I finally ventured in the one in our town after we bought a fixer upper last year. I try to stop by when I do payday shopping just to see what is in. Last time I was in there they had bins full of brand new aluminum mini blinds, the better ones. I have started keeping a running list of things we need now so I can sort against what is in there.
My favorite find was a brass drop pendant light. It looked all ugly and outdated. I took it apart, sanded a bit, painted it with hammered bronze spray paint and it looks like one I saw at Home Depot for $200. $5 for the light, $3 for the paint.
Ours has furniture and decor items from time to time too.
I totally agree that kids should do the dishes... but until they invent a lead-free kid's sized sink and scrubbers for tots under 4, I'm out of luck.. (My 8 year old is HORRIBLE at washing dishes.)
And don't feel bad about now knowing about the ReStore.. we just learned about it and had to visit. I drove by it several times and had no idea what treasures lay in store!
Note: The folks that work (volunteer) there are awesome!
There are not many products that I feel this way about, but I am a big fan of buying the best pair of shoes that I can afford, and replacing them when they are worn. The impact on my feet and knees makes them well worth the price. The information about the better warranty makes it an even better decision for me.
I'd be really curious as to what kind of work allows one this freedom. Just curiosity, really, I kinda like being able to see my friends; but then again, i don't/didn't have over $50k in debt to pay back! Sounds like a great line of work if you don't mind the hardship, and need/want to pay down your debt, or REALLY get ahead in your savings. ;)
Also, sounds like a good deal for Him! No cleaning for him, either. Heh. Maybe he's a writer, or some such, as can be in another city for months and months at a time, like she can be.
and the first person that most people need to tell the truth to . . . is themselves. It never ceases to amaze me how far removed from the truth many peoples perceptions actually are. I guess in the end it all boils down to objectivity and I only got that with my own finances when I developed a certain amount of discipline and knowledge about finances. Then, I was cooking with gas when it came to getting ahead. I'm not trying to preach here, because I know everybody has their own path. But I think if more people could reach that "objective truth" phase in their financial lives, they'd realize it doesn't take as long as they might think to get on track and get ahead. Believe me, I was by no means born with a silver spoon in my mouth (lumberjack's daughter) and I certainly didn't choose the most lucrative career path in the beginning(teacher), so I had to do things like move to war zones to get out of school loan debt and begin to have a prayer at participating. Being married helps financially to some degree (teamwork, taxes), but my husband and I married relatively late (30's) so really we retired in less than ten years of worrying about it. I'll grant you though, it was a tough few years of coupon clipping and thrift store shopping. Also, (knock on wood) we haven't had a real butt kicker of a crisis yet, which is why I think we are still sticking to our guns about frugality when everyone else is telling us to relax. We know as you just wrote about that basically, "there but for the grace of God go we". So no, we are not going nuts spending money, but we are trying to enjoy early retirement as much as possible while we still have health and energy.
Was that too off topic? Sorry. Your post just inspired me as it's been an issue (unforeseen crisis) we've been discussing at our house lately.
Got a lot of great stuff there. Saved a lot of money to boot. I even got to know "the guy" and he would call me when certain things would come in that he knew we were looking for. These are a great resource, for sure.
In some places, they do wear clothes that we can easily make out of bedsheets. That's just true. In others, they wear nothing at all (I'd suggest that as a Halloween costume, but don't want to be sued when people are arrested!). That's also true. I've said nothing more than the truth.
In related news, learn to read. I've said nothing offensive and not suggested anything that way. I didn't suggest that all people from certain areas wear clothes like that, just some of them. If you'd like, I can show you pictures to prove my point.
Hey, Allen. As far as I can tell, FB doesn't discuss her line of work. If I've read her blog correctly, her husband doesn't work, but travels with her.
Mike, your lifestyle sounds like so much fun! Feel free to contact our admins if you want to share more of your story - I'd like to interview other nomads, too, to show how varied the lifestyle can be.
Yeah...I had intended to list some of those things, but as I wrote it seemed like telling the truth was a post in itself, and those others could wait until later. I guess it seems to be a necessary precursor to doing what you can.
**Even with insurance the deductibles and co-pays can be so high that many go into bankruptcy from one serious illness.**
You are correct. The problem is not entirely with the high price of insurance. Visiting the doctor, or even worse, the hospital can be financially devistating with or without insurance. Two people in my family had ER visits this year. I have insurance and my portion of the bills was still 20 percent of my annual income. For one visit the doctor alone charged $1000 just for her exam. I guess to her that's not too much considering she must make that 20 or 30 times for one shift in the ER. I'm now inclined to only seek medical help if it's a matter of life or death, and then I may even think twice for myself (not my family).
