Don't trade. Invest.

Hi, I'm Kate. I used to post here in 2007 and 2008 but got caught up in life for a while. I couldn't get in with my old username (Kate) and I've changed my email since then, so I set up this new one. Pretty original eh? (Yes, I'm from Canada, lol)

We were completely debt free in June 2008 when we paid off our mortgage. Then a year ago we moved up to a new house and now have $139,000 in mortgage debt. It was a dumb, impulsive move in many respects, but I really do enjoy our additional space here. At our current payment rate, this debt will be paid off in 6.5 years.

I've just reread "Your Money or Your Life" and plan to start doing the steps again. I did them years ago for about a year and a half, then a few years ago for a couple of months. I'm hoping to make it stick this time because I really do like the concept.

My hobbies, besides reading personal finance books, include scrapbooking and running. I've done 6 half-marathons and have just started training for a full. I was about to say my first full marathon, but I think one might be enough. It really is a huge time commitment.

Kate

Hello everyone,

My name is Ray, I am 27 and currently working overseas as a contracting dog handler. I was recently discharged from the Army after five years and quickly became bored with my civilian life so I took up contracting.

I just recently became debt free, I have a decent savings for when my contract is up to buy my first home (from a motorcycle accident), and the past two years were the first two years I was able to contribute the maximum to my Roth IRA. So for the first time I feel I am doing pretty well financially, and hopefully things continue as they are.

That's my brief intro, I look forward to learning about financial matters, as my knowledge is pretty limited.

Hi Everyone!

I'm Theresa, although I go by Thevail all over the web! I'm not new to personal finance per se, but I'm trying to incorporate it into my life in new ways. My husband and I have a newly minted adult daughter and are now trying to transition from coupons for kiddy food to new ways to save in a household of adults. (While helping pay for college

Right now we're wrestling with an unfortunate (we think) mortgage as our main financial monster. It's a 6% fixed but for 40 freakin' years !!!

It really was the best we could do at the time (2007), and we got a great deal on the house (about $50,000 less than the rest in our neighborhood). But now paying it off seems like the never ending nightmare.

Trying to balance saving 6 months of income, with trying to get ahead on the mortgage principle is a headache. Still, we're pretty much debt free except for the mortgage, and we've got our household bills under control

I can't wait to pick all of your brains, feel free to pick right back

Hi everyone! My name is Bobbie and I'm 42.

I'm on schedule to be out of non-mortgage debt by the end of 2011, which feels great. SO GREAT! I've been paying off my student loans for 12 years, and for the past year I've also been paying off a whopping tax bill to the tune of $600/month, from years ago when I was married to my ex, don't ask!

Anyway, both of these debts will be paid off this year and I plan to sock that money away in savings/retirement as well as allocate some for travel. In the meantime, I love GRS for the knowledge and motivation to keep my finances in order. Most people I know in real life don't have targeted savings in order to pay cash for big purchases... at GRS I don't feel like such a freak! And people here understand why I love my paid off, nine year old Subaru.

I've been reading GRS for quite a while, and always enjoy it. It's great to read things on a daily basis that remind me of good habits and reassure me that I'm not alone in the world. There really are other people willing to plan, wait, save and spend carefully.

My wife and I are still quite young (29). We have been married for six years and have two wonderful children (ages four and one). We are lucky enough to both agree that saving is an important part of life, which has made things very easy for us. Both of us survived college without a single debt to our name and now, the only one we have is our mortgage.

From a financial standpoint, we're doing pretty well. Our biggest goals are:

Pay off our mortgage by age 40
Save our first $1M by age 50 (millionaire-next-door style)
Raise financially responsible children
Help (as appropriate) when they leave home (college, wedding, etc)
Survive our family obligations

The last one is the one that scares us the most. Like many people, we're keeping an eye on parents who don't have retirement savings. They're still working now, but the day will come when they need to stop. I also have siblings who are having a much bumpier financial ride than we are, which gives us reasons to wonder what the future may bring.

All in all, though, we're happy people who are working on getting rich slowly. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all a little better and sharing ideas.

Hey guys, I'm Tom, 18 yo just started college.

I'm interested in investing, passive income and business because I don't want to end up like my folks - working in dead end jobs, no house to their name, working hard for minimal pay. I wanna make my folks proud and not have to work anymore.

I started investing in stocks and so far they've made a pretty good return, but I'm holding onto them. Warren Buffet is one of my idols lol. Since i don't have much capital to invest in and the fact that I'm still studying, I'm here to learn and maximize my chances of financial success. That's why I'm into passive income, minimum effort for maximum return.

Glad to be in this forum around like-minded folks. I'm all for get rich slowly - as opposed to my friends who wanna get rich fast, live on credit cards and all.

Tom

Hi everyone,

I'm Zoe, 26 y/o business woman based in Australia and online entrepreneur who's into passive income, investing and real estate (Australian real estate market of course).

I believe anyone can achieve financial freedom with the right tools, enough discipline, coupled with action and patience.

