In August of 2003, I switched jobs and moved from Sioux City, Iowa to Mission, South Dakota. Being a librarian in both school districts paid about $30,000. However, the costs of living dropped dramaticly when I moved to Mission. This was due to the fact that rent, which was nearly $600 in Sioux City dropped to below $200 a month in Mission, where the school district provided housing for teachers. Even so, the post-rent balance on one month’s paycheck in Mission was only $100 less than the pre-rent balance in Sioux City. As a result, I suddenly had “all that money” coming in. The question was what to do with the $7000 raise that came from the severe drops in cost of living. Not knowing what to do or where to go in my first year here, I used the money to get rid of $6000 of the $9000 I had to repay in college loans. Then, In the summer of 2004, I was lucky enough to catch Mr. Bach talking about his new book on one of those morning talk shows. Well, I ordered it. Shortly thereafter, I was working with the school district’s payroll officer to try and start some of the retirement accounts talked about in _The Automatic Millionaire_. Due to the fact that I was already used to life without that money, I decided to invest it in retirement. As a result, I have been able to set up both a 403b account with a $5040 contribution and a Roth IRA account with a $3996 contribution without feeling a pinch. Part of this also comes from the fact that I can not drive, and thus do not have car payments, car insurance of even gas prices to worry about. But as you suggested, making it automatic truly does make it much easier. As a result, I have recommended your book to numerous colleagues. Thanks a bunch! You truly put things in plain, simple English, which anyone could understand!
