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Owning a home is cheaper than renting for millions of homeowners with paid-off mortgages and preferential property tax rates in 36 states.
But you forget that those of us who have paid-off houses worked our asses off for it.
My property was cheap, but still...do you know what it feels like to get a cashier's check for $20,000 from your savings account? That you -- and only you -- contributed to when it would have been easier to spend it?
Do you know what it's like to deal with a $4,000 HVAC problem? When you can't just call the landlord and ask him to fix it? When you can't just go on an internet forum and fuss about it? When it's you who has to actually handle -- and pay for -- the problem?
Owning a home is cheaper than renting for millions of homeowners with paid-off mortgages and preferential property tax rates in 36 states.
Then maybe you should buy and pay off a house if you feel that way. All your excuses of poor living situation are getting tiring. Ive known homeless people that complain less than you
It's just me and my husband, no kids. Our household income is about $82k after taxes in an area with a relatively low cost of living ($50k in household earnings for a family of four is considered to be good, if not more than good). We also underbought with our house, big-time, and don't have a mortgage payment.
I'm also a very frugal person by nature. For me, it's fun to try to save money whenever possible. I love shopping at cheap grocery stores like Aldi. I love when I'm able to find a really good deal on things like clothes (As an example, I wear camis under my clothes every day, and I found out that Wal-Mart sells them for $1.68 a piece! I bought a ton, and out of like 20 of them, only one has started disraveling a tiny bit after over a year of everyday wear but is definitely still wearable under clothes...great value, IMO! I would NEVER pay $10+ for a cami again as long as this is an option. I also wear a lot of leggings, which can be had for $3-8 at Walmart, depending on the style...)
I don't mean this in a snotty way, but sometimes I think about the fact that we make a lot more than your "average" two-person (or even four-person+) household -- at least around here -- and I wonder how others make it. I honestly do. I'm not looking at others in a "judgey" type of way, but I'm genuinely curious.
I drive a 2013 Hyundai Elantra with a small monthly payment, and my husband has a paid-for 2002 truck. Like I said, I'm frugal on so many things. We don't have the newest and nicest stuff in our house, by far...we mostly have stuff we've accumulated over the past eight years. We have a 32" TV, not a huge big screen. My husband has a $29 phone. My phone was almost $600 because I need it for work (well, don't necessarily need it but am way better off with it), but I've had it for over two years now and am not even thinking about upgrading it.
I know it seems like a lot of rambling about nothing, but my point is...something is up. Even though we splurge on some things, my husband and I are frugal in soooo many ways, and we bring in more than your average couple (again, around here). And yet, I still find myself worrying about money sometimes...even without a mortgage, we still have home maintenance and repairs, car maintenance, utilities, etc. I feel like every time I turn around, there is something that requires hundreds of dollars...
And then I see couples who I know bring in less than half of what we bring in, and they have two expensive vehicles -- usually a truck and an SUV or two SUV's -- that carry $500 car payments each and that guzzle gas like it's nothing, PLUS the huge cost of tires for those huge things. They live in wayyyy bigger and better houses than we do. They are "too good" to shop at Wal-Mart and Aldi and Dollar General like I do, so they go to Target and Harris Teeter and the mall for everything. Starbucks constantly. Namebrand everything....chicks who haven't hit a gym in years are spending big bucks on yoga pants from Lululemon vs just buying a pair from Wal-Mart or Target or something.
And I just wonder how in the hell they are paying for it all. I'm so careful with our money and still feel like we really never have enough. What is considered a "normal" day for some of my girlfriends (who are SAHM's with HVAC or contractor husbands who bring home like $800 a week) is a major "splurge" day for me...something I'll do maybe once a month, max, but...
I'm not someone who is trying to "hoard" money or anything...I just know that if we spent at the rate that some of these people spend, we'd be "broke" in a couple of years...yet, we bring in more money and have fewer people in our household?
So....what is it? Are they skipping out on the important stuff (maintenance on the things you own, health and dental care for themselves, etc) and blowing it on stupid crap? Are they just in debt to their eyeballs? Please help me understand lol....
The city where I live has an average family income of around $90K (not sufficient imo) and I think the same...the average person has an expensive house, expensive cars, boats, kids, and vacations across the globe. Wife and I have always been conservative and limited our house to income ratio to ensure we could save plenty for investments and in case of a reduction of income. We now make more from our investments than my salary so I'm about to retire
A large extended family and social circle can help quite a bit. I don't exactly live a luxurious lifestyle, but I have saved many tens of thousands of dollars by sharing costs and resources with my family and friends.
-Car needs repairs? Uncle Dave has one of his guys fix it for the cost of the part.
-Going out for drinks? Several places my drinks are free I just leave a big tip.
-Child care? In the rare case that a grandparent is not available there are always overnights at a cousin's house.
-Home repairs? I brew my own beer by the keg and just about all of my friends are very handy at something. Several electricians, an HVAC guy, and a plumber in the family. Uncle has a dumptruck and a cement mixer. My dad has every tool that I have ever heard of.
-Legal advice? My best friend and his wife are lawyers and we have four attorneys in the family.
