how to fight lifestyle creep

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frugalmom
Posts: 1710
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:52 pm

Re: how to fight lifestyle creep

Post by frugalmom »

RecoveringDreamer wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:32 pm
frugalmom wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2018 2:36 pm Same car-well we had some cars over the years but our cars lasted til over 300k and we drive each to the ground or til it gets into an accident(that one was over 300k anyway!). The one I am driving is around 269k right now-I am hoping it lasts much longer than 300k!
We are also aiming for 300k on our cars. DH has a Nissan van with 201k and my Honda Accord has 198k. Our Honda Civic was driving perfectly fine at 284k, but it was totaled in a wreck. My mom's cousin is a mechanic and charges us the family rate, so most repairs are not bank-breaking. My Dad just got his truck's transmission changed by our cousin: $380 for a used transmission from the junk yard, $180 in labor. Can't beat it.
Lol I know I always say we need a mechanic,handyman and lawyer in the family! One niece just became an immigration and tax lawyer-lol but I said that does not help us! We need a regular lawyer lol-my brother is one too but he is a professor so useless when we need any help on lawyer questions he says not his field!
rinty
Posts: 1919
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:54 am

Re: how to fight lifestyle creep

Post by rinty »

This is such a good thread. I like Recovering Dreamer and Jodis thoughts.

But CG, you made me laugh with your "small 900 ft house" That's AVERAGE over here. In summer some American friends visited with their two college age children. as they were leaving the lad said " this is a VERY NICE small house " They had been staying in air B and B and he was scathing about the sizes of some of the 3 bed places they had been staying in ;)

This week overheard two woman talking about fantasy finances....one was to own a home outright and she spoke as though it were the ultimate impossible dream. She looked very middleclass and was working but she and her husband were renting.

Made me appreciate my owned outright home. We 've been very lucky what with one thing and another. Negative equity lost a lot in the 80s, I wasn't able to return to a " proper job" after DS was diagnosed handicapped at 18 months.

There will be lots of costs re DS this coming year, again , not of our making, but nothing we can do about it. Frugal makes it possible.
chocolite
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: how to fight lifestyle creep

Post by chocolite »

RecoveringDreamer wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2017 4:55 pm My job is a 500-600 mile a week commute (later this year I'll be working 6 days a week) and for my first two years I can't miss/be late more than 5 days total.
Wow! Can I ask - what type of work do you do? I can't imagine living under that kind of pressure to not be tardy or absent. I have been lucky in that my last two jobs have been very flexible to work around life issues.
Patty
chocolite
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: how to fight lifestyle creep

Post by chocolite »

ohjodi wrote: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:21 pm
When I got back to Illinois, a disability crept up on me and I was only earning $600/mo. I lived off savings, cashed in my 401k (a $3k investment was still $15k after penalty and fees) lived off that, and when that ran out I applied for SS Disability, and got it in just four months.
Okay Jodi, completely off topic, but are you saying you actually got approved for disability on your first try? I have never heard of that happening!
Patty
RecoveringDreamer
Posts: 346
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:00 pm

Re: how to fight lifestyle creep

Post by RecoveringDreamer »

chocolite wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2018 8:34 am Wow! Can I ask - what type of work do you do? I can't imagine living under that kind of pressure to not be tardy or absent. I have been lucky in that my last two jobs have been very flexible to work around life issues.
I work at a factory. I also had to switch to second shift (I leave the house at 230PM, I get home at 230-3AM). It sounds like it isn't worth it, but it is. The first two years are extremely rough and there is a high turnover rate. However, after that, it gets good.

Once I hit max out pay, I'll make $28/hr (Before this factory I never made more than $11/hr) and get 4 weeks vacation and 3 weeks worth of paid holiday days. I have the most incredible health/dental/vision/life/AD&D/short- and long-term disability insurance plans at a cost of $4/week total. We have a gym with junior-Olympic size pool on site, our own credit union, they rent out an amusement park for us each year, we have a service that helps us manage life issues/legal/home repairs/medical/car issues etc. We have a service center for our cars and get a free rental car while they work or they will drive us to work. They have an insanely generous 401k plan (depending on years of service, they contribute 8-10% of your income). They give grants to charities that we volunteer at (if a worker or their spouse volunteers 50 hours in a year at a particular charity, they give them $250) as well as having company organized volunteering, often involving local food pantries. They match our donations to charity that we can set up to come out of our paycheck. To top it all of, they have never laid off a full-time worker.
A Life Beyond Money
Self Sufficiency. Simple Living. Frugality.

www.alifebeyondmoney.blogspot.com
RecoveringDreamer
Posts: 346
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:00 pm

Re: how to fight lifestyle creep

Post by RecoveringDreamer »

frugalmom wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:03 pm Lol I know I always say we need a mechanic,handyman and lawyer in the family! One niece just became an immigration and tax lawyer-lol but I said that does not help us! We need a regular lawyer lol-my brother is one too but he is a professor so useless when we need any help on lawyer questions he says not his field!
We don't have any lawyers in our family, but we have plenty of handymen/women. The family kind of works together on each other's houses. We have a couple construction guys, a roofer, electrician, and a landscaper.

I just got my car back from my cousin. I had to replace the water pump and timing belt, there were bad transmission and oil leaks, and I replaced the wheel bearings. I bought the timing belt kit (DH found a $220 kit for $130). My cousin charged $340 for labor. Can't beat that.
A Life Beyond Money
Self Sufficiency. Simple Living. Frugality.

www.alifebeyondmoney.blogspot.com
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