How frugal are you in ER?

[NW-Bound]

The truth is that even the most frugal among us will have to admit that we really need very little, and that most of the "stuff" we already have are wants.

A roof over our head, and [-]two[/-] one meal a day. A few changes of clothes. Is there anything else?

And talk about roof, how about something like this man's 10'x20' one-room house?

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And who says we need a car, not a new car but any car at all? When working, we need one for reliable transportation, but when retired, what's wrong with a bicycle just to go get groceries?

Realizing that most of my "stuff" are wants, I have tried to tell myself that I should not be too chagrined if I should lose the stuff I have. Often, when I get something, not just stuff but it could be experiences such as traveling, it is because I can afford it at that moment. So, my "wants" list is extremely elastic, and it varies with my stash. I do not care for fancy cars, and only enjoy traveling. But if I can no longer afford to travel (even RV'ing costs a lot for gas), I can entertain myself in some other ways.

What I am trying to say is that if I have to cut back to more basic needs, I won't take it as the end of the world.

By the way, the above photo was linked from this blog that I have been following. It shows different tiny houses in the US that people build themselves and live in.

 

[Tree-dweller]

[QUOTE="martyp" I think some of my spending was just rewarding myself to compensate for job stress. [/QUOTE]

My kids (now grown) told me recently that the silver lining for them years ago when I came home grumpy was that it often foreshadowed the appearance of a new vcr or dvd player or other toy.

 

[wargames]

I havent made any changes since retirement. I just tracked my expenses for 2 years to make sure it fit within my monthly pension before I ER'd. I wont say Im a 100% frugal, but I dont waste too much money. Originally I planned to spend my monthly pension, and just reload the following month. But I have found my desire to spend money has decreased in retirement, and now I set a goal to save a $1000 a month. When I was younger and making less money, I always had a new car and an accompanying payment. Now that I can afford a new car, I have one that is 12 years old, and have no desire for a new one. While I will never be "rich", the security of building a bigger nest egg independent of my pension is more satisfying than spending money needlessly. Of course everyones definition of spending needlessly is different.

We did the same thing, kept our car now for 10 years, but my wife wont stop driving. She is always going here then there. Since I retired, Im staying home.

 

[martyp]

My kids (now grown) told me recently that the silver lining for them years ago when I came home grumpy was that it often foreshadowed the appearance of a new vcr or dvd player or other toy.

+1

 

[Nords]

Unfortunately, my doc says I'm supposed to lay off the caffeine...(

What possible medical reasoning led the doc to take that attitude?!?

I bet your appointment was before their morning coffee...

And talk about roof, how about something like this man's 10'x20' one-room house?

I'm curious to know how many hot chicks have spent the night in his little love nest.

Which would explain a lot of the psychology behind big homes.

 

[NW-Bound]

But, but, but look at the cozy little bed...

One can still fit a lot of love there!

 

[Tree-dweller]

+1...Dunkin Donuts coffee, $8 a little bag, but worth every penny! My favorite coffee by far.

Being from New England, the home of DD, I love it to. I was tickled when I first saw it being sold in the supermarket for the same price as at Dunky's, but quickly realized the supermarket bag was 12 oz, vs the 16 oz bag at DD. It pays to read the fine print, doesn't it!

 

[LRDave]

By the way, the above photo was linked from this blog that I have been following. It shows different tiny houses in the US that people build themselves and live in.

Thanks, NW-Bound, for the link! That is a very cool site. I have bookmarked it.

 

[Mulligan]

Being from New England, the home of DD, I love it to. I was tickled when I first saw it being sold in the supermarket for the same price as at Dunky's, but quickly realized the supermarket bag was 12 oz, vs the 16 oz bag at DD. It pays to read the fine print, doesn't it!

I am going to buy it anyways, but Walmart really plays games with the price of DD coffee here. About half the time its $7.98 and the other half is $9.98. Not a sale price at $7.98, they just keep switching it.

 

[W2R]

I am going to buy it anyways, but Walmart really plays games with the price of DD coffee here. About half the time its $7.98 and the other half is $9.98. Not a sale price at $7.98, they just keep switching it.

At my grocery store this week, it was $9.98. It seems to me that it was cheaper last time, though. I just use one leveled scoop of coffee to make my daily two mugs full. Since 6 scoops equals 2 ounces, there should be 36 scoops in a 12 ounce bag. So, two mugs of coffee daily comes to less than 14 cents per mug. But then I should add the cost of the sugarfree creamer that I use, too, I suppose.

