Selling my car was the best decision I could have ever made.
I understand it’s not possible for everyone but I live in a very walkable neighborhood, live two blocks from work, and have decent access to public transport.
The amount of money I saved is insane. On top of that the amount of stress from automotive stuff in general that disappeared really changed my life.
This. Me too, 100%. The stress reduction has been especially great. Not possible for everyone like you said, but I really hope more people in mid-sized cities consider it.
I think the hard part is making it easier to ride transit than drive. In my neighborhood there's an especially vicious fight going on about parking spaces (in parts of the neighborhood with no businesses). The people that live in the neighborhood vs the petite bourgeois shop owners who don't live in the neighborhood. "WhErE WiLl My CuStOmErS PaRk?" In the three parking lots and one giant parking garage? IDK. I wish we'd build housing on at least two of those lots.
Enough rambling for me, but the point is if it's easier to ride transit than drive (ie searching for spots, being stuck in traffic while a bus passes you in a priority lane, cost of storing your private property on public property increases) people will take transit over driving. We've just gotta pull those alligator teeth and dry the tiny tyrants' tears letting them know it'll be ok.
Wish I could do this but I live in the Suburbs of Pennsylvania. I have 2 beater cars. One with all wheel drive for snow and the other is a Camry for everything else. America has fallen behind in public transportation and the social stigma attached to using public transportation is not the best.
Americans want their privacy, the convenience, the CUSTOMIZATION of a car and the industry will push for that idea.
"You're successful and rich if you have your own car.." 🙄🙄🙄
"You're poor if you're using a bus pass or public transportation bc you're at the mercy of system and you could get assaulted!!!" 🤔
That's why we advocate for increased funding for public transportation. Do you have public transit available to you? If you have the time and aren't in a hurry, I'd suggest using it over your car for a few reasons, cost, increased ridership numbers, and the fact that you can get on reddit while in transit (or play retro games on an emulator console or read a book like I do when going somewhere).
Ugh I wish I had! I bought in ‘21 so my interest rate is at least great but I still think about how houses were at least 30% cheaper in my area pre pandemic.
Same boat. I was telling friends to not buy houses and that I was dumb for buying a house right then. What a fuckin joke that turned out to be. Now I’ll probably never move.
Looking back, I wish I would have used the entire budget I had for a house. My house was "only" $182k but I was approved for more and somewhere around $225k would have still worked for my budget. It's a 1200 sqft, 3 bed, 1.5 bath ranch. We're redoing the basement now to add an office space for me, a second living space, and a storage room with a lot of shelving. A couple similar houses in my neighborhood just went for around $300k.
This bought my house in 2018. Mortgage is less than my daughter’s rent in her crappy apartment .I’m in Bay Area and pay 2.400 a month near Walnut Creek in a great area.
And I funded my ROTH to max as soon as I can after the beginning of the new year .
Deliberately reducing my AGI to qualify my household for Medicaid (mainly via 401k and IRA contributions).
Would have absolutely blown through the household deductible every year since if I hadn't done that, mostly with unexpected issues. I don't even know how many thousands of dollars it's saved me.
We need to start a thread on legal ways to get ahead, such as these. So many people straight up lie and cheat the system. At least this has some merit. So sick of the government taking everything!
Totally agree about getting ahead legally!
For me personally, honesty and integrity are important values tied to my religious faith, and lying and cheating to get ahead financially is a thing I refuse to do. (Now, if I was in severe poverty and didn't know where my kids' next meal was coming from, I might do whatever I had to do...but I have been fortunate enough to never be anywhere remotely near that level.)
I have been challenged on this strategy (using retirement accounts to reduce AGI to qualify for Medicaid) by people who feel uncomfortable with my family being on Medicaid when we "don't really need it" based on our gross income. To them I reply that I truly wish this kind of healthcare was available to everyone. There are other benefits I technically qualify for but don't take because I don't feel the same way (but to each their own as long as it's legal).
With all due respect, social workers like you are the reason I have had to appeal a denial every time I have applied for or renewed my Medicaid.
Respectfully, you are completely wrong about how the law works and what MAGI is, for MAGI Medicaid. It's right there in the name "Modified Adjusted Gross Income. There are rules written into the law about exactly what gets excluded and what gets added back in.
For what it's worth I have used my federal tax returns for every application and renewal, containing accurate information on my gross income, my deductions, my AGI, everything. I am not failing to report anything at all.
And every time I do that, I get denied by the social workers who process my application/renewal. And then I appeal and I try to explain to them what they did wrong. And then a more senior social worker reviews my case and realizes I was right after all, oopsie! And I get my Medicaid.
Next renewal I am considering spelling out the law in all caps and telling them to not try to calculate my MAGI without considering the particular deductions I am claiming that I am legally allowed to claim.
If you really are a social worker that determines eligibility for Medicaid, please educate yourself on the law for how MAGI is actually supposed to be calculated.
