How were you first introduced to the financial independence movement/mindset? What were your expectations with money and retirement and its role in your life before that?

A high school friend of mine introduced me to Mr. Money Mustache. I read the first post to the last post and was hooked.

Before finding Mr. Money Mustache, I thought I would just try to earn as much as possible to pay off my debts. Once I did that, I would reward myself by spending whatever was left after my 401(k) contributions. I thought I’d be doing well by never getting into debt again.

Financial independence was a foreign concept. I figured you just earned more and more money as you got older and eventually earned enough to retire with. Working until 65 was a given and so I tried not to work too hard.

We will touch on conquering your debt in the next section. However, can you explain what strategies have most helped you increase your net worth to over $450,000?

Sure. There really isn’t any magic and anyone can do it.

First, I eliminated my debts and got to a net worth of zero. I realized that I was a broke person. Then I decided that I didn’t want to be a broke person anymore so I aggressively paid off my high interest debts.

Second, I did what I had to do to earn more money. I was underachieving and avoiding responsibility, so I went back to school. Going back to school is not ideal but when you don’t have great experience, you need something superficial like master’s degrees.

Towards the end of my master’s program, I got a consulting job. I worked my ass off there. Asked for raises at appropriate times. And eventually left the firm to earn more money once I had skills and expertise to offer other organizations.

Third, I started spending less than I earned. A lot less.

Fourth, I started investing in index funds. I stopped gambling on penny stocks and got serious with my money.

Lastly, I found and chose a partner who saw my desire to achieve financial independence as ambitious (as opposed to career ambition). Working towards the same goals, we saved over six figures since we’ve been married.