Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317596 times)

wanttolivethedream

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1700 on: October 26, 2014, 11:19:49 AM »
Hi all, long time lurker but finally decided to join in. I found this site through Dave Ramsey site.A little about us. I'm 47 dw is 44.
Mortgage 110000.00
cc debt   500.00
We have no car pmts and never have. We only make about 60-70k yr combined. we have 45k in retirement and 3k in cash. The reason for joining is we're tired of having nothing for working all week.                   

Fodder

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1701 on: October 26, 2014, 11:30:26 AM »
Hi!  I'm Fodder.  I have two kids (6 and 2) and am married.  Both husband and I have full-time jobs and we live just outside Ottawa, Canada.

I probably deserve to be punched in the face, given income, commute and spending habits.

I'm working on changing that.

One area where I am quite mustachian is cars.  We have a 2005 Toyota Matrix, for which we paid cash in 2008.  It has 250 000 km on it, and I'm hoping to get another 100 000 km out of it.  I watch my friends who own multiple clown cars and laugh.  It's a great vehicle and suits all our needs.


E_Ransom

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1702 on: October 26, 2014, 03:08:50 PM »
Hello!

I'm E_Ransom and I'm wandering over from LessWrong. At 25, I'm the director of a small public library in an extremely poor part of the United States.

I'm not FI, but I'm finished with my schooling with a total lack of debt and around 10K of a nest egg, plus some very good habits. I've got the start of a Roth IRA through Vanguard (2k in a Targeted Retirement Fund, only a month or two old), and once I'm moved out I plan to start investing in stock index funds through the same company. At the moment, I pull in 26k before taxes and the biggest drain on my resources is a moderate case of Crohn's and my fee for the local Rotary club which social pressures make me nervous about leaving.

I've recently taken to minimalism life habits and have been strip-mining the material goods my family accumulated for me through youth, disposing of them for the sake of a healthy, free mental and physical surrounding. I currently live with my family, which is good because otherwise I'd have zero to put back. Hopefully, my next leap will be up into 60k at a university somewhere (I don't plan to step down on the totem pole, and library admin jobs at universities aren't like a bankrupt ghost town's admin jobs).

I've already been exposed to a lot of the central dogma of financial independence and how to obtain it, but I'm glad to find a vibrant, fun community based around helping each other. So, hope to see you all around!

MySweets

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1703 on: October 26, 2014, 03:59:22 PM »
Hello! I just spent the last few weeks reading the blog from the beginning. I'm all caught up now and ready to work my way through some of these forum threads. Lots of interesting stuff! Thank you!

ender

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1704 on: October 27, 2014, 11:25:10 AM »
Lots of new faces :)

Indy007

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1705 on: October 27, 2014, 01:56:34 PM »
Hey everyone! Long time reader, first time poster here. Been following the blog and forum for about a year now and finally decided to sign up.

My name is Chris and I'm from Indianapolis. This site has already been really helpful in my life. This time last year I had over $18k in student loan debt, and I'm on track to pay that off in December thanks to a lot of tips and tricks I've learned here. I'm looking forward to continuing to learn and to contribute whenever possible.

chuckaluck

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1706 on: October 27, 2014, 05:18:29 PM »
Hi everyone! This is a wonderful site and now I am proud to be associated with it.. Our story:  I retired about 2 years ago at age of 58 (I know, old by Mustachian standards!!) and my wife will retire in about 14 months.  I only wish this site existed 10 to 20 years ago so that I may have retired even earlier.  My wife and I have two sons in private colleges in the Cambridge and Boston area.  Because we have been living like Mustachians (unknowingly of course) since we've been married, we have not had to take out any loans for their educations. We also have always paid cash for cars, furniture, extensive home improvements, and most recently, dream vacations.  This is definitely the way to live life.   For those who have not yet reached financial independence, we can honestly tell you ---- It is worth it!  No worries --- we can do anything we want.       

NM_Texan

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1707 on: October 29, 2014, 08:14:20 PM »
Hi everyone!  I'm Austen.  I found the MMM blog a few months ago and have just recently started reading the forums in the last couple of days.  I'd never given any thought to FIRE before reading MMM, but I'm starting to fall in love with the idea.  I'm originally from Dallas but have moved out to the Bay Area for a job.  I recently finished paying off my student loans, and now I'm ready to start seriously saving for my future!

greenleaf

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1708 on: October 31, 2014, 11:54:17 AM »
Hi
I'm a 30something living in the northeast US with a husband and two young kids.  To our neighbors (and some family) we've always been "those crazy people" who bike and take the bus.  That plus several STEM degrees each has made us theoretically FI.  I hadn't seriously considered the RE part too much until recently, but I'll be leaving my job soon due to a policy change and that has me thinking about what to do next.