-Tickets to pro sporting events? I go when I want but I haven't paid for them in years.
-Medical costs? Cousin is a MD and my sister is an NP. We still go to the doctor if necessary but we have saved a lot by getting professional opinions first.
-Hosting a big party? Lots of (hobby)musicians in the family that are happy to perform
No one in the family is a leech; we all share our own talents and effort when needed, but it almost doesn't seem like work when it is for family.
Also, a lot of retired people seem to spend all of their disposable income on their children and grandchildren. About this time of the summer I start hearing a lot about family trips with grandparents, and in many cases financed by grandparents. My brother and his family of four kids just took a two week vacation in Argentina with his wife's parents; not something a pair of frugal teachers tend to do without a bit of assistance.
It is best not to worry too much about other people's finances. There is this internet theme that everyone who enjoys anything more than the necessities of life is an irresponsible idiot, but I have never met any of these people in person. Everyone I know makes the best choices that they can given their situation and priorities.
But you forget that those of us who have paid-off houses worked our asses off for it.
My property was cheap, but still...do you know what it feels like to get a cashier's check for $20,000 from your savings account? That you -- and only you -- contributed to when it would have been easier to spend it?
Do you know what it's like to deal with a $4,000 HVAC problem? When you can't just call the landlord and ask him to fix it? When you can't just go on an internet forum and fuss about it? When it's you who has to actually handle -- and pay for -- the problem?
You're under the assumption the landlord would even fix the problem, or fix it to a standard a homeowner would demand.
I had a weak AC in my last apartment. Second floor, westerly facing windows, in Indiana, not exactly a hellishly hot place most of the time. The AC struggled to keep the apartment below 75 in the summer. Power bills in the summer were triple what my winter heating bill was. I'd notified the landlord of the issue multiple times over the course of multiple summers. They would do something minor, but would otherwise rule it as functioning normally.
As a renter, I had no recourse here. I couldn't call my own contractor to even get a second opinion. The only repair techs were those who worked for the landlord, who had a vested interest in doing what the landlord requested. I couldn't replace the unit. I had to deal with the high power bills.
My girlfriend has a section 8 apartment with two window units. The AC has failed in each of those units - all it blows is ambient temperature air. The apartment is stuck in the 80s. The landlord refuses to repair the units.
A homeowner has far, far greater control of his day to day living situation than a renter does.
A large extended family and social circle can help quite a bit. I don't exactly live a luxurious lifestyle, but I have saved many tens of thousands of dollars by sharing costs and resources with my family and friends.
-Car needs repairs? Uncle Dave has one of his guys fix it for the cost of the part.
-Going out for drinks? Several places my drinks are free I just leave a big tip.
-Child care? In the rare case that a grandparent is not available there are always overnights at a cousin's house.
-Home repairs? I brew my own beer by the keg and just about all of my friends are very handy at something. Several electricians, an HVAC guy, and a plumber in the family. Uncle has a dumptruck and a cement mixer. My dad has every tool that I have ever heard of.
-Legal advice? My best friend and his wife are lawyers and we have four attorneys in the family.
-Tickets to pro sporting events? I go when I want but I haven't paid for them in years.
-Medical costs? Cousin is a MD and my sister is an NP. We still go to the doctor if necessary but we have saved a lot by getting professional opinions first.
-Hosting a big party? Lots of (hobby)musicians in the family that are happy to perform
No one in the family is a leech; we all share our own talents and effort when needed, but it almost doesn't seem like work when it is for family.
Also, a lot of retired people seem to spend all of their disposable income on their children and grandchildren. About this time of the summer I start hearing a lot about family trips with grandparents, and in many cases financed by grandparents. My brother and his family of four kids just took a two week vacation in Argentina with his wife's parents; not something a pair of frugal teachers tend to do without a bit of assistance.
It is best not to worry too much about other people's finances. There is this internet theme that everyone who enjoys anything more than the necessities of life is an irresponsible idiot, but I have never met any of these people in person. Everyone I know makes the best choices that they can given their situation and priorities.
Now we're talkin'!
I have repaid the favor of a neighbor who loans a tool I don't have or blows out our irrigation system in the fall with some bombers or sixers of home brew when appropriate.
Thank you for existing. Those other people so what my mom would called "live above your means". Affluenza is a disease in America/US.
I also live the way you do. For a time we had a bit more money and I started to do a few things in excess (in my opinion) like buy a titanium bracelet online for 50 dollars and buy 100 dollars worth of cooking accessories, etc. Now that we are on a low budget again I have gotten away from shopping and when I do go I shop for clothes on sale and at the thrift store. I buy many household items at the thrift store. I buy my son's school supplies at the $1 store.
I don't miss shopping-I was never big on shopping anyway. I am an artist and I collect things from curbs on junk days and make things from them and male mosaics.
Our country is doomed if we continue to buy so many useless items. We are filling the landfills at rates higher than the rest of the world. Also we are supporting Chinese slave labor, China's unethical economy and exposure to our kids from weird chemicals from all the low value plastic Chinese CRAP!
My mom also used the word frugal a lot and I live this way too.
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