";s:4:"text";s:6402:"I forget who said it, but the best quote I heard in 2019 was “spending money to solve a problem in your life indicates a complete failure of imagination to come up with a better way to solve it”. Anyone need a nice, old Lexus? See “Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death”Agreed.
Actually, I find that I make a lot more if I drive a little faster and minimize delays. I have structured my portfolio as: 1 year of expenses held as cash, 3 years of expenses as near-cash, like a GIC, the rest as diversified investments based on my long term needs/risk tolerance. All it takes is a little thinking. !Pro-tip – if you don’t feel like making an appointment a year out, just call and see if they can let you know of any cancellations that come up in the next week. In fact, the days between that fateful event and today have been some of the most joyful and free days of our lives so far. Every time I start thinking I’m doing all I can do to cut costs, you give me a much needed dose of reality. Other kids are into more expensive activities and that is wonderful if they enjoy it and you can afford it. Your lifestyle design seems idyllic for Longmont. Until I bought the electric car, the math never made sense even in higher energy cost SoCal. Sure, I’d prefer a 3000 mile range so I could cross the whole continent without thinking about fuel, but 315 is already very practical.I’m only mentioning this because I don’t think anyone ELSE should wait for a Tesla, if they can afford it and are currently wasting gas in an antique pollution car.Also, Teslas allow battery upgrades and they are very reasonably priced. Plus, it’s necessary for most online shopping, which is the vast majority of my spending.The ideal solution would be if we all used debit cards, and they didn’t charge the huge 2.9% fee that credit cards currently charge to retailers. I’ve come to accept that I’m ok spending more in this area though because I enjoy trying new recipes and cooking up big concoctions a few times a week. So, everyone, when people are reaching out to you make sure you help them.I’ve tracked my spending for a couple decades, though I don’t have the oldest records. For some reason this has just been a better fit for me. Still having a hard time reigning in the SO especially with food and travel.My son doesn’t like restaurants, so these meals were all just with friends. every 5 years or so I nag him, he finally goes, no problems. Fair enough, I’m a SINK so that reduces spending, but I still have friends whose jaws drop when they learn how much I spend in a year. I owe this frugal bachelor several beers at LEAST. Started by arebelspy. If you don’t, this would be similar to prepaying for your groceries for the next x number of years and saying you have no grocery bills. my in laws gift us wine pretty regularly, which keeps my husband happy.Definitely check your state/city regulations regarding solar. That kind of thing.WOW! How do you spend so little on pet food and litter? Looking forward to MMM tackling this shibboleth. It was a rough year for us. Have you done any math to decide what price on a monthly basis is medical insurance “worth it”? they can also tell the dentist if you are having any other types of problems as well. Any chance you’ll write on your $5,000 kitchen remodel? I pay considerably more for utilities than MMM! So I go once a year and figure its my health issue to keep an eye on. Best of both worlds, 90% all electric use in town, plus no range anxiety and the ability to drive wherever, whenever without worrying about long waits charging.Gen 1’s can be bought easily in the 6-8k range, and gen 2’s prices are dropping quick.Good point Cory – the Chevrolet Volt is a great car and its batteries have proven to be MUCH better engineered than those in the Nissan Leaf (so the car remains just as useful after many years of use). You choose the job that offers the best tradeoff between things like… A few weeks ago, the MMM family lost about $12,000. The ACA requirements presumably don’t apply to such policies, since they wouldn’t offer free preventative care and such, but I don’t know if that means they don’t exist, or that they would just substantially raise premiums after the first year of a multi-year issue.For anyone out there who is relying on the medical industry for good health is in serious trouble. Food comes from restaurants, grocery stores, food pantries, and even sometimes urban gardens. All the best.As a dentist, I obviously agree that prevention is the best practice.
So low!“Have you done any math to decide what price on a monthly basis is medical insurance “worth it”?”The lack of transparency in medical pricing (in the U.S.) guarantees this is a fool’s errand.Yes – I track via my financial institution’s app and YNAB. I think you should run for city council and get that law fixed! For me it’s like the gym, going prevents teeth issues later in life, going to the gym and cycling prevent heart attacks. The first time I saw that number I thought it was a fluke, but I’ve proven to myself for 3 years now that I can live on about $20k a year (plus whatever it costs to replace my employer healthcare) when the time comes to leave work behind. And it’s very good wine.
And your story is a nice reassurance of the ability of the Financial Independence lifestyle to avoid unexpected shocks. I will never let my teeth get like that again. Take a look around. Mini Money Mustaches. Would they still charge you a fee for lowering your own usage and not affecting their precious grid in any way other than reduced demand? But whenever someone tells me they haven’t been to a dentist in several years or more, I reply that’s a hair-on-fire situation! I would suspect as a bachelor your ability to not have house insurance etc. Yes you could live “for free” somehow, but that is not likely very comfortable in Colorado winters. So even if I could/was willing to fully automate it I wouldn’t. It’s completely without compromise.