Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317836 times)

jordanread

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1850 on: January 01, 2015, 05:51:07 PM »
Welcome to all the new people! We're glad to have you. May 2015 be a greatly improved year for you all.

We've got all kinds of craziness going on around here, so jump on in.

emmegebene

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1851 on: January 01, 2015, 07:39:34 PM »
I've been working my way through the blog from the beginning and was holding off on joining the forums, but eh, why wait.

I'm extremely fortunate to live in Longmont, Colorado, right in MMM's neighborhood, which really is as great as he says it is. I didn't know this when I first found the blog though! My kids go / have gone to the same school as little MM and I'm sure we have crossed paths in the 'hood.

I'm mustachian by nature so everything here resonates with me. I read The Tightwad Gazette, YMOYL, Voluntary Simplicity, and other similar books years ago. My challenge is a husband who isn't inclined that way. He appreciates my thriftiness, but I suspect he sometimes uses it as justification for his own spending. Overall our savings rate is embarrassingly low, and I know we can do better.


Rubyist

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1852 on: January 02, 2015, 12:58:13 AM »
I'm a woman in my mid 20s, living in Southern California.

I discovered MMM a few weeks ago and devoured the entire blog archive. It's inspired me to change my financial habits significantly. I like my job quite a bit but I don't like that I'm dependent on its paycheck. It doesn't pay great so if I want a chance at becoming financially independent I can't afford to spend wastefully. I'm now committed to saving 30% of my income.

As you might be able to guess from my username, I own too much yarn.

TTGS

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1853 on: January 02, 2015, 12:18:28 PM »
Hi all.  32 year old female engineer here, been reading MMM on and off for a year or two but really got on board this past year.  I was previously a Dave Ramsey fan which helped me make some progress but things still moved slowly.  A year ago I got a big wakeup call when I found out I was losing my job and realized I was not even remotely prepared for that. 

Fast forward to now, I've been in my new (much better and higher paying!) job for a while and just calculated that I increased my net worth by 37% in 2014 due to pay increases and implementing Mustachian philosophies.  I finally cancelled cable last week and lived to tell the tale :) 

Happy to be here!

LadyDriver

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1854 on: January 02, 2015, 01:10:30 PM »
41 yr old female, married.

My story in a (large) nutshell

Before 25: Typical consumer who thought I had to do certain things and have certain things to be doing life right.
25ish: Epiphany! If I keep doing what I am doing, I will be stressed and broke forever.
25-30: Frugal and voluntarily simple. Paid off debt, maxed out retirement investments, saved a bunch of money.
30: Met the man I would marry.
30-now: Wandered on the fringes of the wilderness. Still pretty frugal and simple, but not hardcore. Changed jobs. Saving slowed, free time increased. Started a business that has contracted and expanded with the economy.
Now: Crossroads! We can expand our business, earning more money and spending more time or we can dial things back, earning less money and spending less time. We like the business, but working so much is a grind*. Thinking about what to do next (and a timely mention on MSN) brought me here and reminded me of how satisfied I was with my life in my late 20's.

*We are team truck drivers running under our own authority. We drive exclusively for Azure Standard, a bulk food company I see mentioned on these boards.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2015, 01:28:18 PM by LadyDriver »

dKonstruct

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1855 on: January 02, 2015, 07:34:19 PM »
Hi folks!

I'm 32 and fighting off 57K of debt (student loans and car).

I just recently stumbled upon MMM and the ERE communities.  Needless to say the information revolutionized how I think about money and life.  Before MMM and ERE, I thought that only entrepreneurs who managed to sell out or folks who ran micro businesses (aka "Muses" as explained by Tim Ferriss) where able to live the "time rich" lifestyle discussed in these communities. I'm just thankful that I  stumbled upon this philosophy before I got any older than I already am. 

I'm cutting down my debt and monthly spending the best I can. 

Thanks and glad to be here!

Markds11

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1856 on: January 03, 2015, 05:33:13 AM »
Hello I found this forum and the blog earlier this week.  It's full of great information!  My wife and I have a spending problem we need to work on.  But it's been three days since we've spent anything.  Baby steps! (No Dave Ramsey)

Liggy

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1857 on: January 03, 2015, 12:04:00 PM »
Hi all, just joined up after getting addicted to reading the blogs. I'm 26 and from the UK, myself and my girlfriend (still working on selling it fully) have been inspired by the ethos of this site.