I went nomadic 3 years ago, moving out of a 5 bedroom house in the burbs into a 30 foot sailboat. I kept my house and my Harley, the house for a rainy day (I rent it out) and the Harley for sunny days. Right now I live in a marina with a pool, spa, and healthclub. This waterfront resort lifestyle costs me a whopping $265 a month. I drive a 1980 Chevy a fellow nomad gave me when he decided to sail his home to Mexico and I will pass it on when I get the urge to move on. I can't begin to describe the sense of freedom I feel everyday. Long Live the Nomads!
Personally, I've been on an increasing trend to save and reuse things for similar reasons to yourself. It's practical, frugal, and environmentally friendly.
Here in Hawaii (where I just arrived yesterday), I'm dabbling with a lifestyle not dissimilar to that of No Impact Man, except I won't be living in a city, and won't even have things like power or running water (at least, not on the grid). And yup - I too, will be composting poop. Yikes!
More to come on that. The intersting side-point to this lifestyle will be learning to generally live without money. Talk about frugal!
I do believe that in general, most of us can't or won't change our lifestyles so drastically. But the environmental movement is afoot, and general awareness plus the little things we each can take on to do our part is a start.
Historically speaking, the industrial revolution is pretty new. We've done a lot of damage in a small period of time. The environmental revolution is just a babe. As long as we progress at a similar pace as the industrial revolution did, I have hope that this beautiful earth of ours will survive, as will our pocketbooks!
I guess it all does just come down in the end to the old saying plan for the worst, yet hope for the best. Yet for certain there are things you can do even in the most dire of situations to alleviate things as much as possible, which is what I think you were touching on with the tell the truth segment and how that can help you take at least some steps rather than ignoring what is really going on with you.
I had never heard/read of her blog before, but I think I'll take a look this evening. Thanks, Andrea, for a good interview. Does anyone know if FB's line of work is discussed on her Blog? If not, just curious what kind of work entails that much travel. One would assume that her Husband has a job that can be mobile as well, which helps, I'm sure.
Thanks, guys! FB is fun to interview. I enjoy reading about her experiences, too. Every now and then, I feel jealous of that type of freedom, but then I realize that I'm mostly a homebody, so I'm better off traveling in small doses.
I hope that Nora does some more posts on her particular brand of nomadism, which is also very interesting.
I think it depends on when you grew up, and what kind of family you have. I was raised in the 1970s with parents who had grown up at the tail end of and just after WWII. The lessons of the Oil Crisis remain with me: turn out lights, walk if you can. My father made his own granola and yogurt, and compared prices on everything. I love recycling stuff, refashioning it into other things. I make all of our meals from scratch. After 20 years of marriage, we just last month got our first microwave as part of a kitchen renovation-- until then I always said "if you aret oo busy to heat up a pot of food on the stove, then there is something wrong with your life" (Okay, I realize microwaves are good for other things, like defrosting). We have one credit card between us. My husband uses it for work lunches and gas, mostly. At present we have no debt beyond payments on our car, which finish in ten months. We paid cash for another car this summer when my 10 year old car died. We both work within a 20 minute walk to work. Oh, and we raised our daughter to be intelligent: she was awarded an academic scholarship to an exclusive private high school, worth $50,000. As she excels in math and science, we are shooting for a scholarship for university. We buy what we can afford, and don't buy what we can't afford.
I avoid buying stuff by thinking about how cluttered my place already is. I think after a certain point, it's better to indulge in experiences, if you can afford those, rather than material goods.
I have been following Tri's interesting posts. Like her, I have been investigating mortgage acceleration programs for the last few months, as I am interested in getting rid of my mortgage.
I have been creating my own spreadsheets, trying to understand what the magic is in using a HELOC, as opposed to simply sending in spare cash.
So, to use Tri's example of $200,000 borrowed at 6% for 30 year, you pay $231,676.38 interest. My numbers will differ by a few dollars as I didn't round. If you pay an extra $500 a month, you pay off the mortgage in 179 months and pay $102,534.54 in interest. If you pay $5000 every 10 months, you do a little bit better. You pay off the mortgage in 175 months and pay $99,376.71 in interest.
I learned there is an inherent fallacy in every HELOC example I have seen.
