Author Topic: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself  (Read 3317805 times)

Nickels Dimes Quarters

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2250 on: July 11, 2015, 11:48:01 AM »
I'm NDQ and I've been learning from MMM and everyone here for more than a year now. I owe everyone a big, badass thank you for all the information shared.

Two years ago, I had the horrible realization that while I was living comfortably on my income, I wasn't holding onto enough. Watching older relatives retire, but then be forced to take on part-time jobs (not by choice) was shocking. I started to see that I was going to have to get serious about buying income-producing assets if I was ever going to be able to retire. My goal is to end full-time employment in six years. During that time, I will be acquiring small, multi-family properties. I am ready to buy the first property, and I've been shopping in a very limited market area with low supply. Once the right property becomes available, I can buy quickly. I plan to live in one of the units.

Additionally, I have a good emergency savings set aside. I am maxing out my employer's retirement fund including getting the max for matching dollars, and I'm maxing out my HSA contributions. My co-workers think I'm nuts, so I know I'm on the right path.

From my interactions with others, what a lot of people don't connect is that this effort we are making to save money is directly related to buying income-producing assets, not just saving the latte money to blow on an extravagant vacation. I've started blogging my thoughts on this at https://nickelsdimesquarters.wordpress.com/.

NDQ



AutoZealot

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2251 on: July 12, 2015, 01:31:24 AM »
I always been concerned about having a plan to retire etc.  I've toiled reading financial blogs, and other forms of investment but I could never stick with it and make it my 2nd career (managing my retirement).  So I've been restless ... and frankly worried.

Financially, we're a in a pretty good spot (my g/f and I) but I've always felt like a whole pile of our takehome pay was somehow stolen from our bank accounts, it never felt like enough.  Having found MMM and all of you fine folks a few months ago, now I know why. 

I finally feel like I have a plan for the g/f and I to be comfortable and moving in a positive direction toward the big financial goals and it is exciting (though I've already read the threads about folks whom are in 'coasting' mode waiting for the math to work out so they can FIRE and am preparing for it).

I'm working on converting the g/f over to mustachianism and we recently decided to refinance our home to shorten the term to 10 years, my arbitrary FIRE date.  So that's definitely a win!

oneyearfromnow

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2252 on: July 13, 2015, 12:46:29 PM »
Hi I'm Nancy.  When my husband showed me MMM, I knew I’d found my people. 

My parents grew up through WW2, so I've been raised to be frugal all my life.  Being wasteful was wrong.  “Make do and mend” was the motto.  Although there wasn't a lot of discussion surrounding finances – I knew that there wasn't much to go around.   

Now that I'm almost 50, I'm grateful for these skills I learned growing up.  I have a spouse that feels largely the same way I do - which is great.  We've been together for 24 years now – married for 20. 

We are debt-free, with no children and $1.8M in assets (which includes a very conservative value of $550K for our house). We are a one-car family, and drive a 9 year old Yaris (paid cash) with 125K in mileage.  We are in the very walk-able area of Wellington Village, 5 km from down town Ottawa. 

I’m an accountant, my husband is a software developer.  I walk 1km to my work, and he either bikes (20km), or takes the car if he is going sailing after work. 

My husband will be taking a “one year sabbatical”(a RE test drive) starting spring 2016 after the bonus’ comes in, and just before sailing season starts up again.  I’ll continue to work, because I'm finally with an excellent employer, with lots of perks, and job satisfaction.  That being said - I have been mentioning job-sharing quite a bit!  I'm hoping to make that transition within the next 3-5 years.

Oh – the “in one year” has nothing to do with OMY.  I tend to set personal goals with a year-long cycle.  I picked up the username when I decided to transition out of Office / Event Management and on to Accounting full time 6 years ago.  I took eight evening courses over the year to complete the certificate, and then landed the job I have today.

I look forward every day to reading the forums, and I would be especially happy to meet up with other Ottawa mustachians.   We have a broad variety of interests including: travelling, cooking, canning, beer making, wine appreciation, sailing, sewing, and knitting. 


Kouhri

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2253 on: July 15, 2015, 12:39:54 AM »
Hi I'm Amy,

Long time lurker on the forums and read every MMM post from the beginning in a couple of weeks and keep pouring through the many gems on this site.

 I'm a medical student who wants to fight to get out of the mountain of (interest free mind you) I'm having to put myself in to get a medical degree here in little old NZ. No high-flying doctor lifestyle for me.

69tr6r

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2254 on: July 16, 2015, 01:59:09 PM »
Hi All, I discovered MMM a few months ago and have been reading and learning about finance ever since.  I was brought up very frugal, and remain that way today, so a lot of what MMM says is not new to me.  I have made some mistakes in life, but nothing too drastic, and wife and I are in good shape but nowhere near FIRE.  Part of that has to do with the 3 kids, 15, 12 and 9.  Anyway, glad to be here!

Wetz

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2255 on: July 16, 2015, 03:41:14 PM »
This is my first post here.  I read all the MMM posts over the last 3-4 months.  I was already frugal but Mustachianism gave me more focused goals.  I'm starting to read other blogs like ERE but figured I should become a forum member and contribute when possible.  Mostly, I'm here to keep learning.  I'm excited to join the community.  Thanks!

chippy

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2256 on: July 19, 2015, 12:05:08 AM »
Hi I'm Chippy and I'm new here!

I used to be in the rat race making good money, but then decided that making 100K/year was killing me, I was only spending 30K per year. I quit and am now back in graduate school, fully funded with a salary of 30K. I now only spend 25K per year and also get to study a subject I love while travelling the globe. (I'm almost done with a 5/6 year program).

I'm yet to hit 30 and I'm sitting on nearly $200K. While if I kept at my old job I'd likely be sitting on $500K, I'm glad I got to slow down and smell the roses. I'm aiming for the FI part rather than the RE aspect. If you are getting paid for what you'd do for free, then why retire? When I graduate, I'll almost certainly going to be able to get a job that pays $100K+ doing what I love. (Or get a job that pays $200K+ doing something I don't enjoy) 

My current goal is to get my fiancee on the same page as me. I've just convinced her to put her substantial cash holdings in a simple diversified portfolio. Major progress!

