i'm so tight my money squeaks for joy when i spend it

flowerbug

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i live a very simple life and am lucky to live with Mom.

i do have a budget.

i don't sponge off her, i supply protection and labor but i also help out with bills or projects when needed.

i paid for the new roof when needed. i help with the taxes or heating bill.

but still we joke about the moths that live in my wallet because it gets so little action.

how i got where i am financially was as a kid growing up fairly poor and then the parents divorced so that reinforced my desire to not remain that way. i read up on financial planning and investing and watched the stock market.

i worked as a kid and as a teen, mowing lawns and for the family business once i got old enough. hard work, some of which was damaging to my body and i still have to cope with that.

when i went to college Dad refused to fill out the financial aid application. he did co-sign on a few loans and while i was in college he paid the monthly interest on those loans. when i graduated he gave me some money but also the loan book. i.e. it was now up to me to pay it back. as i had worked my way through college that took longer than 4yrs to get the degree, but once i had it i continued my simple living and paid all my school loans off within 18 months and still was able to start saving and investing.

i continued to invest and live a simple life for the next 9 years and then i reached my goal and the job i was in was winding down and becoming less interesting so it was a good time to just do something else for a while. i semi-retired then at 33.5yrs old. i have worked part-time since then and one short stint as full time along with the part-time job but that was too much and i ended up going back to just being part-time again, but that ended too when management changed at the library. so i've not worked since then.

my income is from investments and it isn't much, but i don't need much.

my only real regret is that by not working for another 5yrs or so i didn't have enough money set aside to get enough land that i really would like. eventually i'll need to buy a place to live and may end up staying here since i've put so much work into it, but this is not the ideal place in many ways so it is hard for me to decide to stay or go when the time comes. i doubt i can find the perfect place more suited at about this price or less.

sadly, i didn't know the place out back was up for sale when that happened, that would have been acreage and a much better site.

in the meantime i continue my simple life and in the company of my moths and squeakyness. :)
 

baymule

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With planning and wise decisions you are able to live the life you want to. Good for you. There are lots of good posts here on living frugally and I'll bet you can add quite a few of your own.
 

Lazy Gardener

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You are among a group of confirmed penny pinchers: reduce, re-use, re-cycle, make do... You have done well. In a previous post, you described yourself as "middle aged". I hate to burst your bubble. But, you are a far cry from that! Middle aged used to start at 40. But, now... the new "middle aged" is 50. I'm well beyond that. But, still consider myself middle aged. Not yet ready for the rocking chair, though I wouldn't mind a cat on my lap. Hubby is not keen on the cat idea!!!

Buying property that better suits your ideal may yet be an option for you, even with your current state of squeakiness. Keep your eyes open for rent to own, or foreclosure property. If your current living situation with your mom is not a permanent arrangement, you may want to explore your options before circumstances force the issue. Does she own her property? Mortgaged? Rental? (don't answer these questions here, just a nudge to consider your future.)
 

flowerbug

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You are among a group of confirmed penny pinchers: reduce, re-use, re-cycle, make do... You have done well. In a previous post, you described yourself as "middle aged". I hate to burst your bubble. But, you are a far cry from that! Middle aged used to start at 40. But, now... the new "middle aged" is 50. I'm well beyond that. But, still consider myself middle aged. Not yet ready for the rocking chair, though I wouldn't mind a cat on my lap. Hubby is not keen on the cat idea!!!

Buying property that better suits your ideal may yet be an option for you, even with your current state of squeakiness. Keep your eyes open for rent to own, or foreclosure property. If your current living situation with your mom is not a permanent arrangement, you may want to explore your options before circumstances force the issue. Does she own her property? Mortgaged? Rental? (don't answer these questions here, just a nudge to consider your future.)

mid fifties. yes, she's paying down a mortgage that was refinanced during the great interest rate rout. not much to pay off yet. at the time when it comes i may buy this place, but there are a lot of negatives so i also may not. i am not the sole sibling so when that happens it will be a conversation between all of us as to what to do. likely if we sell then i will be here until that happens, but after that i don't know. i have been homeless before (living out of my car for several years and travelling around the country and Canada since i'd not done much of that before when i was working so much). because i've been frugal enough and all i could pay cash or finance a mortgage if the interest rates are low enough, but to get a place with acreage is likely out of my range of all that. i do keep my eyes open, but so does everyone else. tough to be first in line when everyone else can outbid you. :)
 

baymule

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You might have to relocate to a less expensive area where you could afford an acre or more and build a tiny house.
 

flowerbug

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i can afford this here which is almost two acres if i decide to stay. we'll see what happens when the time comes. :)
 

flowerbug

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Copper wire was invented by two frugal Scots fighting over a penny..... lol

i'm part Scots, part English, and some other things we don't know about, plus half Italian, quite a party we all have in here, which is good, it means i rarely need to go out to have a good time... :)

i did spend a few pennies this week, it was like a magic act. *poof* they're gone... :) new camera and an extra close-up zoom lens.
 

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