Frugal chicos journal - ERE in The Basque Country

Where are you and where are you going?
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Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Hi Jason!
Thanks for making my husband laugh over these last several months (and me too). We would love to have you visit us in the Basque Country, we’ll go on a pintxo crawl!

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Need to share some wins of this month:

1 - Changed the 4 tires of the car for $220 (labor and taxes included) - Went the Mexican way and got them at a Mexican tire shop close to work. They sell new and used tires. I got 4 slightly used 225/15/17 Goodyear tires (coming from the same car, so same usage). Other quotes I had were closer to the $800's without labor and taxes

2- Found a very nice roommate to start in January 2nd. Will bring $825/month tax free.

Cheers!!

Fish
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Fish »

Nice work chicos! RE: Mexican tire shops, did you need to haggle to get that price? Will gringos also get a deal?

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

@ Fish

When he told me the price ($280 originally), I didn't say a word for like about 10 seconds and then he said "ok, $220". Deal was done after I made sure taxes and labor were included in the price.

I bet gringos would get a good deal too. Keep in mind that even though Spanish is my native language, I look white as a gringo :lol: (latinos always talk to me in English even though I speak to them in Spanish :roll: ).

Jason

Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Jason »

Maybe I've been watching too many White House press conferences, but I'm struggling to reconcile the "Mexican Way" and "taxes and labor" being applicable to the same transaction.

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Last monthly meeting of the year, and one more year down!

This month had both family gatherings, plenty of food and some chilling (had no choice with ass cold Chicago weather)

Highlights of the month:

We found a great new roommate — he moves in later this week and is paying us $825/month. His plan is to stay the full calendar year which means $9,900 in side hustle funds to be put toward our Betterment account. Bring it ON!

Chica is still waiting on a potential new job offer – hoping that gets wrapped up in the first few weeks of the new year so we can both move on with our lives. Waiting sucks.

DECEMBER INCOME – $8,195.15
Chico’s Salary – $3,997.44
Chica’s Salary – $3,662.71
Roommate Rent – $535 (moved out mid-month)

DECEMBER EXPENSES – $4,392.12 ($3,253.999 if subtracting principal payment, counting that as savings)
Mortgage: $1,978.60 (note: $1,138.13 went to principal, counting that as a savings)
HOA: $247.83
Car Insurance: $65.40
Gas (Car): $113.52
Groceries: $415.68
Cellphones: $21.74 (note: Chica’s work pays her cellphone bill, this is just Chico’s phone plan with Lycamobile)
Internet: $48.88
Gas (House): $87.58 (it’s been REAL cold in Chicago)
Electricity: $46.91
Chica’s Gym: $39.99
Chico’s Gym: $29.99
Misc./Entertainment: $1,295.91 (Counting Christmas gifts, an AirBNB for our SF trip in May, new tires for the car (only $220 – way to go!!)

This month, we saved 60.30% of our take home salary. Note: this doesn’t include any 401K contributions or retirement plans.

CURRENT ASSETS: $236,719.93 ($6,280.71 increase over last month!)
Cash savings: $9,510.74
Investments: $79,310.15
Chico’s Retirement: $8,050.04
Chica’s 401K: $42,160.27
Home Equity: $97,689.33 (not counting appreciation)
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Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

2017 Recap + Goals for 2018:

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! This year FLEW by for us and by all accounts. This was our first full year dedicated to pursuing financial independence and we took it very seriously – making adjustments throughout the year to better achieve our goals.

We went from $129,759.31 in NW to $236,719.93. That’s a $106,960.62 difference – an 82% increase. This includes slashing our mortgage by $25,082.85, contributing $58,279.39 to our Betterment account and saving an average of 62.68% of our monthly take home.

Some other things that helped us reach these numbers include $6,293 in Airbnb/rental income, a $14K bonus and $830 in babysitting money.

2017 ACHIEVEMENTS
We are pretty proud of our financial growth this year but it has also led to a lot of personal growth. As we look back on 2017, some of the major decisions that stand out include:

– In May, we decided to shift gears and focus our extra money on building our investment portfolio instead of making triple payments to the mortgage. Because of our late 2016 refinance, we were happy with the $1,100+ going toward principle each month and saw better opportunity for growth with the stock market.

– May was a big month because we also got rid of “allowances” – we used to budget $40-60/week to individual spending and it presented a lot of issues in our relationship. Getting rid of it and just being more conscious of discretionary spending has led to greater trust and transparency.

– We transitioned from Airbnb to full-time roommate. This has been great because it’s less effort and ultimately more money since we typically only did Airbnb from June – October.

– We crushed travel hacking — we got the Southwest Companion pass in July which allowed us to travel to Kansas City twice, Boston and D.C. this year with plans to go to San Francisco and Boston next year — all for FREE. We got the Chase Sapphire bonus so we have some stored up points for future travel and we’ve planned better for international travel, getting tickets to Spain for very cheap!

– We did many more at home dates which has also led to acquiring new coocking skills like making sushi, pizza dough and homemade pasta

– Fitness became a more central part of our daily life — I adopted a yoga practice and Chica focused on her overall nutrition.

– And last but not least – we started a blog! It has been a great outlet for Chica. Frugalchicos.com

2018 GOALS
As we look to 2018 – we have some pretty exciting goals. We are half way to our ultimate goal of quitting everything and moving to The Basque Country. Only 2 more years to go!