If you borrow the $5000 from the HELOC and and you only have $500 a month to pay it back, that $500 has to equal the sum of the principal and the HELOC interest at the end of the month. In other words, the interest on the HELOC becomes another bill that you pay and you have a closed-end loan. So, instead of paying off the HELOC in 10 months, it's actually 10 and a fraction that represents the HELOC interest you have paid.
I tried to reproduce what Tri had done to approximate the savings in a HELOC shuffle. I assumed the effective interest rate would be 4% and that I would borrow the $5000 in the same month that the HELOC would be paid off. Using this adjustment, the mortgage is paid in 176 months paying 100,090.31 interest. But the HELOC took an extra 2 months to be paid off, even with the extra mortgage payment, and the total interest was about $1600. Adding it all together, the interest cost is about $101,690.
Sooooo, you savings is $102,534.54 - $101,690, about $845. WOW!! All that work... for what? I have no idea what these mortgage acceleration programs do, so perhaps the HELOC costs are excessive. BUT, they keep claiming $1,000's of savings over do-it-yourselfers.
As I have stated in posts elsewhere, the only advantage these software packages and services give you is a way to focus on your end goal of mortgage payoff and see how every dollar spent affects that goal. If you feel that is valuable to you and that you can't do it on your own, then paying for it would be worthwhile in the end.
As another poster noted, you can also use this method to put money aside for investments. However, paying off your mortgage is the same as getting a compounded bond return at the same interest rate.
I reuse plastic bags and Chinese takeout containers. It only makes sense because why buy new plastic goods from the supermarket when those were only used once?
Great post! I find it instructive to consider people who have unconventional ways to live or work. We might not copy them, but we can think of the pros and cons of each situation. Then, we are better equipped to design a life that fits our own needs and desires.
Great interview and topic Andrea. I love that someone (Fabulously Broke) has combined frugal living with a meaningful corporate job, and in fact that her corporate job is enabling the lifestyle! I also like that FB is getting closer to how communities of all sizes operate, large and small.
I finally ventured in the one in our town after we bought a fixer upper last year. I try to stop by when I do payday shopping just to see what is in. Last time I was in there they had bins full of brand new aluminum mini blinds, the better ones. I have started keeping a running list of things we need now so I can sort against what is in there.
My favorite find was a brass drop pendant light. It looked all ugly and outdated. I took it apart, sanded a bit, painted it with hammered bronze spray paint and it looks like one I saw at Home Depot for $200. $5 for the light, $3 for the paint.
Ours has furniture and decor items from time to time too.
For any fellow fly-fishers out there, Sage offers a nearly unconditional lifetime warranty on all its products, which is pretty hard to beat.
I totally agree that kids should do the dishes... but until they invent a lead-free kid's sized sink and scrubbers for tots under 4, I'm out of luck.. (My 8 year old is HORRIBLE at washing dishes.)
And don't feel bad about now knowing about the ReStore.. we just learned about it and had to visit. I drove by it several times and had no idea what treasures lay in store!
Note: The folks that work (volunteer) there are awesome!
There are not many products that I feel this way about, but I am a big fan of buying the best pair of shoes that I can afford, and replacing them when they are worn. The impact on my feet and knees makes them well worth the price. The information about the better warranty makes it an even better decision for me.
Hey, Linsey, I thought the whole point of having kids was to make THEM do the dishes? Not that I would begrudge anyone a dishwasher.
I'm kind of embarrassed that I had never heard of a ReStore, despite giving to HFH for years. Thanks!
Thank you, Andrea.
I'd be really curious as to what kind of work allows one this freedom. Just curiosity, really, I kinda like being able to see my friends; but then again, i don't/didn't have over $50k in debt to pay back! Sounds like a great line of work if you don't mind the hardship, and need/want to pay down your debt, or REALLY get ahead in your savings. ;)
Also, sounds like a good deal for Him! No cleaning for him, either. Heh. Maybe he's a writer, or some such, as can be in another city for months and months at a time, like she can be.
