Frugal Babe

A rich life without a lot of money

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Life… It doesn’t have to be as expensive as people think it is

March 23, 2014 By Frugal Babe

Hello friends!  I know it’s been a long time, but work and family keep me busy constantly.  I’m still here though!  We’re just finishing up spring break – it certainly flew by.  We spent the first few days visiting my in-laws in Arizona, and then we’ve spent the last few days recovering from our vacation :-)  This trip was the first time I had taken any days off from work (other than Christmas Day) since last summer when I took on a second job (I always work on weekends, since that’s when it’s easiest for us to juggle parenting duties, as my husband’s work follows a more routine M-F schedule).  So it was nice to have a few days off.  But it was also nice to get back to work when we returned home – I love feeling productive.

I was inspired to blog today because of an email conversation with a fellow healthcare writer.  We were talking about the ACA and how it benefits a large majority of the country.  She wrote “Did you know that 50% of American families with children earn less than $59,000?  Can you imagine raising two kids on less than $59k a year?”

Over the last several years, our income has risen above that level, and we’re certainly grateful that it has.  I know that luck always plays a role in success, but we’ve also worked very hard to create our own success.

Anyway, my first thought when I read her comment was “Of course I can imagine that!  We spend FAR less than that amount on our family of four.”

One benefit to having lived on so little income when we were first self-employed is that we got used to it and realized that we were happy without spending much money.  And over the years as our income has increased, we haven’t changed our lifestyle much at all.  You all know that my favorite place to shop is Goodwill… that hasn’t changed over the years as our income has grown.  Second-hand stuff on eBay is what I consider high-end shopping.  All of our furniture was second-hand, we share one ten dollar a month cell phone, and one car.  We have cable internet, but no TV.  I run errands with our younger son in a 20-year old jogging stroller that’s on its third family (the bonus there is that I’ll take it anywhere, including through all sorts of mud and muck, because I don’t need to worry about what it looks like)  We don’t have any outside help with childcare, housekeeping, yard work or cooking (and we only eat out a few times a year).  We did splurge on a refurbished Roomba last fall, and I love it!  It’s like having a housekeeper in the corner of the living room.  But that’s as far as we go when it comes to household help :-)
And our mortgage is only $850/month (thanks in part to an excellent refinance opportunity last year, and also to the fact that we’ve been overpaying our mortgage for years and are content with the house we have, with no desire to upgrade to a fancier one).
So yes, I can easily imagine raising two kids on less than $59k, because our annual spending is a lot lower than that, even assuming that’s a pre-tax amount.  Honestly, I can’t imagine spending more than $59k for our family… we’re happy with what we have, and spending more money wouldn’t make us more happy.  Of course, we like that we earn more than we need, since it allows us to donate and save a lot more than we otherwise could.  But barring extreme circumstances, supporting a family of four on less than $59k isn’t really a stretch, as long as you’re willing to ignore most marketing messages and think outside the box a little.  Childcare expenses are sometimes unavoidable, but many of the other expenses that people consider necessary are more avoidable than they might seem at first glance.
If you’re not already reading Mr. Money Mustache, I encourage you to check out his blog.  He and his legion of readers and forum members are proof that raising two kids on less than $59k isn’t really all that challenging.  It is if you succumb to the notion that you must have the latest and greatest of everything, and that if you earn money, you must spend it.  But there’s nothing that says that’s the way any of us have to live.  Be flexible and open minded about making changes – you might be surprised that they aren’t as tough as you imagined they would be.  Choose to live with less and you’ll find yourself with far less financial stress, more contentment (spending money does not make people content in the long run), and a better life overall.

Filed Under: family, just my life, kids 4 Comments

Comments

  1. Liz @ Economies of Kale says

    March 25, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    Nice to see you back :) I definitely agree – the main reason I’m looking forward to finishing this PhD and working full time is so that I can save more of my income. I don’t expect my lifestyle to change very much.

    Recently I mentioned to someone that my housemate and I pay $270 a week in rent. They kept asking if it was $270 each, and when I said it was combined, they assumed there must be something wrong with the apartment. The reality is we looked around for a while until we found something we can afford.

    Reply
  2. kellygroves13 says

    April 3, 2014 at 2:50 pm

    I’ve been mulling this post over for a bit. I think the big take away is, as it always seems to be, that we are constantly told we need more. I know that advertising and marketing are huge industries, but I think sometimes it leads people to feeling inadequate if they don’t have the latest and greatest and it really is scary what those messages do on so many levels…personal dissatisfaction, financial stress, stress of always having to put up a front…I am trying very hard to teach my kids that we have so much, too much even, and that just because so and so has something or the commercial says you need something doesn’t mean we need anything more than we already have (new clothes aside…my 6 year old is growing like a week all of a sudden :) )

    Reply
  3. caitlingracie says

    April 9, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    I’ve also been considering this post for awhile, and I think there are three major reasons people think life has to be so expensive: perspective, ease, and contentment. When you live in the US, in a middle class household, there are many, many things that you take for granted that you wouldn’t if you lived as most people in the world do. As I’ve graduated college and become an adult living on my own, dealing with a large amount of college debt, I’m seeing this more clearly. I’m lucky to have a great job with decent pay, but with my hefty loan payments it can feel like a struggle at times. I’m making choices that might seem really odd or harsh to some people in order to avoid taking on credit card debt or spend outside my means. It does mean going without sometimes, or making do, but for the most part it’s not nearly as difficult as people (including myself) think. It does mean I’ve had to be much more creative at times, but I feel so energized and happy when I come up with a great solution on my own rather than simply throwing money at a problem, and I feel great that I’ve saved money. Which is part of the second issue people have–it’s usually more difficult, time-consuming, and thought-consuming to come up with solutions to issues you used to solve just by spending money. Lastly, if people aren’t content with what they (above a living wage with the basics covered) have no amount of money is really going to change that.

    Reply
  4. Lila says

    April 27, 2014 at 4:12 pm

    It depends on your idea of what a good life is.

    To some people your choice of not having TV would be a huge detriment to their own life. We have a TV but not cable, but we do have a high speed internet connection. The choice to not have cable TV is not a sacrifice at all to us.

    I think it helps that we live in the U.S. because the U.S. is such a wealthy country and businesses are eager for your business so they will have sales, discounts, match prices, etc. Sometimes if you ask for a discount many store managers will comply.

    Americans tend to have more disposable incomes than in other highly taxed countries. Also because of the abundance of wealth there are many consignment shops, freecycle listings, thrift shops, flea markets, discount stores, dollar stores, etc.

    I know people who have furnished entire homes and wardrobes with second hand items. Honestly I don’t judge them because there are many nice, quality items that end up at second hand stores.

    Because America is such a wealthy country, many people regardless of social class have gotten used to this idea of disposable materialism. So if you are not the type who cares that you bought it first, then you can save a huge amount of money by buying used.

    Reply

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