A Personal Finance Blog Worth Reading

~Kiplinger Mag

Welcome to 20somethingfinance. My name is G.East. Miller. I am the founder, owner, and sole author of this independent personal finance site. Long story short: I went from zero savings and pregnant debt after graduation, to saving over 85% of my income in just a few years, without making a huge income. In under ii decades, I reached financial independence and Burn down condition and I've chronicled every aspect of my journey on this site.

20somethingfinance is now 14+ years old and has become one of the nearly popular personal finance sites in the world. If y'all're new here, you lot can discover every mail service in the archives and subscribe to get all new manufactures sent to yous, for free.

Also – don't let the name of the site scare you off. If you're non in your 20s, that's OK. I no longer am either (but the site is stuck with the name), and fifty%+ of the readers here are over age 30 anyways. Learning and sharing noesis of personal finance is ageless.

Now, on to the more detailed and dramatic story on why this site exists…

The All-time Years?

I accept had some good luck and privilege along the way, only nothing has come easy. I grew upwardly in a lower middle form, one-income family. I studied hard and worked my fashion through public schools. I worked throughout high school and college to help pay my manner through a public academy.

tired

I graduated higher firmly into a recession, with a business B.A. from Michigan State Academy. After 300+ applications, I finally hit the workforce and started making simply $30k per twelvemonth while working 50-60+ hours a week at a job that did not require a college degree. Financially, I had no room to breathe – my cell phone, cable, internet, utility, car, fuel, rent, insurance, credit carte, pupil loan, and food expenses were eating all of my income. I had zilch savings to speak of and significant debts.

With no escape in sight, I started to question the all-piece of work, no-play 40+ hours a week for 45 years standard, which for most people results in merely keeping up with the latest consumer indulgences. The prospect of a lifetime of work for this? I found that to exist unthinkable.

Taking Activity

I had to do something. I realized that if I were going to have any shred of enjoyment in life, I needed to veer off of the typical life path. But my finances were property me dorsum. So what did I do? I started hacking them.

I got married and we had a cheap wedding – keeping the cost to under $2,500. I sold my heavily financed home and moved to take a higher income job. Instead of buying a bigger dwelling house, I bought a smaller one. I and then sold our second car to get rid of the payments and started biking to piece of work. I sold half of my personal holding. I cutting our phone bills by two-thirds and cut my cable beak. I became vegetarian, saved money on groceries, and nosotros stopped dining out almost entirely once we learned how to melt. I maxed out my 401K contributions. I stopped trading stocks and started investing. I stopped paying for my visitor'south traditional PPO health insurance and switched to an HDHP and HSA, so that they started paying me. I re-worked my wallet and started using credit cards to my advantage. I switched to products and services that saved me a lot of money vs. ones that only took money away. I was reversing the consumer accumulation life cycle. "Stuff" and material condition stopped mattering to me.

Every bit a effect, my income started increasing, while my expenses declined drastically. I eventually reached a personal savings rate over 85% of what I earned – 21 times the average U.S. savings rate of 4%. In short, my finance hacking was allowing me to save, in only 2 years, a higher percentage of income than most do cumulatively, OVER THEIR ENTIRE CAREER.

Was I Feeling Depressed and Deprived?

Quite the contrary. I felt excited, driven, and determined. Instead of fear and resentment, I started feeling empowered and hopeful almost the hereafter and was motivated to do even more. Financial independence became an inevitable path, not just a fantasy.

The downsides? There are none. I have hands adjusted. I accept all the stuff I need and more. And I've become more creative, less materialistic, and much more than satisfied in life.

I have a comfy home, a dandy wife, and wonderful pets. My married woman and I bike, backpack, travel, melt, entertain, we're in adept health, and we have zip debt. We're not missing out on a affair that matters.

What's Side by side?

Let's take this personal finance journey together. I've learned a lot over the years that I desire to share with you. And I desire to learn from you every bit well.

If you get fired up almost:

  • financial independence
  • hacking your spending to heave your savings
  • reducing wasteful consumption and minimizing your impact on the environment
  • learning the nuts of personal finance & sharing ideas with others
  • being healthy, wealthy, well-rounded, generous, and setting your own path in life

… so you lot are in the correct identify.

You can start by getting new 20somethingfinance articles delivered direct to you lot (for free), via e-mail:

You can too find every post in chronological gild in the archives.

And check out this mega list of money saving tips/products I use here for some quick and easy wins.

~ Best Regards

G.E Miller

Founder, possessor, author: 20somethingfinance.com

Contact:

If you'd like to contact me, please practise and then here.