and the first person that most people need to tell the truth to . . . is themselves. It never ceases to amaze me how far removed from the truth many peoples perceptions actually are. I guess in the end it all boils down to objectivity and I only got that with my own finances when I developed a certain amount of discipline and knowledge about finances. Then, I was cooking with gas when it came to getting ahead. I'm not trying to preach here, because I know everybody has their own path. But I think if more people could reach that "objective truth" phase in their financial lives, they'd realize it doesn't take as long as they might think to get on track and get ahead. Believe me, I was by no means born with a silver spoon in my mouth (lumberjack's daughter) and I certainly didn't choose the most lucrative career path in the beginning(teacher), so I had to do things like move to war zones to get out of school loan debt and begin to have a prayer at participating. Being married helps financially to some degree (teamwork, taxes), but my husband and I married relatively late (30's) so really we retired in less than ten years of worrying about it. I'll grant you though, it was a tough few years of coupon clipping and thrift store shopping. Also, (knock on wood) we haven't had a real butt kicker of a crisis yet, which is why I think we are still sticking to our guns about frugality when everyone else is telling us to relax. We know as you just wrote about that basically, "there but for the grace of God go we". So no, we are not going nuts spending money, but we are trying to enjoy early retirement as much as possible while we still have health and energy.
Was that too off topic? Sorry. Your post just inspired me as it's been an issue (unforeseen crisis) we've been discussing at our house lately.
Got a lot of great stuff there. Saved a lot of money to boot. I even got to know "the guy" and he would call me when certain things would come in that he knew we were looking for. These are a great resource, for sure.
I think this is feasible only for awhile. I have done it and I dont enjoy it. Different people different strokes!
In some places, they do wear clothes that we can easily make out of bedsheets. That's just true. In others, they wear nothing at all (I'd suggest that as a Halloween costume, but don't want to be sued when people are arrested!). That's also true. I've said nothing more than the truth.
In related news, learn to read. I've said nothing offensive and not suggested anything that way. I didn't suggest that all people from certain areas wear clothes like that, just some of them. If you'd like, I can show you pictures to prove my point.
Hey, Allen. As far as I can tell, FB doesn't discuss her line of work. If I've read her blog correctly, her husband doesn't work, but travels with her.
Mike, your lifestyle sounds like so much fun! Feel free to contact our admins if you want to share more of your story - I'd like to interview other nomads, too, to show how varied the lifestyle can be.
Yeah...I had intended to list some of those things, but as I wrote it seemed like telling the truth was a post in itself, and those others could wait until later. I guess it seems to be a necessary precursor to doing what you can.
**Even with insurance the deductibles and co-pays can be so high that many go into bankruptcy from one serious illness.**
You are correct. The problem is not entirely with the high price of insurance. Visiting the doctor, or even worse, the hospital can be financially devistating with or without insurance. Two people in my family had ER visits this year. I have insurance and my portion of the bills was still 20 percent of my annual income. For one visit the doctor alone charged $1000 just for her exam. I guess to her that's not too much considering she must make that 20 or 30 times for one shift in the ER. I'm now inclined to only seek medical help if it's a matter of life or death, and then I may even think twice for myself (not my family).
I found the same thing in Canada! That´s why I had to sell all my crap and move on with my life. It`s a constant battle though - believe me!
I went nomadic 3 years ago, moving out of a 5 bedroom house in the burbs into a 30 foot sailboat. I kept my house and my Harley, the house for a rainy day (I rent it out) and the Harley for sunny days. Right now I live in a marina with a pool, spa, and healthclub. This waterfront resort lifestyle costs me a whopping $265 a month. I drive a 1980 Chevy a fellow nomad gave me when he decided to sail his home to Mexico and I will pass it on when I get the urge to move on. I can't begin to describe the sense of freedom I feel everyday. Long Live the Nomads!
Personally, I've been on an increasing trend to save and reuse things for similar reasons to yourself. It's practical, frugal, and environmentally friendly.
Here in Hawaii (where I just arrived yesterday), I'm dabbling with a lifestyle not dissimilar to that of No Impact Man, except I won't be living in a city, and won't even have things like power or running water (at least, not on the grid). And yup - I too, will be composting poop. Yikes!
More to come on that. The intersting side-point to this lifestyle will be learning to generally live without money. Talk about frugal!
I do believe that in general, most of us can't or won't change our lifestyles so drastically. But the environmental movement is afoot, and general awareness plus the little things we each can take on to do our part is a start.
Historically speaking, the industrial revolution is pretty new. We've done a lot of damage in a small period of time. The environmental revolution is just a babe. As long as we progress at a similar pace as the industrial revolution did, I have hope that this beautiful earth of ours will survive, as will our pocketbooks!
I guess it all does just come down in the end to the old saying plan for the worst, yet hope for the best. Yet for certain there are things you can do even in the most dire of situations to alleviate things as much as possible, which is what I think you were touching on with the tell the truth segment and how that can help you take at least some steps rather than ignoring what is really going on with you.
Good post Sarah.
