LBYM Extreme - with a plug for ER.org!

[daylatedollarshort]

The Frugalwoods could probably have a boat, especially with saving all that money from never eating dinner at a restaurant: “online tax filings for ActBlue, the nonprofit that employs Nate, indicate he made $246,485 in 2016” (with the company he still works for, after moving to their Vermont house on 60 acres in May 2016) https://m.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/what-i-learned-from-meet-the-frugalwoods/Content?oid=14358690. Never mind the blog income. I can see why she’s backed off from calling themselves retired. Good for them, though.

So between the not wearing makeup, not going out to eat, and the $246K income for him plus whatever she makes plus the rent from their house, they write a book about the not wearing makeup and not going out to eat stuff like that is the main factor for their FI?

 

[Amethyst]

I wash silk clothing (except tailored, lined things, like my suit jackets) in a basin with warm water and Ivory liquid; then hang them on a drying rack. Haven't taken a silk garment, other than a suit, to the dry cleaner's in 30 years. This includes numerous silk sheath dresses and blouses.

I also hand-wash and air-dry anything with elastic (gym outfits, brassieres). Hand-washed, air-dried clothes smell good and last longer. Outdoor air drying usually takes care of any wrinkles, so no ironing.

Not practical, obviously, for large/heavy garments.

Silk and linen shirts on the hanger with drycleaner tags? - a buck each - rude surprise to find having them cleaned cost 5 times the purchase price.
.

 

[Midpack]

The Frugalwoods could probably have a boat, especially with saving all that money from never eating dinner at a restaurant: “online tax filings for ActBlue, the nonprofit that employs Nate, indicate he made $246,485 in 2016” (with the company he still works for, after moving to their Vermont house on 60 acres in May 2016) https://m.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/what-i-learned-from-meet-the-frugalwoods/Content?oid=14358690. Never mind the blog income. I can see why she’s backed off from calling themselves retired. Good for them, though.

Wow, that completely changes my perception! I guess they're slumming/low income compared to Cambridge MA and the careers they had before...

Small world, I have a niece who works at Seven Days.

 

[calmloki]

I wash silk clothing (except tailored, lined things, like my suit jackets) in a basin with warm water and Ivory liquid; then hang them on a drying rack. Haven't taken a silk garment, other than a suit, to the dry cleaner's in 30 years. This includes numerous silk sheath dresses and blouses.

I also hand-wash and air-dry anything with elastic (gym outfits, brassieres). Hand-washed, air-dried clothes smell good and last longer. Outdoor air drying usually takes care of any wrinkles, so no ironing.

Not practical, obviously, for large/heavy garments.

Thanks - Our laundry pretty much gets washer/dryer and if it isn't tough enough gets re-bought. She sorts some laundry, but I tend to be a believer in full hot, though she has pretty much broke me of splashing in bleach. Her Barbie doll re-sized wool sweaters and the random white splotch colored clothes means I don't do that much laundry if she's fast.

The shameful reality is I wanted the shirts to look their best for future going out events and wasn't into the whole wash and iron thing. Nor was the gal (shh) liable to be into A#1 pressing. My interesting mind experiment contrasted the cost of having the shirt look its best, thus respecting the event/person it was being worn for with the cost of a drink or the amount of a tip for dinner. Made the dry-cleaning cost pretty cheap, just not a cost I experience much.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Wow, that completely changes my perception! I guess they're slumming/low income compared to Cambridge MA and the careers they had before...

Me too. and apparently we aren't alone. The Frugalwoods have been calling themselves "middle income" on their blog for years, and some of the Amazon reviewers for the new book were pretty annoyed after readers found out their ACTUAL income- isn't anywhere near "middle".

 

[daylatedollarshort]

The Amazon book description pretty clearly gives the impression they are retired, not just FI: "The deeply personal story of how award-winning personal finance blogger Elizabeth Willard Thames abandoned a successful career in the city and embraced frugality to create a more meaningful, purpose-driven life, and retire to a homestead in the Vermont woods at age thirty-two with her husband and daughter.... Determined to retire as early as possible...."

 

[NW-Bound]

... The shameful reality is I wanted the shirts to look their best for future going out events and wasn't into the whole wash and iron thing. Nor was the gal (shh) liable to be into A#1 pressing. My interesting mind experiment contrasted the cost of having the shirt look its best, thus respecting the event/person it was being worn for with the cost of a drink or the amount of a tip for dinner. Made the dry-cleaning cost pretty cheap, just not a cost I experience much.

Nowadays, when I wear a long-sleeved dress shirt, it is for something more formal when I also wear a jacket. I just keep the jacket on to hide the fact that my shirt is a bit wrinkly.

 

[tmm99]

Me too. and apparently we aren't alone. The Frugalwoods have been calling themselves "middle income" on their blog for years, and some of the Amazon reviewers for the new book were pretty annoyed after readers found out their ACTUAL income- isn't anywhere near "middle".

Me three. Maybe they are just clever marketing folks.

 

[Moemg]

Americans are attracted to extremes. IMO, it's generally nuts.

As we all know, YMMV!

Ha

I agree . I think it is the hip new thing to say you retired in your early 30's whether you are really retired or not and when did dumpster diving become the thing to do .On Mr. Money Mustache they brag about all the food they get from dumpsters .IMO that is just crazy .If the affordable health act changes you may see a lot of thirty year olds polishing up their resume .I have read Mrs. Frugalwoods blog and while interesting would it catch attention if she just said what she really is a stay at home mom.

 

[marko]

Wow, that completely changes my perception! I guess they're slumming/low income compared to Cambridge MA and the careers they had before...

Small world, I have a niece who works at Seven Days.

I always finding myself reading between the lines.

The minute I heard "renting their house in Cambridge" I knew there was a lot more to the story.

