So I recently stumbled upon the MMM from another forums and was rather intrigued by the concept, so much so that I've decided to make the complete plunge into it.
A little about my background:
I recently graduated from Uni last year and spent the past year abroad looking for work (to no avail). When I was in college, I was the exact opposite of what you would call Mustachian. I had a campus job paying minimum wage, but was going out to eat a lot, and spending money leisurely (especially since I had credit cards). I took advantage of several 0% Purchase/Balance Transfer APR offers, which allowed me to transfer my big balances and only pay the minimum without paying interest (yes, I know I'm stupid). Knowing this, I felt a lot of financial freedom, prompting me to invest in $1500 worth of archery equipment so I can compete collegiately (worst idea ever). At the time, I was already $3000 in CC debt (interest-free) accumulated from earlier years, and my last year, I could've paid it off since I was working that summer. Instead, I decided to go into more debt and buy the equipment. Here's the kicker: I didn't even end up competing due to time constraints and school. Very un-mustachian like.
Nonetheless, I ignored the problem since everything was interest free anyways and figured I would find a job after I graduate and would pay off the balance then. That obviously didn't happen. I decided to move to Asia to look for work, partied my ass off, accumulated more debt, and ended up without a job moving back to the US. Keep in mind, I had $30k in student loan debt upon graduation. I applied for deferment and was approved up until May 2015 (but the loans were still accumulating interest).
I was back in the states by March and found a job very quickly. I wish I found MMM sooner, because I've only discovered this a few weeks ago. Had I known earlier (back in March), I would've tackled more debt off. I was actually still going out to eat a lot and spending money unnecessarily on material items (board games especially). I've been adopting MMM for 2 weeks so far and things have been great!
I am in a fortunate enough situation to currently be living with my parents, therefore most of my expenses are covered. I read the article on treating debt like an absolute emergency (horde of bees waiting to sting you haha) and started adopting this philosophy 2 weeks ago.
Here's my current financial situation now (after adopting MMM):
Income
$2500 Take-Home Pay/Month
Expenses
$220 Gas Expense/Month (Driving only to work and back, occasionally around my neighborhood, but negligible mileage)
$100 Miscellaneous/Emergency per Month (I don't plan on using this, except for emergencies)
Loans/Debt
Student Loans (@5% average interest rate) : $27,000
Credit Card Debt: $2000 (Interest-Free until 2016), $1000 (Really high-interest)
Since I'm living at home, I choose to not eat out at all and eat all my meals at home, but I do budget $100 per month in case of emergencies for any miscellaneous expenses that may come up.
I am currently studying for the CFA Level I and the registration deadline is August 19th. The cost to register for the program + Level I is $1500, which means my August paychecks will be tied up paying off the $1k CC debt and the CFA exam.
Now, this may be a bit of a stretch, but I do have a predicament that I need fellow Mustachians' advice on:
I want to figure out a way to eliminate all my monthly expenses completely, and decided that biking to work would save me that money. However, the bike commute is 20 miles one way (2-2.5 hour est. travel time). So I would be spending 4 hours each day biking 40 miles, which would improve my fitness health drastically. However, it is 4 hours of my life away to save $220 a month. Right now, my driving commute is approx. 40 minutes to work and 60 minutes driving home (40 miles total). I actually calculated the cost per trip and it costs me approx. $11 per day (round trip). When I choose to bike, I save that $11 (and get one hell of a workout). My car is a gas guzzler (20-25 miles/gallon avg) because it's a very old car (96 Nissan) and I do not have the resources to buy a more fuel efficient car so I'm stuck with the one I have. Also, I have no plans to move closer to work until my loans/CC debt are all paid off so that's out of the question.
There are a few options that I've considered that will still save me money:
1) Ride bike to train station (5 miles/20 minutes) and take the train to work (25 minutes). The train station near my office is only 8 miles away (8 miles/25 minutes). Ride bike back to train station (8 miles/25 minutes) and take the train home (25 minutes). Ride bike back home (5 miles/20 minutes).
Total Travel Mileage/Time: 26 Bike Miles/90 minutes on bike + 50 minutes on train = 140 Minutes or 2.3 hours
Total Cost: $7.9 One Round Trip or $158/month
Savings: $62/month
2) Ride bike to work (20 miles/120 minutes). Ride bike back to train station (8 miles/25 minutes) and take the train home (25 minutes). Ride bike back home (5 miles/20 minutes).
Total Travel Mileage/Time: 33 Bike Miles/165 minutes on bike + 25 minutes on train = 190 Minutes or 3.17 hours
Total Cost: $5.75 One-Way Trip or $115/month
Savings: $105/month
3) Ride bike to work (20 miles/120 minutes). Ride bike back home (20 miles/150 minutes due to inclines/hills on the way back)
Total Travel Mileage/Time: 40 miles/270 minutes on Bike = 270 minutes or 4.5 hours
Total Cost: $0
Savings: $220/month
I'm a relatively fit person, but have never biked 20 miles in one setting. I'm not an expert cyclist either or even an enthusiast, so 40 miles may seem like a stretch, but I'm willing to build up to it as well (Doing option 1 to start and build up to option 3). I think option 2 is the best for me just because I know most of the commute on the way to work will be either flat or downhill, which should make things a bit easier.
I also haven't decided on a bike. My friend suggested a $600 budget road bike off Bikes Direct, but I've read on other forums about people with 30+ mile bike commutes suggesting not to skimp on buying a more expensive higher quality bike because if you buy a cheap one, it'll be a miserable commute (and it might break on you on the way). If I go with the $600 one, my investment will pay off in 3-6 months (going with option 2 or 3). There is another option to buy a diamondback century 2 for $900 on Amazon. It's $300 more but is much higher quality.
I know this has been a really long post and if you've actually read all of this, I applaud you. Hopefully, you've at least read my bike commuting dilemma above haha. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (General as well, doesn't have to be bike related)
Thanks again for everything MMM and I look forward to learning more from fellow Mustachians as well as contributing my experiences to this forum and helping others along the way.
Cheers!