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Some posters have inferred in other forums that anyone not earning at least $100,000 a year was a failure.
Many, many school districts don't have a single schoolteacher even close to a 100,000 salary yet I sure wouldn't label all of them failures or underachievers.
Yes, many posters have no concept about how common folk live.
eddiehaskell and Ellise - I have to admit, I'm a little envious of y'all.
You remind me of my cousin's wife's brother.
He lives in a little beat up RV near the beach and has never worked more than part-time (painting houses or waiting tables).
Prior to getting the RV, he couch-surfed or even lived in a tent behind the sand dunes.
He's been doing this almost all his adult life, he's in his late 50's and lives sort of a bohemian lifestyle, partying and fishing.
Every time I start to stress about bills and meeting the mortgage I think of him and how it really doesn't take much to live.
Yeah, the middle-class, bourgeois, marriage, mortgage, raising kiddies lifestyle ain't for everyone.
blowing $200 a weekend on drinks sure doesn't impress me .
( I'm presuming the reason you posted that was to impress others )
Exactly. I'm sure all of us could have blown $200 on drinks many times in our lives, but did we? Most likely no. It's not about not being able to afford it. I could win the lotto tomorrow and never spend $200 on drinks.
As far as food, I have no problem eating on an average of $11/day. Should I be eating steak and lobster every day?
blowing $200 a weekend on drinks sure doesn't impress me .
( I'm presuming the reason you posted that was to impress others )
No, not to impress, to show an example of my priorities for entertainment, and why his budget would not fit my lifestyle.
I could have stated "I blow so much on this", but the drinks hit my head first. In Miami/Miami Beach, for two - four people, $200 does not go far for drinks for the night.
Even at that, seems the OP's idea of a vacation is close to home, whereas mine is flying around to different countries for a few weeks. With that, I could have stated "I blow $5k a year just on airline tickets".
- $20,000/yr passive income (increasing with inflation)
- modest home paid off (1000-1500sq ft)
- fuel efficient car paid off
- no debt
- low cost of living part of the US
With an income of $20k/year, health insurance can be had for free (Obamacare).
A modestly sized home of say 1000 sq ft (not small in most countries or even the US 40+ yrs ago) will allow for low utility cost, low property tax and lower maintenance cost.
If a person locates near a decent sized city (50k+) they may even be able to walk/bike/use public transportation.
Here is my personal expenses:
Rent $0
car payment $0 (for the next 7-8 years)
Food $325/month (includes eating out a lot)
Utilities $225/month (includes required $50 cable tv package)
Gasoline $60/month
Cell with unlimited data $40/month
Gym $20/month
Car insurance $60/month
Property tax $67/month
Health insurance $38/month (could get a bronze plan for $0)
home insurance $50/month
clothes/haircuts $30/month
home/car maintenance $??/month
travel/vacations ??
total: $915/month -- as low as $850 if needed.
That's about $11k/year which gives me a cushion of about $9k/year. I also have savings which can be tapped in an emergency.
I don't like work, schedules, mornings, bosses, responsibility, feeling replaceable, consumerism, etc, etc.
I do like coming and going as I please, sleeping until noon, hanging out at the pool, traveling, women, reading BS on the internet, playing basketball, working with my hands once in a while, etc.
Anyone else want to join me?
Yes, as others have stated, there will be unexpected expenses.
However, if you stick to your budget you should be able to easily cover some of those expenses with the difference between your $11,000 a year living expense and your $20,000 per year income.
Exactly. I'm sure all of us could have blown $200 on drinks many times in our lives, but did we? Most likely no. It's not about not being able to afford it. I could win the lotto tomorrow and never spend $200 on drinks.
As far as food, I have no problem eating on an average of $11/day. Should I be eating steak and lobster every day?
For one, I am looking at this from two people (my wife and I), along with two close relatives I provide support for. I also am looking at it from my priorities, versus your priorities. While you state "Should I be eating steak and lobster every day", my priority is "yes, I am and do".
This is not degrading your decision at all, you asked "who is with you", and I am giving reasons why I am not.
No, not to impress, to show an example of my priorities for entertainment, and why his budget would not fit my lifestyle.
I could have stated "I blow so much on this", but the drinks hit my head first. In Miami/Miami Beach, for two - four people, $200 does not go far for drinks for the night.
Even at that, seems the OP's idea of a vacation is close to home, whereas mine is flying around to different countries for a few weeks. With that, I could have stated "I blow $5k a year just on airline tickets".
Actually, I'm planning to explore Central America for a few months and then perhaps Thailand. Before I started this journey, I thought I was limited financially but I ended up realizing that I was only limited by my creativity. Society may tell us that we need to spend a lot of money to do anything worth doing, but that isn't always the case.
Most folks who retire on $20,000 a year expect to do their own.............gardening, snow removal, painting, and preventative maintainance.
That's very true and people who work do that PLUS hold down a job. Being too lazy to shovel snow or handle a paint brush, hiring people to clean your house for you, is just a huge financial drain.
Besides, caring for your own home on your own time in your own way is not such a chore. I've never heard of gardening as a chore, it's a pleasure. Anyone who pays for someone to garden for them needs to live in a high rise.
The plan sounds pretty good to me if you can stand to live in a very cheap location with not much cultural activity going on and probably not surrounded by compatible people.
I do wonder about house taxes, car registration and insurance, dental bills, the inevitable new refrigerator or washing machine. Good furniture can be purchased second hand but you will need to pay for such things as a mattress.
The food bill seems low although you do save a lot by cooking and not eating out. Nobody needs to blow $200 a weekend on drinks, what a huge waste of money. A paid off house really frees you up. It's no different from the way people lived just a few decades ago when they didn't throw their money around on wasteful things that they don't need.
You are missing my point,the point is you reach a point where you can do every aspect of your life by yourself. But is that what you want to retire into by trying to retire on such limited income early on in life.
Remember we are not talking here retiring at retirement age in this thread.
What I don't understand is why anyone would want to "retire" at 30????
I can see somebody wanting to chuck the 9-5 job and pursue some new opportunity or great adventure or travel the world or devote himself/herself to a project like writing a novel.
But to just essentially sit on your butt and vegetate in one place for the next 40-50 years just because you think you can afford to do that seems bizarre to me... well, actually, on second thought, it's not bizarre at all. It's simply being lazy and immature.
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