Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I've slowly noticed that even if it isn't ERE there are a bunch of people and articles I've seen lately promoting "surviving on less." It's a breath of fresh air to always hear about people who forego the mainstream and realize there are better things to be dependent on than debt.


http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meet-fami ... 00075.html

Thanks for the link. I like to read those stories.

The biggest difference I've seen is in the tone of the articles written. They used to point to people living ERE-type lifestyles like they were an exhibit in the zoo, or worse. ("Behold these extraordinary creatures dwelling in the tiniest of homes, surviving on only lentils and hulu.")

The articles are much less condescending now.

I'm still not convinced that it isn't due to the state of the economy. Does anyone remember whether stories about frugal living became increasingly positive throughout the 1970s, say from 1973 to 1981?

I don't recall it being like today. It was more a banding together, but maybe because the recession was seen as something Americans were suffering at the hands of other countries, and not really a global recession. Think of the movie "Rocky" or the tune "Look for the union label ..."

jacob wrote:I'm still not convinced that it isn't due to the state of the economy. Does anyone remember whether stories about frugal living became increasingly positive throughout the 1970s, say from 1973 to 1981?

No, it definitely was not the same then. At that time, the more ideological/philosophical frugality movements of the 60s (communes, etc.) were actually on the wane as the Baby Boomers hit the work-force en masse with smiley faces and mirrored disco balls. President Carter preached frugality and became very unpopular for it -- for example, that was when the federal speed limits were all reduced to 55 mph. While its true that unionized/industrial jobs were in decline, white collar employment was expanding.

This was especially true for women who were just beginning to be allowed enter professions like law, medicine and academia in larger numbers. Being able to have a career for many was a sign of empowerment, not the shackles it has become today. Note, my college only started accepting women in 1970. Law school classes were only about 10% female, medical school classes even less through most of the 70s.

I think this era is more like the 1930s and 1940s, especially for the younger crowd. There is a broader base for frugality at the moment, because jobs are harder to find and more of them are living with parents, other relatives or have roommates as adults. There is a greater focus on relationships and less on physical mobility -- "going out into the world to seek your fortune, etc." is less of a mantra. "Why don't you stay close to home -- it will be easier to get along" seems to be more of where we are. The decline of the popularity of automobiles is one of the most striking changes among the young.

EDIT -- just saw this article:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... e/8572055/

"Millennials are far more likely than moms of any other generation to be raising their kids near or even in the same house as their extended family. Many of them have their Boomer moms — the grandparents of their kids — living in the same home or living next door," Howe says.

Salerno-Woodbury says her husband's parents live about an hour away, but they bought a "tiny house down the street, so they're up here every weekend."

Lillywhite's mother lives down the street from her young family. Barea, her husband Julio, 29, and daughter just bought the house in which she grew up.

"It was time for us to get a bigger place, and it was time for my parents to move on. Our in-laws and my parents are all five minutes away," she says. "We were like a good 15 to 20 minutes away and then when we had the baby, instead of looking for houses further out, we decided we wanted to be even closer to family. We visit my parents and in-laws at least two to three times a week."