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Hotz, a lot of people found something to do, but the Ranch's departure left a mark. Maunaloa School is fighting to stay open as the population and revenues continue to drop. The ranch was successfully sued for rendering useless both the pool and the golf course at Kaluakoi. There seems to be some home building going on which keeps some folks working.
Getting along on almost nothing is what people seem to be able to do here. But downtown is showing some wear. The lettered sign over Moloka'i Fish and Dive is missing most of its letters and a good part of downtown could stand a coat of paint.
I think the level of comfort depends on a person ability to pay for all bills and still able to do things like taking vacations. My husband and I live in Hawaii and make less than a $100,000.00 a year. We pay for mortgage and utility bills only. We seldom use our credit card and pay in full everytime we use it. In other words, the credit card company do not make money on us and we only charge an amount that we know we can afford to pay in full. When we bought our car (Honda Civic), we paid cash because I don't like to borrow money from the bank. If you have discipline in handling money, you are in control of everything and believe it or not you will never get in trouble. In other words, do not spend more than you make.
I asked a question the other day about how much spending money I could expect to need for a certain amount of time on the vacation that I'm planning. I DEEPLY regret having mentioned that I was bringing a dog. LOL! The entire thread has been advise in that arena, save just a couple of people who actually answered the question. Apparently I'm a dog abuser.
It's a question that could be interpreted as general or specific. Perhaps if the originator of the thread had been clearer about the intent of the question, there would have been less confusion.
It's rather personal to ask someone what they make, anonymous forum or no.
Some people don't realize Fido or Fluffy just can't waltz into Hawaii like any other state, so that dog advice was well-intended, I would guess.
Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, two adults, two cats, One working full time, one part time. Rent, phone bill, 1 truck and 1 scooter. We live comfortably off about $25,000 a year. We also don't have an average lifestyle; we eat fresh most of the time, spend no money on alcohol or cigarettes, and enjoy taking advantage of free things because our hobbies are mostly outdoors-most of thats free here. I don't think it's normal to live off that little, even here, but we are entirely comfortable and visit other islands even. If we wanted to make more it would be easy, we just prefer the time off for fun rather than the additional money different jobs would bring, when we are more than content this way.
AlohaHuey said: Some people don't realize Fido or Fluffy just can't waltz into Hawaii like any other state, so that dog advice was well-intended, I would guess.
Huey, I'm certain you are right about the advice being well intentioned - and I took it in the spirit in which it was given. I just thought it was funny (like, funny haha, not funny strange - just to be clear) that almost everyone who answered focused solely on that issue and never got around to answering the actual question. I sincerly do appreciate the advice and am taking the information given and weighing it against all other factors before making my final decision. Only a fool despises instruction. ;-)
AlohaHuey said: Some people don't realize Fido or Fluffy just can't waltz into Hawaii like any other state, so that dog advice was well-intended, I would guess.
Huey, I'm certain you are right about the advice being well intentioned - and I took it in the spirit in which it was given. I just thought it was funny (like, funny haha, not funny strange - just to be clear) that almost everyone who answered focused solely on that issue and never got around to answering the actual question. I sincerly do appreciate the advice and am taking the information given and weighing it against all other factors before making my final decision. Only a fool despises instruction. ;-)
Well said. There was a young woman on here a few months ago who replied sarcastically to a "get it in writing" post when she took a job in Hawaii...not realizing that Hawaii is full of companies that make empty promises and the advice was sound.
Threads sure can digress...especially when it comes to pets.
When I lived on Oahu, I made $47K per year and COULD NOT live comfortably, which is one of the reasons why I left. It was my first job after college and I have a mountain of student loan debt. I would've probably been fine with $55K - $65K per year.
Debt control is the key to living on a budget without stressing out. My "have to have" amount is $20K after taxes, but that is leaving very little for emergencies and going out funds.
I enjoy living on $60k though, with nice dinners out, money for excursions etc
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Frugality leads to comfort living.
