Today, I turned 25. I also realized today that I only earned $25,000 last year. (Actually, I realized this on February 2nd, when we filed our returns.) That means that I only earned $1,000 annually for each annum I have been alive.
Then, however, I realized some other things...
- I only worked 11 months of the year.
- The year before, we only made $11,000 total between the both of us.
- We went from over $12,000 in debt to less than $4,200 in less than a year. This will go down to $1,900 after paying off our auto loan this month when we receive our tax returns.
- My credit score has gone up 104 points in a year!
My coworkers are in-awe of our living situation and our finances. They don't understand how I can make so little, support a wife and child, and have money to save. Not only that, but we can afford little amenities here and there. If you looked around at our house, or even how we dress and hold ourselves, you probably would not guess that we "make so little money." Maybe this is because we never pay full price for things, or just because we save money. Or, even, because we don't make large purchases often (only large ones have all been paid with parts of tax returns). Maybe because we don't complain or say, "Oh, sorry, we can't. We don't have money." Rather, when asked, we talk about how happy we are, what we enjoy, and not complaining all the time about weather or politics or why we deserve this or don't deserve that. When asked to go out to a movie or something that we have not budgeted for, we simply reply, "No, sorry, maybe next time? Just give me more of a heads-up first."
At the same time, people also seem to think we put up some sort of facade. As if we make more than we do. For the same exact reasons that others are in-awe. "Look at your clothes!" or "Look at your computer!" or "Didn't you just get a new coffee maker? So what's a $12 movie?!" It does sometimes get annoying, but we just have to smile and understand that they operate on a different spectrum than we do.
We are definitely looking forward to the rest of this year! Things are looking great! The future is bright! We have lots of plans. 
Can't wait to share them, as I am sure there will be plenty of questions to go along with them.
A depressing realization.
February 8th, 2013 at 07:34 am
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February 8th, 2013 at 05:29 pm 1360344589
Congrats on all the debt payoff.
As to the comments - it is annoying - you will eventually find people you click with more. So often in our 20s I felt perceived, "You are doing so well and your spouse can stay home, so you must be rich." You just want to bang your head sometimes! The truth is, "I have to be frugal to survive on a very basic level - so stop calling me cheap because I don't throw my money away in all the ways that you do." It seems so basic a concept - I have less income, obviously, so I have to watch my spending more. It's a hard concept for most in our culture to grasp. Frankly, most my friends are 45+ these days. I think they are starting to worry about retirement more, so I jive with this group much more than my own peer group. I don't need friends who pick at me every time I make a financial decision in my own best interest.
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February 11th, 2013 at 07:46 am 1360568775
Jerry
February 11th, 2013 at 03:26 pm 1360596369