I've been broke before, I've also been in debt, but I got myself out of those situations. Even at my tender age, I have a family (mother & siblings) to support. With all that, I still managed to get out of the rat race, never defaulted on bills or rent, paid off all debts and still have money to invest in business and other projects. Of course, that came with sacrifice - at the cost of a social life, buying designer stuff and splurging on holidays (which all my female friends do with their money - some maxing out their credit cards).

I don't believe in being idle even when you're financially comfortable. I think that if you have a solution, you should help others who may be struggling.

Get rich slowly is sensible and the safest way to achieve financial freedom. I don't believe in get rich quick schemes. No one has achieved sustained great wealth by being con artists.

Hi I'm Mike,

I've really come to enjoy GRS because it's helped me tackle the mental part of the financial planning. I've always been good at math but never really good at planning.

So my wife of 6 yrs and our 2.5 yr old are 6yrs into our house that is upside down due to our poor market timing. We've done well avoiding the traps of CC debt and have paid for both of our cars but we have some other debt 2nd mortgage and two student loans (cheap Int%). My wife has had ups and downs in her career and personal life w/ some depression bouts. So, we've always leaned towards the emergency fund needs to be large. We're taking some calculated risks and paying off the 2nd mortgage this year and then will decide how to prioritize the multitude of other interests:

-being debt free besides 1rst mortgage
-Rebuild Emergency Fund
-Maybe a new home, or remodel? (This is primarily a small space/schooling issue) the house we bought was intended to be a starter home. This is the elephant in the room.
-Saving/Investing more for Retirement (increase 401k, start Roth) Currently each putting 5% and getting 5% match
-Savings/Investing for College
-Savings for future cars (both have 80K plus miles)
-Supplemental Disability Insurance (we're both covered for short and long term for work but our bigger risks is my wife's ability to have a consistent income)
-Grow our Health Care Savings Account (this can be part of the Emergency Savings reserve) we usually spend a large $$$$ amount on medical each year. So I'm interested in hearing what others have thoughts on here.

How we prioritize and navigate these waters will have huge impacts on our fiscal and overall well being. I'm looking forward to navigating these waters and using GRS to keep me motivated and in a planful mind set.

Love to hear your POV's on the Suplimental Disability and HCSA.

Mike

I found out about GRS a couple years ago and have been reading and trying to live by the principles. I'm single, in my mid-thirties, with a permanent disability resulting from a car crash. I work in IT.

I haven't had the best habits in personal finance or developing a mind for money, but since I don't really have anyone else to help me, I'm looking to develop those habits through this internet community.

Hi everyone,

I am new to this site. My friend just informed me about this blog and said it has a lot of good information here. I was freaking out because after 11 years of credit and no problems, I missed a payment by a day! I was in shock - it is so second nature to pay my credit card bill on time I never carry a balance and not only did I have a balance but I missed the whole darn payment in a brain fart. We talked a bit about finances and he suggested this site because I want to learn more about properly handling my investments and am considering buying a house. So that's my little financial story:-)

Night all!

Hello all,
I'm Suzie, in my 30s, and live in New York City area. I was looking for a space where I could unabashedly talk about savings and financial freedom when I stumbled on this blog.

Two years ago I decided to go car-free with the support of Get Rich Slowly, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Another goal of mine is to move to the Seattle/Portland area within the next two years in order to lower my cost of living. I've saved for the move and the costs of selling my apartment. The next step is to find a job. I'll let you know how that goes.

Hi, I'm Ronald. New to this forum and looking forward to getting rich slowly after trying to get rich quickly for the past x number of years.

I'm a real estate broker and investor in the Philippines.

Spouse and I are starting over financially, not by our choice (we developed a big, community-sponsored mixed use project that lost its funding at 95% completion - goodbye old financial life!). But so far it's turning out better than you would think.

We are almost through bankruptcy and in the last 4 years have completely changed our attitudes about debt and consumerism. Not that we don't have our moments!

GRS reader for about a year, just came to the forum for the first time - wanted to share our little win of cutting our garbage bill by 75% (will now be $9/month) - less buying = less garbage, plus we're moving to a lower cost-of-living area. How's this for a factoid: our new home will cost 1/10 what we are selling our old home for. Or, I should say, what the bank is selling our old home for since we were way upside down on the mortgage and in foreclosure (see para1 above).

[just noticed "attach signature" - well, I haven't created one yet, so if you see random tech boilerplate below, you'll know why!]

Hi All!

My name is Alan. I am 26 and recently married.

I have been a reader of GRS for over a year. I love it as a tool to keep me encouraged on my road out of debt.

My wife and I currently owe for one credit card, a car payment and a student loan. We are roughly 25k in debt.
We just sold my car in order to pay off some debt and add to our emergency fund. So we are adjusting to becoming a one car family. We have actually barely driven my car since marrying, but the thought of having it for emergencies was always nice. That is gone now but we should do just fine without it.

I look forward to joining in on the conversations around here and increasing my own financial literacy.