Say Hi and Introduce Yourself

[Yooper]

Hello I am Yooper!

I am lucky enough to make a much higher than average income (90s).
I like my job but work is still work
I am working on FIRE by late 30s or early 40s.
I am slowly converting my DW to ways of MMM

[GW]

Hello all,

I'm 29 years old and live in CO. I've been putting out the fire that is my student loan debt.

I've been reading for awhile and finally decided to join the tribe.

Stats
Student Debt - $37K
$401K - Just started a new one with a new company
tIRA - $50K
Savings - $1K

[cmorris]

My name is Chris.

I have a wife and 3 children. Currently I am working in a corporate environment and the only thing that I like about it is the compensation. I make an above average salary and do not manage it well. I am here to learn how to achieve financial freedom sooner rather than later.

[mld]

Hi! I am Mel, from Canada. BF and I are on a path to FIRE in between 7 to 8 years from now and we are expecting our first child this Fall.

I found MMM's blog while searching for tips on paying down our mortgage faster and I was amazed to find all this terrific info on this site. I was happy to find out that there is a full community of people already doing and thinking like BF and I are aiming for.

Our biggest debt is our mortgage, which should be paid off in less than 4 years.
Most of our FIRE plan is based on real estate investments. We also plan on having done 10 years in our jobs since we will get a nice pension (we'll only get that once we hit 60 years old but it will be a nice peace of mind to know it will indexed and waiting for us). I already have 3 years under my belt and BF has 5 years done in our jobs.

As of now we have one investment property and are in the process of purchasing another.
Looking forward to learning about FIRE with all of you!

[JD_]

Hi All,

Just joined MMM.  I discovered it after stumbling upon earlyretirementextreme.com, another great site. 

I'm 30, married to a wonderful girl, and we both hate the idea of slaving away at jobs we aren't crazy about until we're 60+.

I've always been frugal and trying to find ways to save a few bucks.  My friends love to give me a hard time about it, but truth is I consider myself a bit of lone ranger among my friends/co-workers in that I don't have the bank of Mommy & Daddy to fall back on. 

In my mind, I have to look for ways to get ahead to make it without any outside help or handouts. 

I'm glad I found this forum; there's lots of good discussions here and it helps to know I'm not alone in my frugal, sometimes borderline crazy ways.

-JD

[PDXgrl]

Hello Everybody!

I've been following along on the blog for a few years now, and am working on growing a nice, robust mustache with my husband and toddler.

In the past 5 years, we've bucked down and paid off all debt except our mortgage, (and we had ALOT of debt!) and now get to have fun transferring that dough into savings and investing.

I'm looking forward to picking some brains!

[greenbanana]

Hi! I've been reading MMM for the last couple months and just finished reading all the posts from the beginning, so I guess it's time for me to join the community! Reading MMM has gotten my husband and I all fired up about early retirement. We're in our late 20's, no kids yet, living on his computer-programmer income and whatever slim pickings I manage to get as a PhD student. We've always considered ourselves frugal, but MMM has definitely given us a punch in the face in several areas! (really embarrassed by the $250/month parking spot we finally got rid of last month....:P)

[JoshRiverson]

Hello, my name is Josh and I'm from the UK. I'm really happy to join you all!

[Fatmouse]

Hi! I stumbled across MMM's interview on the Dough Roller podcast recently, and I have been pretty hooked on the concept for a couple of weeks now.

I've always been a big saver, and for a while I have based my budgeting on the All Your Worth formula of 50% needs, 20% wants, 30% savings.  I have never thought much about frugality as a lifestyle for the purpose of increasing happiness (as opposed to for the purpose of saving money.). I never considered Financial Independence as a goal for myself, because I assumed Financial Independence would not be worth "sacrifices."

I really appreciate MMM's blog for introducing me to these ideas.  I am optimistic that it will change my life, and in some small ways it already has.  I am almost 30 years old, and within the past year I have started earning a high income.  Without this blog, I would have continued thinking about my budget in terms of percentages, and probably would not have questioned the resulting lifestyle inflation.  I can't promise my habits and my actions will always be completely Moustachian from here on out, but I have experienced a change in perspective that I suspect will be lasting.

