + side now!). Thanks to all of you here for serving as inspiration. I will do my best to add value to this incredible community!

CindyHartman

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #182 on: July 21, 2012, 10:33:05 AM »
Hi!  I ran across this forum yesterday whiled googling "average grocery bill for 2 in 2012" - and found out I'm spending way above average.  So a new project in the works for me to bring that under control. 

I'm a Realtor in Jupiter Florida, and my husband owns a home inpsection business.  We moved to Florida about 3 years ago - and plan to build our businesses through our retirement... love it here so far.

ShanghaiStashing

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #183 on: July 24, 2012, 12:57:57 AM »
Hey Everyone,

I found this forum / blog a few weeks back and love it. I'm 28, living with girlfriend, Canadian who has recently been expatriated to Shanghai.

We're working towards financial independence at 35. No debts currently and we don't own a home as we sold our Toronto condo when we moved to Shanghai.

We both grew up in incredibly frugal families (My mom cooked everything from scratch so I didn't even know what Kraft dinner was until I was 13 and went to a friends house and ate organge pasta)!

Anyway, great to meet you all through the computer.

ludwig

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #184 on: July 24, 2012, 03:57:08 AM »
Hello,

My name is Julien, I live in Perpignan in the very south of France.

I'm 29 years old, I have a wife and a 2yo son. I work as web developper in a firm who's making dating web sites and I'm freelancing a lil bit.

I found this blog 2 or 3 weeks ago following a Ryan Carson post on hackernews and it was like an eye opener, I'm spending way too much money on things I don't really need.

So I'm starting my journey on mustachism road ;-)

Nice to meet you everyone.

P.S: forgive my bad english...

It Figures

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #185 on: July 24, 2012, 07:30:22 AM »
Hi, I am a married 43 year old mom of three children in Hamilton Ontario.  I love this website and I check it out as often as possible.  Every time my husband and I even consider a dumb purchase, we inevitably realize we have to punch ourselves in the face for even considering it!  Thanks Mr and Mrs MMM for being such awesome role models:)

jdoolin

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #186 on: July 25, 2012, 09:25:53 AM »
Hello,

My name is Jeremy and my wife and I are newly converted Mustachians.  We're very excited about our future and our new lifestyle and within the last three weeks (the time it has taken me to read all the MMM posts from first to current) we have made big changes and huge plans!  FI within 12-15 years looks probable for us!

Look forward to being part of the community, learning from everyone and trying to contribute myself!

CanuckExpat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #187 on: July 25, 2012, 12:04:29 PM »
Hello everyone,

Approximately thirty year old Ph.D. student from Baltimore (at the moment) here. I discovered the blog originally due to a post on the Bogleheads forum (this post specifically). It must have been the combination of the content and the writing style, but I really liked what I found and eventually ended up reading through all the posts and most of the comments (it's usually quite rare for me to read any blog comments). The next step seemed to be finding my way over to the forum. I'll try to keep to mostly harmless.

Kimbl

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #188 on: July 26, 2012, 07:51:07 AM »
Hello, everyone!

My name is Kimberly.  I found MMM about 4 months ago and have read almost every post from the beginning.  I've recently been lurking on the forums and hope to start participating.

About me - I'm a 40s something, single female with 2 youngish children.    My relatively recent divorce caused some pretty serious upheaval in my personal finances that I'm slowly bringing until control.  One of the downsides of being the parent that decided to mostly SAH and only work part-time.  I'm fortunately a naturally frugal person and a budding minimalist so things are not nearly as rough as they could be.   I have a sizable mortgage (planning on selling in the Spring) and no other debt.

The MMM postings and all the informative comments are inspiring.   I don't have any expectation at this point of reaching FI any earlier than normal, however, I am starting to feel that I will be a able to provide a good quality of life for my girls and me and fund my own eventual retirement by following much of the advice presented here. 

I look forward to our future interactions.  Be well!

Kimberly


Cook for Good

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #189 on: July 27, 2012, 12:28:57 PM »
Hi everybody! I'm really excited to have found Mr. Money Mustache and all of you. I'm Linda Watson, the Cook for Good lady. I help people save money, eat well, and make a difference by cooking delicious, seasonal food from scratch for $5 a day per person or less using mostly organic ingredients and just $3.21 a day using good, thrifty ingredients. I found this site because MM1970 reviewed my book so kindly that just made me blush again when I looked up the link: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/brand-new-lady-mustache/msg15746/#msg15746 She grouped my Wildly Affordable Organic with one of my favorite books, Amy Dacyczyn's The Complete Tightwad Gazette.

For the last two weeks, I've been focused on my Summer Challenge a try. The polished Encore Challenge starts tomorrow and I though some of you might want to give it a try. It really shows how easy, delicious, and downright cheap it can be to cook seasonal food from scratch. The first week uses my 20 minute a day starter plan and the next week you cook everything from scratch. http://www.cookforgood.com/challenge/

I live in Raleigh, NC, with my husband (or Taster as he's called in my book. What a brave man!). When I'm not cooking, I'm gardening, walking, swimming in the public pool, reading (mostly library books) and volunteering for community events. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from all the Mustaches! ... Linda

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #190 on: July 28, 2012, 10:08:39 AM »
Hey everyone.