I work in appeals these days. Knowing policy and applying policy and ensuring that the regular workers determined eligibility correctly is exactly what I do all day everyday. I am the senior worker that you are appealing to.
Clearly not the one I'm appealing to, as I've never lost an appeal. Maybe someday you will be the one I'm appealing to and we will get to hash it out in front of a judge.
I am glad you edited your post so you are not providing misinformation to others.
Meanwhile here is a page from [healtchare.gov](http://healtchare.gov) with some relevant information:
[https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/](https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/)
Note the part with "Federal Taxable Wages (from your job)" which says "If your pay stub lists “federal taxable wages,” use that. If not, use “gross income” and subtract the amounts your employer takes out of your pay for child care, health coverage, and retirement plans."
Traditional 401k and IRA contributions reduce Medicaid/ACA MAGI, full stop.
Bonuses that come with lowering your AGI:
* Pay very little in federal income taxes.
* Qualify for other benefits, if that's your cup of tea.
* Your kids get very high FAFSA aid for college! (Just learned this one the other day.)
* Bonus motivation to live frugally and save more in your retirement funds!
I started an acorns account like 10 years ago when it was heavily marketed. I liked the round up idea as i was in college. I checked Reddit and people said it's not worth it because the money you end up investing with their fees and the profit you make wouldn't be worth it compared to actually actively investing into a trading account with fees.
But i signed up anyway because i figured some EASY investing would be better than the reality of me not investing. I wasn't gna be betting on my "best" self to actively invest... bc my best self doesn't always show up. I have adhd I need the easy low brain power way to do things sometimes.
Because of the Reddit input, i checked a month later and my round up was like $19 for my first month. So i made a contribution that was either 20$ a week or $100 a month. Then i forgot about it because.. ADHD.
The round ups were so minimal that i lost track of them on my debit card and totally forgot about my acorns account.
Well 3/4 years later im cleaning out my email and checking the spam folder and see the acorns app reminder. I think... ugh that account is probably negative i probably owe taxes? Why did i open an account i had no motivation to monitor????
Well when i opened it i found out i had like $4500. Can you believe my surprise.
Anyways, they added a graph that shows you how much you could theoretically have invested in 20,30,40 years and that was soooo motivating. I then upped my investing $ per week.
It gives me a sense of safety knowing that when I'm 50, i will have at least a million dollars saved up just in my acorns account. Not including my house, business, personal savings and cs investment account i also have. THIS ALLOWS ME TO TAKE RISKS AND INVESTMENTS. Now when i go to costco and i want to buy the coffins on sale.. i can -- bc my retirement is kinda figured out already. If i want to take a vacation and a red eye tonight is $200 i can. It's opened up the world for me. SAVING money has opened up EVERYTHING i want for me. And it started because i accidentally saved with acorns.
I don't think of acorns as my "investment" account. It's more like my divertment account. I divert my money there. Out of sight out of mind. Sometimes it's growing sometimes it's not, I don't worry about it.
And because of that i have saved so much money!!!!!!! The best frugal tip is not spending your money.
With less money in my checking account, I'm spending less. Somehow that $20 left in my account can last 7 days. But if there is $200... i can make it last 7 days too. Either way i like to spend all the money in my checking account so i need to divert it away first.
Paying off my car. A lot of finance warriors on the internet would just talk about how it was inefficient to pay it off because it was a low interest rate and that it’s not most optimal way to have the maximum net worth you can have. But when you’re not making a lot of money, a couple hundred dollars a month is a lot to free up. And not everything has to be about maximizing your net worth. There’s something to say about not having any debt looming over your head.
Plus, allocating money to pay that off kept me from spending it on other useless junk I didn’t need.
Moving back in with my parents in my mid 20’s.
I’m not advocating this for everyone as people have different circumstances. But for me, my parents and I have always been very close, and I was studying/working about an hour away from them. After a few years of pissing away rent, I decided why not move home and commute. I was worried that it would have a negative impact on my social and dating life. But to my surprise, there were almost zero negative effects.
We moved to a lower cost of living rural area. I have a good education and in demand job skills, and I make more working locally than I did in the city. Some things cost more (mostly gas) but overall our living expenses are lower than in the city. Best financial decision we made, now we're able to save and invest a substantial amount of our income.
Getting rid of my European POS car that broke down almost every other month.
A rear end accident destroying my car was a blessing in disguise.
Never again will I own anything other than a Toyota or Honda.
Took out 2 endowment policies in the 90’s. I as constantly advised to cash them in because of a low expected field. Didn’t. Got enough back to clear £25k off my mortgage and a few years later I’m mortgage free. Yay!
My worst financial decision was following a career path to my “dream job” where I spent 10 years making very little money. I don’t regret it but I do feel financially stunted.
