If you’re new to mySHINYnickels, welcome! This is the place to get oriented…to find out why I write, what I write about and how it all began.
In a nutshell, I write about personal finance, from a very humble, I-Don’t-Claim-To-Know-It-All perspective. My husband and I went from $40k in debt to $100k in savings in a little over 2 years.
At one time we were living paycheck-to-paycheck, and now we save/invest 60% of our net income. And we have 3 junior nickels at home!
If you want to know how it all began, you can start with my very first post, below…
Now, you’re probably stuck on my earlier statement of “…invest 60% of our net income.” I realize that’s not “normal”, but our goal of retiring early isn’t exactly “normal” either. I’ll let you in on a little secret…there is a small but passionate group of people whose goal is to retire early…to get outta the rat race, stop chasing the Jones’ and forge their own path. The path to financial independence. Freedom from HAVING to work. Freedom to sleep in til noon if ya wanna. Freedom to tell your boss to shove it. That’s our goal…and the sooner the better. We plan to call it quits in less than 8 years. What triggered this desire to retire so early? That would be my Second Wake-Up Call. Read all about it here…
Lastly, though my attempt may be futile, I’d like to declare my little slice of internet a “safe zone”. I don’t know about you, but nothing turns me off to a blog like a good ol’ dishing out of nasty judgment. I can speak from experience. Many times I’ve decided not to comment on an article simply because I don’t want to incur the wrath of others. So let’s NOT JUDGE. There’s a time to give someone the hard truth, but let’s keep it respectful, folks. Meet people where they are. Maybe you’re a personal finance newbie, where Dave Ramsey may be more your style. Or perhaps you’ve moved up to more sophisticated money management, dealing with retirement drawdown strategies and complex investment taxation issues. All are welcome, so let’s learn from each other, alright?