I had never heard/read of her blog before, but I think I'll take a look this evening. Thanks, Andrea, for a good interview. Does anyone know if FB's line of work is discussed on her Blog? If not, just curious what kind of work entails that much travel. One would assume that her Husband has a job that can be mobile as well, which helps, I'm sure.
Thanks, guys! FB is fun to interview. I enjoy reading about her experiences, too. Every now and then, I feel jealous of that type of freedom, but then I realize that I'm mostly a homebody, so I'm better off traveling in small doses.
I hope that Nora does some more posts on her particular brand of nomadism, which is also very interesting.
I think it depends on when you grew up, and what kind of family you have. I was raised in the 1970s with parents who had grown up at the tail end of and just after WWII. The lessons of the Oil Crisis remain with me: turn out lights, walk if you can. My father made his own granola and yogurt, and compared prices on everything. I love recycling stuff, refashioning it into other things. I make all of our meals from scratch. After 20 years of marriage, we just last month got our first microwave as part of a kitchen renovation-- until then I always said "if you aret oo busy to heat up a pot of food on the stove, then there is something wrong with your life" (Okay, I realize microwaves are good for other things, like defrosting). We have one credit card between us. My husband uses it for work lunches and gas, mostly. At present we have no debt beyond payments on our car, which finish in ten months. We paid cash for another car this summer when my 10 year old car died. We both work within a 20 minute walk to work. Oh, and we raised our daughter to be intelligent: she was awarded an academic scholarship to an exclusive private high school, worth $50,000. As she excels in math and science, we are shooting for a scholarship for university. We buy what we can afford, and don't buy what we can't afford.
I avoid buying stuff by thinking about how cluttered my place already is. I think after a certain point, it's better to indulge in experiences, if you can afford those, rather than material goods.
I have been following Tri's interesting posts. Like her, I have been investigating mortgage acceleration programs for the last few months, as I am interested in getting rid of my mortgage.
I have been creating my own spreadsheets, trying to understand what the magic is in using a HELOC, as opposed to simply sending in spare cash.
So, to use Tri's example of $200,000 borrowed at 6% for 30 year, you pay $231,676.38 interest. My numbers will differ by a few dollars as I didn't round. If you pay an extra $500 a month, you pay off the mortgage in 179 months and pay $102,534.54 in interest. If you pay $5000 every 10 months, you do a little bit better. You pay off the mortgage in 175 months and pay $99,376.71 in interest.
I learned there is an inherent fallacy in every HELOC example I have seen.
If you borrow the $5000 from the HELOC and and you only have $500 a month to pay it back, that $500 has to equal the sum of the principal and the HELOC interest at the end of the month. In other words, the interest on the HELOC becomes another bill that you pay and you have a closed-end loan. So, instead of paying off the HELOC in 10 months, it's actually 10 and a fraction that represents the HELOC interest you have paid.
I tried to reproduce what Tri had done to approximate the savings in a HELOC shuffle. I assumed the effective interest rate would be 4% and that I would borrow the $5000 in the same month that the HELOC would be paid off. Using this adjustment, the mortgage is paid in 176 months paying 100,090.31 interest. But the HELOC took an extra 2 months to be paid off, even with the extra mortgage payment, and the total interest was about $1600. Adding it all together, the interest cost is about $101,690.
Sooooo, you savings is $102,534.54 - $101,690, about $845. WOW!! All that work... for what? I have no idea what these mortgage acceleration programs do, so perhaps the HELOC costs are excessive. BUT, they keep claiming $1,000's of savings over do-it-yourselfers.
As I have stated in posts elsewhere, the only advantage these software packages and services give you is a way to focus on your end goal of mortgage payoff and see how every dollar spent affects that goal. If you feel that is valuable to you and that you can't do it on your own, then paying for it would be worthwhile in the end.
As another poster noted, you can also use this method to put money aside for investments. However, paying off your mortgage is the same as getting a compounded bond return at the same interest rate.
I reuse plastic bags and Chinese takeout containers. It only makes sense because why buy new plastic goods from the supermarket when those were only used once?
Great post! I find it instructive to consider people who have unconventional ways to live or work. We might not copy them, but we can think of the pros and cons of each situation. Then, we are better equipped to design a life that fits our own needs and desires.
Great interview and topic Andrea. I love that someone (Fabulously Broke) has combined frugal living with a meaningful corporate job, and in fact that her corporate job is enabling the lifestyle! I also like that FB is getting closer to how communities of all sizes operate, large and small.