Indexmantra

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2257 on: July 19, 2015, 01:02:17 PM »
Hello,

I am a new mustachian. I am fairly frugal, i keep investing costs low, and I invest in tax deferred accounts.

I want to thank Pete for setting up this amazing page!

norcalmike

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2258 on: July 19, 2015, 11:55:56 PM »
Great forum!
I have been researching how to fix my horrible financial situation for years now. Ive done a pretty good job on my own by living well within my means and focusing on saving over the past 6 years. The only debt I have right now is a student loan which id like to have paid off in 2 years or less.
I know nothing about investing outside of my 457b (which I know nothing about either). I hope to learn a lot from you Mustachians.

Cheers, Mike


trufire

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2259 on: July 20, 2015, 10:57:59 AM »
Hi all. I came across the MMM a few months back while searching for information on whether my wife and I can FIRE at the ripe age of 48...Information here reconfirmed that we are in an awesome situation financially but totally screwed up mentally. Our already stressful jobs were getting more stressful which was taking a mental and physical toll on our health. We both decided that it was time for US to take control our life instead of our letting our jobs rule. I FIREd a few weeks back and my wife will FIRE at the end of the month.  My wife and I are both looking forward to this exciting-at times mentally scary-new phase in our life.

I want to add that this forum contains a wealth of information. I am enjoying the discussions from smart people with different perspectives -almost always in a civil matter even when there is a difference of opinion. That is refreshing. 

mommad

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2260 on: July 21, 2015, 02:30:35 AM »
hi
I'm  single mom in San francisco in my early 40's, my child is under 2.  I having been reading about FI for a few years and I'm about 6 months from partial retirement (working 2-3 days a week) and 3-7 years from full retirement if I chose to.  I am currently working on decreasing my expenses.  I rent from a friend, owe about 9 k on a 2014 honda  civic at .9% and still drive to work(total driving <4000k miles a year).  My goals in the next 6 months are to cut 10% from my food expenses, pay off car and fix bike and get a trailer for the little one.  In the next year my goal is to increase saving 10%.  I maximize work 401k and get a match.  I have a 6 month emergency fund of my bare bones  living expenses and I have an investment account.  I hope to start a motif account during the next 6 months and build a dividend investment plan with that.  My current investments would support me retiring in  a cheaper area sooner though I have concerns because much of my investments are in retirement accounts and when I price health insurance for my daughter and I- its over 400-500 a month. i also want to  consider college savings for my little one as part of my plan.  I have only 14 k saved for her in 529 and would like to have closer to 70K by the time I retire for her in a 529 or 200k by the time she starts college in 17 years.  staying in san francisco may be possible with retirement if I can buy an owner occupied rental or find and inexpensive rent controlled place in a part of the city with good schools.  I'm an optimist

shesabikelover

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2261 on: July 21, 2015, 09:06:16 PM »
Hi everyone,
  I'm Lily,A bike enthusiast.Anyone who is interested in bike can chat with me.I am glad too know more about bikers,whether MTB, road bike or others.

GerryS

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2262 on: July 22, 2015, 10:54:18 PM »
Hi,

My name is Gerry. My wife Erin and I live in San Diego. We have a 3.5yr old boy and a girl on the way in September. We recently found MMM, don't recall from where, and we've been reading the back catalog of blog posts.

I'd say we're on mixed financial ground and looking to improve.

The good: We both make great incomes. I've been investing in my 401(k) since my first "real" job at 22 and have maxed it out the last couple of years. My wife also invests in her 401(k); She's not maxed out, but she's getting her company match. She also participates in ESPP and she has been granted ISO on several occasions. We have a nice liquid cash stash built up with large savings from great commissions these past two years.

The bad: We put 20% down (~110K) on our house, but part of the the down was a 401(k) loan form my wife's account (40K). We own a condo purchased by my wife as a single gal back in 2006 at the start of the bubble using a lovely stated income loan. We have it rented out, but we have passive losses of $24K since 2012, ouch. I think we're going to ditch it. I have a bike habit and both my wife and I have an Amazon habit.

I hope to learn from the wise old hands here and put more of our incomes to work for us.

ender

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2263 on: July 24, 2015, 07:55:50 PM »
Fun to see all the new faces, this thread is getting really long!

Seppia

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2264 on: July 26, 2015, 02:49:56 PM »
Hello
New member here, a few quick facts about me:
- discovered MMM a couple months ago, funnily enough through a forum dedicated to a very much non-mustachian hobby of mine (watches).
- I'm European, living in NYC since 2010, married, 35 years old.
- always lived a financially healthy lifestyle (I think on average Europeans tend to live less on credit compared to Americans), never spending more then what I made and saving about 15% to 20% of my income.
- after being blessed with a job in NY and its consequent significantly higher salary (I wasn't making much back in Europe) I bumped up my savings rate to approximately 30%, but since current salary is much higher than pre-USA, most of my net worth has been made in the last 5 years.
We could do much better if we tried hard obviously.

Very mustachian habits me and my wife had even prior to discovering MMM:
- never owned a car in the last 10 years (living in Paris and NYC helps)
- never went out much to restaurants, max once a month, as I love to cook
- very rarely bought lunch when at the office, brought my stuff a good 80% of the time

mustachian changes we implemented after discovering MMM:
- cut cable (saving $80 per month)
- cut the 20% of the time both me and my wife were buying food outside when at the office
- alcohol budget has been dramatically reduced (have bought maybe 3 beers out in the last two months, shifted at home consumption towards beer VS more expensive stuff)
- 401k has been maxed out, automatic investment in vanguard funds has been doubled.
- cut a lot of "misc" spending (the occasional tshirt, movie, etc).