Since reading on here we have declared our debt situation ($35,000) an emergency despite our net worth being around $57,000 hoping to have them all clear by spring 2016.

I have realised from this site just how much I've been sucked in by consumerism in the past 2-3 years and want to get back to my old ways which led to me to purchase (mortgage) and renovate my first house aged 23 which is quite rare here in the UK!


Lynski

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1858 on: January 03, 2015, 05:44:53 PM »
Figured it's time I introduced myself! I've been a lurker for about 6 months, posting here and there. I found MMM through a Facebook friend's link to an article, but didn't discover the forums until a few months later.

I grew up the daughter of a financial planner and, though no expert, always considered myself responsible with money. I remember reading financial books in high school cause they happened to be around the house. Despite that, reading the articles and forums here have been pretty eye opening, and I feel like I've got a much better handle on actually making a conscious plan toward my financial future, rather than leaving everything on autopilot like I had been.

I look forward to learning much more from the great community here!

PencilThinMust

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1859 on: January 03, 2015, 09:51:18 PM »
Hi,

Been reading for a few years, finally feel I should contribute.

-Dale

Fruchtwein

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1860 on: January 03, 2015, 11:40:35 PM »
Hi MMM-Community,

I'm Martin, German citizen and currently living with my wife and daughter in Kathmandu, Nepal.
We will move in August this year to Rome, Italy for job reasons. I will turn 31 this year and still have a net worth around 0,- EUR. I started to invest money in September last year after I read a lot in the internet and found the MMM-Website.

I always wante to be rich, because I thought all my money problems will be gone. So I spent more money than I earned and took consumer loans to pay my bills and othe stuff. I thought I will get rich trough some random event, like an invention or a super business idea or whatever. After the birth of my daughter in 2013 I evaluated our financal situation and was shocked. Our net worth was around -20k EUR, I earned a low six figure EUR amount and spent every dime for things I even can't remember - how could I explain this to my daughter or even teach her anything about money and life? It took me around one more year to get my lazy ass up and start saving money.

I really got motivated through the idea of early retirement (The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement) and have now a saving rate of ~45% of my net salary. We started to track our expenses, figured out how we can save more (6,- USD a day for coffee at the playground for example o.O) and I'm confident that we can reach a saving rate >50%. Also I try to back up the investments with some side business ideas (Amazon eBooks) and also my wife wants to put her share in and will restart her shirt printing company in Italy.

Hopefully you can understand my English, I'm sorry, it is not the best, but I promise I try my best. :)


marshmallowaddict

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1861 on: January 05, 2015, 08:18:59 PM »
Hi Fruchtwein!

I can understand your english just fine! I'm new as well. My goals this year are both to max out of my 401k retirement plan and take a trip from the US to New Zealand. I think it's possible, but I need to be mindful of my spending.

andy.LtD

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1862 on: January 06, 2015, 01:52:59 AM »
Hi,

I'm Andy, married with one boy starting university this Sept. I like motorcycling, travel  and adventure but work kind of  gets in the way.
Working towards FI really pleased to find Mr money mustache.

Big help so far , enjoying the site

CAtoTX

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1863 on: January 07, 2015, 10:59:43 PM »
Hi, I'm Carolyn.  I discovered MMM mid-2014 and I finally finished reading all of the MMM posts from the beginning of time.  I live in CA, am divorced and have a daughter in veterinary school and a son in college.  I am a former systems analyst/engineer & current CPA and love budgeting and finance (I know right?).  (I didn't iron $5 bills as a child but I did fill notebooks with hand-calculated mortgage amortization schedules.)
I was working on a case study tonight to submit but then I realized that yes, I can retire today if I want to & move to my place in Texas.
(...only I need to be married to sell my house and receive the maximum capital gains exclusion.  Where is the MMM matchmaking thread?)

MoneyMeares

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1864 on: January 09, 2015, 08:20:21 AM »
HI everyone!

We are a young-newly married couple from Southern California and are excited to be debt free and be able to have a great retirement with MMM advice! Excited to read all entries and better ourselves!

perummm

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1865 on: January 09, 2015, 01:41:18 PM »
Hi! My name is Rafael. and I'm from Perú! Long time reader, first time poster!