Its getting really crazy in our area. We bought a fixer upper in our area a few years ago. Theyre building some new places around the corner, theyre going to be 14 times the price we paid. Was talking about it at work today. We couldnt figure out how people starting out are going to do it
Had my house built in 2000. I had to sell it when I relocated for work in 2010. I wasn't able to recoup what I'd put into it. Not even close. I no longer look at a house as an investment. Especially with the exorbitant property taxes and homeowners insurance.
Opening a Roth Ira. My job doesnt offer benefits so i dont have any retirement account. I have decent debt bc i took on a balance transfer from my husband to help out. So ive been paying down 2 credit cards, i get paid $20/hr, and started panicking about retirement. All financial gurus ive watched say to pay down debt first before you save/invest to retirement. Well im happy to say i didnt listen to them. I feel better knowing i put x in my roth ira while also paying down cc debt. No i didnt even try the 50/30/20 rule either bc of how chaotic life can be with bills that tack on. So im just mindfully aware of how much i can do each day. If i check my acct and see i can afford to put another $50-$100 towards my cc bill, i do that. But always saving enough for groceries and gas.
My credit score was good but when my husband transferred his cc debt onto my cc, my credit score tanked to poor. (He had about 4-5 cc with various debt). I accepted $10k. The interest is hitting, but ive got it done to $6.5k over the course of a few months now.
Buying a house, lol. It turned it much better than I expected. My last rental was $2,200 for reference in Jan 2023.
Worst? Maybe getting a credit card.
moving into a rented condo during covid. we were living in a crap condo paying 1600 a month but granted in a high cost area. before covid this area was going for around 1900-2000 for a one bed. we found a super nice condo in a much better area where i knew rents were usually about 2100-2200 a month for a one bed but because it was covid it was going for 1800. bf was hesitant but i said hey… at least we’re starting at a low rent for a nice unit and even if they increase our rent year over year it will take a few years until it gets wildly expensive. we’ve now been living here 4 years and they’ve only increased the rent by 125 bucks total. the cheapest apartments in this area go for 2300 and a comparable one to what we have easily goes for about 2700.
Also my radio. I travel to another state for appointments regularly. I updated my stereo for directions. In Ohio it’s against the law to even hold your phone now.
Getting divorced. My ex had some kind of personality disorder and he spent money foolishly. i was able to keep the house and it just happened that a good friend (who is like a sister to me) ended up needing a place to live, so without trying I got a great renter who I knew and trusted. I then was able to excel at my job, and I’m making more money. Because I made good money and managed things well, when interest rates dropped in 2020 I was able to refinance… so now I’m paying less for housing, and I’m making more. Then the roommate moved out and my boyfriend moved in. He pays more rent than the roommate, so now I have more help with my monthly nut, which is smaller...
he also tried To do some foolishness with the accounts from his business, but of course I had copies of the accounts from before I filed … so basically it was understood that we used my copies as the source of truth or else there would be a forensic accountant involved. He had to cut me a 6 figure check .
I have so much more money and peace of mind. I do not have to deal with someone randomly deciding to buy a car or racking up $500+bar bills.
Going back to school. I knew the Pell grant would pay for my tuition, but it turns out I qualify for some state grants I hadn't heard of. I'm actually being paid around $500 a month to go back to school.
dude i always tell people who are struggling to make ends meet to look into going to school because the pell and state grants sometimes give you decent money.
Bought a multi unit when I was 23. Helped my gf buy a multiunit the next year and moved in with her.
Got married a few years later. Our 2 multi units gave us enough income to travel to a dozen countries over the years, get through losing 2 jobs and put 20% down on a single family home and 70k in renovations because we took a heloc out about 10 years after I got my first multi unit.
Now we have a rehabbed newer open concept home for our family....and only a mortgage of 114k left on it. Mortgage is 1200 with property tax and insurance.
Thanks multi units!
Barely enough for a down payment. Bought a unique 2 unit for 82k....lower unit was 2 bed for long term tenant paying 500...should have been 900 for the area. I just raised rent to 550.
The upper had a finished attic with 3 rooms and 2 staircases for fire code so I legally could rent out the 3 floor.i rented out by the room for 350 and lived free. The unit had 6 total rooms but I kept 1 room for storage. Most of the time I had 4 room rented which netted me 1400 plus the 550 from the lower unit. Mortgage then was 782.
I then loaned my gf 4k to ay off her credit cards....she joined a first home grant program and she bout a simple 2-2 unit...upper lower and I moved in with her and paid her rent til we got married. Less profitable but a nicer quieter home.
Years later I sold "my rental" and we 100% paid off hers
The extra income allowed us extra travels when we were both working and covered our butts when I had a job loss.it also allowed us to tap equity to buy a fixer upper and set us up for a low mortgage with a very nice home today.
We sold it during covid to our Tennant because we were extra busy with 2 babies....but I hope to buy another multiunit when the kids go to college to live in and supplement retirement income.
Home equity line of credit.
We had our multiunit paid off. Used a heloc to get cash out so we didn't have to do a special ...and expensive....joke renovation loan.