My weaknesses:
- I love watches. I have drastically reduced the "watch budget" but I cannot cut it out completely yet. This is a major weakness, even if I have a strict "one in, one out" rule I still probably will spend close to $1000 per year in this (used to spend around $3000).
My plan is to eventually cut it out completely.
- I love scuba diving, and that's an expensive hobby. A day of diving (just the dives + gear rental) costs around $100-150 depending on the location, and I dive around 15-20 days per year.
I will never be able to cut this, diving is one of my favorite things in life, one of my goals is to make this less expensive by becoming a dive master and eventually get paid to do it.

Hope I haven't bored you to death, looking forward to participate here!




Seppia

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2265 on: July 26, 2015, 02:50:28 PM »
Hello
New member here, a few quick facts about me:
- discovered MMM a couple months ago, funnily enough through a forum dedicated to a very much non-mustachian hobby of mine (watches).
- I'm European, living in NYC since 2010, married, 35 years old.
- always lived a financially healthy lifestyle (I think on average Europeans tend to live less on credit compared to Americans), never spending more then what I made and saving about 15% to 20% of my income.
- after being blessed with a job in NY and its consequent significantly higher salary (I wasn't making much back in Europe) I bumped up my savings rate to approximately 30%, but since current salary is much higher than pre-USA, most of my net worth has been made in the last 5 years.
We could do much better if we tried hard obviously.

Very mustachian habits me and my wife had even prior to discovering MMM:
- never owned a car in the last 10 years (living in Paris and NYC helps)
- never went out much to restaurants, max once a month, as I love to cook
- very rarely bought lunch when at the office, brought my stuff a good 80% of the time

mustachian changes we implemented after discovering MMM:
- cut cable (saving $80 per month)
- cut the 20% of the time both me and my wife were buying food outside when at the office
- alcohol budget has been dramatically reduced (have bought maybe 3 beers out in the last two months, shifted at home consumption towards beer VS more expensive stuff)
- 401k has been maxed out, automatic investment in vanguard funds has been doubled.
- cut a lot of "misc" spending (the occasional tshirt, movie, etc).

My weaknesses:
- I love watches. I have drastically reduced the "watch budget" but I cannot cut it out completely yet. This is a major weakness, even if I have a strict "one in, one out" rule I still probably will spend close to $1000 per year in this (used to spend around $3000).
My plan is to eventually cut it out completely.
- I love scuba diving, and that's an expensive hobby. A day of diving (just the dives + gear rental) costs around $100-150 depending on the location, and I dive around 15-20 days per year.
I will never be able to cut this, diving is one of my favorite things in life, one of my goals is to make this less expensive by becoming a dive master and eventually get paid to do it.

Hope I haven't bored you to death, looking forward to participate here!




DGFT

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2266 on: July 26, 2015, 07:17:12 PM »
Hi, I'm Diego, I am 28 and I'm from Brazil.

I just finished reading all posts! I felt it was apropriate to introduce myself after this long-awaited milestone for me. Also, I fell like writing about my concerns relaxes my mind away from them.

I am a petroleum engineer that works on offshore rigs. I made 360k R$ last year before taxes, but I'm expecting to make 200k R$ this year because demand decreased, and that will dimish the amount of hitches I will make (on the plus side, more time at home!)
I have a wife and a 8-months-old boy. We live in the relatively expensive city of Săo Paulo, where my wife (a physician) does an internship in pediatrics (is that word right?). We plan to move to a considerably cheaper city once she finishes it.

The main problem right now (for me) is that I kind of hate my job. Sometimes it doesn't look so bad (usually when I'm slacking), sometimes I want to leave NOW! I'm on a vicius circle of not being motivated, than doing a shity job, than get frustated on my performance, than willing to get out, then getting less motivaded... But I would take a long time to match this income in another career.

Our cost of living is arround 100k R$/year, including rent (no home equity), but I'm afraid it will rise significantly because of the baby (Though many of the baby expenses are already in that figure). Our networth is not enough to cover this, but my own networth (we keep our finances divided) is about 1M R$, which is close to what I need to pay half of our expenses... Except that I pay more than half of the expenses, since my wife makes a lot less than me right now, with the expectation to make much more in the future.

But the main problem is that we have diferent mindsets. I am spending less so we waste less and can be free. My wife is spending less because she fells in a constant shortage of money (She wouldn't be able to afford our lifestyle right now without my income) and see this period as a necessary strugle between us and a "shiny future" of truck commuting, resort traveling and expensive beaverages. "I want to be NORMAL" she says... She definitetly does NOT suport me leaving my job, even though she hates it too.

Oh well, I know that I am complaining from a privileged position, specially when compared to fellow brazillians who are strugling through the current recession of our country... So after all those articles about optimism and not worring, I fell I will be alright, no matter what happens!

Seattle Stash

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2267 on: July 27, 2015, 11:10:15 AM »
Hello!

I'm 30 years old, married to a lovely man, and living in Seattle.

I've been religiously reading MMM for the past few months and slowly integrating the principles into my life. I had already started down this road a little while back when I used to read GRS. Although I had/have a nasty habit of just buying tons of crap!  A year and a half ago I sold my house to pay off my student loans, which got me debt free. And last month I sold my car and now I'm biking or busing to work. I have been trying to eliminate more "stuff" in my life that is holding me back and learning to cook more at home. I still have a ways to go with being frugal, like eliminating my gym membership (which I just got a few months ago, doh!), reducing my food budget, better travel hacking, and not buying tons of gear for my motorcycle.

My savings rate has been around 40% for the last three months while implementing most everything I read from this blog; and we live in a cheap apartment, and there are far fewer of these to be found in Seattle now, which helps a lot.

The only real problem is that my husband thinks I've joined some type of mustache cult and is nervous about how obsessed I've become about finances and saving and investing money. He is a frugalish person by nature (and has never been in debt), but hates talking at length about money. We manage our finances separately. Although, we are saving up to buy a house at some point in the near future.

