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Pitt Chick: How does someone use no gasoline? How does he get where he's going? If he grows his own food, what does he use to till the soil and do other farming tasks? Does he use horse draw plow and horse drawn carriage?
What does the forum consider, other than complete homelessness or being a beggar, the ultimate in frugal living. I wondered about this because I was wondering about some scenarios that would give you the lowest cost of living.
I have two of my own to contribute. First, my parents. After my dad retired, he found a position working for a very wealthy lady. She built them a house to live in on the grounds of her property. She paid my dad a salary to be the caretaker, he rented out the house he owned, and lived there till he died. She was an old maid, so she would take them along on her vacations and pay their way. On top of that, he had his pension. It was an easy gig, because he could hire people to do some of the hard work, and some days his biggest task was driving his employer into town. (Like Driving Miss Daisy)
Second one I can see is buying a house where housing demand is almost nil, like in a small town on great plains, where nice houses can be purchased in the area of $25,000. That means your taxes and insurance will also be very low. This would be ideal for someone trying to live on SS alone. Anyone else?
Your second scenario is exactly what I'm considering doing when I retire. That should be in about 7-10 years from now, so I'm hoping it will still be a good idea. I have been looking at homes in the 25,000-75,000 price range in southeast Nebraska or southwest Iowa. I have found numerous homes in that price range that would work perfectly for me and think it is something I will end up doing. I'm single so it is just me and there is no one else to have to consider in my decision. I have wondered how many besides me are thinking of doing the same?
Pitt Chick: How does someone use no gasoline? How does he get where he's going? If he grows his own food, what does he use to till the soil and do other farming tasks? Does he use horse draw plow and horse drawn carriage?
There is no "ultimate" any more than there is an ultimate color. The Zen Buddhist monk often exists with working in the fields and a begging bowl. The ultra-rich can perceive frugality in not always buying designer clothes. I once hosted the FAQ for the usenet group on frugality. Members were fairly much in agreement that it was a general concept rather than a specific goal.
I agree. People choose to live a frugal lifestyle for various reasons. Some folks have to live frugally because they don't make much money, either due to a choice to pursue a low-paying career or a lack of marketable skills; some live frugally out of concern of job loss in a volatile employment climate; some want to retire early; some want to retire really well; some live frugally on a day-to-day basis so they have more money to spend on things they get enjoyment from.
Beyond that, people look at frugality differently. One guy might consider the most frugal place to live to be the one with the lowest monthly net cost of housing; another might be willing to pay more for housing in order to have space to grow his own vegetables, or a garage so he can do all his own car repairs; a third might be willing to pay more for housing in order to ble close to work and save on transportation costs.
There is no "ultimate" any more than there is an ultimate color. The Zen Buddhist monk often exists with working in the fields and a begging bowl. The ultra-rich can perceive frugality in not always buying designer clothes. I once hosted the FAQ for the usenet group on frugality. Members were fairly much in agreement that it was a general concept rather than a specific goal.
I agree, I think the definition means living within your means so it's all relative. Someone making $200,000 a year can be frugal and still buy a good business suit or a newer car than someone making $12,000. A high wage earner might really be kind of silly washing clothes by hand and using a clothes line and buying clothes from Salvation Army shores, unless that is what they really enjoy more.
The reasons to be frugal also vary -- for some people it's about money, either they don't have much or they want to pile up a lot of money. For others, it's how they grew up and being frugal is comfortable, spending money might actually be stressful, even if they have enough. And for others, being frugal is best for the environment and earth -- waste-not-want-not can include a belief that wasting is wrong. Someone with money might keep the thermostat at 60 in the winter because it feels wrong to waste energy.
A friend of ours lives totally off the grid - I think HE is the ultimate in frugal living.
He and his wife are not homeless or beggars; they live a great life, complete with organic food, homemade wines, HDTV, smartphone and internet.
"Off the grid" with HDTV, smartphone, and internet??...
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