When I'll finish paying my car, that will be big savings, car value always goes down.
I will keep it until the engine dies, or the rust takes over.
I will keep it until the engine dies, or the rust takes over.
Living alone and the cost of life
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Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I'm always surprised that folks don't do more to raise their own income. There are a lot of untapped opportunities out there, yet people sit around and whine about the cost of living.
I'm always surprised that people will choose to continue living in a part of the country with high unemployment and low wages. Lots of places are hiring and paying good money. Why fight with hundreds of other people to get the only $12/hr job around?
I'm always surprised that folks don't do more to raise their own income. There are a lot of untapped opportunities out there, yet people sit around and whine about the cost of living.
I'm always surprised that people will choose to continue living in a part of the country with high unemployment and low wages. Lots of places are hiring and paying good money. Why fight with hundreds of other people to get the only $12/hr job around?
I learnt a lot in a very short amount of time in a small village on the banks of the Mekong between northern Thailand and Laos.
we could say that a smile is a smile. no. these people in this village had N O T H I N G but, I now see them as far more wealthy than us. they have a deep connection with nauture, the rainforest and all that it brings, the smiles on those faces were like nothing id seen or have seen since, you could see it in their eyes, in their whole being, quite amazing to have been there and seen that.
travelling for 12 months with only the contents of a backpack shows you what you need. quickly.
another place we went to in North Sumatra, i washed/bathed in the river with the locals at night, they found it hilarious as most of the western backpackers would use the showers...I tell you, it was one of the highlights of the trip! Along with helping them to carry a BIG generator (our only source of power in that village!) across the river to get it worked on 200 miles away
my first recommendation, turn off your TV, after that, buy a bike and use it!...steadily break down this disconnect that we humans have made with nature, we are nature, the more we see that, the better /simpler life gets.
we could say that a smile is a smile. no. these people in this village had N O T H I N G but, I now see them as far more wealthy than us. they have a deep connection with nauture, the rainforest and all that it brings, the smiles on those faces were like nothing id seen or have seen since, you could see it in their eyes, in their whole being, quite amazing to have been there and seen that.
travelling for 12 months with only the contents of a backpack shows you what you need. quickly.
another place we went to in North Sumatra, i washed/bathed in the river with the locals at night, they found it hilarious as most of the western backpackers would use the showers...I tell you, it was one of the highlights of the trip! Along with helping them to carry a BIG generator (our only source of power in that village!) across the river to get it worked on 200 miles away
my first recommendation, turn off your TV, after that, buy a bike and use it!...steadily break down this disconnect that we humans have made with nature, we are nature, the more we see that, the better /simpler life gets.
Living alone here. First, I've learned PLENTY about how to be frugal and keep your head above water. Went thru bankruptcy about 5 years ago now, got in heavy with the credit cards when I was younger. I vowed after that to live within my means, and no matter what - NOT live paycheck to paycheck.
First off, do what you have to do to BUY - not rent. Renting, yes, is a part of life, but should really be as temporary as possible. I finally just bought my first home. Bought a HUD foreclosure. it's not perfect, but for a first home.... My mortgage isn't much more than half what I was paying in rent. Once the house is fixed up enough, I'm going to rent out a room. That will cut my mortgage down to near nothing. I have a BASIC cable/internet package. I found a deal with a 2-year contract from Comcast (nobody else services my house here :/). $39.99/month for their crazy fast internet, and basic cable. I have a cell phone and pay $45/month for that for unlimited talk/txt, and 500MB of 4G web (throttled back to unlimited 3G after that). I have wifi at work and home, so the web is no issue for me.
As other shave said - be energy conscious. Turn stuff off when you're done with it. Spend the ~$50 on a programmable thermostat to turn the head down while you're gone, and have it set to automatically come on before you get home. Worth every penny. As others also said, buy in bulk, but BE SMART ABOUT THAT - DON'T buy things in bulk that go bad that you, as a single person, won't have time to eat. And don't buy large things in bulk that you end up going thru faster just because you happen to have them on hand.
