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Old 12-30-2013, 07:24 AM
 
Location: Full time in the RV
3,417 posts, read 7,761,712 times
Reputation: 3331

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If the OP was 70 and he posted in the retirement forum this thread would go a couple pages max.

He figured out a way to do it 40 years sooner.

He isn't preaching that he found some life secret or pushing it on anyone.

That lifestyle isn't for me either but he is choosing a simpler lifestyle than the rest of us. Everyone keeps talking about unexpected expenses but that holds true for anyone in any financial bracket. It is all proportional at all levels.

There are folks in the retirement forum who retired in their forties. The response they get is nothing like some posts in this thread.
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Old 12-30-2013, 07:32 AM
 
106,043 posts, read 107,996,739 times
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there are vey few that retired there in their forties that did not have a pretty comprehensive plan going in. it is incrediobly difficult trying to support yourself without working for 60 years.
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Old 12-30-2013, 07:39 AM
 
12,547 posts, read 9,865,158 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
there are vey few that retired there in their forties that did not have a pretty comprehensive plan going in. it is incrediobly difficult trying to support yourself without working for 60 years.
I think our sample size of 20-something retirees is so small that no one can say with certainty how it works out.
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Old 12-30-2013, 07:57 AM
 
12,547 posts, read 9,865,158 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ncole1 View Post
Health insurance and out-of-pocket costs?
Property tax, home insurance, and maintenance/repairs/cleaning/lawncare?
Vehicle depreciation and services?
Household supplies and pharmaceuticals?
Travel?

If I could get those things for free I'm sure I could stop working much sooner too!
Cleaning/lawncare and a lot of maintenance can be DIY. At least it is where I come from.

Many household supplies can be made yourself - for example, laundry detergent, deodorant, cleaning supplies, toothpaste, etc.

I'm not sure what you mean by vehicle depreciation. Do you mean the average of how much it cost to drive a car per year?
$15k / 20 yrs = $750/year/$63 per month "depreciation"
Is that what you mean?

The most common service (oil change) can be done at home. If you buy oil in bulk on sale, it can be had for $1.5/quart. An oil change every 6 months can be as little as $10 or $1.67/month.

Tires should last a few years. A set of tires for a small car are about $375 installed and should last 2-3 years = $10.41-$15.60/month.

Property tax depends on location, but mine is $67/month

Travel is optional. Best thing to do there is see what's left over at the end of the year and add it to your travel fund.
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Old 12-30-2013, 08:22 AM
 
19,426 posts, read 12,071,238 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RMD3819 View Post
If the OP was 70 and he posted in the retirement forum this thread would go a couple pages max.

He figured out a way to do it 40 years sooner.

He isn't preaching that he found some life secret or pushing it on anyone.
Yeah, it is like that if you read the thread. OP seems to want to push the idea, as if this is some big revelation even though people have been doing the intentional frugal living thing forever. Except they tend to have a job. OP asks if anyone wants to join? Throws out numbers and talks retirement but knows the 20K will have to be earned by working for the vast majority. Why tease people about being poor?

It is not unusual for people who feel they have worked the system, legally or not, to try to recruit others into that lifestyle, a lifestyle that is tenuous at best and forces people to do things they might not agree with. Who doesn't know some hippie that tells you to stop working for the man and come live in some boring place and be poor because it's so much better.

Some people actually thrive on work and it isn't about materialism.
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Old 12-30-2013, 08:32 AM
 
Location: N. Raleigh
735 posts, read 1,580,337 times
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Interesting debate. I could see you making it about 10 years before everything falls apart and your finances go to hell-Dental, medical, home repairs, taxes, car repairs, something can and will go wrong in the next 10 years that will cost you a significant amount which will bankrupt you.
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Old 12-30-2013, 08:36 AM
 
12,547 posts, read 9,865,158 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tamajane View Post
Yeah, it is like that if you read the thread. OP seems to want to push the idea, as if this is some big revelation even though people have been doing the intentional frugal living thing forever. Except they tend to have a job. OP asks if anyone wants to join? Throws out numbers and talks retirement but knows the 20K will have to be earned by working for the vast majority. Why tease people about being poor?
What if it is made by working?