Tortoise Banker

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1866 on: January 09, 2015, 09:22:53 PM »
Aloha!

Fan of the site!  Definitely helped me drive down my expenses.  I'm Tortoise Banker.  : )

Married with one kid on the way.  Looking forward to enjoying more of the content on the site and forum posts!

RogueSqPewPew

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1867 on: January 10, 2015, 06:25:35 AM »
Hello all. My husband and I are both AD military, with about 11-13 years to go, if we opt to stay in. We both hope to be financially independent upon military retirement.  No kids yet, but they're in the cards.

I feel we are well on our way, but still have much to learn, and much pressure to overcome in the coming years. That's why I'm here.

NinetyFour

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1868 on: January 10, 2015, 07:03:47 AM »

TXBruiser

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1869 on: January 10, 2015, 04:15:07 PM »
Hello MMM Community!!!  28yo from Houston, in the O&G industry, my wife and I have been living well below our means for a few years now, but its great there is this community of other like-minded folks that I can learn from, and hopefully give back.

Kris

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1870 on: January 10, 2015, 06:18:22 PM »
Hey, everyone:

I discovered MMM a little more than a month ago.  Blew through every single blog post and then suffered from withdrawal so came here to feed my habit.

I just turned 48 and my husband is 56.  We met about 8 1/2 years ago.  I helped him dig out of a mountain of debt and got us on a path to retire esrly in June 2020.  Since reading the blog, I realized I can shave that down to June 2018, when I'll be 51 and he'll be 60.  I'm looking forward to participating here and hopefully having the forum help me to further "mustache" our lifestyle.  Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to shave our retirement date down even further as a result? :-)

newnewman

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1871 on: January 11, 2015, 07:51:57 AM »
Hi,

My name is Michelle. I am a 30-year old married woman from the Georgian Bay area of Ontario, Canada. I am the mother of a busy almost-two-year old. I am only working part time and making next-to-nothing BUT I am glad I stumbled across MMM because I have learned that I shouldn't be focussing on the money I am making but rather the money I am spending. My husband and I owe about $15,000 on two lines of credit (from my husband's truck and closing costs of our second home purchase - eek) plus a mortgage of approximately $200,000.

Our main goal in 2015 is to eliminate our $15,000 debt on two lines of credit. I personally would also like to find a higher paying job too. I am also trying to motivate the hubby to get onboard as well.

Great to be here! :)

Glenn B

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1872 on: January 11, 2015, 11:19:47 AM »
I found MMM about 2 years ago and love the overall approach to FI, great money saving ideas, and the MMM blog really provides lots of encouragement to reach FI. 

I was laid off from my job a few years ago, and that really put me in shock, as a good worker bee, you just think the gravy paycheck train will keep going on until you reach that magic place called retirement.  I was super lucky as I had a new job within a month, so no break in the gravy train, but it caused me to completely rethink savings, retirement, and financial independence.  As I realized when I was laid off that my monthly expenses could only be sustained for maybe 6 months before I would really be in trouble. So a new plan had to be put in place, both for retirement and FI.  Thus I found MMM.

I have been trying to be more Mustache like, and started easy by getting rid of my ridiculous monthly expenses like: 

Cable TV bill ($120) replaced by NetFlix ($9)  & Amazon Prime ($7.5);
Cell Phone ($120 for two) replaced by buying the next cell phones (no renty stuff) and using  GoSmartMobile ($75 for two, still expensive but we work via phone with unlimited minutes);
Home phone ($26) replaced by OOMA ($3.5);
all magazine subscriptions cancelled ($10 at least) replaced by  personal internet magazines (Zite and Flip are great to keep up with the latest news);
Internet Access ($80) replaced by Freedom Pop ($42 for 20 gig with two Freedom Pop modems as you need one per 10gig);
baking bread at home (love the breadmaker approach);
and lots more eating in and watching movies vs the expensive restaurants/movie theaters. 

And just 2 days ago, I got rid of my biggest crazy insane expense, a big fancy old motor yacht, that was costing me out the nose every month ($$$).  It was a hard decision for me, as this was my main hobby, repairing it and keeping it running, and I enjoyed boating every other weekend.  This is replaced by having friends with boats ($0 except for bringing the food and drinks).