Find a hobby. Something to occupy your non-work time. I play with cars. Sometimes it makes me money, most of the time it costs me money. I fix them, build them, race them. I now teach defensive driving & car control, and am a volunteer in-car instructor for Street Survival, a teen defensive driving program sponsored by TireRack & the BMWCCA Foundation. We're all MUCH happier people if we're productive than sitting around, and that productivity doesn't always have to = making $$$.
First off, do what you have to do to BUY - not rent. Renting, yes, is a part of life, but should really be as temporary as possible. I finally just bought my first home. Bought a HUD foreclosure. it's not perfect, but for a first home.... My mortgage isn't much more than half what I was paying in rent. Once the house is fixed up enough, I'm going to rent out a room. That will cut my mortgage down to near nothing. I have a BASIC cable/internet package. I found a deal with a 2-year contract from Comcast (nobody else services my house here :/). $39.99/month for their crazy fast internet, and basic cable. I have a cell phone and pay $45/month for that for unlimited talk/txt, and 500MB of 4G web (throttled back to unlimited 3G after that). I have wifi at work and home, so the web is no issue for me.
As other shave said - be energy conscious. Turn stuff off when you're done with it. Spend the ~$50 on a programmable thermostat to turn the head down while you're gone, and have it set to automatically come on before you get home. Worth every penny. As others also said, buy in bulk, but BE SMART ABOUT THAT - DON'T buy things in bulk that go bad that you, as a single person, won't have time to eat. And don't buy large things in bulk that you end up going thru faster just because you happen to have them on hand.
Find a hobby. Something to occupy your non-work time. I play with cars. Sometimes it makes me money, most of the time it costs me money. I fix them, build them, race them. I now teach defensive driving & car control, and am a volunteer in-car instructor for Street Survival, a teen defensive driving program sponsored by TireRack & the BMWCCA Foundation. We're all MUCH happier people if we're productive than sitting around, and that productivity doesn't always have to = making $$$.
Hermann
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Originally Posted By: [email protected]
Originally Posted By: OilFool
$8/lb bacon (mmmm bacon)
$4.xx gal milk
$3.xx dozen eggs
I bought 4 dozen because theres nothing better than a scrambled egg sandwich on toast! lol
Not unless the scrambled egg is on a English Muffing and I pay $1.50 for those for a dozen.
Originally Posted By: OilFool
$8/lb bacon (mmmm bacon)
$4.xx gal milk
$3.xx dozen eggs
I bought 4 dozen because theres nothing better than a scrambled egg sandwich on toast! lol
Not unless the scrambled egg is on a English Muffing and I pay $1.50 for those for a dozen.
As far as grocery store prices, if you shop around enough, you'll learn when each store has sales and for which items. I know which local newspaper day has the circulars for all the grocery stores in my area. I never buy anything hardly at retail price. When they have things like Lean Cuisine frozen dinners on sale for $1.99, I load my freezer. I wait til meats are on sale and load the freezer.
I've lived alone all my adult life and it does take some work to get good grocery store prices, but you have to realize that most everything you buy will eventually be on sale at some point. Even perishable items like milk/eggs etc. will be on sale at least once a week at one of the grocery chains in your area.
I've lived alone all my adult life and it does take some work to get good grocery store prices, but you have to realize that most everything you buy will eventually be on sale at some point. Even perishable items like milk/eggs etc. will be on sale at least once a week at one of the grocery chains in your area.
Originally Posted By: Gabe
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
I pay for my health insurance at the checkout thru conscious awakened choices.
I'm not sure if cutting out real health insurance is a way to save money...
True that. I could have gone bankrupt twice now from not having health insurance. eating well won't stop an accident that causes a broken bone, or having to have your appendix removed. In fact, I'd say having a minimum of a high deductible policy and putting a small amount of money away each month for the detectible if you ever have to use it, is one of the smartest financial decision you can make if you can't obtain a good group policy through employment. That majority of bankruptcies are from a lack of health insurance.
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
I pay for my health insurance at the checkout thru conscious awakened choices.