 

[tmm99]

The truth is that even the most frugal among us will have to admit that we really need very little, and that most of the "stuff" we already have are wants.

A roof over our head, and [-]two[/-] one meal a day. A few changes of clothes. Is there anything else?

And talk about roof, how about something like this man's 10'x20' one-room house?

And who says we need a car, not a new car but any car at all? When working, we need one for reliable transportation, but when retired, what's wrong with a bicycle just to go get groceries?

Realizing that most of my "stuff" are wants, I have tried to tell myself that I should not be too chagrined if I should lose the stuff I have. Often, when I get something, not just stuff but it could be experiences such as traveling, it is because I can afford it at that moment. So, my "wants" list is extremely elastic, and it varies with my stash. I do not care for fancy cars, and only enjoy traveling. But if I can no longer afford to travel (even RV'ing costs a lot for gas), I can entertain myself in some other ways.

What I am trying to say is that if I have to cut back to more basic needs, I won't take it as the end of the world.

By the way, the above photo was linked from this blog that I have been following. It shows different tiny houses in the US that people build themselves and live in.

How about this one? This below is a one room apt in Tokyo (not central Tokyo, but close enough with public transportation) about $540/mo rent and 4 minutes away from a bus station. 129 sqft. Who said we couldn't live cheap in Tokyo?

ÄÂÂߥޥ󥷥ç¥ó¤Î¾ðÊó Ë*Åç¶èĹºê5ÃúÌÜ ÅìĹºê±Ø ÅÌÊâ4ʬ | HOME'SÄÂÂß

You probably can't read what it's said, but there are photos and the apt layout there.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow! Hard to believe, but at 129 sqft, it is even smaller than my motorhome (8'X25'). But the rent of $540/mo is probably really cheap for Tokyo. It even has a balcony!

Yes, a roof over our head, and four walls to keep out the cold. Add an AC for comfort in the summer heat, and that's all we need. Everything above it is "wants", my friends.

Ah, we early retirees who claim we are frugal are really just a bunch of hypocrites!

 

[poorgeezer]

I am just as frugal in ER as I have always been but my spending has shifted since I stopped working. I have reduced the expenses on my needs and increased the spending on my wants. The reduction in some areas has been due to the fact that now I have the time to do things that I used to pay for and in others the need went away altogether when I stopped working. As far as my wants they are fairly simple and inexpensive. Reading, poking around the flea market or grabbing a cup of coffee and hanging out.

 

[TromboneAl]

Now there's the T-Al we all remember! Al, go ahead and get the space heater, if it hasn't sold yet. It might keep you from catching cold and that is worth $15.

Well, I just got a better one for $4 at another rummage sale.

 

[W2R]

Well, I just got a better one for $4 at another rummage sale.

Even better! I'm glad you will be nice and warm this winter, and you saved $11 too.

 

[veremchuka]

I have always been a prodigious saver and frugal. In retirement I spend a little less than when working simply because I buy gas once every 3 weeks vs once a week as I cut the miles I drive a year by 2/3. I live off my pension and bank about 40% of my net pension and in a good month 55%, my WR is zero so I doubt I'll run out of money if I lived to 90. I will spend money on something if I think I have a real need for it. Hell I just went crazy and dropped Direct TV and the phone company and switched to the cable company. I went from spending $105 per month for TV, phone and internet to $125 per month. I have unlimited local calls (I had a plan where I paid 3.5 cents per minute but the basic monthly cost was quite low and I don't make many local calls) and long distance calls, 15 Mbps internet vs 768 Kbps and a much brighter picture on the TV plus a DVR which makes a VCR look like a Model T vs a Ferrari. Big spender, that's me.

 

[sundance]

How can any one be truely frugal when Basic Necessities are sooooooooooo expensive! Food Bill $700 a month, Gas for my 4 cyliner 8yr old standard transmission Camrey $4.03 per gallon, school & property taxes $12,900, gas & electric $420 a month, cable silver package $189 a month, Cell phone $129 a month. How about LTC, Life Insur, Auto Insur, on & on. Everybody's got their hand out, hows a girl to live. I am praying for the next generation...