Alchemilla

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1709 on: November 01, 2014, 11:36:09 AM »
Hello I'm Alchemilla. My family comprises two schoolteachers, three children and two pets.

I live in rural England and am very much a beginner at this. Loving the way you swear on this blog/forum!
« Last Edit: November 01, 2014, 11:40:41 AM by Alchemilla »

unemployedj

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1710 on: November 01, 2014, 02:28:28 PM »
Hi.

Life story time!

Im J. I'm just about to be 26 and as of this week I'm unemployed. Got canned from my job with no warning and no reason. "It wasn't a good fit." Escorted out of the building. So my current income is zero! It was a corporate job and I was the lowest of the low on the ladder there. I never want to work a corporate job again. I'd almost rather go back to my retail but union job I had way back in the day. I dislike money and the make a profit at all costs mentality. I also am not the kind of person to lose sleep over that kind of bullsh*t and work late hours for it in order to "get ahead", missing out on my family, my friends, and other emotionally and physically fulfilling activities (like volunteering) so that I can work a god damned cubicle "making money." Any extra hours I spend working needs to be for myself. I know that much! Rat race, not for me. I'd rather live a modest living working for myself than make a lot of money working for someone else.

I have no savings, only one year of college completed (in music no less, completely worthless.) Not a whole lot of experience in anything other than retail and basic office assistance, reception, data entry type of work. I like to make things and have a small bit of creative talent I never fostered after dropping out of college. One of those smart, "lots of potential" type of people, but never utilized. A few thousand in debt as a result of being a complete idiot in my earlier 20's. I live with my boyfriend, who as of now is going to have to support me as well, he makes about 38k a year, but after he takes care of child support and other things for his daughter from a previous relationship, its about 27k left for himself, and now me as well.

I've got that cliche mid 20s crisis thing going on ya feel? Old enough to possibly be able to jump on that "no degree needed" revolution sweeping the country but just young enough to not have built up the "experience needed" to circumvent that degree, at least its unlikely at this very moment. Whatever I end up doing in the near future, I can bet its going to be on the less than 25k a year side of things, for sure. Actually, even when employed full time, my history has me averaged at about 22k a year.

No idea what the hell to do right now, but clearly living a frugal life and not letting myself fall into the pit needs to be on my to-do list.

And on the upside of things, being unemployed does put me in the position to do whatever the hell I want, I guess. I will probably end up going back to school for at least my associates in web and graphic design. Im really interested in other students who are working part or full time while practicing the MMM lifestyle.

Life story complete.


roadtofreedom

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1711 on: November 02, 2014, 09:22:34 AM »
Hi there, new in this site. I've been reading for last weeks.

I found this forum and MMM's history by chance. I am really excited by finding it because, in my own way I have been seeking for a long time the way to reach RE (I have a different understanding of the meaning of FI). I'am glad by finding a bunch of fellows with the same targets and motivations.

I'm 41 and my DW is 40. I consider myself as a medium mustachian, my DW is not mustachian at all but I do not consider her as a heavy spender.

We have high incomes and our Savings Ratio overcame to 80% last year and it is expected to reach to 82% this ytd. I could choose a rat race way of living but what makes me happy is to reach the financial freedom, get my own time and enjoy my family & friends instead of facing business travels around the world, daily workloads of 14 hours, .....

There is only one life and you have to enjoy it as much as you can.

I hope to write a lot and reach RE in less than 2 years. I work hard and steadily for that.

shallow pockets

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1712 on: November 02, 2014, 08:22:12 PM »
Greetings,  my name is David.
I have been dialing back my lifestyle for some time now and hope to gain a few more tips here. 
 

Britache Guy Chris

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1713 on: November 03, 2014, 05:09:26 AM »
Greetings

I'm Chris, a guy, from Britain (cleverly reflected in my username).

Discovered MMM a while ago after reading loads of stuff online about passive investing and DIY financial planning. Have always spent sensibly but am now going for it - to give myself as many future options as possible.

Skipper

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1714 on: November 03, 2014, 11:55:25 AM »
Hi, I'm Skipper. I'm paying off consumer and student debt and looking forward to having money with which to explore investing.

Million2000

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1715 on: November 04, 2014, 06:58:07 AM »
Hello, my name is Tim and I've been a lurker for a while here, both the blog and this forum. For the past few months I've been reading many of the blog posts but one in particular that gave me inspiration: "News Flash: Your Debt is an Emergency!!". For the past few years since I graduated from college and moved away from home I've been very budget oriented and frugal with my money.