I'm not sure if cutting out real health insurance is a way to save money...
True that. I could have gone bankrupt twice now from not having health insurance. eating well won't stop an accident that causes a broken bone, or having to have your appendix removed. In fact, I'd say having a minimum of a high deductible policy and putting a small amount of money away each month for the detectible if you ever have to use it, is one of the smartest financial decision you can make if you can't obtain a good group policy through employment. That majority of bankruptcies are from a lack of health insurance.
Your GF doesn't think its strange that the freezer is loaded with TV dinners ?
There are also a myriad of diseases like nerve diseases that hit you in your thirties and have no relation to "clean living".
One supermarket here, Shaws, tries every trick in the book to take from one hand what it gives back to the other. They're good for dry goods when on super duper sale. I get gallons of milk at gas station convenience stores for state minimum pricing: every big box store is about 80 cents a gallon more.
Aside from brown bagging left overs, there isn't much money to save on the food front, IMO. It's still stuff like rent that screws you over when you're on one income. My first apartment for my first job, I was competing against Section 8 tenants, and they set the floor pretty high.
One supermarket here, Shaws, tries every trick in the book to take from one hand what it gives back to the other. They're good for dry goods when on super duper sale. I get gallons of milk at gas station convenience stores for state minimum pricing: every big box store is about 80 cents a gallon more.
Aside from brown bagging left overs, there isn't much money to save on the food front, IMO. It's still stuff like rent that screws you over when you're on one income. My first apartment for my first job, I was competing against Section 8 tenants, and they set the floor pretty high.
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Your GF doesn't think its strange that the freezer is loaded with TV dinners ?
What's wrong with the healthy type frozen dinners, especially for $1.99? I normally eat them for lunch. I try and cook as many dinners with fresh ingredients as possible. It's cheap and healthy, especially compared to fast food at lunch everyday.
Your GF doesn't think its strange that the freezer is loaded with TV dinners ?
What's wrong with the healthy type frozen dinners, especially for $1.99? I normally eat them for lunch. I try and cook as many dinners with fresh ingredients as possible. It's cheap and healthy, especially compared to fast food at lunch everyday.
Living alone is actually IMO the cheapest. You can just rent a room or share apartment with a friend / roommate, you have no wife / girlfriend / kids to tell you what to buy and how to fashion your place, you can eat what you want instead of having "Culinary Experiences" at fancy places.
You can now also live close to work without having to commute 2 hours a day due to the "keeping up with the Jones to have a nice home" mentality or a preference of school district for your kids education.
In terms of food, I don't think it is a big part of expenses one would have unless you eat out, and even when prices went up it is still much smaller than other stuff like rent/mortgage, phone/internet/cable tv bill, medical insurances, fuel, etc.
Enjoy it, as your time is now ALL YOURS, for video games, cars, womanizing, sports, out door activities, TV, beer, going back to school full / part time, etc.
You can now also live close to work without having to commute 2 hours a day due to the "keeping up with the Jones to have a nice home" mentality or a preference of school district for your kids education.
In terms of food, I don't think it is a big part of expenses one would have unless you eat out, and even when prices went up it is still much smaller than other stuff like rent/mortgage, phone/internet/cable tv bill, medical insurances, fuel, etc.
Enjoy it, as your time is now ALL YOURS, for video games, cars, womanizing, sports, out door activities, TV, beer, going back to school full / part time, etc.
Ya, I'll say I'm WAY more productive when I'm single.
Pinching pennies is not the path to prosperity for all.
The focus should be on the disastrous political and monetary polices that got us into this mess.
The focus should be on the disastrous political and monetary polices that got us into this mess.
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Pinching pennies is not the path to prosperity for all.
The focus should be on the disastrous political and monetary polices that got us into this mess.
That's independent on how you spend your money. You shouldn't blame how much you spend beyond your mean on the monetary policy.
No one owes you cheap steak, cheap fuel, McMansion, and a V8 5000lb SUV.
Pinching pennies is not the path to prosperity for all.
