Back to frugalville

[Gazingus]

I'm 46, DW is 44. I was transferred to Plano, TX one year ago with a raise to six figures. We had a big year of living it up and even traded in the 10-year old GEO Metro on a new Hyundai Azera with heated leather seats. I gotta admit, that thing is sweet, but it pains my conscience. My truck has 200k miles and I baby it. So anyway, no more Brazilian steakhouses and $75 wines; that stuff only creates a temporary feeling of contentment. I want to see what I will do with myself when I have the time and energy to go in my own direction.

The plan has been to retire at 55 with defined benefit pension on easy street. Then I started reading ER forums and learned about SEPP and that I didn't have to wait. Real excited now. I put resign on my Outlook calendar on June 16, 2010, my 30 yr service anny. Our budget for 2008 is less than 50k. Look forward to learning here while we make our preps.

Sign me, Can't wait to leave Consumerville.

[Sarah in SC]

Welcome! It will help tremendously to have the support for your newly frugal lifestyle that you can find here!
It is true that the best things in life aren't things.

[bbbamI]

Welcome Gaz...

So another transplant to TX, huh? We were relocated to North Texas by Mega Corp about 14 years ago. Not too pretty around here, but you can get a lot of house for the money.

If you like wine and want to cut the expenses, try a bottle of Smoking Loon. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are great.

[TickTock]

Or make your own - as good as or better than Smoking Loon and cheaper!

Gazingus - you're not a Your Money Or Your Life fan, are you?

[Sandy]

Welcome. Glad to have you join us. We look forward to your comments.

[Grizz]

[quote=bbbamI;595994]Welcome Gaz...

Quote:

So another transplant to TX, huh? We were relocated to North Texas by Mega Corp about 14 years ago. Not too pretty around here, but you can get a lot of house for the money

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have been looking online at real estate in North Texas and it really does look affordable. I've never been there, or even in the vicinity so I'm curious what is "not too pretty" about the area?

[bbbamI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizz I've never been there, or even in the vicinity so I'm curious what is "not too pretty" about the area?

Before Mega Corp relocated us to TX, we lived in the St. Louis MO area. We were used to hills, different bodies of water and trees. In MO we were used to four seasons, with Fall being absolutely beautiful.

When we first moved to North TX, to us it looked flat, barren and dusty. I think part of the reason that it looked that way to us is because so many people were moving to the area, houses were springing up and trees were going down.

In MO, our 1/3 acre lot had 13 trees. Our small lot here has no trees. The Hill Country of TX is a different story.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI When we first moved to North TX, to us it looked flat, barren and dusty. I think part of the reason that it looked that way to us is because so many people were moving to the area, houses were springing up and trees were going down.

I think bbbami is perfuming the pig. Here's a photo of North TX in winter...

[bbbamI]

Yep.

[DallasGuy]

I grew up in rural MN and then lived in Minneapolis (a very pretty city) for 10 years after college. I moved from MN to north Texas (Dallas) and have been here for 18 years now. Even though I loved Minneapolis, I much prefer living in north Texas because of the better winter weather, affordable housing and lower taxes. As far as north Texas being "not too pretty", you just have to visit it and see if it's anything you can live with on a daily basis. I don't find it an ugly place to live...it offers pretty much what other cities offer and more....except for maybe the mountains, oceanside beaches and forests. If you have to have those things on a regular basis, you probably wouldn't be happy here.

[Gazingus]

Thanks for the welcome. I haven't looked at prices while grocery shopping in quite a while. Yesterday, I had my usual boneless, skinless yardbird and saw $8.67 for three chicken breasts on the register! I told DW no mas, that I would process whole chickens for those wages.

Actually, I'm a native North Texan having lived from Odessa to Sulphur Springs. For the last 20 years, we have lived in locales where the neighbors were more than 1/2 mile away. DFW is built on a prarie, I think a glacier slid through here or something. We were in Glen Rose, just 45 minutes south of Fort Worth, for 7 years and we still have a little farm there. It's very pretty with rolling hills and huge oaks.

I used to say "life is too short to live in Dallas, TX", then I had to eat those words. Traffic and city life are providing the incentive to get FIRE and get DOTF (down on the farm).

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazingus We were in Glen Rose, just 45 minutes south of Fort Worth, for 7 years and we still have a little farm there. It's very pretty with rolling hills and huge oaks.

Many years ago we traveled through that part of the world on trips to/from the inlaws. On the way up we noticed a gate topper over the entrance to a very nice farm that read "EIEIO". We thought it strange until on the return trip we noticed the name on the mailbox. Yep, McDonald.

That's not your place is it?

[ApeX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI If you like wine and want to cut the expenses, try a bottle of Smoking Loon. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are great.

I agree. Smoking Loon is a fantastic value for the dollar.

[Gazingus]

DW just averred how the Kendall Jackson PN she was drinking was her favorite. I said, "better enjoy it, that's not in the new budget". We'll check out the Loon. Thanks for the tip.

