Charlotte forwarded a great article from Mother Earth News. (When did they go online? It seems so antithetical to their nature!) In “Live on Less and Love It!”, Craig Idlebrook describes 75 ways that his family enjoys life while spending and consuming less. And he should know. He’s a practitioner of extreme personal finance:
On paper, my wife and I are poor. How poor? In 2005 we made $4,303.84 combined; in 2004 we made half that. We’re in such a low tax bracket that I have trouble convincing the government of our tax return’s accuracy; they simply can’t believe Americans can live on that kind of money.
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We’ve arrived where we are now through a decade of daily financial decisions. Because we didn’t want to spend our time earning money at jobs we didn’t like, we instead focused on how to stretch our money. We found that by controlling our day-to-day expenses, we could save a lot of money without sacrificing our quality of life. Neither my wife nor I will ever be confused for financial wizards; there’s nothing we’ve done that you can’t do if you’re serious about saving money.
The 75 tips are grouped into categories such as “good cheap food”, “how to avoid rent”, “creative transportation”, and “when you can’t avoid shopping”. Many of these suggestions will be familiar to veteran cheapskates, but there are some gems that even I hadn’t considered before. Become a caretaker? Hmmm…
Here are some of my favorites:
- “Buy raw ingredients instead of prepackaged foods. If you don’t know how to cook, learn. You’ll save on food bills, and your body will thank you for it in the long run.”
- “For long-term stays, become a caretaker. A good place to find such caretaking jobs is The Caretaker Gazette.”
- “Salvage materials for your new home. There are lots of possible sources: Look for someone who’s renovating a house and might let you cart away old materials; check the yellow pages for used building materials; or look for online groups, such as Freecycle, where people trade all kinds of unwanted items.”
- “Switch off your water heater when you’re not going to use it for extended periods of time.”
- “Ask if your city has a carshare program or start one with people you trust.”
- “Don’t go into stores unless you need something. Always carry a shopping list. Remember, stores are designed to get you to buy things you didn’t know you needed.”
- “Buy clothing used whenever possible. You may have good luck finding clothes at garage sales, or find a wider selection at thrift stores, consignment shops and on eBay.”
- “Rediscover the radical notion of the library. Imagine Internet access and thousands of books, CDs and DVDs for free!”
- “Trade your home with friends around the country and enjoy free lodging in a new location.”
My father loved Mother Earth News. He was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, but he embraced the magazine’s do-it-yourself ethic, despite all the “liberal hippie” talk of recycling and sustainability. Me? I like it because it’s all about making the most of what you have, and about removing yourself from consumer culture. (And I like the articles on recycling and sustainability!)
[Mother Earth News: Live on Less and Love It!]
This article is about Frugality
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For the people who don’t care for buying used clothes, if you buy clothing from stores, have you ever considered how many folks have tried on those clothes before you? and they didn’t get washed before you purchased them. I buy new and used. I especially like Chico’s clothes. They are expensive, but last for years. I buy very few pieces though because of the cost. I wore a Chico’s outfit yesterday. The dress I bought new at $109–a lot I know, but it is a classic black sheath and can be worn for any occasion and for years. The full-length Chico’s jacket I got at the thrift shop for $3. (It probably would have been $140 new.) I am sure that Chico’s dress got tried on by others and the jacket, although it was in the thrift store, was obviously very new so it probably got worn not much more than the dress if at all.
We have friends who probably are close to this couple in their take home pay. They live in a log cabin they built themselves from logs on their land. Most of the other components of their home were salvaged. For example, their hardwood flooring was salvaged from an industrial building for free. They stripped it and my husband laid it for them as a housewarming gift with their help. They do not use elecricity, so they have no electric bill. They use gas for their refrigerator and stove, but wood off their land for heating. He is a musician who plays the fiddle. He plays folk music and heritage music for the Smithsonian, local community events, private parties, etc. She is an interpreter for the hearing impaired and teaches dance some. Neither of them work full time most weeks at these jobs, but they stay very busy. They have two school age children whom they homeschool. They raise goats and make their own goat cheese, etc. They also raise chickens. Previously they’ve also done organic farming on their property. They definitely buy used clothes and other products. There is no TV. They are definitely the MEN types. Their home is lovely, warm, and inviting. Their goat cheese is incredible and their chicken eggs are awesome. They have no health insurance and have to pay any visits for health care up front obviously. But they eat a very healthy diet (gluten free), are very active with their normal “chores,” and don’t end up going to the doctor. I haven’t covered everything, but they work hard and I respect them. Their lifestyle is not for me, but it works for them.