The focus should be on the disastrous political and monetary polices that got us into this mess.
That's independent on how you spend your money. You shouldn't blame how much you spend beyond your mean on the monetary policy.
No one owes you cheap steak, cheap fuel, McMansion, and a V8 5000lb SUV.
Originally Posted By: dparm
I make a pretty good salary and live alone (also single), and when I periodically check my budgeting on Mint it never ceases to amaze me how much certain things cost.
Things like ?
You can save a good 30-40% of your pay since you are single.
I make a pretty good salary and live alone (also single), and when I periodically check my budgeting on Mint it never ceases to amaze me how much certain things cost.
Things like ?
You can save a good 30-40% of your pay since you are single.
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I'm always surprised that folks don't do more to raise their own income. There are a lot of untapped opportunities out there, yet people sit around and whine about the cost of living.
My wife and I started a cemetery mapping service last year that has really taken off. It's work that anyone is capable of doing, but there is virtually no competition. There are a number of other untapped markets for someone who is willing to get creative and market their skills.
Unfortunately we've created a society that prefers to spend time parked on the couch in front of a television rather than actually working. Then they complain that the cost of living is too high while they play on their iphone.
I have considered a part-time job, but unfortunately, I literally CAN'T. I cannot work more than 60 hours in a week, doing so violates the law. (I'm a truck driver.) Realistically, without at least one day off every week to reset the 60-hour clock (34 hours off-duty does so), I will end up over hours almost every week.
I'm always surprised that folks don't do more to raise their own income. There are a lot of untapped opportunities out there, yet people sit around and whine about the cost of living.
My wife and I started a cemetery mapping service last year that has really taken off. It's work that anyone is capable of doing, but there is virtually no competition. There are a number of other untapped markets for someone who is willing to get creative and market their skills.
Unfortunately we've created a society that prefers to spend time parked on the couch in front of a television rather than actually working. Then they complain that the cost of living is too high while they play on their iphone.
I have considered a part-time job, but unfortunately, I literally CAN'T. I cannot work more than 60 hours in a week, doing so violates the law. (I'm a truck driver.) Realistically, without at least one day off every week to reset the 60-hour clock (34 hours off-duty does so), I will end up over hours almost every week.
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
my first recommendation, turn off your TV, after that, buy a bike and use it!...steadily break down this disconnect that we humans have made with nature, we are nature, the more we see that, the better /simpler life gets.
It's 27 degrees and snowing...howzabout YOU try biking in that, hey!
my first recommendation, turn off your TV, after that, buy a bike and use it!...steadily break down this disconnect that we humans have made with nature, we are nature, the more we see that, the better /simpler life gets.
It's 27 degrees and snowing...howzabout YOU try biking in that, hey!
It amazes me to read some of the stories of frugality here given we're living in the richest country in the world.
Don't get me wrong, I practice frugality as well. But fortunately not to make sure I just break even every month. I have a lot of respect for those of you that work hard day in day out, with only honest intentions, with little certainty of when you could stop working.
You're the ones being let down by the political system and its a sad fact that that system is too easily influenced by money. This is the reason for the decline we are seeing. And America's traditional and inherent economic advantages are slowly being eroded by the emergence of the rest of the world.
The major real bright spot over the last couple of decades is Silicon Valley. Innovation is America's main hope.
Don't get me wrong, I practice frugality as well. But fortunately not to make sure I just break even every month. I have a lot of respect for those of you that work hard day in day out, with only honest intentions, with little certainty of when you could stop working.
You're the ones being let down by the political system and its a sad fact that that system is too easily influenced by money. This is the reason for the decline we are seeing. And America's traditional and inherent economic advantages are slowly being eroded by the emergence of the rest of the world.
The major real bright spot over the last couple of decades is Silicon Valley. Innovation is America's main hope.
It's a lot easier when you are able to split the bills. Problem is finding someone reliable enough to split them with you. That's the tricky part.
My first wife racked up a lot of debt then dumped me sticking me with the bulk of it.