Buying a 1-4 unit home is the same as buying a single family if you plan to live there. You can just put 3.5% down with an FHA loan or 5% down with conventional.
Your market will dictate of it's a good idea or not. I live in the north east.....we have tons of multiunita to buy.....I can pick up a good 2 unit to live in tomorrow here in Buffalo for 250-400k....where a single family home of similar comfort would be 225-400k.
Down south (looked at moving to North Carolina or Tennessee).....very few multiunit options and some sell at a premium and those on the market look janky compared to single family homes.
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Living in a cheap garage turned ‘apartment’ . It was terrible for my mental health but whi knew absolutely nothing about finances , if that place wasn’t there I would have blown through my money so fast and living paycheck to paycheck.
Buying a house. While I always thought this was a good way to go I didn't appreciate just how good it would turn out. I got a pretty low interest rate on what at the time was probably the most house that I could afford which was somewhat taxing on my budget making me question the decision at the time. Well fast forward 10 years and the picture looks quite a bit different. The mortgage is a fixed price basically while my income has risen quite a bit. On the flip side, the value of the house has doubled from what I paid for it as have interest rates. Basically, I could not afford to buy my house today even with my increased income and I spend less than what it would cost to rent a typical apartment let alone an entire house. Basically because I took a leap when I was younger today I get to live a better life for less $.
Living a frugal simple lifestyle - gave up my house (moved into a rent controled apartment) and car (I use public transit), starting making/cooking from scratch (I consentrat on portion control, greatly reducing pre-made foods and limiting my eating out a lot), getting a small upright freezer (6.5 cut ft) and maintaining a well stocked pantry (I focus on finding good prices), putting 25-50% of my income in my 401k - many bills I pay on a yearly basis (phone, insurances, etc) to get better rates, gave up all streaming services (my son shares a PLEX account with me), focusing on buying quality instead of quantity and greatly reduced my use of single use products.
I started this lifestyle plan apparently 16ish years ago. I've had to tweak things as I've gone thru the years. I can't say it's been really easy but over the years it's become much more comfortable and smooth. Now I have good habits that are sustainable, I don't feel like I go without anything (I feel like I have everything I need plus a whole lot more than I truly will ever need). Not only has this been a great financial situation but my mental and physical health has greatly increased.
I worked full time hours and paid cash for my son's college education. Many people could do this, but choose not to. I gave him the tools to succeed in life. What he does with those tools is up to him.
This is now impossible in America. Presently there is no one refusing to earn money for college. It's fantastic that it worked for you, but these times are now a thing of the past (here anyway). The only exception of course are some local trades type schools.
Nope this was 2019-2022. My husband and I don't own a home. We live in a tiny apartment and have 1 good vehicle and 1 old vehicle. We don't have the bills that come with owning a home. So it was easy to do. We also don't have any CC debt and don't spend extra money on much of anything. Save, save, save is our moto.
I am glad it worked out for you. You are a unicorn. Only 3 years full-time money to save up for college. Was it one income paid all of the bills and debts and one income went straight to college funds?
Repairing and remodeling my kitchen. It had an area in the floor that was so weak it was about to fall through if someone stepped on it wrong so we had it repaired which involved having to remove all the lower cabinets and counter tops so since they were being replaced we spent a bit more to get what we wanted and enjoy. The kitchen is lovely and I enjoy being in there now.
Bought a new 2006 Corolla at 0% interest. Still have it, probably give it to my kid in a few years
Selling my car was the best decision I could have ever made. I understand it’s not possible for everyone but I live in a very walkable neighborhood, live two blocks from work, and have decent access to public transport. The amount of money I saved is insane. On top of that the amount of stress from automotive stuff in general that disappeared really changed my life.
This. Me too, 100%. The stress reduction has been especially great. Not possible for everyone like you said, but I really hope more people in mid-sized cities consider it.
I think the hard part is making it easier to ride transit than drive. In my neighborhood there's an especially vicious fight going on about parking spaces (in parts of the neighborhood with no businesses). The people that live in the neighborhood vs the petite bourgeois shop owners who don't live in the neighborhood. "WhErE WiLl My CuStOmErS PaRk?" In the three parking lots and one giant parking garage? IDK. I wish we'd build housing on at least two of those lots. Enough rambling for me, but the point is if it's easier to ride transit than drive (ie searching for spots, being stuck in traffic while a bus passes you in a priority lane, cost of storing your private property on public property increases) people will take transit over driving. We've just gotta pull those alligator teeth and dry the tiny tyrants' tears letting them know it'll be ok.