I love the FIRE concept and the freedom that brings to your life. It took a big stranglehold of stress off from around my neck. I would love to hike the PCT, go on a multi-month motorcycle tour of the Americas, and if we have a child, to have the time to spend with them while they are little. It has been fantastic to have such a big perspective change on what I can do with my life, and I'm endlessly excited to see where it goes from here.

Punky Bikester

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2268 on: July 28, 2015, 11:26:17 AM »
Hi!

I'm a 28-yr-old, semi-recent transplant to the north-of-Seattle area. Just discovered this site a few weeks ago, and DH and I have been rapidly devouring the articles. We already thought of ourselves as fairly frugal, but we're definitely starting to focus more on our spending habits and on what our future goals might be.

Our current strengths:
-debt-free!
-short, bike-able commutes to both our jobs
-living off of just over one of our incomes without too much planning on our part

Weaknesses:
-bikes
-REI garage sales
-delicious PNW restaurants
-general lifestyle creep since both of us gained employment

We're looking forward to joining some challenges in the next few months to help us kickstart our mustache growth!

zephyr911

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2269 on: July 28, 2015, 11:30:44 AM »
I just noticed I had 999 posts and figured I'd introduce myself with #1,000... better late than never xD

I'm finally getting my shit together after a seemingly interminable period of being an adult, gainfully employed, theoretically trying to FIRE, and making so many dumb mistakes that it was never going to happen. The good news is, with a confluence of helpful factors, things have taken off like a moonshot, and at 37, I think freedom at 40 is still in play.

I started reading about investing in the spring of 2000 when I was about to graduate with my EE - back when The Motley Fool had a strict "teach a man to fish" policy instead of selling expensive managed funds (sellout bastards). I read a lot about retirement planning and strategies, and proceeded to spend a decade making lots of money and blowing it on dumb shit. I went to Iraq in 2008 as a contractor and made well over $150K in a year, most of which went to paying off my second divorce and other consumer idiot failures. I lived off the surplus and some odd jobs until, nearly broke again, I landed a stable DoD job - where I still am now, almost five years later.

Truth be told, defense is not really my world, but I keep ending up here, just making the best of it. I have great respect for people who do this stuff their whole lives, but I've never felt quite at home for various reasons, and I finally decided to get serious about writing my own ticket to another destination. The first year at this job, I made six figures and barely saved anything, even with two paying roommates. The next year, it got a little better. My courtship with my now-DW catalyzed a moderate spending reduction in 2012, and the following year continued that trend. Then, a bunch of things happened all at once. I missed out on a ridiculously good real estate investment in early 2014 because I was too cash-poor to move in time. Finding MMM and meeting two likeminded investors soon after that, I co-founded a rental LLC and got licensed in real estate, all the while working on flexing the BA muscle. Ever since then, it's been all about steepening the growth curve and opening up more options. SR is past 50% and climbing, NW just passed a quarter million, and 300 is in sight this year.

My FIRE plan has many moving parts and I'm still trying to sort out my priorities. I grew up in Hawaii and we both love it there. My family has mostly converged in the PNW, and we also find that attractive. Neither is cheap. We could stay right where we are and take advantage of the borderline criminal surplus between our wages and LCOL, pump up the Stash till we're FI, and visit whenever we want, while continuing to work part-time and easily covering our costs so the accounts can keep growing. It's all a question of values that we're still working through. Throw in my very real desire to grow the Stash far beyond mere FI to leave a legacy of social and environmental change, and it gets even more muddled.

Fortunately, we have time to ponder this all. I'm committed to current business ops for about 3 more years; my pessimistic forecast at that point is 6-700K NW, plus a six-figure LLC share paying out at least $1500/mo. Even if we decide to make a HCOL jump, we've already set ourselves on the path toward affordability well in advance, downsizing and shedding needless clutter - which has been, in and of itself, a liberating experience. The last year has been one of excitement, growth, exploration, learning, near-constant fatigue, and amongst it all, a higher level of happiness than ever. I'm glad to be here, and I appreciate all of you. :)

Seppia

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2270 on: July 28, 2015, 03:12:59 PM »
Wow zephyr that's an awesome story

grantmeaname

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2271 on: July 28, 2015, 03:30:50 PM »
Welcome to the community, you ;)

noora

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2272 on: July 29, 2015, 02:03:41 PM »
Hello! I'm Nora; I'm a twenty-five year old from Chicago. I've recently started working as a dog walker/house sitter/bike delivery lady. I made some silly choices as a teen and young adult which resulted in me racking up debt (approx ten grand). I pretended my debt wasn't a problem for a few years until I came across MMM. Since then, I've significantly reduced my cost of living and started working more. I'm now on track to get all my debts paid off by next summer :)

I love biking. I have a vegetable garden that I am always working to expand and make more efficient; I started my first compost bin this week and I'm super excited to be able to make my own potting soil in a few months :) I love hanging out with the dogs at work. I read a lot, mostly philosophy, "spiritually", and self-help/self improvement.

Hope you're doing well!

-Nora

K-ice

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2273 on: July 29, 2015, 02:57:20 PM »
I am in my 30’s married with one LO.  My SO and I already do a lot of Mustacian things. I love this site now that I have found it!!

We are known as, frugal/hippies/handy(wo)men/international (wo)man of mystery/ amongst our friends. I have a good career I was passionate about, but it is not quite turning out as I had hopped. Spending time with family is becoming more and more important to me.

I am above average at saving (ok maybe just average for a MMM) and here to learn more about investing. I love crunching numbers in excel (sometimes work related sometimes just for fun). Depending on how much I think we need (and how much I improve in investing) we could be FIRE in 2-5years.  I have always been debt free except for a mtg. We have owned a rental property for about 10years, so I know a little bit about the highs and lows of that. I speak 2 languages and I am learning a third, I love to travel and plan at least a 10K budget for that once FIRE. 