 

[teejayevans]

How can any one be truely frugal when Basic Necessities are sooooooooooo expensive! Food Bill $700 a month, Gas for my 4 cyliner 8yr old standard transmission Camrey $4.03 per gallon, school & property taxes $12,900, gas & electric $420 a month, cable silver package $189 a month, Cell phone $129 a month. How about LTC, Life Insur, Auto Insur, on & on. Everybody's got their hand out, hows a girl to live. I am praying for the next generation...

If you moved out of NY you could probably cut your expenses in half
TJ

 

[rescueme]

...but my wife wont stop driving. She is always going here then there. Since I retired, Im staying home.

Same here ...

 

[ratto]

Sorry we're not ready for ER yet, but DW and I have been very frugal already. Being a miser has its own unique pleasure. Plus personal happiness scale is more likely to go up as calculated by this formula:

Happiness = Wanting What You Have / Having What You Want

 

[Major Tom]

How can any one be truely frugal when Basic Necessities are sooooooooooo expensive! Food Bill $700 a month, Gas for my 4 cyliner 8yr old standard transmission Camrey $4.03 per gallon, school & property taxes $12,900, gas & electric $420 a month, cable silver package $189 a month, Cell phone $129 a month. How about LTC, Life Insur, Auto Insur, on & on. Everybody's got their hand out, hows a girl to live. I am praying for the next generation...

I still can't quite decide whether your post is serious or tongue-in-cheek, Carol. If it's serious, then you can practice frugality at any income level. Frugality is not simply spending as little as possible; it has more to do with using your resources as effectively as possible to get maximum utility and value. Just as Jacob Lund Fisker practiced frugality living on something like $7,500 a year*, so can the Queen Of England or Donald Trump (if he wanted to.)

*I didn't check this figure but pulled it from memory. I think it's pretty close.

 

[NW-Bound]

In showing the little home of 10'x20' in an earlier post, I was just making a point that when one talks about frugality, just like anything else, there is no black and white and it is all relative. The concept of LBYM is itself a relative measure, hence avoids the ambiguity.

I have not lived in such a little home because I have more money. It was not because of "needs". And if I were younger, not having as much money, and hating my job, I would find comfort in knowing that it was OK to be different than the average person, who lives in an average home of 1500 sqft, has an average of 1.5 car, etc...

Oh, and if I were to live like that, it would be most likely that I would have to remain single. That's a choice one would not take likely. I already have a tough enough time to talk my wife into taking a long RV trek with me to Alaska, with the full promise of delivering her back to home at the end of the summer.

 

[Major Tom]

Oh, and if I were to live like that, it would be most likely that I would have to remain single. That's a choice one would not take likely. I already have a tough enough time to talk my wife into taking a long RV trek with me to Alaska, with the full promise of delivering her back to home at the end of the summer.

I feel you on that one. My SO is not really into the idea of RV'ing. She likes to visit cities and stay in hotels (though they can be basic ones - she doesn't have expensive tastes). I've done that kind of travel and am now more into the idea of seeing all the places between those cities.

She's said that if I live in an RV, she'll come stay with me for a few days at a time, but that's really only so that she can visit with me and the cat - not for the fun of being out in the wonderful big outdoors.

 

[NW-Bound]

Talk about seeing the places between cities, out here in the West, that means, oh, 99% of the land mass. And in Alaska, that means 500 miles between settlements with population of a few dozens.

My wife likes to travel, and she also likes RV'ing, I think. But she does not have as strong a sense of adventure, and the thought of Alaska teeming with wild life might scare her. There might be a grizzly waiting for you around every corner.

Anyway, on a trip, one evening while she was in the rear bed and I was up in the front overcab bed with the intention of doing some reading and going to sleep late, my wife looked at me from 20 ft away and said that this MH seemed to have everything and even big enough for us to live full-time for a while.

Then, later after the trip, she said that she only went along with RV'ing to please me. Women!

 

[Major Tom]

Then, later after the trip, she said that she only went along with RV'ing to please me. Women!

When you're dating, that's how you know if a girl really likes you - if she doesn't mind too much what you are doing together, as long as you are together. The only difference is now that she knows you well, she feels comfortable enough to be honest with you as in, "The main reason I'm doing this is because I still really like you and want hang-out time with you."

Sounds like after all these years, you still have a keeper