It’s been exactly 3 years since I became serious about my finances and as a result starting using the budget tool YNAB. In that time I’ve saved $129,653.89 on my own. That doesn’t include any stock market appreciation. That’s crazy. I saved an average of $43,217.96 a year despite being funemployed for a total of 6 months, paying big money to moving across the country and having 3 different jobs at 3 different companies. I also got a friend interested in the company and he ended up working there :). As a result I have some awesome YNAB swag and stories that make me fangirl. Continue reading “3 Years on YNAB” →
Well that happened. Apparently I now have a 800 credit score according to Equifax (not that I trust them at all – so many breaches. Goodness people). Nevertheless it’s fun to see and hilarious since I’m such a credit card churner. An 800 credit score with an average credit card age of less than 2 years 🙂 . It’s possible. To 850!
This month is an interesting milestone. 3 years ago my mother retired from 30+ years of full-time work. Work she hated. Work that kept her from spending time with me because of a long commute (that allowed my step-siblings to go to a school near their mother). Work that wasn’t very compatible with my own long commute to school downtown. Work that allowed her to retire early at 55. I can’t believe it’s been 3 years already. 
I set up LinkedIn 6 months into my career in 2012 when I was starting to think of my first job hop. That also happened to be the time when I lost 30 lbs in 3 months by starving myself (coincidence?!…yeah I think it was…) As a result, the picture I used showed a skinny me smiling (also wine glasses…you have to show who you are, you know?) I’ve had that picture on LinkedIn since then: 6 years. 
My partner and I have a kind of mantra. At random moments we’ll yell “No marriage! No kids! No pets!” and high five. Part of our life philosophy is “No responsibilities.” I’m not sure where this came from exactly, but I’m so glad we’re on the same page. We love the knowledge that we can decide at the drop of a hat to travel or change plans and do it without issue. If we had to find a babysitter, pet-sitter or anything like that I would feel held back. 
My Mom has been going through old emails to paint a picture of all the places we’ve traveled together. During her investigation she stumbled across an absolutely hilarious email I sent her 5 years ago. It was a response to an email she sent me with a link to an article about the different ways to retire early. Let’s see what my response was 5 years ago: 
I’ve been playing with the idea of owning a Kindle for over a year now. I vacillated between thinking it would be a helpful addition to my life and thinking it was too much for what it adds ($80). Currently I read on my phone or computer depending on where I am. I prefer actual books, but find them unrealistic to bring on a lot of travels. I also love the wonder of library eBooks that allow me to read anything without leaving my home (Laziness FTW?)