nun
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
- Messages
- 4,872
I think most folks on this forum understand that reducing expenses is just as important as wealth accumulation when it comes to ER, so what are your money saving tips.....
Number three would be similar to make a budget. We don't. We saved first, then paid bills, then spent everything that was left over. That allowed us to live in the present while saving for the future.
I disagree with your premise that reducing expenses is as important as accumulating wealth. Of course, being a smart spender is a good thing! But, now that I'm RE'd, I'm very, very glad I can afford some discretionary spending, driven by prior wealth accumulation, and not have to rely on reducing expenses to survive.
We started setting the thermostat lower at night, 55! Now the house is well insulated and the heater has not run so far at night...
I disagree with your disagreement
That dollar you save is one that you can invest. So being frugal enables wealth accumulation. Its sort of positive feedback.
In the long run, however, it does not make that much difference. We use about $900 in Propane a year. I doubt the savings will be enough to go out to eat.
In retirement, I'm done accumulating wealth. I've got it or I don't. As I go through retirement, I can adjust expenses up or down depending on how things go. But I can't adjust the amount of wealth I start RE with. Therefore, I give an edge to wealth accumulation as being more important. But, both are important.......
One thing I started doing was halving the amount of stuff like shampoo and laundry detergent I use, then I halved it again without seeing any difference.
I don't think it matters which is more important. There are virtually no tradeoffs between the two. You should do both as much as you can to a rational point (don't work yourself to death to accumulate, don't deprive yourself of things you need when you don't have to).nun...... your premise is that reducing expenses and wealth accumulation are equally important to RE. NOT that reducing expenses helps accumulate wealth. We all agree with that.
If you wanted to talk about how to accumulate wealth, as opposed to whether accumulating wealth or reducing expenses being equally important to RE, you should have said that. Big difference.
In retirement, I'm done accumulating wealth. I've got it or I don't. As I go through retirement, I can adjust expenses up or down depending on how things go. But I can't adjust the amount of wealth I start RE with. Therefore, I give an edge to wealth accumulation as being more important. But, both are important.......
I think most folks on this forum understand that reducing expenses is [-]just as [/-]important[-] as wealth accumulation [/-]when it comes to ER, so what are your money saving tips.....
Cook from scratch. Cook 2 or more meals' worth when convenient, and freeze the extra. Then on nights when you just don't feel like cooking, you have a variety of dinners to select from in the freezer, and you're less tempted to go to a restaurant.
And for me. Once you are retired, you can always get more frugal under pain of necessity. But you can't get more wealth, within given parameters of risk.I guess I vote with youbet, wealth accumulation trumps frugality - at least for me.
At my modest level, not needing to resort to the frugal kinds of things mentioned in this thread are reason enough to like wealth. To me frugality as described here is like virtue as preached in church-I suppose there is a place for it, but I hope not in my life.
Ha
Frugality is whatever you make of it. IIRC, aren't you the one who lives in a 400 or 600 sq ft place? That's far too frugal for me. I'd go stir crazy. But it's none of my concern if you cope with it well.
500. I would like more room for stuff, but not at $2+/sq.ft/mo. I do have a generous storeroom, shared bicycle room, and onsite laundry not included in my footage.
Ha