[Runum]

Hello all. New around here. Presently in DFW area. Interested in finances, independence, strategies. I have had a real mustache for about 30 years. Seems to be the thing to have now. LOL

Just poking around here and learning.

[dani]

Hi. I've been reading MMM for a while. We are natural Mustachians in a way as we have always believed that 1) driving is not the best form of transportation (though we prefer walking to biking) and 2) happiness does not come from buying more stuff. Still, we've made our share of bad decisions. - like accumulating some unnecessary grad school debt in exchange for expensive fun. Bizzarely/uncannily, I am a real estate developer....
MMM has helped us focus our financial planning and retirement discussions. We currently have a 10-15 yr plan for FI, though we love our jobs. FI gives more freedom and choices though....so here we are...so glad there are so many like-minded folks out there....

[peter bedpan]

Hi,

I'm a 45 year old guy from Germany. Recently I realized that I'm FI which gives me a new kind of first world problems.

[Mutton Chop]

Hi everyone.

Keep pushing!

[GordianKnot]

Howdy! I've been reading MMM for a few months now, and have set up a budget (though I'm still trying to pare back on some of my spending to achieve a 50% saving's rate, I'm at around 35% right now). I've mostly retired from driving (my car is a $500 junker anyway), but my I still eat out too often, and I waste a lot of money on food and travel, but I'm getting there!

Thanks very much to Mr. and Mrs. MM for putting all of this together!

[The Hamster]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Perth, Western Australia and found found this site via Whirlpool forums.  I was suckered into the "leverage up and live off equity" myth and recent mini-recession here in WA has opened my eyes to the fact that it may not be such a great strategy for building wealth and retiring early.  I'm looking forward to learning how to save 70% of my income and start paying off my property debts so I can get off the wheel and become financially free.

[arwenaya]

Hi!

I've been lurking since March, happily reading massive amounts of the forum while my husband and I finished paying off our school loans. We're both teachers, although I'll be starting my own consulting business in June (once the insanity of the school year is over). MMM (and the forums) have been a great motivator to be more efficient with our money and to resist the lifestyle inflation that was starting to set in.

[senecando]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Perth, Western Australia and found found this site via Whirlpool forums.  I was suckered into the "leverage up and live off equity" myth and recent mini-recession here in WA has opened my eyes to the fact that it may not be such a great strategy for building wealth and retiring early.  I'm looking forward to learning how to save 70% of my income and start paying off my property debts so I can get off the wheel and become financially free.

Uh oh.

I guess we can have one Hamster per hemisphere.

[alsoknownasDean]

Hello all!

First, a bit about myself. I'm 29 years old, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I work full time (have been in the same job for almost six years), making a salary that's a little below average, but having finished university in 2012, have been semi-actively looking for other jobs.

I've been working my way back financially from a couple of setbacks a year or two ago. My wake up call was realising that I had a grand total of $37 in savings...and six grand in debt. In the year and a bit since then, I've managed to get rid of that debt, and I've built up a few grand in savings (which is continuing to grow). My living costs have continued to reduce to the point where I'm saving almost half of my post-tax salary (although there's still plenty of fat to trim). Hopefully that'll increase further :)

A friend of mine pointed me towards this site, and it's been inspiring, and made me realise what money means to me. Not about buying fancy things, but about security, about having something to fall back on if it hits the fan. Maybe that does include the early-retired lifestyle, we'll see. I'm also looking at buying a place eventually, but I'm unsure given prices around here :)

Already I've noticed that when I've had the urge to buy something unnecessary, a quick browse here changes my mind.

[Jersey]

Hello everyone!

My fiance, dog and I relocated to the Nashville, TN area last year. This kick started us into the mindset that our debt was an emergency and we needed to take care of it. I found MMM while browsing through reddit. MMM has been an inspiration to keep fighting hard.

To the moon!

[WhyDoubt]

I'm Jeff, a 30-something software engineer living in Oklahoma.  After being introduced to MMM by an ol' college friend in February, I've finally worked my way through all the posts since the beginning of time.

