How Has This Community Helped You?

[amastewa93]

Hey there everyone!

I know most of the members here have been here for a while. I've been around for five years myself. I'd love to hear how the forums and this community has helped you or inspired you in any way.

[james.hendrickson]

I personally like the discussions of investing - and I find the achievements of some of the members here pretty inspiring. Million dollar portfolios and paid off mortgages I personally find uplifting and inspiring.

[kork13]

Gosh... This site & all of the contributors here over the years have been fundamental in my financial education as an adult.

I joined the site as a senior in college. I gratefully had no student loans, but I had some car/personal debts, had recently started my Roth IRA, but otherwise had only the most basic understanding of finances, investing, and so on. I remember the very first thing I learned here was the importance of an emergency fund. Over time, I was able to bounce ideas off of everyone here, ask questions, and eventually start to answer them for others. Savings, stock/bond/MF/ETF investing, real estate, retirement & 529 plans, SS, life/health/property/etc. insurance, and so many other topics have all been frequent topics of discussion, and I've learned an incredible amount about all of them from you all.

I strongly doubt I'd be in the exceptionally strong financial position I'm in had it not been for finding this site over 12 years ago & learning tons ever since. I always have, and always will, profess my gratitude for everybody here who has taught me so much, and let me learn alongside you all.

[disneysteve]

I've been here for 14 years. I was already on solid footing financially speaking but others at this site have answered so many questions that have come up over the years and have helped us make various financial decisions. I've learned about a lot of more esoteric financial topics that I might not otherwise have been exposed to. And I really appreciate seeing things from other points of view. Having a diverse group that includes young and old, married and single, working and retired, employees and business owners has really made for great discussions.

And not to pat myself on the back too much but I think I've been able to help a lot of others get their affairs in better order and I really enjoy being able to do that.

[amastewa93]

And not to pat myself on the back too much but I think I've been able to help a lot of others get their affairs in better order and I really enjoy being able to do that.

You certainly have given me some great advice

[mumof2]

I just love to learn the different ways that different countries do their banking/loans etc...I also think by blogging and people responding helps people to stay on track..it has me

[ua_guy]

I joined in my later 20's after the crashes of the great recession. I've gained a broader perspective of personal finance and have taken into account some good strategies discussed here. My focus shifted towards financial security - having a paid off home, savings, and a solid plan for retirement. Discussions here have helped me shape my goals and work towards them, for sure.

[corn18]

Quite simply, ya'll saved my life. I know that sounds overblown, but it really isn't. This is the first place I stopped to ask questions about my finances. I really wasn't looking for life changing advice, just some help deciding whether to pay off 4 car loans (first warning sign). In usual SA style, you were very persistent in wanting to know more details about my finances so you could offer better advice. I resisted. I got irritated. But I kept coming back (thank goodness). Most know where I was (age 48, -$200k net worth with hundreds of thousands of car and credit card debt, no savings). I made a boatload of money ($300k / year), yet we were still in debt and nearly bankrupt.

Then I read The Millionaire Next Door (recommended on here) and everything changed. And now I am here today seriously considering retiring in 7 months. I am on other fora, but Savings Advice is the place that got me on track. I cannot overstate the impact ya'll have had on my life. Had we not changed, I think I would be dead from stress. Life is good.

[disneysteve]

Quite simply, ya'll saved my life. I know that sounds overblown, but it really isn't. This is the first place I stopped to ask questions about my finances. I really wasn't looking for life changing advice, just some help deciding whether to pay off 4 car loans (first warning sign). In usual SA style, you were very persistent in wanting to know more details about my finances so you could offer better advice. I resisted. I got irritated. But I kept coming back (thank goodness). Most know where I was (age 48, -$200k net worth with hundreds of thousands of car and credit card debt, no savings). I made a boatload of money ($300k / year), yet we were still in debt and nearly bankrupt.

Then I read The Millionaire Next Door (recommended on here) and everything changed. And now I am here today seriously considering retiring in 7 months. I am on other fora, but Savings Advice is the place that got me on track. I cannot overstate the impact ya'll have had on my life. Had we not changed, I think I would be dead from stress. Life is good.

