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I haven't been to the doctor since 1992. When something hits me I hope it acts quick. I do feel something brewing just under the surface the past few years but all I could think of to do is stop drinking. But that's an extra $100 or so in the bank every month!
You are very lucky. I was diagnosed with cancer while I was debating going off my group health plan due to cost. I don't want to scare you, just food for thought. Maybe eventually you could just get a major medical plan. Since you are young and healthy, it might be affordable.
You are very lucky. I was diagnosed with cancer while I was debating going off my group health plan due to cost. I don't want to scare you, just food for thought. Maybe eventually you could just get a major medical plan. Since you are young and healthy, it might be affordable.
I'm 38. I know what can or might happen. I also don't want to get old and pretty much have had it with work.
You are very lucky. I was diagnosed with cancer while I was debating going off my group health plan due to cost. I don't want to scare you, just food for thought. Maybe eventually you could just get a major medical plan. Since you are young and healthy, it might be affordable.
Off topic but I hope everything is now OK for you. Lost my grandfather and grandmother to cancer. Will probably loose my mom to it one day and in all likelihood itll be what ends my life as well.
It's a matter of opinion what living well is. My idea of living well is being debt free and being self sufficient and being free. I think everything above is well worth learning...well except for growing into my shoes. If you work hard you need good shoes. At least their family practices useful things
Hey I dont knock em for learning these things, I think thats great. I would love to know how to get my own tree sap and make syrup or whatever, that sounds fun. But I'd want to do it as a choice - a pleasure activity - not because as a necessity for me to be able to pay the electrical bill.
I had thought about making a thread showing how you could live making $30K as a single person in Kansas City, where I live, but never got around to it. The fact is, this is America and that dollar goes a LONG way - if you're smart with it. My theoretical budget plan for $30K would have included owning a house or condo with the option of living in this city's best neighborhoods, a Mercedes, and either taking one trip a year out of the country or a few weekend trips within the country, dining out and eating well, and living well within or below your means while not sacrificing enjoyment of life. Quite frankly, my plan even left a little wiggle room as there were a few excesses that are things that are important to me. It's really amazing what you can do with so little in this country and how you can live.
I think that people in this country have an entitlement problem and have so many luxuries that they don't even realize it. I also think people are largely not very smart with their money. I see a lot of needless spending. The mentality seems to be to live at the maximum you can, rather than below your means, which I think the widespread availability of credit is part of the cause. For example, I do believe many people tend to go for the maximum house they can get credit for, even though they could have a sufficient and nice house for much less. The same goes for cars. Excessive cellphone plans, cellphones, and other electronics are a big waste too. Plus there's a widely-held unncessary idea that everything has to be new, including the needless replacing of something that CAN be fixed. Within a little bit of initiative and research, you can keep from needlessly spending so excessively. Making a decent salary and "barely making ends meet" is a personal and financial management problem, not an objective problem of not making enough to live well. I understand that the "overton window" type of psychological drift is hard to avoid, as I've even caught myself going down the road of excess, but I recognized and put it to a halt before I lost my "financial sanity".
All that said, the biggest culprits are too much house payment, too much car payment, and excessive retail spending. People tend to think they need more than what will really satisfy them. Personally, I'd rather be safe in case I ended up making less money and while making good money would rather have a major surplus of monthly income. I think the biggest thing the average person can do for themself is to have a house or condo that is paid off, the same with a car. Without those payments, the surplus of income is amazing. I know a woman who had the opportunity to have an up to $200K house paid off, in full, but chose to spend that money in other ways and keep paying rent. She bought a Jaguar, a Corvette, some expensive art, etc. Stupid. When she could have had the luxury of no rent or house payment, which that monthly income to live better on is far better than instant gratification! That's how you know somebody isn't very smart financially! You can pay off a car in a few years. A morgage is up to 30. In the end, she had to sell the Corvette due to financial issues!
I always have to laugh at these articles. $40,000 a year is a lot of money, and I could easily live like a king of it. I would like to see how well they do off of $19,000 a year like I did for the past 5 years.
I'm 38. I know what can or might happen. I also don't want to get old and pretty much have had it with work.
I hear ya...stress from work is probably what gave me the cancer... If I could live with less and not have to work, I would. But I struggle even working full-time.
I had thought about making a thread showing how you could live making $30K as a single person in Kansas City, where I live, but never got around to it. The fact is, this is America and that dollar goes a LONG way - if you're smart with it. My theoretical budget plan for $30K would have included owning a house or condo with the option of living in this city's best neighborhoods, a Mercedes, and either taking one trip a year out of the country or a few weekend trips within the country, dining out and eating well, and living well within or below your means while not sacrificing enjoyment of life. Quite frankly, my plan even left a little wiggle room as there were a few excesses that are things that are important to me. It's really amazing what you can do with so little in this country and how you can live.
I think that people in this country have an entitlement problem and have so many luxuries that they don't even realize it. I also think people are largely not very smart with their money. I see a lot of needless spending. The mentality seems to be to live at the maximum you can, rather than below your means, which I think the widespread availability of credit is part of the cause. For example, I do believe many people tend to go for the maximum house they can get credit for, even though they could have a sufficient and nice house for much less. The same goes for cars. Excessive cellphone plans, cellphones, and other electronics are a big waste too. Plus there's a widely-held unncessary idea that everything has to be new, including the needless replacing of something that CAN be fixed. Within a little bit of initiative and research, you can keep from needlessly spending so excessively. Making a decent salary and "barely making ends meet" is a personal and financial management problem, not an objective problem of not making enough to live well. I understand that the "overton window" type of psychological drift is hard to avoid, as I've even caught myself going down the road of excess, but I recognized and put it to a halt before I lost my "financial sanity".
All that said, the biggest culprits are too much house payment, too much car payment, and excessive retail spending. People tend to think they need more than what will really satisfy them. Personally, I'd rather be safe in case I ended up making less money and while making good money would rather have a major surplus of monthly income. I think the biggest thing the average person can do for themself is to have a house or condo that is paid off, the same with a car. Without those payments, the surplus of income is amazing. I know a woman who had the opportunity to have an up to $200K house paid off, in full, but chose to spend that money in other ways and keep paying rent. She bought a Jaguar, a Corvette, some expensive art, etc. Stupid. When she could have had the luxury of no rent or house payment, which that monthly income to live better on is far better than instant gratification! That's how you know somebody isn't very smart financially! You can pay off a car in a few years. A morgage is up to 30. In the end, she had to sell the Corvette due to financial issues!
When can you write the article? I am really curious to learn. I make pretty good money but hardly feel I am rich or well off.
We have friends and relatives who live in areas where they need $150k/year to keep afloat.
Where I grew up; is where my siblings live today; a family would need to be extremely frugal to make do on less than $80k.
When I retired, my family was in a city where it would be very hard to get by $60k. We knew that my pension was not going to be enough to stay there. Even with my Dw's income we would be struggling. So we moved.
Now we are in an area where families raise children on average household incomes of $25k.
In our culture all of these regions exist.
Can a family do okay on less than $40k?
Not if they are in an area that requires $150k/year to keep afloat; not in a region $80k is needed; and not in a place where $60k is the norm.
That's why I will never again live in an area like that. Between working your butt off just to stay afloat and the effects of all the stress it puts on your health, that is not what I call living
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and being free
. I think everything above is well worth learning...well except for growing into my shoes. If you work hard you need good shoes. At least their family practices useful things
If I could live with less and not have to work, I would. But I struggle even working full-time.
