I've been a daily /r/personalfinance reader for the past 2 years. This morning I started thinking of all of the things that I've changed about my personal finance habits as a result of what I've read here, and was shocked - even though it may not seem like a lot to many of the gurus on this sub, it's significant for me. Just want to say thanks to the community and everyone who regularly contributes.
Accomplishments
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Accumulated a 6 month emergency fund
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Opened a traditional IRA (already had a roth), contributed monthly to my Roth since beginning of 2016
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Opened Alliant checking and saving and Ally Bank high yield saving, transferred all funds and closed my Wells Fargo accounts (thank god)
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Bought an older used car for $3600 cash that runs fine, instead of taking an $8-12k loan for a newer used car
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Copied one of the monthly budget templates shared on this sub and tracked all spending, realized what I tend to splurge on (mainly food and outdoor gear) and have slowly started to improve my spending habits
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Taken advantage of credit card awards and bonuses, accumulated close to $2k value of points and miles since mid-2016
Future goals
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Max out IRA contributions for first time in 2017, and every year following
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Use budget more diligently and set more aggressive savings/spending goals
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Come out of grad school (nursing master's, starting this fall, 3 year program) with less than 1.5x my first year salary in debt
Submitted April 25, 2017 at 02:46PM by alkaline119 http://ift.tt/2pwFUCG
