How Do You Know the Theme of a Story

A Personal Finance Weblog Worth Reading

~Kiplinger Magazine

Welcome to 20somethingfinance. My proper name is One thousand.E. Miller. I am the founder, owner, and sole author of this independent personal finance site. Long story short: I went from aught savings and significant debt afterward graduation, to saving over 85% of my income in just a few years, without making a huge income. In nether 2 decades, I reached financial independence and FIRE status and I've chronicled every aspect of my journey on this site.

20somethingfinance is now 14+ years old and has get one of the nigh popular personal finance sites in the world. If you're new here, yous can notice every post in the archives and subscribe to get all new articles sent to you, for free.

Also – don't let the name of the site scare you off. If you lot're non in your 20s, that's OK. I no longer am either (but the site is stuck with the proper name), and 50%+ of the readers here are over historic period 30 anyways. Learning and sharing knowledge of personal finance is ageless.

Now, on to the more detailed and dramatic story on why this site exists…

The All-time Years?

I have had some good luck and privilege along the way, simply nothing has come easy. I grew up in a lower middle grade, one-income family. I studied hard and worked my manner through public schools. I worked throughout high schoolhouse and college to help pay my way through a public university.

I graduated higher firmly into a recession, with a business organisation B.A. from Michigan Land University. Later 300+ applications, I finally striking the workforce and started making merely $30k per twelvemonth while working 50-lx+ hours a week at a job that did non crave a college degree. Financially, I had no room to breathe – my cell phone, cable, net, utility, car, fuel, rent, insurance, credit card, pupil loan, and food expenses were eating all of my income. I had naught savings to speak of and significant debts.

With no escape in sight, I started to question the all-work, no-play forty+ hours a week for 45 years standard, which for most people results in just keeping up with the latest consumer indulgences. The prospect of a lifetime of work for this? I found that to exist unthinkable.

Taking Activeness

I had to do something. I realized that if I were going to have whatsoever shred of enjoyment in life, I needed to veer off of the typical life path. Just my finances were holding me back. So what did I do? I started hacking them.

I got married and we had a inexpensive wedding – keeping the toll to nether $2,500. I sold my heavily financed domicile and moved to take a higher income job. Instead of buying a bigger home, I bought a smaller one. I then sold our second car to become rid of the payments and started biking to work. I sold half of my personal belongings. I cut our phone bills past ii-thirds and cut my cablevision bill. I became vegetarian, saved money on groceries, and we stopped dining out most entirely once we learned how to melt. I maxed out my 401K contributions. I stopped trading stocks and started investing. I stopped paying for my visitor's traditional PPO health insurance and switched to an HDHP and HSA, so that they started paying me. I re-worked my wallet and started using credit cards to my reward. I switched to products and services that saved me a lot of money vs. ones that only took money away. I was reversing the consumer accumulation life cycle. "Stuff" and fabric condition stopped mattering to me.

As a outcome, my income started increasing, while my expenses declined drastically. I eventually reached a personal savings rate over 85% of what I earned – 21 times the average U.S. savings rate of four%. In brusque, my finance hacking was allowing me to save, in merely two years, a college percentage of income than nigh practise cumulatively, OVER THEIR Unabridged CAREER.

Was I Feeling Depressed and Deprived?

Quite the contrary. I felt excited, driven, and determined. Instead of fear and resentment, I started feeling empowered and hopeful most the future and was motivated to exercise even more. Fiscal independence became an inevitable path, not just a fantasy.

The downsides? In that location are none. I have easily adjusted. I have all the stuff I need and more. And I've go more creative, less materialistic, and much more than satisfied in life.

I have a comfortable home, a great wife, and wonderful pets. My wife and I cycle, backpack, travel, cook, entertain, nosotros're in good health, and we have zero debt. Nosotros're non missing out on a matter that matters.

What'south Next?

Permit's take this personal finance journey together. I've learned a lot over the years that I want to share with y'all. And I desire to learn from you also.

If you get fired up near:

• financial independence
• hacking your spending to boost your savings
• reducing wasteful consumption and minimizing your impact on the environment
• learning the basics of personal finance & sharing ideas with others
• existence healthy, wealthy, well-rounded, generous, and setting your own path in life

… so you are in the correct place.

You can get-go by getting new 20somethingfinance manufactures delivered directly to you (for gratuitous), via email:

You lot can likewise discover every postal service in chronological club in the archives.

And check out this mega list of money saving tips/products I use here for some quick and easy wins.

~ Best Regards

G.East Miller

Founder, possessor, author: 20somethingfinance.com

Contact:

If you'd similar to contact me, delight practise so here.

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Source: https://20somethingfinance.com/my-story/