But even with this self confidence in frugality I managed to not only have student loan debt but to add to it with a new car when I got my first "real" job and moved across the country. By this summer I had 35K in debt between these two, not too heavy a burden with my salary but still something triggered in my mind that I had to change. I loved investing and had contributed to an IRA years before from my then meager salary. I finally figured out I couldn't contribute that much more to that or my 401k until I eliminated this unnecessary debt. After running across MMM (again as it turns out, I had read a few articles years before), I threw everything I had at it and I can proudly say as of last night that my last debt has been paid off after 5 months of accelerated payment. I read that blog post almost once a day to remind myself to have a laser focus on eliminating this debt. I'm happy to be joining many of you in the "more relaxed" stage of getting to financial independence.

peabody58

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1716 on: November 04, 2014, 12:58:38 PM »
First off, this site should be required reading in every HS and College across the world.  It awakens the MMM deep inside most people, and plants seeds which hopefully take root.  So many financial missteps I've made over the years could have been avoided.  Fortunately I intuitively did more things right than wrong.

Anyhow, after 38 years in the nuclear industry (Navy Subs and Commercial Power), wife and I will axhieve FIRE at age 57 next Oct.   We've been baby fledgling MMM's for several years, but only realized our true calling once we found this web site earlier this year. 

Retiring to a 55+ community near Atlanta.  House is bought and rented out.  That's probable the only reason I haven't retired yet, no where to move to until the renter's lease is up, so I'm just padding the retirement funds right now.  Downsizing and garage sale'ing our 3200 sf house possessions like crazy.  Firing our Financial Adviser (1.5% commission) in a few weeks.  My Vanguard accounts are out pacing his efforts 10 to 1 right now. 

Our budget spread sheet complete with conservative fudge factors and inflation factors built in is showing a great life ahead.

This site is a blessing, and is continuing to save us money and time.  We just shaved $125 off our budget by changing to Republic Wireless.

Andy_in_Aus

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Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1717 on: November 05, 2014, 01:31:06 AM »
Hi there, I'm Andy (I realise this is a bit late).

As you can see from my username, another bloody Australian! That's right, we're coming in numbers to take over this place.

I have always been described as "cheap", but it turns out after reading this forum, I have actually always tried to live frugally.  I particularly identify with the stoicism mindset.

During my 40 revolutions of the sun, I've seen a whole bunch of get rich quick schemes come and go (betting on the horses for a living anyone?).

But about 6 months ago, a very good friend, whom I greatly respect suggested I take a look at MMM, after reading his blog from start to finish I was hooked. Then I came to the forums - line and sinker followed.

I've already learnt a whole bunch of stuff (and saved money in the process), and the overall feel I get is that this is a very vibrant, positive and helpful community.

Early next year, I will be relocating states, divorcing, getting a cash injection of around 100k and be debt free.  At that point I may start a journal, but I will definitely be looking for some advice.

In the meantime, I'll continue to pick "all y'all" (that's for you Americans) brains, and chip in where I'm able.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2014, 02:21:20 AM by Andy_in_Aus »

detroit_johnny

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1718 on: November 05, 2014, 05:02:43 PM »
Hi I'm John and living in the suburbs of the once great city of Detroit.  The area still is great outside the city proper and is scattered with lots of excellent lakes and parks.  Many McMansions but at age 42 I'm still living in my first house (small brick ranch built in the 1960's) I mortgaged about 16 years ago and will have it paid off next year.  I'm very excited and I want to retire early. 

I've been saving in a 401k but I realize a problem and that is 401k is meant for people retiring at the "expected" age.  I'm here to learn and hopefully contribute my own ideas and plans to create a two prong approach of funds to live on pre and post retirement.  I am an engineer so I have some understanding of finance but am excited to learn much more here!

gatorNic

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1719 on: November 07, 2014, 03:00:19 PM »
Hi, I am Nic.  My wife and now live in the SF bay area after living in LA for 8 years.  Always tried to live with in our means, but it good to find new ideas about how to live frugally but happy.  Not always easy when you live in one of the most expensive cities in the country.

