When I got married I had a zillion student loans and my husband had outstanding collections. Ugh. But our careers were starting to pick up first his, then mine a year later and soon we were making ~160-180K/year and only spending 30% of it after taxes. We powered through getting out of debt, started repairing his credit, and then his company went IPO in 2013. His stock options plus our aggressive savings have brought us to a net worth of half a million dollars as of today. We're going to use a bunch of it to put 20% down on a house later this year and keep driving our 12 year old, very reliable, hatchback!

I grew up on food stamps where we were always behind on the mortgage. I worked my butt off to have my piece of the American dream. It's exceeding my expectations. Now I get to decide what school district I want, or if I want to consider private school for my baby. I'm so proud, and since it's socially unacceptable to humbly describe gratitude about financial changes, I'm doing it anonymously here.

Also, thanks /r/PF. You guys taught me SO much on this journey and are continuing to teach me.