5 ms·

People buy things they can't afford, with money that they don't have, to impress people that they don't like I realized I could live off of $25000/yr and maint

People buy things they can't afford, with money that they don't have, to impress people that they don't like I realized I could live off of $25000/yr and maintain a modestly comfortable lifestyle at the same time. I am on track to retire before I am 40. Anyone can do it. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-hero-in-one-blog-post/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-...

javert 13y ago
If I may ask, where do you live? Do you have family to support? I am under the assumption I could do it a lot cheaper if I were to choose not to have a family and to live in rural or semi-rural North Carolina. (Edit: I picked North Carolina becuase that's where I already am.)
- Afforess 13y ago
  No, Raleigh NC.
  - javert 13y ago
    Thanks for the response, and wow, we are actually very close geographically. I'm surprised that you came up with $25,000.
Casseres 13y ago
That's the quote I was looking for to include in my post, but couldn't find :-) Awesome! Congrats on being on track to retire early. Just be prepared for it. From what I understand, a lot of people who retire get bored. If I didn't have to worry about money today, I would be volunteering a lot. If money was no object, I would be traveling a lot.
enraged_camel 13y ago
>>Anyone can do it. Correction: anyone who graduates without debt and starts their careers making good money can do it.
- mistercow 13y ago
  ... if they (or their spouse or their children) don't have chronic health problems.
- eropple 13y ago
  And is willing to live in fairly shitty places. (You're not retiring on $25K a year in any part of Boston, NYC, Seattle, or any other reasonably vibrant urban area without making brutal compromises in terms of quality of life.)
  - lotharbot 13y ago
    There are plenty of areas that are cheaper than Boston, NYC, or Seattle, and yet not "fairly shitty". For example, $25k a year can be quite comfortable in Denver, which is a reasonably vibrant urban area.
    - eropple 13y ago
      If you like flyover states (I don't, but I'll grant that you might), Denver with even just one kid and a car--because the RTD isn't very good, and honestly for me at least that's a huge gamebreaker because I am happy to never own a car again--is going to be a pretty shitty life.
      - lotharbot 13y ago
        > "Denver with even just one kid and a car ... is going to be a pretty shitty life." I'm living in Denver with one kid, a car, and less than $25k in income. And my life is awesome. Maybe you have a different definition of "shitty" than me. Or maybe you don't realize how well you can live on that kind of money with a paid off house.
  - nilkn 13y ago
    I'm pretty sure it is assumed you've paid off your house as part of this plan, and housing is by far the main distinguishing factor in cost of living between different cities. So I don't think location would matter quite as much as you're making it seem. If we assume that the $25k is net, not gross, then I can see how it could be reasonably comfortable for one person with no rent or mortgage. You'd really want to go to a place with cheap property taxes to minimize unavoidable recurring housing costs. But anyway, you'd have roughly $2k to spend each month, which seems like it could comfortably cover utilities, food, transportation, and some entertainment, even in a non-shitty place. Keep in mind you wouldn't have to save money because you're retired--this is supposed to be solid and stable revenue for the remainder of your life (but only time will tell if that holds true). Of course, throw in other people to support on that income, like kids, and it definitely gets tighter, but I don't think this number is at all unreasonable for a single person supporting only themselves with no debt and complete ownership of a home.
wwweston 13y ago
I've recently lived in reasonable comfort on less than that, but I've also learned to be suspicious about the phrase "anyone can do it" (no matter what "it" is). Sometimes it doesn't take much of a disadvantage to make certain things dramatically more difficult.

javert 13y ago

If I may ask, where do you live? Do you have family to support? I am under the assumption I could do it a lot cheaper if I were to choose not to have a family and to live in rural or semi-rural North Carolina. (Edit: I picked North Carolina becuase that's where I already am.)

Afforess 13y ago
No, Raleigh NC.
- javert 13y ago
  Thanks for the response, and wow, we are actually very close geographically. I'm surprised that you came up with $25,000.

Casseres 13y ago

That's the quote I was looking for to include in my post, but couldn't find :-) Awesome! Congrats on being on track to retire early. Just be prepared for it. From what I understand, a lot of people who retire get bored. If I didn't have to worry about money today, I would be volunteering a lot. If money was no object, I would be traveling a lot.

enraged_camel 13y ago

>>Anyone can do it. Correction: anyone who graduates without debt and starts their careers making good money can do it.

mistercow 13y ago
... if they (or their spouse or their children) don't have chronic health problems.
eropple 13y ago
And is willing to live in fairly shitty places. (You're not retiring on $25K a year in any part of Boston, NYC, Seattle, or any other reasonably vibrant urban area without making brutal compromises in terms of quality of life.)
- lotharbot 13y ago
  There are plenty of areas that are cheaper than Boston, NYC, or Seattle, and yet not "fairly shitty". For example, $25k a year can be quite comfortable in Denver, which is a reasonably vibrant urban area.
  - eropple 13y ago
    If you like flyover states (I don't, but I'll grant that you might), Denver with even just one kid and a car--because the RTD isn't very good, and honestly for me at least that's a huge gamebreaker because I am happy to never own a car again--is going to be a pretty shitty life.
    - lotharbot 13y ago
      > "Denver with even just one kid and a car ... is going to be a pretty shitty life." I'm living in Denver with one kid, a car, and less than $25k in income. And my life is awesome. Maybe you have a different definition of "shitty" than me. Or maybe you don't realize how well you can live on that kind of money with a paid off house.
- nilkn 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure it is assumed you've paid off your house as part of this plan, and housing is by far the main distinguishing factor in cost of living between different cities. So I don't think location would matter quite as much as you're making it seem. If we assume that the $25k is net, not gross, then I can see how it could be reasonably comfortable for one person with no rent or mortgage. You'd really want to go to a place with cheap property taxes to minimize unavoidable recurring housing costs. But anyway, you'd have roughly $2k to spend each month, which seems like it could comfortably cover utilities, food, transportation, and some entertainment, even in a non-shitty place. Keep in mind you wouldn't have to save money because you're retired--this is supposed to be solid and stable revenue for the remainder of your life (but only time will tell if that holds true). Of course, throw in other people to support on that income, like kids, and it definitely gets tighter, but I don't think this number is at all unreasonable for a single person supporting only themselves with no debt and complete ownership of a home.

wwweston 13y ago

I've recently lived in reasonable comfort on less than that, but I've also learned to be suspicious about the phrase "anyone can do it" (no matter what "it" is). Sometimes it doesn't take much of a disadvantage to make certain things dramatically more difficult.