Like others, I’ve been reading this blog for about 2 years - thought I would join and post some “badassity” now :)
We are in our late 40s and pretty much started over with zero in our mid 30s. But finding the right partner in life - if you so choose - is one of the most critical decisions you will ever make. We are both in the same mindset - pretty much - with our finances.
We first made sure we would have good income and worked towards getting very good jobs - so we went back to school for our degrees and took second jobs to catch up. Not Easy! We were willing to put our heads down and work our way out. And lot of things derailed us - everything from well meaning family and friends telling us “life is too short - spend your money now before it’s too late” - to having family members with serious issues where we wholeheartedly made the decision to help them financially. I want to clarify - this was not about enablement at all - but very thoughtful decisions with no regrets. We love our family and friends and helping them - at times - was the right decision. Peace on this one :-)
With our strong willingness to earn more, we were able to get very good jobs, eventually earning over six figures. We then purchased a home we love - WAY below our means. We put our “sweat equity” into it - we fixed it up using our own talent (which was pretty much learning everything as we went) - and also with the help of our wonderful family and friends who do have the talent!
Along the way, we built up an emergency fund, started saving for our goals by maxing out 401ks and funding a Vanguard account for our “pre retirement”, bought good used cars - and increased our bike riding/”green” way of living, decreased spending considerably (we don't miss it), swapped mindless charity donations with volunteering or buying the charity specifically what they need (awesome) and found a lot of fun things to do without spending lots of money. Funny how I listen to people spend tons on vacations and going out to eat and then have many complaints. Although I do agree with spending money on those things, I truly value it when I do.
We made sure we spent an appropriate amount of time reading blogs like this, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, Your Money or Your Life, etc., and then put together a system that works for us to track our spending and save towards our goals. So important to make time to do this and check your progress on a regular basis - it’s so easy to get derailed.
So after all of this, we are now paying off ALL debt in December - and are looking at a nice stash we put aside for retirement and to become FI. We are surprised and actually in disbelief. It’s the best feeling - and SO SO worth the work! Nice to have a forum like this to share it with - really wish we had this in our 20s.
Lastly, find your balance between “life is too short” and saving for your goals - be very clear on what you want! There are so many people in our life who have something to say about our lifestyle and decisions ("just buy it, just hire someone to do it ..." - but we are very grounded because we know what we want. What an awesome feeling it is to finally be here. And also - make time for fun in your life - it doesn’t have to cost a thing and sure makes it all worthwhile.