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I am doing an extended house-sit in a fantastic Boston townhouse (the traditional old brick kind, not some suburban vinyl-strosity) and putting the money I’d normally pay in rent, and a lot more, into savings and the last eradication of debt. the owner pays all the utilities.
while I’m doing this at the request of an old friend, putting all my remaining crap in (free) storage after selling as much as i could made me realize I can pretty much be Mr Nomad and become a professional freeloader/housesitter once this gig is over at the end of summer, at least within the greater Boston area because of my stupid job. Now I have a great reference and will get myself bonded at some point.
I am actively seeking work that does not require me to go to an office every day. once I get that, I’m pretty much free to live wherever I want.
oh and I haven’t bought any clothing in ages aside from using the LL Bean gift card I get from mom every year for xmas, and then I wait a month and get stuff for half off. however socks and underpants definitely have a finite lifetime and aren’t really things you’d want to buy used (ugh) so I usually get those at Costco or TJ Max/Filene’s.
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Thank you for mentioning Mother Earth News. We appreciate the attention.
Laura Evers
Mother Earth News
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I think everyone has to define what is frugality for themselves. To me its more a process than anything. Also as far as taxes are concerned everyone in the US pays taxes when you include sales taxes, gas tax, phone tax etc. Anyone who can escape income taxes should.
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I am a happy and enthusiastic haunter of thrift and consignment shops, and gladly buy used clothing (cautiously) from ebay. For the ladies and gentlemen who do NOT want to buy used – well, why should any of us expect EVERYONE to do things the same way? I expect, when possible, you get your new clothes at sales; even if you buy new clothes in season, at full retail price, you are not harming ME, personally: there are jobs being provided thereby to the people who work at the retail shop, people who deliver goods to the shop, people who make the clothes, AND people who produce the parts that are used in the clothes which are being made! I expect you use your clothes thoroughly and plan for them to last a long time; and if you happen to gain or lose weight, or for some other reason get rid of your clothes (selling them, or donating them for the tax writeoff), why then, that’s when I will buy them! So I really don’t see people on opposite sides of a question of “how to buy what kinds of clothes”; I see people who are involved in a more circular process.
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I’ve noticed there are many people who say the government should pay for this, take care of that as though the government has its own source of income.
Well folks you / we are the source of its income and I get really tired of how little of my gross income comes to me as net. I have a 401k, a savings account and a christmas club so that I can try to meet my future obligations. I also donate weekly to United Way and my Church in the effort to try to assist others.
Everyone should try it and there would be less need for the “government” to pay for things they need.
There should be a deadline for government assistance instead of it becoming people’s way of life that is handed down through generations.
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Interesting article but very misleading, simply put if I followed everyone of their tips, including owning a mortgage free house you couldn’t get your cost of living down to 350 a month, not at least if you want to live in a city or town.
As others pointed out, and wasn’t mentioned in the article they probably live way way out in the boonies and are off grid back to the land type folks.
as well the tips they gave are pretty much garden variety frugal living tips available anywhere.
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i totally disagree, I save, Im a consumer, our country is built and relies on us consuming…this may be good for a certain percentile but for people who do go to work,and live in an on demand world like myself this poses no options, honestly your basically being homeless…you offer nothing to your country and you take take take…its people like you that slow the process of this country gaining financial stability again, the goverment needs people working..not cherry picking and freeloading…Get a job…be eco friendly but CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR COUNTRY…
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this tips every one knows, what is needed is to get rid off lazyness, and secondly spending less is not good for economy,one should spend to its own comfort
all one can do is try to avoid food wastage and over storing stuff.
enjoy life money is not end of the world.
it all depend how much you make every pay cheque. some one say use free food for kids , coupons.
remember no one gives you free all thats included in your price, so all these are marketing tricks. all saler make profit.
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Robert said, “our country is built and relies on us consuming”
Actually, our country wasn’t built on a consumption model, at least not nearly to the degree it is today. The whole concept of our nation becoming a nation of “consumers” rather than “citizens” didn’t actually come into being until the 1930′s, with Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud.
Prior to that time, advertising focused on promoting a product’s good points, thus appealing to people’s intellect mostly. People didn’t buy so much, unless they needed to. Advertising has been totally transformed, thanks to Bernays, who used his uncle’s concept of the unconscious mind. Now the operating principle of advertising is to manipulate people’s emotions-particularly, their insecurities, fears, hopes and dreams-unconsciously, so they buy on impulse.
