FinancialFreedom #DebtFreeJourney #MoneyMotivation
The Turning Point: Barely Affording a Happy Meal
Remember that time when you were barely getting by? The stress, the constant worry about finances – it can be overwhelming. For many, there’s a pivotal moment that sparks the determination to change their financial situation. Here’s a story of such a turning point and how it led to a mortgage-free life.
The Shittiest Moment: McDonald’s Revelation 🍔
Sitting at McDonald’s with my kid, watching him enjoy his Happy Meal, I was hit by a wave of emotions. I didn’t order anything for myself, pretending I wasn’t hungry. The truth was, I couldn’t afford it. That moment – being unable to share a simple meal with my child due to financial constraints – was my rock bottom.
What Changed?
- Reflection: I realized my financial habits needed a drastic overhaul.
- Budgeting: I started budgeting every penny, prioritizing necessities and cutting out non-essential expenses.
- Emergency Fund: I built a more robust emergency fund, ensuring we’d never be in such a dire situation again.
- Education: I educated myself on personal finance, investing time in learning about money management and savings strategies.
The Struggle: Navigating Financial Challenges 💸
Living week to week with a mortgage, two kids, and a modest income was tough. Here’s what we did:
Budgeting Every Penny
I meticulously planned our budget, ensuring we only spent on what was necessary.
Increasing Income Streams
My partner and I explored additional income sources, even if it meant working part-time jobs.
Building a Robust Emergency Fund
We made it a priority to save and increase our emergency fund, providing us with a financial cushion.
Educating Ourselves
We invested time in learning about investments and financial management to make informed decisions.
The Result: Mortgage-Free Bliss 🎉
Fast forward to today, we’re mortgage-free. The stress about money has lessened, and although it’s still there, it’s different. We own our home, and it’s a significant achievement. Here’s what worked for us:
- Discipline: Sticking to our budget and financial plan, no matter how tempting it was to stray.
- Sacrifices: Making short-term sacrifices for long-term gains.
- Support: Leaning on each other for support and motivation.
Feeling Free, But Not Done Yet
We’re not millionaires, but we’ve achieved something amazing – owning our home outright. The feeling of financial freedom is liberating, yet we know there’s more to be done. Our journey continues:
- Upgrading Our Home: We look forward to upgrading our home when the time is right.
- Continuous Learning: We keep learning and adapting to ensure financial stability.
Your Why: What’s Your Motivation?
Everyone has their why. What’s yours? Share your story and inspire others on their journey to financial freedom. 💪
Ready to start your own journey? Start with small steps, stay disciplined, and let your why drive you forward. 🚀
Happy for you man!
>so the question is what was your why that made you change?
Was working at a minimum wage job with awful management and colleagues, but I couldn’t afford to leave and this was at a time when even a minimum wage job was a godsend due to the post financial crisis economy.
Anyone who has worked one of these jobs (think, equivalent of minimum wage fast food) will know what I’m talking about, that brutal daily grind that just whittles your spirit down.
I remember standing there just wondering, is this it? is this life?
I remember going home one day, and having 2 minute noodles for dinner because that was it, all I could really afford. Barely able to sleep that night (maybe 2 hours), needed some melatonin as I am always a crap sleeper but couldn’t find the time or money to go back to the doctors for a prescription.
And in that moment, lying awake at 4am staring at the ceiling, I decided, no. No more. I refused to be poor.
I would spend the next few years relentlessly upskilling, no holidays of any kind, barely seeing family, just years and years of relentless grinding and saving however I could.
Now, I look at my savings/portfolio, and I have near $300,000.
I have a job that I enjoy, I love waking up for, and it pays reasonably well, not incredibly well, but well enough for me to be able to buy a nice loaf off bread, anchor milk if I am feeling like it. A pie at the bakery if I get the craving.
My plans haven’t worked out yet. I still don’t own a home, no family (been to busy/poor to get around to that until recently).
But, I know I’m going to be okay.
If I lose my job, I’ll be okay, I have a buffer.
I have an emergency, I can cover it.
I’m doing okay. And your post today made me realise this for the first time, and how far I have come since I was standing there, broke, depressed, in the dead end job being essentially bullied by an asshole manager.
