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1. 

   emilywul2
   

   Novice
   Joined: Sep '11
   Posts: 7

   The NYC meetup just ended and I am inspired to be even more frugal and to start a journal. Everyone who we met tonight was lovely and it felt good to talk to people who are following a similar path.

   Our situation is a bit unusual because we have pretty low paying jobs and we live in an expensive city. My husband works as a violinist in a string quartet and I work as a cellist, gigging and teaching 2.5 days a week. So, I am not working a lot and am spending most of my time with my 12 month old son. Chris works quite a bit, but still has more free time than the average 9-5. Still, we want to become financially independent.

   Goals:
   Consume less.
   Waste less.
   Have more skills.
   Have more time.

   Our combined income is around $5000/month. Chris's income will increase over the next few years.

   We have been saving about 40% of our income. I would like to save more. I can trim our spending a little, but the only way to get that number to 50% would be to rent a cheaper place to live and I'm not sure that we can. We have thought about buying, but don't want such a big commitment.

   So, I am going to keep track of things here.

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   m741
   

   Master
   Joined: Jan '11
   Posts: 734

   Good luck! Even 40% is quite good, and I'm sure you'll find additional ways to save.

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   George the original one
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 1,943

   As Chris' income rises, try not to spend it. How long have you been saving 40%?

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   Mr. Overlord
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Sep '10
   Posts: 48

   Had a great time at the meetup. I think you guys are doing very well already, and I'm glad we inspired you to do even better!

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   BeyondtheWrap
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 267

   I enjoyed the meetup too! It really made me feel like part of a community. I'm glad I went.

   So, your expenses are about $3000 a month then? If you want to post a more detailed breakdown of the expenses (see the other journals for examples), I'm sure people can make suggestions on cutting them down.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   Phayen
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Jul '11
   Posts: 93

   Hi and welcome! My family situation sounds about the same situation (moderate income $5K/month, my wife and I have a 11 month old, and we are averaging only 20% savings or so) as yours. I'll make sure to keep following your journal.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   palmera
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Aug '11
   Posts: 270

   I would have made it to the NYC meet up (I'm in Toronto) if it weren't for my 2nd job (ironic because I got the job to boost ERE).

   Hopefully if there's one next spring/summer I'll make it!

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   mikenotspam
   

   Apprentice
   Joined: Oct '11
   Posts: 55

   Hey Emily,

   Cool to see another musician on here. I wouldn't be surprised, given the classical world, how many "friends" in common we might have via Facebook. Good luck with ERE/journal keeping.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   emilywul2
   

   Novice
   Joined: Sep '11
   Posts: 7

   George- We've been saving this way for about 4 years. At first it was going toward debt and student loans.

   We are going to post more specifics for November. We were travelling in October and I failed to keep track and I don't want to spend the time going through it. In October we made 4600 and saved 1500. Not the best month.

   The thing we feel needs to be changed is the living situation. We are paying 1375 in rent, and we could definitely save more. When it was just my husband and I, we had a sublettor for the extra room (around 800) and that made this place extremely affordable. But with a baby, we can't do that anymore. So, our goal is to find a cheaper place to live for the spring. We are going for $1000 per month, if possible. As musicians, I am afraid of not having enough space to make music while the baby is sleeping, but we are going to try to be creative and make do with a 1 bedroom apartment.

   Another thing we are considering is buying an apartment for less than 200,000. The mortgage payments would be much less than renting. We'd have the added hassle of owning, when we plan to move in 4-5 years...

   Posted 1 year ago #

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