Had some classmates who went rogue during the hippie days. Another classmate sarcastically observed: "It's fun to live like a poor person when you know someday you're going to inherit $10 million dollars"

 

[NW-Bound]

I always finding myself reading between the lines.

The minute I heard "renting their house in Cambridge" I knew there was a lot more to the story.

Had some classmates who went rogue during the hippie days. Another classmate sarcastically observed: "It's fun to live like a poor person when you know someday you're going to inherit $10 million dollars"

"I would like to live as a poor man with lots of money." - Pablo Picasso

Dunno about living as a poor man, but I think it would be cool if I had $100M and lived as if I only had $10M.

 

[GravitySucks]

The Frugalwoods could probably have a boat, especially with saving all that money from never eating dinner at a restaurant: “online tax filings for ActBlue, the nonprofit that employs Nate, indicate he made $246,485 in 2016” (with the company he still works for, after moving to their Vermont house on 60 acres in May 2016) https://m.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/what-i-learned-from-meet-the-frugalwoods/Content?oid=14358690. Never mind the blog income. I can see why she’s backed off from calling themselves retired. Good for them, though.

So his income alone puts the in the top 5% of household income. Sounds solidly middle class to me. Not sure why these altitudes bother me so much but lately it bothers me more than ever. Especially the folks in the political world.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

$246,000 a year, huh? And they "save" about 70% of their income? So...my back of the napkin math tells me that about $75,000 a year is spent from his income ALONE. If they are so frugal, then what are they spending all that money on?

I don't mean to be the internet retirement police, but I think there are way too many of these "frugal" blogs where the owners are less than forthcoming with the WHOLE PICTURE.

 

[RobbieB]

Then nobody would read and they wouldn't get paid.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

$246,000 a year, huh? And they "save" about 70% of their income? So...my back of the napkin math tells me that about $75,000 a year is spent from his income ALONE. If they are so frugal, then what are they spending all that money on?

I don't mean to be the internet retirement police, but I think there are way too many of these "frugal" blogs where the owners are less than forthcoming with the WHOLE PICTURE.

Plus they have rental income from a house in a high rent area, her blog and book income and presumably some investment income.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Sounds a bit like the Kadarie's story..... they are more retired.... These folks are Hardly retired.

 

[mickeyd]

My DD lives in a college town and says that at the end of each semester students clear out and toss away many valuable and serviceable items that can be quickly recovered and donated to the St. Vincent DePaul charity store for local needy folks to use. She calls the activity dumpster diving.

 

[ncbill]

You can really bank the $ if you can keep your old job and move to a cheaper place to live.

One guy who used to work around the corner from me moved to the beach in Mexico with his girlfriend while keeping his job here.

No more state income tax, much cheaper living expenses.

 

[Midpack]

You can really bank the $ if you can keep your old job and move to a cheaper place to live.

That's exactly how we did it, we always bought far, far below what any lender would have approved. I had the highest income at my workplace, and we had one of the cheapest homes compared to all my co-workers. Most people choose to be house poor nowadays, some to an extreme. YMMV

 

[MikeD]

+1.
DW and I both came from working class families on the first rung of "middle class."
She was a SAHM and I went to college at night to earn both undergrad and MBA.
Our son was 10 YO before we ever used a babysitter so we could have a date night, and eating out was a blue moon occasion.
That was then. We're winding up a week long tour of DC. Staying in a nice hotel with a view of the Pentagon. Ubering here and there while gladly picking up dinner tabs for my Air Force sergeant nephew and his family. We were first frugal out of necessity, then out of common sense. We still practice it with regards to stuff. For experiences, not so much

I think I know that hotel. We stay there on July 4th night to see DC's Fireworks in air conditioned comfort with no driving afterwards. It has become a yearly (Of, course!) tradition. It is also close to our anniversary. I also go to the nearby German Deli and get delicacies. The two of us have a long history of loving fireworks. We saw the DC fireworks in 1976 from the roof of the Kennedy Center. That was the year we got married. Time flies faster and faster the older one gets.

Mike D.

 

[Major Tom]

If one leads a frugal lifestyle but doesn't get enough media exposure, did it really happen?

 

[Amethyst]

$100M would be an aggravating break point. Not enough to buy one of the better islands, and really too little to afford a top-notch yacht and crew, while still maintaining the mansion's full-time staff.

"I would like to live as a poor man with lots of money." - Pablo Picasso

Dunno about living as a poor man, but I think it would be cool if I had $100M and lived as if I only had $10M.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

If one leads a frugal lifestyle but doesn't get enough media exposure, did it really happen?

Sometimes I think the only real frugal lifestyle ideas come from people without media exposure. Otherwise it is like the saying, when money (or advertising dollars) speaks, the truth keeps silent.

 

[NW-Bound]

$100M would be an aggravating break point. Not enough to buy one of the better islands, and really too little to afford a top-notch yacht and crew, while still maintaining the mansion's full-time staff.

When I visited the Thousand-Island region, saw that there were plenty of islands with a home on it that could be bought by someone with just $10M, not even $100M. The home may even be moved-in ready.

The tour boat took us by this island/home, which is reputedly the most photographed home in the world.

 

[NW-Bound]

Want a slightly larger island? Head to Georgian Bay in Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada. There are 30,000 islands there, many up to several tens of acres, and all with their own names.

Prices can be quite reasonable, such as the home shown in the photo below with an asking price of $1.6M for a 2-acre island. Spend a bit more, and there are larger islands of tens of acres, with one or two natural lakes or ponds in the middle. Some are large enough for an airstrip, to allow quicker access than by boat. Or one can use a chopper.

Access in the winter is going to be a lot tougher than the homes in Thousand Islands, if something can be tougher than impossible. But in the summer, it's all supreme.

Quite affordable for someone with $100M.