Behavior modification is underway. I skinned a whole chicken this afternoon; took me about two minutes and saved $3-4. I'll work for those wages. I saw grapes for $4.99/lb and passed; DW brought 'em home. Discussion time. We got spiral notebooks today and recorded spending to date for 2008. I'll put in spreadsheet at the end of each month.

I took down the Christman lights today. We haven't had Christmas lights on the house before, but now that we live in a neighborhood.....DW loved 'em. I have to decide if the $200-300 to put 'em up(if I hire it out next year) is good life insurance. That roof is steep! It was hairy enough job to get an adrenaline rush from.

I projected $400/mo for groceries, including health, beauty and cleaning supplies. I think that will be too low to attain. Especially if we eat lots of lean meat and fruit/vegetabels. It's just us two, we're CFBC.

[novaman]

It is good to be frugal but it is important to have balance and not be extreme. I have a relative who is frugal to the point that I think it is a pathology that effects her family.
They are very rich, but they didn't get there because of their frugality, but because her husband happened to catch lightning in a bottle twice...being a part of not one but 2 high tech IPO's that made it BIG. They are basicaly set for life with a NW of I'm guessing around 10 million. But they have not let the wealth get in the way of their frugal lifestyle....
They leave the heat set VERY low in their house. I had to wear two sweaters and my winter coat INSIDE their house last time I visited and My kids were miserable there due to the cold. They also take advantage of as many government programs as possible. Her child is a special needs kid and collects every available benefit possible. She actually files and collects unemployment when her company closes for the holidays. She won't take any trips that causes them to have to take extra time off (even though they can afford it). And she won't fly if it isn't with frequent flyer miles. She actually ruined a family reunion by refusing to fly to the planned destination because she didn't want to spend the money on the airfare. Her house is dirty because she won't pay for a cleaning service and is too busy to clean herself. My kids are afraid to use the bathrooms in her house. She never treats when we go out to eat. (we treat all the time) always splitting the bill, even when we flew across the country to see her. When we did go on a joint vacation a number of years back, she made her family eat instant noodles every day for breakfast because it is inexpensive.....

I could go on and on but the point is that there is such a thing as being TOO frugal.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by novaman It is good to be frugal but it is important to have balance and not be extreme. ..... I could go on and on but the point is that there is such a thing as being TOO frugal.

Ahhhhh, that would be called CHEAP BA$TARD.... not frugal...

[dumpster56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApeX I agree. Smoking Loon is a fantastic value for the dollar.

Terra Austrailus 4.99 trader joes.

[dumpster56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by novaman It is good to be frugal but it is important to have balance and not be extreme. I have a relative who is frugal to the point that I think it is a pathology that effects her family. They are very rich, but they didn't get there because of their frugality, but because her husband happened to catch lightning in a bottle twice...being a part of not one but 2 high tech IPO's that made it BIG. They are basicaly set for life with a NW of I'm guessing around 10 million. But they have not let the wealth get in the way of their frugal lifestyle.... They leave the heat set VERY low in their house. I had to wear two sweaters and my winter coat INSIDE their house last time I visited and My kids were miserable there due to the cold. They also take advantage of as many government programs as possible. Her child is a special needs kid and collects every available benefit possible. She actually files and collects unemployment when her company closes for the holidays. She won't take any trips that causes them to have to take extra time off (even though they can afford it). And she won't fly if it isn't with frequent flyer miles. She actually ruined a family reunion by refusing to fly to the planned destination because she didn't want to spend the money on the airfare. Her house is dirty because she won't pay for a cleaning service and is too busy to clean herself. My kids are afraid to use the bathrooms in her house. She never treats when we go out to eat. (we treat all the time) always splitting the bill, even when we flew across the country to see her. When we did go on a joint vacation a number of years back, she made her family eat instant noodles every day for breakfast because it is inexpensive..... I could go on and on but the point is that there is such a thing as being TOO frugal.

I would call these people idiots. Just because someone has money does not give them brains.

[Gazingus]

I hear ya, novaman. There is frugal and there is eccentric. I don't think I'll ever have that problem. You would only need one sweater in my house in winter! 66F by day, 63F by night. If I had 10MM, I'd fly first-class....to Greece! (Saw food-channel-Giada there yesterday; she made it seem irresistible).

Now, scuse me. I'm giving my wife a burr haircut this afternoon so we can save on shampoo and cream rinse.....

[novaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazingus I hear ya, novaman. There is frugal and there is eccentric. I don't think I'll ever have that problem. You would only need one sweater in my house in winter! 66F by day, 63F by night. If I had 10MM, I'd fly first-class....to Greece! (Saw food-channel-Giada there yesterday; she made it seem irresistible). Now, scuse me. I'm giving my wife a burr haircut this afternoon so we can save on shampoo and cream rinse.....

66 is great I think her house was set to 55.