Hit $10k in emergency savings after 14 months of packing lunch

I finally crossed the $10,000 mark in my emergency fund last Tuesday, which felt wild because I started with basically nothing after moving to Phoenix in 2023. The big change was committing to meal prepping every Sunday with a $35 Kroger run instead of grabbing fast food, and I also automated a $200 transfer every payday. It took 14 months of consistent small cuts like that, plus saying no to two weekend trips with friends. Has anyone else had a milestone number sneak up on them faster than expected, or did it drag out longer than you planned?

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king.stella12d ago

Honestly, $10k sounds great, but that $35 a week on Kroger stuff adds up to like $140 a month anyway. Meal prepping is just swapping one bill for another, and saying no to two trips probably saved you what, like $400? Meanwhile you missed out on actual memories with your people. That money sits there doing nothing while you could've had fun. Feels like you traded living for a number on a screen, and 14 months of that sounds kinda miserable, not gonna lie.