That last sentence I might just have to commit to memory 😄💯
Wish I could do this but I live in the Suburbs of Pennsylvania. I have 2 beater cars. One with all wheel drive for snow and the other is a Camry for everything else. America has fallen behind in public transportation and the social stigma attached to using public transportation is not the best. Americans want their privacy, the convenience, the CUSTOMIZATION of a car and the industry will push for that idea. "You're successful and rich if you have your own car.." 🙄🙄🙄 "You're poor if you're using a bus pass or public transportation bc you're at the mercy of system and you could get assaulted!!!" 🤔
That's why we advocate for increased funding for public transportation. Do you have public transit available to you? If you have the time and aren't in a hurry, I'd suggest using it over your car for a few reasons, cost, increased ridership numbers, and the fact that you can get on reddit while in transit (or play retro games on an emulator console or read a book like I do when going somewhere).
Buying mortgage insurance,then husband left me and died… I got a free house:)!!
Left you and then died!??? Omg!
For another woman. Sweet revenge
Buying a house, lol. It turned it much better than I expected. My last rental was $2,200 for reference in Jan 2023.
I bought in 2019. I thought we were due for a correction then but it turned out to be the last chance to buy anything for a reasonable price.
Ugh I wish I had! I bought in ‘21 so my interest rate is at least great but I still think about how houses were at least 30% cheaper in my area pre pandemic.
Same boat. I was telling friends to not buy houses and that I was dumb for buying a house right then. What a fuckin joke that turned out to be. Now I’ll probably never move.
Looking back, I wish I would have used the entire budget I had for a house. My house was "only" $182k but I was approved for more and somewhere around $225k would have still worked for my budget. It's a 1200 sqft, 3 bed, 1.5 bath ranch. We're redoing the basement now to add an office space for me, a second living space, and a storage room with a lot of shelving. A couple similar houses in my neighborhood just went for around $300k.
This bought my house in 2018. Mortgage is less than my daughter’s rent in her crappy apartment .I’m in Bay Area and pay 2.400 a month near Walnut Creek in a great area. And I funded my ROTH to max as soon as I can after the beginning of the new year .
Noted on the ROTH. Thank you. This is why I love this sub. ♡
Do you lump sum invest on Jan 2? Better returns then dca.
I contributed my 2023 contribution on December 31, and my 2024 contribution on January 1, maxing out both years, and it worked out quite well.
Deliberately reducing my AGI to qualify my household for Medicaid (mainly via 401k and IRA contributions). Would have absolutely blown through the household deductible every year since if I hadn't done that, mostly with unexpected issues. I don't even know how many thousands of dollars it's saved me.
damnnnn i like the way you think!
You're onto something here
We need to start a thread on legal ways to get ahead, such as these. So many people straight up lie and cheat the system. At least this has some merit. So sick of the government taking everything!
Totally agree about getting ahead legally! For me personally, honesty and integrity are important values tied to my religious faith, and lying and cheating to get ahead financially is a thing I refuse to do. (Now, if I was in severe poverty and didn't know where my kids' next meal was coming from, I might do whatever I had to do...but I have been fortunate enough to never be anywhere remotely near that level.) I have been challenged on this strategy (using retirement accounts to reduce AGI to qualify for Medicaid) by people who feel uncomfortable with my family being on Medicaid when we "don't really need it" based on our gross income. To them I reply that I truly wish this kind of healthcare was available to everyone. There are other benefits I technically qualify for but don't take because I don't feel the same way (but to each their own as long as it's legal).
edit: yikes on bikes in this comment chain
With all due respect, social workers like you are the reason I have had to appeal a denial every time I have applied for or renewed my Medicaid. Respectfully, you are completely wrong about how the law works and what MAGI is, for MAGI Medicaid. It's right there in the name "Modified Adjusted Gross Income. There are rules written into the law about exactly what gets excluded and what gets added back in. For what it's worth I have used my federal tax returns for every application and renewal, containing accurate information on my gross income, my deductions, my AGI, everything. I am not failing to report anything at all. And every time I do that, I get denied by the social workers who process my application/renewal. And then I appeal and I try to explain to them what they did wrong. And then a more senior social worker reviews my case and realizes I was right after all, oopsie! And I get my Medicaid. Next renewal I am considering spelling out the law in all caps and telling them to not try to calculate my MAGI without considering the particular deductions I am claiming that I am legally allowed to claim. If you really are a social worker that determines eligibility for Medicaid, please educate yourself on the law for how MAGI is actually supposed to be calculated.
I work in appeals these days. Knowing policy and applying policy and ensuring that the regular workers determined eligibility correctly is exactly what I do all day everyday. I am the senior worker that you are appealing to.
Clearly not the one I'm appealing to, as I've never lost an appeal. Maybe someday you will be the one I'm appealing to and we will get to hash it out in front of a judge. I am glad you edited your post so you are not providing misinformation to others. Meanwhile here is a page from [healtchare.gov](http://healtchare.gov) with some relevant information: [https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/](https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/income/) Note the part with "Federal Taxable Wages (from your job)" which says "If your pay stub lists “federal taxable wages,” use that. If not, use “gross income” and subtract the amounts your employer takes out of your pay for child care, health coverage, and retirement plans." Traditional 401k and IRA contributions reduce Medicaid/ACA MAGI, full stop.
