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Came across two "similar but different" stories today.
The first was an extract from a book on Living Frugally and how to retire (to an idyllic paradise) at 32.
The second was from a blog site on living frugally - just to stay alive. I wondered what ASF posters would make of the differing slants to the Living Frugally question ?
Extreme frugality allowed me to retire at 32 – and regain control of my life
Money
Elizabeth Willard Thames abandoned a successful career in the city and embraced frugality to create a more meaningful life. It enabled her to retire at 32 with her family to a homestead in the Vermont woods
Elizabeth Willard Thames
Thu 8 Mar 2018 22.00 AEDT Last modified on Fri 9 Mar 2018 07.22 AEDT
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The Vermont homestead that Elizabeth Willard Thames shares with her husband and daughter. Just a few years ago, this seemed like an impossible feat. Photograph: Elizabeth Willard Thames
As I write this, I’m sitting on the back porch of the rural Vermont homestead I share with my husband and our daughter, gazing out on the 66 acres of forest, fruit trees, gardens, ponds, and streams that we feel incredibly lucky to call our own.
Just a few years ago, this seemed like an impossible feat. My husband and I were struggling to conceive a baby and attempting to chart a path out of our frenzied 9-5 grind in urban Cambridge, Massachusetts. We wanted to achieve financial independence, quit the cubicle jobs that made us so unhappy, and create a simpler life of purpose in a rural setting.
My husband, Nate, and I are not exceptional people. We’re not rich or famous or geniuses or even particularly good-looking (although we have our moments). We’re just some average, middle-class kids from the midwest who decided we wanted something more out of life than what our consumer culture sells us.
While it’s true that Nate and I are average people, and we’ve never won the lottery or had investment banker salaries or been the beneficiaries of inheritances or trust funds, I’m keenly aware that we are also extraordinarily privileged.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/mar/08/how-to-retire-early-frugal-spending
Versus
Millennial finance
Living on a budget? How trendy! Frugal bloggers live on the cheap, by choice
The countless people who document their thrifty lifestyles give readers with money woes emotional support – but they don’t often deal with true poverty
Angelina Chapin
Mon 8 Aug 2016 21.00 AEST Last modified on Sat 15 Jul 2017 04.55 AEST
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‘If you’re connecting with someone and you relate to their story ... you can learn what you need to do by accident.’ Illustration: Joanna Gniady
On Sunday mornings, Katie practices the same ritual: she sits down on her couch in Toronto with her laptop and a cup of tea, pulls the receipts from her purse and makes a tally: “Groceries: $55.90. Petrol: $43.10. Hospital parking: $0. Total Spend: $99.” Then she hits publish and shares her weekly spending with the world.
Katie, a single mother of two adopted children with special needs, has to keep track of her money. Multiple surgeries over the past year have left her paralyzed from hip to knee, unable to work her healthcare job and saddled with between $15,000 and $20,000 CAD of debt. Once government assistance kicks in, her budget for the year will be just under $17,000.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/08/frugal-bloggers-budget-personal-finance-poverty
The first was an extract from a book on Living Frugally and how to retire (to an idyllic paradise) at 32.
The second was from a blog site on living frugally - just to stay alive. I wondered what ASF posters would make of the differing slants to the Living Frugally question ?
Extreme frugality allowed me to retire at 32 – and regain control of my life
Money
Elizabeth Willard Thames abandoned a successful career in the city and embraced frugality to create a more meaningful life. It enabled her to retire at 32 with her family to a homestead in the Vermont woods
Elizabeth Willard Thames
Thu 8 Mar 2018 22.00 AEDT Last modified on Fri 9 Mar 2018 07.22 AEDT
Shares
4280
Comments
310
The Vermont homestead that Elizabeth Willard Thames shares with her husband and daughter. Just a few years ago, this seemed like an impossible feat. Photograph: Elizabeth Willard Thames
As I write this, I’m sitting on the back porch of the rural Vermont homestead I share with my husband and our daughter, gazing out on the 66 acres of forest, fruit trees, gardens, ponds, and streams that we feel incredibly lucky to call our own.
Just a few years ago, this seemed like an impossible feat. My husband and I were struggling to conceive a baby and attempting to chart a path out of our frenzied 9-5 grind in urban Cambridge, Massachusetts. We wanted to achieve financial independence, quit the cubicle jobs that made us so unhappy, and create a simpler life of purpose in a rural setting.
My husband, Nate, and I are not exceptional people. We’re not rich or famous or geniuses or even particularly good-looking (although we have our moments). We’re just some average, middle-class kids from the midwest who decided we wanted something more out of life than what our consumer culture sells us.
While it’s true that Nate and I are average people, and we’ve never won the lottery or had investment banker salaries or been the beneficiaries of inheritances or trust funds, I’m keenly aware that we are also extraordinarily privileged.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/mar/08/how-to-retire-early-frugal-spending
Versus
Millennial finance
Living on a budget? How trendy! Frugal bloggers live on the cheap, by choice
The countless people who document their thrifty lifestyles give readers with money woes emotional support – but they don’t often deal with true poverty
Angelina Chapin
Mon 8 Aug 2016 21.00 AEST Last modified on Sat 15 Jul 2017 04.55 AEST
Shares
438
Comments
164
‘If you’re connecting with someone and you relate to their story ... you can learn what you need to do by accident.’ Illustration: Joanna Gniady
On Sunday mornings, Katie practices the same ritual: she sits down on her couch in Toronto with her laptop and a cup of tea, pulls the receipts from her purse and makes a tally: “Groceries: $55.90. Petrol: $43.10. Hospital parking: $0. Total Spend: $99.” Then she hits publish and shares her weekly spending with the world.
Katie, a single mother of two adopted children with special needs, has to keep track of her money. Multiple surgeries over the past year have left her paralyzed from hip to knee, unable to work her healthcare job and saddled with between $15,000 and $20,000 CAD of debt. Once government assistance kicks in, her budget for the year will be just under $17,000.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/08/frugal-bloggers-budget-personal-finance-poverty
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The planet is huge, you should see it.
