How Far Would You Go?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I don't think I could go that far off that grid, especially as I get older. I'd be perfectly satisfied with a far simpler lifestyle though.

I've often wished that we had lived much more simply over the years. If we had, I'd probably be retired by now.

What sort of things would you have done to live more simply? I am wondering this now about myself and my family. By the standards of where we live, we live simply. But it's not simple comparatively to the norm. But at the same time I wonder what you particularly could do to have changed your lifestyle?

[disneysteve]

What sort of things would you have done to live more simply? I am wondering this now about myself and my family. By the standards of where we live, we live simply. But it's not simple comparatively to the norm. But at the same time I wonder what you particularly could do to have changed your lifestyle?

I think it is a lifetime of choices: what car to buy, where to go on vacation, what restaurant to go to, what cable package (if any) to get, etc. Both small and large spending decisions all add up over the years.

We live well below our means but we still have elevated our lifestyle considerably over the years. We happen to enjoy the finer things. Not everyone cares or appreciates certain things, and that's great, but once you've tried them or experienced them and really liked them, it's hard to give them up. I guess part of me misses the simpler times when we were young and didn't have the money to make the choices we make now.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

What sort of car would you have bought? What vacation would you have passed on? And just eating out in general?

[disneysteve]

What sort of car would you have bought? What vacation would you have passed on? And just eating out in general?

We probably all could list purchases that could have been handled differently or more frugally. Cars? Did we really need the van with the dual electric sliding doors? Did I really need the Camry XLE with the heated seats and sunroof? Vacations? Could we have stayed at a less costly hotel or stayed a bit farther from the heart of town? Could we have trimmed a day or two off of a trip? Dining out? Could we have scaled that back overall? Could we have made more use of coupons and discounted gift cards? Could we have shared more meals?

There are hundreds of decisions throughout life that could be made more frugally. We all have our comfort level in different areas. I just think in hindsight, we would have been just as happy had we not made some of the splurges that we did. This was meant more philosophically than actually sitting down and listing every one though.