For some that could mean working toward reducing their expenses and cutting back on their hours, thus allowing for more family time.

Someone else may be able to get by on a part time job and only work 25/hrs week.

Another person may be able to take a short 2 year "retirement" and see the places they may have otherwise never seen.

It may be an old idea, but sometimes people need to hear it framed in a positive light.

Living on less doesn't always mean less living.




Quote:
It is not unusual for people who feel they have worked the system, legally or not, to try to recruit others into that lifestyle, a lifestyle that is tenuous at best and forces people to do things they might not agree with. Who doesn't know some hippie that tells you to stop working for the man and come live in some boring place and be poor because it's so much better.

Some people actually thrive on work and it isn't about materialism.
I'm not recruiting in the least bit. I'm just showing how it doesn't take as much as some think to live well. If that appeals to others, than great.
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Old 12-30-2013, 08:42 AM
 
12,547 posts, read 9,865,158 times
Reputation: 6927
Quote:
Originally Posted by warriorfan63 View Post
Interesting debate. I could see you making it about 10 years before everything falls apart and your finances go to hell-Dental, medical, home repairs, taxes, car repairs, something can and will go wrong in the next 10 years that will cost you a significant amount which will bankrupt you.
I agree, but this is why I'm not trying to get by on the skin of my teeth.

I could say - I want to retire on $10,000 because my expenses are only $9500.

That would be foolish by cutting things way too close.

However, I'm saying I want to retire on $20,000 and my expenses are $10,000.

I have a lot of wiggle room and I'm asking why not?
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Old 12-30-2013, 09:08 AM
 
Location: I live wherever I am.
1,935 posts, read 4,760,437 times
Reputation: 3317
Quote:
Originally Posted by ncole1 View Post
Health insurance and out-of-pocket costs?
Property tax, home insurance, and maintenance/repairs/cleaning/lawncare?
Vehicle depreciation and services?
Household supplies and pharmaceuticals?
Travel?

If I could get those things for free I'm sure I could stop working much sooner too!
I'd mooch from the government for health care, since that's exactly what they have legislated that they want people to do. I'm no fan of being dependent upon government but it's obvious that intelligent conservatives such as myself are on the losing side of this battle. If I cannot win and see the US healthcare system get reformed in a sensible way that actually reduces costs rather than masking them with endless subsidies, I am at least going to hasten the demise and complete overhaul of the system by helping to suck the current system dry. I've seen countless people who have no money find ways to get health care. I'm sure I, with my brains, could figure it out as well.

Property tax and home insurance was included in that $350/month home payment.

Maintenance and repairs - I can do most of that myself, but costs for supplies would be in the "whatever" category. Cleaning and lawncare, my wife and I would do ourselves.

Vehicle depreciation doesn't worry me as we drive an old vehicle. Service on the vehicle is not a given expense every month (it depends on how often we drive, as well as random chance for mechanical failures), so it too is a "whatever" expense.

Pharmaceuticals - see above about "health care".

Travel - that is not a necessity, so I did not include it in the budget analysis.
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Old 12-30-2013, 09:16 AM
 
12,547 posts, read 9,865,158 times
Reputation: 6927
Quote:
Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy View Post
I'd mooch from the government for health care, since that's exactly what they have legislated that they want people to do. I'm no fan of being dependent upon government but it's obvious that intelligent conservatives such as myself are on the losing side of this battle. If I cannot win and see the US healthcare system get reformed in a sensible way that actually reduces costs rather than masking them with endless subsidies, I am at least going to hasten the demise and complete overhaul of the system by helping to suck the current system dry. I've seen countless people who have no money find ways to get health care. I'm sure I, with my brains, could figure it out as well.
I didn't look at it that way but it makes sense. For those that don't like how it's set up, perhaps they should encourage what they consider "abuse." At this point it seems like the only way to reform this overhaul is to destroy it.
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