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Eh, yeah, I mean I can get behind almost any idea in theory, they all sound good to me. It's the reality of most ideas that fail for me. Like I'd love to say I could be happy just living in a Sprinter van with a laptop to do my work and some basic possessions, wow imagine the freedom, travel around, live on so little money, how fantastic you think! Then I realize, uhh, no, because there's no chance you could keep that thing perfectly temperature controlled no matter what season, you'd eventually get tired of being cooped up like a chicken, and I know exactly what the life of luxury feels like and that's the life I enjoy living. Sure, you make do with whatever you can afford, no doubt about that, but once you're used to the finer things in life it's hard to want to go back.
I think it's great as an individual to understand how you can live on less, if you have to, and I'm personally glad I've been through that before (albeit with a safety net, so I'm not actually saying I suffered real hardship here) where I lived in a tiny quad where my room was about 150 square feet, I shared a small kitchen with 3 other people, only 1 of whom I knew, and the place was so poorly temperature controlled that if it was 58 in my apartment it was like 80 in the quad across from me, so I just had to suck it up and put on a jacket because there's no way we could turn the heat up since it was already sweltering in the other unit. That place cost $250/month plus $30 electric bill for me, and I ate cheaply, walked many places, didn't drive anywhere in town just walked to get to the grocery store, walked to get to college campus, walked to a friends, whatever. It wasn't enjoyable, though, it was miserable, and comparing that to living in a luxury downtown condo with a concierge and private security and nice views, plenty of space, etc. isn't even close. It's a cute idea to pretend I could just "decide" to be happier, but external circumstances influence happiness because the real world, you know, does matter, not just our internal thoughts.
So for me, I want an ever increasing quality of life, doesn't mean I "need" it, but it's kind of like anything in life, you take care of meeting the basics, then you go increasingly more advanced. I think it'd be sad if you can't still find ways to be happy even with more meager circumstances, but I also think it's natural to acknowledge that many times money opens the door to better life experiences, whatever that may be for you personally. For me, it's making sure my next home is in the city where I want to be living, with a pool / hot tub / fire pit to enjoy the outdoors, and a large enough house to enjoy a separation of space and be able to work out from home (as I already do) and do my work from home (as I do now, too). Ultimately, no, the nicer things don't define your life, by any means, but they make each day a little bit more pleasant and enjoyable.
It also depends what is your (to steal from City Slickers) "One Thing." My one thing is filmmaking, which costs a lot of money, so my only way to guarantee that I get to make movies is to have the money myself to make them. I can, of course (and do), hope that I can find the other paths like through screenwriting to win over financiers and get other people to fund the movies. That's how the industry works, ultimately, at the professional level, writer-directors are hired to execute their ideas with outside financing. Short of that, though, you need the money to take a shot downfield and see what happens. It's what I truly love to do and what makes me the happiest, so my need for more money is ever present lol.
KaraG's right. I'm not in the military, but I know happygeek probably wouldn't know that & is just throwing ideas out there, so thanks for the suggestions anyway.
I haven't read all the responses but I just want to say that choosing to buckle down and spend only on absolute needs, rent, food, car insurance and such is not much fun AT FIRST but as you see the credit card debts come down and some small amount going to savings it brings a great deal of relief.
Every penny spent must pass the following test: is this a real need or merely a want.
I've been retired for 14 years with a great pension. However, four years ago I learned that it may be drastically cut (60% or more) and so I went into austerity mode and began really socking away as much as I could. At this point I have enough saved to supplement my income, if reduced, for 5 to 6 years of basic, routine expenses. It will most likely be another year before I decision is reached about my pension and so I will hold off on painting the interior of the house since even if I do all the labor myself it's still a decent chunk of change to buy enough to do a 2,700 sq. ft house. So I'll live with what I've got for now.
You get to chose whether some instant gratification or longer term reduced stress is more important to you.
There's a middle ground between being a miser piling up wealth and spending every paycheck. My choices that mattered were all made by the time I was in my early 20s. I didn't want to be poor so I made sure I got a college degree in something useful from a good school with good grades. There were lots of nights where I wanted to be drinking from that keg or getting high with my friends where I had to study. Once my career was launched, it was mostly a matter of always trying to be the most productive guy in the room. The raises and promotions came from that. It wasn't an extreme sacrifice to be competent 5 days per week. I wouldn't trade the disposable income I've squandered for a big pile of money. I've accumulated enough wealth that I'll be comfortable when I stop working. I'd rather have 40 years of memorable adulthood than hit 60-something where I haven't traveled the world and done all kinds of memorable things.
