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$13/day. I want your suggestions on how to make it work. Starters: $1 per meal, see http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com ; creative

$13/day. I want your suggestions on how to make it work. Starters: $1 per meal, see http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com ; creative use of http://Zillow.com http://Zillow.com or http://Trulia.com http://Trulia.com can find undeveloped building lots for under $2000. (Naysayers, this subthread isn't for you.)

shubb 13y ago
I'm writing from the UK, where living on the road is hard due to legals and climate. But if I lived in a high rent area of the US, I'd definitely look into getting a nice RV. In a city, this would at first seem impractical. But if you cut back to a much smaller vehicle, there is generally safe free parking to be found at night. Especially if your friend has an apartment, but doesn't use the parking. Gym membership for showers, kitchen at work, maybe a games room. You really only need a box to live in most days. This would let you pull in high wages, living low and gathering savings, then retire to the country to bootstrap your amazing SaaS business. Oh fantasy. Back in reality, I currently rent a bedroom from a fairly rich family. Especially during the winter, I save a huge amount on bills. The only problem is the lack of private space, but temporarily that's fine.
- larsonf 13y ago
  Hey shubb, I've read your posts for a while; like the way you think. Let me buy you a pint next time I'm in London (in US right now, but there often enough). Thoughtful tech people in London good to find. an email that I made: specialemailforthisrightnow@gmail.com
  - shubb 13y ago
    Ha, why not. I'll send you an email.
rubidium 13y ago
It's easier to do if you're willing to live without a car and health insurance. I keep good track of what I spend, and live pretty frugally, so here's some info on "what's possible" (assuming a single person living in the midwest US). I eat for ~$90 a month (oatmeal, fruit, beans and rice, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti, chicken once a week, ground beef once a week). I pay: -$200/month for rent and utilities (live in a house with 4 others guys in midwest collegetown). And it's a decent sized place with cable internet, so you could probably get cheaper (though likely not on the east or west coast). -$30/month for cell phone plan. -Computer was homebuilt from parts and is 4 years old. -$200/year for clothes/toiletries. That comes to about $11 a day. Now, my expenses or higher because I opt to have health insurance, a car, travel, and go out every now and then. It's the health insurance, living in high cost-of-living places, car, going out, and travel that makes your goal difficult.
- selectstar 13y ago
  What do you do for fun? Are you active in the dating pool? How often do you socialise in situations that require spend? (Be that a trip to the cinema, or a coffeshop, or a bar or taking beer/wine to a BBQ.) As an aside, why I know this type of lifestyle is not for me and why I find it so alien... "-$200/year for clothes/toiletries" ...is blown in one quarterly trip to Aesop.
  - bluedino 13y ago
    >> Are you active in the dating pool? How often do you socialise in situations that require spend? Chances are he would find a date who has similar interests - and there are lots of free things to do, walks, parks, bike rides, picnics (grab something from the dumpster at Subway before you leave)
    - gotrecruit 13y ago
      i've heard of dumpster diving, but honestly i always assumed that was either intended as a joke, or only homeless bums do it. i can't imagine eating out of a dumpster if you have ANY option at all not to. i mean, the smell alone...
      - Trano 13y ago
        My understanding is that dumpster diving to get opened food is fairly uncommon. More often it is getting sealed food that was thrown out because it has expired, has damaged packaging, or in some other way is less desirable. So the food that you would eat from a dumpster isn't exposed and probably doesn't smell like a restaurant waste dumpster would.
      - lightbritefight 13y ago
        Its apparent you've never tried it. Its a fascinating thing to leap into the trash to see what you can find. There is generally an odor, but you aren't there for things that stink anyway. Any bag that stinks you ignore. I used to look for likely working electronics, good looking/fixable furniture, and rarely, still sealed food. Some folk go further and will pull loose fruit/veg out. If you leave any rot behind and wash the food, you should be fine. You never pull cheese/meat out of a dumpster, however. Too risky. People are very wasteful. Just because something goes into the trash doesn't mean its without utility. It just means someone decided it didn't have any utility for them. Many perfectly fine things go into the trash everyday. Letting them rot in a landfill instead of being recycled seems way more distasteful than a smell that will wash right off. If you are going to try it, the first rule of dumpster diving is to leave the site in better shape than when you found it. If you make a mess, you clean it up. Its the decent thing to do, and helps keeps the neighbors calm. Its an oddly invasive act, as peoples trash is basically a story of their life, so anything that soothes people about you going into a dumpster is good. Personally, I did it largely for the sense of adventure. Its like a modern day treasure hunt. The fact that I was able to furnish my apartment very richly for nothing was a bonus.