Dan_Breakfree

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2274 on: July 29, 2015, 08:29:48 PM »
Glad to join this incredibly well educated forum. Quick history:

- Graduated in 2004 with a Finance degree, proceeded to go $50k in debt one year out of school with new car and student loans
- Discovered Dave Ramsey, paid off $50k in debt in two years (done in 2007)
- starting blogging in 2009, with pretty regular blogging since 2011 on personal finance
- took a 9 month Round the World trip with my wife in 2013

I've always been interested in personal finance and eventually breaking free (even the name of my blog, breakfree.me). However, it wasn't until the last few weeks when I became a regular reader of this forum did I really start think timelines and strategies. Ideally, we could FIRE within a year, but I don't think wifey will be quite there yet mentally... but either way, we've made some major changes the last few weeks that will enable us to get there faster. Looking forward to interacting!

Thinkum

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2275 on: July 31, 2015, 10:58:03 AM »
Hello, finally decided to create an account. Not sure how much I'll post, but it's nice to have another forum to frequent. Especially one that aligns with my financial way of thinking.

Lancchick

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2276 on: July 31, 2015, 12:39:04 PM »
Hi everyone,

I found MMM after Googling "Retire at 40" a few weeks ago. I finally got around to reading some of the blog posts and now I'm hooked! I've been married for nearly seven years to my husband who is nearly twenty years older than me. So, he came into the marriage with a lot more than me.

We are childless and own our lovely home. My husband has always been a natural saver. It took me a few years to get around to that way of thinking despite the fact that I always believed in being debt free. My car is 14 years old.

A few months ago we started a conversation about "what the heck are we doing with our money and our lives?" I'll be emotionally ready to quit my job in a couple of years. My husband is starting to embrace the idea of a brand new lifestyle. I'm excited to start this new chapter! And I'm happy to be a part of the forum.

Ottoford

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2277 on: August 01, 2015, 06:44:30 AM »
Hi -
I'm Sue.  I've been reading the blog for a while.  I'm up to August, 2012. 

In the meantime my husband (43) and I (42) are making the leap.  We are from NY metro area (high taxes).  We've discussed downsizing for years.  We bought a small home (800 square feet) with a full basement further north in NY (low taxes) and just this week put our larger house in the NY metro on the market.  I am self-employed and work from home so that will remain the same.  My husband will be leaving his civil service job soon and leaving a lot of his pension behind as well in order to reduce stress and work on growing a second home based business we have had for 7 years. 

When we look at the $, it all seems to work out, but as long as the house sits on the market unsold it will be nerve-racking.  While we can afford to support both homes on just my current salary it will be nice to cut the ties with our old home and have that extra $ cushion working for us.

I look forward to reading more.  Hopefully I will get to 2013 blog post sometime soon.


jt togs

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2278 on: August 01, 2015, 11:18:54 AM »
Hi, I'm JT.  I love the blog and think I've found my tribe.

I've recently begun telling friends and family that I plan to "retire" in the next 1-5 years.  Retirement for me means leaving the rat race behind and venturing off in a new and more fulfilling direction.  At 44 I've had a solid, good paying career with work and people who've more often than not challenged and inspired me.  But, newly and amicably single, my perspective on life and work, is shifting. And has shifted. Profoundly.

It's really financial independence I'm seeking.

Thankfully I've got a good foundation in 401k's, carry no major debt and live pretty modestly.  But, as I'm learning here, I've got money leaking out everywhere which could and should be working for me.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights here, warts and all.  I hope to do the same.

LaineyAZ

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2279 on: August 01, 2015, 11:55:00 AM »
Hi from Phoenix,
Have been lurking for a while but have now officially joined.

I'm an empty nester, consider myself "frugalish" but not as hardcore as I need to be.  Am about 2 years from retirement/Soc Security so I need to turn up the focus.

Am appreciating reading all of the stories here, very inspiring!

markarsenal

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2280 on: August 02, 2015, 01:58:59 AM »
Hi, I'm Mark.

I was led to the blog by the website for Andy Schell's sailing podcast, 59-North. In an interview he said his financial philosophy was basically summed up by MMM, so since I'm trying to become a badass sailor like him, I thought I should take a look.

Lots meshed with my own philosophy, and lots of links to other sites felt like meeting friends I never knew I had. Also, as an American who recently moved to Canada, I enjoy the binational slant to much of the feedback (the latest post is about the Toronto RE and rental market - what other financial blog from an American has that awesomeness to help me out?!).

I've spent the past couple weeks reading pretty much every post (ones about home improvement I tended to skim over coz I live on my boat; ones about cars I skipped coz I don't have a license).

Now I'm ready to leverage the community here to get some advice on the odd curve balls he hasn't covered, and maybe now and then to toot my horn about how badass I am now and then.

Chrz.
M

Krcavi

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2281 on: August 02, 2015, 03:57:07 AM »
Hello!
27 old European here, wife and 2 kids included, joined the community for exchangig advices, thoughts and learning.

MotivatedMother

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2282 on: August 02, 2015, 01:55:24 PM »
Single parent living in expensive Bay Area, CA, self-employed.  My goal is to retire when my child finishes college.  (Still about 10 years away).  The only way to make it all happen will be very frugal living and creative economics, so here I am!

BrandonP

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2283 on: August 02, 2015, 05:25:05 PM »
Hello all!

I've been reading this site for several months now, and just decided to join.

I've always been fairly frugal. I was very fortunate growing up in an upper middle class family. I was certainly looked after very well with family vacations, nice presents etc. However, I pretty much always knew the value of money and that it didn't grow on trees. A common saying was look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves.

When I was in my teens, it really confused me when I heard stories about people using their credit card to go on holidays they couldn't afford. Or buy new TVs. Or new sofas etc. If you can't afford, you save for it. Because you end up paying way more for it on credit. It just did not make any logical sense!

I saw this even more firsthand, when I worked for a credit card company, and it just shocked me how many people spend money they don't have. In a lot of cases, just to have 'nicer' things.

My situation at the moment is that I'm in a really good job. I've had around 20 jobs, and this is the best one. It is close to where I live, and it is a 15 minute commute on the tube to work. My rent is super cheap. Living with a friend and one other person.

I know this website is about early retirement, but I'm very happy in my job. Maybe in a few years that will change, so I am saving a good portion of my income.

