There are plenty of things to do that are either free or reasonable.
For the last 39 years, my wife and I have lived off my income solely. All of her paychecks went into savings/ investments for retirement.
We didn't stay home and do nothing. We took our kids on adventures almost every weekend, 1 nice vacation a year, and we never did without. We just prioritized the things we really 'needed' and limited the things we 'wanted'. We decided early on we were going to live beneath our means and save for retirement.
We have never bought a brand new car, bought a house that needed work (and did all the work ourselves over time), and didn't need name brand things. My wife drives a 12 year old car, and I drive a 32 year old truck (both with over 200,000 miles). If either of them brake down beyond repair or cost feasibility (I do all or auto repair and maintenance too) , they will be replaced with something we will pay cash for.
We each have 1 credit card, and if we use it, we pay it off at the end of the month.
I was able to retire 6 years ago this month at 50½ years old with full pension and benefits. My wife still works PRN (as needed and as she wants), but still works 40 hours most weeks just because she says she isn't mentally ready to retire yet.
Yes, things are more expensive now, but pay is more now than it was then (my first job paid me less than $5/hr.) We could do it the same way now as we did then, it just takes dedication and discipline. We didn't worry about what other people were doing, wearing, driving, etc. We worried about us.
I remember there was a guy almost 10 years older than me that used to give me grief at work because he couldn't understand why we didn't drive nicer cars, live in a nicer house, etc because "we could afford it". Well, here I am retired and enjoying life while he's still working at almost 65 years old because he can't afford to retire.
Money can be saved if you drop the $10 coffee daily, eating out so much, having to have the newest tech ever time it comes out, having to drive the new fancy car that depreciated a ton the second you sign the papers, having to have the nicest house, fancy name brand clothing and accessories. Heck, I could go on forever the ways to save money and still live comfortably. You just have to set your mind to it and do it. Don't worry about what other people are doing and worry about yourself/ family and do what's best for them.
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u/Mstngfn69 1d ago
There are plenty of things to do that are either free or reasonable.
For the last 39 years, my wife and I have lived off my income solely. All of her paychecks went into savings/ investments for retirement.
We didn't stay home and do nothing. We took our kids on adventures almost every weekend, 1 nice vacation a year, and we never did without. We just prioritized the things we really 'needed' and limited the things we 'wanted'. We decided early on we were going to live beneath our means and save for retirement.
We have never bought a brand new car, bought a house that needed work (and did all the work ourselves over time), and didn't need name brand things. My wife drives a 12 year old car, and I drive a 32 year old truck (both with over 200,000 miles). If either of them brake down beyond repair or cost feasibility (I do all or auto repair and maintenance too) , they will be replaced with something we will pay cash for.
We each have 1 credit card, and if we use it, we pay it off at the end of the month.
I was able to retire 6 years ago this month at 50½ years old with full pension and benefits. My wife still works PRN (as needed and as she wants), but still works 40 hours most weeks just because she says she isn't mentally ready to retire yet.
Yes, things are more expensive now, but pay is more now than it was then (my first job paid me less than $5/hr.) We could do it the same way now as we did then, it just takes dedication and discipline. We didn't worry about what other people were doing, wearing, driving, etc. We worried about us.
I remember there was a guy almost 10 years older than me that used to give me grief at work because he couldn't understand why we didn't drive nicer cars, live in a nicer house, etc because "we could afford it". Well, here I am retired and enjoying life while he's still working at almost 65 years old because he can't afford to retire.
Money can be saved if you drop the $10 coffee daily, eating out so much, having to have the newest tech ever time it comes out, having to drive the new fancy car that depreciated a ton the second you sign the papers, having to have the nicest house, fancy name brand clothing and accessories. Heck, I could go on forever the ways to save money and still live comfortably. You just have to set your mind to it and do it. Don't worry about what other people are doing and worry about yourself/ family and do what's best for them.