LBYM Extreme - with a plug for ER.org!

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort For me the fun part of a LBYMs lifestyle is living high on the hog while not spending a lot. Not spending a lot and never going out doesn't seem to take a lot of thinking or analytical skills. That is what poor people have to do by default. It is the analytical part that I find fun - traveling on reward points, getting cheap or free seat filler tickets, examining the odds and finding contests I can win regularly, great thrift shop finds and in general finding bargains and freebies that require a little searching or analysis.

That and having friends with boats!

-BB

[rodi]

I think Mrs. Frugalwoods would agree they're not retired... at the end of the video the narrator states that she doesn't refer to herself as retired... but rather 'financially independent'... meaning she doesn't need to work. So she's not claiming to be retired while getting income from her blog she puts effort into.

I agree with others in this thread who opined that the couple seems to have found the balance for them between consumption and frugality - and found where they are happiest on that scale.

As for the dumpster coat - heck - how is that different than the really nice timberland coat my son bought at goodwill a few weeks ago. He got a label he's (ridiculously) impressed with - and spent 1/10th of what it would be new. I've got several items in my house that were either marked "free" at the curb, picked up from freecycle and craigslist free listings, or purchased for almost free at garage sales. I like to think it's not about being cheap - it's about repurposing/reusing items, diverting them from the landfill.

[calmloki]

We are in SoCal at the winter digs - fantastic location surrounded by mountain tops about 2 miles from the Coachella music festival, polo fields, and the tennis gardens. We are surrounded by mostly working folks. Our garbage and recycle cans are rarely even a quarter full each week - by contrast, our neighbors put out cans that are full to overflowing - lots of boxes and polystyrene. If anything we dispose of could have utility to someone we put it on the curb - often someone takes it, which pleases me. I've also picked up other's discards - wanted a deep shelf and grabbed a discarded headboard last week as it had enough trimmed and finished wood to build it. My favorite thing is Saturday yardsales - some friends call our house the museum house because of our eclectic furnishings and decor. When we first came here we brought some folding chairs and tables and some oriental rugs - just about everything else we sourced second hand locally and we paid pennies on the dollar for it. 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.
Guess years of trying to shrink dumpster loads when the student tenants move out and discard furniture and such has desensitized me to "dumpster diving". Or maybe it was hearing that every car on the road is a used car. In any case, cleaning is easy and I'm happier to pay a quarter rather than $5 at Walmart for the same item.

[Koogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi I've got several items in my house that were either marked "free" at the curb, picked up from freecycle and craigslist free listings, or purchased for almost free at garage sales. I like to think it's not about being cheap - it's about repurposing/reusing items, diverting them from the landfill.

You might like this show on Netflix..

Money for Nothing
""Aided by designers and craftspeople, entrepreneur Sarah Moore rescues items bound for the garbage dump and turns them into valuable, unique objects.""

FWIW, we do the same. We spent a pantload of money on redoing our main bathroom but the sink is a pedestal sink I got at Habitat for Humanity (I spend so much money there I should get a thank you card from Jimmy Carter)

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort I like the game part but not the never going out to eat or tree clearing kind of work. I grew up in a small house in a low cost, frozen half the year, rural farming area and we didn't go out to eat much so I already know pretty well how to live like that. We had catchy name for our lifestyle, too, but it wasn't called minimalism back then. We called it "growing up poor".

Yeah, I hear you. I don't want to be frugal to the point I end up feeling poor. I am frugal as long as it's fun to be frugal.

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koogie You might like this show on Netflix.. Money for Nothing ""Aided by designers and craftspeople, entrepreneur Sarah Moore rescues items bound for the garbage dump and turns them into valuable, unique objects."" FWIW, we do the same. We spent a pantload of money on redoing our main bathroom but the sink is a pedestal sink I got at Habitat for Humanity (I spend so much money there I should get a thank you card from Jimmy Carter)

I went to one Habitat for Humanity store, and I couldn't believe the amount of high-quality stuff they carried! (Well, not all of them are like that, but the one I went to in a relatively well-off area of the city had great stuff.)

[Choices]

I love to go to antique stores....what’s the difference between their offerings and the stuff I can sometimes get for free? In 2005 I furnished my daughters 3 Br house for $350. using stuff we found alongside the road, thrift shop goods and things from friends. She only had her bed and two dressers.
As I said frugal habits die hard.

[street]

Interesting but i too wouldn't of enjoyed life retiring at 30 yo.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan Barnfellow That and having friends with boats! -BB

Friend with boats who belong to yacht clubs with fun parties!

[Bestwifeever]

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/wh...t?oid=14358690. Never mind the blog income. I can see why she’s backed off from calling themselves retired. Good for them, though.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever 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/wh...t?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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever 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/wh...t?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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki ... 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ugeauxgirl 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha 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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack 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"