My best friend had just signed on with the IBEW and apprentice salary was fairly pitiful then. Especially when you factor in all the associated costs of becoming an electrician. (tools etc...)
We got the most comically small apartment EVER. He got the master bedroom. All 10X10 of it. My room was slightly smaller at about 8X8 with a window that looked out at the back of a stairwell. The living room was also 10X10. The kitchenette was hilarious. It was a half size stovetop and a single sink. We had to put the microwave in the living room. I'm convinced they had taken a 3 bedroom apartment and made it into an efficiency and a 2 bedroom and made our kitchenette out of a closet. IIRC, It was 350 sq ft. The efficiency behind us had a regular size front room regular size kitchen and a half bath with a tiny shower stall stuffed in it. Just looked like they had drywalled off the hall between the two apartments to make more money from more renters.
But it was cheap.
And it was funny. He used to refer to me as "the troll in the closet under the stairs" because of the view from my tiny room's window. You'd be surprised how many women will actually want to come home with us just to see it for themselves.
I slept on a futon, drove a hooptie Suzuki Swift that I bought wrecked and put a Geo Metro front clip on, watched TV on a 13" color Zenith Space Command TV (that still works!!!) and ate bologna sandwiches and Ramen noodles frequently.
We got by.
We got by earlier in life when I was working at Western Auto and he was working at Pizza Hut. Neither one of us had a car. Just our motorcycles. Got a little bit easier when he moved his girlfriend in. She had an old LTD. We could carry a lot more groceries and get around when weather was bad without getting soaked or icy.( when we could get the VV carb to start and run the car in the cold) I got along with her too. We had a nicer, bigger apartment then. Easier to split the bills two ways and have the girlfriend buy groceries. Also nice to come home to hot cooked meals (she only worked about 20-24 hrs a week)
My first wife racked up a lot of debt then dumped me sticking me with the bulk of it.
My best friend had just signed on with the IBEW and apprentice salary was fairly pitiful then. Especially when you factor in all the associated costs of becoming an electrician. (tools etc...)
We got the most comically small apartment EVER. He got the master bedroom. All 10X10 of it. My room was slightly smaller at about 8X8 with a window that looked out at the back of a stairwell. The living room was also 10X10. The kitchenette was hilarious. It was a half size stovetop and a single sink. We had to put the microwave in the living room. I'm convinced they had taken a 3 bedroom apartment and made it into an efficiency and a 2 bedroom and made our kitchenette out of a closet. IIRC, It was 350 sq ft. The efficiency behind us had a regular size front room regular size kitchen and a half bath with a tiny shower stall stuffed in it. Just looked like they had drywalled off the hall between the two apartments to make more money from more renters.
But it was cheap.
And it was funny. He used to refer to me as "the troll in the closet under the stairs" because of the view from my tiny room's window. You'd be surprised how many women will actually want to come home with us just to see it for themselves.
I slept on a futon, drove a hooptie Suzuki Swift that I bought wrecked and put a Geo Metro front clip on, watched TV on a 13" color Zenith Space Command TV (that still works!!!) and ate bologna sandwiches and Ramen noodles frequently.
We got by.
We got by earlier in life when I was working at Western Auto and he was working at Pizza Hut. Neither one of us had a car. Just our motorcycles. Got a little bit easier when he moved his girlfriend in. She had an old LTD. We could carry a lot more groceries and get around when weather was bad without getting soaked or icy.( when we could get the VV carb to start and run the car in the cold) I got along with her too. We had a nicer, bigger apartment then. Easier to split the bills two ways and have the girlfriend buy groceries. Also nice to come home to hot cooked meals (she only worked about 20-24 hrs a week)
Originally Posted By: Gabe
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
I pay for my health insurance at the checkout thru conscious awakened choices.
I'm not sure if cutting out real health insurance is a way to save money...
Agree. And what's your plan if you get injured in a hit-and-run?
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
I pay for my health insurance at the checkout thru conscious awakened choices.
I'm not sure if cutting out real health insurance is a way to save money...
Agree. And what's your plan if you get injured in a hit-and-run?
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