So finally after two years of reducing my monthly expenses, increasing my savings and investments, I finally feel like I can reach FI in a few years thanks to MMM and the great writers and links to other sites that provide guidance to work towards FI.

CapLimited

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1873 on: January 11, 2015, 02:29:09 PM »
Hi, I'm CapLimited, after the famous old Capitol Limited passenger train that ran between New York, Washington DC, and Chicago.  When I'm not admiring my growing net worth, I'm thinking about and planning for my next long-distance train trip. 

I came over from Early Retirement Extreme when Jacob passed the torch to MMM, and have been a long-time lurker on the forum.  I don't expect to have much to say here, but will chime in when I have something useful to add. 

My story -- changed careers in 2002, relocated, and got into around $50,000 of debt (student loans, credit cards, car loan -- the usual suspects).  Got back out of consumer debt while taking on condo and rental property mortgages, and started maxing out my retirement accounts in 2007.  It's a little too late for me to retire extremely early, but I'm planning to bail on the day job sometime between ages 57 and 60.  Could probably go sooner, but I'm willing to sacrifice a bit so I can stay in Washington DC (expensive, but lots of cultural opportunities) and take train trips.

Other stuff:  I'm a Briggs-Meyers INTP.  I haven't owned a car since 2008 and hope I never have to again, since I'm a menace behind the wheel.  I walk three blocks to work -- great commute!  Bike share is available here, but I usually prefer to walk, or take Metro if the weather is particularly nasty.

grodgersoz

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1874 on: January 11, 2015, 04:47:41 PM »
Hi everyone, Im greg

I have been interested in FI since i was about 23 and im 37 now. I have done ok for myself so far, but after discovering this site, ERE and GRS im keen to speed things up a bit and thats where all of you come in!

I want to post my current financial position, current budget and situation, then get feed back from all moustachians about what they believe i could improve and what they would do differently and why.

Where should i post that?

thank you!

jordanread

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1875 on: January 11, 2015, 04:53:14 PM »
Hi everyone, Im greg

I have been interested in FI since i was about 23 and im 37 now. I have done ok for myself so far, but after discovering this site, ERE and GRS im keen to speed things up a bit and thats where all of you come in!

I want to post my current financial position, current budget and situation, then get feed back from all moustachians about what they believe i could improve and what they would do differently and why.

Where should i post that?

thank you!

Post it under the Ask A Mustachian section. And to get help faster, check out the sticky on that thread regarding the proper way to write a case study. Welcome to the forums!
« Last Edit: January 12, 2015, 08:34:03 AM by jordanread »

Cork

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1876 on: January 11, 2015, 10:22:40 PM »
Hi, I'm Zach.  I'm 24 and in love with my bicycles.  Excited to get involved in the forums after reading nearly all MMM's posts.
Still wrestling with the whole "what do I do with my life" thing.  Having an engineering job in the meantime helps :D

UKMatt

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1877 on: January 12, 2015, 08:09:45 AM »
Hello, I'm Matt. I live in England with my wife, son and dog. I was recently introduced to MMM by a friend who recommended it on his blog and I'm hooked! Having given the matter a lot of thought over the last couple of weeks, I have realised that I am naturally quite mustachian. I have never had an expensive car with monthly payments (until last month!), always cut my own hair, never liked wasting money on expensive clothes or electrical goods (never bought a TV or mobile phone in my life, always had hand me downs) and just generally hate feeling like I'm being ripped off, so I always resist big spending. I have felt like this has been getting away from me a bit recently though, due to peer pressure (entirely imaginary) and my wife, who is a bit happier to splash the cash! Where I've always been a bit remiss is that I give very little thought to saving of any kind, or making sure my utility bills etc are as low as possible. I've taken the attitude that I don't spend money because I hate worrying about it so I don't actively waste but I don't actively save either.

This general frugality has allowed us to get by on a pretty meagre household wage between the two of us, but has seen some debt creeping up. I knew I had a couple of credit card balances but just ignored them. No more! I am committed to clearing all credit card debt urgently and to making sure I'm not wasting any money anywhere. I've paid off one card and am now completely in the know about what balances I have on what cards and the order I need to work on them. I have switched our supermarket and started stretching meals out further and trying to completely eliminate any food waste from our house. I've done a full review of our bills and switched electricity and gas supplier today, for a better deal. I cancelled my DVD postal account and netflix and have banned myself from buying coffee out (my one big indulgence!), looking out a thermos we already own and getting it nice and clean for days when I'm out all day and would normally buy coffee.