JJ360

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2284 on: August 02, 2015, 05:27:54 PM »
Hi! I am a 32 y/o new mustachian. Well I've always been pretty mustachian but now I have a game plan and hope for a much earlier fire than I thought possible! Really excited to be here. I was introduced to this site by a friend I graduated school with who's is planning on FIREing soon with 7 figures.

I got into index funds, Vanguard and bogglehead stuff right after graduating at 26. I went through a pretty rough patch for a while that set me back bad with a divorce, job loss and other problems. That's all turned around and I'm been back working for a few years now, saving and investing. And now being even more frugal. Conservatively I think I can fire in 18 years, maybe 10-12 if I get at it hard. I'm actually having a little trouble figuring out projections with an early morgage payoff. My personal capital app says my savings rate is about 50% which seems a little better than I thought it'd be. I'd like to see it better, but there's not a whole lot of easy fat to trim. Car being paid off in a couple years will be about a 5% boost, house in 8-12 will be huge. I recently bought my first house a years or so ago, fairly mustachian, small, a foreclosure, close to everything I need, aka work, food, gym. But honestly I'd still be in my one bedroom apartment if my parents hadn't pushed me to buy a house. I like it though and it's more than I'll ever need. Im lucky to have a good profession that I enjoy, if I keep my schedule full (5 1/2 days a week) I should make about 140k. My only other big hobby is the gym, I've been a musclehead gym rat since I was 14/15. Any weights, bodybuilding, nutrition advice hit me up! I had some good cheap basic cooking ideas I plan on sharing.

Really excited to be here and working towards FI!

Mr. OTT

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2285 on: August 02, 2015, 08:28:25 PM »
Hey everyone, I'm a long-time reader of the MMM blog.  Finally joining the forum to see if I can contribute to the discussion.  I'm early thirties and married with one kid.  We're financially secure, but have a ways to go to FI.

Daox

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2286 on: August 03, 2015, 10:17:59 AM »
Hello, I've been reading MMM for a couple years now.  I'm 32 years old and married.  My wife and I got the money saving thing down fairly well.  We live off of basically $20k/yr plus the house payment which brings it up to more like $35k/yr.

I've saved into a 401k for as long as I've worked, but only in the past couple have I really started to push the savings higher and higher and look into other investment ideas.  We're currently on track to be FI by the time I'm 45 years old, but I'm always looking for ways to reign that in through tax optimization (loving the new forum!), extra income, or finding new ways to cut costs.

origamitect

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2287 on: August 04, 2015, 09:08:27 AM »
Better late than never I guess!  Hi! I'm Amy.  My husband and I are both 42, both careers in the building industry, both recovering from expensive divorces that left my 401K empty and paying on a LOT of debt occurred by the previous marriages.  I have $116,000 in student loans, and we owe $225,000 on our house - I have knocked out all the rest of the debt over the last 5 years including our cars.  He has an 11 year old son which I have taken on as my own.  We were both hit very hard by the recession - he is in the Sheet Metal Union and is *just now* getting to work more than a couple days a week.  I am an architect for a small firm that hired me at a discount when I got laid off in 2008 with the rest of the employees at my previous firm.  We have been working at starting a metal fabrication/design business to supplement our income.  We have until recently been doing a lot of "robbing peter to pay paul" budget shuffling - but after selling my old house we were able to pay off more debt and can now at least keep up with everything.   I found this blog when I started panicking that I had ZERO retirement savings, and very little savings of any other type, and was not seeing how we could put anything extra towards retirement.  He does have a funded pension and 401K through the union, but politics may affect its solvency in the future.  We have a steep hill to climb, and some major changes and decisions to undertake - but we're reaching for maximum mustache!   

reese_c_c

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2288 on: August 04, 2015, 09:34:48 AM »
Hi, I'm Reese
Age 29
Married w/ 3 kids (5, 2, 0.4)

Wish I would have found MMM about 10 years ago!

Look forward to taking this journey.

FrugalWad

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2289 on: August 04, 2015, 08:11:26 PM »
I'm just me
A budgeting badass
Motorcycling on a mountain pass
Connoisseur of sassafras
Watching this wad of cash
Growing in mass

When I was 21 I pulled into a gas station, on the way back from some spendthrift adventure. Second year away from home, first year with enough freedom in the military to be out on my own off base. That freedom was bought for $11,000. $11,000 isn't a huge stack of bills in itself, but by power of the alchemist mages of Bankoom, they used their awesome magic to transmute that little pile of green into a Ford Mustang. $250 a month for the car. $250 a month for insurance. Restaurants every weekend, drinking most days and nights.

After two years in the Navy, I'd earned $50,000. I pulled into that station, having to dig for change in every cranny I could find to pay for gas just to get back home. I didn't have a dollar to my name, and nothing to show for the cash gone except the clothes on my back and a car I couldn't afford to drive. By the end of that year, I was $24,000 in debt. Two years later, the debt was gone and my wad had grown to $35,000 in savings. A year after that, $50,000. The trend continues.

The pinpoint of the V from changing my downward spiral into debt and endless consuming to joining the frugal horde covers  the span of time in my life it took to read Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited, then the discovery of The Millionaire Next Door and Your Money or Your Life.

I've been a mustachian since before I knew there was a term. It just seems I've finally caught up to the rest of the awesome people who've found the same ley line to follow. This is going to be great. I hope I brought enough root beer for everyone.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2015, 08:12:57 PM by FrugalWad »

theaveragearchi

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2290 on: August 07, 2015, 10:36:34 AM »
30 year old architectural designer here, married with 1 kiddo.  I actually left the traditional workforce 4 years ago and started my own design firm, and my husband has always been self employed as a massage therapist.  Because of the choices we made we have actually been decently frugal, but have struggled to save, and since I've been reading the MMM blog I realize that we are losing money in some really bad places (ie. coffee out, and too many clothes and impulse buys). 