I have a wife and three kids.  We all have an eating-out addiction.

I drive nearly 30 miles each way to work and back, so I destroy cars on regular basis, and I'm underpaid to boot.

A few years back we got out of debt (except the house) working Dave Ramsey's principles, but then we got wimpy and didn't save.  So when the heating/AC unit went out, we ended up back in debt.  Then buying cars, medical expenses, and on and on.  I was in denial about the raging inferno of our hair on fire.

But in the last few weeks... Now we've been consolidating medical debts and getting a better handle on that situation.  Got rid of the ridiculous collision & comprehensive coverage on the car we own out-right.  Looking for a better-paying and much-closer-to-home job.  Probably will be changing our cell phone provider next month.  Making progress on the eating-out addiction, but still have work to do.

[SparkleBee]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading the blog on and off for a while. I live in the uk so applying some of the rules is quite ok but the uk government don't like 'early retirees' and seem to put up blocks.

I am working towards FI, I have about 2/3 of the stash I need before I can retire but need to find ways of keeping things like my pension contributions going when you have a cap on the amount you can save as it is based on you working! I am in my 40s so not that early a retiree but given that state retirement is at 67 I want to be retired well before then!

I am debt free. So only have my basic living costs to find and stashing the rest. Been saving about 40% but now trying to save 50% of salary as much as possible and make my money work harder. Difficult with a savings rate of .5% and limits on tax free investments. 45% tax off your share dividends is a blocker on your own targets when held outside tax-free products.

Any good tips for UK based MMMs please shout...

Meanwhile thanks for the articles and keeping us all on the track to FI and early retirement.

Sparkle.

[amandamechele]

Hello,

A neighbour recommended this blog to me a few months ago, and I have been reading it ever since.
I am a stay at home mom to 4 kids living in Hamilton ON.
Like many others have said, I wish I had been smarter with my money 20 years ago. But better late than never!
We will be eliminating all consumer and HELOC debt this year and will tackle maxing out our TFSAs and RRSPs, next year and a few more after that. Then comes the mortgage...

Well, it looks like I have my work cut out for me.
Thank you for providing a forum, for inspiration and community!

[MBot]

amandamechele, I used to live in Hamilton ON! Moved up to Sault Ste. Marie a couple years ago.

I'm new here too... My husband and I have big student loans and a very reasonable mortgage. We just started working after a very long journey through postsecondary (we both went back to school in different fields, working and paying off debt while doing so).

I'd been initially helped by Dave Ramsey in getting out of high-interest debt and changing our consumption habits. We've just about hit the threshold of where he's helpful though.

I'm glad that MMM is an excellent resource for the steps beyond that, and more in line with our values (walkability, sustainability, avoiding consumerism, being able to really enjoy the stuff/life you do have instead of feeling like you're in need)

My/our entire lifestyle is very different from those around us, and from our families. As such it is so helpful to have this community, and reading through posts (like all the Throw Down the Gauntlet ones!) has been encouraging.

[Weyfarere]

Hi! I'm Weyfarere. My husband and I live in the Midwest and are expecting our first child in a few weeks. For now, at least, reducing my work hours to spend more time with the baby is more important than planning for FIRE.

[Alectejas]

Hello All,
I've been reading this website for some time, I got here via the ERE website.
I wish I had found this information 10 years ago, but better late than never!
I'm male 44, married 3 kids ages 1, 4 and 10.  We live in a medium sized town in Texas. 
Average income is around 15K per month, my wife stays at home with the kids
We just bought a 1200 square foot house for cash (value 145,000)
Personal debt is none
401K is 300,000
Other investments around 100,000
Monthly savings rate is at about 65%

[wtrfre]

Hello,
I am excited to read all this forum has to offer.
I began life relatively frugal, but through life's journey have made some choices that led me to stray from this.  I've been trying to find my way back and stumbled across the MMM site.  I am mid 30's and have some holes to dig out of, with family obligations as well, but can't wait to work through it in the company of like-minded others.  FI is possible and I plan on getting there. 

[El Limon]

Hi. I learned about MMM through the Boglehead forum. I learned a lot about sound investing there, but I enjoy the lifestyle philosophy. So, I could say I'm BogleHead, but with a mustache.

