761–764 of 764 posts
Can some folks live more frugally, for sure, but this is unrealistic.
I've commented (probably too much) to argue with the harshest critics of this piece, but I am surprised to not have seen much this criticism which is my main one: Supposing I've made peace with the main gist of this: Cut living expenses to a point where you can work ¼ or so of the time most of us spend working by living somewhere cheap and not being so materialistic. The missing piece here is social connections. Fami…
Agreed. This suggests that there might be a market for a rural "community", as opposed to solo living.
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Even a brand new iPhone 16 is “only” $800. Plans for unlimited internet can be had for less than $40 a month. Using that phone for 5 years would only add like $60 to their total monthly expenses. Is that truly unattainable? Is that really what is keeping people from buying a house?
I do believe that's a privilege to throw an extra $60 per month at something for five years straight. It's not truly stopping us from buying a house, but this mentality that everything could be bought on credit, this consumerism is where we are hurt.
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> if you have a social "thing" like tennis or climbing Then you wouldn't be able to cut down expenses to "nothing"/month. Social thing assumes expenses. Hobbies assume expenses.
> Social thing assumes expenses. Hobbies assume expenses. Entertainment is a line item in the budget: Library + Fishing = “Free” Libraries can be amazingly social, for eggheads. Lots of groups and events meet there in my town. It’s a full-fledged Third Space. [Neither the library access nor fishing gear is without cost, but at least they already account for taxes.] By the way, anyone who benefits from free stuff, for…