So I'm wondering how your comments are relevant to the OP's situation or mine.
Our OP's situation sure sounds like an emergency to me. That doesn't mean they have to live like that forever. But as I've mentioned in another post....realistically our OP probably does need to live in miser mode for 2-3 years as well as rethinking ways to earn more. Cutting back lifestyle is a short run solution. Earning more is more of a long run solution. The two need to work together. But our OP doesn't seem willing to make the hard choices.
I agree. One doesn't want to live a miserly life forever. But if living miserly for a time sets you up to live well later it can well be worth the sacrifice. Miserly also doesn't always equal misery.
The key is that you made enough to have plenty of disposable income as well as accumulated wealth to be comfortable when you stop working. Some people don't have that margin that you had. At that point one has to plan a path.
Yes, exactly. It's really a question of living in miser mode in a proactive and temporary way or living that way because you'll be forced to do so permanently if you don't make the change proactively.
Sure, but it's better to plan a path and execute it before you launch into adulthood. I got multiple career-launching good job offers out of college because I made sure I had in-demand skills and otherwise stood out from other job applicants. This was at a time with hyperinflation and a 10.8% unemployment rate higher than at the peak of the recent Great Recession. I had big school loans and had sufficient income to pay them back. I created my own margin. I realize everyone doesn't have the aptitude to do this but I watched plenty of smart people squander away their opportunity. If you're off the rails at age 20, it's tough to ever catch back up.
No disagreements here. It's painful to watch so many people--even smart people--shoot themselves in the foot. But that's water under the bridge for our OP at this point.
With employers being so crappy the only time you can relax is when you can live passively off investments never touching principle
Mostly correct. But sometimes people have other levers to pull if they lose their jobs. Maybe they are willing and able to move to a cheaper area if they lose their jobs. Maybe some can take a part time job and combine it with their investment income, etc. So it may not be quite as binary as you suggest.
And generally, you can touch a bit of your capital gains. The 4% rule is quite conservative. But our OP isn't anywhere near this realm.
Eh, yeah, I mean I can get behind almost any idea in theory, they all sound good to me. It's the reality of most ideas that fail for me. Like I'd love to say I could be happy just living in a Sprinter van with a laptop to do my work and some basic possessions, wow imagine the freedom, travel around, live on so little money, how fantastic you think! Then I realize, uhh, no, because there's no chance you could keep that thing perfectly temperature controlled no matter what season, you'd eventually get tired of being cooped up like a chicken, and I know exactly what the life of luxury feels like and that's the life I enjoy living. Sure, you make do with whatever you can afford, no doubt about that, but once you're used to the finer things in life it's hard to want to go back.
I think it's great as an individual to understand how you can live on less, if you have to, and I'm personally glad I've been through that before (albeit with a safety net, so I'm not actually saying I suffered real hardship here) where I lived in a tiny quad where my room was about 150 square feet, I shared a small kitchen with 3 other people, only 1 of whom I knew, and the place was so poorly temperature controlled that if it was 58 in my apartment it was like 80 in the quad across from me, so I just had to suck it up and put on a jacket because there's no way we could turn the heat up since it was already sweltering in the other unit. That place cost $250/month plus $30 electric bill for me, and I ate cheaply, walked many places, didn't drive anywhere in town just walked to get to the grocery store, walked to get to college campus, walked to a friends, whatever. It wasn't enjoyable, though, it was miserable, and comparing that to living in a luxury downtown condo with a concierge and private security and nice views, plenty of space, etc. isn't even close. It's a cute idea to pretend I could just "decide" to be happier, but external circumstances influence happiness because the real world, you know, does matter, not just our internal thoughts.
So for me, I want an ever increasing quality of life, doesn't mean I "need" it, but it's kind of like anything in life, you take care of meeting the basics, then you go increasingly more advanced. I think it'd be sad if you can't still find ways to be happy even with more meager circumstances, but I also think it's natural to acknowledge that many times money opens the door to better life experiences, whatever that may be for you personally. For me, it's making sure my next home is in the city where I want to be living, with a pool / hot tub / fire pit to enjoy the outdoors, and a large enough house to enjoy a separation of space and be able to work out from home (as I already do) and do my work from home (as I do now, too). Ultimately, no, the nicer things don't define your life, by any means, but they make each day a little bit more pleasant and enjoyable.
