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Lots of mocking going on in the comments, and I'm not sure why. If you're a software developer in the first-world, you're making, what, $75k/year or more? If y
by s3cur3 11y ago
Lots of mocking going on in the comments, and I'm not sure why.
If you're a software developer in the first-world, you're making, what, $75k/year or more? If you spend wisely, you can live quite comfortably on $30k/year, at least before housing costs.
Personally, my plan is to work full-time for the next ~10 years, putting every dime above the $30k/year mark into my mortgage and my retirement fund, and cut back to part time after that---I'll own my house, and with a couple decades of compound interest, my retirement fund will be set, too.
Most people in our position won't do this, though---they choose a higher standard of living (a new car every three years, a house at the very highest end of what they can afford, etc.) over working less. If that's what you want to do, that's fine---but don't pretend it would be impossible for you to cut back.
That's what I get from the article: the author's suggesting you do whatever it takes (including living on less money) to work less.
- elliott34 11y agoOut of curiosity, whereabouts do you live/work?
- gregd 11y agoWhat makes you think the only other option to your lifestyle is choosing a higher standard of living? I have 4 children from two different marriages. I didn't choose a higher standard of living. Living off of $30k/year here in Oregon is a fucking pipedream for a family of 4.
- j2bax 11y agoI definitely don't know the circumstances that lead you to having 4 children from two different marriages, but was it someone else's choice to do that? I'm sure you wouldn't change bringing your kids into the world. I just had one and despite my costs and life priorities changing a lot, I can't imagine not having her! If your priority before having kids was financial independence, you probably would have made different decisions and held off on the kids and possibly the marriages, no?
- gregd 11y agoNo, having children was my choice. I'm speaking more about the assumption that the OP had with living a higher standard as the alternative to what s/he was doing and that you could live comfortably off of $30k/year. I feel like most of the statements about how much someone can live off of, should be preceded by whether they're single and what part of the world they're living in..
- kraftman 11y agoMaybe because not everyone is a software developer in the first world, or they aren't making $75k a year, or they have other unavoidable costs (kids,parents,etc)
- grecy 11y agoAbsolutely 100% yes. > If you're a software developer in the first-world, you're making, what, $75k/year or more? If you spend wisely, you can live quite comfortably on $30k/year, at least before housing costs. You've hit me on the head. That's very much what I make, and I actually live on less than $30k/year. It's not even hard. No smart phone, no cable TV, cook my own meals, old car, ride bike to work, enjoy simple things like walking and frisbee (free). I've saved enough in 4 years I'm on the cusp of taking 4-5 years off to go adventuring. > If that's what you want to do, that's fine---but don't pretend it would be impossible for you to cut back. I feel this resistance from people all the time. They will very quickly tell you they need their iPhone, cable TV, latte and new clothes weekly. Our society has it's wants and needs mixed up. Once you fix that, it's easy.