Does anyone here live on a Shoestring?

[hollydolly]

The gigolo I hired is in his 50's. Its nice that you found one that does decent work. Ive had good luck so far hiring people recommended on Nextdoor.

I still plan on doing most of my own yard work for a while. This is just temporary till my hand is back. Its my right hand so theres that.
My five year plan is to slowly phase out anything that requires a lot of maintenance. I dug up all the mature firebushes
across the front and transplanted them in the fencerow. Probably one of the contributing factors. But I was constantly trimming them back and now they can be wild and free and grow as tall as they please.

I understand, and currently I've damaged the bicep on my right arm doing some heavy gardening work just a few days ago..

I foud my handyman on next door, but not the gardener, that was a complete chance meeting...

 

[Veronica]

I have tried a budget and it never works. First of all He does not know squat about budgeting. I handle the finances or try to. We are fine but all it will take is the death of one of us, or a major illness to do us in.. I fear

I can relate. Im an ant who was married to a grasshopper. I handled the finances too.
As we got older I prepared our finances so that if one of us passed the other would be okay.
So Im doing okay now. And if he was here instead of me he would be doing okay.
Well maybe not. Since he wouldnt have me to rein him in.

 

[DaveA]

Talking about "living on a shoestring" is mostly horsesh*t, IMHO. Everyone's "shoestrings can vary greatly. Some folks are suffering because their "shoestring" no longer allows them to take 5 or 6 annual overseas cruises - -they've had to cut back to 2. And tough to have to drive a 3 or 4 year old vehicle when they've always had the latest.
Some folks in the above lifestyle are still whining about having it "tough". Anything that edges their total wealth to below 7 figures puts them (in their minds) in the "shoestring category".

 

[BeachBi]

Pretty much and I don't mind. I live off $1321 (no government subsides) a month and still able to save a little each month. Very low credit card debt. Roku with just two cheap streaming subscriptions ($20 for both). Decent sized personal library. I buy refurbished electronics. I can make a 20 dollar bill last for weeks. I walk everywhere under 5 miles, then it's Uber time. Plenty of exercise. Actually I'm happier now than I've been in decades. Frugal lifestyle suits me fine.

What State is this ?

 

[DaveA]

There was an old woman that lived in a shoe.

 

[Pepper]

Every summer I am charged $60, per air conditioner---I have two---for three months. Also, we were just warned of a major increase in maintenance costs to start next year.

I'm not complaining, what's the use? But, it's a hard rain gonna fall on my purse.

I've been a bit of a spendthrift these past few months, on junk. That's gotta stop.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Every summer I am charged $60, per air conditioner---I have two---for three months. Also, we were just warned of a major increase in maintenance costs to start next year.

I'm not complaining, what's the use? But, it's a hard rain gonna fall on my purse.

I've been a bit of a spendthrift these past few months, on junk. That's gotta stop.

So is it a condo or a co-op since you live in New York City? I live in a condo and the last three years we’ve had to raise our HOA fees 12%. This year we didn’t think we were going to have to raise them at all and then we got our bill for our building insurance, which literally doubled.

I’m on the board and of course people aren’t happy because probably half of them are on a fixed income as am I. However, we are doing our best to be fiscally responsible, but all our vendors are raising their fees. once a year we have elections and nobody runs so the same old people are stuck on the board. We’ve been encouraging new people to run as it would be nice since there’s 150 condos to have other people take a turn.

 

[Bobby174]

We are happy living on a shoestring. No penny pinching here at all, don't even think about the budget.
DH retired this year at age 63 due to back issues. We are off-grid on 7 acres of land. No debt, homeowners so that is key of course. Spend $1700 a month. usually less, to live comfortably. Monthly Income: $2400 ($1400 SS+ $1000 my p/t job)
Monthly Expense Breakdown
Wifi Cellular Hotspot- $25
Two I-phones w/limited Wifi- $50
Utilities $50. Propane. DIY Solar for car/home.1800's stove heats home & cooktop in winter. Firewood via our land
Property Tax- $250/$3k a year
Trash- $25
Transportation: $150 4 methods
2022 E-Car usually driven just 3 miles a week-to church & health food store+1hr round trip about once a month to visit family
E-bike most places
Wednesday Fun- $250 Take the public bus for $10 ea. round trip. 8-10 of us ride together. Pick up is 10, back at 5pm.Toot around at the next larger town. Mtn Bike together on trails. Separate to see family friends. Attend a 1 hr NAMI support group, visit Farmers Mkt,,maybe shop a bike shop/thrift store/Nursery. Combo of these
Entertainment- $50. Youtube. Library free streaming (Kanopy) Amazon Prime Free Movies. Buy 1-2 movies to stream off Amazon per mo.
Personal Care $150. Natural hair dye/haircuts/toiletries/bath tissue/paper towels/soaps/supplements
Health Care- $50. Use the Free Indian Clinic. Pay for an Air Ambulance Membership. Since he's over 60, his retiree health plan kicked in for $25 a month. Covers about 65% of medical. Vision= free exam/glasses per yr. Dental to $4k a year but it's already free thru the Indian clinic to a degree stretching that 4k out.. Drugs sold at cost but his plan provides up to $400 a month. I'll have the same plan when I turn 60, we worked together. So it pairs well with the Indian Clinic+ Part A when we hit 65.
Pets $50
Food $200. Grow our fruits/veges. Raise 25 free range hens. Sell 75% of eggs to the Feed store in swap for hen scratch
*Unexpected* $200 A buffer, hardly needed
$175 Giving
A pond surrounds the house.House is comprised of mostly corrugated steel for the roof and much of the siding. We also added our own custom brick work that turned out beautiful. Our home is valued at $125-$175k less than other homes in this area due to being off-grid but we have plenty of acreage.

The main challenge in California is the food is costly. Everything else we've dodged paying toomuch for.
Yet...funny... we feel like we live like kings. Too bad we listened to all that junk about how much you need to retire.
Everything we want to do, we do. I long to visit the ocean more than one weekend a year. Need to convince him.

The Unexpected $200 buffer is hardly ever used. Put back into savings. Property taxes won't increase due to our DIY remodel. It only increases at the sale. Bowed out of being heavy consumers so inflation won't affect us as much. 100k savings. $5k HSA. When I take my SS, I'll continue working p/t for 1k a month well into my Senior years, why not. Grow food. He works at home gathering the hens eggs, growing our fruit/veges/sprouts & doing repairs around the place, etc. I do the canning, we make homemade dog food together. He's very handy. Church is our life, bible study, volunteering, pets, exercising. I guess we're an anomaly to think we can actually be happy this way I had no clue the simple life would be so freeing.
Do you live on a shoestring? Are you stressed over it or are your needs fully met otherwise...with some extras?

I forgot. We spend a sizable amount of dollars on new cycling clothes not factored in. Maybe add $35 a month for that. I honestly did not believe we had retiree health plans at 60 yrs old, not sure why but it was a bugger trying to get it going for him.

Right now, I’m still in the hustle phase, trying to save up and figure things out. The idea of living off-grid on your own land, no debt, low expenses... that honestly sounds like peace to me. I respect how you and your DH made it work with just $1700 a month and still live comfortably. That’s smart living, not just shoestring living.

I’ve been looking at options like DIY solar and reducing unnecessary bills too. Your breakdown of expenses really helps – it shows that it’s possible if you plan well. I’m still learning, but this is the kind of life I want to build in the long run.

Appreciate you sharing your journey so openly!