When both of us are working we do really well, in fact this past month we saved about 45% of our take home (or paid student loan debt), which is exciting.  However its not always that way.  there has been a lot of only one of us working either due to the last recession or the company I worked for going bankrupt.  So during those tough times we stayed afloat without touching savings, but unfortunately there was no money left to save or go towards retirement (or at least very minimally).  Although still managed to pay off a 70K student loan in about 6 years so that was a big achievement.  However I still have another 50K student loan to go.  :(

So we're not in a terrible area, no credit card debt, a student loan with super low 1.75% interest, 7 month emergency fund.  Problem is we're at the age where if we want kids it needs to be pretty soon, but my job is so inconsistent it makes things difficult.  For now just keep on, keepin on and looking forward to learning some new things from this forum! 

ludwigtone

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1720 on: November 07, 2014, 06:11:22 PM »
Hi everyone - long time lurker here!  My lovely wife discovered MMM last year and got me hooked.  We are currently saving 45% of our income (with a newborn baby, no less!) and hope to ramp it up even further in the next few years.  We wish this was part of our education growing up, whether by our boomer/spender parents or at school - we'd be retired already! 


MrsCoolCat

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1721 on: November 09, 2014, 03:00:11 PM »
Hi, I'm Lucy. At my first job back when I was 23 during a 401k meeting I said I wanted to retire twice! Pretty much once to take a break and the 2nd for if I go back to work out of boredom. I currently work for a great company but for a neurotic boss (she said it herself). Earlier this year I actually wasn't working for 3 months and it was one of the best three months of my life! I recently got married and well, I've been working since I was 14 and the corporate world is really not how I want to "die" or work until I'm half dead. I refuse to work for gaudy toys or to keep up with the Kardashians/Joneses. I'd rather work smart than work hard. Thank you. :-) Excuse my sarcastic dark humor. That's just me! HELLO!
« Last Edit: November 09, 2014, 03:10:28 PM by ChinaChao »

woodworks

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1722 on: November 09, 2014, 07:15:59 PM »
Greetings, all! I'm in my early thirties, and living in the midwest.

I've greatly appreciated the tools I picked up through this site.

telbij

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1723 on: November 11, 2014, 05:35:08 AM »
Hey everyone,

I'm a long-time fan of the blog, but have a bad habit of living in the most expensive cities (San Francisco and London). I'm married with a 5-yo daughter, and no debt, but also not a great deal of savings. I figured it was time to surround myself with some good influences; I beseech you seasoned Mustachians to be my counter-balance to the shame of jumping on the Tube for the morning commute to find myself the only professional not wearing £400 Italian leather shoes.

VegemiteMess

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1724 on: November 11, 2014, 01:01:15 PM »
Hi! I am a longtime reader/lurker of the Mr. Money Mustache blog and forum ...and today decided to take the jump and actually register. I'm 35 with an 18-month-old daughter. I am in the early stages of an unexpected divorce and am struggling to know how to move forward financially. I have always been frugal but spent the past six years as the only one working and used all my savings ($150K) to try to pay off some of my ex-husband's educational debt. When my daughter was born, my ex-husband finally got a job during my maternity leave, so we decided for me to be a stay-at-home mom for the first few years of my daughter's life (this was very important to me). My world has fallen a part recently, and I can't think of anywhere better to turn for solid financial advice :-)

lemanfan

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1725 on: November 11, 2014, 01:59:22 PM »
VegemiteMess - I just cant stop myself from asking: whats the story behind your forum name?

VegemiteMess

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1726 on: November 11, 2014, 02:05:11 PM »
lemanfan - ha, ha - I have Australian ties (both parents are from Australia and my entire extended family lives in Perth, Western Australia) ...the "Mess" part is because my 18-month-old always talks about the Vegemite mess on her face. I'm doing my best to raise an Aussie kid :-)

lemanfan

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1727 on: November 11, 2014, 02:33:17 PM »
Poor kid. :)

Smokeydave

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1728 on: November 11, 2014, 07:56:54 PM »
I'm a long time reader.  Just signed up to the forum.  I'm debt free except for a 15 year mortgage at 2.62%.  I'm 39 and want to retire before 60.  Maybe sooner if it works.  Thanks to all who have contributed to help with life hacks and the like.  I'm constantly working to reducce the financial footprint of my family of four!

only_mustache_I_know

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1729 on: November 12, 2014, 04:43:18 PM »
Hi, I'm 34, single and am an engineer. Should I pay off my 25k student loan debt on 1.75% APR or use the same money and put that in S&P500 index fund? Not everyone can follow MMM teachings word for word. I for one own a fancy sports car and I really enjoy it. I also indulge eating out couple times a month but I'm cutting back because I noticed the quality of the food makes me feel ill 25% of the time.