shubb 13y ago

I'm writing from the UK, where living on the road is hard due to legals and climate. But if I lived in a high rent area of the US, I'd definitely look into getting a nice RV. In a city, this would at first seem impractical. But if you cut back to a much smaller vehicle, there is generally safe free parking to be found at night. Especially if your friend has an apartment, but doesn't use the parking. Gym membership for showers, kitchen at work, maybe a games room. You really only need a box to live in most days. This would let you pull in high wages, living low and gathering savings, then retire to the country to bootstrap your amazing SaaS business. Oh fantasy. Back in reality, I currently rent a bedroom from a fairly rich family. Especially during the winter, I save a huge amount on bills. The only problem is the lack of private space, but temporarily that's fine.

larsonf 13y ago
Hey shubb, I've read your posts for a while; like the way you think. Let me buy you a pint next time I'm in London (in US right now, but there often enough). Thoughtful tech people in London good to find. an email that I made: specialemailforthisrightnow@gmail.com
- shubb 13y ago
  Ha, why not. I'll send you an email.

rubidium 13y ago

It's easier to do if you're willing to live without a car and health insurance. I keep good track of what I spend, and live pretty frugally, so here's some info on "what's possible" (assuming a single person living in the midwest US). I eat for ~$90 a month (oatmeal, fruit, beans and rice, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti, chicken once a week, ground beef once a week). I pay: -$200/month for rent and utilities (live in a house with 4 others guys in midwest collegetown). And it's a decent sized place with cable internet, so you could probably get cheaper (though likely not on the east or west coast). -$30/month for cell phone plan. -Computer was homebuilt from parts and is 4 years old. -$200/year for clothes/toiletries. That comes to about $11 a day. Now, my expenses or higher because I opt to have health insurance, a car, travel, and go out every now and then. It's the health insurance, living in high cost-of-living places, car, going out, and travel that makes your goal difficult.

selectstar 13y ago
What do you do for fun? Are you active in the dating pool? How often do you socialise in situations that require spend? (Be that a trip to the cinema, or a coffeshop, or a bar or taking beer/wine to a BBQ.) As an aside, why I know this type of lifestyle is not for me and why I find it so alien... "-$200/year for clothes/toiletries" ...is blown in one quarterly trip to Aesop.
- bluedino 13y ago
  >> Are you active in the dating pool? How often do you socialise in situations that require spend? Chances are he would find a date who has similar interests - and there are lots of free things to do, walks, parks, bike rides, picnics (grab something from the dumpster at Subway before you leave)
  - gotrecruit 13y ago
    i've heard of dumpster diving, but honestly i always assumed that was either intended as a joke, or only homeless bums do it. i can't imagine eating out of a dumpster if you have ANY option at all not to. i mean, the smell alone...
    - Trano 13y ago
      My understanding is that dumpster diving to get opened food is fairly uncommon. More often it is getting sealed food that was thrown out because it has expired, has damaged packaging, or in some other way is less desirable. So the food that you would eat from a dumpster isn't exposed and probably doesn't smell like a restaurant waste dumpster would.
    - lightbritefight 13y ago
      Its apparent you've never tried it. Its a fascinating thing to leap into the trash to see what you can find. There is generally an odor, but you aren't there for things that stink anyway. Any bag that stinks you ignore. I used to look for likely working electronics, good looking/fixable furniture, and rarely, still sealed food. Some folk go further and will pull loose fruit/veg out. If you leave any rot behind and wash the food, you should be fine. You never pull cheese/meat out of a dumpster, however. Too risky. People are very wasteful. Just because something goes into the trash doesn't mean its without utility. It just means someone decided it didn't have any utility for them. Many perfectly fine things go into the trash everyday. Letting them rot in a landfill instead of being recycled seems way more distasteful than a smell that will wash right off. If you are going to try it, the first rule of dumpster diving is to leave the site in better shape than when you found it. If you make a mess, you clean it up. Its the decent thing to do, and helps keeps the neighbors calm. Its an oddly invasive act, as peoples trash is basically a story of their life, so anything that soothes people about you going into a dumpster is good. Personally, I did it largely for the sense of adventure. Its like a modern day treasure hunt. The fact that I was able to furnish my apartment very richly for nothing was a bonus.