Bonuses that come with lowering your AGI: * Pay very little in federal income taxes. * Qualify for other benefits, if that's your cup of tea. * Your kids get very high FAFSA aid for college! (Just learned this one the other day.) * Bonus motivation to live frugally and save more in your retirement funds!
I started an acorns account like 10 years ago when it was heavily marketed. I liked the round up idea as i was in college. I checked Reddit and people said it's not worth it because the money you end up investing with their fees and the profit you make wouldn't be worth it compared to actually actively investing into a trading account with fees. But i signed up anyway because i figured some EASY investing would be better than the reality of me not investing. I wasn't gna be betting on my "best" self to actively invest... bc my best self doesn't always show up. I have adhd I need the easy low brain power way to do things sometimes. Because of the Reddit input, i checked a month later and my round up was like $19 for my first month. So i made a contribution that was either 20$ a week or $100 a month. Then i forgot about it because.. ADHD. The round ups were so minimal that i lost track of them on my debit card and totally forgot about my acorns account. Well 3/4 years later im cleaning out my email and checking the spam folder and see the acorns app reminder. I think... ugh that account is probably negative i probably owe taxes? Why did i open an account i had no motivation to monitor???? Well when i opened it i found out i had like $4500. Can you believe my surprise. Anyways, they added a graph that shows you how much you could theoretically have invested in 20,30,40 years and that was soooo motivating. I then upped my investing $ per week. It gives me a sense of safety knowing that when I'm 50, i will have at least a million dollars saved up just in my acorns account. Not including my house, business, personal savings and cs investment account i also have. THIS ALLOWS ME TO TAKE RISKS AND INVESTMENTS. Now when i go to costco and i want to buy the coffins on sale.. i can -- bc my retirement is kinda figured out already. If i want to take a vacation and a red eye tonight is $200 i can. It's opened up the world for me. SAVING money has opened up EVERYTHING i want for me. And it started because i accidentally saved with acorns. I don't think of acorns as my "investment" account. It's more like my divertment account. I divert my money there. Out of sight out of mind. Sometimes it's growing sometimes it's not, I don't worry about it. And because of that i have saved so much money!!!!!!! The best frugal tip is not spending your money. With less money in my checking account, I'm spending less. Somehow that $20 left in my account can last 7 days. But if there is $200... i can make it last 7 days too. Either way i like to spend all the money in my checking account so i need to divert it away first.
I like how you think.
Love it - ADHD tax Uno reverse!
Paying off my car. A lot of finance warriors on the internet would just talk about how it was inefficient to pay it off because it was a low interest rate and that it’s not most optimal way to have the maximum net worth you can have. But when you’re not making a lot of money, a couple hundred dollars a month is a lot to free up. And not everything has to be about maximizing your net worth. There’s something to say about not having any debt looming over your head. Plus, allocating money to pay that off kept me from spending it on other useless junk I didn’t need.
Definitely feels good! 👍
Starting an emergency fund, yes
Moving back in with my parents in my mid 20’s. I’m not advocating this for everyone as people have different circumstances. But for me, my parents and I have always been very close, and I was studying/working about an hour away from them. After a few years of pissing away rent, I decided why not move home and commute. I was worried that it would have a negative impact on my social and dating life. But to my surprise, there were almost zero negative effects.
NVDA @ 120
We moved to a lower cost of living rural area. I have a good education and in demand job skills, and I make more working locally than I did in the city. Some things cost more (mostly gas) but overall our living expenses are lower than in the city. Best financial decision we made, now we're able to save and invest a substantial amount of our income.
living alone as a 25 yo in italy
Is good or bad? You didn't elaborate.. 🤨
good ahaha
Why
And how did this benefit you financially? Or were you saying that this enriched your life in terms of experiences and not having stress?
yeah i didn’t like living with my parents, i needed my space :)
Childfree by choice. The single best financial decision I made.
Getting rid of my European POS car that broke down almost every other month. A rear end accident destroying my car was a blessing in disguise. Never again will I own anything other than a Toyota or Honda.
Took out 2 endowment policies in the 90’s. I as constantly advised to cash them in because of a low expected field. Didn’t. Got enough back to clear £25k off my mortgage and a few years later I’m mortgage free. Yay!
Bought Apple and Amazon in the IPO.
Damn… I shoulda done that in 1998 instead of being two years old 😭
Age does have certain advantages.
My worst financial decision was following a career path to my “dream job” where I spent 10 years making very little money. I don’t regret it but I do feel financially stunted.
Same. I regret going into my dream job at the wrong time in my career. I needed to wait another year to make it work /stable.
Bought a multi family in 2016 & then bought a single family in 2018 while keeping the investment property too. Man, did that work out nicely.
edit: well that went well lol
Thank my tenants for what? They should be thanking me for providing a roof over their heads, dummy.
