Friday inspiration: From spenders to savers with peace of mind
This is part of a series of interviews with people who are either working to improve their financial situation or who have already reached their goals. This week’s interview is with Jacquelyn, who (along with her husband) went from spending everything they made to finding a better way to live.
Could you tell us something about yourself?
I am 28 years old and have been married to my wonderful husband for 4 years. I have a BA in communications and work as an Account Manager for a nutritional company, my husband is a Firefighter/Paramedic. We live in sunny south Florida and the cost of living is rough. We have no children but want to start trying for them soon.
In what way have you turned your financial life around? (Or what are you working on changing?)
We now maintain a healthy emergency fund, max out our ROTH IRAs, contribute to match of 401ks, save for large purchases instead of racking up debt, and are paying off our mortgage early.
Can you give a little bit of background on your story? What were things like for you pre-change?
When my husband and I first started dating we were both living with our parents after college while we paid off debt. Once our debt was paid off we lived it up. If I wanted a new state of the art camera, I bought one, if I wanted a new clothes or shoes, I bought them. We went to fancy dinners, bought drinks out and vacationed where we wanted. We weren’t getting ourselves into debt but we were spending everything we made as soon as we made it. Neither one of us had any really direction from our parents on financial issues. When we got engaged and wanted to buy a home we finally started savings and ended up putting 15k down on our townhome. Right after we got married and moved into the townhome the AC died and our car broke down. We didn’t have the money to fix these very important things and had to ether rack up debt on the credit card or ask my parents for a loan. This caused a lot of stress for us and we decided there had to be a better way to live. That’s when we started reading all the finance blogs and books we could get our hands on and we turned our life around.
How much progress have you made?
We have maxed out our ROTH IRAs for the last 3 years and plan to make this happen every year from now on. We now have almost 80k in our 401ks, and we have paid off an extra 40k on our mortgage in the last 3 years.
How do you feel about your financial situation right now? (Or how did you feel after reaching your goal?)
I love the peace of mind it brings knowing if an emergency occurs, we have the cash to cover it. If we lose our income for a little we know we will not go bankrupt. We like knowing we are saving for retirement each pay day and it is on auto pilot so we don’t even have to think about it. We feel great knowing we will pay off our 30 year mortgage in 10 years.
What was the catalyst that caused you to take action?
Seeing how stressful like would be living paycheck to paycheck and realizing how ignorant we were when it came to our money.
Did you have any setbacks? If so, how did you deal with them?
The first year it was very tough to get used to the new routine, there were a few times we spent too much and saved too little but things have been pretty smooth the last 3 years.
What has been the hardest part of the process?
The hardest part has actually been dealing with our best friends who don’t understand that a last minute trip to Jamaica isn’t an emergency and that we can’t go to swanky dinners all the time. Our friends are not living the way were are and it has caused a little bit of tension. We know ask that they give us notice so we can save and budget these things in, but even then, we have to say no sometimes and they just don’t understand.
The easiest?
Putting our savings and retirement savings on auto pilot so we don’t even have to think about it, the money comes out of every paycheck before we even see it.
How long has it taken?
We have been living this way the last 4 years and want to continue hopefully…forever.
What will be your next step?
Our next step after paying off our townhome in 2012 is to save for a new home and rent out our current townhome for passive income.
What’s the best financial advice you’ve received?
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
What inspiration could you give to someone in a similar situation?
It is not always fun to deny yourself instant gratification in the moment but it is worth it to get your financial life in order and live within your means creating a more stable and wealthy future for you and our family.
Would you like to share your story? If you would like to be interviewed via email for a future article, please email me at c o m m e n t s @bluntmoney.com (without the spaces) to let me know you’re interested.
Thank you for this story, it was really an inspiration. It’s great to hear how people in their 20’s are being responsible with money. It’s really a goal of mine to pay off my student loan debt so it’s not a weight on my shoulders. Thanks for the story!
congratulations!!! that is so inspiring. we are trying to follow in your footsteps :) i wish we had wised up sooner.
Emmy- Thanks! Paying off debt is hard, but you will feel so great once it is off your plate.
Neimanmarxist- We all wish we had started sooner, but the fact that you are starting today is still a step ahead of many.
Good Luck to you both!!