This resonates with me. I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Money Mustache’s perspective that it doesn’t take much money at all to live a really awesome life, which I think is similar to the perspective you’re sharing.
Some thoughts:
Housing is huge. And living with friends is a huge help. But I think for a lot of people that isn’t a pragmatic option (tied to an area; friends unwilling or incompatible; need privacy), and then they get stuck paying a lot for housing.
Going car free helps a lot. Unfortunately, I think most places in North America make this somewhat difficult, and the places that don’t tend to have high housing costs.
Traveling is expensive. Flights, hotels, Ubers, food. I find myself in lots of situations where I feel socially obligated to travel, like for weddings and stuff, and so end up traveling maybe 4-6x/year, but this isn’t the hardest thing in the world to avoid. You could explain to people that you have a hard budget for two trips a year.
Spending $200/month or whatever on food means being strategic about ingredients. Which I very much thinkisdoable, but yeah, it requires a fair amount of agency.
This resonates with me. I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Money Mustache’s perspective that it doesn’t take much money at all to live a really awesome life, which I think is similar to the perspective you’re sharing.
Some thoughts:
Housing is huge. And living with friends is a huge help. But I think for a lot of people that isn’t a pragmatic option (tied to an area; friends unwilling or incompatible; need privacy), and then they get stuck paying a lot for housing.
Going car free helps a lot. Unfortunately, I think most places in North America make this somewhat difficult, and the places that don’t tend to have high housing costs.
Traveling is expensive. Flights, hotels, Ubers, food. I find myself in lots of situations where I feel socially obligated to travel, like for weddings and stuff, and so end up traveling maybe 4-6x/year, but this isn’t the hardest thing in the world to avoid. You could explain to people that you have a hard budget for two trips a year.
Spending $200/month or whatever on food means being strategic about ingredients. Which I very much think is doable, but yeah, it requires a fair amount of agency.