The one thing that I could do, but won't, is get rid of the new car. It's nothing massively expensive and is actually relatively economical fuel wise but it was probably much newer (3 years old) than it needed to be and (here comes the really bad bit!) bought on credit agreement. In all my 35 years, this is the first time I've signed up to one of these, having driven a succession of bangers, purchased with cash, for all my driving life. I was getting so sick of the state of the last one though (dents, rust, squealing fan belt that three garages have failed to fix, funny smell inside, wife refuses to drive it!) that I gave in and got something nice. In my defense, I plan to keep it for as long as I can (at least a decade) and it is more economical on fuel than the last one, which was really thirsty.

Apologies for the essay!

Jaybone

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1878 on: January 12, 2015, 02:33:09 PM »
Hi!
I have been lurking for about 6 months and like what I see.  I am 68, married for 46 years, and retired at 50.  Two daughters, married with grandchildren.  I guess I was born with a mustache as everything seems like common sense to me.  Spend less than you make.  I am one of the lucky ones with a pension and wife and I both receive SS.  Looking forward to the ride into the sunset.

journey2financialfreedom

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1879 on: January 16, 2015, 01:13:31 AM »
Hey everyone !

I'm 18 years old from Australia !

I love everything finance and investing, and am currently at University!

Looking forward to my road to financial freedom :D

11ducks

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1880 on: January 16, 2015, 02:53:31 AM »
Hey everyone !

I'm 18 years old from Australia !

I love everything finance and investing, and am currently at University!

Looking forward to my road to financial freedom :D

Wow, good for you, getting started so early in life!!! I was useless with money at 18, and wish I had found a place like this! good luck with it. 

jordanread

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1881 on: January 16, 2015, 10:19:18 AM »
Hello!

I'm Melissa, I live in the DC area and in a few months I'll achieve real adult status by turning 30.

I have a good job working for the federal government and I'd say I enjoy it most of the time (but oh the bureaucracy!).  I discovered the whole idea of FI last year and have been pretty obsessed with it ever since.  Even though I don't hate my job, the older I get the more hobbies and outside interests I acquire and I think about all the other things I could do with my day outside my cubicle!  Plus, I'm still debating on the whole kids thing and the idea of staying home the first few years sounds nice, though I realize it will be its own full time job.

SCUBA diving is a passion of mine, and though I know I've spent a LOT of money on it in the past few years I do think it's worth it.  Thanks to MMM, I'm much more frugal in other areas than I used to be and am well on my way to FI - target date 2020.  Still have a lot to improve on though.  Combing assets with my SO would probably enable me to be FI sooner, but circumstances will likely prevent us from living together for another 3 or 4 years. Plus, I want to be able to do it myself!

Other interests include running, biking, swimming, hiking, vegan cooking, minimalism (except for all that SCUBA gear...sigh), personal development books and savings/investing (obviously).

Welcome. If you like biking, try joining in our challenges.

I absolutely love diving, but yeah...that stuff is bulky. :-)

bobbyj

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1882 on: January 16, 2015, 05:46:07 PM »
Hi, I'm Bob and I'm a lapsed Mustachian, was doing pretty well towards early retirement until we started having kids and now I want to get back on the wagon.

PowerMustache

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1883 on: January 16, 2015, 06:49:29 PM »
Hi, I've been around for a few months but haven't introduced myself yet.

30 years old, living in Seattle, work at a software company but trained in engineering. My job is just fine, no major complaints. Flexible, pay is good (not insanely high though, I'm in a slightly more stable/less high paying branch of the software industry).

Not married yet but one of my goals is FI before having kids. Just took the political test on another thread and came out Libertarian Left, as it seems most other mustachians are as well. I know there are a lot of INTJs here - I was an INTJ for sure 10 years ago, but may be settling in as more of an ENTJ.

