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Thailand is an adequately large country to have the majority of it's areas free from air pollution. Industrial China has brown clouds, as does the front range of northern Colorado.
Live at higher altitude and upwind! Lots of fresh air.
Actually I have researched that entire part of the world and the air quality is unhealthy across that entire region which is why I can’t visit my son anywhere in Vietnam where he lives. I have asthma and need to be careful.
My Dw was always a good bookkeeper. She kept a hand written household budget all the time. Every year when it was time to file taxes we itemized our tax filing. We had stacks of receipts that filled boxes.
It took us a few years to get CCs, but we were afraid of ever using them. They were our 'emergency fund'. Since I traveled a lot, if I had a CC, then if I was suddenly in Spain for a week, I could go into any bank and come out with local currency. [I remember doing that one time when there were hammer and cycle posters up everywhere, while the bars were playing Beach Boys. They were having a local ballot on whether to join the USSR.]
My Dw kept us from owing income taxes, so I encouraged her efforts in budgeting and itemizing. And when I was submerged, she managed our apartments for us in my absence.
But in the mid-1990s, she decided that if we used a CC for all of our bills, then all of our transactions would be recorded on a single piece of paper each month. We paid our CC bill in full each month, so there were no interest charges. And our documentation was reduced to only twelve pieces of paper [those CC statements].
We still refuse to charge anything. We still pay our CC bill in full each month. But we are no longer so religious about keeping and organizing receipts.
For us using CCs has meant that we have no need to carry as much cash.
But I think that for most people this level of discipline would be difficult.
I agree. Age and experience plays a huge part in this. That's wonderful she kept such good receipts and tracking of the money. That generally means she didn't spend willy nilly.
We used CC to pay off medical debt incurred thru an ER Visit. He was in for 5-6 days. I was in College at the time and worked p/t. Hospital refused to take payments. It took years but it was paid off. Really turned us off to Credit Cards. Next time we decided no matter what, since the invent of the internet, we'd just medically fix ourselves. I crazy glued a cut that would normally need stitches together. It didn't scar at all and turned out better than it would have if I visited a Doctor. Later in life, I got a job with medical benefits but we hardly ever see a Doctor so it didn't matter. It was nice not paying for dental cleanings anymore.
I talked to a friend yesterday, who is of retirement age, but still works a little.
Single, he claims he eats on about 75$ a week. BUT... He's a good cook, prepares his meals in bulk so he can freeze them and only eats twice a day. Maybe some crackers for lunch, he says.
Like me, he just doesn't like restaurants and avoids them.
I talked to a friend yesterday, who is of retirement age, but still works a little.
Single, he claims he eats on about 75$ a week. BUT... He's a good cook, prepares his meals in bulk so he can freeze them and only eats twice a day. Maybe some crackers for lunch, he says.
Like me, he just doesn't like restaurants and avoids them.
75$, and he eats well. That's what he says.
That sounds reasonable to me [assuming that he is not a gardener].
I am routinely shocked when I read on forums about how much other people spend on their food.
I was a vendor at local Farmer's Markets offering veggies, maple, honey, herbs, and pork sausage. After my last round of cancer, I decided to give up on raising pigs and sent them all to freezer camp. My Dw now volunteers at a neighborhood food bank, they require that every volunteer take home a box of food, in return my Dw writes them a check each week in place of our food budget. It keeps our kitchen pantry stocked with more than enough to feed a large family.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Listener2307
I talked to a friend yesterday, who is of retirement age, but still works a little.
Single, he claims he eats on about 75$ a week. BUT... He's a good cook, prepares his meals in bulk so he can freeze them and only eats twice a day. Maybe some crackers for lunch, he says.
Like me, he just doesn't like restaurants and avoids them.
75$, and he eats well. That's what he says.
Pre-covid we ate very well for $100/ month. Looks to be closer to $150 in deflated dollars.
Salmon, eggs, cheese, chicken, and adequate red meat. Plenty of fresh veggies and fruit. We eat 2x / day as seniors, that's plenty. One meal is often steel cut oats ~$0.25 per serving. Freezer is full of free wild berries+ farm raised meats and 150# of salmon I just bought from native Indian fishery.($3/#)
Eat out at Happy hours in local pubs <$10 for 2 of us.
Traveling, I go to grocery produce dept and get culls (often for free)
International we eat like locals. (Fresh markets). Our last trip, every host insisted they cook a local meal for us, and usually provided sandwiches and fresh produce for daily picnics. All for free (which included our excellent lodging)
We do the same for our many guests (on $150/ month).
As a family, we too volunteered with community service providing meals and groceries. Leftovers are fine (and often preferred). Never had to skimp on healthy food. Always prefer home cooking.
I talked to a friend yesterday, who is of retirement age, but still works a little.
Single, he claims he eats on about 75$ a week. BUT... He's a good cook, prepares his meals in bulk so he can freeze them and only eats twice a day. Maybe some crackers for lunch, he says.
Like me, he just doesn't like restaurants and avoids them.
75$, and he eats well. That's what he says.
$75 a week for groceries seems high to me as a single person, but of course if he's buying things like steaks and seafood on a regular basis I can see that happening. I've been spending about $40- $50 a week for myself and eat well, no junk food but I no longer or rarely buy red meat. I'm skipping grocery shopping this week because I already have plenty of food.
I spend between 300-360/month for myself. I do have company for dinner at least once a week. I eat 2 meals a day. Groceries are higher on the west coast.
Cat food and wine are our biggest items. There is no way to cut back. Everything went up 10-20% and it was not cheap to start with in Oklahoma. We come in around 1k for two and two furries. One of them is a picky eater and under weight.
Could we make it on one SS? On SO's without too much problem. His side hussle pay for most of his play dates. With both just fine and some left to share as we have always done.
I enjoy cooking as stress relief and our small circle enjoys what comes out of my kitchen. The tiny garden produces very specific things in abundance.
Cat food and wine are our biggest items. There is no way to cut back. Everything went up 10-20% and it was not cheap to start with in Oklahoma. We come in around 1k for two and two furries. One of them is a picky eater and under weight.
Could we make it on one SS? On SO's without too much problem. His side hussle pay for most of his play dates. With both just fine and some left to share as we have always done.
I enjoy cooking as stress relief and our small circle enjoys what comes out of my kitchen. The tiny garden produces very specific things in abundance.
I didn't count the cost of my cat with my groceries. Cat food almost $100 per month, flea medication, cat litter. My cat costs almost as much to maintain as I spend on myself. I'm not complaining though, she never needs new clothes.
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