It also depends what is your (to steal from City Slickers) "One Thing." My one thing is filmmaking, which costs a lot of money, so my only way to guarantee that I get to make movies is to have the money myself to make them. I can, of course (and do), hope that I can find the other paths like through screenwriting to win over financiers and get other people to fund the movies. That's how the industry works, ultimately, at the professional level, writer-directors are hired to execute their ideas with outside financing. Short of that, though, you need the money to take a shot downfield and see what happens. It's what I truly love to do and what makes me the happiest, so my need for more money is ever present lol.
Peltier modules could keep the living space VERY well temp controlled. The battery storage and the effect that would have on your gas milage would be an issue. Perhaps a very small low fuel consumption generator to off set non sunny times for prolonged priods to avoid having to have a massive bank of super heavy batteries. Use a propane powered heat exchanger that you pump river water through to shower outside, the propane exchanger will get the water very hot so you would have to have a mixing valve but it would be super comfortable even outside in the winter, the transition between shutting off the shower and drying off and getting dressed would be a problem that would have to be solved, perhaps place exteriour shower connection next to the hot side (but not too close) of the peltier module (or a dedicated peltier module) so you have a radient heat source while you dry off.
you would have to map out the various acceptable sources of water around the USA and plan your routes accordingly, having to carry a full blown containment tank and integrated shower/grey/black water system is onerous. You may need a small water containment to flush poo directly outside and for drinking cooking washing hands.
I dont know if a van would be better or a truck with a trailer. You could customize say a 15' x 8.5' trailer but the problem is a truck gets just ok gas milage so you will need funds to keep it fueled up. Its also harder to find a place to park a pick up with a trailer. I have seen these mini motor homes that look super slick that you could make modifications to but i dont know what their gas milage is.
Mostly correct. But sometimes people have other levers to pull if they lose their jobs. Maybe they are willing and able to move to a cheaper area if they lose their jobs. Maybe some can take a part time job and combine it with their investment income, etc. So it may not be quite as binary as you suggest.
And generally, you can touch a bit of your capital gains. The 4% rule is quite conservative. But our OP isn't anywhere near this realm.
Unless you have SUPER in demand skills its tough to find a company that will offer relocation so if the company does not pay, in full, your relocation expenses it can get STEEP, It could take you quite a while working at new said job to recover your relocation losses. All the while you are exposed to lay off while you are still in the red (unless you have a STRONG contract) which is also rare.
I think most people, like myself, find odd jobs to at least insure that their principal is not chewed into but for most high earners it takes a LONG time to replace that income (unless you are incredibly lucky) so you are basically trading time just to break even (maybe put a meager amount back towards savings) but at an extreme expense to your time.
The only exception is if your spouse has a pension or you have some kind of military retirement, but now you are talking about older folks who should be fully retired anyways. Other than maybe the military pension which allows you to retire at like 38 ... but that is most certianly not free and likely means you lost alot of income potential by taking meager military pay for a LONG time as well as the beating your body took (again unless you won the military lottery and got a cushy position).
You either have a silver spoon or you dont, outside of being born into wealth there are not as many levers as people think there are.
We have no debt (other than the house) and just food, taxes, insurance costs BIG money and just keeps getting worse. I am going to have to divest assets just because the tax burdens are getting so out of hand try to get the house paid off but even once its paid off the taxes represent around 1/3 of our mortgage which is a big deal. How do you keep up all these bureaucratic payments when your trying to buy your own time back, its almost impossible. Unfortunately the land assets I have are not income generating and would cost hundreds of thousands to get them to that point and even then its a gamble.
For the average American they are battling the govt wanting more and more and companies wanting to pay less and less. I am surprised there is not more Americans (smart educated Americans) who are not trying to emigrate to places like Germany where at least you have free education and health care and GOOD jobs are staunchly protected.
The USA is very slowly creeping towards feudalism and a new dark ages. People living in dilapidated huts, homeless camps and trailers because they dont have the "skills" (even though alot of underemployed people have stem degrees) to make enough money to advance their lives and accumulate income generating assets. Trump is pretty much a dud, so it will be interesting to see what 2020 brings.
Alot of people I know are hoping for WW3 because thats the only thing that will bring prosperity so long as you can avoid a draft.
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