[Rocketfan]

Anyone know a person who lives like this???

CHICAGO — Keri Rainsberger isn’t rich. She works in the nonprofit world for a relatively low-profit salary. Yet, as many Americans are scrimping for every penny, she hardly feels the pinch.

She still tithes 10 percent of her income to her church. She rarely worries about rising gas and food prices. And she doesn’t come close to spending what she has.

“I live so far below my means that it doesn’t really register,” says Rainsberger, a 31-year-old Chicagoan with a wiry frame and unusually sunny outlook. “I don’t have to think about money.”

How is this possible?

For starters, she has no car and commutes by bicycle. She also has no mortgage payment and chooses to live in an “intentional community,” a partly shared space where $775 a month covers everything from utilities to meals.

http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/lifestyl ... enge/7169/

[RubberMallet]

i was out in wyoming the past week. tons of my wifes friends have these HUGE houses

example:


my wife is like "where are they working that they can afford this?"....

well come to find out they can't. most of them are mortgaged up to their ears....they are all also driving trucks and suv's out there...the bigger the better...


our house is small for 4 people but i'm working on that. we are in a bit of a pinch for storage is all.

house is 850 sqr on main, 500 upper floor, 300 sqr finished basement. i will be adding 170 sqr to the main level now.

we bought a fixer upper and put relatively 10k in work into it (all without paying a dime of labor) and we may double our money come selling time, even in this market right now. we don't have a car payment, so we can live relatively cheap. i think our living expenses are like 2500 bucks a month.

people are generally horrible at managing their money and that is why we are in the economic crisis we are in today....because who do people have as a role model? the gvt?

[JDUB]

people are generally horrible at managing their money and that is why we are in the economic crisis we are in today....because who do people have as a role model? the gvt?

exactly

[4everfsu]

How do you like living in Wyoming? Sorry, you were visitng correct?

[RubberMallet]

yes just visiting...

and i love wyoming...its full of lunatics but its fairly simple to not be near them....

[4everfsu]

I heard Wyoming is very good on some taxes according to wiki

Unlike most other states, Wyoming does not levy an individual or corporate income tax. In addition, Wyoming does not assess any tax on retirement income earned and received from another state. Wyoming has a state sales tax of 4%. Counties have the option of collecting an additional 1% tax for general revenue and a 2% tax for specific purposes, if approved by voters. Food for human consumption is not subject to sales tax.[14] There also is a county lodging tax that varies from 2% to 5%. The state collects a use tax of 5% on items purchased elsewhere and brought into Wyoming. All property tax is based on the assessed value of the property and Wyoming's Department of Revenue's Ad Valorem Tax Division supports, trains, and guides local government agencies in the uniform assessment, valuation and taxation of locally assessed property. "Assessed value" means taxable value; "taxable value" means a percent of the fair market value of property in a particular class. Statutes limit property tax increases. For county revenue, the property tax rate cannot exceed 12 mills (or 1.2%) of assessed value. For cities and towns, the rate is limited to 8 mills (0.8%). With very few exceptions, state law limits the property tax rate for all governmental purposes.

Personal property held for personal use is tax-exempt. Inventory if held for resale, pollution control equipment, cash, accounts receivable, stocks and bonds are also exempt. Other exemptions include property used for religious, educational, charitable, fraternal, benevolent and government purposes and improvements for handicapped access. Minerals are exempt from property tax but companies must pay a gross products tax and a severance tax when produced. Underground mining equipment is tax exempt.

Wyoming does not collect inheritance taxes. Because of the phase-out of the federal estate tax credit, Wyoming's estate tax is not imposed on estates of persons who died in 2005. There is limited estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.

[scuzdriver]

Rubber, you can't take it with you dude. Live a little! My motto is.....enjoy it while you can! lol bro

[LUconn]

says the guy who's most likely counting on a pension to retire if he ever can.

[Cider Jim]

Thoreau said there were only 4 necessities in life:

1. food
2. clothing
3. shelter
4. fuel

And his motto was "Simplify & Simplicity."

[RubberMallet]

Rubber, you can't take it with you dude. Live a little! My motto is.....enjoy it while you can! lol bro

trust me i have my fun....and i dont' have to live on credit to do so...

[Sly Fox]

We got on the living well below our means bandwagon about 8 years ago and we couldn't be happier. We endured the two of us being laid off on the same day with barely any effect. The only negative is that even the simplest expenses have me gun shy to spend money. Yeah you can call me cheap if you want and I wouldn't argue. But we're essentially debt free with a real focus on achieving our retirement goals.