Unfortunately I came into self employment in debt as opposed to via retirement (bad choices as a student), and since I am still a part time student while working, paying off that debt has been harder than anticipated.  But over the last couple of months I've made some significant advancements in actually paying off my debt, while still maintaining a balance in my back account throughout the month.  Now the goal is onwards and upwards, pay off my entire debt in two years or less (about $20K), put more money into our investments, while actually saving for the stuff we want (like trips and new shingles for the house).

Sjalabais

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2291 on: August 07, 2015, 11:55:11 AM »
Overly mustachoed Norwegian with wife, two kids. I found this blog and forum and am happy to see that most matches my own financial philosophy, and it expands it. This is great - the discussions I've read so far witness a good tone and a high density of information. Still trying to decipher some of the acronyms. I am looking forward to be learning a lot around here!

TonyV.

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2292 on: August 07, 2015, 03:19:24 PM »
Hi everyone! My name's Tony (as you can see by the username attached). I found this incredible blog on Yahoo! of all things. Who would have thought that a financial link from Yahoo! would lead to such BADASSITY?! But here i am, and just in time! I'm a couple weeks away from being debt free (no house yet though) and was looking into allocating my extra money into investments as well as finance a new truck. Like i said, just in time, huh? I started reading the blog from the beginning and I have made it into the beginning of 2012 so far, which has changed my whole outlook on things such as a new truck and some other unnecessary expenses which will allow me to invest a lot more than previously planned. MMM as well as Mrs. MM have already had an impact on my thinking about consumerism and I'm just getting started! Today i actually became a member and checked out the forum. There are A LOT of people here!! lol I can't wait to actually get to know some of you through this site and maybe attend an event around my area (Topeka, KS).

MoonShadow

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2293 on: August 07, 2015, 03:22:22 PM »
Hi, I'm MoonShadow.

You'll get over it.

P0IS0N

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2294 on: August 08, 2015, 01:40:05 AM »
Hi everyone! I'm P0IS0N.
I joined this forum after reading some really helpful blog entries and forum posts. I'm an expat, currently being courted by two IFAs, trying to push their ILAS plans (one with RL360, another with Friends Provident). I didn't wanna sign anything until I got documented about these schemes, and after reading a few posts here, I realized it's better to keep away from these things.
I'm still looking for more info on other money-saving options, so I thought I'd join the forum.

Cheers!

Need2Save

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2295 on: August 09, 2015, 10:25:50 AM »
I guess I've put this off for a while, but it is interesting to read through what others have said, so maybe someone gets something out of our story.

My DH and I met before we both finished College (working at the same chain-restaurant, truth be told!).  We were both raised by lower-middle class families with parents who did not go to College. We are the first ones in our families to both go to college.  I'd say our families mostly lived paycheck to paycheck but when there was a little extra cash for some reason, spending that on a family experience like a vacation was important to us (my family anyway).  My mother taught me early on (in middle school) even on modest means how she budgeted monthly and 'paid herself' first. These were 2 extremely important lessons before I was even working (aside from baby-sitting $).  At one difficult time, I know my mother collected assistance to help buy food for our family of 6 (4 kids) and she often worked 2 or 3 jobs at a time to make ends meet.  She's basically my hero!

We bought our first home together at age 23 before we got married (I asked him to marry me and we were pretty smitten with each other so confident the marriage would last).  We did get married at age 24, had our first son at 25, then quickly at age 26, son #2.  Now a-days it seems like marrying and settling down before age 25 is unheard of and many of our friends did not have children until way into their 30's or not at all.  Our sons are right on the cusp of heading off to college! 

Early on, we both detested debt!  We paid off our student loans before the two kids came around and used my last working bonus to pay off our last car loan so I could take a few years off and be home with my sons when they were young.  I would not have traded this time for any amount of income!!!  When they were both in elementary school, I returned to work and was lucky enough to find a PT gig in my field which allowed for me to be home when they got home from school (thus avoiding any day care costs).  As they aged and were able to be on their own after school, I increased to FT.  I used this time to focus on building College Savings for them, paying down our mortgage (our only debt) and working myself up the ranks at work (to earn my family more money).   DH is an Electrical Engineer and super smart and dedicated! 

If we had not upgraded to a larger house, we would definitely have paid off our original mortgage twice over by now.  But we have honestly enjoyed the bigger house and bigger yard and we love our neighborhood very much.  Although when the two sons are gone, we know this house will be more than we need so we'll be downgrading near or at ER. 

Although we are not reaching ER in our 30s (or even 40s, by some of our choices) like many here, we are projected to have more money then we will probably need by the time we call it quits and hope this legacy provides some security for our two kids and their families.   We should also be able to pay for their in-state college tuition without too much difficulty based on what we've already saved up for them. 

Despite living on only my DH's income for at least 6 years, we have never carried credit card debt in almost 20 years of marriage and always found a little extra to send to the mortgage to pay it down.  We feel extremely fortunate but also have worked very hard to earn the extra income that will allow us to both reach ER and also really enjoy life now.  Best of Both Worlds if you ask me! 

I found MMM about 2.5 years ago but only recently starting posting. We have learned a lot here and thank all of you for what you share!!!


Barbarossa

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2296 on: August 09, 2015, 08:31:46 PM »
Ahoy Mustachians!

