s/o living on $25k or $36k a year
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Anonymous
Welfare Queen. |
Anonymous
Welfare King. Getting ready for my 10am tee time. |
Anonymous
| 18 holes of golf then an afternoon at the beach. Come back and throw some steaks on the grill. Life really is good |
Anonymous
| So I just had to refill my dog's heartworm and flea/tick prescriptions - $200 for his meds. If you have voluntarily gone on this kind of budget in order to save for the future: Do you just not get a dog, or don't get the preventative meds, or is there room in the budget for meds? |
Anonymous
I have a small weinerdog. Heartworm medicine is $30 for 6 months. I don't give him flea and tick medicine. A bottle of flea shampoo is $10 and I usually wash him about twice a week because he loves to get in the shower with me. You are spending $200 on something that can be done for $40. I would order the medicines from somewhere else to see if it can be done cheaper. This is one of those recurring expenses that needs to be cut down a little |
Anonymous
Sorry but what’s FIRE? |
Anonymous
When I was working, I arranged to have the full amount put into my 401K. The HR manager called me and asked if I had meant to do that. I said yes. He sounded shocked I wanted to save $18K / year. That was one instance when I began to realize maybe I was not like other people. We have 0 debt. We are healthy at the moment, but I had to spend over $10K out of pocket for medical expenses several years ago. - Do you live near your family? If not how do you afford going to see them? We live near some. We drive to others for the price of gas. Maybe $100-$200 for this. - Do you have hobbies? What are they? Reading, hiking, attending exhibits and concerts, cooking. - Do you ever travel for fun? If so, what's your approach? Yep! Almost every year. We usually take a big trip--sometimes overseas and sometimes not. - Do you ever find yourself really wanting something that is outside your MMM budget (like a trip to Australia, or some expensive shoes)? Do you ever given in to those urges or do you just figure you'll get over it? Nope. I just make sure things are accounted for in the budget and then I have money for whatever I want/need. The "You Need a Budget" website is great for this type of planning, if anyone needs help in that department. - What do you eat most days? Do you ever buy the expensive mustard or the fancy tomatoes? This is one of our larger expenses. We are wasteful and working to be better. Salmon + veggies, chicken + salad, roasted veggies + meat or rice, tacos, burritos, lasagna, beans/rice, salads. - What do you do for yourself, that you see other people spending money on for others to do for them? Do you make your own clothes, or grow your own vegetables, or...? Making clothes takes forever. Not worth it unless you love to sew! We mow our own lawn and clean our own house. We do not order from meal delivery services. It's kinda funny that people buy gym memberships to get exercise and then do not clean house/mow lawn, which would provide exercise... - Are most of your friends in the same boat? If not how do you do it when your friends want to get together at a restaurant, or to go see a concert, or whatever? You just say no and have them over for a potluck instead, or...? "In the same boat" suggests that this is not such a great place to be. I like the choice we've made, because I value my freedom more than a boat / country club membership / shoes. - What sort of house or apartment do you live in? Did you pick that place in order to be able to spend very little? Do you like your home? SFH. We spent way less than most anyone in the DC area, and it will be paid off in 4 years!! I wish a few things were different about the house, so I do not love it 100%. Overall, it does its job. - What do you think are the big misconceptions about how you live? What do you wish others understood about your approach to money - what do we outsiders usually get wrong? I have no idea. I assume people think we're poor. |
Anonymous
We already have college saved for and covered. We're not on welfare or food stamps. |
Anonymous
Eventually, life insurance is no longer needed because you are self-funded. |
Anonymous
I am from the South and spend plenty of time down there and no I don't want to live in Alabama or Mississippi. |
Anonymous
This is the PP - my dog is 50+ pounds. His heartworm meds are about $200 for the year - we get them six months at a time. Our vet recommends the oral flea and tick meds that you give monthly. Ticks and fleas are very dangerous for pets - and I don't want them in my house, either. We have indoor cats they could spread to - not to mention ourselves. I had a previous dog who was very sick from a tick-borne blood disease. The $200 on preventative meds seems like a good deal compared with the cost of risking multiple pets' health and safety, to me. I don't think that's a good place to try to save money, personally. |
Anonymous
Awesome. You do you |
Anonymous
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- Can I ask a couple of questions, for those who are living at that amount by choice? (I'm not socking anything away right now other than equity from 2 homes. I have lived on ca $36k or less in NWDC for 20 years. Didn't grow up materialistic in another country, so $36k is a lot of money even if DC is expensive).
- Do you live near your family? If not how do you afford going to see them? Yes. Sister lives on FFC, so on expensive to drive out there. - Do you have hobbies? What are they? Not really. Used to ride horses back at home but got bored after 15 years. - Do you ever travel for fun? If so, what's your approach? Europe every 3-4 years. Don't travel much in US. - Do you ever find yourself really wanting something that is outside your MMM budget (like a trip to Australia, or some expensive shoes)? Do you ever given in to those urges or do you just figure you'll get over it? I would since I have a lot of credit extended to me- ca $50k I think, but rarely want anything. Figured it long ago that things don't make me as happy as advertisers say. I look so much better with less clothes, jewelry and what have you. - What do you eat most days? Do you ever buy the expensive mustard or the fancy tomatoes? I would but didn't know there was fancy tomatoes. I eat lots of salads, fruits and root veggies, even rutabaga. - What do you do for yourself, that you see other people spending money on for others to do for them? Do you make your own clothes, or grow your own vegetables, or...? I simply don't do those things. I can afford to get my pedicure more often than twice a year, same goes for hair, but I only care about it ca twice a year. My hair grows so slowly. - Are most of your friends in the same boat? If not how do you do it when your friends want to get together at a restaurant, or to go see a concert, or whatever? You just say no and have them over for a potluck instead, or...? My friends make a little bit more. We have the money, we are short on time when we are all free. - What sort of house or apartment do you live in? Did you pick that place in order to be able to spend very little? Do you like your home? I love my little condo in zip 20007. Moved in with family in 2008 because of the economy and ca do so again when things get hard. Easy to rent it out. I barely qualified for mortgage but so glad I did. - What do you think are the big misconceptions about how you live? What do you wish others understood about your approach to money - what do we outsiders usually get wrong? Nobody knows I'm poor. Co-workers think I'm rich. I paying mortgage on 2 homes, drive a new car, travel and work part time. Your questions didn't really help to get to the point how I can afford it. There are so many things people do and own that take money. The biggest misconception is that many think, even you, that I want those things but can't afford them ( I have no desire to fly to Australia). I don't want them at all- like pets, boat, convertible, bicycle, makeup, gym, jewelry, expensive clothes, shoes, bags, hobbies. I have had 2 partners over the 20 years, so that's when living is easier or harder. But I have also lived alone on the salary. Paid cash for clinic for years, but usually ca $600 a year the most. I have medicaid now but rarely go to doctors. Teeth I pay cash abroad-cheaper and they have newer equipment. When I see other people's budget, it simply had lots of stuff I don't. Pets and some kind of health issue or " got to have my hair done". I live simple and easy life. Can take as much time off as I want and when I want. |
Anonymous
Must be so awesome that you are obsessed posting on this site and bickering like a little bitch. |
Anonymous
This is my sister. She said these exact words to me the other day after getting an MRI "Thank you welfare". She works the bare minimum on the books to ensure she get the subsidies. She then works under the table for her living expenses. She lives in NoVA inside the beltway and all in all makes about 50k/yr maybe 1/4 of that claimed. |