My FI date is probably 3-4 years from now. I'm still not sure what I'll do at that point, but I'm not one of the people that worries about being bored in retirement. I have way too many ideas, the trouble will be choosing between them. One leading contender is a a year or so off to travel/do whatever (or more if kids are in the picture around that time), then get a teaching certificate and teach high school math. I know it would be a tough job but I think it would be very meaningful and satisfying, and probably way more enjoyable than usual if I didn't have to worry at all about the crappy pay.

I have my expenses reasonably under control and a serious girlfriend who is mostly on board. We still have our struggles but it's going fine and my savings rate has been around 60% for a while now. I've never been a big spender -- discovering MMM and implementing some of the ideas about 6 months ago took me from a 50% to a 60% savings rate. We will continue to optimize and I expect core spending to drop further over time.

MiningMoney

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1884 on: January 17, 2015, 09:30:52 AM »
Hi,

   I'm just a coal miner from southeastern B.C and after randomly finding this blog through another website I've spent the last two weeks going through every nickel and dime I've spent last year. I thought I was doing good but in reality I was spending almost 100% of Net Pay every year haha.. anyways.. Think I got the old lady on board and heres to paying down bad debt and maybe actually retiring before im 40.


SunshineAZ

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1885 on: January 17, 2015, 04:31:32 PM »
Hi,

I am a 48 year old female, I grew up in So. Cal. but moved to SE Arizona about 7 years ago.  I have worked most of my career in Aerospace as a computer geek and non-degreed engineer.  I originally moved to Arizona for a project, but when it ended, my fiance and I didn't want to leave. We were offered jobs in either Seattle or St. Louis, but neither of us really wanted to move to those areas.  Unfortunately, that ended up being a bad move for me.  I was making around $90k, but after getting laid off the contract I was supposed to start working on was delayed due to the sequestration and since then, had to take a job making around $36k.  Fortunately, my fiance got a job making almost the same as he was before and the house he bought (at the peak *sigh*) is still well within our means.  But things are a lot tighter now. 

I have always been a saver, but I made a lot of stupid mistakes, like having over $50k in a bank account for years doing nothing.  *face punch*  Due to my new low income I was researching financial advice and stumbled upon MMM.  I am glad that I found this site.  Unfortunately, my fiance is spendypants and even though he really wants to retire early, he is completely unwilling to scale back.  I am working on getting him on board, but we have always kept our finances separate, so I really don't know how much he has and he is very reluctant to talk about finances due to a bad experience with an ex-wife. 

Basically, right now I am just really upset with myself that now that I know what to do with my money, I don't have the money to save.   But, I am glad that I started saving relatively early and always maxed out my 401k.  *yay*

Anyway, I am currently working on some certifications that will hopefully help me up my pay and get back on track since I feel like I am saving for both of us. 

pancakes

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1886 on: January 17, 2015, 09:24:10 PM »
Hello everyone

Of course I'm new here and thought I'd pop in to introduce myself.

My husband and I are Australians in our late 20's and have always been a little bit frugal but at the same time a little bit lazy with our finances.

In 2009 during the GFC I was studying full time and not working when events outside of our control forced us to learn how little we could live off. Mr Pancakes was made redundant and we quickly started to pay more attention to our finances. Our immediate dread turned to optimism when we tallied up our finances and realised that we had over $70k in savings stashed in 5 different banks. By keeping our expenses under $20k/year I was able to continue to focus on my studies while Mr Pancakes also returned to university to complete a post graduate degree. 

After I graduated I had a lot of trouble finding work. I was unemployed for over 12 months and reflecting back on it was quite deep in depression. Somehow during all those periods of decreased income, we were able to continue steadily adding to our wealth but while we have always been good at saving, we have never been particular good at making our savings work for us.

Fastforward to today. We moved across the country and are both employed. I'm a little disappointed to admit that with our higher incomes has come higher spending. Some of that is due to a higher cost of living in our new city but a lot has to do with getting caught up in the idea that we need all kinds of rubbish that we don't.

So what am I doing here on MMM? Well we are looking to make our wealth work better for us. We've been stashing it into savings accounts because we want to buy a home and a 20% deposit on Australian Realestate is an ungodly amount of money. We are pretty good at chasing the best interest rate we can get on our savings but once tax comes out and it is adjusted for inflation, we are just running on the spot. We have enough aside for a deposit now (just need to find the right place) that we can start to invest any additional savings in a way that will work better for us in the longterm and are hoping to learn how do to just that.