I own a home the Bay Area. I'm doing my calculations and seems like I can retire at 37 if I downsize the home but I probably wont. I'm still too stupid to put everything in index funds as I'm still fiddling with a handful of individual stocks. I'm slowly learning and seeing if I can get a stream of dividends coming in. My current savings rate is somewhere around 65%! I attribute this to being able to fix most things myself. Also buying high quality things that never break is really awesome.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2014, 04:49:46 PM by only_mustache_I_know »

KodeBlue

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1730 on: November 13, 2014, 03:35:55 AM »
Greetings from the Old Dominion! I'm a 54 y/o guy living in VA, used to be clueless about saving, debt, retirement, started to wake up about it about 4 years ago. I've "graduated" from the Dave Ramsey-Suze Orman type financial guidence shows.
I've been a nurse for 35 years. I live in VA with my partner (soon to be spouse) of 20 years and our 3 doggies. We plan to marry in August*.
I have a 401k that I've been contributing to since 1991, no credit card or auto loan debt, and our mortgage balance is just under $27,000. My partner plans to retire in June. Hoping to learn a little, share a little.

* same-sex marriage became legal in our state 6 weeks ago.

SMCx3

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1731 on: November 13, 2014, 06:03:52 AM »
Hello from Georgia!

We are a family of three with the same initials "SMC" hence my board name.  My friends in the N. Georgia hills call me SC.

I have been lurking the last few weeks on the forum and decided to jump in head first.  My wife introduced me to MMS Blog about one month ago.  My views of our finances has changed considerably thanks to the information I have learned from all of you.  I look forward to bouncing questions off of the group while continuing to learn.

I have so much work to do, but with focussed changes to our budget we are on our way to a secure future.

FIRE has a whole new meaning!

livewire516

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1732 on: November 13, 2014, 09:42:53 AM »
Hi!

I'm a (relatively) recent grad working for a non-profit and living in Philadelphia.  I'm so lucky to have a father that made me save towards college growing up, then covered the difference, allowing me to graduate debt-free.  This allowed me to appreciate that autonomy is worth more than any gizmo, or living the 'right' part of town.  I sold the gas guzzling hot rods I bought as a teen.  Reading "Your Money or Your Life" and "Voluntary Simplicity" also influenced me.

I'm currently trying to save towards grad school. My undergrad was in nutrition, and I prioritize my food quality as a worthwhile expense.  I enjoy homesteading activities so I do a lot of home fermenting and rendering to also save on money.  I plan to hunt for the first time this season!  I plan to pursue FI so that I can exercise my values, esp. regarding the environment and labor.  That also means my path to FI may be a little slow at times as I donate or make purchasing that align with values other than frugality.

I'm looking forward to conversions with you all on the forum!

fabalv

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1733 on: November 13, 2014, 04:52:30 PM »
Hi! I'm a 30 year-old man, software engineer, currently working as an EFL Teacher at highschool and college levels. Whenever I have the chance, I do some freelance web development. I used to work as a photographer, too.

My wife, who is 22, and I have been married for 2 years. She is pregnant, so we are expecting our first baby to be born in late March or early April. She was studying a major in human nutrition, but after a few semesters, she realized she didn't like that career, so she is planing to study to become a nurse in a few years. She doesn't have a job right now.

I was born and raised in Mexico, and my wife was born in the US, from a Mexican mother and a Dane father, but she was raised here in Mexico.

We live in a small city in the southwest of the state of Jalisco, in a very little apartment borrowed from my family, where we don't pay rent, but we are trying to move as soon as possible to place of our own. We need to save around $40,000 to buy a decent house. Rent for a house on that price is around $200 a month.

We already have all the appliances and furniture we need. I have a 2006 Peugeot 206 which I bought used in 2011. I try to use my bike as much as I can. One advantage here is that everything is in biking distance. Most people go everywhere on cars, though.

Currently, our main source of income is my salary of less than $11,000 a year, and the rest comes from the ocassional project I take as a software engineer, around $2,000 a year. We have a debt of around $4,000. This is considered middle class around here.

As my wife is a US citizen, we've been thinking about moving to the US, but this is only a B plan, because most of our family and friends live here. I've been in the US before, but only while I was studying a TOEFL course on a scholarship, so I didn't have to work and I lived on campus. I don't really know much about a normal life with jobs and regular chores. My wife only lived there for a few months when she was a baby. Then her parents divorced and her mother brought her to Mexico.

Sincerely, I think my life is pretty good, and I don't think I need anything else in the material aspect. But to be honest, when we find out about the baby, I was frightened, because I felt I didn't have anything to offer. We don't have any savings and we were struggling to make ends meet. I'm working around 60 hours a week, so taking a second job is not an option. After doing some research about how to fix my financial status, I discovered this website. And I can say for sure that all this principles apply here as well as in the US, mostly because we spend a lot of money on things we don't really need. I know many people with a salary lower than mine who buy brand new cars.

