<prompt> Human: My husband boyfriend at the time and I have struggled financially since the moment we moved in together as inept teenagers 10 years ago. There were times that we scrounged for change in and under the couch so we could buy a 50 cent can of generic beef stew that, in retrospect, was probably only a grade or two above dog food. Since then, weve settled in our careers and earn a modestly decent living a change from about 20kyr to 75kyr. It was 2 years ago that I began reading posts on PF and wondering why we were always living paycheck to paycheck and our credit was in the trash. With PFs guidance, I began tracking every cent, using credit responsibly, built a 6 month e-fund, opened and maxed out IRAs for us both, and began progressively upping contributions to my 401k. I also began making more informed investment choices the early 401k years were a hot mess.In these 2 years, our liquid savings has increased from 2k to 15k, and we have 20k in our retirement accounts little acorns and all. We have cleaned up our credit reports, have no outstanding debt and always pay credit card balances in full. Most exciting of all, we are about to close on a modest 70k house where the principal, interest, tax and insurance will be roughly half of what we currently pay for rent. PF gave me the wake up call I needed, the wisdom to guide me, and has completely changed my view of money and ultimately life. Growing up poor, money was a symbol of oppression, a way that scheming fat cats kept me penniless in the gutter. Now I see it as a tool that makes my life run more smoothly and gives me a peace of mind that I never thought possible.I know my accomplishments are modest and I cant complete with 25 year old engineers with six figure net worths, but I cant overstate the effect that PF has had on my life. I will forever be profoundly grateful. Please accept my most humble and entirely sincere THANK YOU!!!  <response>: Thats great! Congrats!Youve made a lot of great decisions, and one of the best ones was buying a modestly sized house. Having a modest house brings modest expenses. Before you know it, you can have a bonfire and use your mortgage documents as kindling. A house is where my family messed up, we bought a 2,600 square foot house, much too large, but my wife refused to go into anything smaller but shes cool with not buying anything larger.My family is having a break-through year with finances. We paid down our mortgage to get ride of PMI 130 a month. We paid the rest of our student loans 14K. We paid the one vehicle we didnt own 390 a month. And my wife just got a new job a doubled her salary.My wife and I already discussed that were keeping our lifestyle the same.- No new cars- No cable television- No impulsive purchases- Use stuff until it doesnt work anymore- No buying a new house just because we have more incomeWere hoping that well be able to accomplish our goals:- Retire at 52 when my wife has earned her pension- Have the house paid off by the time were 40- Pay for our kids to go to college- Travel the world in our retirementGood Luck RG! 