I think yours is the biggest success story I've seen in the 14 years I've been here. And I remember how defensive you were when you first started posting. So many people have come here with that attitude and disappeared when we all started prodding and asking questions. Kudos to you for hanging in and actually being willing to listen and take the advice that you were given. Clearly, the transformation has been remarkable.

[bjl584]

Quite simply, ya'll saved my life. I know that sounds overblown, but it really isn't. This is the first place I stopped to ask questions about my finances. I really wasn't looking for life changing advice, just some help deciding whether to pay off 4 car loans (first warning sign). In usual SA style, you were very persistent in wanting to know more details about my finances so you could offer better advice. I resisted. I got irritated. But I kept coming back (thank goodness). Most know where I was (age 48, -$200k net worth with hundreds of thousands of car and credit card debt, no savings). I made a boatload of money ($300k / year), yet we were still in debt and nearly bankrupt.

Then I read The Millionaire Next Door (recommended on here) and everything changed. And now I am here today seriously considering retiring in 7 months. I am on other fora, but Savings Advice is the place that got me on track. I cannot overstate the impact ya'll have had on my life. Had we not changed, I think I would be dead from stress. Life is good.

Congrats on the huge turnaround. Always good to see success stories like yours.

[cypher1]

I found this site 10 years ago at age 29. I just wanted to know more about personal management, which I thought I was a decent saver. But my eyes were open wide once I found this community of similar views on saving. So what started as wanting to get better with money management, verifying priorities and goals, to now focusing more on investing and being more efficient those investments in the last few years. I'm probably not going to reach my goal by age 40 to have net worth of 500K, while being close, but keeps my focused to keep pushing.

Special shoutout to the Decluttering thread as a constant reminder to trim the fat on items being held onto each year. Every 6 months I feel the need to go through my possessions to see what I can clear out. Pretty minimal for clothing, but there's always something else I can find to throw out.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Quite simply, ya'll saved my life. I know that sounds overblown, but it really isn't. This is the first place I stopped to ask questions about my finances. I really wasn't looking for life changing advice, just some help deciding whether to pay off 4 car loans (first warning sign). In usual SA style, you were very persistent in wanting to know more details about my finances so you could offer better advice. I resisted. I got irritated. But I kept coming back (thank goodness). Most know where I was (age 48, -$200k net worth with hundreds of thousands of car and credit card debt, no savings). I made a boatload of money ($300k / year), yet we were still in debt and nearly bankrupt.

Then I read The Millionaire Next Door (recommended on here) and everything changed. And now I am here today seriously considering retiring in 7 months. I am on other fora, but Savings Advice is the place that got me on track. I cannot overstate the impact ya'll have had on my life. Had we not changed, I think I would be dead from stress. Life is good.

Corn were you really near BK? I can't recall. I feel like you were on the payment plan of life. Not terribly in debt but rather just making payments.

I found this around the same time as DS. Lots has changed. Have i changed? not really. same old same old. But now a lot i thought about has happened. The question now is more how much longer

[corn18]

Corn were you really near BK? I can't recall. I feel like you were on the payment plan of life. Not terribly in debt but rather just making payments.

I found this around the same time as DS. Lots has changed. Have i changed? not really. same old same old. But now a lot i thought about has happened. The question now is more how much longer

I was in 2008 when I retired from the Navy. I was paying credit cards with other credit cards. I was fortunate to find a job right away that paid a lot more so we could then keep up with payments. But the more we made, the more we spent. We were one of the 52% that didn't have $400 in case of emergency.

[QuarterMillionMan]

To be honest this site hasn't really helped me since I have been a lifelong saver but it is refreshing to be amongst other savers. Prior to joining this community mostly everyone I knew spent more than they bring in. It's not hard to figure out that it's not sustainable if one spends more than they take in.

[disneysteve]

it is refreshing to be amongst other savers.

This!

Most people are broke and stupid with money. I'm surrounded by it all the time in real life. It is so great to hang out here among others who get it and are responsible with their money. These are my people.