Now, I consider myself a mustachian, I feel more confident, and I'm happier than ever because I feel I'm on charge of my financial situation for the first time in a while. I'm so excited about this, that I'm planning to start my own blog in Spanish, about financial freedom and early retirement. It is going to be in Spanish because many people here need it, and you already have this one. :)

Even though my monthly salary is around $900, we've reduced our debt in around $800 in less than two months. And I think we're going to be debt free in less than six months, hopefully before the baby arrives.

Thank you Mr. Money Mustache, and thank you fellow mustachians.

A grateful mexican mustachian.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2014, 06:04:34 PM by fabalv »

JackofAll

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1734 on: November 14, 2014, 07:51:22 AM »
Hi!

I suppose I fall into the millennial category being a 32 y/o male, but I don't think I share the same values ANYMORE... 

I am in a government job currently, but have been working in construction since I could hold a hammer(my dad cut the handle of a regular hammer in half when I was ~4).  My dad was a framing contractor and my background is mostly with flooring, but I have done framing and trim work, drywall, painting, electrical, plumbing, roofing, cabinetry, and even worked on a few cars over the years.

I had an emergency in February of this year when it looked like funding for my program was going to disappear and had to take a long hard look at myself and what I truly wanted out of life(funding came through and I still have a job, thankfully).  I first started reading early retirement extreme then found MMM and it was all over from there.  I have tried to look at other blogs since, but I keep coming back here.  I realized that I was spending 95% of what I brought home on STUPID things!  I have since changed that by downsizing my car, increasing my IRA contributions, canceling cable, getting a prepaid cellphone, bringing my lunch to work everyday, almost never eating out, and doing things that make my family and I happy without spending a ton of money.

One of the most helpful things to me has been calculating the long term effects of purchases.  I realized that my 2013 F150 FX4 supercrew getting ~18mpg was costing me almost $13,000 a year to mostly transport me and 1 child 25 miles 1 way!  I used to look at things on a monthly basis and had plenty of money to pay for them, but that would set me up for failure if anything ever happened to my job and wasn't really providing me any more happiness.  I really enjoy working with my hands and miss the days of owning my own business, but money was never consistent.  My goal is to save enough and retire from my gov job and be able to go back into the thing I truly have a passion for.

Prior to MMM(9 months ago), I was saving 5% of my take home pay.  Today, I  have no CC debt, a few lingering mistakes from the past, and I currently save 33% of my take home pay.  Thanks MMM and the Mustache community!
« Last Edit: November 14, 2014, 07:53:55 AM by JackofAll »

tanzee

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  • Location: Asheville, NC
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1735 on: November 15, 2014, 01:35:25 PM »
Hi All,

I'm Matt and I'll be completing my Master's degree and kicking off my career.  I really enjoy this website and forum and I'm looking to get out from under some student loans.  I'm an avid biker and public transportation devotee.  Glad to be here!

Gilead1986

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1736 on: November 15, 2014, 01:46:12 PM »
Hi.  My name is Frank and I'm a 28 year old living in MD.  I've always had an interest in personal finance since I had my eyes opened drastically in an Intro to Business class in high school.  I don't make much money, and I spend even less of it.  I'm still fairly career-less; I have a job, it's been stable but it's not very rewarding or stable.  I live a fairly Spartan life style.  I'm a DIY-er and try to maximize costs to the point of obsession.

  I don't have any debt, and contribute to a 401k and a few IRA's (one is at my credit union, I mostly keep it open for the lower interest rates).  I'm starting to have my eyes opened more and more about missed opportunities and wasted money.  I definitely hamstrung myself when I was younger by pursuing a college degree (Associates)in a field I have no interest in any longer. 

Mostly what I'm here for is a fine tuning of my life.  I've really enjoyed lurking the forums, and hope to learn a lot more. 

Maya

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  • Posts: 256
  • Location: Canada
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1737 on: November 16, 2014, 08:29:25 AM »
I'm almost 34 with two kids under 3.5 and looking to gain FI within 15 years. Working on bringing my husband more on board and I think we could get it down to 10.

We have strong equity in our house and rental property. Our retirement funds are growing slowly. Wish I'd discovered this blog about 10 years ago, as we could be really close to it now I think. Oh well onwards and upwards now.

oldmandex

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  • Learning about financial freedom!
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself (I'm OldmanDex
« Reply #1738 on: November 16, 2014, 01:23:21 PM »
Hello all!

I'm John, and I like to learn as much as I can! I first heard about MMM from a podcast and I have been hooked every since!