[johnso_e1]

Hi everyone! I'm a 22-year-old graduate doing a volunteer year in Baltimore and preparing to enter law school. I'm doing as much as I can to save money on a volunteer's stipend and prevent the accumulation of too much debt in law school, so this blog was a great find.

[frumare]

Hi all,

I'm Marianne. I have been reading up and lurking here for about a month or so. I discovered MMM on the Mad Fientist podcast: http://www.madfientist.com/mr-money-mustache-interview/

V happy to find a vibrant group of like-minded folks to learn from and share with...

[Raste]

Just joined the forums but love the website. It was recommended to me by my sister after we were discussing frugal living strategies.

Currently living in Texas working hard to retire at 55 if not sooner. Debt free right now and no plant to go back.

After being unemployed from 2008-2010 I decided to cinch the belt hard and save like a squirrel who has seen many famines.

One of my biggest joys was purchasing my used car in cash and owning it on the ride home.

Thanks to MMM I'm downsizing my living space to a small apartment across the street from work. That change alone should net me an additional $6K per year.

Thanks to everyone here! I've learned a lot by lurking :-)

[tanhanivar]

Hi!

I'm a single professional (public service) living in Brisbane Australia, mid-30s, 5 years into a rather large mortgage.

I've been reading GRS, The Simple Dollar and a few similar blogs for several years now, to keep me on the straight-and-narrow. I only just discovered MMM a little over a week ago (through GRS) and it's had a big impact on me (and my housemate!) already. Combined with switching from a fixed to split (fixed/variable) mortgage the week before, it's been something of an attitude 180. The big thing for us both has been the realisation that we aren't depriving ourselves to scratch together some savings - rather we ALREADY HAVE the money, so WHY ARE WE SPENDING IT unnecessarily?

And I bought a bike yesterday.

[ashg]

Hi,

New joiner to MM but have been lurking for few months. Looking to retire next year at 55 and think (hope!) that we have the funds to realise our dream. Married with no kids and presently living in the Middle East - no debt and assets of $2m +.

[exceljunkie]

Hi MMM community, I've been lurking for a bit on the blog, but just found out about the forum not long ago. I've always been pretty frugal, but now I know why I want to be frugal. My husband and I have a 1-year-old and I would love to spend less time at work and more time with him!

We are on track for early retirement, but I've just really appreciated the articles on here that make me feel welcome, as opposed to weird. I'm am tired of being the target of marketing in everything that I read. The sad part is that I can remember when I first came to the US (from China), most products I saw being advertised were so far from what I thought any normal person would spend on that I thought marketers in this country were idiots. Having lived here for almost a decade, I see that I have been conditioned to thinking that I need x or y widget.

[ThatBikeGuy]

Greetings!

     I'm also a long time lurker and found this website through reddit in January of last year. I lacked direction and I felt like my education was largely pointless if I'd be stuck working for someone else my whole life and this website got me out of a slump and introduced me to alternate possibilities. I am 21 and just graduated from college with a degree in Chemistry. Hopefully, I am going to start a job making 40-50k per year this June.

     My yearly expenses are around 10k at the moment and my total debt is just shy of 18k. I'm rather frugal due to my upbringing and I am aiming to be FI by 35. This date will likely shift closer to 30 as my salary increases but that is a good place to begin and thankfully Michigan is a pretty cheap place to live with lots of bike paths and parks in my area. Unfortunately, the roads in my area are generally horrible for biking with narrow, hilly, single lane, high speed traffic, and no shoulders.

[cakie]

Hi everyone!

I've had an excellent time reading MMM's blog over the last week :)

Although one of my sisters is very mustachian, it's great to see we are not alone!!

I'm 23, will graduate uni at the end of the year. I've been living in my home city (Melbourne), but I plan on moving when I graduate. I'm not really a city person, and Melbourne is pretty big now...

Although i've got a decent amount of university debt after studying for 6 years, it's nothing close to some of the US colleges. In the past it has been pointless paying off more than compulsory payments, because the loan interest rate was so low, linked to CPI. But they just announced changes in the federal budget, so it will be higher in the future!

