Hello!
So, I found this forum via hunting around some of the FI/Frugal communities, and I'm glad to be here.
I was lucky enough to be raised for the first part of my life with a 'make due and mend' mindset, which has really helped out.
I've also escaped at least some of the marketing/consumer hype, because as someone with a disability, I'm not often marketed to. I look at a lot of things and go 'I can't use that' and a lot of places and go 'I can't go there,' and these two things have helped keep me off the consumer carousel. . . somewhat. (Car advertising, as the person who can't get a driver's licence, is just confusing!) However, having a disability means that your cost of living is just plain higher, (health care, plus other disability expenses, plus, the accessible version of things tends to be the expensive version) plus a large helping of 'good luck getting any job, because disability is equated with incompetence.' Mixed blessing, I figure.
I do have some debt, some from student loans and some from. . . well, lets just call it "having to escape a very bad situation and not having any money." This illustrates the necessity of a f*** off fund, which I did not have at the time. But the Frugal/FI movement has made some improvements already on that front, including making me re-think how and when I do things, and definitely cutting way down on the 'oooh shiny' purchases.
It's actually also what prompted me to delve into the scary world of self-employment.
Story Time: I was applying for jobs I didn't really want. Sure, they'd pay the bills. But. . . the responses I got from many (though not all -- I've had a couple awesome employers) HR and Hiring boards were often both illegal and horrific. I've been sworn at, called a charity case, accused of fraud, and threatened with cops and corporate security when going to job interviews. And that's -when- I can get in the door. Because clearly the girl in the wheelchair wasn't the person who wrote the resume. /rolls eyes/ Yes. This is a thing. And, of course, at the end, I didn't get the job, so all that effort was for nothing.
So, it's thanks to the Frugal/FI movement that I put that crap behind me. The idea that we're not supposed to be slaves to money, and money is just a tool for life really resonated with me in a weird way. So, I decided, why bother applying for jobs where I was viewed so negatively, and jobs that, while they would pay the bills, I didn't want them anyway? Why was I putting my effort into this, when it was so highly unlikely I'd get the job? Why not put my effort into something that was far more within my control?
With self-employment, though I make far less money at the moment, (sometimes terrifyingly less), my work directly impacts my capital. The more effort I put into this, the more income I will earn. Sure, the equation isn't directly that simple, obviously outside forces will play with it. But, overall, the more effort I put in, the more I will make. And, as a bonus, most of it is passive income! Now I have a job I love, that I don't want to retire from. Plus, its a job where all my disability accommodations are built in! Yes, I'd like to earn more money and throw it at my debt, but that will and should happen over time.
And, the Frugal/FI mindset has really helped me re-evaluate what I want, need and have, and, given me many tools to hack the things I do need to spend money on. So while my income might be crap right now, I can exist on that crap income far better then I could have even last year, and, I can look and see that that income, and my net worth, are growing. Maybe not quickly, but they are growing. :)
So yep, glad to be here! :)