Newby here, discovered MMM just recently and devoured every single post and lots of the forum.  This is great!  I had no idea there was a collection of such like-minded folks online.  I "think" I'm doing ok, but thought I'd post and see if I can get any new perspectives.  I've lived the MMM life for the most part, I think, although I've learned a lot of new ideas here already, and I absolutely freaking love MMM's atitude. 
I'm writing this both to get input and to lay it out so I can look at it all in one picture.  So here's a quick and unorganized look at my situation:

Several years back my now ex-wife and I saved up, bought a 40 foot sailboat, lived aboard and sailed around Florida and the Bahamas for eight years.  We could live, with our son, on about $500 a month on the boat.  (We met retired folks in the Bahamas living on $10,000-$20,000 boats, less than most spend on a a car, for part of the year, while "the SS checks are piling up in the bank."  True Mustachians!)
We'd sail a while, come back and work during hurricane season, and go again.  It was great, and we'd still be doing it except life got in the way.  Elderly parents needing care, divorce, that kind of thing.  Earlier in life I quit a very good job at 30, went back to college for ten years, got a couple of degrees.  Was almost as much fun as sailing.  So I've had a nice share of my "retirement" already, in that respect.
Two grown daughters and adopted a son late in life, at 47.  One of the best things that ever happened to me, but now I'm paying child support for 7 more years. After the divorce I lived on the boat awhile in Key West, then intentionally bought a small brick house in a small town with a mild climate (next to the Smokies) across the street from a 15 mile greenway in a beautiful park that takes me downtown, library, grocery store, PO, all that, only three miles from my house.  I bike most everywhere but work.  Put LED lights everywhere in the house, added insulation, etc etc and etc.  Electric runs about $26 a month except in winter (heat) and late summer, when I run the A/C sometimes.
All this even before I found MMM!  So I think I'm on the right track.  I did lose a lot of cumulative income over the years in college and sailing.  I would be where MMM is today, solidly FI, except for those years. No regrets, though.  I haven't worked fulltime since 2004, because I believe the mantra "You can always make more money, but you can never make more time."
Now I'm 59 and I feel like I'm "this" close to being free again, but not quite there yet.  I don't want to "retire" and do nothing, I want to do things like buy plane tickets to the Bahamas now and then and maybe buy another boat in a few years so I can sail there again.  I probably could quit now and putter around the house the rest of my life on $20,000 or less a year, but that's not ok.  I'm healthy and want to travel and sail.  I also want to continue to help my youngest daughter through college, about 3 years of that to go.  That expense varies depending on her income, but I figure $5000-$7500 a year.  These are loans she will repay.
Now that I'm "older", I don't feel as much confidence quitting a job as I used to.  My profession is limited and definitely not hiring old guys.  The young guns are taking 100% of any openings that come up.  I have a decent position now, but if I quit I'm done in this field except for a little pick-up work here and there.

My finances:

Income: $90,000 a year from part-time job.  15% going into 401K, 5% match from company.  Put $6500, the max, in my Roth this year.
Savings:  $450,000.  Some in cash, some in rollover 401k, some in current employer 401k above.  Invested in stock market funds through work 401K, Fed-tax-exempt CEFs in the cash account, some high-yield dividend CEFs and I trade options in my tax-protected rollover accounts.  I've done well with the option trading the last ten years or so, but it's hit or miss, not something I can depend on to pay the mortgage every month.  I am in the process of figuring out what I'm making in dividends, etc, per year.  I have been just throwing it back into the pot.

Mortgage:  $650
child support  $780
no debt except mortgage, $100,000 on $150,000 house.  3.1% interest rate.
Mustachian vehicle, a used Toyota Rav, paid for.  I drive my cars ten years at least.

I do commute 30 miles, and I'm hoping to shorten that in the next few months.  Eat out very little.  Maybe one movie out a year.  Make my own wine.  Have made a living as mechanic, electrician, welder, carpenter, entomologist, truck driver, race car driver, roofer, plumber, heat/A/C, chemist, sailboat Captain, writer, landscaper, pharmacy owner and pharmacist.  So I'm fairly self-sufficient when it comes to fixing things.
I basically live all the MMM tricks that I know.  I do have one guilty pleasure, a street rod in the garage, worth about $15,000.  It only gets about 5000 miles a year.
I am, thanks to discovering MMM and getting inspired, now working on an actual budget.  I make more than I spend, but not sure where the heck it's all going. 
It looks like I need a budget and I need to increase my dedicated savings.  I do not know how much of my income I'm saving.  Working on those.
The thing is, I dislike my job.  The  job itself, the commute, and the time it consumes.  I'd rather spend more time the next two years with my son, now 11, than work constantly and hope that I get to spend time with him later.  I've learned the hard way that sometimes there is no later.  In three years I'll hit 62 and I can start my SS, at which point I'll have enough income to feel "safe" enough to quit this job.  All the years before, with all those jobs and life changes, I got by on what I made at the time.  To a guy approaching 60 that now seems a little scary. 

However, this is the first time in my life I've had enough money for it to actually bring in a decent income on its own.  Pretty heady!

One last, but important thought.  My parents and my childhood were happy but frugal, we were poor and self-sufficient.  I ate Ramen noodles for ten years in college, did without health insurance, drove a $1200 car, wore the same shoes for years, etc, an experience which made me EXTREMELY grateful to be in the position I am in now.  (I still ride the bicycle I bought in 1992.)  When I write that I make $90,000 a year working part time I have to look around to see who they're talking about.  Is that really me?  So to even think that I'm approaching FI is a breath-taking concept.  Writing this out has made it clear to me how lucky and well-positioned I am.

Thanks for any thoughts or comments.  I'm sure I'm not thinking of everything.

And a big THANKS to MMM!

B

NinetyFour

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2297 on: August 09, 2015, 09:48:03 PM »
Welcome, Barbarossa!

bernieb

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2298 on: August 10, 2015, 06:39:52 AM »
Hi There,

We are in eastern Canada.  Fairly frugal and with about 10 years planned to retirement.

looking forward to getting some tips through this website from like minded people.

bernieb

jordanread

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Re: Say Hi and Introduce Yourself
« Reply #2299 on: August 10, 2015, 08:32:40 AM »
Ahoy Mustachians!
[...]
Several years back my now ex-wife and I saved up, bought a 40 foot sailboat, lived aboard and sailed around Florida and the Bahamas for eight years.  We could live, with our son, on about $500 a month on the boat.  (We met retired folks in the Bahamas living on $10,000-$20,000 boats, less than most spend on a a car, for part of the year, while "the SS checks are piling up in the bank."  True Mustachians!)[...]

I've been thinking about a sailboat a lot lately. Might move up my timeline a bit. I really look forward to hearing more about your story.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!