I've got some savings ($2k), leftover from a scholarship, but I spent the rest last year travelling around Europe for 5 months last year ;) Living with my mum again now so I don't have to work on top of 55+ hrs study a week...

I'm trying to get a job in my industry now, since most graduates with my degree get offered a job with the same company they worked for while studying...fingers crossed it is in the region I want to live in! Alternatively, I will go intestate and work in the mines :P (have applied to some mine grad jobs as backup) Depending on where i work, should reach FI by my mid- to late-30s :D

[Snowwabbit]

Hi everyone
Very excited new starter to mustachianism, yay! Pulling out all the stops to pay off consumer debt at the moment based on what I've learned here and looking forward to learning more. Should be mostly gone by the end of the year. I'm australian, partner but currently no kids, paying off house, working full time, I'm an intj (was fascinated how many are on this forum) and my 'drive' is a scooter.
Bring it on!

[AlexUK]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a few months and decided it was time to get involved! A little background:

24/m from London, UK. So far, although I try to save, I have not been too successful at building up anything worth talking about. Recently started a new job with a decent wage and am determined to not have to work past 50, so true badassity starts here. I'm going to start a journal too, detailing as much as I can about what I spend, how I'm trying to save and tips and tricks I pick up along the way - any input, advice or opinion would be massively appreciated as I have no idea what I'm doing!

I just finished reading Your Money or Your Life which gave me a bit of a reality check, and having done the historical analysis of what I've earned - my meagre savings are shameful. This stops now.

Besides Student Loan, I have no debt and no overdraft - this is probably the best thing I've ensured financially - but a flat move is coming up so that may require a bit of credit card support to fully sort out. Avoiding as much as possible - but I'll go into more detail in the journal!

[bythesea]

Hi, I came across MMM through the Frugal Village board.  I was reading up on Dave Ramsey and someone mentioned they liked MMM much better, and here I am.  I've been reading the MMM blog and have just finished 2012, so still more great posts to read.

I thought we had always been fairly frugal and we have lived within our means for years with no debt but our mortgage, but after reading the blog and some posts on the forum, I realize that we have a lot of financial waste in our lives.  So, today I decided to bike to my part time job.  And I liked it!  It wasn't as bad as I thought other than riding into a headwind this morning since I live right on the ocean.  I have a beach cruiser, so I'm going to search for a commuter bike for a good price.  I figured I saved $4 today, so I'm going to put that aside for investing instead of into my car.

Anyway, I look forward to sharing on here.

[Mr B]

Hi! I am Mr B. My wife, Mrs B, was the one who found MMM and it has really changed how we think about life. We are 28 and 31 respectively with our first little one due in 7 months. We have no debt and hope to reach FI soon so I can retire from the daily grind and focus on raising a family.


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[Jacob_W]

Hi Everyone. My name is Jake, and I like MMM. :-)

[Maaike]

Hi! I'm Maaike. I'm Dutch, so I'm frugal already ;-)
I love MMM and this forum, especially the journals.

[fpoe]

Hi! I found this site a couple of days ago--great stuff! Looking forward to joining the conversation here.

[Nkenga]

Hi, everyone, I'm Nikki, an American currently living and teaching English in China. I found MMM about 3 months ago, and finally started taking a really good look around the place. I'm still in the process of setting my long-term goals (besides the obvious, being debt-free and being financially independent) as I figure out what I need for moving back to the US for a year.

I pretty much always assumed i would have to work for the rest of my life, and as long as I had a job that I like I didn't think it would be a big deal. However, after turning 40 a couple of years ago, I realized that although i probably will work for the rest of my life, I'd rather not have to. Hence, I'm setting up some things to be able to be FI by the time I'm 55 (I'm 42 now). Luckily I don't have any children to worry about educating, and I "only" have about $25,000 in student loans (not great, but not as bad as many people I know). I've always wanted to retire to a country outside the US, so i'm going to spend the next several years working in various countries, saving money, and deciding where I want to hang my hat in 2026!