As I’m sure you will all be aware, many say mortgage free when they really mean debt free
There is no reason to actually discharge the mortgage off your title until you want to sell it, and having it in place makes it easier for future lending (I am sure you are very responsible with your money by now do wont do that irresponsibility)
So less than 300k paid off your mortgage and and supported your family for 6 years? Was your home loan 100k or something?
This is beautiful, congratulations! Not just on paying off your mortgage, but clearly having a mindset shift that will help you grow and support what’s important to you in the future.
That’s nice story and all but the how would have been more interesting
Not mortgage free, but 6 years ago we were renting and barely scrapped together a deposit (without any help from family). We had to save hard to put in a heat pump/insulation. 6 years later and we’ve got 50+% equity and on track to pay off the mortgage in 10 years.
I’m acutely aware now that we need to change our mindset from relying on salary alone for income though. Still not sure what that looks like, self employment? I don’t want to be a landlord either. Still got 30 odd years to go till retirement.
It would be good if you could edit your post with a few details about how you achieved what you did so others can learn from it.
Good on you bud!
My Why started with my first full time job. My wonderful boss with all his lifetime of biases, beliefs and banter made it soo much fun that I wanted to start working on a way out of being dependant on a job :). Fast forward a decade or two, the WHY now is about family stability really.
Any advice on smashing my 27 year mortgage out in 12 months with a bit of gumption would be appreciated
I look down on poor people and couldn’t face it if I became a brokie
33 years ago we were newly married and had bought our first house. The worst house in the worst street in the worst suburb in town. The economy had tanked and huge numbers of public servants were being laid off. Very much like now
I got laid off and couldn’t find a job. I woke up one night and found my wife crying in the kitchen because she was so scared that we would lose each other along with everything else. I promised myself that she wasn’t going to be in that position again
There was no miracle. We survived somehow on my wifes wages and I went out every day and annoyed any one that would listen for months until I got a really shit job. Eventually I got a slightly less shit one. And then a better one again. And so did my wife. I worked every bit of overtime available. After a while i was able to start my own business. I did 6am starts and 60 to 70 hour weeks for years to make it work.
It’s doable with the right incentive. We are still together and now debt free and comfortable
Not quite the same, but my little “nearly gave up” story.
I got made redundant from an on the job retraining position *just* before I had my qualifications. I decided that nobody with employ an unqualified engineer as an engineer, so I decided to work for my self, and contract my services out to assist local firms.
It was hard, I burnt through 30k worth of savings in the first two years living on a seriously tight budget (gf at the time was working, but it wasn’t easy).
Anyway, I used to have a $5 lunch deal at KFC once a week as my treat. One day, having not had a contract job for 3 months, there was a ‘workers wanted’ sign in the door. I stood at the door and thought about it. My first thought was “maybe I’m not cut out for this self employed thing”, my 2nd was “if you get a job, you’ll never have the guts to try again”. I asked for an application form, took it home and eventually threw it out.
Maybe 6 months after than (with a few filler contracts in between) I got a long term contract arrangement with a guy in the specific industry I wanted to focus on. Spent the next 8 years working my arse off, building relationships with his customers and the industry in general. 2 years ago I bought his company assets off him and took over.
He now works for me as a contractor, and I’ve employed 2 superb staff.
There has been a huge amount of hard work in the middle. But my “nearly gave up” moment is still pretty clear in my head.
What was my why (why did I keep going)? – Because I knew that if I gave up, I’d probably never believe in myself enough again to take another risk.
I remember the push to start my own business, had been wanting to do it for a while but I was working for a complete asshole. There was another guy who worked there as well he was a highly skilled craftsman, 45-50 did amazing work and just took shit every day, once a month he needed a cash advance to get some cellphone credit, as rent prices went up he moved in with his mother.
I hated every single day. So scraped together enough money to buy most of the required tools and built enough to make it happen. Doubled my income but mostly what I like is that I don’t have the stress of working for horrible people anymore.
Congrats you deserve it. We are the same except i was you 6 years ago
My partner got a good pay rise a few months back and we just happened to pay off student loans at the same time. I looked at a mortgage calculator out of curiosity and we could pay off our loan off in 5 years instead of the 28 it was over, just by bumped up payment the difference of our new take home. Still living a tight budget but no difference because we updated it at the same time as our incomes increased.