Smevans

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1887 on: January 18, 2015, 10:28:25 AM »
Hello! 28 yo living in the capital of sitting in your car for 4 hours a day (Chiraq aka Chicago). Dislike commuting, dislike this city, dislike my job but feel trapped with all of them due to my lack of financial freedom. Started reading MMM about 6 months ago. Really inspired me to get my financials in order so that hopefully one day soon, I can pack up and leave for a new state!

nazar

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1888 on: January 18, 2015, 02:58:37 PM »
Hi, I'm Nazar,

I had the good fortune to read Your Money or Your Life while in grad school in the 90s (paid for by my employer at the time) and came across MMM when searching the internet to see what follow-up stories might be out there from well known FI advocates from the 80s and 90s, curious to see if their plans were sustainable over time since I am pretty close to taking the leap. 

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1889 on: January 18, 2015, 07:40:11 PM »
Hi, I'm 46 years old. As my user name suggests, I've been a saver rather than a spender my whole life. Not quite at the level of Mustachian, but every purchase has always been thought about before purchasing, and any spare money has always been saved and/or invested. Because of this, combined with having a steady stream of good jobs since finishing college, I got my student loans paid off fairly quickly and my investments have reached the range of FI. I ran into this website a couple weeks ago while researching emergency money, draw down methods in a bad market, and so on, as part of my final preparations before I FIRE - probably within the year, but not 100% sure yet. I read all the blog posts and many of the forum messages so decided I should introduce myself. I appreciate all of the messages everyone has posted here; I've learned so much just in the past 2 weeks!

AlwaysBeenASaver

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1890 on: January 18, 2015, 07:42:26 PM »
Hi, I'm Nazar,

I had the good fortune to read Your Money or Your Life while in grad school in the 90s (paid for by my employer at the time) and came across MMM when searching the internet to see what follow-up stories might be out there from well known FI advocates from the 80s and 90s, curious to see if their plans were sustainable over time since I am pretty close to taking the leap.


I read that book a few years after college and learned so much from it!

journey2financialfreedom

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1891 on: January 18, 2015, 08:22:22 PM »
Hey everyone !

I'm 18 years old from Australia !

I love everything finance and investing, and am currently at University!

Looking forward to my road to financial freedom :D

Wow, good for you, getting started so early in life!!! I was useless with money at 18, and wish I had found a place like this! good luck with it.

Thanks 11ducks ! :D Feels good to get the ball rolling early :)
Best of luck to you too !

gluskap

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1892 on: January 18, 2015, 11:02:38 PM »
Hi everyone!

I wish I had found MMM earlier! I'm 35 and married with a 7 month baby living in Southern California which is a pretty HCOL area which makes it hard to save. But I'm trying to get the hubby on board for early retirement. Just in the process of refinancing to a 15 year mortgage and hoping to retire when the house is paid off. Looking forward to learning as much as I can from these forums to hopefully move that date earlier

roadtofreedom

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1893 on: January 19, 2015, 12:42:19 AM »
I found MMM about 2 years ago and love the overall approach to FI, great money saving ideas, and the MMM blog really provides lots of encouragement to reach FI. 

I was laid off from my job a few years ago, and that really put me in shock, as a good worker bee, you just think the gravy paycheck train will keep going on until you reach that magic place called retirement.  I was super lucky as I had a new job within a month, so no break in the gravy train, but it caused me to completely rethink savings, retirement, and financial independence.  As I realized when I was laid off that my monthly expenses could only be sustained for maybe 6 months before I would really be in trouble. So a new plan had to be put in place, both for retirement and FI.  Thus I found MMM.

I have been trying to be more Mustache like, and started easy by getting rid of my ridiculous monthly expenses like: 

Cable TV bill ($120) replaced by NetFlix ($9)  & Amazon Prime ($7.5);
Cell Phone ($120 for two) replaced by buying the next cell phones (no renty stuff) and using  GoSmartMobile ($75 for two, still expensive but we work via phone with unlimited minutes);
Home phone ($26) replaced by OOMA ($3.5);
all magazine subscriptions cancelled ($10 at least) replaced by  personal internet magazines (Zite and Flip are great to keep up with the latest news);
Internet Access ($80) replaced by Freedom Pop ($42 for 20 gig with two Freedom Pop modems as you need one per 10gig);
baking bread at home (love the breadmaker approach);
and lots more eating in and watching movies vs the expensive restaurants/movie theaters. 

