During graduate school, I was financially independent making < $20k per year, and the happiest I’ve ever been. By carrying that lifestyle with me for less than 3 years after school, I have been able to pay off all student debt, purchase a new (gently used) car, AND put around $60k into retirement funds (I am now done saving for retirement – see disclaimer 4). Assuming no serious misfortunes, I am now absolutely, entirely free of all financial obligations and responsibilities for the foreseeable future, so long as I can afford to eat, sleep, maintain insurance, and stay sane with hobbies. My parents rest easy knowing I am set up for a happy and independent future. They’ll even get to retire (!), which is something they never thought they’d be able to do, especially during some rebellious youth years where my future did not look good. I can go anywhere and do anything with the rest of my life. That liberation is incredible (although slightly terrifying to be honest!). I now plan on getting a PhD for the fun of it, finding a job I enjoy more, focusing big on health, hobbies, family, and friends, helping others, trying to find a like-minded lady to someday share my future with, and travelling and exploring what money actually can buy. I apologize if this came off as an arrogant success story, but I’m just so happy and proud and I wish for everyone to feel the same :)
TL;DR live cheap get rich.
DISCLAIMERS (trying to be brief but happy to expand):
1) I cannot in total honesty say that I had zero help. My parents tried their hardest to help everywhere they could, and although I turned away their help 9/10 times, I certainly wouldn’t be quite as ahead as I am now without knowing I had a safety net and accepting a little emergency help the few times that I did during early college. My entire life I have been headstrong about being independent and earning everything for myself. I never wanted anyone to say I owed anything to anyone, and I believe I did pretty good with this. With that said, I recognize not everyone is as fortunate. Factors outside of one’s control like health issues, prior debts, and other home problems can make this lifestyle impossible. Those disadvantages break my heart and I will never know the struggle some face just to get by.
2) My entry level job after grad school paid $58k per year. I recognize this is higher than average, but I don’t believe it is unrealistic (M.S. in Geology). I’ve been working minimum wage or slightly higher jobs since I was 16, 20+ hour weeks during college, 40+ hour weeks during breaks and high school. This helped reduce my student debt massively. My grades did suffer and I was a bit more stressed than I would have liked during those years. If I could go back, I would work less and socialize/study a little bit more and accept some of the help my parents constantly tried to offer.
3) Many would call my standard of living too low, particularly during graduate school. I did live in a utility closet with a window for a year, and rice and beans have been a daily staple for me since undergrad. My travel is generally solo and utilizes back country camping. I’m also a big fan of r/churning. Since grad school, I’ve been living with friends in a nice but cheap apartment. My mom can verify, I’ve been a minimalist since I was a toddler. “Frugal” is different for everyone. If you aren’t taking care of your own happiness, you are being cheap, not frugal, and will likely burnout. If you have dependents, take care of them. If your relationships suffer, seriously consider if this is right for you. Do you need a partner with a similar mindset? Can you meet halfway? Can you tolerate less financial security for the sake of being with your partner, or does the thought stress you out unbearably (financial disagreements are a leading cause of divorce)? Frugal living is not for everyone and you owe it to the people around you to not hold them back from living their happiest life as well.
4) I AM NOT AN EXPERT. 401k/Roth IRA: Assuming an average 8-10% annual growth (obviously a huge assumption but generally regarded as typical), this will accumulate enough interest to “fund itself” with as much as is recommended to be putting away for retirement. Simply put, you could save 5k per year for 40 years, 10k per year for 35 years, or even cram close to a million dollars into the last few years before retirement. So while a typical American may pay easily $500K-$1M out of pocket to retire, by front loading you could pay only 60k out of pocket. Disclaimer within a disclaimer: I am not the most knowledgeable about this, many chose to save/invest in other ways, and there is of course a lot of risk, luck, and faith in the system. However, even if this failed entirely, I feel okay gambling that I will come out with enough to get through retirement, especially since my standard of living is quite low.
5) Although open-minded, I have never particularly saw myself having children, and at the moment I do not necessarily have any ambitions to become a home owner. This is far more for personal freedom than finances. I like that at any time I can move or take risks, and I’d be lying if I said I felt up to those kinds of responsibilities.
Edit: Formatting.
April 14, 2019 at 02:23PM