I'm not exactly new to MMM but new the forum only. I'm a 26 year old South African guy paying off some student debt and enjoying the natural progression of my financial and emotional freedom I've gained by tapping into the MMM way of thinking!

I'm a rookie rock climber and obsessed with my own finances (in a good MMM way).

"Let what is be." - Eckhart Tolle

wiferkhart

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #191 on: July 30, 2012, 01:43:46 PM »
Hi - I've been a lurker for a while - getting inspired by the mustachians and then realizing that the husband and I are one of you. 

We homestead part-time in rural Wyoming but maintain regular jobs and a condo in Denver.  We're building a weekend/retirement home from found/recycled objects and working toward finding jobs that let us do what we love AND give us plenty of building time.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2012, 09:43:55 AM by wiferkhart »

ak404

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #192 on: August 01, 2012, 10:41:21 AM »
Hi, I'm Greg and I'm a bike mechanic who's waist-deep in debt from school loans.

Nia

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #193 on: August 02, 2012, 02:33:45 PM »
Hi there - I stumbled onto MMM quite by accident when I first started researching debt reduction. At that point, I had only just woken up to the fact that living beyond my means was not the smartest or most sustainable way to go about things, and I was beginning to look into ways to reduce my massive pile of debt.

I went for Maximum Mustache and started reading the blog from the beginning, and now I'm completed converted.

I'm coming from way behind… I'm not young, I'm buried in debt, and I have no savings to speak of. But I do have a few things going for me, like earning a good salary and the personal tendency to be like pitbull with a juicy bone when I really want something. And I really, really want an exit strategy from Cubicle Life.

So I created a budget and made a plan to get out of debt and start building a stash. Step 1 in my plan was definitely the most painful – I gave up my beautiful money-pit of an apartment in the city 20 miles from my job and moved into the spare bedroom in my mother's apartment, which just happens to be exactly 2.5 miles from the suburban office where I work.

Nothing says "I'm serious about this sh*t" like moving in with your mother at 40, right?
« Last Edit: August 02, 2012, 02:36:05 PM by Nia »

Relevant

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #194 on: August 03, 2012, 04:00:02 PM »
Hi,

I'm Leo, age 51, and on target for FI in 4 yrs, 7 months, and 17 days. Although I didn't know it until today I've had mustachian tendancys my whole life. I'm an avid DIY from carpentry, plumbing, electrical, auto mechanics, taxes, finances, etc...

I joined the group to share and learn. I recently launched my own web site to help people with their IRA and 401k plans. All of the information on my site is free. I only offer one small service and I openly state in my about page that 50% of net profits will be donated to charity. My primary motivation is to help others attain a secure retirement and to share what I've learned over the years.

I am happily married with 1 daughter in college.

www.RelevantInvestments.com

The Fleetwood Project

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #195 on: August 05, 2012, 10:51:07 AM »
Hello all, my name is Peter, I am 20 years old and studying chemical engineering. I am just starting off my life as a mustachian, so my path to FI is a long one.

Fortunately, my parents were fairly good with teaching me financially. I will graduate with zero debt, and have been fortunate enough to put myself through school with help from my parents. Anyways, I am here to learn, and look forward to conversing with you all!

derekh

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #196 on: August 06, 2012, 07:51:58 AM »
Hi, I'm Derekh!

I am 21 years old, currently a senior in college, working a part-time job, no debt, but with only 4.5k in savings.

I hope to retire by 30 to a farmstead and live self-sufficiently.

My current major goals are: trying to play the dating game frugally and find someone who shares my interests, getting a second part-time job, trying to tell my family I'd rather be a farmer than a barrister, etc.

totoro

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #197 on: August 06, 2012, 11:29:22 AM »
Hi there - writing in from Victoria, BC, Canada.  I'm 40 re-partnered and recovering from the financial hit of divorce.  I'm a pt lawyer working for myself with a combined family of four children.  We are looking at FI in seven years (we hope).   Both of us are frugal but not radically so. I am learning about all sorts of investments as I was focussed on real estate previously.  Love to see people share ideas - wish I had found this 20 years ago...

vieja

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #198 on: August 08, 2012, 11:46:30 AM »
Hello everyone

I am 41 and own a business with my husband.  We have one child with 5 years left before graduation.

We started down this path as newlyweds 14 years ago because we found ourselves without much income around the same time.  Little by little we realized that early retirement is a possiblity.

Our retirement goal is 5-8 years away.

I am a firm believer that there is more to life than earning a dollar.  I also hate the sense of obligation that comes from needing to make money.  Bybeing frugal I can buy my freedom much more quickly than if I spent like those around me.

We don't have much of a social life outside of work but I love to read anything I can get my hands on and do online sweepstakes.  I won $26, 000 last year on a sweeps and used it for debt reduction!

I look forward to getting to know you all better.

mindaugas

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #199 on: August 09, 2012, 12:25:35 PM »
Hey, I'm Mike and live in the Denver area. I have no retirement goal, just like to use this site and forums as encouragement to change my lifestyle, pay down debt, etc. I didn't get any good financial teaching growing up so I got to learn it the hard way. Like many other folks out there I have credit card debt, student loans, and car payments. But a year ago I found this blog and started to change. A few years from now I should be able to pay things off and live comfortably and worry free.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!