| Currency |
|---|
| United States Dollar - USD |
| Date Joined |
|---|
| 11/30/2013 |
| Salary Range |
|---|
| 100,000 - 149,999 |
| Occupation |
|---|
| Finance/Accounting |
| Age Range |
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| 40-44 |
| About Me |
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| I'm 39 years old! I'm a CPA working in non-profit as a senior accountant. My salary is about $95K. My husband, 41, had been our SAHP for years, in 2014, he started working PT, earning around $15K annually, and in 2016, he moved to FT at a 40K salary. We have 2 kids, ages 7 & 10. They are growing fast and I strive for a balance between enjoying the present and working towards our future. Our goal is FI and maybe even RE! We met our goal of hitting ONE MILLION before I turned 40... 2 years early! FI is around the corner, and we think more and more about RE these days. |
| Why I Joined |
|---|
| to track my progress, watch my NW grow, and get advice from others. |
| Best Financial Decision |
|---|
| Maximizing savings and not buying junk! Living frugally with a family. Maxing out tax advantaged retirement accounts. Not buying a McMansion. Driving older cars. Having kids on the cheap (things we didn't do- disposable diapers, baby food, lots of baby gear...) |
| Worst Financial Decision |
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| Not maxing out my 401K in my first few jobs. Put in something piddly like 10% for several years, or worse, not participating at all! |
| Current Investing Strategy |
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| Save as much as possible while living well. |
| How do you manage your finances? |
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Closely. I don't do much in the way of fancy investing- just mutual funds and target date funds. My focus is to save a large percentage of our family's one income, by keeping expenses low.
In 2013, my family of 4 lived well on $42K, well under 1/2 of our gross income. Actual savings rate is about 47% due to taxes and benefit costs.
Update: in 2014 we spent significantly more- $51K, with the majority of the increase coming from car repairs and increased tuition (youngest started preschool, we sent oldest to private K).
Another hefty increase in spend. 2015 clocked in at $59K. This includes $7K on childcare. DH worked full time for 6 months, and we spent much of the earnings on childcare. Not doing that again. We also vacationed sooo hard last year. A week in Turks & Caicos to the tune of $6K. $2K visiting family on the opposite coast. Another $1K on airfare for an early 2016 vacation. What can I say, I like my vacations. We'll tone it down in the next 1.5 years, though...
The numbers are in for 2016, and we were just shy of $57K in spending. This includes $11K of tuition, though, so without that we were at about $45K for the year. Hoping 2017 is around $45K, too. Whoops! 2017 was $56K. Without tuition. IDK. We spent it. 2018 was a couple hundred less, but still rounds to $56K. I would love to cut this down, but I'd really need to analyze where that could happen without sacrificing lifestyle. In both 2017 and 2018, we spent about 7K on travel, and I don't really see giving up any travel. Travel hacking helps a lot, but there are some things that aren't covered. |
| What tools do you use? |
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I use excel and yodlee and NWS, and recently started using YNAB in an effort to become more sensitized to expenses as they occur. Yodlee, excel, and NWS are great look back tools, but I want to be more proactive and in the moment.
Update: Love YNAB. Love it. It keeps me focused on goals on a daily basis, it has smoothed out the bumps of infrequent expenses, it has allowed us to spend money on non-essentials without feeling guilty. |
| I need financial help with... |
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| I need to not spend so much at restaurants. This used to say spending less on vacations. But I love my vacations. I'm okay with our vacation spending. |
| Favorite Authors |
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| I like the community at the Mr. Money Mustache forums. |
| Favorite Books |
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| Short term goals instead here: $1,150K NW by December 2019 |
| Favorite Movies |
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| Long term goals instead of here: FI (based on 4% rule) by December 2021. I'll be 42. I'd love to be out sooner, maybe it's possible if I shift to part time work. |
| Last Login |
|---|
| 12/13/2022 |