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1) No TV. I'd rather watch Youtube, Hulu, or play online games on my laptop.
2) No Cable. See above.
3) No Smartphones, although I'm currently shopping around to see what's the best deal and maybe get one for the first time.
4) No Landline. VoIP all the way (and a mobile phone for emergencies.)
5) No Gym membership. Exercise is free in the park.
6) No Ipod. Those old-school mp3 players are cheaper AND smaller to fit in my pockets.
Wow, do people actually think these things are "necessary"? I'm a little boggled by that.
We do not have a television (and we do not "rent" movies). We do not go to movies at the movie theater either.
We have very basic cell phones (no smart phones here). No land line either.
iPod? huh? We don't even have a stereo that works. LOL I listen to music online or via XM radio (my only luxury, I'm afraid).
We do not have a car payment nor a mortgage.
Since we are blissfully childfree, we do not have the expenses that go along with being childed (school expenses, etc.,)
I do not go to doctors (medical expenses are a big deal to a lot of people). W also do not take our pets to the vet. (Our cats are exclusively indoor, so there is no reason to have them vaccinated).
We do not "entertain". We do not participate in outside activities.
CA is very expensive to reside in. Have you considered relocating elsewhere?
No, for several reasons:
1) Large Chinese community
2) I went to college here and depend greatly on their alumni network, especially in my field (investment banking). Plus, my company only has offices in areas with high cost of living.
3) Many of my routine expenses are already similar regardless if I lived in California or Kansas (example: Gas, Food, Internet, Health Insurance, etc.)
4) The only expense I'll end up paying radically more in CA is rent. But for me, having a large house doesn't provide any significant benefit over renting a $500/mo unit (in a good neighborhood here.)
1) Large Chinese community
2) I went to college here and depend greatly on their alumni network, especially in my field (investment banking). Plus, my company only has offices in areas with high cost of living.
3) Many of my routine expenses are already similar regardless if I lived in California or Kansas (example: Gas, Food, Internet, Health Insurance, etc.)
4) The only expense I'll end up paying radically more in CA is rent. But for me, having a large house doesn't provide any significant benefit over renting a $500/mo unit (in a good neighborhood here.)
Chinese are everywhere. I live in Texas now and there are plenty of Chinese.
You will save a ton by moving to a lesser Cost of living state and still maintain the same salary.
You can buy a lot more house for a lot less elsewhere.
What do I not have that other people have? A lawn. I choose to live in a townhouse in a city. I love to garden and have a patio that is teeming with flowers and I have bushes and trees on my tiny patch of property. But not having a big yard with grass to take care of saves me tons. Lower property taxes, no lawnmower, no landscapers and I still have "free" flowers for the house.
Additional cost benefits to urban living: I can walk to most things I want to do -- concerts, movies, fine and not-so-fine dining, etc., are a few blocks from my home. I work at home and have needed post office, printing company, computer support, etc., within walking distance. Supermarket and other shopping, and a top hospital, too. Exercise is in the beautiful city park. City-sponsored entertainment, farmer's market all summer, a fabulous public library are right there for my enjoyment. I have a 10-year-old car, but I seldom drive it, so I save on gasoline. The city bus is a block from my door.
And please don't lecture me about taxes. I've calculated carefully and the higher taxes that I pay over what my suburban friends may be spending (which isn't much in many cases) are completely returned to me in opportunities to save time and money elsewhere (transportation, esp.) and the ease of working at home, which would be much harder and more time consuming if I were isolated. City living isn't for everyone, but many people don't even consider it, when it could enrich your life AND save you money.
Finally to Texas User, I'd like to note: frugality becomes neuroses when you turn away from your family, friends, and support networks just to save money. If ragnarkar WANTS to leave California, fine, but to make his life lonely and sad for a cost-savings is ... lonely and sad. The same to others here who deny yourself life's pleasures, forego entertaining your friends -- even having children?! -- just to save bucks. If it's a necessity, God bless you. But to choose that road just so you can stockpile money in the bank and/or tell yourself you're frugal is frankly NUTS.
By all means, recycle and reuse, live in a small home, drive used vehicles or no vehicle, forego fashion and gadgets, do things for yourself instead of paying others, use coupons, don't buy things you don't need or to impress others. But, seriously, ask yourself: are you alienating other people and drawing wacky attention to yourself just to save a buck?? Are you the person who doesn't contribute to the office party yet eats all the food others bring? If so, you're a mooch. Do you do anything to avoid tipping; do you give $10 to the kids for graduation when you can afford to be generous? Then you're stingy. You probably don't have any real friends and you're nobody's favorite relative.
There's a fine line between living frugally and acting crazy and both sides of the line are present on this thread.
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