Financial
– Reach our FI goal: $350K Net Worth
– Hit $130K in Betterment
-Reel in Misc. spending with a goal to keep it under $850/month — this includes travel expenses, dates out together and with friends, personal care (haircuts, etc.). It doesn’t include healthcare/dental, car expenses or tickets to visit family
– Find new CCs to build travel points

Personal
– We both want to become certified English teachers – our goal is to get it by Summer
– Start our family 🙂 we plan to start trying for a baby this June
– Speak Spanish at home more often – this is important and a little difficult but we have to make it a priority
– Gain more cooking skills – next up is bread making
– Avoid buying clothes/shoes for the first 6 months of the year – we made it to August last year
– Build our blog! Our goal is 2 posts/month

We are very excited to see what we can achieve in 2018!

Quick comparison from 2016 NW vs 2017
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EdithKeeler
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by EdithKeeler »

Love your journal. Looks like it was an awesome year!

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

@EdithKeeler

Thank you so much!

It was a great year, but we are ready to tackle new challenges and goals. Definitely, my biggest challenge is keeping it cool and be patient...

Jason

Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Jason »

Happy New Year's Frugal and Frugal Chica.

There's a "mathematics of dating" thread on board that I was reading through. This thread should be linked in it as an example of the "sum of is greater than the parts" discussion that was taking place within it. For any single person thinking of yoking themselves up with a non-ERE person, this is what you will miss out on, and for any single person intent on demanding an ERE person, this is a testimony to the benefit.

Ok, enough of the Hallmark bullshit. The baking. The bread - Is it a machine or are you starting from scratch? The baby I'm assuming is from scratch.

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

@Jason

Happy NY Jason!

Thanks, but it has not been always as smooth as it is today. We had plenty of arguments and tiffs, plenty of walks and talks and a few years of adjusting to each other. I guess being an efficient team is a life time project

It is true that once you set a goal and work towards it together...things start happening.

In regards to your questions, bread is totally from scratch as our pizza dough and pasta. I will also start making tomato sauce from scratch and preserve it in mason jars. Another project is pickling

And yes, the baby will be totally from scratch :) - Excited for the process of making it

Jason

Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Jason »

That's real baking. And fresh pizza dough and fresh tomato is going to make an awesome pizza.

I have a feeling that many people, including myself, were the aftermath of what you refer to as a "tiff."

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Good news,

Chica got the offer for the fancy job and I have no cavities!!

Details of the offer to come. And yes, had dentist check up and everything is good, no cavities, no gingivitis or weird shit to take care of.
Last edited by Frugalchicos on Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jason

Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Jason »

Your dental results are a life long savings. Trust me. Pay as much attention to your teeth as do your your stocks, if not more.

Congrats for Chica. Does this impact the flight back home?

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

@ Jason

Thanks buddy. Chica's new job doesn't necessarily change the date to go back. However, we are flexible to stay one more year and save more money, no more extra time than that. Anyways, we will see how it goes and where we stand by then.

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Back from our trip to the Basque Country and ready to post the January info:


JANUARY INCOME – $8,674.52
Chico’s Salary – $4,080.45
Chica’s Salary – $3,769,07
Roommate Rent – $825

JANUARY EXPENSES – $4,047.47 ($2,906.47 if subtracting principal payment of $1,140)
Mortgage: $1,978.60 (note: $1,140 went to principal, counting that as a savings)
HOA: $247.83
Car Insurance: $65.49
Gas (Car): $61.10
Groceries: $276.71
Cellphones: $21.74 (note: Chica’s work pays her cellphone bill, this is just Chico’s phone plan with Lycamobile)
Internet: $48.88
Gas (House): $136.73 (it’s been cold in Chicago and the roommate likes it warm. I turned ir off at night and when we are not at home. He can wear a sweater)
Electricity: $46.91
Chica’s Gym: $39.99
Chico’s Gym: $29.99
Misc./Entertainment: $1,093.9 (Counting $330 we spent in the Basque Country)

This month, we saved 66.50% of our take home salary. Note: this doesn’t include any 401K contributions or retirement plans.

CURRENT ASSETS: $246,504.22 ($9,784.29 increase over last month!)
Cash savings: $9,500.62
Investments: $85,932.02
Chico’s Retirement: $8,377.17
Chica’s 401K: $43,862.11
Home Equity: $98,835.3 (not counting appreciation)

You can find some pics in Chica’s blog: https://frugalchicos.com/january-2018-meeting/

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Last edited by Frugalchicos on Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:29 am, edited 6 times in total.

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Achievements/Goals of January:

- Chica got the fancy job, quit (tried to), got a match from her job and stayed with a 36% raise and a new salary of 95K. Great move

- We qre doing the frugal month of February, lowering our miscellanious, getting our finances on track and our mood set back to face the next six months with a positive attitude.

- Start English teacher certificate. Will mean a $440 expense. Planning in paying it with the tax return (it is usually about $4,500)

- We will have a potential expense of $950 for a chiropractic treatment that will last 3-4 months. My back and neck need to be fixed, I have sharp pain in lower back and hip that don't allow me to work out as I should.
Last edited by Frugalchicos on Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

bryan
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by bryan »

Frugalchicos wrote:
Mon Feb 05, 2018 8:27 am
- Chica got the fancy job, quit (tried to), got a match from her job and stayed with a 30% raise and a new salary of 95K. Great move
Great! For anyone reading and future reference, it might be smart to negotiate a severance package in a match/raise situation. It's very situational (often folks can strategically navigate the situation with mostly communication), but it might help re-balance the scale (e.g. you hear about folks getting let go a few months after the match/raise). Never a bad time to have a contractual severance.

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Thanks Bryan, in fact, the negotiation was also time to speak about a potential opportunity of working remotely from the Basque Country (which would make the transition much smoother).

Frugalchicos
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Re: Let's go Back Home - Frugal chicos journal

Post by Frugalchicos »

Couldn't resist the market being on sale and invested $4,500...

Edit: I learnt from this lesson. We must stick to the plan and our scheduled imvestments and not try to time the market.

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