And just 2 days ago, I got rid of my biggest crazy insane expense, a big fancy old motor yacht, that was costing me out the nose every month ($$$).  It was a hard decision for me, as this was my main hobby, repairing it and keeping it running, and I enjoyed boating every other weekend.  This is replaced by having friends with boats ($0 except for bringing the food and drinks).

So finally after two years of reducing my monthly expenses, increasing my savings and investments, I finally feel like I can reach FI in a few years thanks to MMM and the great writers and links to other sites that provide guidance to work towards FI.

Wow, great advance with those actions to cut off the expenses.

Regarding your hobby, probably some months per year you can rent a yacht to enjoy.

EllieStan

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1894 on: January 20, 2015, 01:29:32 PM »
Hi everybody,

My name is Ellie, I'm 29, I'm engaged and I very recently started my career. Up until November 2014, I had been a full-time student pretty much my entire life. Although I earned generous scholarships to help me get through grad school, I still owe about 15K in student loans. Being extremely broke as an undergrad and then splitting from my ex in my mid-20s ended with me owing close to 40K worth of overall debts, but I educated myself more about finances, started budgeting carefully, kept on living frugally and that's how I managed to bring that number down.

I have embraced minimalism as a lifestyle about 2 years ago, but I'm not an extreme kind of person. There are different views on what minimalism is and how it's done, but to me it's all about balance. I like decluttering, I believe less is more, but to me it's really not a matter of how many items of clothing you should own or how many books you should keep on a bookshelf if you aspire to be minimalist. To me, this lifestyle means surrounding myself only with things that I love and with people I truly care about and who make me happy, while living in a decluttered, stress-free environment. I will still enjoy little luxuries, but overall I choose to spend my money and time wisely. When it comes to my finances, I budget everything, but I allow enough flexibility to find a good balance between ''live now'' and ''save for later''. For me, it was the key to success, becase although I live rather frugally, I never feel deprived.

My financial goals for the near future are also quite simple. Short-term (2 years or less) would be : paying off my student loans ; helping my fiancé pay his (he's an undergrad student) so we're debt-free by 2017 ; and finally, getting married. 3-5 years from now, we're planning on buying our first house and living off one income (the lowest) while saving the other ; part of our savings will be to allow us to travel every year. I'd also like to start investing, but currently do not have enough funds to do so. It's a work in progress !

startingout

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1895 on: January 20, 2015, 08:38:38 PM »
Hi! I'm new to the blog and the forums. I'm just starting to wrap my head around this FIRE stuff. I have this one unnecessary expense that I'm wondering if I should give up. I get these special daily contact lenses that cost $95 for 90 lenses. So they're costing me more than $2 a day, 5-6 days a week. I've tried many different types of contacts before, and these are the only ones that don't dry out my eyes. The obvious solution would be to wear glasses instead. However, I don't like wearing my glasses to work. I feel more put together when I'm not pushing my glasses up my nose every 2 minutes. Is $95 too much for about 1.5-2 months worth of contacts?

joehenderson

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1896 on: January 22, 2015, 04:38:43 AM »
Hi, I am Joe, a pre-school teacher and awful with managing money. I was looking for some tips when I came across MMM and hoping to learn some life saving (basically money saving) skills :)

Mititem

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1897 on: January 22, 2015, 04:51:07 AM »
Hello everyone . I am new over here.. Excited to be here finally.. One of my closest friend has suggested me to join this forum.
I am from USA

johnstein

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1898 on: January 22, 2015, 12:10:29 PM »
Hi,
My name is John, lives in Houston, TX.  Very happy to have found this forum. 

I work in corporate finance, had some experience with capital markets.  Love to be here and share my thoughts.


Link147

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #1899 on: January 23, 2015, 07:43:51 AM »
Good Morning,

Long time lurker, happy to be here.

My name's Peter, live in NY with my wonderful wife and purse dog (min pin).  Slowly learning the ways of MMM and finding an incredible enjoyment in the process.  Looking to reduce debt (HOF), spending and refining investment strategies.  MMM was the tool that cracked open my minimalist tendencies and turbocharged them.  Looking forward to what's next!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!