[missionpaul]

Hi friends - I'm Paul, 34, living in Mission, KS an inner ring suburb of Kansas City.  I have been reading MMM for about a year but have always enjoyed talking about finances and working to eliminate personal debt through programs such as Dave Ramsey etc.  Had an accountant for a dad so that helps.

The Mrs. and I are both employed by a non-profit dedicated to poverty relief around the world.  We both work from home which is a significant help to finances.  We love our jobs but FI is still a goal and we always want the option and the option to stay home with our daughter if desired.

I am much less of a badass than MMM or many on this forum.  While generally frugal we have allowed ourselves luxuries especially in regards to travel - it is something we love and we are willing to do it right now.

No debt other than our home - 40K which will be paid off this year.  Around 500K in various investments, 60% or so locked into retirement plans. We are now working to build a more liquid portfolio base.

Will likely be spending a lot of time in the investment forum as well as the landlord / rental forum as this is something we are looking to do once the house is paid off and we can purchase a rental property in cash.   

We constantly live in the tension of working in jobs where we serve the poor while being wealthy ourselves.  If there is anything driving me to be wise about our spending it is the recognition that we have been given far more than 99.9% of this world's population and we feel we are called to be good stewards of what we have been entrusted with. 

Glad to be here.

[mcrow]

Hello,

My name is is Mike. I'm 35 and am married with one kid. We own a home that will be paid off in about 5 years and a summer cabin acres that we own free and clear. I have ~$40k in 401k accountsWhile we feel mostly good in our situation we think we can do better to save more money and that is why I'm here. I don't see our current savings being enough to support us both in old age given the direction costs are going. What we have saved now, plus our properties would server our needs if we retired today but we are a good 20-25 years from retirement at this point and I think we would be short at that point. Also, you never know with health issues that could come up that we will both be able to work that entire time.

[sobezen]

Hello there!  I am a long time reader (three years) finally joining the forum.  :)  This is a awesome community!  One of my mentors taught me to make time to be a student of finance and reflecting back I couldn't agree more.  Over the years I shed hedonist habits and now focus on living a balanced, healthy, and fulfilling life.  Finding like-minded people sharing how they 'made good' is fascinating!  I love to read the stories shared by Jacob (ERE), Leo (ZenHabits), JD Roth (Get Rich Slowly), Josh/Ryan (the Minimalists) and Pete (our very own MMM).

I am healthy, single and debt free.  Saving is tons of FUN and I plan on achieving FIRE within five years or less.  Sold the home, renting, viciously slashing expenses and facepunching evil distractors (j/k).  Researching buying a home and then buying an income or commercial property.   I like discussing retirement planning, real estate, cinema, travel, running, martial arts, DIY and minimalism.  I also enjoy discovering creative alternatives to getting more out of life. 

I am lucky to play and work in our beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.  :)  Finally learning to ride a bike which is a big change for me since I love running and skipping in our cool parks (especially Golden Gate Park), beaches and kickass neighborhoods.  Happy to be part of our larger MMM community and looking forward to cultivating greater badassity with all of you.

Lastly, I would love to join any Camp 'Stach meets too!  Cheers! :D

[blackomen]

Hi, I'm JJ from Los Angeles..  look forward to having quality and practical discussions about the MMM philosophy!

[ShelMarieTX]

Hi, my name is Shelley.  I'm a single mom and an accounting manager for a radiology company.  I've been pursuing ways to become location independent. 
I've enjoyed several posts here, and look forward to intermingling with you all.

[nen]

I'm Jen.  My husband and I are DINKs from Austin.  I like to play more than I like to work. He loves his job...25 hours a week and summers off.  And I surf real estate listings for fun

[BaldingStoic]

Hi! I'm Toby from San Diego.  I work in the biotech/pharma industry.  I'm in my early 40's and have been fortunate to have accumulated a respectable savings.  Pondering pursuing the freedom of a financial independent lifestyle, but I've got 3 young children and SoCal isn't the cheapest place to live.  Still trying to decide how much is enough, and whether my family will benefit more from having me home more or the extra financial security from me continuing to work and save.   Looking forward to discussing these topics with my fellow MMM forum members and learning and exploring together.