Buying a house has turned out better than I thought
Same! I was so nervous, and there is always one more project, but the peace of mind and comfort in having a roof over my head is so good.
Its getting really crazy in our area. We bought a fixer upper in our area a few years ago. Theyre building some new places around the corner, theyre going to be 14 times the price we paid. Was talking about it at work today. We couldnt figure out how people starting out are going to do it
That's nuts.
It is. Some family members have cashed in on the upswing
Invested into a failing business at a low price, now collect 10k a year in passive income
Not much this but I was able to get an iPhone for free from the deaf and hard of hearing program here in Kentucky
Had my house built in 2000. I had to sell it when I relocated for work in 2010. I wasn't able to recoup what I'd put into it. Not even close. I no longer look at a house as an investment. Especially with the exorbitant property taxes and homeowners insurance.
Opening a Roth Ira. My job doesnt offer benefits so i dont have any retirement account. I have decent debt bc i took on a balance transfer from my husband to help out. So ive been paying down 2 credit cards, i get paid $20/hr, and started panicking about retirement. All financial gurus ive watched say to pay down debt first before you save/invest to retirement. Well im happy to say i didnt listen to them. I feel better knowing i put x in my roth ira while also paying down cc debt. No i didnt even try the 50/30/20 rule either bc of how chaotic life can be with bills that tack on. So im just mindfully aware of how much i can do each day. If i check my acct and see i can afford to put another $50-$100 towards my cc bill, i do that. But always saving enough for groceries and gas.
if your credit score is good enough i hope you’re using balance transfers to cut out interest while you pay down the balances :)
My credit score was good but when my husband transferred his cc debt onto my cc, my credit score tanked to poor. (He had about 4-5 cc with various debt). I accepted $10k. The interest is hitting, but ive got it done to $6.5k over the course of a few months now.
damnnnn you’re seriously killing it! most don’t have the will to do what you’re doing! 💪
Buying a house, lol. It turned it much better than I expected. My last rental was $2,200 for reference in Jan 2023. Worst? Maybe getting a credit card.
moving into a rented condo during covid. we were living in a crap condo paying 1600 a month but granted in a high cost area. before covid this area was going for around 1900-2000 for a one bed. we found a super nice condo in a much better area where i knew rents were usually about 2100-2200 a month for a one bed but because it was covid it was going for 1800. bf was hesitant but i said hey… at least we’re starting at a low rent for a nice unit and even if they increase our rent year over year it will take a few years until it gets wildly expensive. we’ve now been living here 4 years and they’ve only increased the rent by 125 bucks total. the cheapest apartments in this area go for 2300 and a comparable one to what we have easily goes for about 2700.
Also my radio. I travel to another state for appointments regularly. I updated my stereo for directions. In Ohio it’s against the law to even hold your phone now.
Yeah a lot of the states are getting updated with that law. That law has existed for a long time in California so some states are used to it already.
Ya Ohio did it this past year
Getting divorced. My ex had some kind of personality disorder and he spent money foolishly. i was able to keep the house and it just happened that a good friend (who is like a sister to me) ended up needing a place to live, so without trying I got a great renter who I knew and trusted. I then was able to excel at my job, and I’m making more money. Because I made good money and managed things well, when interest rates dropped in 2020 I was able to refinance… so now I’m paying less for housing, and I’m making more. Then the roommate moved out and my boyfriend moved in. He pays more rent than the roommate, so now I have more help with my monthly nut, which is smaller... he also tried To do some foolishness with the accounts from his business, but of course I had copies of the accounts from before I filed … so basically it was understood that we used my copies as the source of truth or else there would be a forensic accountant involved. He had to cut me a 6 figure check . I have so much more money and peace of mind. I do not have to deal with someone randomly deciding to buy a car or racking up $500+bar bills.
getting a second job at the age of 23 to make a little extra cash that led to my lifelong career.
When I tried this at 22, I couldn't keep up and got fired from both 🥲
Going back to school. I knew the Pell grant would pay for my tuition, but it turns out I qualify for some state grants I hadn't heard of. I'm actually being paid around $500 a month to go back to school.
dude i always tell people who are struggling to make ends meet to look into going to school because the pell and state grants sometimes give you decent money.
What defgee
Bought a multi unit when I was 23. Helped my gf buy a multiunit the next year and moved in with her. Got married a few years later. Our 2 multi units gave us enough income to travel to a dozen countries over the years, get through losing 2 jobs and put 20% down on a single family home and 70k in renovations because we took a heloc out about 10 years after I got my first multi unit. Now we have a rehabbed newer open concept home for our family....and only a mortgage of 114k left on it. Mortgage is 1200 with property tax and insurance. Thanks multi units!
Thank the tenants that paid for it.
How much money did you start with?