I have a car loan as my only debt, and want to get rid of it! I love cycling and would like to gain more confidence to ride the 40mi round trip commute to work. I'm just worried about being able to do all the walking at work I do after getting there, and the dark ride home (2nd shift).

I cannot wait to learn more here!

jviska89

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1739 on: November 17, 2014, 01:03:38 AM »
Hi,

I discovered MMM in July this year.  My wife and had jjustquit our jobs, were about to married, and were leaving on a year long round the world trip a week after. We lived a very anti mustachian lifestyle in Chicago as 25 year olds with our first real jobs post college (combined income was 91,000). We left for our somewhat unmustachian trip with 20k in a TSP, 15k in stocks, and $7500 in a savings account (none of which will be used for the trip). We had another 20k for the trip and lots of airline miles. We were and are debt free thanks to overly generous family members paying for university. We  are currently working for a few months on a farm in Australia.  Our combined take home pay is $2800 vs the nearly $5000 we were used too. The odd thing is we are spending far less. Only about $800 a month (housing is included). We are saving the rest for the traveling,  enjoying work for the first time ever, and not missing the spendy city life at all. To boot we think total expenses for the year of travel will only be about 30k for the two of us. A mustachian jet set lifestyle in my opinion. Thanks to MMM and you forum posters I think we have decided to search out the more rewarding and less cushy life.

Cheers

sammyjnr

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1740 on: November 17, 2014, 01:31:49 AM »
Hi all,

Melbourne based Aussie (22M). Just started full time work about 3 months ago, earning about ~$75k p.a.

Thankfully found MMM prior to starting, so my spending rate is currently about 5% (excluding mortgage). Currently have a 200k mortgage on an investment property I purchased two years ago (rental income is offsetting interest). Putting a solid 80% of my salary into an offset account every month (currently at 20k).

Will have significant capital saved in about 6 months, and completely confused about what my next move should be.

Have been fortunate to have parents who were always quite frugal, and that's been 'passed down' to me.

I have been reading MMM and ERE religiously - aiming to achieve FI in 8 years (before I'm 30).

Sam :)

Goldrarz

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1741 on: November 17, 2014, 11:27:55 PM »
Hello everyone.  I'm Brian, 30yrs old. i'm from Saskatchewan Canada.  hoping to find some good info on financial situations that i am currently in right now.   didnt get a chance to look over the whole forum fully, but i do like reading and look forward to doing some research :)   

Cheers :)

spindle

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1742 on: November 18, 2014, 07:42:19 PM »
Hello my name is Jeff. I am 54 years old single dad of 3 young adults.

I am brand new to this site but living this life style for most of my life. I am divorced putting two children through college, yes it's killing me lol. But i always retain a positive outlook and attitude towards life.

I am hoping to go off the grid, for the most part in the next five years and hopefully retire at 60. Any insight I can gain from this web site will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Jeff

Inkedup

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  • Location: USA
  • Striving for FI.
Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1743 on: November 18, 2014, 08:24:24 PM »
Hi, folks.

I'm 33, east coast-based, and a longtime reader of frugal living blogs (including this one). After devoting the majority of my 20's to studenthood, I landed a job where I now have been working for a few years. Although I do not earn very much money, my expenses are minimal and I bank a significant % of my pay. That said, there is a lot of room for improvement, so I am here.

To clarify, handle refers to my preferred but anti-mustachian writing tool of choice, the fountain pen. I have no tattoos to speak of :)

csr

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1744 on: November 18, 2014, 09:05:43 PM »
Hey! I'm from Toronto and trying to save up a stash. Not to buy a house, because they're insanely overpriced, but to travel the world off my stash. Halfway there for me and my lifestyle expenses!

driftwood

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Hi! (warning, contains profanity)
« Reply #1745 on: November 19, 2014, 01:49:11 PM »
Hi, I'm James, I'm in the military (8 years down, plan on doing 12 more).  Married with two kids (one four weeks old).  Here's how I meandered here:

1.  Historical interest in Badassity:  Already into many outdoor pursuits, adventure races, long runs (24 hr runs), walking hella uphill for days on end, jumping into glacier lakes, etc

2.  Financial irresponsibility:  Paid for lots of gear with CCs, also convinced I need a 4x4 pickup to carry gear and drive to places to play (never use the 4-wheel drive)

3.  Fucking (I'm assuming profanity is ok here, because its in the blog) tired of:  daily grind, rat race mentality, constant fucking advertising in my face all the time (if I ever meet the guy from the Jared's diamonds radio commercial I may commit an unspecified act of violence), having too much stuff I don't have time to use anyways, cutting grass (what kind of fucktard thinks we should spend hours of our life growing and cutting a plant we can't eat?), products designed to fail so I want more products, taking time after a long day of work to exercise (because another fucktard thought we should invent things/jobs that involve no physical labor, so now we have to add physical labor to our non-existent free time just to not be fatasses), being told I need to prepare to be rich at 65, when I'm too old and don't have the balls to do anything fun with the money anyways, not being in control of my own life, wanting to 'live my dreams' when those dreams cost more money than I have.

