I've posted a few times, so I guess I should come back and introduce myself. :)
I'm just starting to think like a Mustachian, but I've always been fairy frugal. I live with my husband, three kids, two dogs, and two cats, in a small town in the southern U.S. The mortgage is just 10% of our income, but its an 1830s cottage that needs a lot of work. I'm 42 (as of yesterday!), DH is 45, and the kids are 16, 9, and 7. As for the pets, we're on animal attrition plan. We love them, but once they're gone, they will not be replaced.
We're not from here, and hope to move back to my hometown once our oldest graduates from high school. The cost of living will be higher, so we're trying to get on a solid footing before we go.
We are self-employed, and I work part-time in the business. We have three additional employees, so DH works from home most days while they take care of on-site issues. Family income is $100k
We're not big spenders on most things (clothes, entertainment,etc.), so I'm using a rolling tally of expenses to find areas to cut. I saw two months ago that our food costs were our highest monthly expense, so we've cut back a lot in eating out and got more savvy about groceries. After just a few weeks of focus, food dropped down the list and auto payments moved up, so we're selling one car and using proceeds to pay down the other. I can see that the insurance category will be next, so I reevaluated our life policies and am quoting new auto. This rolling focus seems to be keeping me motivated and helps with my tendency to get distracted by other projects.
Our personal debt is the mortgage ($50k on a $70k house) and two cars, bought used ($4k on $10k car, $9k on $11k van). No CC or student debt. We also have a low-interest loan from the purchase of the business from the previous owners ($24k, paid down from $200k 5 years ago). All of that will be gone before we move.
Finally, I do have a bike, but it doesn't fit well. Once that's remedied, I plan to get my biking on. I've questions about the logistics of that with kids and such, but they can wait for a more appropriate post.
Thanks for your help so far, and in the future! :)