🚀 go-pugleaf

Neon John wrote:
> So you're happy with lots of money just kinda passing through your
> hands on its way to others while your time just kinda leaks away?
> That's what happens when you work in the "big city" and live in the
> 'burbs.  BTDT.
> 
> I gave up the mid six figure lifestyle about 12 years ago when I
> escaped the big city.  I made all that money but I never seemed to
> have time nor the money to do anything.  Any meaningful saving was
> impossible, as there was nothing left at the end of the month after
> all the bills were paid.  I was always exhausted and was always very
> stressed out even though my company (obviously) was doing quite well.
> 
> I now operate a small restaurant and live in a nice apartment in the
> other part of the building I own free and clear.  I've probably never
> made more than $30k a year in this biz.  Yet somehow I'm living better
> than I ever have.  I have more toys AND the time to play with them.
> Instead of arriving home exhausted after fighting the traffic and
> after fighting the clients and employees at work, I close my doors at
> quitting time, walk to my apartment and start having fun.
> 
> It's 4 minutes after three in the afternoon right now.  I closed for
> the day 4 minutes ago.  In another 10 I'll have closed up the place
> and will have started my leisure time.  I'm thinking I might drive up
> to the Ocoee River and have a cookout.  What will you be doing?  I'll
> come back up to the restaurant at 10:30 in the morning after having
> awakened 15 minutes earlier.   How many hours will you have been awake
> by then?
> 
> I filled the tank on my car about 3 weeks ago right before the
> hurricane and it's still on F.  I commute around my area on an
> electric scooter when the weather is nice and in my little electric
> car (about $2k, paid for) when it's not.  Because I put under 5kmiles
> a year on everything except my motorhome, my insurance is very cheap.
> I have 5 vehicles including a commercial deliver truck, comprehensive
> on the newer ones and my total bill is under $1k a year.
> 
> I've owned my main car about 5 years now (bought used for cash) and it
> still has the tires it came with.  How many tires have you bought in
> the last 5 years?  I change the oil once a year whether it needs it or
> not.  
> 
> Notice I mentioned a motorhome?  I bought it used for cash about 6
> years ago.  I have the time to use it almost every weekend.  Because I
> don't have to commute and can set my own hours, and because I have
> sufficient disposable income, I can usually stay over an extra night
> and amble in just in time to open up the restaurant at 11 AM.
> 
> Oh, did I mention the cabin in the mountains?  I built it years ago
> but I literally never used it until I downscaled.  Now I time-share
> between it and my motorhome, one or the other every weekend just
> about.
> 
> In Atlanta the property tax on my home was almost $6k/yr. Here, my
> 6800 sq ft building in downtown Cleveland costs me less than $1k.
> That's 5k more I have for toys or retirement or investing right there.
> Residential electricity was 11.6cent/kwh (much higher now) in Atlanta.
> It's 5.2cents/kwh for commercial power here.  I have lower energy
> costs for my entire building here than I had for just my house in
> Atlanta.
> 
> Right now I'm looking to move to an even smaller area.  I'll open
> another restaurant that should net about the same money from a smaller
> sales volume.  The reason is that property, taxes and energy are so
> much cheaper there.  That means I'll have to work even less to
> maintain my lifestyle.
> 
> Or I might just retire again.  Because of the lack of commuting and
> the low cost of living here, I've been able to tuck away enough money
> so that as an early 50-something, I don't really have to work now.
> OTOH, I love what I do, so can that be called work?
> 
> I'm curious, do you have any debt?  I don't.  I just kinda thumb my
> nose at the bank when I drive by.  Remember that I've never made more
> than $30k a year in this business, a bunch less last year, so I'm not
> some arrogant rich dude thumbing his nose at the masses.
> 
> I'm REALLY glad there are so many people like you out there to
> populate the big cities.  That keeps my area open and uncluttered for
> the most part.  It is nice to drive to Atlanta or Knoxville every few
> months to shop and to remind myself of what I'm missing!  With the
> net, shopping has lost its allure so my trips have become pretty much
> annual ones.
> 
> Why don't you sit down and do an actual budget and a personal cash
> flow analysis?  I bet you never have, or you wouldn't be fooling
> yourself about your quality of life.  See just how much it is costing
> you to live in one place and work in another.  You might just see the
> light. Or not.
> 
> John
> 
> On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 08:54:27 -0400, "Ted B." <noway@nohow.not.ever>
> wrote:
> 
>>In many (most) areas of the U.S., the jobs that pay decent living wages are 
>>NOWHERE NEAR areas that offer affordable housing.  Case in point . . . if 
>>you live close to your job, you probably need to work multiple jobs to make 
>>ends meet.  There is no simple solution like "move closer to your job".  In 
>>most cases, the increased housing expense for such a move would more than 
>>eat up any savings gained from a shorter commute.  If gas prices go a lot 
>>higher than current levels, it just might make sense for many people to buy 
>>a million-dollar condo so that they can have a shorter drive to work.  For 
>>now though, to suggest that someone (anyone) move closer to work is simply 
>>ignorant.  Most people live far from work as that is where they can afford 
>>to live.  Or to look at it another way, most people can not afford to WORK 
>>anywhere near where they are living.  The biggest employer within 15 miles 
>>of me is wally world.  Could I work there?  Yes, if I wanted to take an 80% 
>>pay cut.  If I move significantly closer to the employers who pay decent 
>>money, I'd need to buy a house that costs 4-5 times as much as my current 
>>house, for a lot less land with a smaller house on it. 
>>
> 
> ---
> John De Armond
> See my website for my current email address
> http://www.johngsbbq.com
> Cleveland, Occupied TN

Very well put John, most people have no idea how much their job actually 
cost them. I read "Your Money or Your Life" about 15 years ago and it 
changed my life. My commute now is very short as well, one flight of 
stairs, a right turn at the kitchen and I'm there. I commute to the 
bank, library and shopping on my bike most of the time and it's rare I 
go through a half tank of gas a week carting the kids about.