DDSW Commenter Love: Meet-n-Greet #2

thanks2

 

This is the second edition of DDSW Commenter Love. You can see the first edition here.

 

I just want to give a big “Thank You!”, to all the great peeps who stop by here from time to time to read my ramblings and who have left positive and uplifting comments.

I thought you might like to get to know each other.  There are a lot of you, so in order to avoid eyeball overload, I’ll break this up into a handful of manageable lists.  I’ve included a sample post to help you get a flavor for each. Happy reading!

 

1. Cashrebel

http://cashrebel.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/what-will-you-still-own-a-decade-later/

Cashrebel is a 20-something engineer who is passionate about personal finance, saving money, and financial independence.

 

2.From Debt to Dreams

http://www.fromdebttodreams.com/fedloan-servicing-is-terrible-2/

Trapped in the student loan nightmare? Read about fellow Sallie Mae slayer here.

 

3. A Disease Called Debt

http://diseasecalleddebt.com/debt-success-stories-kalen/

Among other things, you can read about debt success stories here. Get some inspiration.

 

4.My Life I Guess

http://mylifeiguess.com/money/2013/debt-story-100th-post/

Amanda’s on a quest to accomplish 101 things in 2002 days. Read about it here.

 

5. LifeFaithTea.com

http://ashleeayers.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/my-epic-fail/

Ashlee writes about a variety of things, including, occasionally, her money related ponderings.

 

6. The Frugal Weds

http://www.thefrugalweds.com/home/the-blurry-line-between-frugal-and-cheap#.U6ZD1vldXEk

Planning to get married soon? The Frugal Weds are your go-to couple for learning about saving money with your special someone.

 

7. Unchained Soul

http://unchainedsoul.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/positive-affirmations/

An eclectic blog with interesting posts to check out. This post stood out to me for obvious reasons.

 

8.  My Lover’s Wife

http://myloverswife.wordpress.com/2014/06/22/stop-using-credit-cards-to-support-your-lifestyle/

MLW writes about personal finance and her personal life.

 

9. Consumer Fu

http://www.consumerfu.com/how-start-online-business

A large site, filled with How-to articles about credit, shopping and travel.

 

10. Money = Lifestyle

http://www.moneyequalslifestyle.com/2013/07/10/rich-people-think-different/

Elai writes about lifestyle design and is planning a reality TV show based in Thailand.

 

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That’s a lot of great reading, so I’ll stop there.

Don’t forget to come back to DDSW and catch up on any old posts you may have missed here!

Didn’t see your blog?  Look for future installments of DDSW Commenter Love.

 

Extreme Saving and Early Retirement

mmm financial independence chart

Image Credit:  andhigherstill.com

Are financial freedom and financial independence still possible for me? Are they possible for you?

I’ve started thinking that once I’ve eliminated this mountain of debt, I could keep my savings rate high for a few more years to try to do some catching up on retirement savings. I know its too late to catch up to 20 lost years of compounding interest. I know that Financial Independence (complete retirement) may never be possible, but at least I could get to place of ‘Financial Freedom’ (aka ‘working retirement’) within the next 10 years.

Meaning that I’ll have to keep working after 50, but I can work where and how I want, knowing that I’ll have enough return from my investments to always have money to afford a basic place to sleep and food to eat. No staying at a terrible job out of desperation. For example, once in Financial Freedom, I could do contract work for 6 months each year and then travel and relax the other half of the year, or get a job overseas, or take a lower paying job in a cool environment with less stress, or hell, work for myself. It’s easy to get giddy at the possibilities.

What do I mean by Financial Freedom and Financial Independence? The image below shows my (over)simplified definitions.

Freedom vs independence

Image credit: doubledebtsinglewoman.com

 Image term definition: * FU Fund = F@%% You! Fund – This is the money that you keep in savings to protect you if your good working environment suddenly becomes toxic/unstable/etc., and you have to leave before lining up another job.

