My own metric for success

I don't care that I'm 32, have been renting a shoebox apartment in Fairview for years, take the bus to work, make my lunch most days, work for a non-profit and consider a bottle of inexpensive red wine and the Magnetic Fields on repeat the height of a wild night. What matters to me is that, over four years of hard work, I've paid off $16K in credit card debt from when I was young and stupid, have built up $8K in savings and am now debt-free. Living within your means is possible.

12 Comments

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awesome!!

Sep 23, 2014 at 8:23am

great job!!! its hard to do that in this city, you should be proud!!!

0 0Rating: 0

Congratulations

Sep 23, 2014 at 9:10am

The next time you see somebody who appears to be living large, remember that your net worth may be higher than theirs. There are many people in my neighbourhood who appear to be well-off, but I see money stress in some of their faces. Their paycheques may be bigger, but they live beyond their means.

23 4Rating: +19

hello

Sep 23, 2014 at 10:12am

you sound neat, can we be friends :)

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Well done!!!

Sep 23, 2014 at 10:14am

I commented previously about living within your means in this city and YOU are exactly what I meant. Congratulations! You have earned every right to be proud about what you've accomplished!

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Thumbs Up

Sep 23, 2014 at 10:28am

A bottle of cheap red and the Magnetic Fields sounds like an awesome night.

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remember

Sep 23, 2014 at 11:55am

to include fun in your life, which it sounds like you do.
There are lots of free things around to do out of the house, like hiking, seawall, etc. The best free fun can be with a good friend or significant other, not always easy to find tho.

0 0Rating: 0

Awesome!

Sep 23, 2014 at 7:42pm

I aspire to be like you!

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I agree

Sep 23, 2014 at 7:54pm

That living within your means is entirely possible while enjoying the wonderful city we live in! I am in the same boat. Since then I have scaled back my uneccessary expenses including living in an unreasonably expensive apartment and shopping frivolously.

To this day, I am saving money believe it or not. I made six figures in 2012. Now, I do not because I decided to stop living an unhappy and stressful lifestyle to pursue my dreams and passion. I do have a teeny bit of debt but it will all be worth it in the end. It took me 10 yrs to define my passion and pursue it!

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Shoebox Apartments

Sep 23, 2014 at 8:07pm

They are the best! I have a good cheapie as well - I've had people over and they've laughed when walking in and seeing how small it is and jokingly asked, "Haha, are you a student?" No, I'm actually just someone who doesn't like to spend more than 25% of their take home income on rent, and THIS is what I can afford, while paying off student loan debts, making delicious homemade meals, and even saving. This city is expensive, but some good sense and a budget on an excel spreadsheet helps!

8 3Rating: +5

Slipping...

Sep 23, 2014 at 10:48pm

You are truly inspiring! I have been out of unique for 2 years, and was working contracts up until a few months ago. It is so easy to shed the frugal lifestyle, but you inspire me to stick with it! Just because one has a full time professional job (non-profit included), one does not need to be loose with the old wallet! Thank you for posting this and reminding me that I can get out of the hand-to-mouth pattern and build up my own future. :)

0 0Rating: 0

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