[Cider Jim]

we're essentially debt free with a real focus on achieving our retirement goals.

I was hoping Sly would drop the name of his retirement planner.

[Sly Fox]

We just use a guy at our bank. But it seems we know a zillion of them through church and otherwise.

[rogers3]

Having grown up in the TRBC environment, I never had the impression that simple living was the norm. I sometimes wonder if Christians believe that driving a big gas guzzler (or two) and living in a McMansion is the modern equivalent of "Manifest Destiny." Christians should really be the model of living a simple lifestyle and conservation if we take our God-given responsibility of caring for creation seriously.

I like your view, Sly. My wife and I are on a similar path.

[rogers3]

we're essentially debt free with a real focus on achieving our retirement goals.

I was hoping Sly would drop the name of his retirement planner.

Are you looking? I know a few good ones here.

[RubberMallet]

many of these sites offer free advising when you want to make purchases...td ameritrade is one of them...alot cheaper than paying someone..

get yourself a subscription to kiplingers and read the investing guys' articles....

[Cider Jim]

Not looking, just giving Sly a hard time: I was hoping to post again on his 101 thread of famous people he's met.

[belcherboy]

I am debt free and have a nice chunk saved up. I'm in need of a car and am seriously considering a gas guzzling SUV. They are pretty much GIVING them away right now (both new and used). I plan on living within 3-5 miles of my work, so the comfort, and extras that I would get from a gas guzzling truck/SUV seems to be worth it for the added expense in gas. Of course if gas jumps up a couple of bucks a gallon, I could be choking!!

[Kolzilla41]

My wife and I have done the same. We bought a house that was lower than our rent (it;s a very nice home though 1 mile from Liberty, where I work), we have been paying off our debt and are almost done (Clark Howard really inspired me) and we have almost payed off our cars. So, All I plan on doing with our house is when we want to start a family, do a little adding to our house and plan on staying there for a while. It is a better way to live.

[4everfsu]

House and cars are paid off, working to save money. Probably will work until 70 because once I retired, no part time work for me. Credit card is down to $1300, but will go back up a couple of thousands for my one dog's surgery. I have always lived below my means, less stress, more happiness.

[RubberMallet]

I am debt free and have a nice chunk saved up. I'm in need of a car and am seriously considering a gas guzzling SUV. They are pretty much GIVING them away right now (both new and used). I plan on living within 3-5 miles of my work, so the comfort, and extras that I would get from a gas guzzling truck/SUV seems to be worth it for the added expense in gas. Of course if gas jumps up a couple of bucks a gallon, I could be choking!!

my wifes father just bought a brand new tahoe company car for himself. he got a tahoe that he nearly bought a year ago that was an 07 at 47k (this is the after haggling), he got a 08 for 36k....brand new. he drives 90% highway miles mind you. he did the math....if gas prices stayed the same ($4) gas would cost him $1,200 dollars more a year than if he bought a much smaller SUV (he was looking at a highlander). if prices went up to $5 it woudl cost him $1400 a year more. it would take 7 years for him to lose out on that deal..

if you can find a good deal, i'd have no problem taking it....we stole our van in january.

[RubberMallet]

over the past 3 years i've been able to save a bit, not as much as i'd like but still was saving....

my first job, i was able to save quite a bit...in 2 years we saved 10 grand...but then we had a kid and the wifey stopped working and that 10 grand went into fixing up the house...THEN i also started a new job as well...and with any sales job you don't generally make alot of money the first year....the 3rd year we had was rougher....we reeeaaaally cut back, nothing that was too uncomfortable and there was never a time we were worried....last year i built the savings back up but spent a good chunk on the van. this year is the 3rd year at my sales job and i'm doing well....so we have alot of breathing room right now and that should only grow..

[ATrain]

I'm definitely doing better than most people my age...I'm debt free, minus one credit card that I pay off monthly, and have a few thousand saved and invested in CDs and stocks I plan on holding long-term. Once I get a permanent full-time job after I finish my masters, I'm probably going to buy a house so I can stop renting and giving what is virtually a house payment to someone else.

[Rocketfan]

House and cars are paid off, working to save money. Probably will work until 70 because once I retired, no part time work for me. Credit card is down to $1300, but will go back up a couple of thousands for my one dog's surgery. I have always lived below my means, less stress, more happiness.

a couple of thousand for surgery on a dog or a simple shotgun shell.....that decision is pretty simple.

[Hold My Own]

wow...stunned you just said that