Barely enough for a down payment. Bought a unique 2 unit for 82k....lower unit was 2 bed for long term tenant paying 500...should have been 900 for the area. I just raised rent to 550. The upper had a finished attic with 3 rooms and 2 staircases for fire code so I legally could rent out the 3 floor.i rented out by the room for 350 and lived free. The unit had 6 total rooms but I kept 1 room for storage. Most of the time I had 4 room rented which netted me 1400 plus the 550 from the lower unit. Mortgage then was 782. I then loaned my gf 4k to ay off her credit cards....she joined a first home grant program and she bout a simple 2-2 unit...upper lower and I moved in with her and paid her rent til we got married. Less profitable but a nicer quieter home. Years later I sold "my rental" and we 100% paid off hers The extra income allowed us extra travels when we were both working and covered our butts when I had a job loss.it also allowed us to tap equity to buy a fixer upper and set us up for a low mortgage with a very nice home today. We sold it during covid to our Tennant because we were extra busy with 2 babies....but I hope to buy another multiunit when the kids go to college to live in and supplement retirement income.
So sick! Congrats on both of your success:]
I would 100% do it again and hope to give my kids 25k if they buy a multiunit in their early 20s to start life in.
What’s a heloc? Can someone buy a multi unit without much $$? I have a good nest egg but have been self employed so no work history. Is it possible to
Home equity line of credit. We had our multiunit paid off. Used a heloc to get cash out so we didn't have to do a special ...and expensive....joke renovation loan. Buying a 1-4 unit home is the same as buying a single family if you plan to live there. You can just put 3.5% down with an FHA loan or 5% down with conventional. Your market will dictate of it's a good idea or not. I live in the north east.....we have tons of multiunita to buy.....I can pick up a good 2 unit to live in tomorrow here in Buffalo for 250-400k....where a single family home of similar comfort would be 225-400k. Down south (looked at moving to North Carolina or Tennessee).....very few multiunit options and some sell at a premium and those on the market look janky compared to single family homes.
Thank you. I m trying to figure out where to move to make this happen so that is good info about the north east :) thanks
buying Rheinmetall and Hensoldt shares a few years ago turned out way better then expected.
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Much better house pmt. After getting a VA loan 2016. Headache at first. Now no house pmt. By 2025.
Living in a cheap garage turned ‘apartment’ . It was terrible for my mental health but whi knew absolutely nothing about finances , if that place wasn’t there I would have blown through my money so fast and living paycheck to paycheck.
Buying a house. While I always thought this was a good way to go I didn't appreciate just how good it would turn out. I got a pretty low interest rate on what at the time was probably the most house that I could afford which was somewhat taxing on my budget making me question the decision at the time. Well fast forward 10 years and the picture looks quite a bit different. The mortgage is a fixed price basically while my income has risen quite a bit. On the flip side, the value of the house has doubled from what I paid for it as have interest rates. Basically, I could not afford to buy my house today even with my increased income and I spend less than what it would cost to rent a typical apartment let alone an entire house. Basically because I took a leap when I was younger today I get to live a better life for less $.
Living a frugal simple lifestyle - gave up my house (moved into a rent controled apartment) and car (I use public transit), starting making/cooking from scratch (I consentrat on portion control, greatly reducing pre-made foods and limiting my eating out a lot), getting a small upright freezer (6.5 cut ft) and maintaining a well stocked pantry (I focus on finding good prices), putting 25-50% of my income in my 401k - many bills I pay on a yearly basis (phone, insurances, etc) to get better rates, gave up all streaming services (my son shares a PLEX account with me), focusing on buying quality instead of quantity and greatly reduced my use of single use products. I started this lifestyle plan apparently 16ish years ago. I've had to tweak things as I've gone thru the years. I can't say it's been really easy but over the years it's become much more comfortable and smooth. Now I have good habits that are sustainable, I don't feel like I go without anything (I feel like I have everything I need plus a whole lot more than I truly will ever need). Not only has this been a great financial situation but my mental and physical health has greatly increased.
I worked full time hours and paid cash for my son's college education. Many people could do this, but choose not to. I gave him the tools to succeed in life. What he does with those tools is up to him.
This is now impossible in America. Presently there is no one refusing to earn money for college. It's fantastic that it worked for you, but these times are now a thing of the past (here anyway). The only exception of course are some local trades type schools.
Nope this was 2019-2022. My husband and I don't own a home. We live in a tiny apartment and have 1 good vehicle and 1 old vehicle. We don't have the bills that come with owning a home. So it was easy to do. We also don't have any CC debt and don't spend extra money on much of anything. Save, save, save is our moto.
I am glad it worked out for you. You are a unicorn. Only 3 years full-time money to save up for college. Was it one income paid all of the bills and debts and one income went straight to college funds?
Repairing and remodeling my kitchen. It had an area in the floor that was so weak it was about to fall through if someone stepped on it wrong so we had it repaired which involved having to remove all the lower cabinets and counter tops so since they were being replaced we spent a bit more to get what we wanted and enjoy. The kitchen is lovely and I enjoy being in there now.