4.  So after surfing around websites as I tried to deal with the above frustrations I cruised through dave ramsey, manvsdebt, the minimilasts, backpacking light, tiny houses, I will teach you to be rich, the wisdom project blah blah blah I found Mr. Money Moustache!  I was already well on the way to paying off debt/reducing what I have/what I do to maximize time with my family, but this site gave me more info/inspiration/tools/motivation.

Ok, I'm done with the numbered list and ready to move on with my day.  Happy to be here.

vulgar_girl

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1746 on: November 19, 2014, 03:56:57 PM »
Hi Everyone,

I have been lurking around the MMM site and forum for a few months now.  I have some hair-on-fire debt, and a small savings, but my FI plan is underway and I am in the process of growing my lady-stache.  I want to say thanks to all those who are regular posters here on the forum.  I have gained a lot of knowledge from you all.

About me: I live in San Francisco right by the ocean which is AWESOME, and only 5 miles from work!  I am married to a wonderful husband and have a young son.  I like knitting, crocheting, and doing all things crafty.  I love the outdoors and spend most of my weekends walking through the woods in Golden Gate Park (sometimes I even forget I am in the city when I am there).  I love to cook and bake (especially anything chocolate).  I love video games.  Some of my favorites are COD, Skyrim, and Sims; just to give you an idea of the genres I like.  I am playing less these days though.  BTW vulgar_girl is a username that originated in the gaming world.  Also, I do have a tendency to be vulgar...

Finances: I am up shit creek, but I do have a paddle, and am chipping away at the debts my past-self left my present-self to deal with.  I have done a lot of the things that you all talk about on the Mustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy including, but not limited to: cashing out a 401K after leaving a job, taking a loan from my 403b, taking out personal loans, financing a new car (at least it is a Honda Civic...), et cetera.  I finally became completely fed up with my own irresponsibility and was tired of living paycheck to paycheck.   First I built myself a Total Money Makeover snowball spreadsheet ala Dave Ramsey.  Then I started scouring the interwebs to find more information, which is when I found this lovely MMM community and forum.

So that is me in a nutshell.  I am excited about my stubble and about being a part of the community.

 

soontoberichteacher

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1747 on: November 20, 2014, 09:32:12 PM »
Hey everyone! I have been a lurker of this forum for a while, and started a journal a while back that I haven't updated. But I hope to become more involved.

I have always been interested in living frugally and managing my money well. Even when I was a little kid, my mom would comment on how much I cared about maintaining my "stuff" (like clothes) so it wouldn't need replacing or how much I liked to save my money. I guess Mustachianism came naturally to me.

That being said, I have (lots of) work to do when it comes to my own financial success. At the end of my student teaching practicum, I will be ~$18k in debt. It is worth it to me because it has always been my dream and mission to become a public school teacher. But I hope to pay that debt fairly quickly, and I already have some good job prospects lined up for when I graduate. I am also in the "read read read" phase, and I am trying to soak up books/forums/websites to learn as much as I can.

I look forward to being more involved on this forum!

maisee

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1748 on: November 21, 2014, 09:17:09 AM »
Hello there from Connecticut.

Kind of a lurker for a while. Recently made a username for myself. I'm a 26-year-old still trying to figure out what it is I want to do with life. I'm currently in a stable job, but itching to leave for a new one. I got bored with the 9-5 so easily and I know it's NOT what I want to do forever. So now my new preoccupation is to figure out ways for me and the boyfriend to save money now so we can do fun stuff later, like travel a lot.

I agree 100 percent with what other people have said, that MMM should be required reading. It's insane how people can get through high school and college (in the states at least) and have not the tiniest clue about managing finances, paying off credits cards, avoiding hundreds of ks of student loan debt and the like.

Thanks!

marketingnurse

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1749 on: November 21, 2014, 03:45:49 PM »
Hi I'm Rosa, alias The Marketing Nurse,

Been reading the website for over a year now, didn't realize there was a forum until I looked around for the article about Ting when I was ready to switch phone companies. So here I am all registered and stuff! I look forward to learning from you all,

Rosa