Not many people here would argue that buying anything is evil. Of course societies have to engage in trade or purchase of goods and services to survive and thrive. But the way our system is set up to exploit the vulnerabilities of people is pretty nasty. And our government, not just corporations, has played into that (both hired Bernays, to encourage ever-increasing consumption and control of the masses, quite literally).
I got my information from a BBC documentary called “The Century of the Self.” It might be offensive to some people (would be rated R here) so please be advised.
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Great information!
I’m going to see if I can live off only a part-time, probably minimum wage job. I’m aiming for about 20-25 hours a week. My mother told me it’s impossible, and then I told her that some people live very healthy, wonderful lives who earn a tenth of that in some countries (although many of course live in terrible poverty). But the point is, it is certainly possible for life to be completely awesome – with very little money.
Things I am doing to make my cost of living VERY minimal;
1. No car, I am biking everywhere with a tadpole recumbent trike. Google that, it’s one of the best substitutes for a car. 3,000$ish initial cost, almost nothing after that. Take good care of it and it will last all your lifetime and beyond. The money will be borrowed from my dad for no interest.
2. Nearly free living space. I am doing a few weeks of work fixing up a log house. In exchange, I can live there without paying rent, occupying one of the rooms. I only need to pay for my electricity use, and since I live mostly alone in a single room, that will be insignificant. Probably ten bucks a month, a bit more in the Canadian winter to have a small electric heater going. That’s really nothing.
3. Eat mainly fruits and vegetables. Also things like flax and hemp seeds, and fish. At local places I can get that stuff very inexpensively, and it will also be extremely healthy!!
4. Washing my clothes by hand in the shower which I have recently learned to do, and also letting them hang outside on the clothesline will keep my clothes fresh, I won’t even need a machine. It works well if you do it right.
5. If you don’t use shampoo for months, your hair adjusts and will become independent from it, so it never gets greasy. I only rinse and comb my hair (which is long considering I am a man, past my shoulders), and my hair looks great all the time. People never believe me that I don’t use shampoo or conditioner, and that I don’t have to spend any money on that stuff!
6. Cheap entertainment. Internet and a good new computer I’ve already paid for, plus awesome computer speakers and a nice monitor. Probably 60 dollars a month for ISP, and maybe 12.99$ish for whichever MMO I’m into at the time. Either way, it’s VERY inexpensive entertainment, far better than going out every night or whatever. I also pay about 80$ on average per month through the year for martial arts classes.
Anyways, that is how I will be living off a part-time job to give myself lots of free time. I will love my life, and will only be working about 20 hours a week minimum wage.
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Well, great. I’ve spent another couple of hours reading peoples opinions on, well, other peoples opinion! LOL! Made for a great read though, I mean the comments. I didn’t read the article about the man who lived off of less than $5,000. a year. The suggestions sound pretty ordinary to me, I go to the library, I buy used clothes, I do have internet, but not cable, I do a lot of things to save money. Yet,it’s hard to live off of 30,000 a year, much less $5,000.! Oh, and if he does live next to nowhere in the boonies, he would have to have transportation (other than a bike)! And you have to pay for a tag and insurance. I live 25 minutes from the nearest small town, so I know about paying $5.-$10. on gas alone just to get to the library, grocery store, or Doctor’s office. Well,he could just be a bum, and bum a ride, who knows…still pretty farfetched if you ask me.
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I think living on less is all about appreciating things that aren’t material goods, like knowledge and family.
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I completely agree that everyone should learn to live well below their means.
That includes using everything they buy instead of buying things and never using them.
One thing I’ve done is to make sure we eat all the snacks and the majority of the food in the house before going out to buy another type of meal or snack.
My daughter would ask for cookies, cereal bars, crackers and she would only eat 1/2 of each of them. So I told her that she wouldn’t get a new one until the others were almost gone. It has actually saved money and she didn’t eat them any faster but she does eat them.
For our meals we use to have one or two meals that we didn’t eat throughout the week, but now we make sure we eat each meal and only eat out on Friday’s. This has really saved about $200-$250 a month in unneeded spending.
If I go upstairs even for a few minutes I’ll turn off the lights and TV that was in that room. I’ve notice a lower electric bill this season because of it.
There’s several ways that we can save and I think that the most important lesson is to just find things we can all save on!
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