Want to learn more about extreme saving and early retirement?  Two of the best known sources on this topic are Mr. Money Mustache and Jacob @ Early Retirement Extreme. Both of these men ‘retired’ in their early thirties as a result of living on little and saving a lot.

Mr. Money Mustache:

The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Getting Rich from Zero to Hero in One Blog Post 

How I Retired at 32 (Yahoo Finance Article)

Jacob @ Early Retirement Extreme

 How I became financially independent in 5 years

How I live on $7,000 per year

As you can tell, Jacob is the more extreme of the two. Both of them have great information-packed sites including forums and other resources.

Could I save 75% net income for 7 years to reach Financial Freedom?  I’ve seen this table in a few places online, so I’ve re-created it here.

Retirement Chart

At this savings rate, I could be out of debt in 3 years, and ‘working retired’ (financial freedom) 7 years after that at 50 years old. Wow!  Is this even possible for me? Right now my living expenses account for about 23% of my net income per month for a 77% savings rate. Yes, it is possible with sacrifice. Is this reasonable for me over the long-term (several years)? Hmmm.

Therein lies the rub. At this rate I don’t know if I will last in this career for 10 years. I don’t even know if I’ll last in this job for another year. The last few months have been quite stressful. I don’t know what the future holds. Even so, it’s still a goal to aim for and food for thought.
Anyone else consider extreme saving for early retirement?

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“Debtor’s prison is real, and opportunity cost is a bitch.” (DDSW)

DDSW Commenter Love: Meet-n-Greet #1

thanks_729-620x349

I just want to give a big “Thank You!”, to all the great peeps who stop by here from time to time to read my ramblings and who have left positive and uplifting comments.

I thought you might like to get to know each other.  There are a lot of you, so in order to avoid eyeball overload, I’ll break this up into a handful of manageable lists.  I’ve included a sample post to help you get a flavor for each. Happy reading!

 

1. The American Debt Project

http://www.americandebtproject.com/2012/02/want-to-get-out-of-debt-top-ten-posts-that-changed-my-views-on-money-debt-and-my-life/

Want to follow the path of someone who climbed out of nearly $40,000 of debt?  Take a look.

 

2. So Over This

http://www.sooverthis.com/getting-out-of-debt-is-like-using-a-public-restroom/

http://www.sooverthis.com/unsent-letters-paypal-edition/

Andrea has really great personal posts about her own money struggles, and her rant letters are classic. I’ve added a bonus rant post here. Enjoy!

 

3. Girlseule

http://girlseule.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/i-think-the-universe-sends-me-these-guys-just-so-i-have-something-to-blog-about/

If you are interested in reading more about a single woman’s travels and adventures in the jungles of online and off-line dating, give this blog a look.

 

4. Living Stingy

http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2009/01/job-trap.html

http://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2010/10/living-stingy-principles.html

Robert’s site is a treasure trove of insight about everything from personal finance to social ills to politics from a fresh perspective. It’s like getting hit over the head with 2X4 of common sense.  Of course, you may not agree with everything he writes, but he will make you think.

 

5.  Travel is My Jam

http://amychesser.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/kuala-lumpur-the-new-weekend-getaway/

http://amychesser.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/plane-etiquette/

Two words:  Soooooooooo   jealous!

And because I like rant/FYI posts, I’ve added a bonus post in which Amy writes about what people need to know when traveling by plane.

 

**

That’s a lot of great reading, so I’ll stop there.

Don’t forget to come back to DDSW and catch up on any old posts you may have missed here!

Didn’t see your blog?  Look for future installments of DDSW Commenter Love.

 

And a shout out to the following DDSW commenters.  Thanks for your well wishes! Keep coming back and let us know how you’re doing.

  • Sparksaninterest
  • Quincy Jones
  • Amy
  • Teresa C
  • James
  • Kay
  • Diana
  • Sarah W
  • Tabby
  • Candice
  • Birdlybird