How Extreme?

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slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

How Extreme?

Post by slowtraveler »

I finally moved out and my cost of living has sky rocketed but is well within what I planned. I'm spending 3-4 Jacobs but life is good and I couldn't imagine cutting spending without decreasing qol. My savings are on track so I don't see reason to worry (this doesn't stop worry from naturally arising though).

How have others dealt with finding this balance?

I started very extreme in saving to build some principle and now, I've lost the motivation to fight for the last penny so this is where my disconnect is and I'm trying to reconcile it.

The Old Man
Posts: 503
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:55 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by The Old Man »

There is no race. There is no competition. Choose what works for you.

BRUTE
Posts: 3797
Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2015 5:20 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by BRUTE »

The race is slow, and in the end, Felipe is only racing with himself.

Scott 2
Posts: 2825
Joined: Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:34 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Scott 2 »

Spending goes up and down with life's changes, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Hanging around here, you're probably not the type of person to dig a big financial hole anyway.

SustainableHappiness
Posts: 266
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:39 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by SustainableHappiness »

Life's a garden, dig it.

RealPerson
Posts: 875
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:33 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by RealPerson »

So, one Jacob is a unit if $7,000 for one person? Is this a fixed unit it is it annually adjusted based on.. well, Jacob? Just want to get my units straight.

Did
Posts: 693
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Did »

I think the idea is not extreme deprivation but rather extreme efficiency and lack of waste.

Eventually you will be able to do the same for less. Extreme performance perhaps.

jacob
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Re: How Extreme?

Post by jacob »

@Felipe - In terms of extremes, I liken it to sailing which is experienced as 70% boring, 20% exciting, and 10% terrifying or some other percentage---the actual numbers don't matter. What matters is that perspective exists on a scale and what is terrifying to a rookie sailor (like close hauled pounding on choppy waves) might be exciting to a weekend racer but boring to an old salt. I would suggest trying to keep your savings goal "exciting" rather than "terrifying". If you're bored with it, you either know everything already or you're not trying hard enough anymore.

@RealPerson - Yes. And it seems to be fixed(*) at 7k USD, since I'm currently spending 0.8 jacobs.

(*) And not adjusted for inflation either.

classical_Liberal
Posts: 2283
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 6:05 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by classical_Liberal »

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Last edited by classical_Liberal on Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

IlliniDave
Posts: 3845
Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:46 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by IlliniDave »

Felipe wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:16 am

How have others dealt with finding this balance?
I keep fairly accurate records of my spending and periodically review the numbers and think about how each expenditure furthers my QOL. With that knowledge I adjust my spending in an area accordingly (spend less, spend more, or no change). That's pretty much a steal from YMOYL. It worked well for me, but I spend enough to make a drunken sailor look like an uptight Scot (multiple jacobs/year)

wood
Posts: 355
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 5:53 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by wood »

I don't budget, but I record every penny spent and try to focus attention on the big numbers/trends in my spreadsheet. Cutting spending down to my potential optimum reduces life quality too much for me and feels more like a prison. I need some minimum of freedom, e.g. knowing I can do a weekend trip to the other side of the country to visit family and friends when I want. Just make an effort and don't be too hard on yourself.

I like the student analogy in that the time I was a student were some of the best years in my life despite being on low budget, so I always compare my spending with that of a student. I'm currently at 2 x student budget.

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9372
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

My personal spending this past month was at the level of .34 Jacobs, but my lifestyle was pretty enjoyable. In fact, a good portion of the $196.66 I spent went to items such as $2.50 bottles of Kombucha purchased on the fly. When spending gets down below approximately the level of a Jacob, the situation becomes not only very Extreme, but also very Weird.

I think the biggest barrier between spending at the Jacob level, and spending at less than the Jacob level, is the psychological or social barrier that prohibits living off of the waste stream of other humans. I think this has something to do with the artificial barrier we construct between humans and the rest of nature. There is no longer any nature that is not "owned" or controlled by some human being, corporation or government body, so closing the loop on waste streams becomes tantamount to stealing another person's trash. For instance, as a used book dealer, I used to frequently overhear conversations in which two library patrons would be griping about dealers purchasing discards at the book sale which "should be for the benefit of community."

slowtraveler
Posts: 722
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:06 pm

Re: How Extreme?

Post by slowtraveler »

Thank you for all the confirmation. I was expecting to get bashed for blasphemy but this is such an accepting crowd.

It's almost comical to see this is still considered "low income" for the average consumer.

I'm keeping a pulse on what increases vs decreases quality of life and if there are more efficient methods available I will be open to but not obsessive. We're all at our own page, writing the novel of our life. Money is a tool, if I let it become a prison, it kills the point.

So far this has been very exciting so that's a positive sign and I'm still making progress:

Doing one time things like visiting mountain temple feel worth it but wouldn't as a habit.

Finding less expensive food of same quality by avoiding tourist areas.~20-70% off

Cut rent in half (not when I count Airbnb credit but that's a one time event) in first half week here by finding local month long lease. Plus, it includes a gym, rooftop pool, wifi, and restaurant with better prices than I've seen at my restaurants. Moving expenses came out to ~$1.60. I could've lowered this by walking, negotiating harder, or finding a different driver since I knew it was on the high side but I felt lazy and it didn't really break the bank.

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Seppia
Posts: 2016
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Location: South Florida

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Seppia »

The end goal for me is freedom, and consequently happiness.
DW and I have expensive hobbies (travel and scuba diving), but those significantly increase our quality of life and help us "recharge" from our work life.
Reducing work would most probably also dramatically reduce the cost of said hobbies, but at the current 70-75% savings rate it would be mathematically unsound.
I don't see any issues with spending a bit more, provided it increases life quality and costs are under control (which I assume it's the case, or one wouldn't be here on this forum)

sky
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Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:20 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by sky »

Living very well on 3J here.

cmonkey
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Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by cmonkey »

We live on .85 jacobs, or about $6K each currently which is down from nearly double that about 5 years ago. No noticeable difference between "us" and "them" other than we never leave the house now and drive an older vehicle when we do. We also don't have a big TV.

Unless you know what to look for, it's kinda hard to pick out ERE people in a crowd I think.

Laura Ingalls
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:13 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Laura Ingalls »

Hmm

We lived last year on 1.14 Jacobs per person. DH still has a the most fancy-pants truck and bicycle on the block :lol: I can only wonder how low we could go without feeding teenagers ;) We do eat lentils and homemade pico de gallo but we also have craft beer and oysters too.

Did
Posts: 693
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Did »

Laura Ingalls wrote:
Wed Sep 27, 2017 3:00 pm
We do eat lentils and homemade pico de gallo but we also have craft beer and oysters too.
Brewed yourself?

Laura Ingalls
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:13 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Laura Ingalls »

No homebrewing. I do make bread and I would really like to try brewing kombucha. I do get get pints of some of the best beer in America for about $2 and fresh oysters for $.80. Not sure at my modest drinking rate that it is worth the effort.

Did
Posts: 693
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Re: How Extreme?

Post by Did »

@LI No absolutely it would not be. I've spent much more than I've saved....

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