How Has This Community Helped You?

[QuarterMillionMan]

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.

Thank you disneysteve. I agree 100%.

[srblanco7]

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.

We'd fall squarely in the category of those who have been and continue to be focused on saving and building wealth. I'll echo the sentiment that it's great to be part of a community that is like-minded - with a focus on the long-term, intelligent, decision-making. I also enjoy learning about others successes, as there are many paths to and definitions of success.

[My English Castle]

I agree with Disney Steve. I think I've made some virtual friends here--especially CCF, the Lauras, CB, Rob, Sarah-Jane, ceejay, Dido, Buenida, Robin, and many others--. It's nice to be able to talk about money and a certain kind of lifestyle with people who think similarly to each other. I've benefited as it's made me more conscious of my spending, and alerted me to things like opportunities for better rates, shortcuts to saving, and also just increased my own accountability. Could I do that on my own? yes, probably. But my work friends have vastly different attitudes towards money, and many folks just aren't comfortable talking about money.

[riverwed070707]

Beyond echoing what some others have said (my finances are exponentially in a better place than they were when I joined), I just like talking about money which is rarely an acceptable topic for any social setting unless you’re on a finance forum. Love to have the space to do that with likeminded people. I’ve picked up a few other forums/groups over the years but this is still my favorite. I prefer the forum format over, for example a Facebook group, because of the ease to search, go back through old threads and direct newbies to relevant content. Sometimes I wish there was a little more traffic but the smaller group has its benefits like being able to not check in for a few days and catch right back up and the familiarity you get with the regular posters which sometimes helps give more context than what might be provided in a single response.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

this is one of the few places I can be honest about my financial thoughts and plan

[disneysteve]

this is one of the few places I can be honest about my financial thoughts and plan

Isn't that sad, though? Several of us have said this is the only place we can talk about money openly. It really sucks that we can't have those conversations as easily with friends and family. The fact that money is such a taboo topic is a big reason why so many people struggle to deal with it properly.

[cypher1]

Isn't that sad, though? Several of us have said this is the only place we can talk about money openly. It really sucks that we can't have those conversations as easily with friends and family. The fact that money is such a taboo topic is a big reason why so many people struggle to deal with it properly.

Agreed. There's only about 3 people in my life that have a decent idea of the amount I have invested (and they only know about half of it since I don't talk about my current 401k). Only 1 knows my net worth, and my true goals based on my age, which I have no need to really share with others. Although he does say hearing me discuss it only motivates him to focus on his goals as well.

The friends I can talk about it with, we mainly just talk about recommendations/advice, not so much specific numbers. Or I'll tell friends about a recent discussion or thread from this site, or an article I found.