Today, in the ongoing Reader Profile Series, we’re getting to know MPFJ.com readers and commenters, Anneli and Carlos, from the site, The Frugal Weds. Let’s all give them a big round of applause for sharing their life with us and listen to their story. Enjoy!
Also, if you’re interested in sharing your own financial story/journey with us in a reader profile of your own, just shoot me a quick email, and we can get the ball rolling!
1. Please Tell Everyone a Little Bit About Yourself (Background, Education, Family Situation, etc).
We are 30’s-something newlyweds living in Los Angeles. We met while through friends as undergrads at UCLA (Go Bruins!)
Like most college students, we both had to take out student loans. While we should have saved more during our college years and early 20’s, we went chugging along, enjoying our lives, and saved minimally. All that changed when we started discussing marriage. We buckled down and put our savings in high-gear. We paid off our engagement and wedding all in cash – not putting a penny on our credit cards! We were inspired by this and now, we are bent on eliminating our student loans and living a debt-free life! We are also very much driven by adventures – we are absolute foodies and restless travelers! Since food and travel were two of our biggest expenses, we have created ways to reduce our expenses: we cook amazing food at home and we’re travel hackers! We take advantage of cash-back offers and miles & points in order to stretch our budget even more. Through our blog, we share all the ways we are still enjoying our life, while making sure we are focused on financial independence! We’re moving towards being debt-free in the next 12-24 months and retired by the time we’re in our 40’s 🙂
2. Describe Your Current Financial Situation (Who Works in Your Family, How Your Income Is, Your Expenses, etc).
We both hold down our 9-5’s – Anneli in Recruiting/Talent Consulting and Carlos in Commercial Insurance in the Entertainment Industry. Together, we make over 6-figures and are able to save more than 20-25% of our income for retirement. We toyed with the idea of home-ownership, but most of the housing in the LA area is overpriced. Since we want to travel the world once we’re retired, we are holding off on owning our house for now. Perhaps once we’re retired, we can pay for a house all in cash!! (Fingers-crossed!) We are fanatical budgeters and keep track of all our expenses, investments with an eagle eye!
3. What Are the Current Financial Challenges You Are Facing (Saving, Paying Off Debt, Student Loans, Merging Finances After Being Married, etc)?
We are all about paying off our student loans! We’re 1/2 debt-free – we paid off Carlos’ student loans last year. Now it’s all about attacking Anneli’s loans. Once that’s done, we are debt-free!! We are also thinking about starting a family relatively soon – so saving for a baby is front and center in our budget. It’s awesome that we’re pretty much on the same page with most things financially. It’s easy to outline our goals and figure out how we can make things happen!
4. What Are Your Plans for the Future (Retire Early, Build Your Career, etc)?
We are excited to continue our savings and investment strategies in order to retire early and travel the world!
5. What’s Your Best Piece(s) of Financial Advice and/or Your General Philosophy on Personal Finances?
Always be future-oriented!
What you do today – how you spend of save your money will dictate what kind of retirement you will have in the future! Be creative – instead of finding ways NOT to do something – ask HOW can you make it happen instead. Additionally, find a partner in the truest sense of the world – if we’re on the same page with our goals, that’s the most important thing!! As a couple, we are a team and it’s a beautiful thing 🙂
